JEREMY RENNER
Academy award nominee Jeremy Renner starred in the 2010 Best Picture winner “The Hurt Locker.” Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film received six academy awards and was inspired by true events about a team in present-day Baghdad that regularly deals with bomb disposal under the constant danger of sniper fire. In his role as the self-assured Sgt. James, Renner was awarded the Breakthrough Actor Award at the Hollywood Film Festival, the Spotlight Award at the Savannah Film Festival and was nominated as Best Actor at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards, as well as garnering a nomination for Breakthrough Actor at the Gotham Awards in addition to his nomination for Best Ensemble Performance and, of course a nomination as Best Actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Renner starred in “The Town” a film directed by Ben Affleck for Warner Bros. The film is an adaptation of the Chuck Hogan novel “Prince of Thieves” and centers on a thief (Affleck) and his best friend and member of his gang (Renner) and was released in the fall of 2010.
In 2007, Renner was seen in three different features, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” for Warner Bros. directed by Andrew Dominik. Renner starred alongside Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck playing a key member of James’ gang, Wood Hide; “28 Weeks Later,” the highly anticipated sequel to “28 Days Later,” and, “Take” opposite Minnie Driver.
In 2006, he also starred in the acclaimed independent film “12 and Holding” (Independent Spirit Award Nominee – John Cassavetes Award) demonstrating his dramatic range playing ‘Gus,’ a firefighter who moves to a new town after the haunting loss of a young girl in a fire and who finds a way to heal himself by helping a young girl in his new town cope with her own loss and grief.
Other recent film credits include the independent film “Neo Ned” in which he starred opposite Gabrielle Union. “Neo Ned” was screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival and swept the feature film category at the 11th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival in 2006. “Neo Ned” was awarded Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actor went to Jeremy. The film was also awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Best Feature Film Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival in April 2006. These awards come after winning the Audience Award at the Slamdance, Sarasota and Ashland film festivals.
In Warner Bros.’ “North Country” Renner starred opposite Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron. A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the U.S., Renner is at the center of the unfolding drama as ‘Bobby Sharp.’ Working with ‘Josie Aimes’ (Theron) at the mine in their hometown, ‘Bobby’ often clashes with the single mother over his view that women shouldn’t work in such a demanding environment. Their disagreements drive the drama, leading ‘Josie’ to file a class action lawsuit against the company.
Renner has been on a fast-paced production schedule the past few years. He has been seen in “A Little Trip to Heaven,” where he again refined his skill for dark troubled characters. Starring opposite Julia Stiles, Renner’s diabolical con man ‘Kelvin’ breaks out of prison to find his partner-in-crime/lover ‘Isold’ (Stiles), murdering her current lover, faking his own death and convincing her to join him in a new scheme. “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things,” directed by Asia Argento as adapted from the critically acclaimed novel by J.T. Leroy. Columbia Pictures’ “Lords of Dogtown” for helmer Catherine Hardwicke and Aura Entertainment’s independent film “Love Comes to the Executioner,” written and directed by Kyle Bergersen.
He also co-starred in the summer 2003 hit “S.W.A.T.” opposite Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson for Columbia Pictures
The one role that put Renner on the map and that earned the actor an Independent Spirit Award nomination, was his role as ‘Jeffrey Dahmer’ in the indie hit “Dahmer.”
Renner recently starred opposite Tom Cruise in Mission : Impossible- Ghost Protocol for Paramount Pictures, which released in December 2011.
With a background in theater, Renner starred in but also co-directed, “Search and Destroy,” which was produced by Barry Levinson and received stellar reviews. Daily Variety said, “Renner is excellent as a low-keyed sociopath,” while L.A. Weekly boasted “…dapper, would be wise guy, Renner is terrific in finding eccentric comedy…expertly executed.”
Between film and theater, he finds the time to write, record, and perform his own music brand of contemporary rock. Renner has written songs for Warner Chapel Publishing and Universal Publishing.
GEMMA ARTERTON
Since graduating from RADA in 2007, Gemma Arterton has already garnered an Empire Film award for ‘Best Newcomer’ and a nomination for the ‘Orange Rising Star’ award at the 2011 BAFTAs. Gemma has recently completed filming Brad Furman’s thriller ‘Runner, Runner’ in Puerto Rico in the leading female role of ‘Rebecca Shafran’ alongside Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake. Gemma will next be seen in the lead role of ‘Gretel’ opposite Jeremy Renner in ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’, written and directed by Tommy Wirkola, due for release in January 2013. Gemma will also soon star in the London-set comedic drama ‘Song for Marion’ alongside Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp, as well as the highly anticipated ‘Byzantium’ directed by Neil Jordan and written by Moira Buffini, in which Gemma is set to star as vampire ‘Clara’ opposite Saoirse Ronan. Gemma has recently been announced as part of the cast for 2013’s Jeff Buckley biopic ‘Mystery White Boy’ and comedy thriller ‘The Wright Girls’ directed by Andy Fickman.
Last year, Gemma voiced the character of ‘Shelley’ in ‘A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventure’, an animated feature including voices from John Hurt and Dominic Cooper. She also starred in the title role in ‘Tamara Drewe’ directed by award-winning director Stephen Frears, opposite Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans and Tamsin Greig. In 2010, Gemma appeared alongside Sam Worthington as the goddess ‘Io’ in Louis Letterier’s remake of the 1981 epic ‘Clash of the Titans’, based on the classic Greek myth. She also played the lead female role of ‘Princess Tamina’ in Disney’s ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’, directed by Mike Newell, starring alongside Hollywood stars Jake Gyllenhall and Sir Ben Kingsley. In 2009, Gemma starred in J Blakeson’s independent film ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’, a thrilling tale of kidnapping and intrigue in which she played the title role alongside Martin Compston & Eddie Marsan.
Amongst her other film credits, Gemma starred in Richard Curtis’ ‘The Boat that Rocked’, a period comedy set in the 1960’s co-starring a host of greats such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson and in 2008, Gemma starred as iconic Bond Girl ‘Strawberry Fields’ in ‘Quantum of Solace’, directed by Marc Forster and starring Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench. Her other film credits include Guy Ritchie’s gangster film ‘RocknRolla’, ‘Three and Out’, directed by Jonathan Gershfield, and the classic remake of ‘St Trinian’s’ directed by Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson for which she was nominated for an Empire Award and won a National Movie Award.
For television, Gemma’s heartrending portrayal of the heroic ‘Tess’ in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ co-starring Eddie Redmayne and Hans Matheson earned her rave reviews and numerous award nominations. She also played the role of ‘Elizabeth Bennett’ in ITV’s costume drama ‘Lost in Austen’. In 2007 she also starred in the BBC’s ‘Capturing Mary’, directed by Stephen Poliakoff, in which she played the character ‘Liza’ alongside Dame Maggie Smith, David Walliams and Ruth Wilson.
For theatre, in early 2010 Gemma made her West End debut at the Garrick alongside Rupert Friend and Tamsin Greig, in Douglas Carter Beane’s Award-winning Broadway comedy ‘The Little Dog Laughed’. She also returned to the stage in November 2010 at the internationally renowned Almeida Theatre in Henrik Ibsen’s ‘The Master Builder’, for which, Gemma’s performance earned her critical acclaim for her ‘spellbinding’ turn as ‘Hilda Wangel’. Her previous theatre credits include the role of ‘Rosaline’ at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in ‘Love Labour’s Lost’ directed by Dominic Dromgoole. After gaining an award for ‘Best Supporting Actress for Kent’, she gained a full scholarship to RADA where she took lead roles in productions such as ‘An Ideal Husband’, ‘Titus Andronicus’ and ‘The Beggar’s Opera’.
FAMKE JANSSEN
A true leading lady, Famke Janssen refuses to fill a stereotype. By taking on a wide range of roles in both studio and independent features and working with some of Hollywood’s best directors, she has proven herself to be not only one of the most beautiful actresses in the business, but also one of the most talented and diverse.
Janssen is currently shooting the Netflix series HEMLOCK GROVE, created by Eli Roth. She stars as ‘Olivia Godfrey’, the beautiful and controlling grand dame of the town of Hemlock Grove. She most recently reprised her role as ‘Lenore’ in Twentieth Century Fox’s TAKEN 2, the sequel to the 2009 hit TAKEN, opposite Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace. Next she will be seen Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, in which she stars opposite Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton.
Her directorial debut film Bringing Up Bobby, starring Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross, which she also wrote and produced, premiered at the 2011 Deauville American Film Festival, and also had a screening at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. It premiered in the US in October 2012.
Janssen is well known for her role of ‘Jean Grey’ in the original X-Men trilogy for Twentieth Century Fox. The X-MEN blockbusters all-star cast includes Sir Ian McKellan, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, James Marsden and Anna Paquin. Janssen received a Saturn Award for best supporting actress for X-MEN: THE LAST STAND which Brett Ratner directed.
Janssen is also known for her work on the FX original drama series NIP/TUCK where she played ‘Ava Moore’, a life coach to Joely Richardson. Janssen received a Movieline Breakthrough Award for her star turn on the show and the provocative drama received outstanding critical acclaim as well as an AFI Award and Golden Globe nomination for season one.
Janssen was awarded with Special Jury Best Actress Prize at Hamptons Film Festival for her work in Turn the River in 2007. In 2006, Janssen was awarded with the Golden Starfish Award for Career Achievement in Acting at the Hamptons Film Festival as well as the Susan B. Anthony “Failure is Impossible” Awards at the High Falls Film Festival.
Janssen also earned critical-acclaim for her star-making performance opposite Jon Favreau in Valerie Breiman’s Love and Sex, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000.
Other credits include THE WACKNESS, opposite Ben Kingsley, Hide and Seek opposite Robert Deniro and Dakota Fanning, John Dahl’s Rounders opposite Edward Norton and Matt Damon for Miramax, Jon Favreau’s Made opposite Favreau and Vince Vaughn, Woody Allen’s Celebrity, opposite Kenneth Branagh and Leonardo DiCaprio and the James Bond megahit Goldeneye, where she starred as the lasciviously lethal assassin, ‘Xenia Onatopp.”
Born in Holland, Janssen moved to the United States where she now resides. She majored in writing and literature at Columbia and studied stagecraft with Harold Guskin.
PETER STORMARE
Whether you realize it or not, you’ve definitely seen prolific actor Peter Stormare before, which wouldn’t be surprising since the Swedish-born actor/director has starred in over 100 different films and television series in the last 30 years, from big budget to indie, network to cable, America to Sweden and dozens of countries in between. And, of course, that memorable 2011 Super Bowl commercial for Budweiser…“Tiny Dancer” in a wild-west saloon, anyone?
Stormare will soon be seen starring in LOCKOUT, a futuristic action-comedy produced by famed French director Luc Besson. Co-starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace, Stormare plays ‘Scott Langral,’ the American president’s no-nonsense security chief in charge of containing the overthrow of an experimental prison full of sadistic inmates – in space. Things get complicated when it’s discovered that the first daughter is trapped aboard the orbiting facility and at the mercy of 500 psychopaths! LOCKOUT hits domestic theaters on April 13th.
In January 2013, audiences will see Stormare starring opposite Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in Paramount’s HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS. Also in the can are the indies JEWTOPIA with Jennifer Love Hewitt and SMALL APARTMENTS, a comedy with Billy Crystal and Juno Temple. He’ll also appear in the features SIBERIAN EDUCATION, opposite John Malkovich, Mel Gibson’s GET THE GRINGO, and LAST STAND, the Lionsgate film that marks the big screen return of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also shot a guest spot on the hit CBS drama “NCIS: Los Angeles.”
Currently, Stormare is voicing a lead role in the latest SCOOBY DOO animated feature, and recently shot and starred in three films from China: INSEPARABLE with Kevin Spacey, TAI CHI HERO, and THE TURTLE SOUP. Over the past several years, Stormare has worked with a who’s who of Hollywood stars, such as Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga (HENRY’S CRIME), Willem DaFoe (ANAMORPH), Nicole Kidman (BIRTH), and Sandra Bullock (PREMONITION).
Stormare began his acting career in the theatre in his early 20s, working with the legendary director Ingmar Bergman in their native Sweden at the Royal National Theater. After earning much praise for his starring turns in “Miss Julie,” “King Lear,” and “Hamlet” among others, Stormare toured with Bergman in the US, doing the aforementioned productions in both New York and Los Angeles in the late 80s. Strong performances lead to an opportunity to star in “Rasputin” off-Broadway with the renowned Actor’s Studio, and Stormare soon caught the eye of legendary ICM talent agent Sam Cohen, getting him one step closer to realizing his dream of becoming a film actor in America.
After getting his first taste of the film world in several indies, Stormare was then cast in AWAKENING, directed by Penny Marshall. While working off-Broadway again, this time at the Public Theater doing “The Swan,” Stormare struck up a friendship with Frances McDormand. The friendship eventually led to four career-changing days of work on the Coen Brothers cult classic FARGO, where he played the hulking, blonde-haired half of a kidnapping duo alongside Steve Buscemi. He’d work with the Coen Brothers again in THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and in between he’d star in Spielberg’s THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK.
Roles in ARMAGEDDON (Michael Bay), 8MM (Joel Schumacher), MINORITY REPORT (Spielberg again), BAD BOYS II (Bay again), CONSTANTINE, and THE BROTHERS GRIMM (Terry Gilliam) followed and all the while Stormare continued to do several Swedish and international films as well as television, starring in as a rogue electrician named ‘Slippery Pete’ in “Seinfeld” as well as in the Emmy-nominated television miniseries “Hitler: The Rise of Evil.” He also served as the associate director of the Globe Theater in Tokyo for eight years during his early film career.
Stormare starred in season one of FOX’s hit show “Prison Break” as mob boss ‘John Abruzzi in his most visible television role at the time. His other television credits include a series regular role in the Julia Louis-Dreyfus sitcom “Watching Ellie,” a recurring role in HBO’s “Entourage,” and recent guest spots in FX’s “Wilfred,” USA’s “Covert Affairs,” “Leverage” for TNT,” ABC’s “Body of Proof.” His recent film credits include THE TUXEDO, NACHO LIBRE, and THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS among others.
In addition to his impressive body of work theatrically, Stormare is passionate about his music and formed a band called Blonde From Fargo, in homage to his breakout role in the Coen Bros film. The five-member rock and roll band includes the guitarist from Roxette, the drummer from Alanis Morrisette, and the bass player from Slash’s Snakepit, with Stormare writing all of the music and playing guitar. The band has performed at Lebowski-Fest, as well as toured North America and Europe. Stormare currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
HANSEL & GRETEL’S WORLD: THE PRODUCTION
One of the most thrilling challenges for Tommy Wirkola was getting the chance to create a whole new world for Hansel & Gretel to live in – and in so doing, let his audacious visual imagination run truly wild. He only had one inviolable rule: “It all had to look and feel like a fairy-tale,” says Wirkola. “We needed those rich, saturated colors, the kind of colors that grab you — the green of the forest, the red of the blood and the blackness of the witches.”
All the standard details of fairy tale lore were re-engineered to meld with modern action and effects. “Everything was a distinct choice,” notes producer Kevin Messick. “Each element of the Hansel & Gretel tale was re-invented by Tommy and his team.”
To up the adrenaline another notch, Wirkola made the decision to shoot the film utilizing 3D. “When you’re make a movie like this, you really want audiences to be completely immersed in it and 3D is all about that,” Wirkola explains. “It widens everything to the point that you feel like you are in this fairy tale land.”
A team headed by special effects make-up artist Mike Elizalde, founder of the renowned make-up effects company Spectral Motion (Hell Boy, Hell Boy 2), designed Edward the troll and took on bringing the witches to life — then Wirkola brought in the Berlin-based special effects makeup studio Twilight Creations (Inglorious Basterds, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) to design the Stone Circle witches. But the real fun was in watching the actors take these roles into action sequences. “Each of the performers suddenly became their characters,” says Elizalde. “The actors brought that jolt of electricity.”
Another essential for the witches in Wirkola’s vision was that they had to really, truly fly — furiously fast – in visceral chase scenes. “I always felt the witches had to have brooms, but I wanted to use them in a new way, so that they are speedsters,” says Wirkola, who worked with visual effects supervisor Jon Farhart, utilizing wires and green screens to launch the witches through the forest.
Helping to turn more of Wirkola’s imaginings into reality was production designer Stephen Scott — who also worked on Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy and Hellboy 2. Like Wirkola, Scott was mesmerized by the chance to create sets ranging from cottages to caves and underground chambers. “Stephen has one of the richest imaginations of anyone I’ve ever met,” comments producer Messick.
Heading for Germany – to the very landscapes that first inspired Hansel & Gretel – Scott was especially thrilled to create sets in one of the haunting natural environments on earth: dark, virgin forests . . . the kind with full of twisting branches that reach out as if to grab you,. “We founds forests with a real medieval feel — and also with trees that have a scary side,” Scott explains.
In addition to the forest sets, Scott and his team had fun building Muriel’s lair (which glows with the dying embers of children’s souls), the mouth-watering but malevolent Candy House and the set they called “Stone Circle,” scene of the film’s climactic showdown.
One of Wirkola’s favorite sets became the Candy House. “Everyone has their own idea of what that house might look like,” notes the director. “But the important thing was that it needed to look so tempting that a couple of young kids would ignore their skepticism.”
“We see it first in the moonlight,” continues Scott, “with all its gooey, melting chocolate, gingerbread on the walls and sparkling sweeties. But it also has a hidden side because inside is the Candy Witch, and the house and the witch are one and the same: an evil and nasty piece of work.”
Perhaps the most ambitious set of all is the Stone Circle, where a daring rescue unfolds amidst bloodthirsty witches. The scene involved hundreds of cast and crew, multiple cameras, cranes and buckets of blood. “I love a big action finale,” says Wirkola. “It’s a fun mix of witches, machine guns and a personal battle.”
Creative fun also fueled the film’s costumes, designed by Marlene Stewart (Terminator 2), who designed and created nearly 100 costumes from scratch. She wanted Hansel & Gretel to look like they belonged in a fairy tale world but also look like they could be badass bounty hunters of any era. Their costumes might be made from traditional leather and linen – but there’s nothing antique about them. “We turned all the traditions around by giving them a tough edge,” Stewart explains.
The actors were grateful for the inspiration the costumes provided. Says Gemma Arterton: “Everybody went crazy for her costumes. My costume was both a little tomboyish and very sexy. She did such a great job; honestly, I would wear that costume down the street, I loved it so much.”
While their clothing is timeless, Hansel & Gretel’s witch-hunting arsenal is as deadly as any from our times. Simon Boucherie, a weapons designer from Berlin collaborated with Wirkola on all the weaponry in the film. For the weaponry, Wirkola had a kind of “steampunk” vision of retro-futuristic guns and bows that draw on century-old styles yet feature thoroughly modern firepower. “We had this rule that all the weapons should look like they hand-made them,” he explains. “We had a lot of fun coming up with crazy designs.”
Wirkola also made brother and sister’s choices of weaponry personal. “Hansel is the guy who bursts in and tries to take everybody out with a shotgun, but Gretel is more about subtle precision, so she has a double-barrel crossbow that speaks to her character, yet does what she needs.”
From the weapons to the effects to the action, that irreverent mix of the fantastical and the fearsome became the guiding principle for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Tommy Wirkola summarizes: “The film has a lot of action, but it was equally important that it have an adventurous feel and a fun feeling to it. It’s still a fairy tale, but a very intense one.”
Official Movie Website: http://www.hanselandgretelmovie.com/
Photo credits: David Appleby © 2013 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
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