For Richer or Poorer - About The Filmmakers

For Richer or Poorer: About The Filmmakers

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BRYAN SPICER (Director) made his feature film directorial debut in 1995 with the highly-successful Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which was released by Twentieth Century Fox. An audience favorite and a boxoffice success, the film brought Spicer critical acclaim for his inventive approach to its high voltage action sequences. His second film, Universal's McHale's Navy, reflected Spicer's first collaboration with The Bubble Factory and his personal mentor, Sid Sheinberg, and capitalized on the young director's talent for working within an intricate comedic action-adventure context.

Spicer began his film industry career working as a production assistant to producer Jay Daniel and director Glen Gordon Caron, for whom he worked on the production of the pilot for the successful television series Moonlighting. Spicer then worked for several years in the insert department at the Stephen J. Cannell Company, which produced such series as Wise Guy, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Stingray and Booker, on which he made his directorial debut.

Spicer began to draw serious industry attention when he became both a director and producer for the trend-setting television series Parker Lewis Can't Lose!, which ran for three seasons on the Fox network. Several top film industry directors and producers, including Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Ivan Reitman and Robert DeNiro, took notice of the way Spicer consistently brought a cinematic scope and style to the medium of television.

The director subsequently delivered a visually stunning two-hour season premiere of the hit underwater adventure series, SeaQuest DSV, which was produced by Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.

Spicer's wide-ranging work in television includes the innovative pilot for the Western series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. and the Emmy winning anthology series, Tribeca, which was produced by Robert DeNiro's production company and starred Kevin Spacey. Spicer also directed the pilot for a comedy series from Ivan Reitman called The First Gentleman as well as Johnny Bago, which was executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Frank Marshall.

JANA HOWINGTON & STEVE LUKANIC (Writers) met 10 years ago while they were both working as production assistants for Stephen J. Cannell Productions. Ironically, there was another production assistant working with them at the time - Bryan Spicer - who, years later, would direct their first film, For Richer or Poorer. They have been writing successfully together for the last 5 years and, in addition to the sale of their first script For Richer or Poorer, have completed the feature film comedy Chain Letter, which was optioned by Disney for Barry Sonnenfeld, and wrote a live-action/animation comedy earlier this year for Dodi Fayed's company, Allied Stars, before his tragic accident.

However, Howington and LuKanic are truly seeing their vision come to life with For Richer or Poorer because while writing the script, they kept a photo of Tim Allen next to their computer, envisioning his voice in the lines they were writing - Tim Allen was Brad Sexton. As fate would have it, a year after the script was sold, Allen's exclusive deal with Disney ended and, after reading the script, he signed on to star in the film.

Howington and LuKanic are currently working on a new comedy spec which will, of course, break all boxoffice records and set new industry standards.

THE BUBBLE FACTORY is an entertainment company formed in July 1995 by partners Sid, Jon and Bill Sheinberg. From its headquarters in Beverly Hills, California, which includes production offices and post production facilities, the company has produced five motion pictures for Universal Studios.

Sid Sheinberg, a leader of the Hollywood entertainment community, and his two sons, Jon and Bill, bring to the family firm an impressive breadth of experience, relationships, energy and creativity.

In June of 1973, SID SHEINBERG was elected President and Chief Operating Officer of MCA, Inc. At that time, he was 38 years old. During the years of his tenure, Universal Pictures, a division of MCA, Inc., released the highest-grossing films of each of the past three decades, beginning with Jaws in 1975, following with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 and concluding with Jurassic Park in 1993. It is no coincidence that Steven Spielberg, a filmmaker whose career began with Sid's assistance, was the director of each of these blockbuster hits.

In 1955, Sid Sheinberg completed a four-year program in three years at Columbia College and subsequently, attended the University of Texas Law School. Although Sid was second in his class, in 1956 he transferred to Columbia Law School, where he was both a Harlan Fiske Stone and a James Kent Scholar.

In the summer of 1958, he arrived in California where he accepted a teaching position at UCLA Law School. In 1959 while awaiting the results of his California Bar Examination, Sid joined the legal department of Revue Productions, MCA's former television subsidiary, and began his career in the entertainment industry.

Sid not only serves on the National Board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews but is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Pitzer College (one of the Claremont group of colleges), serves as Vice Chairman of the Museum of Television and Radio, is a member of the Board of The American Jewish Committee, the Board of Research To Prevent Blindness and the Board of Trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Additionally, Sid serves on The National Board of Human Rights Watch and is co-founder of The Children's Action Network and Hollywood Supports.

He received Columbia College's John Jay Award in 1981 for Distinguished Professional Achievement, the American Jewish Committee's Human Relations Award in 1982, the National Conference of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award in 1983, and Pioneer Of The Year Award in 1984 from the Motion Picture Pioneers, as well as the coveted Chevalier De L'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres in 1984 bestowed by the French Government. In 1987, he received the DeWitt Carter Reddick Award at the University of Texas in Austin, and in 1989 he was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Directors Guild of America for his decades of service on the DGA-AMPTP Creative Rights Committee. He received the AIDS Project Los Angeles Commitment to Life Award in 1991, the Medal of Honor from the American Academy of Achievement in 1994 and the GLADD Award in 1996.

Along with his wife, Lorraine, Sid Sheinberg received the 1995 Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award.

JON SHEINBERG, prior to The Bubble Factory, was Vice President in the motion picture literary department at the William Morris Agency, where his clients included many prominent writers and directors.

From 1989 to 1992, Jon Sheinberg was Senior VP in charge of production at Orion Pictures and was directly responsible for the production of such popular films as Robocop, Platoon, Colors, Silence of the Lambs, Throw Mama From the Train and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Subsequently, while serving as President of Lee Rich Productions at Warner Bros. from 1992 to 1995, he produced Hard to Kill starring Steven Seagal, Passenger 57 starring Wesley Snipes and Innocent Blood, directed by John Landis.

After studies at Franklin College in Switzerland, Jon began his career in the entertainment industry at Columbia Pictures as a senior publicist, where he launched the broadcast promotions department. With his strong leadership and ingenuity, he was soon appointed manager of broadcast promotions. There he developed the first electronic press kit, which brought together feature film clips, documentary "behind-the-scenes" footage and advertising in a videotape format that has become a standard promotions tool in the motion picture industry.

Jon then moved to Lorimar Pictures as Director of television movies and mini-series, where he developed such important projects as Christopher Columbus, Lace, Why Me? and many more. Leaving Lorimar, he was director of creative affairs in the motion picture department of 20th Century Fox.

BILL SHEINBERG became part of the feature film division of MTM Productions in 1986 but was soon asked to join that company's core business as VP of Television Development. In 1990, he was promoted to VP of Creative Affairs and in 1992 to Senior VP of Programming for MTM Television. Bill employed his skills as consummate creative businessman while overseeing the development and subsequent production of all prime time series programming for the broadcast and cable networks, as well as first run syndication. During this tenure, MTM enjoyed success with such shows as Evening Shade, Newhart, The Trials of Rosie O'Neil and The New WKRP in Cincinnati.

Bill left MTM to serve as Senior Vice President at Spelling Television. While there he supervised the development of all series activity including such successes as Madman of the People, Kindred: The Embraced and the hit drama Savannah. Under his guidance, Spelling Television was rewarded with its largest development slate in recent years.

He has received Bachelor degrees in both psychology and sociology from Pitzer College and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California Law Center.

RICHARD BAKER and RICK MESSINA (Executive Producers) are partners in Messina Baker Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based talent management and production company specializing in comedians and comedy writers. Their clients include Tim Allen, Drew Carey and Janeane Garofalo. They made their feature film debut in 1994, executive-producing Tim Allen's smash hit The Santa Clause. They subsequently produced Allen's last film, Jungle2Jungle.

In addition to the two previous Tim Allen movies, Baker and Messina have produced together such television series as The Drew Carey Show (ABC), Small Doses (Comedy Central) and the ACE award winning Full Frontal Comedy (Showtime). They also have produced such stand-up comedy specials as Tim Allen: Men Are Pigs, Tim Allen Rewires America, Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, John Mendoza Over Easy and Ron Shock: Bad Gig Blues.

Baker and Messina bring varied backgrounds and a wide range of skills to their company. Before the launch of the talent management company, Baker was a television producer for many years in New York. He met his future partner Messina while producing the nationally syndicated series Comedy Tonight. Some of his other credits are PBS' Live From Lincoln Center and a series of music specials for MTV, including the late Frank Zappa's Halloween Concert.

Messina has been in the comedy business since the late 1970's when he opened the East Side Comedy Club on Long Island, New York. He later booked talent for more than 20 comedy clubs all over the country, including the New York landmark Dangerfield's. He has also been a comedy talent consultant for numerous television series, including Comedy Tonight, Fox's Comic Strip Live and A&E's Comedy on the Road.

GAYLE FRASER-BAIGELMAN (Executive Producer) is the president of Yorktown Productions, where she is partnered with Norman Jewison and Joanne Moore. Currently, Yorktown is producing a remake of The Incredible Mr. Limpet at Warner Brothers; a romantic comedy at Lakeshore called Why Can't I Be Audrey Hepburn ; an adaptation of a Tobias Wolff short story, The Chain, for HBO/NYC; a new feature for Norman Jewison entitled Thirteen Rising for Mike Medavoy's Phoenix Pictures; a remake of Rollerball at UA; and a thriller called Random Act to be directed by Gustavo Graeff Marino at Initial Entertainment Group. Yorktown has 15 projects in active development.

In the past, Baigelman has executive produced an award-winning anthology series for Showtime entitled Picture Windows, including segments directed by John Boorman, Norman Jewison, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich and Jonathan Kaplan. As well, she executive produced The Regency Film, Bogus starring Gerard Depardieu and Whoopi Goldberg.

Formerly, Baigelman served as a Vice President at Jerry Weintraub Productions where she worked on such projects as the Sylvester Stallone/Sharon Stone starrer The Specialist, Larry McMurty's Pretty Boy Floyd, Pure Country and Karate Kid 4. Prior to that, Baigelman was director of development at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Productions where she worked on films such as Thunderheart and A Bronx Tale. Baigelman began her career working on several films as a freelance production accountant.

Baigelman is an active member of Women in Film, AFI/Third Decade Council, Independent Feature Project/West and The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

MICHAEL S. GLICK (Co-Producer) began his film career in the MGM production estimating department and production office before making his feature film debut as a producer in 1981 with Bustin' Loose. During the years that led up to that film, Glick held the positions of assistant to the producer, second assistant director, first assistant director, production manager and executive in charge of production. He is that rare producer who has a background in both the production and business sides of major studio film production.

From 1982-86, Glick was vice president of film production at Embassy Pictures and Television, during which time he supervised production of a number of films, including A Chorus Line, The Emerald Forest, The Sure Thing, Champions and This Is Spinal Tap, among others. While at Embassy, he also oversaw several television projects such as Kane and Abel, Generations, Heartsounds and A Doctor's Story.

In addition, Glick supervised the films Blow Out and Summer Lovers while holding the position of Vice President of Production at Filmways.

Glick has supervised production (either as a production manager, line producer or studio executive) on more than 30 feature films during his career. Some of his credits include The Godfather, Part II, two of the enormously popular Rocky films in addition to two more films with Sylvester Stallone, Lock Up and Paradise Alley, The Witches of Eastwick, Caddyshack II, Off Limits, Trespass and Geronimo: An American Legend. Most recently, Glick was the co-producer on A Simple Wish.

In addition, Glick has extensive director credits for both film and television, and is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a B.S. in finance and accounting.

BUZZ FEITSHANS IV (Director of Photography) brings years of experience as director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator and underwater director of photography to his work on For Richer Or Poorer. Among many other credits, he has made important creative contributions to such films as Kull The Conqueror as second unit director and visual effects and blue screen director of photography, Dragonheart, The Shadow Conspiracy, The Indian Runner, Dragon, Prancer, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Tombstone, Kuffs and the Mighty Ducks. Immediately prior to beginning work on McHale's Navy, Feitshans served as second unit director and underwater DP on the action-adventure film Daylight, starring Sylvester Stallone, before serving as director of photography on McHale's Navy, which marked his first feature film collaboration with director Bryan Spicer.

Feitshans' television credits as cinematographer include the miniseries Vanishing Son, the HBO telefilm Hit Radio and the pilot for Automatic Avenue. Feitshans first worked with Bryan Spicer when he was the "A" camera and steadicam operator on the Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. series.

RUSSELL DENOVE (Film Editor), like director Bryan Spicer, has extensive credits in television production and brings a special youthful exuberance and vision to his work on For Richer Or Poorer. Denove was editor for the three seasons that the trend-setting series Parker Lewis Can't Lose ran on Fox, and for 26 episodes of the western series, Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., both projects directed by Bryan Spicer.

Denove was supervising editor for the Showtime television series Outer Limits and Poltergeist. He was the editor on the mini-series Twist of Fate and The Zone, as well as the made-for-television movie Robin Cook's Mortal Fear. Denove worked as editor on such series as Police Story, The Heights, Blue Thunder and Crazy Like A Fox.

Most recently, Denove worked again with Bryan Spicer on the feature film McHale's Navy.

STEPHEN HENDRICKSON (Production Designer) most recently worked with The Bubble Factory on A Simple Wish. His other feature film credits include The Scout, Diggstown, Fletch Lives, Eye For An Eye, Wall Street, Major League II, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Arthur, Going in Style and Can't Stop the Music.

Hendrickson's work as a production designer for television commercials garnered him the Clio Award for two consecutive years in 1977 and 1978. In addition, he was nominated for Music Video, American Music and American Video Music Academy Awards for his production design of music videos for Billy Joel and Luther Vandross. Hendrickson's TV credits also include the widely acclaimed telefilm The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom for director Michael Ritchie, with whom he collaborated again on A Simple Wish.

ABIGAIL MURRAY's (Costume Designer) film credits include Kiss the Girls, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Tremors, True Identity, Bloodhounds of Broadway, and the Merchant/Ivory production of The Proprietor.

Murray started her career in the theatre in New York and includes among her credits such prestigious productions as A Man For All Seasons, The Hotel Play, Moon for the Misbegotten and As You Like It.

Born in Philadelphia, Murray studied at the Parsons School of Design, F.I.T. and with Lester Palokov.

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