ABOUT THE CAST

JACK BLACK (Nacho/producer) has appeared in many motion pictures, but it was his scene-stealing performance as John Cusack’s sarcastic music store employee in Stephen Frears’ critically acclaimed comedy “High Fidelity” that cemented his place in the hearts of audiences.

In September 2003, Black proved his box-office draw with a No. 1 opening for Paramount Pictures, “The School of Rock” from producer Scott Rudin, director Richard Linklater, and writer Mike White. In the film, for which Black received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, he plays a failed rock musician who, in order to get some quick rent money, pretends to be a substitute teacher in an uptight private school. The film grossed over 80 million dollars domestically.

In December 2005, Black was seen in the highly anticipated cinematic blockbuster “King Kong,” directed by Peter Jackson. In the film, Black plays Carl Denham, a filmmaker and showman trying to make a name for himself in 1930s New York. He plays opposite Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, and Colin Hanks.

In April 2004, Black starred opposite Ben Stiller for director Barry Levinson and DreamWorks in “Envy.” Black also provided the voice of Lenny for the animated feature “Shark Tale,” alongside Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Renée Zellwegger, and Martin Scorsese. The film was released in October 2004 and grossed over 160 million dollars domestically.

Fans also know Black as the lead singer of the rock-folk comedy group Tenacious D, which he created with friend Kyle Gass. Their self-titled album was released in the fall of 2001 on Epic Records and was quickly certified at goldselling status. The band had a variety series on HBO that aired in 1999 and the duo has completed production on their first feature, “Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny” for New Line Cinema, slated for release in November 2006.

Black recently completed production on two films back-to-back. The first is the Nancy Meyers-directed ensemble “The Holiday,” which also stars Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law and will be released in December. Black also stepped in front of the camera in the untitled Noah Baumbach project for Paramount Classics. The comedy/drama also stars Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Black’s previous screen credits include the 2001 hit for the Farrelly brothers, “Shallow Hal,” in which he had his first starring role opposite Gwyneth Paltrow. He played Hal, a man who is given the gift to see people’s inner beauty as their outside appearance. In “Orange County,” from director Jake Kasdan (“The Zero Effect”) and writer Mike White (“Chuck & Buck”), Black starred alongside Colin Hanks as his loving older stoner brother.

Black also starred in “Saving Silverman” (with Jason Biggs and Steve Zahn) in 2001 and 2000’s independent drama “Jesus’ Son” with Billy Crudup. He made his feature film debut in Tim Robbins’ “Bob Roberts.”

Mexican-born actor HÉCTOR JIMÉNEZ’S portrays Esqueleto, Nacho’s skeletal wrestling partner. His credits as an actor include the films “Innocent Voices,” directed by Luís Mandoki, and “Mezcal,” awarded as best film of the year by the Mexican Film Academy. Jiménez also acted in, wrote, and produced the recently completed “El Corazon de Fanny.”

Considered one of the best and most beloved young actresses in Mexico, ANA DE LA REGUERA plays Sister Encarnación, whose arrival at the orphanage inspires Nacho to achieve greater things. De la Reguera has starred in numerous television series, including “Gitanas,” “Luciana y Nicolas,” “Por ti,” “Todo por amor,” and “Pueblo chico, infierno grande.” Her feature films include the recently completed “Asi de precipicio,” “Ladies Night,” “A Beautiful Secret” (“Secreto de Esperanza”) and “Por la Libre.”

Born in Veracruz, Mexico in 1977, de la Reguera traveled to New York at age 15 to study English, returning to her native Mexico to attend the Instituto Veracruzano de Cultura. There she studied theatre and television, before transferring to the Centro de Capacitacion de Televisa, where she was discovered and cast in the telenovella, “Azul.” She went on to star in a series of popular telenovellas and TV movies, including “Desencuentro,” “Tentaciones,” “Destino,” and “El Cartero.”

RICHARD MONTOYA portrays the monk Guillermo, Nacho’s rival. Montoya has been a member of the acclaimed comedy team and travelling theatre group, Culture Clash, with Richard Salinas and Herbert Siguenza since 1984. The actor, producer and writer includes among his credits “Falling Down,” “Hero,” and “Encino Man.” His television credits include the series “Lucky Luke” and “Culture Clash.”

As a founder and member of Culture Clash, Montoya remains one of the most prominent Latino performance actors in the country. From Miami to San Diego, San Francisco to New York, the Culture Clash uses impersonations, dance, music, poetry, rap and performance collages to bring politics, history, geography and storytelling to theatres, universities and colleges throughout the U.S. In 1992, the group’s play, “A Bowl of Beings” was filmed for Great Performances on PBS. They set a milestone for Latinos with 30 episodes of Fox Broadcasting’s “Culture Clash,” the first-ever Latino-themed half-hour sketch comedy for TV that was executive produced and written by its stars. The group’s LA-based play, “Chavez Ravine,” was staged at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and its “Anthems, Culture Clash in the District,” was commissioned by the Arena Stage in Washington D.C., following the events of September 11, 2001. Their first book, Life, Death and Revolutionary Comedy has been published by Theatre Communications Group, and includes their plays, “The Mission,” “A Bowl of Beings” and “Radio Mambo.”

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Co-writer-director JARED HESS wrote and directed the independent comedy hit of 2004, “Napoleon Dynamite.” Hess, who co-wrote “Napoleon Dynamite” with wife and writing partner, JERUSHA HESS (co-writer), based the film on his memories of growing up in his hometown of Preston, Idaho. Jerusha also served as the film’s costume designer.

Jared wrote, shot, and directed his first film, “Peluca,” in 2003. Hess, who also directs commercials and music videos for production company, Moxie Pictures, worked as a camera intern and assistant on a series of low-budget and independent films. Jared and Jerusha, who attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, have two children and still make their home in Utah.

MIKE WHITE (co-writer/producer) first gained attention for writing and starring in the independent comedy/drama “Chuck & Buck,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000. The film went on to win several awards at the Deauville Film Festival and the Seattle International Festival. Deemed the “Best Film of 2000” by Entertainment Weekly, the film captured the award for Best Film at the 2000 Independent Spirit Awards, at which White was also individually nominated for Best Debut Performance and Best Screenplay.

2002 saw two feature films penned by White. The first was the drama “The Good Girl,” starring Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, and John C. Reilly. Opening to acclaim at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, the film smartly reteamed White with director Miguel Arteta from “Chuck & Buck” fame, and garnered White that year’s Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. The second of White’s films in 2002 was the comedy “Orange County,” starring Jack Black and Colin Hanks for Paramount Pictures and Scott Rudin Productions.

The trio of White, Black, and Rudin converged again in the fall of 2003, along with director Richard Linklater, proving their box-office prowess as the White-penned comedy “The School of Rock” opened at No. 1. Black plays a failed rock musician who, in order to drum up some quick rent money, pretends to be a substitute teacher in an uptight East Coast prep school.

Mike’s latest script, “Year of the Dog,” will mark his directorial debut and begin shooting this summer. The film is about a happy-go-lucky secretary, played by Molly Shannon, whose life changes when her dog dies. The film will also star Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Reilly, Laura Dern.

Raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, Mike White attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut and planned on writing plays in New York upon graduation. When a fellow Wesleyan alumnus offered him a job in Hollywood, White moved back west, eventually becoming a supervising producer on the young adult drama series, “Dawson’s Creek” and then the critically-acclaimed drama series “Freaks and Geeks.” In 2001, White created the television drama, “Pasadena” that aired on Fox. In 2004, he returned to Fox with the comedy series “Cracking Up.”

JULIA PISTOR (producer) is Executive Vice President of Nickelodeon Movies, a position she has held since 1994. In this capacity, she oversees development and production for Nickelodeon’s feature films based at Paramount Pictures. Most recently, she served as executive producer of “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and producer of “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” both family hits in 2004. She was executive producer of two Academy Award®-nominated films, “The Wild Thornberrys Movie” in 2002 and “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius” in 2001, as well as for “Rugrats Go Wild” in 2003.

Pistor is currently serving as executive producer of “Charlotte’s Web,” a live-action adaptation of the best-selling children’s paperback of all time, starring Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, André Benjamin, Thomas Haden Church, Robert Redford, Reba McEntire, and Kathy Bates. The film, a Paramount Pictures/Walden Media presentation of a Kerner Entertainment Company/Nickelodeon Movies production, will be released December 20.

Pistor served as executive producer for Nickelodeon’s “Rugrats in Paris: The Movie,” which grossed more than $100 million worldwide, and was a producer for Nick’s sci-fi adventure “Clockstoppers” and the live-action hit “Snow Day.” Additionally, she co-produced the company’s first animated feature in 1998, “The Rugrats Movie,” which grossed more than $150 million worldwide.

Pistor was integral to the early success of Nick Movies, having served as executive producer of the 1997 Nickelodeon movie “Good Burger,” starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, and as associate producer of the company’s first feature in 1996, “Harriet the Spy,” starring Rosie O’Donnell and Michelle Trachtenberg.

After graduating from NYU Film School in 1991, DAVID KLAWANS (producer) moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a film producer. During the following six years, he held various jobs in the film industry as a production assistant, production coordinator, producer’s assistant and researcher.

By 1997, Klawans made a decision: he determined the best way to get his foot in the door as a producer was to locate obscure true stories, track down the rights and set them up as film projects. During the next two years, he set up several projects based on nonfiction material at Columbia Pictures, which led to a first-look deal at the studio.

In 2001, he produced the independent documentary “Togbe,” the true story of an unemployed white Dutchman who was found to be the reincarnated king of the West African nation of Ghana. It aired on several PBS stations and was shown at the United Nations.

The following year, Klawans was co-executive producer of the TBS cable action movie “Atomic Twister,” which became the number-one rated cable movie of 2002.

STEVE NICOLAIDES (executive producer) reteams with Jack Black and co-writer/producer Mike White after serving as executive producer of “The School of Rock.” Nicolaides most recently served as executive producer on “Annapolis” and “The Forgotten.” His other credits include Richard Benjamin’s “Marci X,” John Singleton’s remake of “Shaft,” Ulu Grosbard’s “The Deep End of the Ocean,” Andrew Scheinman’s “Little Big League” and “It Takes Two,” directed by David Beaird. He was the producer on “Buddy,” for director Caroline Thompson; “A Boy Called Hate,” for Mitch Marcus; and on “Poetic Justice” and “Boyz N the Hood,” for John Singleton. He served as co-producer of “A Few Good Men,” “Misery” and “When Harry Met Sally” for director Rob Reiner. His associate producer credits include “The Princess Bride,” also for Reiner.

Nicolaides served as production manager on over 25 TV films as well as features, including “The Sure Thing” and “Stand by Me,” also with Rob Reiner. His television credits include producer on “Berlin Tunnel 21” and associate producer on “Will There Really Be a Morning?”

Director of Photography XAVIER PÉREZ GROBET served as the cinematographer on the films “Tortilla Soup,” “Before Night Falls,” “In The Time of Butterflies,” “Chasing Papi,” “Monster House,” “Nine Lives,” and “The Woodsman.” He was also the director of photography on the Emmy Awardwinning television movie, “John Grisham’s A Painted House.” He was the cinematographer on several episodes of HBO’s “Deadwood” and the pilot for HBO’s “Big Love.”

Born and raised in Mexico City, Grobet has worked on numerous films in his native country, including “Sin Remitente,” “Santitos” and “Lucia, Lucia.” He also wrote, directed, and edited the film “Chapultepec.”

Production designer GIDEON PONTE studied painting at Chelsea School of Art in the early 1980s. He began his career in London’s galleries before relocating to New York, where he worked for a photography dealer and publisher whose work included the Larry Clark books. Following this, Ponte joined Mary Harron to recreate the art works for her film “I Shot Andy Warhol.” Since then, he has split his time between designing such films as “Buffalo ´66,” “American Psycho,” “Hamlet” (2001), and “The Notorious Bettie Page” and designing the ad campaigns for Prada, Armani, Calvin Klein, and Dolce & Gabbana, among others.

Costume Designer GRACIELA MAZON has worked on numerous films in her native Mexico, frequently teaming with writer-director Robert Rodriguez on his films, including “Once Upon A Time In Mexico,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Desperado,” “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams” and “From Dusk Till Dawn.” Mazon’s other film credits as costume designer include “Vertical Limit and “Crazy in Alabama.”

The Silver Ariel Award-winner (“La Reina de la Noche”) is also an acclaimed artist with paintings, drawings and sculptures exhibited in museums and galleries in Mexico, France and the United States. Mazon holds degrees in art from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the Institute de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

DANNY ELFMAN (composer) is one of the movie world’s most versatile and successful contemporary composers. He has scored 12 Tim Burton films, including “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “Beetlejuice,” “Batman” (for which he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental and a nomination for Best Score), “Edward Scissorhands,” “Batman Returns,” “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” (another Grammy nomination for Best Score), “Mars Attacks!,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Big Fish” (Academy Award® nomination), and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride.”

Elfman wrote an original score for the Oscar®-winning film musical “Chicago” and scored the worldwide box office smashes “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2.” His other credits include “Good Will Hunting” (Academy Award® nomination) and “Men in Black” (Academy Award® nomination), “The Hulk,” “Red Dragon,” “Men in Black II,” “Proof of Life,” “The Family Man,” “A Simple Plan,” “Dolores Claiborne,” the Grammy-nominated “Dick Tracy,” “Darkman,” “Sommersby,” “Dead Presidents,” “Black Beauty,” “To Die For,” and “Mission: Impossible.”

Second Unit Director and Stunt Coordinator NICK POWELL is a fourtime World Stunt Award Winner with more than 40 films and 100 television programs to his credit. Powell also has won an American Choreography Award for his work as second unit director on “The Bourne Identity.” His recent feature film credits as stunt coordinator include “Annapolis,” “The Last Samurai,” “Tristan & Isolde,” “The Hours,” “The Magdalene Sisters,” “Charlotte Gray,” “Birthday Girl,” “The Stepford Wives,” “Wonderland,” “Enigma,” and “The Mummy.”

His big break was his work on the visceral fight sequences as the sword fighting coordinator in the Oscar®-winning film, “Braveheart.” Among Powell’s television credits as stunt coordinator are the movies “The Last of the Blonde Bombshells,” “The Whistle-Blower,” “All the King’s Men,” and “The Dark Room.”

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Nacho Libre (2006)

Directed by Jared Hess
Screenplay by Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess and Mike White

Cast (in credits order)
Jack Black .... Nacho
Ana de la Reguera .... Sister Encarnación
Héctor Jiménez .... Esqueleto
Darius Rose .... Chancho
Moises Arias .... Juan Pablo
Eduardo Gómez .... Chuy
Carlos Maycotte .... Segundo Nuñez
Richard Montoya .... Guillermo
Cesar Gonzalez .... Ramses
Rafael Montalvo .... Elderly Monk
Julio Sandoval .... Snaggle Tooth Monk
Enrique Muñoz .... Señor Ramon
Carla Jimenez .... Candidia
Agustín Rey .... Galindo #1
Troy Gentile .... Young Nacho
Julio Escalero .... Ramses Trainer
Peter Stormare .... The Gypsy Emperor
Lauro Chartrand .... Sage
Filiberto Estrella .... Duende #1
Jorge Valdés García .... Commentator #2
Craig Williams .... El Snowflake
Brett Chan .... Dynasty
Mike Ching .... El Chino
Abelardo Hernandez .... Muñeco
Emiliano Quiroga .... Carlos Rosales
Armando Tapia .... Monk #1
Alfonso Ramírez .... Amateur Referee
René Campero .... Wrestling Official
Lisa Owen .... Nacho's Mother
Cristóbal Puente .... Nacho's Father

Produced by
Jack Black .... producer
Ricardo Del Río .... co-producer
David Klawans .... producer
Ben LeClair .... associate producer
Steve Nicolaides .... executive producer
Julia Pistor .... producer
Damon Ross .... co-producer
Mike White .... producer

Original Music by Danny Elfman

Cinematography by Xavier Pérez Grobet

Film Editing by Billy Weber

Casting by
Carla Hool
Carol Lewis
Jorge Valdés García
Jory Weitz

Production Design by Gideon Ponte

Art Direction by Hannia Robledo

Set Decoration by
Maria Paz Gonzalez
Fontaine Beauchamp Hebb

Costume Design by
Graciela Mazón
Sarah Trost (title cape)

Makeup Department
Lourdes Delgado .... key hair stylist
Sara De Pue .... assistant makeup artist
Patricia Romero .... special makeup effects artist
Felipe Salazar .... key makeup artist: second unit
Jorge Siller .... special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Emmanuel Cabare .... assistant production manager
Arturo Del Rio .... unit production manager
Susan McNamara .... unit production manager: additional photography

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Renan Bendersky .... second assistant director
Frederic Henocque .... first assistant director
Victor Herrera McNaught .... assistant director
Jose Jimenez .... second assistant director: second unit (as J. Abel Jimenez)
Nick Powell .... second unit director
Brendalyn Richard .... second second assistant director: re-shoots

Art Department
Pia Corti .... sets leadman
Claudia Fernández de Cevallos Gtz .... assistant set dresser
Israel Delgado Rivera .... graphic designer
Carlos Gamboa .... set designer
Laura González .... decoration coordinator
Magali Sagarra .... art director assistant
Carlos Alvarez Tovar .... set designer (as Carlos Alberto Alvarez Tovar)

Sound Department
Robert Althoff .... sound recordist
Gabriel Coll Barberis .... sound mixer: second unit
Marc Fishman .... sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Flick .... foley editor
David Giammarco .... sound re-recording mixer
David Giammarco .... supervising sound editor
Scott A. Jennings .... sound effects editor
Will Kaplan .... music editor
Marc Mann .... synth recording
Santiago Núñez .... sound mixer
Philip Rogers .... adr recordist
Shie Rozow .... associate music editor
Shie Rozow .... scoring music editor
Dennis S. Sands .... music scoring mixer
Joe Schiff .... first assistant sound
Paul Wertheimer .... score recordist

Visual Effects by
Collin Fowler .... visual effects coordinator: Illusion Arts
Kelvin McIlwain .... visual effects supervisor
Thomas Mathai .... data manager (uncredited)

Stunts
Hugo Aguilera .... stunts
Lauro Chartrand .... assistant stunt coordinator
Nick Powell .... stunt coordinator
Thomas Sellitti Jr. .... stunt double: Jack Black
Jimmy Waitman .... stunt double

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