Joel Schumacher
(Director)
Fernley Phillips
(Screenwriter)
Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson
(Producers)
Matthew Libatique, ASC
(Director of Cinematography)
Andrew Laws
(Production Designer)
Daniel Orlandi
(Costume Designer)
Harry Gregson-Williams
(Composer)

FILMMAKERS BIOS

Joel Schumacher (Director)

Joel Schumacher is renowned for his versatility, style and ability to move seamlessly between film genres with equal popular success and critical acclaim. He began his film career as a costume designer for such legendary directors as Woody Allen (Sleeper, Interiors) and Herbert Ross (The Last of Shiela), before making his own name as a screenwriter with Sparkle and Car Wash. After cutting his teeth directing two television movies, Joel made his feature film directorial debut on The Incredible Shrinking Woman in 1981. His career soon took off with such iconic fare as St. Elmo’s Fire and The Lost Boys, followed by other successes - Cousins, Flatliners, Dying Young and Falling Down. He would go on to direct film versions of two best selling novels by John Grisham (The Client and A Time to Kill) as well as two installments of the blockbuster Batman film series, Batman Forever (which co-starred Jim Carrey as ‘The Riddler’) and Batman & Robin.

Most recently, he brought audiences the films 8MM, Flawless (which he also wrote), Tigerland, Phone Booth, Bad Company and Veronica Guerin. In 2004 he adapted Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, The Phantom of the Opera, for the screen. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe for best musical/comedy.

Shumacher will soon begin shooting his next film, Town Creek, a horror film for Gold Circle Film and Lionsgate, on location in Bucharest, Romania.

The Number 23 marks Joel Schumacher’s 23rd film or television directorial assignment.

Fernley Phillips (Screenwriter)

Fernley Phillips makes his screenwriting debut with The Number 23, which was also his first script sale after studying screenwriting at UCLA. Born in Newcastle, England, he moved with his family to London as a child. He moved to the United States to attend film school, where his script, Ghostland, attracted considerable attention and landed the young writer his first manager.

He sold the screenplay for The Number 23 to Contrafilm and New Line Cinema in 2002 and is currently writing U Want Me 2 Kill Him? for Bryan Singer and Warner Brothers. He and his wife reside in the Los Angeles area with their infant daughter.

Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (Producers)

Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson launched their New Line Cinema based production company, Contrafilm, in March 2004.

The first film released under their banner was After the Sunset, which was helmed by Brett Ratner. Contrafilm's next release, in conjunction with Lakeshore, was Screen Gem's The Exorcism of Emily Rose, directed by Scott Derrickson, which not only grossed in excess of 130 million worldwide, but was also one of the most profitable and successful films of 2005.

In the fall of 2006 Flynn and Vinson released The Guardian for Disney's Touchstone Pictures, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, directed by Andy Davis. The duo also premiered their 3-D CG film, The Wild, which Disney released Easter 2006. They are now in post-production on the first ever feature to be shot in High-Def 3D – Journey to the Center of the Earth – which is a co-production between New Line Cinema and Walden Media and will be released in 2008.

Prior to Contrafilm, Flynn was a partner at The Firm where he ran the motion picture and television production divisions. Flynn also produced the critically acclaimed films Tigerland, Requiem for a Dream, The House of Yes, The Alarmist, Guinevere and Johns. After graduating from NYU, Flynn's first job in the industry was as Scott Rudin's first assistant.

Matthew Libatique, ASC (Director of Cinematography)

Visionary cinematographer Matthew Libatique won an Independent Spirit Award for his work on the acclaimed drama Requiem for a Dream in 2000. He collaborated with such top directors as Spike Lee (She Hate Me, Inside Man), Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain, Pi) and Stephen Gaghan (Abandon) and previously worked with Joel Schumacher on the films Tigerland (produced by Beau Flynn) and Phone Booth.

Andrew Laws (Production Designer)

Andrew Laws most recently designed the films 1408, The Break-Up, Derailed, Beyond the Sea, Along Came Polly, Down With Love and The Minus Man. He also worked with director Joel Schumacher on Phone Booth and Tigerland. He began his career as an assistant art director on such films as Touch, She’s So Lovely and Jackie Brown. He became an art director with the film Rushmore and continued as art director for Simpatico, Gone in Sixty Seconds and Swordfish.

Daniel Orlandi (Costume Designer)

Daniel Orlandi most recently designed the costumes for the Ron Howard film,The DaVinci Code, based on the bestselling novel. He also designed his 1930’s era boxing drama Cinderella Man starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger and designed over 4,000 costumes for Disney’s epic production of The Alamo, starring Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton. Orlandi costumed Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor in the 1960’s style Down With Love, Joel Schumacher’s thriller Phone Booth, the principal costumes for Jerry Bruckheimer’s Kangaroo Jack, and Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah. He has collaborated with Robert DeNiro on Meet the Parents, Flawless and The Fan. Television work includes the first season of the NBC comedy “Ed” and Maureen O’Hara costumes in “Cab to Canada.” Orlandi won an Emmy Award for his work with David Copperfield in 1989.

Graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University, he got his start working with Bob Mackie on the film Pennies from Heaven, numerous television specials and Mackie's successful couture collection.

Harry Gregson-Williams (Composer)

Harry Gregson-Williams is one of Hollywood’s most sought after composers, working on a variety of high-profile projects, both animated and live-action.

On the live-action side, he most recently composed the scores for Seraphim Falls, Déjà Vu, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, directed by Andrew Adamson (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and Grammy), Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott, Domino and Man on Fire, both directed by Tony Scott, and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, starring Renée Zellweger. Gregson-Williams’ credits also include Veronica Guerin, Phone Booth, Spy Game, Enemy of the State, The Match, The Borrowers, The Replacement Killers, Deceiver, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, The Rundown, and Return to Sender.

Gregson-Williams also composed the music for the blockbuster film Shrek 2 and previously won an Annie Award for the score to the original Shrek. Other animated films include Team America: World Police, Chicken Run, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and Antz.

Born in England to a musical family, Gregson-Williams earned a scholarship from the music school of St. John’s College in Cambridge at the age of seven. By age 13, he had been a soloist on over a dozen records, and then earned a coveted spot at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He started his film career as an orchestrator and arranger for composer Stanley Myers, and went on to compose his first scores for the veteran English director, Nicolas Roeg.

Gregson-Williams’ initiation in to Hollywood film scoring was then facilitated by his collaboration and friendship with Oscar®-winning composer Hans Zimmer. This resulted in Gregson-Williams providing additional music for such films as The Rock, Broken Arrow, The Fan, Muppet Treasure Island, Armageddon, As Good as it Gets, and The Prince of Egypt.

Upcoming projects for Gregson-Williams include the highly anticipated Shrek the Third.