destination-wedding
RUNNING TIME: 86 MINUTES
RATING: R, for language throughout and sexual content
IN THEATERS AUGUST 31; ON DEMAND & DIGITAL SEPTEMBER 7
Frank (Keanu Reeves) and Lindsay (Winona Ryder) meet on the way to a romantic vineyard wedding in Central California’s sumptuous wine country and instantly dislike one another. Things only get worse when they realize that the groom, Frank’s detested half-brother, is also Lindsay’s former fiancé. After agreeing to ignore each other, they are dismayed to learn they have been paired off for the weekend, with adjoining rooms in an intimate bed and breakfast and side-by-side seats at each of the weekend’s numerous activities.
Forced to tolerate each other for three days of wine tasting, complimentary foot rubs and pointless games, Lindsay and Frank discover that in addition to their need to always get in the last word, they share the same cynical sense of humor. As their constant squabbling evolves into an unexpected alliance, they spend their time trashing the rest of the wedding party, critiquing the bride and groom, and heckling old movies on television. A brush with danger brings them unexpectedly close, but it remains to be seen if they can — or even want to — continue their cockeyed romance in the real world. Bristling with sharp humor and rapid-fire banter, Destination Wedding is an unconventional and wildly inventive look at two misfits determined not to get suckered by love.
Destination Wedding is written and directed by Victor Levin (Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!, 5 to 7, “Mad About You”). The film stars Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick) and Winona Ryder (“Stranger Things,” Beetlejuice). Producers are Elizabeth Dell (B-Girl), Robert Jones (The Usual Suspects, Dirty Pretty Things) and Gail Lyon (Gattaca, Erin Brockovich). Director of photography is Giorgio Scali (“Homeland,” Baby, Baby, Baby). Production designer is Callie Andreadis (War for the Planet of the Apes, “True Detective”). Editor is Matt Maddox (“Rectify,” The Sweet Life). Costume designer is Justine Seymour (“One Mississippi,” The Sessions). Original music is by William Ross (Ladder 49, No Reservations).
Executive producers are David Dinerstein (Kidnap, The Strangers: Prey at Night), Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Wayne Marc Godfrey (The Foreigner, Wind River), James Harris (I Am Not a Serial Killer, The Anomaly), Mark Lane (I Am Not a Serial Killer, 47 Metres Down), Jason Resnick (Kidnap, The Strangers: Prey at Night), William Sadler (Kidnap, The Strangers: Prey at Night) and Jean Wyman. Co-producer is Pam Dixon (Two Weeks, Prefontaine).
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Beloved by brides and grooms, destination weddings are a chance to get away from it all for a few days, relaxing in a luxurious setting surrounded by friends and family. What could be wrong with that? According to writer and director Victor Levin, who calls the hot-weather months of 2015 his “Summer of Destination Weddings,” there can be too much of a good thing. Rushing to the airport, sitting through an interminable flight, and being forced to take part in endless activities — and then doing it all again in a different place a few weeks later — stops being fun at a certain point.
“I know that you don’t get invited to these weddings unless you love the people and they love you but I would prefer it if we all loved each other locally,” says Levin, whose numerous television credits range from “Mad About You” to “Mad Men.” “It can feel like an imposition. I mean, one wedding is fun, two is sort of fun, but beginning with destination wedding number three, it’s not really a vacation. That was the idea that started this film.”
For the protagonists of Destination Wedding, Frank, played by Keanu Reeves, and Lindsay, played by Winona Ryder, this celebration is a painful exercise in social obligation. Uncomfortable with themselves, each other and everyone else at the wedding, they would prefer to be practically anywhere ― preferably alone. And although they manage to reach a tentative détente over the weekend, whether it can survive through Monday morning remains to be seen.
“Some of us find it easier to shut down rather than make ourselves vulnerable,” Levin says. “For those who feel that way, the punishment for vulnerability is too great to justify the risk. That’s where both of these people are. They’ve both had some pain in their pasts that prevents them from fully participating in life.”
Levin chooses not to apply the label “romantic comedy” to Destination Wedding, though he knows others probably will. He prefers to think of it as a relationship story that aims to be funny while dealing with real problems between people. “Frank and Lindsay are basically good people who are also deeply flawed,” says the director. “That’s what makes them interesting.”
Once Levin completed the script, he contacted Gail Lyon, a longtime friend and one of the producers of his 2004 film, Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!. He also reached out to Elizabeth Dell, a producer with extensive experience in modestly budgeted films. “I asked them to work together because I felt their skills were complementary,” he says. “Elizabeth is unbeatable at the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, and Gail is a matchless leader of the ship. To get the movie we wanted done, both of those pieces had to be first class.”
Lyon agrees that she and Dell possess different and equally important skill sets. “As an indie producer and studio executive, my background is in selecting material, casting, finding money. Elizabeth has great resources in terms of the technical side and how to do a lot with a small budget. Together with Vic, we used all those relationships to make a quality project at a lower price.”
More than a decade after their first picture together, Lyon looked forward to working with Levin again. “Vic is a very funny observational writer,” she says. “He is intelligent and truthful about character and able to transform bare facts into a comedic and truthful composite. So it was interesting to see his point of view about two middle-aged people who have been kicked around in the love department try and find their footing.”
While Dell had never worked with Levin before, she was impressed by his resourcefulness and flexibility. “As the writer and director, he brought an excellent and hard-to-find combination of skills,” she says. “He is driven in the absolutely best way, which made him wonderful to work with.”
With Destination Wedding, he explores a situation not often seen in films. “We all identified with the difficulties in finding romance when you are no longer a naïve 21-year-old,” says Dell. “The world has taught you to look for a soul mate, but you have also learned that if someone is 80 percent of the way there, maybe you can fudge the rest. Romance isn’t only for the young and beautiful. It’s also for people who’ve seen the world and are on round two, or maybe three.”
TWO FOR THE ROAD
When the filmmakers began their search for a pair of mature, A-list actors who responded to the material, casting director Pam Dixon suggested approaching Ryder for the role of Lindsay. Riding high on the recent success of her acclaimed Netflix series, “Stranger Things,” the in-demand actress not only said yes, she sent the script to her old friend and colleague Reeves, who agreed to play Frank. Once both actors were on board, finding financing was suddenly easy.
“Once you’ve got two stars of that magnitude, you’re in good shape,” says Levin. “That’s assuming you can find a time when they’re both available. Because the shooting schedule was just nine days, we were able to do that pretty quickly.”
Casting a pair of actors as seasoned and skillful as Ryder and Reeves was all the more important because Lindsay and Frank are the only characters who speak in the film. Lyon explains, “Keanu and Winona and their chemistry are the crux of the whole movie, and they are brilliant together.”
Although the idea of making the film a two-hander came to Levin during the development process, even in the script’s initial draft, Frank and Lindsay had the lion’s share of dialogue. “The wedding is going on around them, but they aren’t really part of it,” he explains. “They are experiencing everything at arm’s length and that is what the movie is about in some ways.”
Although it was a bold decision, in many ways eliminating the other speaking roles simplified the directing process. “We didn’t have to deal with a party scene with dozens of people speaking and lots of choreography,” he explains. “I love well-rendered dialogue that sounds real and is funny but still means something. With two actors this strong, once you set your shots, you can really work a performance. It became all about Winona and Keanu and what they could do with the material.”
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
After acting in three films together, including Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 costume spectacle Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Richard Linklater’s animated adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, Reeves and Ryder have an easy on-screen rapport that reflects their off-screen friendship.
“Their relationship was a massive asset,” says Levin. “You can’t direct people to have chemistry. The chemistry has to be there, and the director’s job is to make the very best use of it.”
The actors’ comfortable camaraderie allowed them to make the characters — and even, at times, the dialogue — their own, says Levin. “They are both naturally funny,” says Levin. “I wanted them to feel free and if that meant changing a few words around, I didn’t want to be a stickler about it. Sometimes you just get a great moment you never expected. These two know what they’re doing.”
Reeves, who first established himself as a bona fide movie star playing proto-stoner Ted Logan and went on to create iconic characters including The Matrix’s stoic Neo and uber-assassin John Wick, might not be the first actor who comes to mind to play a depressive curmudgeon, acknowledges Lyon. “But he just nailed the role. Keanu has a natural sense of timing and delivery. He is a hilariously funny person with a dry sense of humor and just a pleasure to work with. I think it was fun for him to demonstrate a side that hasn’t been seen before and allows him to show a piece of who he is as a person.”
Levin praises the actor’s intelligence, sensitivity and preparation for the role. “Keanu cares about every word on the page and makes choices based on a lot of thought and time and effort,” he says. “Once he decides how he wants to go with something, he’s going to get it 100 percent.”
Frank’s troubled past includes dodging the emotional shrapnel from his mother’s two marriages — and the actual bullets from his father’s gun. And although he was never close to his half-brother Keith, time has pushed them even further apart. “He experienced a lot of bad parenting that he has never gotten over,” says Levin. “For Frank, love is a fool’s errand and not something he ever wants to participate in.”
As Dell puts it, “Frank is the guy who opts out of a party he was never invited to anyway.” Because the people around him have used love to manipulate each other and justify their own bad deeds, that’s what he expects from the world. “Keanu brings depth and subtlety to the role that was wonderful to behold,” says the producer. “Frank is rough, rude and sarcastic, but that’s all clearly coming from pain. It requires a skilled actor to let the audience into the emotional journey below the surface.”
Reeves describes his character as a “misanthrope with an inflated sense of insecurity,” adding, “I liked his wit and his suffering. You root for Frank. I root for Frank. He’s trying to overcome his past when he meets Lindsay and finds himself attracted to her.”
Although Frank and Lindsay are like-minded in many ways, they are opposites in one crucial aspect, observes the actor. “The difference between them is that Lindsay still has hope in there somewhere,” he says. “She recognizes that there’s something between them — something worth gambling on. Frank doesn’t think so at first but that makes it all the more romantic and funny.”
Frank may have found a soul mate in Lindsay who shares his cynical worldview of people, but it is too difficult for him to believe that any relationship will last, according to Reeves. “Love is good for other people, but he knows it will just end in disaster for him. So, why bother? Save yourself the pain.”
FINDING THE MUSIC
Although he had less than two weeks to shoot an entire feature film, Levin never rushed when it came to getting the most out of his actors, according to Reeves. “Vic was especially concerned with pacing,” he says. “He wanted us to almost talk over each other and then find the moments where we could both be still. He worked like a really good orchestra conductor, trying to find the music of the scene, the tempo and the physicality.”
Reeves says he was thrilled to have a chance to work with Ryder again. “Winona is a lovely person and a talented actress,” Reeves adds. “I think we make a good couple, and I liked that it’s a two-hander. To them, nobody else matters anyway, right? We did something like five eight-minute scenes, which you don’t often get a chance to do in films.”
Lindsay was left at the altar six years earlier, and the experience was so traumatic that she has developed a form of emotional PTSD. She also sued her ex for her expenses. In an awkward turn of events, the groom at this wedding, Frank’s half-brother Keith, is her former fiancé. She’s painfully aware that she was only invited so the groom could feel magnanimous, and she accepted for the same reason, but the truth is that neither of them wants her to be there.
“Winona knew from the beginning the material suited her extremely well,” says Levin. “She can do things no one else can. There’s this natural Winona-ness she brings to the material. She had an innate understanding of her character, so it was easy to just let her loose to be herself.”
Lindsay has the advantage of knowing what it feels like to love and be loved and realizes that it might be something worth fighting for, says Dell. “She is a delicate flower, but she is still willing to jump in with both feet. She was burned badly when Keith jilted her and is understandably wary of opening up to anyone new. Her pain is very similar to Frank’s, but she got there in a somewhat different way. Where Frank built walls from the beginning of his life, Lindsay didn’t shut down until she was an adult and the people she loved did not give back in kind.
“There’s a whimsy to Lindsay that fascinates Frank,” the producer continues. “To him, she is like a science experiment, something under glass that he’s never seen. She has an incredible magnetism, but she is also scared and hurt. Where they differ is that she is still willing to dive off the cliff. She has the energy and ability to see what she wants and go for it.”
Ryder’s innate authenticity makes it easy for an audience to believe her as someone who has had bad luck in love but is not broken by it, observes Lyon. “Winona herself is extremely relatable for the audience, in part because we’ve known her for so long. It will be very satisfying for people to see her on the big screen again.”
THAT GOLDEN GLOW
Destination Wedding was shot in California’s Central Coast region, about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles. A popular tourist area, it is well known for its fine weather, myriad vineyards and quaint towns. It is also close enough to Hollywood to be a convenient and attractive location for an accomplished technical staff that includes director of photography Giorgio Scali and production designer Callie Andreadis. The shoot took place mostly in the coastal city of San Luis Obispo and slightly inland in the gently rolling wine country of Paso Robles, named for the formidable oak trees (“robles” in Spanish) that line many of the roads.
“It was an extremely busy nine days,” says Lyon. “Absolutely everybody had to come fully prepared. Vic had walked every location in advance, knowing how little down time we were likely to have. Keanu and Winona were consummate professionals. They arrived completely off book, despite having more dialogue in this film than most actors see in two or three movies. We were committed to as few takes as possible — sometimes just two.”
Despite the time crunch, Dell says the atmosphere on set was upbeat and energetic. “We had a great crew and amazing department heads who made everything seem like fun. Everyone, including Keanu and Winona, was on the set pretty much at all times. It had a different rhythm than any other film I’ve done.”
Summertime on the Central Coast is known for a golden glow that is hard to find anywhere else and difficult to capture on film. Levin had extensive conversations with Scali about how they could convey that unique atmosphere. “The first thing I said to Giorgio was that I wanted this to be both funny and beautiful,” he says. “We watched a lot of movies together and talked about which lenses to use. We chose Panavision C series lenses that were made in the 1960s. They are a little softer and I wanted things to look as painterly as possible. With older glass, the images aren’t as sharp, but they are prettier.”
Because the sunlight played such a major role in the look of the film, the production crew had to constantly be mindful of the time of day each scene would be shot. “There was a lot of moment-to-moment strategizing and management,” says Levin. “We paid close attention to what the light was going to do in the film. Giorgio worked extremely hard and his crew was unbelievable at making everything look of a piece and as beautiful as he could make it.”
Selecting the film’s wedding venue took as much consideration and planning as an actual destination wedding might. Levin originally considered a beachside location, but when Dell suggested he take a look at the Dubost Winery in Paso Robles, he knew he’d found the perfect spot. Spread across 320 acres, Dubost is an Instagram-worthy boutique vineyard, with an outdoor space that any real-life bridal couple would covet for their reception. The land has been owned by the same family for five generations.
As it happened, Dell had known the winemakers for many years. “The location provided lots of production value without much upfront cost,” she says. “Vic and I walked the property and became convinced it was ideal. It is a great example of how low-budget films have a constant flow between the creative and the financial.”
The film’s spirited soundtrack, composed by William Ross, pays tribute to Paso Robles’ Iberian roots with a Spanish theme. “There’s also a track or two by Gaucho, a San Francisco band that our editor Matt Maddox was familiar with,” says Levin. “Bill was very patient about talking us through exactly what he was doing. I can’t overstate how helpful it is to have really great people like him, our DP Giorgio, and our production designer, Callie Andreadis, take an interest and go the extra mile.”
NO EASY ANSWERS
Levin, who has spent most of his career as a successful television writer and producer, says he enjoyed the chance to return to feature filmmaking for several reasons. “Number one, you have people’s undivided attention,” he points out. “They’ve left the house, they’ve gotten the babysitter, they’ve driven over, they’ve shut off their phones. You get an hour and a half of their undivided attention. You can’t beat that, especially for comedies. For some reason, the more people you have in the theater, the better the chance that the comedy will work.”
Levin resists the idea that a film should deliver easy answers wrapped up neatly with a pretty bow. “I think more in terms of the question that a film poses for the audience and hope both sides of the argument are well articulated. In this case, it’s, ‘Do we keep trying no matter how much punishment we’ve taken in the past or do we just give up?’ That’s what I hope audiences think about when this movie is over.”
The director is clear about which side of the debate he comes down on. “There are a lot of people out there who have had a rough time in life and in love,” he observes. “I believe it’s better to keep showing up and hoping for a better outcome rather than withdraw. I am with Winona’s character and she puts that across so beautifully on screen, but I can also understand the other point of view. I just hope audiences take that nugget and think it over.”
ABOUT THE CAST
WINONA RYDER (Lindsay) is one of Hollywood’s most critically acclaimed actors, renowned for her dynamic and varied performances. She has been honored with two Oscar® nominations and a Golden Globe Award®. Noted for constantly challenging herself with each project, Ryder has worked with some of the most acclaimed directors in film today. She has performed in such films as Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection, Woody Allen’s Celebrity, Nicholas Hytner’s The Crucible, Bille August’s The House of the Spirits, Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth, Michael Lehmann’s Heathers, Ben Stiller’s Reality Bites, Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard, Joan Chen’s Autumn in New York, Janusz Kaminski’s Lost Souls, Jocelyn Moorhouse’s How to Make an American Quilt, David Wain’s The Ten and Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly.
For her performance as Jo in Gillian Armstrong’s highly acclaimed film adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic Little Women, Ryder received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. The previous year she was also Oscar-nominated, and won both the Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards for Best Supporting Actress, for Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence. Ryder also received a Golden Globe nomination and a National Board of Review Award for her supporting turn in Richard Benjamin’s Mermaids. Ryder starred in and served as executive producer on the critically acclaimed Girl, Interrupted, based on the bestselling memoir and directed by James Mangold. She also produced the documentary The Day My God Died, which depicted the human story behind the modern tragedy of child sex trafficking in India.
On the small screen, Ryder is currently filming Season Three of the critically acclaimed Netflix series “Stranger Things,” for which she gained high praise for her portrayal of Joyce Byers and was nominated for Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards. In 2017 the cast won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Previously, Ryder appeared in the TV movie “Turks & Caicos,” alongside Bill Nighy and Christopher Walken. The show aired on PBS and was nominated for a 2014 Satellite Media Award. Ryder has lent her voice to “The Simpsons” and “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.” She also narrated the Grammy Award®-nominated album “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.” In 2011 she was nominated for a SAG Award as lead actress in the television movie “When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story.”
In 1997 Ryder was named ShoWest’s Female Star of the Year and the Motion Picture Club’s Female Star of the Year, in addition to receiving an honorary degree from San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater. She served as a juror for the 51st Annual Cannes International Film Festival and received the Peter J. Owens Award at the 2000 San Francisco International Film Festival. Ryder was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Ryder served on the Board of Trustees to the American Indian College Fund, which helps Native Americans preserve and protect their culture through education. She has been highly involved with the KlaasKids Foundation since the organization’s inception in 1994.
KEANU REEVES (Frank) is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men, with a worldwide box office total of over $4.2 billion. As a remarkably eclectic actor, Reeves has made an indelible mark on the world of entertainment through the diverse roles he has brought to life. He will continue to captivate audiences in John Wick 3: Parabellum, which is slated for 2019 release. The film follows two highly successful John Wick films.
In 2013 Reeves made his directorial debut and starred in the Tai Chi action film Man of Tai Chi. That year he also starred in 47 Ronin, an 18th-century story centered on a band of samurai who set out to avenge the death of their master. In 2012 the Reeves-produced documentary Side by Side made its debut to critical acclaim.
The actor was previously seen in such films as Henry’s Crime, which he both starred in and produced; The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, alongside Robin Wright; The Day the Earth Stood Still, with Jennifer Connelly; Street Kings, opposite Forest Whitaker; The Lake House, co-starring Sandra Bullock; A Scanner Darkly, a highly stylized blend of live-action and animation; Constantine, opposite Rachel Weisz; The Gift, with Cate Blanchett; Something’s Gotta Give, alongside Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton; The Devil’s Advocate, opposite Al Pacino and Charlize Theron; and Much Ado About Nothing, with Denzel Washington and Emma Thompson.
Reeves’ other film credits include Little Buddha, Thumbsucker, The Bad Batch, To the Bone, the blockbuster Matrix trilogy, Speed, Generation Um, To the Bone, Knock, Knock, Siberia, Exposed, The Neon Demon, The Whole Truth, Hardball, Sweet November, The Replacements, A Walk in the Clouds, Tune in Tomorrow, Johnny Mnemonic, Chain Reaction; Feeling Minnesota, Bram Stoker's Dracula, My Own Private Idaho, Point Break, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.
Raised in Toronto, Reeves performed in various local theater productions and on television before relocating to Los Angeles. His first widely acclaimed role was in Tim Hunter’s River's Edge. He then starred in Marisa Silver’s Permanent Record and appeared with Amy Madigan and Fred Ward in The Prince of Pennsylvania. Another strong early turn came when the actor was cast as the innocent Danceny in Stephen Frears’ highly praised Dangerous Liaisons, co-starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. Reeves joined other outstanding casts that year in Ron Howard’s comedy Parenthood and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
VICTOR LEVIN (Director, Writer) is a Golden Globe winner and four-time Emmy Award® nominee who has been nominated for WGA, PGA, NAACP Image and GLAAD awards, winning a Cable Ace. His commercial work has earned him two Clios and a Cannes Lion Bronze award. Levin made his impressive feature directorial debut in 2015 with 5 to 7, produced from his original script. The film starred the late Anton Yelchin, Bérénice Marlohe, Frank Langella, Glenn Close, Olivia Thirlby and Lambert Wilson, and has become something of a darling for hopeless romantics around the world. His extensive screenwriting work includes Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Then She Found Me and My Sassy Girl.
Levin has also written for several of the more memorable television series of the last quarter-century: “Mad Men,” “Mad About You” (which he also show-ran in its final two seasons), “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Dream On.” He recently concluded four seasons of writing and directing for the critically acclaimed Starz comedy “Survivor’s Remorse,” on which he was also an executive producer. Currently, Levin is a writer-producer on the forthcoming U.K. series “Beecham House.”
Born and raised in New York, Levin holds a B.A. from Amherst College. He is married to the violinist Jennifer Gordon Levin and the couple has two daughters.
ROBERT JONES (Producer) is the co-founder and owner of the Fyzz Facility, a prolific British production and finance company that has invested in over 200 films since 2010. With over three decades of experience in a variety of roles in the international feature film and TV industry, Jones’ producer credits include Academy Award winners The Usual Suspects, Gosford Park and The Constant Gardener as well as such notable films as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Hard Eight, Stephen Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things, Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake, David Schwimmer’s Run, Fatboy, Run, Neil Marshall’s Centurion and Iain Softley’s Trap for Cinderella.
For the small screen, Jones is the producer and co-creator (with Danny Boyle, Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain) of the acclaimed Channel 4/Sundance Channel TV series “Babylon.” Recent Fyzz Facility company credits include Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River, starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen; Martin Scorsese’s Silence, starring Liam Neeson; Rob Reiner’s Shock and Awe, starring Woody Harrelson; the smash-hit 47 Meters Down, with Mandy Moore; Stephen Fingleton’s BAFTA nominee The Survivalist, starring Mia Goth; and Martin Campbell’s The Foreigner, with Jackie Chan.
GAIL LYON (Producer) is an entertainment producer and media executive. She is currently an owner/principal in Sunshine Pictures and a partner in the New York-based global youth community platform VFILES.com, which features fashion, retail and original programming. Their twice-yearly New York fashion shows garner over a billion media impressions. Lyon executive produced the independent film Moss (2017), which debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Her previous screen credits, in various producer capacities, include Erin Brockovich, Gattaca, Stuart Little 2, Peter Pan, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Edge of Darkness, Stick It and the HBO movie “The Pentagon Wars.” She also has TV projects and feature films in development with various financiers, both in the U.S. and Europe.
Lyon has been at the helm of many successful production companies. She was most recently president of GK Films, where she shepherded all development as well as the production of features Young Victoria, Edge of Darkness and The Town. She also served as president of Red Wagon Entertainment, where she developed and supervised the features Jarhead and RV, as well as the company’s entire development slate. Prior to that she was at Jersey Films, where she rose to the rank of president and was involved with both development and production on a varied slate of award-winning pictures including Out of Sight and Man on the Moon. Lyon’s previous stints include serving as director of development for Walt Disney Pictures and vice president at Hollywood Pictures. Her first job in the industry was as an NBC page.
Lyon studied at the Sorbonne and Instituts d’études politiques in Paris. She earned a B.A. degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Currently, Lyon lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two teenaged daughters.
ELIZABETH DELL (Producer) is a creative producer working in both feature films and digital. She is half of the team known as the Dell Sisters, with writer/director Emily Dell, and is the CFO and co-founder of Array Entertainment, a slate fund focused on female-driven, commercial genre films. She is also the chair of the International Committee for the PGA. Dell actively consults for U.S. and Chinese entertainment companies, including production services for Chinese companies filming in the U.S., site evaluations for Chinese films, etc. Additionally, Dell has produced more than 100 episodes of digital content for platforms such as YouTube, go90 and Comcast, working with Studio71, Fullscreen and others. She works extensively with influencers and brands, including such names as Matthew Santoro, Mamrie Hart, Elliott Morgan, Purina, Comcast, Verizon, Anheuser-Busch and Jeep China.
Dell produced B-Girl, a narrative hip-hop dance feature distributed worldwide. She is a regular speaker on producing, China, entertainment, digital media and entrepreneurship. Dell and her sister are featured in the National Women’s History Museum. She has a chemistry degree from Amherst College and a master’s degree in public health from UC Berkeley.
MARK LANE (Executive Producer) joined the Fyzz Facility after establishing himself in the independent feature film production industry as one half of the prolific producing partnership the Tea Shop & Film Company. Since 2012 Lane has produced nearly a dozen independent feature films alongside business partner James Harris. His film credits include StudioCanal co-production Cockneys vs. Zombies, Sitges Grand Prize winner Tower Block, Noel Clarke’s The Anomaly, SXSW competition entry I Am Not a Serial Killer and the hit shark thriller 47 Meters Down.
Before producing, Lane worked in international film sales under Simon Crowe at SC Films International, representing international multi-territory sales on dozens of feature films over a six-year career.
JAMES HARRIS (Executive Producer) began his career as a production manager and line producer on films such as Beyond the Rave, When Evil Calls and F. He made the leap to producing with prison thriller Screwed, starring Noel Clarke and James D’Arcy.
Harris set up the Tea Shop & Film Company with Mark Lane in 2010. The company made a total of 10 features including Eliminators, Cockneys vs. Zombies, Tower Block, The Anomaly and 47 Meters Down. Due for release later this year is Romans, starring Orlando Bloom.
WILLIAM SADLEIR (Executive Producer) is the chairman and CEO of Aviron Capital. He has more than 30 years of experience in transaction financing, filmmaking, strategic marketing and operational leadership, at the senior executive level in both private enterprise and in government. Sadleir was previously CEO of Clarius Entertainment, a domestic film distribution company. He was also chairman of Dayna Communications Inc., a venture-capital-backed technology company he founded in 1985. Intel acquired Dayna in 1997. He was founder and CEO of the Genesis Group, an agribusiness consolidation later acquired by Lebanon Chemicals. He was also founder and CEO of Tempus Entertainment Group, a joint venture with the Walt Disney Company/ABC Multimedia and Electronic Arts.
Prior to his business initiatives, Sadleir served as special assistant to the president of the United States. He later served as deputy assistant secretary of state and deputy chief of protocol. He was also appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve two terms on the Peace Corps Advisory Council.
Sadleir is a magna cum laude graduate of Brigham Young University, where he was a Hinckley scholar, and a graduate of Harvard Business School.
JASON RESNICK (Executive Producer) is executive vice president of acquisitions at Aviron Pictures. Most recently, he has been a consultant and executive producer advising organizations and filmmakers on opportunities for production, financing and distribution in the independent film marketplace. His clients have included MGM Studios, Relativity Media, Millennium Entertainment and Italian TV channel Sky Italia.
Previously, Resnick served as senior vice president and general manager, worldwide acquisitions, for the Universal Pictures Group. He was in charge of acquisitions and co-productions for all of Universal’s distribution platforms worldwide: Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Rogue Pictures and Universal Home Entertainment. Resnick’s acquisitions included The Motorcycle Diaries, Lost in Translation, Swimming Pool, Brick, Mean Creek, My Summer of Love, Fearless, Block Party, Unleashed, Ray, Drag Me to Hell, Step Up 2, Land of the Dead, Mulholland Drive, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Gosford Park and In the Bedroom.
Resnick is fluent in French and Spanish and proficient in Italian and Portuguese. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, graduating cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.
DAVID DINERSTEIN (Executive Producer) is the president of Aviron Pictures, LLC. Among the most accomplished film industry executives working today, he has been responsible for distributing many of the most significant independent films of the past 20 years. Releases he has been involved with have garnered a staggering 96 Academy Award nominations and 15 wins. Dinerstein has a broad range of experience in entertainment marketing, distribution, production, programming, acquisitions, finance and international sales. He has built and managed several independent companies from their inception. In the course of his career Dinerstein has contributed to the release of more than 200 movies, helping to launch the careers of iconic filmmakers Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Greengrass, Justin Lin, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Jane Campion and Kevin Smith.
Most recently, Dinerstein worked on the releases of the surprise hits Kidnap, starring Halle Berry, and 47 Meters Down, with Mandy Moore. He also executive produced “Cries From Syria,” an HBO documentary that premiered at Sundance, and “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” a Netflix documentary nominated for both an Oscar and an Emmy. Dinerstein’s other film credits include American Hustle, Her, Pulp Fiction, The Illusionist, The Full Monty, Hustle & Flow, Mad Hot Ballroom, The Virgin Suicides, You Can Count on Me, The Brothers McMullen, The Ice Storm, The Piano, The Crow, sex, lies, and videotape, The Crying Game, My Left Foot, Reservoir Dogs and Clerks.
Dinerstein co-founded Paramount Classics and was one of the original architects of Fox Searchlight. He also served as the president of Lakeshore Entertainment. He started his career at Miramax Films, where he served as the head of marketing.
A graduate of Boston University, Dinerstein is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
GIORGIO SCALI (Director of Photography), whose career as a professional cinematographer has garnered him awards from around the world, continues to practice his craft and explore emerging technologies while creating the visual style that defines the myriad projects on which he works. His career quickly expanded from shooting
a multitude of award-winning music videos with luminaries from both the music and film industries to an equally successful foray into television commercials, feature films and, more recently, TV shows.
At the age of 11 Scali began exploring his hometown of New York City and documenting his world via still photography. By 16 his advanced interest in this art form led to his acceptance to the Boston Museum School and Tufts University. For the next five years, Scali immersed himself in the rigorous study of art history at Tufts University and extensive coursework in the visual arts with a specialization in photography at the Boston Museum School, simultaneously earning both a B.A. and B.F.A.
After college Scali applied his unique technical and creative abilities at the prestigious architecture firm Cambridge Seven Associates in Cambridge, Mass., and later worked as a studio photo printer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, before embracing film as the ideal medium through which he could orchestrate photography, art history and design to express his aesthetic voice. After migrating from Manhattan to Los Angeles, he quickly found work as a camera assistant with some of the most legendary and influential cinematographers in the world, including Caleb Deschanel, Frederick Elmes and Vilmos Zsigmond.
After several years working with Deschanel, his mentor, Scali ventured out on his own and began to shoot both award-winning music videos (for artists such as Prince, George Michael and the Foo Fighters) and commercials (Volkswagen, Coca-Cola and Mercedes, among many others) with some of the best directors in the world. At this point he also began immersing himself in the world of feature films. After shooting the award-winning indie All God’s Children Can Dance, for director Robert Logevall, he collaborated with Deschanel on My Sister’s Keeper, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Unforgettable, filming for the second unit and doing additional photography. Scali then went on to shoot From the Rough, starring Academy Award nominees Taraji P. Henson and Michael Clarke Duncan. This was followed by Baby, Baby, Baby, starring Adrianne Palicki.
In the last three years Scali has entered into the world of episodic television. He shot seasons six and seven of the Emmy and Golden Globe winner “Homeland” and this fall he will commence work on season four of the hit show “Billions,” both for Showtime.
MATT MADDOX (Editor) previously collaborated with filmmaker Victor Levin on Levin’s directorial debut 5 to 7. His editing work ranges from the emotionally complex adaptations of Robin Swicord (Wakefield) to the transcendent identity dramas of Rodrigo Garcia (Albert Nobbs, Last Days in the Desert) and the heartfelt comedies of Rob Spera (The Sweet Life). He also edited The Face of Love, starring Ed Harris and Annette Bening, as well as the series finale of the critically acclaimed Sundance TV series “Rectify.”
Maddox’s debut feature as editor, Paul Cotter’s Bomber, was an official selection at SXSW. As an assistant editor he has contributed to feature films including Hope Springs, Paranormal Activity 2, He’s Just Not That Into You, Killers and The Great Buck Howard. He also produced and directed the 2003 cinéma vérité documentary The Pride of Broken Arrow.
A Georgia native, Maddox now resides in the cozy Los Angeles neighborhood of Atwater Village, where he enjoys the city’s best breakfast burritos at Tacos Villa Corona.
JUSTINE SEYMOUR (Costume Designer) has had the pleasure of working with Beau Bridges, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, John Hawkes, Sylvester Stallone and Adrien Brody, among many other stars. With 25 feature films and six television shows to her name, she is endlessly inspired by the world of character development and storytelling through costume design. These credits include The Sessions, Backtrack and All Nighter, in addition to Tig Notaro’s Amazon series One Mississippi.
Seymour was born with an inquisitive mind and a longing to discover the unique character of each person she met. She learned how to read their secrets through the subtle art of clothing and body language. Raised in Sussex, England, she enjoyed many weekend visits to London’s West End with her grandmother, who immersed her in culture through museums, galleries, film and the theater. This sowed the seeds for a lifelong love affair with the arts and storytelling. Seymour started designing and manufacturing costumes for London’s music scene in the 1990s, gradually broadening her horizons to include the world of film and television. After moving to Australia she graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in 2000 with a master’s degree in design, stepping into the role of costume designer soon thereafter. Her first U.S. feature starred Rachel Brosnahan in a period drama called A New York Heartbeat.
WILLIAM ROSS (Composer) is a prolific, award-winning composer and arranger whose work has spanned feature films, the recording industry and television. He is the recipient of four Emmy Awards and two BMI Film Music Awards, on top of nominations for an Annie Award and two Grammy Awards. His arrangements have been featured in numerous films and include such hits as Andrea Bocelli’s “God Bless Us Everyone,” from Disney’s A Christmas Carol; Celine Dion’s Grammy-winning “My Heart Will Go On,” from Titanic; “Believe,” sung by Josh Groban in The Polar Express; “The Prayer,” performed by Bocelli and Dion in Quest for Camelot (work for which Ross received a Grammy nomination); and the Academy Award-nominated song “Run to You,” sung by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard.
Ross also composed music for such films as The Tale of Despereaux, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Touchback, Ladder 49, Tuck Everlasting and My Dog Skip. He both adapted and conducted the score to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Ross’ work in television includes “Steel Magnolias,” “Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows” and the Emmy-winning music for the “Tiny Toon Adventures” episode “Fields of Honey.”
In the music world, Ross has arranged music for a remarkable list of artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Kenny G., Sting, Seal, Quincy Jones, Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, David Foster, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, to name a few. He has worked on records that have sold over 250 million copies in the U.S.
Ross has served as music director and conductor for many artists and occasions, including Barbra Streisand’s historic 2006, 2007 and 2012 concert tours and the 79th Academy Awards ceremony in 2007, for which he won his second Emmy Award. He won another in 2009 for his work on host Hugh Jackman’s opening number for the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. Additionally, the composer’s arrangements have been a part of the opening ceremonies of several Super Bowls as well as the opening and/or closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Calgary (1988), Atlanta (1996), Salt Lake City (2002), Torino (2006), Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014).
ANITA CAMARATA (Music Supervisor) is currently producing features The Vinyl Princess and Lonely Boy. She began her career assisting celebrated record producers Richard Perry and Roy Thomas Baker. She then spent seven years as general manager and executive vice president of Gold Mountain Entertainment, where she led the development of the company and supervised the management of a wide variety of recording artists and soundtracks for artists such as Roy Orbison, Bonnie Raitt and Belinda Carlisle, as well as TV and film projects such as “Miami Vice,” Dirty Dancing and Desperately Seeking Susan. She then started her own company, Eclipse Entertainment, developing and managing the careers of such renowned artists as Peter Frampton, Kiss, the Sex Pistols and Nelson. She also supervised the music for the multi-platinum soundtrack releases Above the Rim and Sunset Park, in addition to producing the documentary feature The Filth and the Fury.
In 1997 Camarata formed Jersey Records with partners Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacy Sher. As president of the label, she supervised and oversaw the release of such acclaimed film soundtracks as Man on the Moon, Sliding Doors, Living Out Loud and Out of Sight, among others. Additionally, she served as executive music consultant on The Hurricane. Camarata then became head of music at MGM, overseeing soundtracks and all other aspects of music activities for MGM Pictures and United Artists from 2000 to 2006. In addition to supervising the music needs of its feature, television, video/DVD, interactive and marketing products, she also managed the company’s various record and publishing catalogs and guided the revitalization of MGM’s master recordings. In 2008 Camarata produced the Sex Pistols documentary There’ll Always Be an England.
In 2014 Camarata launched Popmania.com, a digital media platform for teen girls ages 13 to 17. She currently lives in Pacific Palisades with her husband and daughter.
PAM DIXON (Casting Director) has cast numerous features including Zorro, City Slickers, Baby Boom, The Craft, Tremors, Waterdance, Gosford Park, Angels in the Outfield and Goldeneye. She is currently casting Song of Names, directed by Francois Girard, and working with director Martin Campbell on a new feature.
At the beginning of her career Dixon was hired by CBS Television as an intern and soon became assistant to the VP of casting. She went on to become senior VP, talent at ABC Television. Dixon left ABC to become a production vice president for Paramount Pictures. After Paramount, she was VP for series development at Lorimar Television. Several years later, Dixon opened her own casting company.
Dixon is a past president of CSA and a member of both the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy. Currently, she serves as VP of the Western Council of the Actors Fund. She also co-chairs the Media Access Awards, is a mentor for The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, teaches at UCLA and is an advocate for people with disabilities.
