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Synopsis

Odin's best friend, Hugo Goulding (Josh Hartnett), drawn closely from Shakespeare's nefarious Iago, is a starting forward on the basketball team, and the son of Coach Duke Goulding (Martin Sheen). Hugo has been asked by his father to look out for Odin because of the particular pressures facing him at Palmetto Grove. Yet Hugo is bitterly envious of Odin and the attention Odin receives from the coach and everyone else at school. An introspective and somewhat mysterious young man, Hugo seeks to manipulate those around him to his own private ends.

Placed by his own father in the role of Odin confidante, Hugo is, in reality, seeking to destroy the very person he pretends to befriend. Striking at the very core of Odin's soul, Hugo convinces him that Desi is having an affair with another member of the basketball team, Michael Casio (Andrew Keegan).

Meanwhile, Hugo's rich roommate Roger Rodriguez (Elden Henson), will do anything to be popular. Desperately in love with Desi, Roger becomes another pawn in Hugo's dark scheme. Even Hugo's girlfriend Emily (Rain Phoenix), succumbs to his machinations, playing a part in her roommate Desi's downfall.

As the basketball season comes to a dramatic finish, conflict among the six friends escalates into irrevocable tragedy when Hugo executes a plan prompting Odin to throw away all that he cares about most- the woman he loves, his bright future, his very soul.

The Production

The idea of a contemporary retelling of Othello set in the arena of competitive high-school basketball was that of screenwriter Brad Kaaya. The only black male in an all white high school, Kaaya identified with the heroic figure of Othello for many reasons. Like many teenagers, Brad Kaaya loved to play basketball- and chose to set the conflict of O on a basketball court rather than a battlefield. The male characters in O are warriors on the court, and Odin is the fiercest and most heroic of them all. In a school and a town where basketball is paramount, Odin James is king. This modern adaptation widens its focus to examine the complex lives of a group of teenage basketball stars and their entourage, as well as issues of interracial dating, substance abuse (in particular steroids and cocaine) and school violence.

After developing the screenplay at the Sundance Institute Writers Lab, Kaaya sent the script to director Tim Blake Nelson, who received it while acting on location in Australia in Terrence Malick's THE THIN RED LINE. An Obie Award-winning playwright and director of the film EYE OF GOD, Nelson was initially not interested in yet another teenage adaptation of Shakespeare's work. "I thought there were probably too many teenage Shakespeare adaptations floating on the movie screens, so I resisted even reading the script," says Nelson. "But once I read it, it really stuck with me." Nelson felt Kaaya had modernized Shakespeare's play beautifully, "while infusing it with every bit of passion and human frailty that exists in the original." He agreed to direct.

Nelson and Kaaya worked for a solid year revising the original screenplay. They sent off the script to producers Eric Gitter and Dan Fried, who immediately fell in love with the script. "We're both fans of teen genre films, but we felt that the audience had matured a bit," says Fried. "So many teen films are horror films and comedies, a little bit exploitative but fun. We thought it was time to stop pandering to that audience and give them a film that had some meat on the bone, some real substance."

After reading the script, the producers watched Nelson's earlier film EYE OF GOD and were "blown away by it," says Gitter. "We flew to New York to meet Tim, and had this terrific Italian dinner," he adds. "We knew instantly that this was a project for us after reading the script and meeting with Tim. It was like magic."

The director and producers began a search for the perfect location for the film. They came close to filming in Toronto for economic reasons, but the decision was made to film entirely on location in Charleston, South Carolina, where history and race relations have a unique resonance. This tragic story of a contemporary interracial couple is set against the backdrop of ante-bellum architecture and old oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

"We had collected photographs from film commissions from two dozen cities in the U.S. and Canada," says producer Eric Gitter. "Then we narrowed it down to two- Toronto and Charleston." Fried adds: "Toronto economically the most reasonable place to shoot, but in the middle of the night, after we had already made the decision and told everybody we were going there, I woke up in a sweat and called Eric and said, 'I just don't think we can go to Toronto.' In order to make a more beautiful film, we had to come here. It's just an incredible place."

"Charleston gives the story a specific and pointed setting," says Tim Blake Nelson. "Place Odin on a distinctly ante-bellum campus, in a crisp school uniform, among the similarly dressed scions of former slave-owning families, and the rhetorical value is immeasurable."

The production team then put together an ensemble cast that includes some of Hollywood's finest young actors. Director Tim Blake Nelson refers to the cast as an "astonishing, talented group of good people who possess a level of poise and professionalism well beyond their years." Each and every actor was chosen by Nelson as part of a carefully crafted ensemble.

Nelson put the actors through a rigorous audition process, with the exception of Mekhi Phifer, who he cast in the role of Odin. "I met Mekhi for lunch, spent an hour and a half with him. I watched SOUL FOOD. There was just no doubt, no doubt. He was the person."

Josh Hartnett was cast as Hugo, a role based on Iago, one of Shakespeare's most fascinating and villanous characters. "Josh is James Dean," says producer Fried. "Walks like a movie star, talks like a movie star- he's just Warren Beatty, he's Steve McQueen. And he brings so much to this role. He is able to pull off a diabolical character and still make him seem charming."

For Desi, Nelson cast Julia Stiles, who is no stranger to the work of Shakespeare, having appeared in TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU and HAMLET. "She's such a bright, composed, elegant human being," he says.

Martin Sheen was cast in the role of Coach Duke Goulding, the man who wields power at the school because of the importance of sports. "There's a whole history with Martin Sheen and Tim Nelson that is so cool," says Gitter. "Tim was in Terrence Malick's THE THIN RED LINE, and
Martin had starred in Malick's BADLANDS. It was a long shot for us to get Martin, but I think he and Terry Malick had a soulful conversation about Tim and his directing abilities and Martin was given a lot of confidence in Tim."

"One of the things about having Martin here, above and beyond the fact that he's an incredible actor, is that he has such an effect on everybody here," adds Fried. "These young actors get to see a pro like him work, and he's got more energy than any human I think I've ever come into contact with. He's always got a smile on his face, he's always got time for everybody."

The actors, in turn, are full of praise for their director. According to Julia Stiles, "Tim studied acting a Julliard, and he's an actor so it's really great to work with him as a director. He knows what actors need to make a scene work. He knows how to talk to you so that you don't feel confined at all, you don't feel inhibited. So it's a really open place for you to flourish."

"We have a director who loves the material, and loves the actors and that makes it a thousand times more interesting to come to work," says Hartnett. "It's like you're working in an auto factory, you work for Chrysler and you're putting bolts on a wheel and right next to you is Lee Iacocca. Tim understands what the work is, so it's not hollow at all."

Nelson took great care to explain the significance of setting Othello in a modern-day high school by examining the contemporary themes which draw the audience into the story- guns in high school, interracial relationships, teen sex, racism, the parent-child relationship. He felt these themes must be seen exclusively in the context of O's main theme: the relentless efforts of one boy (Hugo) to tear down the life of someone he envies.

"The sort of violence and level of passion that the characters in Othello experience leads finally to murder and self-destruction," says Nelson. "But these problems are faced today by teenagers. There are high-school shootings. They don't just happen in urban areas. We wanted to make a film that's true and coherent with what's going on in our society."

"Tim showed us some news footage from shootings that had taken place in high schools," says Elden Henson, who plays Roger, Hugo's rich foil. "In this story, there is murder, and it is going on with the youth of today, which is pretty scary. So I think it needs to be shown, but in this script it's not glorified, it's sad, and I hope people will walk away from it thinking twice before going that route." Nelson's aim was "to make the violence of the movie very jarring and realistic, and not at all glorified like the way you see violence in horror movies and things like that," says Julia Stiles. Ultimately, Nelson believes that " the film is startlingly real, and, in the end, devastating."

The basketball sequences in the film function as much more than just exciting sports events. Kaaya and Nelson use these scenes to explore much about the characters and their interrelationships. "In general, the basketball court should be the place where Odin, Hugo, and Michael are in most command of their bodies and their world," says Nelson. "These are boys with drive, stamina, and competitiveness of men."

"These basketball scenes are almost like war," says Phifer, " and this town is a town that is totally about the basketball team and in this school the coach almost has more power than the dean because he has this great basketball team. I think a lot of people are into sports and are going to be able to relate to that."

To ensure the authenticity and intensity of the basketball scenes, a grueling two-week basketball camp was held for the actors before principal photography began. These morning workouts were coached by Dwayne Grace, a former legendary player for the College of Charleston.

"We went through three-hour training sessions every day for two weeks to get the guys mentally prepared for this type of role," says Grace. "When you have a basketball team and you're teaching them how to play and run your plays, it's so different from choreography. Even though the actor's don't make all their shots, I need them to be in the same place every time. And unity is a major factor in any team. We wanted to be treated the same, everybody to work just as hard as the next guy. So we had to treat the main actors the same as the extras."

Nelson felt it was extremely important for his ensemble to go back to Shakespeare and explore the original roles. "I trained as an actor, and for the lack of a better way of putting it, if you can do the classics, particularly Shakespeare, you can do anything," he says. "To come together around any Shakespeare text as a company, and to work on it together and apply some of the rules which one learns as an actor, is enormously valuable. This author was an actor who wrote for actors." Each afternoon the cast rehearsed Othello, with each actor playing the respective part from which their own character was derived. They all feel these rehearsals were invaluable to their individual and collective performances in O.

"Because of the intensity of the way Shakespeare wrote dialogue, there is so much added emotion," says Rain Phoenix. "Having rehearsed from the original added so much depth to the characters."

Once on location, the actors bonded together, living in a dorm-like setting which added to the reality of the shoot. Julia Stiles comments: "It's great that we're in South Carolina because we were taken out of our home environments and forced to spend time with one another. We've gotten to know each other better and feel more comfortable working together." Since the characters are friends who live together in a boarding school, the way the actors bonded off-set is very important for the texture of the story.

As Mekhi Phifer puts it: "There is a lot of camaraderie on this set. You know, nobody just leaves after they get their close-up. We all stay and stick it out for each other. And I think that's one thing that's going to come across on the screen very well- we're all in sync with each other, and it's a great feeling."

The current popularity of films based on Shakespeare's play speaks to the fundamental brilliance and timeless quality of these stories. "A lot of people are intimidated by the language of the work, but underneath it there are some really powerful stories and great characters which teenagers can relate to themselves," says Stiles. "Shakespeare also writes really great parts for women, which is ironic because they didn't even have female actors then." Josh Hartnett adds: "Shakespeare wrote such great human stories, about love, about jealousy, about the basest emotions possible, and that's interesting and always will be."

Finally, the filmmakers and cast wrestled with the ultimate question: Why does Hugo destroy those around him? Nelson and Hartnett tried to explore the character in a different way. "It's always more interesting to see things unfolding because you want to watch a character discover where they're going much as the audience is doing," says Nelson. "Josh and I have taken the stance that Hugo is discovering this as he goes along. To play Iago or Hugo as this master manipulator and only that, to assume that he's got it all mapped out beforehand, is the least interesting way to approach the situation."

"I think Hugo's feelings for Odin are very pure," says Hartnett. "When you start out with extreme love for someone, or respect, and then it turns bad it turns real bad. Hugo is a master of being in a situation and being outside of it at the same time, being able to convince himself that he believes what he's saying and at the same time knowing that he's really trying to get somebody."

"Iago love Othello deeply, but the play proposes that envy can eclipse that. Iago at the end never explains why he did it," Nelson continues. "This is an Elizabethan play, and here we have a playwright who is proposing that there is a level of evil which is human, an which defies explanation. There is a kernel of evil in all of us which you cannot explain, and which will not be explained."

The Cast

MEKHI PHIFER - (Odin James)
Mekhi Phifer was already familiar with Othello, as he was a big fan of the Lawrence Fishburne film version of Shakespeare's great tragedy. He was excited to be offered a leading role in a script that did such an excellent job of bringing the characters and themes into the present day.
"I knew the Othello story already, and this script just followed it to a 'tee,' but modernized it. When I first read it I fell in love with it. What Shakespeare wrote is timeless. He knew how to add love, and trials and tribulations, heartache and passion, and a lot of other human qualities that we all have and just make it into a work of art. But if you change up the language a little bit and make it more accessible to the general public, I think people will be able to relate to it a lot more."
Born and raised in New York City, Phifer started acting when he went on an open casting call for Spike Lee's CLOCKERS and won the lead role. Starring opposite Harvey Keitel, John Turturro and Delro Lindo, Phifer garnered critical acclaim for his compelling performance as Strike, a young New Jersey drug dealer involved in a murder cover-up. Following his impressive screen debut, Phifer appeared in the comedy spoof HIGH SCHOOL HIGH.
Phifer was recently seen starring in I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and the HBO original move A LESSON BEFORE DYING, opposite Don Cheadle and Cicely Tyson. In the film, based on Ernest Gaines' best-selling novel, Phifer stars as a young man wrongly accused of murder who is sent to death row. Phifer was also seen in the successful family drama SOUL FOOD, as Lem, an ex-convict struggling to land a decent job and become accepted by his wife's family.

Phifer's television credits include starring roles in the HBO Original Film THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN and SUBWAY STORIES, as well as guest appearances on the police dramas HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET and NEW YORK UNDERCOVER. Mekhi was most recently seen in MTV's CARMEN: A HIP HOPERA.

JOSH HARTNETT- (Hugo)
The role of the complex, secretive and envious Hugo went to young actor Josh Hartnett. Although O is based on Othello, director Tim Nelson felt that everything must be seen through the prism of Hugo's, not Odin's, eyes. "The audience must register each moment of the film through the prism of Hugo's journey," he says. "How whatever occurs might please, infuriate, distract, or impel him." It is Hugo who causes the tragic actions of all of the characters in the play by his own actions.

It was Hartnett's own presence which impressed Nelson enough to cast him in the pivotal role of Hugo. "Josh exudes mystery and sexuality," says Nelson. "When speaking with him, you feel he's holding something back, and he makes you desperate to know what that is."

Born in San Francisco and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hartnett became an actor at an early age. He played various roles in Minneapolis stage productions and was featured in several national commercials. After graduating from high school, Josh attended SUNY Purchase, New York, and studied in the acting program. In February of 1997, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue film and television work, quickly landing his first role in the ABC drama CRACKER.

Josh can currently be seen starring in the much anticipated Touchstone film, "Pearl Harbor." Directed by Michael Bay ("Armageddon") and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, this World War II drama focuses on the lives of two Army Air Corps pilots and best friends (Hartnett and Ben Affleck) who fall in love with the same Navy nurse.

Josh is currently re-teamed with producer Jerry Bruckheimer shooting a starring role in Revolution Studios' "Black Hawk Down" for director Ridley Scott. The film, which is based on Mark Bowden's 1999 nonfiction novel of the same name, tells the true story of the longest sustained battle involving American troops since the Vietnam War, which took place October 3, 1993, in Somalia during an ill-fated U.S. Humanitarian mission. Josh will plays a young soldier on his first combat mission.

In January of next year, Josh will star in Miramax's "40 Days and 40 Nights," a romantic comedy about a man's quest to be abstinent. Michael Lehmann is directing the film for Working Title and it will be distributed by Universal and Miramax. The story follows a guy (Hartnett), who, after a brutal breakup, vows to stay celibate during the 40 days of Lent. During that period, he finds the girl of his dreams but is unable to do anything about it.

Josh was recently seen in the critically acclaimed black comedy "The Virgin Suicides," opposite James Woods, Kathleen Turner and Kirsten Dunst. The Paramount Classics film, which was well received at last year's Cannes Film Festival in addition to the Sundance Film Festival, was produced by Francis Ford Coppola for American Zoetrope and is the directorial debut for his daughter, Sofia. Hartnett also starred in Miramax and Intermedia's black comedy "Blow Dry," opposite Alan Rickman ("Dogma") and Rachel Griffiths ("Hilary and Jackie"). Directed by Paddy Breathnach ("I Went Down") from a script by Simon Beaufoy.

Josh made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in "Halloween: H20," for which he was honored with an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance. The film was a big success for the "Halloween" franchise, domestically grossing more than $60 million. He followed that up with another Miramax project, starring in "The Faculty." This sci-fi thriller, written by Kevin Williamson ("Scream", "Dawson's Creek") and directed by Robert Rodriguez (*Desperado*), mixed elements of horror, sci-fi and comedy.

JULIA STILES - (Desi Brable)
Julia Stiles exhibits a rare sophistication in the characters she plays. She was last seen starring in the Paramount/ MTV megahit, "Save The Last Dance," for which she was nominated for two MTV Movie Awards. The film opened to strong reviews as well as the #1 position at the boxoffice for its first two weeks in release. As a result, Paramount Pictures and MTV Films signed Stiles to an open-ended development and production deal.

Stiles has numerous upcoming films in addition to Tim Blake Nelson's "O." Stiles also stars in Patrick Stettner's independent feature, "The Business of Strangers" opposite Stockard Channing. Having premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, "The Business of Strangers" is a tale of competition, power and control that centers on an executive (Channing) and her assistant (Stiles) who enter a psychological game of cat-and-mouse that forces them down a path of self discovery. The film is expected for release by IFC Films in late Fall 2001. In addition, Stiles makes a cameo in Doug Liman's "Bourne Identity" starring Matt Damon and Franka Potente for Universal.

Recently, Stiles co-starred in David Mamet's "State & Main" for Fine Line with William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Sarah Jessica Parker. In addition, Julia starred as Ophelia in Miramax's contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" directed by Michael Almereyda. Stiles starred opposite Ethan Hawke and an ensemble cast including Bill Murray, Diane Venora, Sam Shepard, Kyle MacLachlan, Jeffrey Wright and Liev Schrieber.

Stiles previous credits include Disney's acclaimed comedy hit, "Ten Things I Hate About You" for which she earned a MTV Movie Award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance in June 2000 and the Chicago Film Critics Award for Most Promising Actress. Directed by Gil Junger, the film is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." Stiles also made a lasting impression with her riveting performance in Michael Steinberg's critically acclaimed drama, "Wicked" which premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and the Prague Film Festival. Additional film credits include Miramax's "Down To You" opposite Freddie Prinze Jr., Alan J. Pakula's "The Devil's Own" with Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt, "I Love You, I Love You Not" with Claire Danes, and M. Night Shyamalan's "Wide Awake" with Rosie O'Donnell.

As a writer, Stiles screenplay "The Anarchist's Daughter," was chosen as one of twelve scripts to be included in the Sundance Institute's Writers' Lab.

On television, Stiles starred in the ambitious NBC mini-series, "The Sixties," with Jerry O'Connell and Josh Charles from producer Lynda Obst. Stiles also starred opposite Ellen Barkin and Oprah Winfrey in the ABC/Harpo Films special presentation, "Before Women Had Wings." Additionally, her performance as a young unwed mother opposite Isabella Rossellini in an episode of the CBS drama "Chicago Hope" garnered critical praise.

Stiles began her career on the New York stage, appearing in a number of plays at the LA Mama Theater and the Kitchen Theater, including "Everyday Newt Burman, Matthew: School of Life." Julia also starred in Mac Welmann's "The Sandalwood Box." Most recently, Julia starred in Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" with Gloria Reuben and Mary Testa at the Westside Theatre in New York.

ANDREW KEEGAN - (Michael Casio)
Andrew Keegan plays Michael, the young man whose innocent friendship with Desi is manipulated by Hugo for his own secret purposes.

Keegan has established himself as one of the hottest and most sought after young actors in Hollywood today, amassing a body of work which has garnered both critical acclaim and popular support. Keegan, no stranger to modern reworkings of Shakespeare, recently starred in Disney's 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. He gained attention with his turn as an unmarried teenage father on the highly successful WB drama 7TH HEAVEN. Concurrently, he appeared as the object of Claudia's affection (Lacey Chabert's) on FOX's smash hit PARTY OF FIVE.

Keegan has also completed production on the short film EVERYDAY, about three high school boys in a small Minnesota town whose dreams of becoming Buddy holly and the Crickets are put on hold when a plane crashes in Iowa killing the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly. Keegan served as an associate producer on the film in addition to playing a starring role.

Keegan is currently co-producing the independent feature film THE CONTRACT.

RAIN PHOENIX - (Emily)
Rain Phoenix portrays Emily, the best friend of Desi and the girlfriend of Hugo whose complicity with Hugo's wishes has tragic consequences for all concerned. She was excited to read for the part when she realized the director was Tim Blake Nelson, for she had seen Nelson's previous film, EYE OF GOD, at Sundance the year before and loved it.

Born in Crockett, Texas, Phoenix began her career at the age of three singing with her brother River, who played guitar. The natural inclination towards the world of music which runs through the Phoenix family is evident in Rain's talent as a diversified artist. Her unique musical and dramatic talents stem from a family whose love of the arts was prominently featured in the early years. It is this same artistic environment that has played a major role in the formation of Rain's emerging career as both an actress and a singer.

Following her musical passions, Rain formed a band with her brother River in 1988, known as Aleka's Attic. She also toured with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers for a year and a half and was guest back-up vocals on the featured song "Bang Blame" on REM's hit album "Monster." Phoenix was also a guest vocalist on the Thermadore's album "Monkey on Rico" on the song "Everything's Allright."

Merging on the natural connections between music and drama, she began auditioning for television roles and landed guest roles on such series as FAMILY TIES with Michael J. Fox and AMAZING STORIES. Her first feature film was in the Amy Holden Jones film MAID TO ORDER (1987), starring Ally Sheedy and Beverly D'Angelo. In 1991 she appeared as Bonanza Jelly Bean in Gus Van Sant's EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES. And in 1994, she joined her brother Joaquin in Gus Van Sant's critically acclaimed TO DIE FOR. Three years later, she modeled for CK1, the Calvin Klein television campaign, and for Levis in a Dockers print campaign, shot by renowned photographer Annie Liebovitz.

Phoenix recently completed two independent films, I WOKE UP EARLY THE DAY I DIED, directed by Aris Iliopolus from a previously unpublished Ed wood script, also stars Billy Zane, Rosanna Arquette, and Christina Ricci, along with Rain's sister Summer. Rain will also be seen co-starring with Jason London in the comedy-drama SPENT, directed by Gil Cates Jr.

MARTIN SHEEN - (Coach Goulding)
Martin Sheen plays Coach Duke Goulding, whose love for the game of basketball and those who play it well drives his son Hugo to extreme measures.

Two classic film performances of all time belong to Sheen: that of the cold-hearted killer Kit Caruthers in Terrence Malick's film BADLANDS (1973), and his role as Captain Benjamin L. Willard, the soldier led into the heart of the jungle to find the soul of evil, in Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW (1979).

Currently seen in NBC's smash hit THE WEST WING, portraying President Josiah Bartlet, Sheen has won an Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, and Golden Globe award for his performance.

Sheen has also appeared in DA, JUDGEMENT IN BERLIN, WALL STREET, FIRESTARTER, THE DEAD ZONE, GANDHI, THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON, FINAL COUNTDOWN, THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIES DOWN IN THE LANE, and many, many others.

ELDEN HENSON - (Roger Rodriguez)
Elden Henson stars as Roger, the driven, rich friend of Hugo, whose obsession to possess Desi plays into Hugo's secret plans.

Henson has appeared in a number of films, including SHE'S ALL THAT, directed by Robert Iscove, THE MIGHTY, directed by Roman Flenders, Annette Haywood-Carter's FOX FIRE, and all three MIGHTY DUCKS. Other film appearances include Richard Donner's RADIO FLYER, DANCE AND CHARM SCHOOL, RADIOACTIVE DREAMS, and THE VERDICT.

On television Henson has been seen as a series regular on VALUE TALES and THE DOM DELUISE SHOW. He has a contracted role in the daytime series AS THE WORLD TURNS, and has made guest appearances on network shows from HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN to AMAZING STORIES to FAME to FIRST IN TEN.

The Filmmakers

TIM BLAKE NELSON - Director

Tim Blake Nelson most recently co-starred in the Coen Brother's acclaimed hit O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? with George Clooney and John Turturro.

Nelson's screen acting credits also include Terrence Malick's THE THIN RED LINE, Mike Newell's DONNIE BRASCO, Hal Hartley's AMATEUR, Nora Ephron's THIS IS MY LIFE, and Larry McMurtry's DEAD MAN'S WALK.

Currently, Nelson is in post production on THE GREY ZONE, which he wrote and directed, starring Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Mira Sorvino, David Arquette, Allan Corduner and Natasha Lyonne. This film is a dramatic story of the Sonderkommandos, special squads of Jews who processed corpses in the crematoria at Birkenau. Shot in Bulgaria during the summer of 2000, THE GREY ZONE is based on his Award winning play.

Nelson wrote and directed the film EYE OF GOD, starring Martha Plimpton, Hal Holbrook, and Kevin Anderson, which appeared at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States later that year. The film received the top award at the 1997 Seattle Film Festival, as well as the Tokyo Bronze Prize at the Tokyo Film Festival.

As a playwright, Nelson's produced plays include The Grey Zone, Eye of God and Anna Darko. He has also acted extensively in New York Theatre. Tim's credits include Oedipus, Troilus and Cressida, Les Bourgeois Avant-Garde, Mac Wellman's Dracula, The Amazon's Voice, An Imaginary Life, The Baltimore Waltz, Mad Forest, The Innocents Crusade, Richard III, and Twelfth Night.

Nelson recently wrapped production on Steven Spielberg's MINORITY REPORT, co-starring Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton and Colin Farrell and Finn Taylor's CHERISH with Robin Tunney, Nora Dunn and David Arquette.

ERIC GITTER & LISA GITTER - Producer and Co-Producer

Brother and sister team Eric and Lisa Gitter are principals of Chickie The Cop Productions, Inc., an independent Motion Picture Company based in Los Angeles, California. The Gitters had previously written and produced the indie film BIG PACKAGES, currently being represented by United Talent Agency. Among their upcoming projects is the dark comedy WILDLIFE INCORPORATED to be directed by Jim Fall (TRICK), which is scheduled to start shooting at the end of this year. They are also completing two scripts with their writing partner (and sibling) Marshall Gitter.

Prior to co-founding CTC Productions in 1996, the Gitters ran their own business consulting Firm, specializing in the securing of corporate debt and equity financing. They also served as principals of the sports agency Pro Star Management, managing the careers of numerous professional athletes as well as working on athletic events with Time Warner Sports, Madison Square Garden, Top Rank, ESPN and hotel casinos such as Trump Plaza, Trump Castle, Caesars Palace, Bally's and Harrah's.

DANIEL FRIED - Producer

A graduate of Cornell University, Daniel Fried started his entertainment career with a stint in the mailroom of United Talent Agency. From there, it was on to his brother Rob's production company; Fried Films, which later became Fried/Woods Films. As Director of Development for Fried/Woods he worked on films such as SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER, RUDY, ONLY YOU and the Academy Award winning live action short SESSION MAN. In 1994, Dan became Director of Development for Savoy pictures where THE STUPIDS and A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE were among the projects he participated in. Dan became an independent producer in 1996 and is currently working on over a dozen projects including AMERICAN KNIGHT, a biopic on the life of humanitarian Sir Edward Artis, and HELL AND HALF OF GEORGIA with Emmy Award winning Charles Dutton.

BRAD KAAYA - Screenwriter

With a degree in economics at UC Davi,s Kaaya's first writing gig was Showtime's "Sherman Oaks," for which he also performed. Following that, he landed jobs scribing for Comedy Central, a Warner Brothers animated series "Waynehead", several seasons on Mad TV, the sitcom "Malcolm And Eddie," as well as several pilots for both Fox and HBO. Kaaya co-wrote the Jersey Films/Universal comedy feature HOW HIGH, due out in February. Most recently, Kaaya wrote one-hour dramatic pilots for Paramount and USA Studios and is currently developing two original projects with Dimension and Universal.

RUSSELL LEE FINE - Director of Photography

In addition to lensing Tim Blake Nelson's EYE OF GOD, O, and the upcoming THE GREY ZONE, Russell Lee Fine also served as Director of Photography on such films as Bruce Wagner's upcoming digital feature WOMEN IN FILM, which is part of IFC's "Indigent" series, artist Cindy Sherman's OFFICE KILLER, and Jim McKay's acclaimed GIRL'S TOWN.

DINA GOLDMAN - Production Designer

Dina Goldman came to production design from an art and theatre background. While at Wesleyan University, Dina as a director took her play, "The Ride Across Lake Constance," to the prestigious Edinburgh Theatre Festival.

In 1995 Dina returned to New York, and began working her way up in film through the art department. She worked as a set decorator on MANNY AND LO and BREATHING ROOM. Dina designed her first feature in late 1995, and has since designed noted features: WHATEVER, Sundance in 1996, and BLOWIN' SMOKE with Steve Zahn. Dina's work will soon be seen in THE BUSINESS OF STRANGERS, starring Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles, and MARTIN & ORLOFF, starring members of the Upright Citizens Brigade.

KATE SANFORD - Editor

Kate Sanford has edited numerous feature films and also works on series television. Her current project is a new comedy/drama series for Fox created by Glenn Gordon Caron, titled "When I Grow Up." Last year she edited several episodes of Caron's CBS series "Now And Again," and her earlier television work includes episodes of HBO's "Sex And The City."

O is Kate's second collaboration with filmmaker Tim Blake Nelson, whose first independent feature, EYE OF GOD, screened at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Another longtime collaboration has been with director Michael Corrente, including OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE, AMERICAN BUFFALO, and Michael's debut feature FEDERAL HILL.

Other projects include Bart Freundlich's WORLD TRAVELER, starring Billy Crudup and Julianne Moore, Gary Winick's THE TIC CODE, which won Best Children's Film at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival, and Seth Rosenfeld's KING OF THE JUNGLE, starring John Leguizamo.

A partial list of her feature credits as an assistant/apprentice include Anthony Minghella's MR. WONDERFUL, Hal Hartley's TRUST, Martin Scorsese's GOODFELLAS, Nancy Savoca's TRUE LOVE, and John Sayles' EIGHT MEN OUT.