Red
Planet Press Release
The below Press Release from Warner
Brothers was found over on The
Val Kilmer Newsletter. It contains information about the actors
of RED PLANET and a little synopses of the story. 10/18/99
WARNER BROTHERS PRESS RELEASE
9.17.99
RED PLANET Starring Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne
Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker and Terence Stamp,
Begins Production
Mars Production Pty. Ltd. Production to Be
Distributed by
Warner Bros. and, in Select Territories,
by Village Roadshow
Principal photography began Aug. 30, 1999,
on "Red Planet," a psychological adventure-drama starring Val Kilmer,
Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker and
Terence Stamp.
The announcement was made Friday by Lorenzo
di Bonaventura, president of Worldwide Production, Warner Bros.
Pictures, and Bruce Berman, Village Roadshow chairman and chief
executive officer, whose companies will distribute the completed
film.
"Red Planet" is directed by Antony Hoffman
and produced by Mark Canton, Berman and Jorge Saralegui. It is executive-produced
by Charlie Schlissel, Andrew Mason and Chuck Pfarrer, and written
by Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin.
Set in the near future, "Red Planet" follows
a team of American astronauts making the first manned expedition
to Mars. Earth has become a dying planet, and a new colony on Mars
is now humanity's only hope.
The astronauts, each a specialist in a different
field, struggle to overcome the differences of their personalities,
backgrounds and ideologies.
When their equipment suffers life-threatening
damage and the crew must depend on one another for survival on the
hostile surface of Mars, their doubts, fears and questions about
God, man's destiny and the irrefutable nature of the universe become
defining elements in their fates.
Principal photography will take place in
Australia and Jordan. The Mars Production Pty. Ltd. production will
be distributed by Warner Bros. and, in select territories, by Village
Roadshow.
Kilmer was most recently seen in Irwin Winkler's
"At First Sight" and heard as the voice of Moses in "Prince of Egypt."
Kilmer starred in "The Saint," "Batman Forever" (as billionaire
Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman), "The Doors" (as Jim Morrison)
and "True Romance" (as Elvis Presley) and played the title role
in "Billy the Kid." He also starred with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino
in "Heat" and appeared opposite Marlon Brando in "The Island of
Dr. Moreau."
Kilmer made his film debut in "Top Secret,"
followed by "Real Genius," "Top Gun," "Willow," "Thunderheart" and
"Wings of Courage." On television, he received a CableACE Award
nomination for his acclaimed work in the HBO telefeature "The Man
Who Broke 1,000 Chains."
Moss' recent role in the Wachowski brothers'
international smash-hit film "The Matrix" has landed her in the
Hollywood spotlight. Moss recently completed production on the mobster
comedy "The Crew" for Barry Sonnenfeld and Barry Josephson, and
will next star opposite Guy Pearce in the independent thriller "Memento."
Moss has appeared in a number of television
series, including "Models Inc.," and in 1996 she guest-starred in
"Due South," for which she received a nomination for the Gemini
Award. Her feature-film credits include starring roles in "Sabotage"
and "The Secret Life of Algernon."
Sizemore most recently starred in Steven
Spielberg's Academy Award-winning "Saving Private Ryan" and will
next be seen in Martin Scorsese's "Bringing Out the Dead" opposite
Nicolas Cage. Sizemore recently completed a starring role in Ron
Shelton's "Play It to the Bone" (along with Woody Harrelson and
Antonio Banderas) and in the HBO telefeature "Witness Protection."
Sizemore's additional feature credits include
both Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Natural Born
Killers," "The Relic," "Heat," "Devil in a Blue Dress," "Strange
Days," "Heart and Souls," "True Romance," "Wyatt Earp," "Passenger
57," "Watch It," "The Florentine," "The Match" and "Guilty by Suspicion."
He also starred as Mafia figure John Gotti in NBC's highly successful
miniseries "Witness to the Mob."
After starring in several television projects
and feature films, Emmy-nominated actor Bratt came to national attention
as Detective Rey Curtis on the long-running and award-winning series
"Law & Order." Bratt's upcoming motion-picture projects include
John Schlesinger's "The Next Best Thing" opposite Madonna and Rupert
Everett, and "The Last Producer," in which he stars with Burt Reynolds.
Bratt's feature-film credits include "Follow
Me Home" (on which he served as producer), "Clear and Present Danger,"
"The River Wild," "Demolition Man," "Bound by Honor," "One Good
Cop," "Bright Angel" and "Chains of Gold." He also starred in the
Showtime telefeature "Woman Undone"; the series "Nasty Boys," "Knightwatch"
and "Juarez"; the miniseries "James Michener's Texas"; and the telefeature
"Gladiator School."
Australian-born Baker was most recently seen
in the acclaimed film "L.A. Confidential" and will next be seen
in the feature "Sunset Strip" opposite Anna Friel, Jared Leto and
Nick Stahl. Baker will also be seen in Ang Lee's Civil War ensemble
drama "Ride With the Devil" (slated for the 1999 Deauville Film
Festival and as a gala presentation at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival).
His other film credits include "Judas Kiss,"
"Restaurant" and "Love From Ground Zero." Baker's television credits
include the lead role in the CBS pilot "The Last Best Place" and
"Naked: The Blind Side Breakaway" and a guest lead role in "Sweat."
Stamp made his motion-picture debut in Peter
Ustinov's screen version of Melville's "Billy Bud"; Stamp's work
in the title role earned him an Academy Award nomination and international
attention.
He followed that by collaborating with some
of Hollywood's finest filmmakers, on William Wyler's "The Collector,"
Joseph Losey's "Modesty Blaise," John Schlesinger's "Far From the
Madding Crowd," Ken Loach's "Poor Cow," Federico Fellini's "Spirits
of the Dead" and Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Theorema."
His subsequent film credits include "The
Mind of Mr. Soames," "Superman" and "Superman II," "Meetings With
Remarkable Men," "The Hit," "Link," "Legal Eagles," "The Sicilian,"
"Wall Street," "Prince of Shadows" and "The Adventures of Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert."
Stamp was most recently seen in George Lucas'
"Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" and stars in Steven
Soderbergh's "The Limey," which premiered at this year's Cannes
Film Festival.
Hoffman attended the American Film Institute
and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles, becoming
a lauded television commercial director whose work on the Budweiser
spot "Clydesdales" won him international acclaim. In 1996, he won
the Cannes Gold Lion; in New York, he won an AICP Cinematography
Award and two Clios, for Direction and Sound Design.
Hoffman has worked on campaigns for such
products as Miller Genuine Draft, Boeing, American Airlines, MCI,
Marlboro, Michelin and Nike. "Red Planet" marks Hoffman's feature-film
directing debut.
Canton has been a pre-eminent force in the
entertainment industry over the past two decades. Most recently,
his production entity, The Canton Co., has located at Warner Bros.,
where Canton began his career as a studio executive, moving from
vice president of production to president of Worldwide Theatrical
Production. While at Warner Bros., Canton created two major motion-picture
franchises, the "Batman" and "Lethal Weapon" series.
From 1990 to 1996, Canton served as a top
executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), most recently as
chairman of Columbia-TriStar. Among the productions he green-lit
and supervised are "Jerry Maguire," "My Best Friend's Wedding,"
"Men in Black" and "Air Force One." In addition, Canton initiated
the Sony hit films "As Good as It Gets," "Godzilla" and "Zorro."
During 1997, the studio broke all box-office
records, earning $2.4 billion from pictures green-lit by Canton.
Canton is currently in production on the
WB television series "Jack & Jill" and is in advanced development
on six feature films and several other television series.
Berman joined the production department of
Warner Bros., rising through the ranks of executives to become president
of Worldwide Theatrical Production.
Under his aegis, the studio produced and
distributed such titles as the Oscar-winning "Driving Miss Daisy,"
as well as "GoodFellas," "Presumed Innocent," "Robin Hood: Prince
of Thieves," "Batman Forever," "Malcolm X," "The Bodyguard," "JFK,"
"The Fugitive," "Dave," "A Time to Kill" and "Twister."
In 1996, Berman started Plan B Entertainment,
the Warner Bros.-based independent production company, which was
later acquired by Village Roadshow Pictures. Village Roadshow Pictures,
where Berman now holds the post of chairman and chief executive
officer, currently has 25 projects in various stages of development
at Warner Bros.
Most recently, Berman executive-produced
"Deep Blue Sea," "The Matrix," "Analyze This" and "Practical Magic";
over the coming year, he will executive-produce the upcoming "Three
Kings," "Three to Tango" and "Gossip" through Village Roadshow's
relationship with Warner Bros.
Saralegui segued from Twentieth Century Fox
to Warner Bros. as an independent producer in January 1998. After
a career as a novelist in San Francisco, Saralegui joined Fox as
a reader in 1989, quickly becoming a creative executive and moving
through the ranks, eventually reaching the position of executive
vice president of Production.
Among the films he oversaw during his tenure
at Fox are "Speed," "Independence Day," "Broken Arrow," "Die Hard
With a Vengeance" and "Alien Resurrection." Since founding his production
company, Material, Saralegui is currently packaging "Showtime,"
"Replay" and "The Queen of the Damned" at Warner Bros., and "End
Game" at Mandalay Pictures.
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