U.S. Marshals - About The Filmmakers

U.S. Marshals: About The Filmmakers

Books from Amazon.com:
Buy The Book.

STUART BAIRD (director) marks his second assignment in the director's chair following Warner Bros.' 1996 action hit, "Executive Decision."

Following graduation from London's University College, with degrees in economics and international relations, Baird found his first industry job as a personal assistant to director Lindsay Anderson during the production of "If..."

He next worked under the tutelage of renowned director Ken Russell on his Oscar-winning "Women in Love," subsequently becoming a film editor five years later on Russell's rock opera, "Tommy." In between, he worked as an assistant editor, music editor and sound editor on such Russell works as "The Music Lovers," "Savage Messiah," "The Boyfriend" and "The Devils." He continued this association with Russell, "Altered States" being their last collaboration.

He earned his first Oscar nomination for editing the 1978 blockbuster "Superman," and continued building a respected reputation on such projects as Fred Zinnemann's "Five Days One Summer," Peter Hyams' "Outland" and Michael Apted's "Gorillas in the Mist," which won him another Oscar nomination. His ongoing collaboration with director Richard Donner includes editorial chores on "The Omen,""Ladyhawke," "Lethal Weapon" and "Lethal Weapon 2," "Radio Flyer" and "Maverick." He has also worked with producer Joel Silver on "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," "Demolition Man" and "The Last Boy Scout."

Between 1990 and 1992, Baird was a full-time staff editor at Warner Bros., where he oversaw editing on "Tango & Cash," "New Jack City" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," among other pictures.

ARNOLD KOPELSON (producer) won the 1986 Best Picture Academy Award for "Platoon," with a second Best Picture nomination for 1993's hit thriller, "The Fugitive." In addition to collecting an impressive 17 Oscar nominations on his various projects, he has been further honored with a Lifetime Achievement in Filmmaking Award from Cinema Expo International, and was named Producer of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners. In 1997, he was inducted into the Variety Showbiz Expo Hall of Fame and was also honored at the 1997 Deauville Film Festival for his significant contribution to the entertainment industry.

Most recently, Kopelson produced "Mad City," starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta; "Devil's Advocate," starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves; "Murder at 1600" with Wesley Snipes; the action-thriller "Eraser," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams; the haunting crime drama "Seven" with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman; the medical thriller "Outbreak," which starred Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Freeman under Wolfgang Peterson's direction. He is currently in post-production on "A Perfect Murder," starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow for director Andrew Davis.

Kopelson has also produced such films as "Falling Down," with Douglas and Robert Duvall; the Steven Seagal actioner "Out for Justice"; and Robert M. Young's "Triumph of the Spirit," filmed entirely on location at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. He developed the popular coming-of-age hit "Porky's" and also served as executive producer on several features, including the adventure film "Fire Birds," on which he first worked with Tommy Lee Jones and Nicolas Cage.

After graduating from the New York Law School, the Brooklyn native practiced entertainment and banking law, specializing in motion picture financing. He later formed InterOcean Film Sales, Ltd., with Anne Feinberg, who would eventually become his wife and producing partner. Kopelson also pioneered the concept of international theatrical distribution of movies made for television and represented ABC in this area.

Kopelson is a member of both the New York and California Bars and is a member of the Board of Trustees of New York Law School. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Producers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Producers Guild of America.

ANNE KOPELSON (producer) began her career as assistant to then entertainment and banking attorney Arnold Kopelson. They subsequently formed InterOcean Film Sales, Ltd. to finance and license films throughout the world while representing such filmmakers as Sergio Leone and John Cassavettes. The Kopelsons then entered into a joint venture with General Cinema Corporation, producing films such as "Lost and Found" and "Foolin' Around."

Along with Arnold Kopelson, Ms. Kopelson produced "A Perfect Murder," starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow; "Devil's Advocate," starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves; "Murder at 1600," starring Wesley Snipes; and last year's hit adventure, "Eraser," with Arnold Schwarzenegger. She executive produced "Mad City," starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta; "Seven," starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman; and "Outbreak," starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Freeman.

She is co-chairperson of Kopelson Entertainment, which has produced or executive produced over 20 motion pictures, including "Platoon," winner of the 1986 Best Picture Academy Award. The company has also created such box-office hits as the Oscar-nominated "The Fugitive," "Falling Down," "Triumph of the Spirit," "Fire Birds" and "Out for Justice."

Ms. Kopelson also serves on the Executive Committee of the Executive Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was recently inducted into the Variety Showbiz Hall of Fame.

KEITH BARISH (executive producer), a former partner in Taft/Barish Productions, originally acquired the motion picture rights to the ABC series "The Fugitive" from producer Quinn Martin, and helped develop the 1993 movie with producer Arnold Kopelson, serving as one of its executive producers.

Barish has also produced such critically acclaimed features as "Ironweed," "Sophie's Choice" and "Light of Day." His film credits as executive producer include "Endless Love," "Kiss Me Goodbye," "Misunderstood," "9 1/2 Weeks," "The Running Man," "Big Trouble in Little China," "The Monster Squad," "The Serpent and the Rainbow," "Her Alibi" and "Fire Birds" (with Kopelson).

He won a 1984 Emmy nomination for the ABC-TV Theatre Presentation of "A Streetcar Named Desire," and was named Producer of the Year in 1987 by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

ROY HUGGINS (executive producer), who created the classic ABC-TV series that inspired the 1993 motion picture "The Fugitive," has had a long and distinguished career as a producer, director and screenwriter in film and television.

Huggins is responsible for bringing to the small screen such memorable TV series as "Maverick," "77 Sunset Strip" and "The Rockford Files" (with Stephen J. Cannell), and also produced such acclaimed shows as "The Virginian," "Cheyenne," "Kraft Suspense Theatre," "Run for Your Life," "Alias Smith and Jones," "Baretta," "Toma," "Blue Thunder" and "Hunter," among many others.

Born in Washington State, Huggins graduated summa cum laude from UCLA, and worked as a novelist and magazine writer during the years immediately following World War II. His series "77 Sunset Strip" was originally a novel based on two novelettes published in The Saturday Evening Post and Esquire. He also penned the novels "Too Late for Tears" (appearing as an eight-part serial in the Post), "The Double Take" and "Lovely Lady, Pity Me."

Huggins wrote the screenplays for "I Love Trouble," "The Fuller Brush Man," "The Lady Gambles," "Too Late for Tears," "Sealed Cargo," "Hangman's Knot" (also directed), "Gun Fury" and "Three Hours to Kill." His television directorial credits include "The Sweet Taste of Vengeance" and "The Young Country." As a producer, he includes among his telefilm and miniseries credits "The

Outsider," "The Lonely Profession," "Only One Day Left Before Tomorrow," "The Whole World Is Watching," "Who Killed Sam Hill," "The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd," "This Is the West That Was," "Captains and the Kings," "The Courier," "The Challengers," "Wheels," "The Last Convertible" and "Perfect Crimes."

WOLFGANG GLATTES (co-executive producer) reunites with Kopelson Entertainment following his work in the same capacity on "Mad City," directed by Costa-Gavras.

Born in West Germany, Glattes had originally planned a career as an architect before building a resume that includes collaborations with such distinguished filmmakers as Bob Fosse, Sidney Lumet, Otto Preminger, John Huston and Robert Benton, among many others.

He began his career working on American productions filming in Europe, including "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Downhill Racer," then joined director Bob Fosse on his Oscar-winning musical, "Cabaret." He subsequently married Fosse's assistant, choreographer Kathryn Doby, and relocated to New York in 1976 before moving to Los Angeles a few years later.

In a career spanning three decades, Glattes has worked on more than 30 motion pictures as an assistant director or production manager, including Huston's "A Walk with Love and Death," Preminger's "Rosebud" and Robert Aldrich's "Twilight's Last Gleaming."

He became an associate producer on Sidney Lumet's "Power" and "The Morning After" and Robert Benton's "Still of the Night," and continued his affiliation with Bob Fosse on his spectacular musical-drama, "All That Jazz." He produced Fosse's "Star 80" and served as executive producer on such diverse works as "Nadine," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Blue Chips" and "Larger Than Life."

STEPHEN BROWN (co-producer) is President of Production at Kopelson Entertainment, where he oversees all production activity for the company. During his eight-year association with Kopelson, Brown has co-produced a string of boxoffice hits, beginning with the controversial thriller "Falling Down."

Brown co-produced "The Fugitive," the 1993 boxoffice smash that landed seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, while becoming the second highest grossing film in Warner Bros.' history. Brown's more recent outings as co- producer include "Eraser," "Seven," "Outbreak" and "The Devil's Advocate." He was executive producer on another Warner Bros.' feature, "Mad City"; the action-thriller, "Murder at 1600," starring Wesley Snipes; and the upcoming thriller, "A Perfect Murder," with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Brown produced the Showtime original feature "Past Tense," starring Scott Glenn, Lara Flynn Boyle and Anthony LaPaglia, and was co-executive producer of "Frogmen," a two-hour pilot for NBC starring O.J. Simpson.

Following graduation from U.C.L.A., Brown worked at John DeNigris Associates, a financial and corporate communications company in New York, before joining Kopelson Productions in 1989.

JOHN POGUE (screenwriter) is considered one of Hollywood's most successful unproduced screenwriters. "U.S. Marshals" represents his first produced screenplay.

A native of Washington, D.C., Pogue attended Yale University, and earned a degree in American Studies. At Yale, he helped create a student production company, University Pictures, and by his senior year decided to concentrate his talents on screenwriting.

After moving to Los Angeles, Pogue held a variety of jobs as he honed his screenwriting skills. In 1994, Pogue sold his first spec script, "Man with the Football," to Morgan Creek Productions, which instantly established his reputation for unique, character-driven material.

Several months later, Pogue sold his second spec script, "The Damocles Network." Since then, he has written a number of other original projects and studio assignments, signed a writing-producing deal with 20th Century Fox, worked as a script doctor on movies such as "Eraser" (for producer Arnold Kopelson) and is currently developing a TV series.

MAHER AHMAD (production designer) previously served as art director on the Oscar-nominated "The Fugitive" and most recently designed the action-thriller "Chain Reaction."

A native of Pennsylvania, Ahmad began his career in the theatre in Chicago after receiving an M.F.A. degree in scene and lighting design from Northwestern University. During the first phase of "the Chicago theatrical renaissance" from 1976-81, Ahmad was engaged as the resident set and lighting designer at the Northern Lights Repertory. He also worked at about a dozen other Chicago theaters and, in total, has worked on more than 150 theatrical projects as set, light and/or costume designer.

He moved into television as an assistant art director with the series "The Chicago Story." His first assignment as production designer was for the American Playhouse production of "The Killing Floor," directed by Bill Duke for PBS.

A longtime associate of director Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive"), Ahmad made his feature film debut as production designer for Davis' action hit, "Code of Silence," and continued his affiliation on "Above the Law" and "Chain Reaction" (also associate producer). He also collaborated with Davis as a consultant on "The Package" and as associate producer on "Steal Big, Steal Little."

Ahmad served as production designer on "The Cemetery Club," "Off and Running" and "Miami Blues," and worked as an art director on "GoodFellas," "Raw Deal," "Bad Boys" "Married to the Mob," "The Paper" and "Miss Firecracker," among others.

ANDRZEJ BARTKOWIAK, A.S.C. (director of photography) was born in Lodz, Poland, and studied his craft at the Lodz Film School before emigrating to the United States in 1972. He began his career working on commercials and independent films before collaborating with director James Ivory on the PBS adaptation of John Cheever's short story, "The 5:48."

His long affiliation with director Sidney Lumet includes his work on the Oscar-nominated drama, "The Verdict," and 10 additional features, including "Prince of the City," "Deathtrap," "Daniel," "Garbo Talks," "Power," "The Morning After," "Family Business," "Q&A," "A Stranger Among Us" and "Guilty As Sin."

Bartkowiak also photographed the Academy Award-winning Best Picture "Terms of Endearment" and the Oscar-nominated John Huston classic "Prizzi's Honor." Other credits include "A Good Man in Africa," "Jade," "Species," "Dante's Peak," "Speed," "Losing Isaiah," "The Mirror Has Two Faces," "Hard Promises," "Twins," "Nuts" and two projects for producer Arnold Kopelson, "Falling Down" and "The Devil's Advocate."

TERRY RAWLINGS, A.C.E. (film editor) began his film career in the 1950s with Rank Screen Services and Associated British Picture Studios in London, where he worked as a cutting-room assistant before moving into sound editing on "The Pot Carriers."

He spent almost two decades working as a sound editor, winning BAFTA nominations for his work on "Isadora" and "Women in Love." Among his credits are "The L-Shaped Room," "The Music Lovers," "The Great Gatsby," "Tommy," "The Devils," "The Duelists," "The Mechanic," "Moll Flanders," "Scorpio," "Lawman," "Chato's Land," "The Gambler" and "The Nightcomers."

He moved from sound to picture in the late 1970s, editing such features as "The Sentinel," "Watership Down," "The Awakening," "Yentl," "Legend," "F/X," "White of the Eye," "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne," "Not Without My Daughter," "Alien," "No Escape," "Trapped in Paradise," "GoldenEye" and "The Saint." He won BAFTA nominations for his editing work on "Alien" and "Blade Runner," and another BAFTA nod and an Oscar nomination for "Chariots of Fire."

Oscar and Emmy Award-winner JERRY GOLDSMITH is one of film and television's pre-eminent composers. He won an Academy Award for the score of "The Omen" and earned additional nominations for Best Score for "Basic Instinct," "Hoosiers," "Under Fire," "Poltergeist," "Star Trek -- The Motion Picture," "The Boys From Brazil," "The Wind and the Lion," "Chinatown," "Papillon," "Patton," "Planet of the Apes," "The Sand Pebbles," "A Patch of Blue" and "Freud."

Goldsmith has also received numerous Golden Globe and Grammy nominations during a career that includes nearly 150 film scores. His more recent credits include the critically acclaimed "L.A. Confidential." "City Hall," "Executive Decision," "Two Days in the Valley," "Powder," "First Knight," "Congo," "I.Q.," "The Shadow," "Six Degrees of Separation," "Rudy," "Malice," "Dennis the Menace," "The River Wild," "The Russia House," "Not Without My Daughter," "Sleeping With the Enemy," "Medicine Man," "Mr. Baseball," "The Public Eye," "Love Field," "Forever Young," "Matinee," "The Vanishing," "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and "Gremlins 2: The New Batch."

Back to "U.S. Marshals"

Suggestions? Comments? Fill out our Feedback Form.