RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION Movie Production Notes
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 07:28
- Written by Lupe Haas
The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of increasingly lethal Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most impenetrable operations facility. Attempting a death-defying escape from the vast, high-tech complex with the help of a crew of elite commandos, Alice battles her way through the cityscapes of Tokyo, New York City, Moscow and Washington, D.C. Along the way, she encounters a series of mind-blowing revelations that will force her to rethink everything she once believed. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice finds a new reason to fight for the survival of a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.
Video: Milla Jovovich Intros Featurette In Spanish
Joining Milla Jovovich are Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil, Avatar), Kevin Durand (Robin Hood, “Lost”), Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Afterlife), Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil: Afterlife), Aryana Engineer (Orphan), Colin Salmon (Resident Evil), Johann Urb (2012), with Boris Kodjoe (Resident Evil: Afterlife), and Li Bingbing (Snowflower and the Secret Fan).
Resident Evil: Retribution is written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (The Three Musketeers, the Resident Evil franchise), and produced by Jeremy Bolt (The Three Musketeers, Resident Evil: Afterlife), Paul W.S. Anderson, Robert Kulzer (The Three Musketeers, Resident Evil: Afterlife), Don Carmody (The Three Musketeers, Resident Evil: Afterlife) and Samuel Hadida (Resident Evil: Afterlife, Good Night, and Good Luck). Executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz (The Three Musketeers, Resident Evil: Afterlife). Co-producer is Victor Hadida. Associate producer is Hiroyuki Kobayashi. The movie is based upon Capcom’s videogame “Resident Evil.” Director of photography is Glen MacPherson ASC, CSC (Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Three Musketeers). Editor is Niven Howie (Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Raven). Production designer is Kevin Phipps (V for Vendetta, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance). Costume designer is Wendy Partridge (Conan the Barbarian, Legion). Visual effects supervisor is Dennis Berardi. Digital visual effects are by Mr. X Inc. Original music is by tomandandy (Resident Evil: Afterlife).
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
From its breathtaking opening sequence to its shocking panoramic conclusion, Resident Evil: Retribution dazzles audiences with a stunning combination of the unique action sequences that have made the franchise a global hit and some new and unexpected twists. Director, writer and producer Paul W.S. Anderson has imagined a terrifying future world devastated by an unthinkable plague and realized in state-of-the-art 3-D.
Resident Evil: Retribution finds iconic action heroine Alice (indelibly portrayed in all five films by Milla Jovovich) right where she was last seen at the end Resident Evil: Afterlife—on the deck of the mysterious ship Arcadia, where she hoped to find more survivors of the plague. Instead, Alice is in the fight of her life as her former ally Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) and a fleet of the nefarious Umbrella Corporation’s V-22 helicopters swoop in with orders to shoot to kill. “We start where the last film left off,” Anderson says. “The end of that film was an epic cliffhanger and we really wanted to make it pay off at the start of this one, then go somewhere completely different. We have taken a huge conceptual leap with this movie. It’s got global scope and the action is bigger than ever.”
Jeremy Bolt, Anderson’s longtime producing partner, notes that the director has to some extent reinvented the franchise with each installment. “As a filmmaker, Paul keeps pushing himself further each time out to make it as entertaining as possible with new elements that surprise the audience. This film has even more twists and turns than ever before. We tried to give it a video-game spirit that will engage fans more.”
According to Anderson, the films give him an opportunity to indulge his own fan-boy obsessions. “I love making Resident Evil movies,” he says. “They’re everything I loved about movies growing up—sexy girls, big action, cool sets. They’re fun films to watch and fun films to make. We’ve become more adventurous with each movie, but with this one we’ve done something really spectacular.”
As always, Anderson includes references to the Resident Evil games, while at the same time developing entirely original story lines and characters. “The movies have borrowed very freely from the games,” he says. “Some of our sets were taken from the video game, so players will recognize those and get a kick out of them. And there has been some reverse influence as well. For example, the Laser corridor from the first film and the Red Queen have found their way into the gaming franchise.”
Moviegoers new to the saga won’t feel left out, however, assures the director. “This is a stand-alone movie. We try and tell a self-contained story each time. Certainly you get more out of it by seeing the others, but even a first-timer will enjoy it. Resident Evil: Afterlife set records for the franchise in terms of audience around the world and many of those people really enjoyed the film without having seen the previous movies.”
According to the filmmakers, Resident Evil: Retribution makes a bold genre crossover, staking its claim squarely in the world of science fiction, rather than the straight horror-action of the earlier installments. “The last movie was pure action-survival,” says producer Robert Kulzer. “This time we felt that we had to try something narratively that would make it more of a mindbender for the audience. You go through the movie with Alice and question everything. In this ongoing battle for the survival of humanity, you might find humanity in the least likely places, even in your enemies.”
The army of zombies created when the Umbrella Corporation lost control of the T-virus has become larger and even more dangerous as time has passed. “The Undead are constantly mutating,” says Anderson. “Their evolution is one of the strengths of both the video game and the movie franchise. The Undead from the first movie were slow, shambling zombies. They were horrific, but they have evolved into something even more terrifying.
“Now there are a lot of different kinds of Undead,” he continues. “The Majini Undead, which were introduced in the last movie, are back. They have huge, tentacular mandibles that come out of their mouths. The Lickers make a return but they’ve evolved, as well. We called them the Uber-Lickers because they’re so big.”
And as Alice is about to discover, there are worse things afoot. “The Undead that are infected with the Las Plagas virus maintain motor skills and some degree of intelligence,” Anderson explains. “Some of them can ride motorbikes and shoot machine guns. That gives a whole new level of threat to the Undead and I think that keeps the franchise fresh.”
Producer Don Carmody adds, “The goal was to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, not only with scary things, but by creating unforgettable sequences that thrill and exhilarate and stay with them long after they’ve left the theater.”
Says Kulzer: “We were constantly throwing around ideas to come up with fresh and original ways to ramp up the action, the adventure and the intensity.”
“Everything is coming to a climax,” Anderson says. “The days when humanity could just sit behind the walls of a fortress and keep the Undead back with machine-gun fire and superior technology are dwindling. This really is the beginning of the end.”
ALICE UNCHAINED
As always, the central figure in this gritty and gripping tale is Alice, played once again with implacable ferocity by Milla Jovovich. “Milla is a huge factor in the success of the films,” says Bolt. “One of the things that makes Resident Evil interesting is that we present a woman as a convincing action hero. She’s tough as hell. She’s a leader; she’s determined. If anybody’s going to beat Umbrella, it’s Alice.”
Alice has evolved with each chapter of the ongoing saga, transforming from naïve amnesiac to superhumanly gifted warrior and, now, a battered foot soldier in the ongoing war against the ultimate evil. After playing the character for a decade, Jovovich has come to know her more intimately and care more deeply about her action-hero alter ego.
“Doing this series has been such an adventure,” the actress says. “It’s always amazing to come back to this incredible, fantastical, magical world and to Alice. I know her so well now. I know how she will react, what she will and won’t do. She’s become a huge part of my life, and as I grow, she grows. I’m always excited to see where she’s going next.”
“Milla as Alice is a force to be reckoned with,” says producer Carmody. “She is not only beautiful, she’s also genuine and funny. People think of her as ‘Milla Jovovich, the Russian supermodel,’ but she’s very down-to-earth, very accomplished and very dedicated. And nobody knows Alice better than she does, not even Paul.”
Alice was stripped of her superpowers in Resident Evil: Afterlife, a move that Jovovich believes was critical to the development of the character. “We’ve moved closer to the original Alice, who was a little more vulnerable,” she says. “When she’s in danger, the audience can be scared for her because she can’t just make everything explode. She’s still a badass, just not a superhero badass.”
As Alice becomes acclimated to being human again, she has to learn to trust and depend on those around her, adds Jovovich. “Without her superpowers, she doesn’t feel as isolated. She feels more in touch with other people, and she has to be much more of a team player. And she has been able to acquire bit of a sense of humor about it all. If all you do is go around killing zombies and being chased by Umbrella storm troopers, you may as well take it with a wink and a smile.”
When Anderson talks about the actress, who is also his wife, it’s clear she is his muse for the film series. “Over the last ten years, as this character has developed, we’ve had the opportunity to see her grow as Milla has,” he says. “Alice was a blank slate in the first film because she had memory loss and knew nothing about herself. She has slowly gathered around her this family made up of other survivors of the apocalypse.
“This is a big step for her,” he adds. “You see a lot of conflict come out of that because she is a hardened warrior who has sacrificed for the battle she’s chosen to fight. She has given up family, friends and a future. Now, she is a slightly more complex character.”
The cast of Resident Evil: Retribution includes many faces that will be familiar to fans of the franchise. The filmmakers devised an ingenious way to bring back characters who have met with brutal fates in earlier films, including Michelle Rodriguez’s Rain and Colin Salmon’s One from Resident Evil; Sienna Guillory’s Jill Valentine from Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Afterlife; Oded Fehr’s Carlos from Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction; as well as Boris Kodjoe’s Luther West and Shawn Roberts’ Albert Wesker from Resident Evil: Afterlife.
“It’s exciting for us and, we hope, for the fans to have these actors and their characters back,” says Anderson. “It was a unique opportunity to work with everyone again. For instance, I’ve always wanted to work with Michelle Rodriguez again, but we shot her in the head in the first movie, which seemed to preclude bringing her back.”
But anything can and often does happen in the Resident Evil universe. “The world of the Umbrella Corporation is constantly evolving,” says Carmody, “Just as you think you’ve stopped them, another tentacle emerges.”
Anderson kicked off Resident Evil: Afterlife with an army of Alice clones, which provided him with the inspiration he needed to bring back favorite characters. “Once we introduced cloning, it really kick-started the idea of characters returning,” Anderson says.
But the cloning concept also adds a new layer of intrigue to the storyline. “The audience will wonder, ‘is that person really Carlos? Is that person really Rain?’ It’s very much in keeping with the world of gaming, where everything can change in a heartbeat.”
Jovovich relished the idea of her character reuniting with so many of her friends and foes from the previous films. “People really became invested in these characters,” she says. “When Paul figured out how to bring everyone back, we all got 9really excited. There’s a lot of illusion versus reality in this movie and it will take people by surprise. It was amazing to have everyone back together again.”
Resident Evil, Rain Ocampo, played by Michelle Rodriguez, was a member of the Umbrella special commando unit. A skilled marksman, Rain and her team were dispatched to contain the infection after the outbreak by any means possible. But after Rain was infected with the deadly T-virus and transformed into a zombie, she was killed.
Rodriquez was thrilled when Anderson called to say they had found a way to bring her character back to life. “I’m really happy to be back,” she says. “I didn’t think there’d ever be a possibility of bringing back my character. But there’s always an open window when you’re dealing with science fiction. The possibilities are endless. I’m really happy we have a director who is so creative.”
In the film, Rodriguez portrays two characters, a hard-as-nails weapons specialist working for the Umbrella Corporation, and a Prius-driving, tree-hugging student with a fondness for high heels. Known for playing strong female characters who operate in traditionally male fields, the actress loved playing against type. “I’m avid about guns and a bit of a tomboy,” she says. “Much of my career has been defined by that. It was a nice shift into playing someone a little laid back and sexy for a change. It was cool and fun to play someone who is quirky and doesn’t know how to handle a gun.”
Says Anderson of the actress, “I’ve never met a woman who feels more at home wearing a pair of combat pants and carrying a heavy machine gun. But when I talked to Michelle about returning for this movie, she said she was really interested in exploring different aspects of herself as a woman in her movie persona. We developed a character for her that is more traditionally feminine. The biggest challenge for her was wearing a pair of high heels. It was fun to see Michelle navigate in stilettos. She was unsteady on them, which shows a completely fresh side of her.”
Also returning is the character of Jill Valentine, played once again by British actress Sienna Guillory. A former police officer who aligned with Alice against the Umbrella Corporation in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Guillory was last seen ordering the killing of all remaining survivors—including Alice—at the end of Resident Evil: Afterlife. “Jill is being controlled by Umbrella now,” explains Guillory. “She’s a good girl trapped in a bad body. And she’s a real baddie in this film.”
Guillory was delighted to return to the world of Resident Evil, as well as to work with Jovovich and Anderson once again. “On these films, you’re part of a team and the support is incredible,” she says. “Milla is the most giving actress to work with and Paul has a limitless imagination. I felt like I had come home.”
Oded Fehr, familiar to audiences as Carlos Olivera, a member of the Umbrella forces special commando unit in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction, also plays dual roles in the film. Fehr says that his return to the franchise makes perfect sense.
“If you can have a hundred Alices, why not have more Carloses, Ones and Rains?” he asks. “There are so many twists and turns that it’s going to be a blast. And it was great to be reunited with the ‘family’ from the films I did earlier.”
Boris Kodjoe is also back as Luther West, a strong, confident ex-pro athlete discovered barricaded inside a prison with a small group of survivors in Resident Evil: Afterlife. Luther and Alice shared an immediate connection, forging an allegiance based on mutual respect. During their escape from the prison, Luther was attacked by zombies and is presumed dead by Alice and the others. “They had an amazing partnership in the last movie,” the actor says. “But she believes that he’s gone and it’s a nice surprise for her to find out he’s not. When they meet again, there’s obvious relief on both sides, as well as excitement that they are going to embark on a new adventure.”
For Kodjoe, one of the biggest reasons for returning to the series was the opportunity to act alongside Jovovich again. “Working with Milla is an absolute pleasure,” says the actor. “She is the perfect hero for this franchise. She brings everything to the table. She’s a team player and her energy influences everyone else.”
Returning as the film’s larger-than-life villain, Umbrella Corporation chairman Albert Wesker, is Shawn Roberts. Virtually indestructible as a result of being infected with the T-virus, Wesker seems to be evil incarnate. “Wesker is probably the biggest villain from the games and definitely a fan favorite,” says Anderson. “We blew him up with an atom bomb in the last movie, but even that was not enough to keep him down.”
Playing an unrepentant scoundrel is an actor’s dream, according to Roberts. “Albert Wesker will not to stay in the background. He’s decided to take top position. I rule the world and it feels pretty good to be sitting at the top.”
In his first appearance, Roberts took part in some of the film’s most demanding and thrilling action sequences. “He didn’t do much talking last time,” says Anderson. “But Shawn is a terrific actor, so in this movie, we turn that on its head. Sometimes Wesker seems like a James Bond type of villain, talking when he should just be killing people, and it was fun to use Shawn that way.”
According to Roberts, the latest chapter outdoes the last four on every level. “There’s more gun play, more fights. The entire movie is action on top of action on top of action. I think it’s going to be a nonstop ride that people will want to take time and time again.”
British actor Colin Salmon rounds out the slate of returning characters as James “One” Shade. Sliced into pieces with a laser in the first Resident Evil, Salmon says it was a great surprise and pleasure to be asked to return to the franchise.
“In the first movie, it looked like my character was going to be the hero of the piece,” says Salmon. “Then he became sashimi and Alice became the hero. But One is the archetypal soldier who just keeps coming back, so, without going into too much detail, he’s reinvigorated here.”
It has been 10 years since Salmon first played the character and he has watched in awe as what he calls “for all intents and purposes an indie film” became a blockbuster franchise. He gives full credit for that success to Anderson. “Paul is one of the most industrious, generous and intelligent guys I’ve ever worked with. His attention to detail and his knowledge of every department are unique. If he weren’t a director, he’d be an architect, no question.”
In each incarnation of Resident Evil, the filmmakers introduce elements of the games that are most popular with hardcore gamers. “We pay a lot of attention to what they say,” says Anderson. “We listen to their feedback. That’s why the dogs and the Lickers are in the franchise. It’s why Jill joined the franchise. This time out, we have added the characters of Leon Kennedy, Barry Burton and Ada Wong. People were clamoring for them.”
The gamers’ enthusiasm for those characters meant the filmmakers had to be especially meticulous in selecting the actors who would embody them on screen. “We took a long time with the casting process,” Anderson adds. “We found actors who brought these characters to life in a way that is as close to the video game as possible. You have no idea how difficult it is to find someone who could carry off Leon Kennedy’s hair. He had to be to be manly and have those long bangs.”
“I think the parts of Barry, Leon and Ada are perfectly cast,” says producer Robert Kulzer. “The actors have captured the essence of what people love about their videogame characters, but at the same time, have made the roles completely their own.”
Anderson chose Estonian-born actor Johann Urb to bring the key character of Leon S. Kennedy to life. Urb calls his character “a zombie-killing machine. He is a survivor and the leader of the resistance. Things have gotten really dire and we all have to team up to survive.”
Urb says he loved the idea of playing an action hero. “The character is a real dream for me. He’s strong, confident, a great leader, and he gets to shoot zombies. He’s lot of fun and it makes it easy to wake up each morning and step into his shoes.”
To bring the role of Barry Burton to the screen, the filmmakers tapped Canadian-born actor Kevin Durand. Familiar to audiences for such roles as Little John in Robin Hood and Martin Keamy in the hit television series “Lost,” Durand embraced the opportunity to play the cigar-chomping zombie fighter. “It really wasn’t a difficult decision,” says Durand. “Burton’s kind of a Dirty Harry type of character that carries a big .44 Magnum and is really good at killing zombies. How much fun is that?”
In the film, Barry Burton, Leon S. Kennedy and Luther West are a tight team. From their first meeting, the chemistry between the three actors was strong both off and on the screen. “We joke around a lot,” says Urb. “Boris and I go way back, and Kevin and I clicked immediately. It’s just a naturally wonderful camaraderie. We’re having a great time and I think it shows up on screen.”
Durand, Urb and Kodjoe each stand well over six feet tall, making them a visually imposing team. “This is the first movie I’ve worked on where my size doesn’t make me feel like I’ve escaped from the circus,” says Durand. “Boris is six-five, Johann is six-four and I’m six-six. When we walked around Toronto together, people thought we were part of the Raptors basketball team and asked us to sign hats and jerseys.”
Another character drawn directly from the game is the mysterious and deadly Ada Wong. The filmmakers selected award-winning Chinese actress Li Bingbing to embody Wong’s strength and intelligence, as well her ambiguous loyalties.
“We knew as soon as we saw her audition that Bingbing was the perfect choice for the role,” says Bolt. “In addition to being an extremely talented actor, she’s sharp, sexy and smart—all qualities that the Ada Wong character had to have.”
Li was honored to be chosen to play the alluring assassin. “Resident Evil is a well-known game in China and Ada Wong has a lot of fans there,” she says. “When Paul invited me to play the part, I think the fans were as excited as I was.”
The most daunting component for Li was not the extensive stunt work, but having to speak her lines in English. “At the beginning, I was very self-conscious,” she admits. “I thought that if I just didn’t open my mouth, I wouldn’t make any mistakes. But as I got to know everyone better, I became more comfortable. And I was relieved to find that nobody laughed. In fact, they said ‘oh your English is amazing!’ They made me feel like I was part of a very cozy family.”
Also new to the film is the character of Becky, a young deaf girl who forges a strong bond with Alice. She is played by 11-year-old Aryana Engineer, who is hearing impaired in real life. “The character was written as deaf,” says Anderson. “I wanted to cast a deaf actress to play her, even though that meant that Milla had to learn sign language to be able to communicate with her in the film. Aryana had only done one movie before this, but she really achieved a lot. She grew as an actress and delivered a terrific performance.”
Adding a child to Alice’s already complicated existence allowed them to explore a previously hidden side of Alice, Anderson says. “Now that Milla herself has a child, I felt it was the right time,” he adds. “To see how a hardened warrior deals with it brought a very interesting aspect to Milla’s performance in this movie. It brings something fresh and different to the franchise.”
AROUND THE WORLD IN 3-D
Through four previous outings, the Resident Evil saga has taken audiences around the world and deep inside the mysterious Umbrella Corporation, but never before on such a vast scale. “Resident Evil has always been a global franchise,” says Anderson. “I don’t mean just in the way it’s shot, but also in the locations. In the first movie, it was the claustrophobia of the Hive; in the second, the nighttime streets of Raccoon City. The third movie moved to the desert and the fourth movie had post-apocalyptic Los Angeles burning to a crisp. This time we’ve made what is effectively a road movie, because we go from one country to another to another in a novel way.”
The film’s script called for 74 sets as the action swiftly shifts from North America to Japan to Moscow to Kamchatka in northernmost Russia, all shot in Toronto on studio sets and location. “We used some astonishing visual effects to create the illusion that we were traveling the world,” says Anderson. “Moscow and Tokyo would have been very difficult locations to shoot in. Even if we had gone to Japan, we would never have been able to close down the center of Shibuya and have that kind of carnage and devastation, so we built a huge chunk of the district on a back lot. We did send a unit to Moscow and shut down parts of Red Square for two days in order to create background plates for a very detailed recreation, including the Gum Store, which is the Harrods of Moscow.”
Production designer Kevin Phipps conceptualized each of the movie’s disparate settings, both replicated and invented. “There are tons of fantastic visual contrasts in the film, which made it very exciting to work on,” says Phipps. “The world of Resident Evil is like no other. We were designing for an imagined world, the high-tech futuristic world of the Umbrella Corporation, but fitting it into the already existing world. It was a very broad canvas.
“When Paul wrote the scene set in Red Square, we had to figure out the most visually interesting yet economical way to shoot it,” he adds. “It required a very fine balance of physical and virtual sets. We were meticulous in the detailing. I found a lot of joy in the interface between reality and illusion.”
Phipps’ most compelling innovation is the interior of the Umbrella Corporation’s ingeniously hidden fortress. To represent the corporation’s nerve center, he designed a world made out of glass: corridors, interrogation rooms and a control center, all filled with light and stretching into chilly infinity. “We ended up designing a modular system of floor panels and wall panels, which were repurposed for our different looks,” he says. “It turned out to be more of a technical challenge than we anticipated. Quite a bit of research and development went into to coming up with a coherent design philosophy for doors and panels, as well as finding the best way to light the sets. There’s a lot of super-high-speed photography, as well as 3-D in the film. When you are shooting at 216 frames a second, you need a lot of light.”
For his third feature film in 3-D, Anderson and his longtime collaborator, director of photography Glen MacPherson, utilized the most up-to-date equipment, some of it specifically developed for Resident Evil: Retribution. “When we made Resident Evil: Afterlife, we used what was then the leading edge of technology,” Anderson says. “It has evolved enormously since then and Glen brought his own ingenuity to bear.
“Glen was tired of me complaining that I couldn’t do certain things with 3-D rigs, so he built one for me,” Anderson continues. “I was frustrated because I could never use a big wide-angle lens. And you had to bring in a different camera if you wanted to do slow motion. The new rigs are smaller and more mobile than the rigs we used on the last film, so we could do more Steadicam work. They are built to my specifications for the way I like to shoot, and as a result the camera work on this movie is the most adventurous I’ve ever shot in 3-D.”
The rigs MacPherson and second-unit director of photography Vern Nobles put together gave the photography team freedom that was previously unprecedented in the 3-D realm. “For the first time, we had a camera rig that we could stick on a car without tethering it to any recording towers,” says MacPherson. “We could shoot in slow motion without having a whole bunch of equipment following us. And all of the cameras had the flexibility to shoot at both high and low speeds. We are able to take a whole different approach to shooting.”
With audiences more used to 3-D, Anderson felt freer in other ways as well. “I think we can cut faster. We can do more hand-held and tolerate more camera shake, which we stayed away from just two years ago. So I think the film will have a much more kinetic feel than you’re used to seeing in a 3-D film. Hopefully people’s eyes won’t explode. But if they do, they’ll be having a good time, because we’ve put some pretty amazing stuff on screen on this film.”
And the director finally got his yearned-for wide-angle lenses. “We like to say that the ‘W.S.’ in his name stands for ‘wide shot,’” says MacPherson. “Paul rarely does over-shoulder or master shots. We usually push the camera as far back as we can into a corner and shoot from crazy angles. We have environments in this movie that seem to go on and on forever.”
Resident Evil: Retribution also contains some of the biggest visual effects ever created by Toronto-based Mr. X, according to the film’s special effects supervisor, Dennis Berardi. “We’ve got creatures the size of dinosaurs,” Berardi says. “We’ve got a rockin’ car chase with a Rolls Royce that basically gets destroyed. We’ve got tidal waves running through Red Square and taking out New York. Every scene, every sequence we made, we were looking for opportunities to take it to the next level. It’s epic stuff.”
Berardi—whose previous collaborations with Anderson include Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Afterlife and The Three Musketeers—and his team were in charge of seamlessly integrating the more than 900 computer-generated shots into the heart and action of the film. “Special effects are very important in the Resident Evil series,” says Jeremy Bolt. “They are the glue that brings everything together. They are the essence of the film, taking us into the Umbrella Corporation world in a way that otherwise would be impossible.”
But visual effects are irrelevant if they can’t be realistically integrated into a movie, says Berardi. “Audiences spot them in a second and it cheapens the experience. We knew we had to do a photo-real version of Red Square, so we went to Moscow. We did the same for New York. Because we got involved from the script level, we are able to work out all the bugs early. By the end of principal photography, we’d already been working on the movie for about six months.”
Berardi is looking forward to fan reaction to the shocking final scene of the film. “In keeping with tradition, it is a cliffhanger ending that hints at what will happen in the next movie,” he says. “It’s as big as any I’ve ever seen. It probably was the most complicated shot we ever did.”
The Resident Evil franchise has become synonymous with high-octane action from beginning to end, and Resident Evil: Retribution is packed with heart-pounding, adrenaline-charged sequences. In a nod to the fifth game, Anderson builds on a chase in the game to create one of the films standout scenes.
“The characters are driving in a Hummer though the desert and they’re being chased by zombies shooting machine guns on motorbikes,” he says. “We’ve taken that and we’ve run with it. Instead of a Hummer, we’re using a Rolls Royce Phantom because no one’s ever done a car chase with a Rolls Royce before.”
Anderson amps up the scene even further by relocating it to the streets of Moscow. “There are zombies coming at us and they’re not the regular ones,” says Johann Urb, who spent five days filming the hair-raising sequence along with Jovovich, Durand and Kodjoe. “They’re firing weapons and bazookas. We run out of bullets and I have to take them out hand-to-hand, which was fun. There are also Uber-Lickers coming at us at the same time. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Veteran stunt-coordinator Nick Powell, whose credits include The Bourne Identity, Gladiator and The Last Samurai, previously worked with Anderson and Jovovich on The Three Musketeers. The complexity and scope of the stunts required two full crews to work simultaneously, with Powell helming the stunt unit while Anderson shot with the film’s principals.
“Resident Evil has a signature style that Paul has established over the years,” says Powell, “The audience expects there to be a lot of over-the-top action sequences, but I was amazed at the number in the film. Action-wise, this is the most ambitious Resident Evil yet.”
The fight sequences in Resident Evil: Retribution are by far the biggest in the history of the franchise. Jovovich and the rest of the cast spent long hours training in order to meet the physical demands of the film. The intricately choreographed fight sequences meant that everyone had to be at the top of their game, according to Powell, who employed a number of styles of martial arts as well as kick-boxing and wire work. “It takes many hours of practice to learn the movements,” he explains. “Nothing should look rehearsed. All the movements should be controlled with a smooth and continuous rhythm.”
Powell has high praise for the fighting skills of the film’s leading lady. “Milla is very capable,” says Powell. “She is extremely well coordinated and has done this for such a long time that she picks up choreography very quickly. So with her, it’s always how big can we go before it gets too big? To what point can we physically take it without it getting too crazy?”
Jovovich says that working on Resident Evil: Retribution was her biggest physical undertaking to date. “With each Resident Evil film, we’ve raised the bar. I don’t want to keep repeating myself and neither does Paul. Our audience doesn’t want to go see the same movie over and over again. These are definitely some of the most challenging fight sequences I’ve ever done in any movie.”
One of the film’s most complicated sequences is the climactic fight between Jovovich’s Alice and Guillory’s Jill Valentine. The pair put hours of work into preparing and filming the action. “The fight has almost 200 moves,” says Guillory. “It’s immense and brilliant. Milla and I worked on it every day. It’s actually a very beautiful fight. It incorporates things that we had never done before with weapons and lots of aerial moves.”
As a former athlete, Boris Kodjoe enjoyed the discipline and challenges of the fight scenes. “A big part of being in Resident Evil is the training,” he says. “It was been an amazing experience working with Nick and his team. I love to get in there and get physical. It’s fun for me to sell it and to make the audience really believe that we’re engaging in a true battle.”
Filming in 3-D also had to be taken into consideration as far as stunts were concerned. “3-D is definitely a challenge, not only for the actors but for the stunt people as well,” says Jovovich. “I’ve been trained to punch and miss so that it sells to camera, but with 3-D, you almost have to make contact to sell a fight. It takes it into dangerous territory and makes it quite exhilarating.”
All of this adds up to what Anderson intends to be “a bigger and better Resident Evil.” “I wanted to make the first epic post-apocalyptic movie,” he says. “I wanted it to have many dramatic, international locations. I wanted to show for the first time that this is a global infection. I also wanted it to be a huge action movie. I think the movie delivers all of that. These films have become bigger as they go along, but I think this is definitely a step into new territory.”
ABOUT THE CAST
MILLA JOVOVICH (Alice) has established herself as a highly regarded international model and actress. Jovovich (her name is pronounced “mee-luh” “yo-vo-vitch”) has transitioned effortlessly to full-time actress, starring in over two-dozen films.
Jovovich was most recently seen in Julien Magnat’s thriller Faces in the Crowd, starring opposite Julian McMahon and David Atrakchi; Famke Janssen’s Bringing Up Bobby, with Bill Pullman and Marcia Cross; and Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers, alongside Christoph Waltz, Matthew Macfadyen, Mads Mikkelsen and Juno Temple.
Star of the Resident Evil franchise from the beginning, Jovovich reprised her role as Alice in the fourth installment of the series, Resident Evil: Afterlife. Written and directed by Anderson, the film was released nationwide in September 2010 and grossed $295 million worldwide.
Jovovich was recently seen in John Curran’s thriller Stone, starring Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro and Academy Award® nominee Edward Norton; Dirty Girl, with William H. Macy and Juno Temple; and the Russian production Lucky Trouble, co-starring Konstantin Khabenskiy and Ivan Urgant.
At the age of 11, Jovovich was spotted by photographer Richard Avedon, who featured her in Revlon’s “Most Unforgettable Women in the World” advertisements. In 1987, she appeared on the cover of the Italian fashion magazine Lei, her first of many covers. In 1988, she signed her first professional modeling contract.
Jovovich has appeared in hundreds of magazines and on dozens of covers. She has been featured in ad campaigns for brands including Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Damiani, Donna Karan, Gap and Versace. An international spokesmodel for L’Oréal cosmetics since 1998, Jovovich has also been seen recently in campaigns for ICB, Ann Taylor and Mercedes-Benz.
In 1988, the actress made her feature-film debut in the romantic thriller Two Moon Junction. Her first leading role was in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991), for which she was nominated for a 1991 Young Artist Award for “Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture.” Early film credits include Kuffs (1992), Chaplin (1992) and Dazed and Confused (1993).
Jovovich’s breakout role was playing Leeloo, the “perfect being” in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997). She later starred in several other action movies including Ultraviolet (2006), A Perfect Getaway (2009) and The Fourth Kind (2009).
Jovovich demonstrated her talent for comedy and drama in films such as He Got Game (1998), The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), The Claim (2000), The Million Dollar Hotel (2000), Zoolander (2001), Dummy (2003), No Good Deed (2003) and You Stupid Man (2003).
Jovovich is also a talented musician. In 1994, she released her critically acclaimed folk album, “The Divine Comedy.” She wrote the lyrics at age 15 and recorded the album when she was just 16. For “In a Glade,” a traditional Ukrainian folk song, Jovovich sings in her native tongue.
For some time, Jovovich led a band called “Plastic Has Memory,” which played about a dozen shows in Los Angeles and New York City in 1999. Jovovich performed the song “Left and Right” at Fashion Rocks in London in 2003.
She has also had songs on several albums, including two cover versions of Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” on The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack (2000), “Rocket Collecting” on the Underworld soundtrack (2003), and “Shein Vi Di L’Vone” and “Mezinka” (Yiddish klezmer songs) on the Dummy soundtrack (2003).
The actress is also a fixture in the fashion world. Jovovich-Hawk, a fashion line formed by Jovovich and Carmen Hawk in 2003, operated for five years. Jovovich-Hawk was a finalist in 2006 for the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Vogue Fashion Fund initiative. The popular fashion chain Mango released a Jovovich-Hawk collection in 2007.
Jovovich is an ambassador for amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) and also supports several other charities, including OCRF (Ovarian Cancer Research Fund), The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Wildlands Project and UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
When she is not in production, Jovovich resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Paul W.S. Anderson and daughter, Ever.
MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ (Rain Ocampo) is a versatile actress known for the ability to combine her “tough girl” physicality with a natural beauty and unforced sex appeal.
She has most recently been seen starring in James Cameron’s record-breaking sci-fi epic AVATAR, sci-fi/action flick Battle: Los Angeles, the Robert Rodriguez-helmed action-feature Machete of which she just wrapped lensing the sequel Machete Kills, as well as the highly successful return of the Fast & Furious franchise currently filming the sixth installment on location in Europe.
Born Mayte Michelle Rodriguez in Bexar County, Texas, she worked as an extra for two years satisfying her curiosity about movie making. Rodriguez decided to pursue acting and landed her first audition from an ad spotted in Backstage West. Soon thereafter, she was starring in Karyn Kusama’s indie hit Girlfight (2000). The role garnered Rodriguez numerous awards and much critical acclaim.
Rodriguez went on to co-star opposite Danny Glover in the Showtime telepic “3 A.M.” and the adrenaline-charged megahit The Fast and the Furious, opposite Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. An avid video gamer who has lent her voice to popular games including “True Crime: Streets of L.A.,” “Driver 3” and “Halo 2,” Rodriguez jumped at the opportunity to take a role in 2002’s Resident Evil, Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation of the hit game series.
Other film credits include Battle in Seattle, with Charlize Theron; Blue Crush, opposite Kate Bosworth; the summer blockbuster S.W.A.T., alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell; and Control, with Ray Liotta. More recently, Rodriguez co-produced and starred in the historical drama Trópico de Sangre.
In 2005, a new chapter of her career began when Rodriguez joined the cast of ABC’s hugely popular television series “Lost,” playing haunted and hardened ex-cop Ana Lucia. The character was revealed during the show’s second season and wrapped up her storyline with an appearance in the final season (2010).
KEVIN DURAND (Barry Burton) Canadian-born Kevin Durand has developed a versatile background, beginning in comedy and Broadway then transitioning into television and film, illustrating his ability to captivate a wide range of audiences. Durand was nominated for a 2012 Genie Award for his performance in IFC Films’ Edwin Boyd. In 2009, he was nominated for a Saturn Award for his recurring character, Martin Keamy, on the popular series “Lost”. Durand can be seen in David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis opposite Robert Pattinson, the independent feature The Truth opposite Andy Garcia and Forest Whitaker and in IFC Films’ Edwin Boyd alongside Scott Speedman.
Most recently, Durand completed production on Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot opposite Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon portraying John Mark Byers, the father of one of the murdered children in the West Memphis Three case. He also wrapped production on Jack Heller’s independent thriller Dark Was the Night with Lukas Haas. Next he is set to join Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah for Paramount and New Regency and Lily Collins in The Mortal Instruments which is based on the best selling young adult series of the same name for Screen Gems and Constantin Films.
Before his film career, Durand was voted one of Canada’s funniest new comedians. In addition, he originated the role of Injun Joe in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” on Broadway. Durand is best known for his roles in such films as Shawn Levy’s Real Steel for Dreamworks/Disney opposite Hugh Jackman, Universal’s Robin Hood as Little John opposite Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood, James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, as Fred Dukes aka The Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine alongside Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiberg, Joe Carnahan’s Smokin’ Aces opposite Ben Affleck and Jeremy Piven, and Walt Becker’s Wild Hogs with John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence. Durand’s other credits include: D.J. Caruso’s I Am Number Four for Dreamworks, Screen Gems’ Legion with Paul Bettany, The Butterfly Effect opposite Ashton Kutcher, Jay Roach’s Mystery Alaska with Russell Crowe, Columbia Pictures’ Winged Creatures opposite Forest Whitaker and Dakota Fanning, Vertigo Entertainment’s The Echo, a series regular on “Touching Evil” and the James Cameron hit series “Dark Angel”. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
SIENNA GUILLORY (Jill Valentine) is a highly regarded actress and budding filmmaker. She recently collaborated on her first feature as a writer, working on a psychological thriller called The Wicked Within that is due in theaters in October. Guillory stars alongside Eric Roberts.
Guillory recently played Antonio Banderas’ muse in the indie film The Big Bang. She starred opposite Andrew Garfield in Spike Jonze’s romantic robot short, I’m Here. Her other film credits include playing Jamie’s girlfriend in Love Actually, Arya in Eragon, Emma in The Time Machine and Resa in Inkheart. She first appeared as Jill Valentine in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and reprised the role in Resident Evil: Afterlife.
On television, Guillory is known for roles such as Helen in “Helen of Troy” as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Jenny Bun in the BBC adaptation of “Take a Girl Like You.”
British American, Guillory was born in 1975 to hippie parents: her father was a Cuban-born guitarist and singer songwriter, and her mother was a model in the ’60s. She split her childhood between the folk-music festival scene and her grandparents’ country estate, where she spent her days riding horses. Guillory then went to an all-girl boarding school and spent a summer attending the Jacques Lecoq school of mime. Starring in a TV miniseries at age 17, she then left school to pursue her acting career.
Guillory supported her acting habit as a waitress before signing with modeling agency Select in 1995, at the ripe age of 20. She was featured in campaigns for Hugo Boss, Burberry, Paul Smith, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, John Richmond and Gap.
Living in New York until 1999, she collaborated on various independent and short films. In 2006, the London Institute of Creative Arts ran a retrospective of Guillory’s work in short films.
Guillory and her husband of nine years, Enzo Cilenti, divide their time between London and Los Angeles. In 2011, they welcomed twin girls Lucia and Valentina to their family.
SHAWN ROBERTS (Albert Wesker) is quickly making a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s young leading men. In 2010, he originated the role of Albert Wesker in Resident Evil: Afterlife and co-starred opposite Mel Gibson in Edge of Darkness, directed by Martin Campbell. He was also seen in George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead and Skinwalkers.
Roberts recently completed filming lead roles in three new projects: Reel Love, opposite LeAnn Rimes; Wyatt Earp’s Revenge, with Val Kilmer; and A Little Bit Zombie.
Other film credits include: I Love You, Beth Cooper for director Chris Columbus; Land of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero; X-Men, directed by Bryan Singer; and the successful Canadian teen comedy Going the Distance.
Roberts was raised in Stratford, Ontario, and began acting professionally at age 12 when he landed a lead role on the CBC series “Emily of New Moon,” which was produced by Academy Award®-winning producer Michael Donovan. Following the completion of the show’s successful run, Roberts began working continuously in film and television.
Currently, Roberts splits his time between Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver.
ARYANA ENGINEER (Becky) is a gifted young actress best known for playing six-year-old Maxine Coleman in the taut thriller Orphan (2009), starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. Born on March 6, 2001, in British Columbia, Canada, she was discovered in 2007 at age 6 when a local talent agent saw her using sign language. At the time, producers for Orphan were searching for a blond-haired little girl who knew sign language.
Later that year, Engineer had the chance to meet with the casting directors and producers for the film. They immediately noted her talent and agreed that she would be perfect for the key role of Maxine.
Next, Engineer filmed a commercial promoting the 2010 Winter Olympics. In March 2010, she was one of the seven youth hosts to take part in the Canadian Paralympics’ opening ceremonies, where she welcomed viewers in sign language.
COLIN SALMON (James “One” Shade) was once cited by Pierce Brosnan as a shining candidate to portray the first black James Bond. The British film and television actor has made a name for himself with appearances as M’s Chief of Staff Charles Robinson in Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
Salmon recently played the leading role of Sam Wharton in High Chicago, playing a gambling addict who dreams of winning enough money to build a drive-in movie theater. The new feature comes from Canadian filmmakers Amos and Alfons Adetuyi.
Born in London, Salmon’s early roles include playing the authoritative Sgt. Robert Oswald in the acclaimed television miniseries “Prime Suspect 2” (1992), where he commanded the screen opposite Dame Helen Mirren.
After strong performances in the James Bond films, the actor’s international profile grew. He was cast in American features such as Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil (2002) and Alien vs. Predator (2007). In the latter film, Anderson wrote the role of Maxwell Stafford especially for Salmon.
Other film credits include Woody Allen’s romantic thriller Match Point (2006), the ’80s nightclub-set, gangland drama Clubbed (2008), British heist film The Bank Job (2008) and Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone (2008), inspired by the iconic Marvel Comics hero.
In addition to his film work, Salmon’s television credits include the hit comedy series “Rev” (BBC2) and military action-thriller “Strike Back,” for Sky Television. He was trumpet-playing Note Makoti in “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” and appeared in guest roles on “Law & Order: U.K.” and the international sci-fi hit “Doctor Who.” Salmon recently had an arc on the Queen Latifah-produced series “Single Ladies,” playing Jerry, the handsome, Southern owner of an NBA team.
Salmon often lends his richly reverberating vocal chords to voice-over work. He is also a highly accomplished jazz musician and songwriter.
JOHANN URB (Leon Kennedy) charmed audiences as one of the male stars in the short-lived ABC Network drama “Eastwick” opposite Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Ray Newman and Lindsay Price as well as appeared in the ensemble cast opposite John Cusack, Thandie Newton and Oliver Platt in Roland Emmerich’s world-wide box office hit, 2012 for Sony Pictures. He also recently wrapped production on a recurring role appearing in a story-arc for the upcoming season of Showtime Network’s critically acclaimed, “Californication.”
His other film credits include: Dorfman, Pornstar, All In, Zoolander, The Bank Job, The Hottie & the Nottie and Strictly Sexual which was later developed as a television series with season one currently available streaming via Amazon.
Notable television credits includes a series regular role in “The Mountain,” a recurring role in “Dirt” and guest starring roles in such diverse shows as “The Glades,” “Entourage,” “One Tree Hill,” and “CSI: Miami.”
Urb is a native of Tallinn, Estonia and the son of Estonian musician Tarmo Urb of the Urb Brothers. At the age of ten, Johann and his mother immigrated to Finland and spent the remainder of his childhood in that country. Johann subsequently moved to New York City, where he modeled on contract with the Ford Agency and through a scholarship he formally studied drama at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Institute.
Johann currently resides in Los Angeles.
BORIS KODJOE (Luther West) From his big screen and television roles to his theater and entrepreneurial skills, Boris Kodjoe has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. He was handpicked by JJ Abrams to star in his drama series “Undercovers” which aired during the 2010 TV season. He is currently filming Nurses 3D.
Boris is best known for his role as Damon Carter on the hit Showtime TV series “Soul Food.” The show earned him three NAACP Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Boris was most recently seen opposite Bruce Willis for director Jonathan Mostow in the Disney thriller Surrogates and in Resident Evil: Afterlife with Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller and Ali Larter.
Boris was born in Vienna, Austria, to Ursula Kodjoe, a psychologist from Germany, and Eric Kodjoe, a physician from Ghana, West Africa. He grew up in Germany with brother Patrick and sister Nadja, where he went to school and was exposed to athletics and the arts early in his life. He became one of the best tennis players in the country, and accepted a tennis scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University in the Fall of 1992.
While studying in Richmond, he was approached by a Ford Modeling agency which he joined after earning his marketing degree in May of 1996. Immediately he booked twelve campaigns such as Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Yves Saint Laurent, and The GAP, within the first seven months. His career skyrocketed as he quickly became one of the most recognizable faces amongst male supermodels which ultimately led to him being Awarded a Supermodel Award at the Fall ’98 fashion shows. He can currently be seen in magazine ads and on billboards worldwide for Polo Ralph Lauren.
Hollywood soon took notice of Boris. While studying with acting coach Janet Alhanti, he started guest starring on sitcoms such as “For Your Love,” and landed a supporting role in the Spike Lee produced feature film Love and Basketball.
Boris also starred in the feature Brown Sugar, alongside Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan, for which he was nominated for an NAACP Award for the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Previously, Boris co-starred in the hit movie Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion and was the lead in The Gospel which was a surprise hit at the boxoffice.
Last year, Boris made his Broadway debut in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, opposite James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad and Anika Noni Rose for director Debbie Allen. Previously, he toured the country in the play Whatever She Wants with Vivica A. Fox and Richard Roundtree.
On television, Boris starred on the UPN sitcom “Second Time Around” opposite then fiancé Nicole Ari Parker where they played a once married couple that after years of being apart, decide to remarry and give their relationship a second try. He has since gone on to guest star on such hit television shows as Franklin & Bash, Nip/Tuck, Crossing Jordan, Eve, and Boston Public among others.
Boris recently launched the clothing company ALFA (Affordable Luxury For All) with his brother Patrick Kodjoe, bringing the luxury of custom made clothing to every man and woman in America at affordable prices. The line can be accessed at www.worldofalfa.com.
Boris' main personal interest is to raise funds for Sophie’s Voice Foundation (www.sophiesvoicefoundation.org), a foundation he started with his wife in honor of his daughter Sophie, who was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth.
Boris, currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Nicole, and their two children, Sophie and Nicolas.
LI BINGBING (Ada Wong) is one of China's top actresses. Her special charm comes not only from her beauty and glamour but also from the modesty and sincerity revealed by her speech and manner. Her performance in the role of a kindhearted policewoman in the movie Back Home for the New Year, directed by Zhang Yuan, is widely considered her best. Although hampered by a policewoman's heavy winter uniform all through the movie, Li turned in a stunningly vivid performance.
Another famous character of Li's is the smart, lovely little ghost she played in a television series. Thanks to Li's superb performance, the little ghost, versed in both literature and martial arts, came alive and enjoyed great popularity among viewers. Li Bingbing did not start out as an actress. She studied at a high school for prospective elementary-school teachers, where she studied dance, accordion, and zheng, a Chinese zither with 25 strings. All through the three years at the high school, Li was among the top five students in academic performance. After graduation, she taught at a primary school, but gradually, she found it hard to tolerate the loneliness during the summer and winter holidays.
A friend who knew about her fondness for art, suggested that she take the entrance examination for the Shanghai Drama Institute. At the time, Li's family had just spent a large sum on medical expenses for her father, and Li decided to give up the idea so as not to increase the burden on her family. But her father encouraged her and eased her worries about finance. In 1993, Li entered the Shanghai Drama Institute.
Li had her acting debut in a television serial when she was a sophomore. She played a role that required a wide variety emotions and a long span of age, from 15 to 30. With the help of the experienced actors and actresses of the cast, she turned in a successful performance.
Since then, Li has acted in many films and television plays. The more the roles, she says, the more the opportunity for practice and the greater the progress. She doesn't care whether the role is major or minor. What counts for her is the personality of the character.
Li keeps a diary in spite of a tight work schedule. In her leisure time, she stays at home, tidying up her room and reading books. During her breaks from acting, she rarely puts on makeup and never goes to beauty parlors. Beauty, she says, stems from a good mood.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
PAUL W.S. ANDERSON (Director, Producer, Writer) has become internationally known for his action-packed, edge-of-your-seat films. All together, his films have grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, with No. 1 weekends around the globe—an accomplishment that puts him in an elite group of filmmakers. Anderson turns epic stories into must-see movies, having launched four successful film franchises and tackled diverse subjects such as classic literature, science fiction, video-game franchises and historical fiction.
Anderson most recently directed and produced his update of an Alexandre Dumas classic, The Three Musketeers. Filmed in 3-D, the film stars Milla Jovovich, Logan Lerman, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Christoph Waltz, Gabriella Wilde and Orlando Bloom.
Anderson is slated to direct Pompeii, an epic love story set against the backdrop of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. The film will be shot in 3-D for Constantin Film and Summit Entertainment.
Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Anderson graduated from the University of Warwick with a B.A. in film and literature. He continued his studies at Warwick to become the youngest student to earn an MBA at the university.
Anderson’s first film was 1994’s low-budget success Shopping, which he wrote and directed. Starring Sadie Frost and Jude Law (with an appearance by legendary singer Marianne Faithful), this dark film about joyriding and ram-raiding British youth was banned in some U.K. theaters but established Anderson’s flare for high-impact action.
Shopping paved the way to Hollywood for Anderson, and 1995’s Mortal Kombat became his first American No. 1 box-office smash. It was also the first successful film adaptation of a video game. The triumph of Mortal Kombat established Anderson as a filmmaker who could take a game off the television set and make it explode on the big screen as a successful film franchise.
Sidestepping offers to direct a sequel to Mortal Kombat, Anderson chose instead to turn his attention to science fiction. His next directorial projects included Soldier and Event Horizon. Blade Runner screenwriter David Peoples wrote Soldier as a “sidequel” to the bleakly powerful Blade Runner. Now considered a cult classic, Event Horizon starred Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Jason Isaacs and Joely Richardson.
Anderson returned to adapting games for the big screen with the survival horror film Resident Evil (2002), starring Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez. Anderson wrote, directed and produced the feature. A resounding commercial success, the movie spawned Anderson’s second successful franchise. The series includes No. 1 hits Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). Anderson wrote the sequels and produced them along with his Impact Pictures partner, Jeremy Bolt.
Anderson confirmed his box-office power when he wrote and directed the highly anticipated AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004). This kicked off his third successful franchise, as the movie opened at No. 1 and went on to become the highest-grossing film in both the Alien and Predator series.
In 2008, Anderson’s Death Race, starring Jason Statham and Joan Allen, rolled into theaters. The film was a remake of the 1975 cult classic Death Race 2000 starring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. Anderson produced Death Race with Bolt through Impact Pictures.
In 2009, Anderson produced sci-fi horror film Pandorum, starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster, through the Impact Pictures banner. Resident Evil: Afterlife, the fourth film in the highly successful franchise that has made $675 million worldwide to date, was released in 2010. It was filmed using the Vincent Pace 3-D system developed for James Cameron’s Avatar.
It went on to become Anderson’s first global number one, staying at the top of the International Box Office for a straight month and ultimately grossing 300 million worldwide.
Following this unprecedented peak with the ever-evolving Resident Evil franchise, Anderson diversified to direct and produce the stylish and action packed update of Alexandre Dumas classic The Three Musketeers for Constantin Film and Summit Entertainment. Filmed in 3D the film boasts an all-star cast including Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz and Logan Lerman with Luke Evans, Ray Stephenson and Matthew Macfadyen as the charismatic title characters. Released in 2011 the film was globally embraced so far grossing $150 million worldwide.
JEREMY BOLT (Producer) Since creating Impact Pictures with Paul WS Anderson in 1992, producer Jeremy Bolt has produced the majority of Anderson’s movies. Their first collaboration, 1994’s Shopping starring Jude Law (Channel Four Films), was an action packed film about joyriding and ram-raiding British youth that revved up Bolt’s career and established his love of cars and death defying races. Having gotten Hollywood’s attention, Bolt produced big budget films such as Event Horizon (Paramount) and Soldier (Warner Bros). 2002’s Resident Evil (Sony Screen Gems) was the first movie under the Impact Picture’s joint venture deal with Germany’s leading independent distributor, Constantin Film going on to gross over $100M worldwide.
Under the joint venture with Constantin, Bolt has also produced 2004’s Resident
Evil: Apocalypse for Sony Screen Gems (written by Anderson and directed by Alexander Witt), the psychological horror The Dark (directed by John Fawcett), teen actioner DOA: Dead Or Alive (directed by Cory Yuen for Dimension), an adaptation of Tecmo’s best- selling videogame franchise, and the third movie in the block-busting Resident Evil franchise, 2007’s Resident Evil: Extinction that debuted in the #1 US box office position and grossed $150M worldwide. Also in 2007, Bolt produced Death Race with Jason Statham, Joan Allen and Ian McShane, a reimagining of the Roger Corman classic, with Cruise/Wagner
Productions for Universal Pictures. Fall 2009 saw the release of the sci/fi horror film Pandorum for Overture Films and Constantin Film starring Dennis Quaid & Ben Foster. The 4th film in the Resident Evil franchise was released in the Fall of 2010 and rocketed to $300M worldwide. Action horror Resident Evil: Afterlife was shot in 3D for Constantin Film & Sony Screen Gems, and stars Milla Jovovich & Ali Larter.
As well as producing big budget genre movies, Jeremy has proved his talents as
a versatile and eclectic filmmaker, producing the art house film Vigo for Film Four (directed by Julian Temple), and the comedy Stiff Upper Lips (starring Peter Ustinov). He has also produced There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble (starring Ray Winstone and Robert Carlyle), and teen horror The Hole (starring Thora Birch and Keira Knightley), both for Pathe Pictures.
Coming off of his recent box office success with an update of the Alexandre Dumas classic The Three Musketeers with Paul WS Anderson directing in 3D for Constantin Film and Summit Entertainment ($150M worldwide).
ROBERT KULZER (Producer) is a well-respected feature-film producer and executive. He recently produced Paul W.S. Anderson’s 3-D action-adventure reboot of The Three Musketeers, which grossed over $140 million worldwide.
Presently he is producing The Mortal Instruments, the adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s best selling Young Adult book series.
Kulzer was named co-president of Constantin Film Development Los Angeles in 2005, where he had worked as head of production since 2000 and served as head of development and acquisition from 1991 to 2000. Among his acquisitions for Constantin Film were American Pie, The Sixth Sense and Sleepy Hollow. He also contributed to the production of The House of the Spirits, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Wrongfully Accused and The Fantastic Four.
No stranger to the Resident Evil franchise, Kulzer executive produced Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. He produced both Resident Evil: Extinction, which became the highest-grossing independent film of 2007, and Resident Evil: Afterlife. He executive produced the U.K. thriller The Dark, starring Maria Bello and Sean Bean, and wrote and produced the German action-comedy Autobahn Racer.
Other producing credits include survival-horror film Wrong Turn, the action-adventure DOA: Dead or Alive, the werewolf action-thriller Skinwalkers and the sci-fi horror film Pandorum.
DON CARMODY (Producer) has been producing films for close to 40 years. He was vice president of production for Canada’s Cinepix (now Lionsgate), where he co-produced David Cronenberg’s early shockers They Came From Within and Rabid as well as the popular Bill Murray comedy Meatballs.
Starting his own production company in 1980, Carmody went on to produce the smash hits Porky’s and Porky’s II as well as the family classic A Christmas Story, the Weekend At Bernie’s series, and telefilm “The Late Shift,” which was nominated for seven Emmy® Awards and three CableAce awards.
Other film credits include Studio 54, the Academy Award® nominated Good Will Hunting, The Pledge, Wrong Turn, Gothika, cult hit The Boondock Saints, Assault On Precinct 13, Lucky Number Slevin, Orphan and the Resident Evil films. The fourth installment of that series, Resident Evil: Afterlife, grossed more than $300 million worldwide and became Canada’s reigning box-office champion.
In 2002, Carmody was co-producer of Chicago, starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere. The film won seven Academy Awards® including Best Picture and three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Musical or Comedy.
Recent productions include Goon with Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber and Eugene Levy, as well as the sequel to Christophe Gans’ horror hit Silent Hill.
Carmody grew up in Boston and Montreal and has gone on to produce more than 100 films shot all over the world. He currently has offices in Toronto and Los Angeles.
SAMUEL HADIDA (Producer) is one of the most successful producers and distributors in the worldwide film business. He and his brother, Victor, have grown Metropolitan FilmExport, founded in the early 1980s by the brothers and their father, David, into the largest and most successful independent all-rights distribution company of English language pictures in France.
Metropolitan has distributed hundreds of successful films in France, and has developed a keen understanding of distribution and marketing. It was an easy step for Hadida to move into film production.
His first production was True Romance, the first film produced from a Quentin Tarantino script and his first collaboration with director Tony Scott. Hadida now produces or co- produces several films each year through Davis Films, the production company owned and operated by himself and Victor. These productions encompass the best of the French industry, European productions and co-productions, and American productions.
Hadida produced The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Terry Gilliam’s visionary creation, starring Heath Ledger in his last film, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law; Solomon Kane, the first epic adventure adapted from the classic pulp stories by Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan The Barbarian, directed by Michael J. Bassett and starring James Purefoy; Christophe Gans’ Silent Hill and Tony Scott's Domino with Kiera Knightley and Mickey Rourke.
Hadida has maintained a longstanding successful collaboration with Constantin Film in production of the Resident Evil films. Additionally, he co-produced Constantin's Perfume, Story of a Murderer, directed by Tom Tykwer, a film based on the cult story of olfactory genius Jean Baptiste Grenouille in his homicidal quest for the perfect scent.
Hadida also produced The Bridge of San Luis Rey with Robert De Niro, and Fabian Bielinsky’s thriller El Aura, and served as Co-Executive Producer of George Clooney’s Academy Award nominated Good Night and Good Luck.
In addition to producing two pictures for Tony Scott, Hadida has maintained long associations with several other leading directors and writers. His collaborations with Roger Avary resulted in Killing Zoe, Rules of Attractions and Silent Hill. His long term producing relationship with Christophe Gans has continued from Gans’ first films, Necromonicon and Crying Freeman, through the phenomenally successful Le Pacte des Loups (one of the highest grossing French films of all time and nominated for four Cesar Awards and eight Saturn Awards), and Silent Hill starring Radha Mitchell.
Hadida’s most recent production is Silent Hill: Revelation 3D based on Konami’s acclaimed survival horror video game franchise and a sequel to Hadida’s Silent Hill. Shot in 3D and directed by Michael J. Bassett, this new film stars rising actors Adelaide Clemens and Kit Harington, along with the returning Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Deborah Kara Unger as well as Malcom McDowell and Carrie-Anne Moss. The film will be released widely by Open Road for Halloween this year.
Other Hadida productions include David Cronenberg’s acclaimed psychological thriller Spider starring Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson, Sheldon Lettich’s Only the Strong (the first Capoeira/martial arts film, and the film which introduced both Mark Dacascos and the famous score music now popularized in the United States in the “zoom zoom zoom” Mazda car commercials), Michael Radford’s Dancing at the Blue Iguana, Steve Barron’s Pinocchio with Martin Landau (one of the first films to combine computer-generated images and live action), Matthew Bright’s Freeway (winner of the top award at the Cognac Festival and Reese Witherspoon’s first role), and Gabriele Salvatores’ Nirvana.
Hadida is currently developing Return to Castle Wolfenstein, adapted from the famous video game, writen and to be directed by Roger Avary. He also has several properties in development based on well-known Japanese comics and anime characters.
MARTIN MOSZKOWICZ (Executive Producer) has been involved in well over 100 feature films as producer, executive producer, co-producer or managing director of Constantin Film. Most recently, he produced the international 3-D hit The Three Musketeers (2011), directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, and served as a co-producer on Carnage (2011).
His long list of producing achievements includes a slew of German hits, among them Sönke Wortmann’s Maybe... Maybe Not (1994), Michael Bully Herbig’s Manitou’s Shoe, (winner of the 2001 Bavarian and German Film Awards), Caroline Link’s Oscar®-winning epic Nowhere in Africa (2001), and Doris Dörrie’s Naked (2002), also a recipient of the German Film Award.
Moszkowicz has been involved in a producing capacity on a string of high-profile international features in recent years, including Downfall (2004), Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), A Year Ago in Winter (2008), Pope Joan (2009), Männersache (2009), Maria, He Doesn’t Like It (2009), Wickie the Viking (2009), Electric Ghetto (2010), The Hairdresser (2010) and Freche Mädchen 2 (2010).
In his capacity as a member of the executive board of Constantin Film AG, Moszkowicz is responsible for the company’s film and television business, including worldwide production, distribution, marketing and publicity.
A graduate of the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Moszkowicz began his film career in physical production as a production manager and line producer before turning to producing films himself. In 1985, he became producer and managing director of Munich-based production outfit M+P Film GmbH.
In 1991, Moszkowicz joined Constantin Film and was named managing director in 1996, a position he held through the company’s successful IPO in 1999. Since then, Moszkowicz has been a member of the executive board.
Moszkowicz is a member of the board of the German Producers Association and chairman of the supervisory board for German Films.
VICTOR HADIDA (Co Producer), with his brother Samuel, manages Metropolitan FilmExport, which the European Audiovisual Observatory has identified as the most prominent independent European film enterprise. Victor, now President of the company, has worked at Metropolitan for thirty years, following completion of his Masters degree in Business and International Affairs.
In 2006, Victor was unanimously elected President of the National Federation of Film Distributors, which represents over 60 French companies. The following year, Victor was elected President of the International Federation of Film Distributors, which represents 275 active companies in 12 countries. He was also appointed President of the Liaison Office of Cinematographical Industries (BLIC) in 2009, and has been reappointed through 2012. Through these commitments, Victor has become a leading spokesman for film distribution in France, in the European Union, and in the worldwide film industry generally.
Victor's distribution career reflects support of a wide spectrum of talent in world cinema, from Asia, with films by John Woo and Park Chan Wook, to Latin America with Fabian Bielinsky's Nine Queens. His line up includes works from first-time directors (such as Vincenzo Natali's Cube), and American independents titles like Patty Jenkins’ Monster, and also distinguished films such as The New World and the upcoming To the Wonder by Terrence Malick, A History of Violence and Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg, Crash by Paul Haggis, Peter Weir’s The Way Back, and films with controversial subjects such as Magnolia and The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson, American History X by Tony Kaye, Monster’s Ball by Marc Forster, Hotel Rwanda by Terry George, and The Road by John Hillcoat.
Victor’s choices also support high commercial fare, notably with films like Austin Powers, Blade, Final Destination, the Rush Hour series, and the box office breaker Hunger Games. He has an ongoing commitment to genre and action cinema with films like Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, produced by Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell (presented at the Cannes Film Festival) and the action extravaganza The Expendables directed by Sylvester Stallone, as well as its sequel, The Expendables II, directed by Simon West.
Notable upcoming releases include Lee Daniel’s Paperboy, John Hillcoat’s Lawless, and Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly, all of which were in competition at Cannes this year.
Metropolitan has also been a pioneer in digital cinema, going back to 2008, and with 3D technology as an exciting new attraction for audiences, as demonstrated by Metropolitan’s releases of Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Final Destination, Resident Evil, Streetdance, Animals United, and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret.
One film series above all others, however, is reflective of Victor’s distribution career at Metropolitan, and that film is Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, directed by Peter Jackson, known worldwide for its overwhelming critical and commercial success.
Victor has also executive produced all the projects of the company’s production arm, Davis Films, including the Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Michael J. Bassett’s Solomon Kane, and Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the long-awaited sequel to Christophe Gans’ successful film based on the acclaimed survival horror videogames by Konami. Also directed by Michael J. Bassett, this new instalment is to be released widely by Open Road in October 2012.
Lee Daniel’s The Paperboy, John Hillcoat’s Lawless and Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly, all in competition at Cannes this year, will next mark the year 2012.
GLEN MACPHERSON, ASC, CSC (Director of Photography) served as director of photography on the 3-D movies The Three Musketeers, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, and horror flick The Final Destination. Before that, he shot the hit action film Rambo, the tense thriller One Missed Call and the festival favorite Trick ‘r Treat.
The Canadian-born cinematographer’s previous film credits include 16 Blocks, Rebound, Walking Tall, My Baby’s Daddy, Friday After Next, All About the Benjamins, Exit Wounds, Camouflage, Romeo Must Die, Wrongfully Accused and Cadillac Girls.
MacPherson received a Genie Award nomination for Best Achievement in Cinematography for the biographical drama Regeneration. He was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series for “Captains Courageous.”
For television, MacPherson worked on such telefilms as “Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story,” “Max Q: Emergency Landing,” “Calm at Sunset, Calm at Dawn,” “Doctor Who,” “First Degree,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Johnny’s Girl,” “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” “Shock Treatment,” “Voices from Within,” “Flinch,” “For the Love of Aaron,” “Dying to Remember,” “The Substitute,” “The Sea Wolf,” “Miracle on Interstate 880,” “The Amy Fisher Story,” “Miles from Nowhere,” “Deadly Surveillance,” “Deadly Betrayal: The Bruce Curtis Story,” “Conspiracy of Silence” and “Betrayal of Silence.”
MacPherson’s series credits include the pilot episode of “Sliders” and an episode of the CBC’s “Magic Hour.”
KEVIN PHIPPS (Production Designer) trained as an architect before first working in the film industry as a draughtsman on Return of the Jedi. Quickly rising through the ranks of the art department, he became an integral part of the creative teams for some of the most visually exciting films and largest set constructions of recent cinema history.
Phipps was nominated for an Emmy® Award for his work on the highly acclaimed HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers.” He won an award from the American Art Directors Guild for his work on Sleepy Hollow and earned nominations for his work on V for Vendetta and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Phipps’ long working association with Tim Burton began on Batman and has extended through four films, including Planet of the Apes.
In the art department, Phipps has worked with influential directors such as Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut), Ridley Scott (1492: Conquest of Paradise), Tony Scott (Spy Game), David Lynch (Dune), Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), Wolfgang Petersen (Troy), Oliver Stone (Alexander), The Wachowski brothers (V for Vendetta) and many others.
Phipps has traveled and worked extensively throughout the world, including Canada, China, Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Romania, Spain, Thailand and Turkey. He has built sets in every country, more often than not utilizing local talents, skills and materials in order to maximize production value.
Phipps was one of the first art directors to fully embrace digital design techniques and to integrate computer-aided design into the art department, while maintaining the best aspects of the traditional approach. His career has bridged digital visual effects and in-camera, miniature and optical effects. Phipps has a particular interest in the seamless integration of digital technology with traditional filmmaking techniques. His philosophy is always to use the most visual and cost-effective technique available, in order to achieve the desired “look” for the production.
Phipps has lectured at the Royal College of Art in London, the National Film School in England, and at digital design conferences held in Oslo and Helsinki. He is a devoted long-distance runner and has completed 11 marathons. He still dreams of a sub three-hour time.
NIVEN HOWIE (Editor) was part of a successful local band while in college during the early ’80s. Consequently, he believed he would follow a career in music. However, life led him to a job as a trainee editor at a film and video facility on Wardour Street, Soho. Because of his affinity for music, he quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after music-video editors in London. He soon added commercials to his portfolio and it wasn’t long before his work began to win awards.
In 1988, Howie directed his first music video, which led him to work in New York, Los Angeles and all over Europe. In 1994, Julien Temple, a regular music-video client, asked Howie to edit the feature film Bullet, starring Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur and Ted Levine. Howie never looked back. His film credits include Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dawn of the Dead. In 1998, his work on Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels earned him a BAFTA nomination.
Howie still found time for music. In 1993, he edited Sting’s Grammy Award®-winning “Ten Summoner’s Tales.” He was nominated for an Emmy® in 2002 for his work on “Paul McCartney: Back in the U.S.” Two of his music documentaries were nominated for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: “Glastonbury” in 2006 and “Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten” in 2007.
Howie is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild.
WENDY PARTRIDGE (Costume Designer) has built a distinguished career designing costumes for both feature films and television. Among her numerous credits are Hellboy, for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Costumes, Resurrecting the Champ, Silent Hill, Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting, Blade II, Texas Rangers, Legion, Conan the Barbarian, Whiteout, and Highlander: Endgame.
In 2007, she was nominated for an Emmy® for Outstanding Costumes for her work on the television movie “Broken Trail.” In 2001, her costume design on the telefilm “Come l’America” earned her a Genie Award nomination. Partridge’s other television credits include “The Secret of the Nutcracker,” “Ultra,” “Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss,” “High Noon,” “Heart Full of Rain,” “In Cold Blood” and the series “Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.”
DENNIS BERARDI (Visual Effects Supervisor) is the founder of the Mr. X visual effects studio. Mr. X now employs 150 people and its most recent credits include Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Mama and Pacific Rim.
A creative visionary, Berardi has lived and breathed the visual effects industry for over 20 years. In addition to a passion for filmmaking, his talents include exceptional creativity, keen problem-solving ability and an unwavering dedication to his craft. He has worked as the creative visual-effects lead for such visually groundbreaking films as Tarsem Singh’s The Cell and David Fincher’s Fight Club.
Berardi’s love affair with the motion-picture industry began in the early 1990s, when he worked closely with IMAX and The National Film Board of Canada to integrate groundbreaking digital imaging systems for both live action and animated films.
In 1994, Berardi helped to form Cine-Byte, a motion-picture digital opticals company. Quickly establishing himself as an expert in the field of computer animation, Berardi went on to build a feature-film visual effects department at Command Post Toybox.
In 2001, Berardi founded Mr. X with the goal to create an artist-based studio environment that would contribute fundamentally to feature films in the areas of design and visual storytelling with friendly on-set supervision, great animation and photo-realistic rendering and compositing.
The studio has amassed credits on dozens of distinguished projects including such recent films as Cosmopolis (2012), Hanna (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011), The Thing (2011), Source Code (2011), The Vow (2011), The Three Musketeers (2011), A Dangerous Method (2011), TRON: Legacy (2010), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Letters to Juliet (2010), Fast & Furious (2009), Amelia (2009), Taking Woodstock (2009) and Death Race (2008).
NICHOLAS POWELL (Stunt Coordinator/Second Unit Director) has played a major role in redefining the modern action movie by choreographing, coordinating and directing sequences for such iconic films as Braveheart, Gladiator, Cinderella Man, The Last Samurai, 28 Days Later and The Bourne Identity. His work has earned 12 Taurus World Stunt Award nominations, winning six. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Fight Choreographer of the Year honors at the American Choreography Awards.
Powell initially trained and worked as an actor, completing his post-graduate studies in drama at the London Drama Studio. Since then, he has garnered more than 25 years of experience in the film world. Powell has been a department head on more than 120 productions and has worked in 21 countries. His ability to lead large teams and responsibly manage budgets at the highest level has been an asset to many big-budget movies.
Powell has personally trained and choreographed for a number of high-profile actors including Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, James Franco, Djimon Hounsou, Ken Watanabe, Chris Evans and Christoph Waltz.
PAUL JONES (Special Effects Makeup Designer) began his career in the mid ’80s working at England’s Pinewood Studios for Image Animation, the top U.K. makeup-effects company at the time. As part of their core team, he helped create many of the effects for Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Nightbreed, Highlander 2: The Quickening and Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth. For the latter film, Jones was solely responsible for redesigning and applying the iconic Pinhead make-up.
The extensive experience gained during this period in prosthetic makeup, creature design and animatronic puppetry allowed Jones to relocate to Canada in the early ’90s and start his own company. Over the next few years, Paul Jones Effects Studio became one of the premier makeup-effects companies in Canada. Sought out by directors and producers worldwide, the studio has provided effects for such feature films as Ginger Snaps, Bride of Chucky, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Silent Hill, Shoot ‘Em Up, Solomon Kane, Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day, The Thing and Resident Evil: Afterlife.
Jones currently resides in Toronto with his wife Suzanne and two daughters.