A DOG’S WAY HOME (2019) About The Crew

CHARLES MARTIN SMITH (Director), GAVIN POLONE (Producer), W. BRUCE CAMERON (Screenwriter), CATHRYN MICHON (Screenwriter), ROBERT J. DOHRMANN (Executive Producer), T.D. JAKES (Executive Producer), PETER MENZIES, JR. ACS. (Director of Photography), ERIC FRASER (Production Designer), DEBRA NEIL-FISHER (Editor), DAVID CLARK (Editor), SABRINA PLISCO (Editor), MONIQUE PRUDHOMME (costume designer)

VIEW ALL 'A DOG’S WAY HOME' PAGES
(Video Reviews, Cast, Crew, Production Notes, Photos, Articles, & More)

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

CHARLES MARTIN SMITH (Director) is a veteran filmmaker and actor with a broad range of credits on both sides of the camera.

He previously directed the 2011 family hit Dolphin Tale, starring Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble and Morgan Freeman, and returned to write and direct its sequel Dolphin Tale 2 in 2014. The first film, which brought the amazing true story of Winter the dolphin to the big screen, earned a Genesis Award nomination from the Humane Society of the United States. He earlier directed and wrote the historical drama Stone of Destiny , for which he won the Best Director Award at the 2009 Palm Beach International Film Festival. The film was also chosen to be the Closing Night Gala at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival and went on to earn a BAFTA Scotland Award nomination for Best Picture, and six Leo Award nominations, including three for Smith for Best Director, Best Screenwriting and Best Picture.

Discovered by a talent agent while performing the role of Sancho Panza in a San Fernando Valley high school production of “Man of La Mancha,” Smith first came to prominence as an actor in the early 1970s. As part of the ensemble cast of George Lucas’ seminal 1973 film American Graffiti , which included Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard, Smith was a standout as nerdy Terry the Toad. His early film credits also include The Buddy Holly Story , Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid , John Carpenter’s Starman, and Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables. Smith earned tremendous praise for his portrayal of the late Farley Mowat, the real-life researcher who braved Canada’s frozen tundra to study wolves, in Carroll Ballard’s 1983 dramatic adventure Never Cry Wolf .

In 2003, he wrote and directed the feature The Snow Walker , based on Mowat’s book Walk Well My Brother and starring Barry Pepper. In addition, he directed the family hit Air Bud , and directed and co-starred in both Fifty/Fifty and the 1986 satirical horror film Trick or Treat .

Smith has also helmed a number of television projects, including the two-hour inaugural episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which launched the hit series; multiple episodes of the Canadian series “Da Vinci’s Inquest,” in which he also had a regular role; and such telefilms as Icon and Roughing It . He also wrote and executive produced the telefilm The Clinic .

GAVIN POLONE (Producer) began his career as an assistant at International Creative Management in 1985 and was promoted to agent shortly thereafter. He left ICM in 1989 to join Bauer/Benedek, a leading boutique agency. Bauer/Benedek evolved into United Talent Agency, where Polone was made partner at age 29. While at UTA, Polone served as head of the television department, until abandoning his career as an agent in 1996 when he partnered with Judy Hofflund to form Hofflund/Polone, a talent management and production company. Through Hofflund/Polone, he was an executive producer on the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” as well as the CW’s “Gilmore Girls.”

In the summer of 2001, Polone started the production company Pariah. Pariah has produced numerous television shows including “Revelations” for NBC, “Tell Me You Love Me” for HBO, “My Boys” for TBS, “The Bachelorette Party” for Oxygen, and “Jane By Design” and “Twisted” for ABC Family.

In feature films, Polone has produced When Trumpets Fade for HBO, Drop Dead Gorgeous for New Line, Stir of Echoes for Artisan, Premium Rush, Panic Room, Secret Window and Zombieland for Columbia Pictures. The independent features Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop , Seeing Other People , and Nerdland. Little Manhattan and My Super Ex-Girlfriend for New Regency and 20th Century Fox, Primeval for Disney, Ghost Town for Dreamworks, and A Dog’s Purpose for Amblin Entertainment. He is currently in post-production for A Dog’s Journey , the sequel to A Dog’s Purpose , and is in pre-production for Zombieland 2 with Columbia Pictures.

He is a contributing editor for the Hollywood Reporter and has written articles for numerous publications including New York Magazine and GQ.

W. BRUCE CAMERON (Screenwriter) is the award-winning author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling book A Dog’s Way Home and his two-book series A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey . A tireless advocate for animal issues, he’s the winner of the Robert Benchley Award for Humor and was named Newspaper Columnist of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He’s been honored by the American Booksellers Association as an Indie Next List Pick and A Dog’s Purpose was in the top 5 in the fiction category of the Goodreads 2010 Choice Awards Readers Poll.

CATHRYN MICHON (Screenwriter) is a screenwriter—along with her husband author W. Bruce Cameron—on all the films made from his novels, including Amblin/Universal’s film A Dog’s Purpose and the upcoming Amblin/Universal film A Dog’s Journey. She is also a film director: she produced, directed and co-wrote the Lionsgate film Cook Off! , in which she also stars, with Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone and Wendy McLendon-Covey. She co-wrote and directed the film Muffin Top: A Love Story, in which she stars with David Arquette, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Retta. She is a former member of Chicago’s Second City, a stand-up comic, and the author of the nationally-bestselling feminist memoir, The Grrl Genius Guide To Life.

ROBERT J. DOHRMANN (Executive Producer) is an executive producer whose feature film credits include The Girl in the Spider’s Web , 10 Cloverfield Lane, Get Hard, 2 Guns, Jeff Who Lives at Home and Sunshine Cleaning. While serving as Line Producer and Production Manager, Dohrmann was on the team for the 2018 critically acclaimed box-office-hit, A Star is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. A 28-year veteran of the industry, Bob has line produced films alongside several high-profile filmmakers including JJ Abrams, Walter Hill, Amy Pascal, Elizabeth Cantalon, Billy Gerber, Jason Reitman, The Duplass Brothers, Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith and Peter Saraf. Bob cut his feature-film-teeth on notable projects such as Little Miss Sunshine , Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Man on Fire and Thank You For Smoking . He has produced and/or managed features including the commercial successes CHIPS, The Cloverfield Paradox, Grudge Match, and The Lucky One. Prior to finding his way into the feature film business, Bob worked in live television, reality TV, commercial, and documentary production. He is a Southern California native and proud UCLA alumnus who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two wonderful children.

T.D. JAKES (Executive Producer) CEO of TDJ Enterprises T.D. Jakes is a master communicator, social entrepreneur and multidimensional business leader. As CEO of TDJ Enterprises, Jakes has more than 40 books in print, including 2017’s Soar which delves into the soul of the entrepreneur; as a producer, his nine films have grossed more than $300 million to date, including 2016’s Miracles from Heaven and Faith under Fire for the Lifetime network in 2018. And, as a thought leader, Jakes has commanded stages from the Aspen Institute to the Peter Drucker CEO Forum at Claremont University to the Dallas Festival of Ideas with AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson. Jakes’ powers of influence also extend to the cover of Time Magazine, and salient commentary offered on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News Channel, and other network programming; his evocative voice can be found in bylined articles in the pages of The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Newsweek, Inc. and Bloomberg/BusinessWEEK. Jakes is an award-winning humanitarian with ongoing initiatives locally, nationally and around the globe in education, healthcare, criminal justice, economic empowerment as well as disaster preparedness, aid and recovery. On Sundays Jakes is pastor to more than 30,000 members with more than 22 million online followers and in his new OTT behind the scenes platform, “Bishop’s Village.” For more information visit www.tdjakes.com.

DERRICK WILLIAMS (Executive Producer)

YU DONG (Executive Producer)

JEFFREY CHAN (Executive Producer)

PETER MENZIES, JR. ACS. (Director of Photography), born in Sydney, Australia, is a second-generation cinematographer internationally known for his diverse and critically acclaimed body of work which spans more than 30 feature films. His body of work is not limited to feature films but also includes television pilots, mini-series and commercials.

Menzies’ work in the fantasy/action genre and his expertise in VFX production on films such as Clash of the Titans, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Incredible Hulk, and Gods of Egypt, made him uniquely qualified to film Director Will Gluck’s blockbuster hybrid interpretation of Beatrix Potter’s, Peter Rabbit in 2018.

Menzies is probably most recognized for his work on action/adventure dramas including Die Hard with a Vengeance, The General’s Daughter, Shooter, Four Brothers, White Sands, The Getaway, Hard Rain, A Time to Kill, including the period adventures, The Thirteenth Warrior and The Great Raid.

Menzies truly enjoys the unique director/cinematographer creative collaboration and has worked with a variety of legendary directors from across the globe, including Bruce Beresford, John Singleton, Simon West, Mikael Salomon, Jon Turteltaub, Roger Donaldson, Sam Raimi, Joel Schumacher, John Dahl, David Nutter, Charles Martin Smith, John McTiernan, Gabrielle Muccino, Will Gluck and Alex Proyas.

Menzies has been married for over 25 years to his wife, and business partner, Denise, and they have three daughters. He is a keen sailor and sports enthusiast; particularly when it comes to Formula One racing or international rugby.

Menzies is a member of the Australian Cinematographer's Society and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

ERIC FRASER (Production Designer) started in film in Toronto before working most of his developmental years in the BC industry. He has worked across Canada and the USA – and occasionally in the Caribbean and Europe. Fraser now spends most of his time between Toronto and Vancouver.

DEBRA NEIL-FISHER (Editor) has been a film editor for over 35 years and is considered one of the most talented and successful female editors in Hollywood. The feature films Neil-Fisher has edited have grossed over two billion worldwide. Her vast library of work includes editing some of the most successful comedies of all time including: Ted 1 & 2 for Seth McFarlane, all three of Todd Phillips' Hangover films, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's Baby Mama , as well as both of Mike Myers' Austin Powers 1 & 2 . Neil-Fisher won an ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical) for The Hangover. Neil-Fisher also edited the romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days as well as the acclaimed Fried Green Tomatoes. Her diverse resume includes working for Michael Bay on the latest Transformers film. Over the past couple of years, Neil-Fisher has worked as a consulting editor for multiple studios, most recently re-working all three of the 50 Shades of Gray films and receiving an Associate Producer credit for her work on 50 Shades Freed .

DAVID CLARK (Editor) is known for his work on comedies such as The Hangover trilogy, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery , Ted and Ted 2 as well as Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Freed.

SABRINA PLISCO ’s (Editor) career spans over 20 years as an editor in both feature films and television with a title list of over 40 projects. The jump into visual effects movies began with Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. More recently she dove into the Marvel World on Doctor Strange . Over the last decade she’s also found a niche in family friendly “hybrid” projects which combine animation and live action in such feature films as Charlott’es Web, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and The Smurfs and Smurfs 2.

In 2015 Plisco was nominated for an Emmy on the A&E television mini-series Houdini. Other television projects include the Dream Works mini-series “Into the West,” “Boomtown,” “Uprising” (ACE Eddie Award nomination), “Trapped in a Purple Haze,” and “Junction Boys,” along with her musical collaborations with Robert Townsend “Livin’ For Love: The Natalie Cole Story,” “Holiday Heart,” “Little Richard.”

MONIQUE PRUDHOMME (costume designer) designed the costumes for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus with the late Heath Ledger. Her work for this film has been recognized with a 2010 Oscar® nomination for Best Costume Design, as well as the award for Best Fantasy Costume Design from the Costume Designers Guild, a Satellite Award for Best Costume Design 2009 and a LEO award in Vancouver

She also designed the costumes for Jason Reitman’s runaway hit comedy Juno , which earned her a nomination for Excellence in Contemporary Costume Design by the Costume Designer Guild.

She started her career as a costume designer in Montreal, Canada, after finishing a BA in Fine Arts. She has designed the costumes for numerous feature films and television projects with stories of adventure, drama and comedy. Her widely varied resume includes The Art of Racing in the Rain, Wonder, If I Stay, Underworld Awakening, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Big Year, Best in Show, Bates Motel, which she was rewarded with a LEO Award for Best Costume Design for a television series, and the mini series Steven King’s “IT” (1990).

She has worked in Canada, Europe, and the USA. She is currently based in Vancouver, Canada.

VIEW ALL 'A DOG’S WAY HOME' PAGES
(Video Reviews, Cast, Crew, Production Notes, Photos, Articles, & More)