Director Wes Craven's imagery and storytelling has entranced and haunted
audiences worldwide. Craven has written and helmed such films as "Wes
Craven's New Nightmare," nominated for Best Feature at the Independent
Feature Project West's 1995 Spirit Awards, "The People Under the Stairs,"
"Shockers," the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street"
and "Swamp Thing." Craven also directed "Vampire in Brooklyn,"
"The Serpent and the Rainbow" and "Deadly Friend." Craven
made his film debut with two seminal genre films: "Last House on the
Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes," both of which he wrote,
directed and edited.
For television, Craven helped create and produce the series "Nightmare
Cafe"; directed the telefilms "Night Visions," "A Stranger
in Our House," "Invitation to Hell," "Chiller"
and "Casebusters." He aso directed seven of the most frequently
repeated 1980's "Twilight Zone" episodes.
Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Wheaton College in Illinois.
He holds a Master's degree in writing and philosophy from John Hopkins University
in Baltimore. Before beginning his film career, Craven worked in a wide
variety of jobs, from college humanities professor to New York cab driver.
It is the wealth of experiences gathered in these early years that informs
the complex, startling and often funny humanity of his terrifying films.
CARY WOODS
Whether making movies in the commercial mainstream or on the cutting edge,
producer Cary Woods is known for his independent thinking. For Woods, independent
filmaking is more than a film financing strategy - it is about finding success
in unexpected ways, from bringing original ideas and fresh talent together
to meshing classic storylines with the unique perspectives of new visionaries.
Woods has reinforced his commitment to independent filmmaking with the creation
of Independent Pictures, an offshoot of Woods Entertainment dedicated to
fostering an eclectic mix of artistic innovation and commercial sensibility.
"Kids," the first release under the Independent Picture banner,
set both the tone and the standard for the label by tackling the subject
of urban adolescence in an explosively original way. Praised by many for
its stark realism and dynamic style, "Kids" has been called "a
wake-up call to America" by the New York Times and "a masterpiece"
by the Village Voice and Film Comment.
Also under the Independent Pictures banner are "Citizen Ruth"
and "Swingers," both released in fall 1996. "Citizen Ruth,"
an irreverent tale about fanaticism on both sides of the abortion issues,
stars Laura Dern and Burt Reynolds, with Alexander Payne directing. "Swingers,"
directed by Doug Liman, is a comedy in the tradition of "Diner,"
written and co-produced by "Rudy" alumnus Jon Favreau, starring
Favreau and Vince Vaughn.
Along with "Scream," soon to be released is "Wide Awake,"
a humorous drama about a ten-year-old boy searching for God, featuring Rosie
O'Donnell, Denis Leary and Dana Delaney.
Currently in post-production is "Copland," a contemporary police
drama in the spirit of "On the Waterfront" and "High Noon."
In a remarkable casting coup, Sylvester Stallone agreed to play the lead
in "Copland" citing his desire to return to character-driven independent
films. Also in post, yet quite different, is "Gummo," written
and directed by "Kids" author Harmony Korine. "Gummo"
is a strangely beautiful and poetic reflection of the inner lives of the
alternately troubled, confused, rebellious, hilarious and joyful youth who
populates Korine's vision of America.
Last year, Woods produced "Beautiful Girls," directed by Ted Demme
and starring Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Rosie O'Donnell, Timothy Hutton and
Michael Rapaport. He also produced "Things to do in Denver When You're
Dead," directed by Gary Fleder and starring Andy Garcia, Christopher
Walken, Christopher Lloyd, Treat Williams, Gabrielle Anwar and Steve Buscemi.
Going forward, Woods has numerous projects in active development and pre-production.
He will bring his innovative, energetic approach to material in two much-anticipated
remakes: a contemporary version of the sci-fi classic "Godzilla"
to be written by 1D4 creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin for Sony Pictures,
and an updating of the Elaine May Classic "A New Leaf," for Paramount,
to be directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Currently gearing up for production
early next year, with Andy Fleming directing, is "Kate & Leopold,"
a romantic comedy about a brilliant young New York scientist and a stuffy
English lord.
From the outset of his career - as an agent under the tutelage of the legendary
Stan Kamen - Cary Woods has displayed a passion for guiding unseen faces
and untold stories to the fore. In this capacity, he brought together two
of the most critically acclaimed indie features of the 80's "Drugstore
Cowboy," directed by Gus Van Sant, and "Heathers," directed
by Michael Lehmann. Woods' commitment to discovering and developing talent
led a diverse client list at The William Morris Agency that included actors
Tim Robbins, Uma Thurman, Timothy Hutton and Charlie Sheen' comedians Sam
Kinison, Sandra Bernhard, Jackie Mason and Andrew Dice Clay, and directors
Michael Lehmann, Todd Solondz and Gus Van Sant.
Upon leaving the agency, Woods became one of the first executives brought
on board at Sony Pictures under new co-chairmen Peter Guber and Jon Peters.
For two years, Woods served as Vice President, Office of the Chairmen, before
moving into his own production deal with Sony. Under that deal, he produced
"So I Married An Axe Murderer," "Rudy" and "Only
You." He also served as executive producer on the critically praised
independent film "Threesome."
Woods holds a bachelor's degree from New York University in Political Science
and Philosophy and received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern
California Law Center. He is a member of the Third Decade Committee of the
American Film Institute and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
He is married to Emily Woods, a founder and Vice Chairman of J. Crew Group,
Inc. They reside in both New York City and Los Angeles.
CATHY KONRAD
Producer Cathy Konrad is President of Woods Entertainment. In the past couple
of years, Konrad has produced the critically lauded "Kids," "Things
to do in Denver when you're Dead," "Beautiful Girls" and
"Citizen Ruth."
Konrad's upcoming films include "Copland," written and directed
by James Mangold, starring Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro, and "Wide
Awake" featuring Denis Leary, Dana Delaney and Rosie O'Donnell.
Prior to joining Woods Entertainment, Konrad served as Vice President of
Production at Norman Jewison's Yorktown Productions. While at Yorktown,
she was responsible for acquiring "Only You" and piloting the
experimental Showtime release "Picture Windows." She also developed
the Jewisondirected "Bogus" starring Whoopi Goldberg and Gerard
Depardieu.
Konrad's career as an executive began at Amblin Entertainment, where she
worked under Kathleen Kennedy. Previously, she served in various production
posts at Wilshire Court Productions/USA Cable Network and on such projects
as "Suspect," "Hamburger Hill" and "Zelly &
Me."
MARIANNE MADDALENA
Executive producer Marianne Maddalena has been part of Wes Craven's creative
team since his 1987 film "The Serpent and the Rainbow." She was
named vice president of development when Wes Craven Films formed in 1988.
In 1994, she became president of the company.
Maddalena produced "Wes Craven's New Nightmare," "The People
Under the Stars" and "Shocker," as well as Craven's telefilm
"Night Visions" and the series "Nightmare Cafe." She
also was executive producer of "Vampire in Brooklyn."
Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, Maddalena studied at Michigan State University
before moving to Europe to work in the French film community at Cannes,
and continue her education at University Per Stanieri in Italy.
For more than ten years, Maddalena has worked in many aspects of the business
from agent's assistant to production coordinator to an international film
sales representative. Maddalena now makes her home in Los Angeles.
KEVIN WILLIAMSON
SCREAM came about out of writer Kevin Williamson's childhood fascination
with scary movies, and marks his first produced screenplay.
Born in New Bern, North Carolina, Williamson studied theater and film at
East Carolina University before moving to New York to pursue an acting career.
After landing bit parts on television and stage, Williamson relocated to
Los Angeles to take a stab at writing and directing. He took a day job as
an assistant to a music video director and wrote in his spare time.
This led to his first script sale, "Killing Mrs. Tingle," a black
comedy to be directed by George Wang for Interscope. Williamson recently
completed "I Know What You Did Last Summer," a screenplay based
on the novel by Lois Duncan. Williamson has a production deal with Dimension
Films to write and direct several more projects. Next year, he will direct
the thriller "The Faculty" for Dimension.
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