Michael Cuesta - JEREMY WALKER



L. I. E.

an

ALTER EGO / BELLADONNA

production

screenplay by

Stephen M. Ryder, Michael Cuesta and Gerald Cuesta

directed by Michael Cuesta

Press Contacts at Sundance:

Jeremy Walker, 917-597-7286

Rudi Furstberger, 917-597-7269

Christine Richardson, 917-771-3668

Film Sales Representative:

Steven Beer, Rudolph & Beer, 917-741-6700

CAST LIST

Brian Cox Big John Harrigan

Paul Franklin Dano Howie Blitzer

Billy Kay Gary Terrio

Bruce Altman Marty Blitzer

James Costa Kevin Cole

Tony Donnelly Brian

Walter Masterson Scott

Marcia DeBonis Guidance Counselor

Adam LeFevre Marty’s Lawyer

FILMMAKERS

Director Michael Cuesta

Writers Stephen M. Ryder

Michael Cuesta

Gerald Cuesta

Producers René Bastian

Linda Moran

Michael Cuesta

Co-Producers José Gilberto Molinari-Rosaly

Valerie Romer

Editor Eric Carlson

Kane Platt

Director of Photography Romeo Tirone

Music Supervisor Mark Wike

Production Designer Elise Bennett

Costume Designer Daniel Glicker

Casting Director Judy Henderson

Line Producer Valerie Romer

Production Manager Brian Reingold

Production Coordinator Patricia de Paula

Sound Design Marshall Grupp

Music Pierre Földes

ABOUT THE FILM

“L.I.E.” is about a boy who, in losing just about everything and everyone he has in the space of a single week, finds himself.

Set in a world of contemporary suburban adolescence, “L.I.E.” begins as we join a group of boys who rob houses in the middle-class comfort of Long Island. While it seems that they break and enter strictly for kicks, they are good at it. Two of these boys, Howie and Gary, are the very best of friends.

It is Gary’s idea to rob the house belonging to an old guy named Big John, and when Big John quickly figures out exactly who to go to after the crime, Howie learns that his pal Gary has been leading a secret life.

Gary and Big John have been engaged in a sex-for-pay relationship, and this secret life fascinates Howie. Perhaps for the first time he realizes that he can truly live, like Gary, outside the bounds of school, of home, and that it may be OK that his feelings for Gary may run deeper than those for his other friends. Gary, in the meantime, has figured out how to run away from Long Island, and when he leaves it is Howie who suffers the greatest loss. Howie’s father – a white-collar builder with mounting legal troubles – is too wrapped up in his business and in love with his girlfriend to suspect that his son may be really hurting. And when his father finally gets busted by the FBI and taken to jail, Howie is truly alone. Alone, that is, until Big John steps in. But what, exactly, does Big John want, and just how much resilience can Howie – a mere 15-year-old – be expected to summon?

With “L. I. E.,” director Michael Cuesta and his co-writers show us a suburban world full of charming criminality, innocent perversion and most importantly a depiction of adolescence that neither whitewashes nor condescends. “L.I.E.” is a journey full of surprises that may lead us to question many of our preconceptions and assumptions.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

L.I.E. stands for Long Island Expressway. It’s a highway that I use as a metaphor for danger and deceit; a living, breathing malevolent force that can swallow up a vulnerable adolescent boy at any moment.

My intention for the film was to create a certain amount of ambiguity for the audience as the protagonist, a smart, 15-year old boy, journeys through a time in his life of loss and deceit. An older man – whose interest in the boy is dangerous yet decent – then fosters his journey.

I wanted to explore the complexities of human nature in a world where amorality abounds. I wanted people to experience a film that is haunting and beautiful. I wanted them to be able to empathize with people they wouldn’t normally embrace, and then make those characters understood and, ultimately, moving.

Q&A WITH DIRECTOR MICHAEL CUESTA

Q: You start out the film with Howie, your protagonist, musing about how the singer / songwriter Harry Chapin, the director Alan Pakula and Howie’s mother were all killed in car accidents on the Long Island Expressway. Tell me about how you are using the L.I.E. as a metaphor.

A: Harry Chapin was a Long Island native whose song “The Cat’s in the Cradle” was a hit in the 70s. He lived on the Long Island Sound near Huntington Bay – where I live now – and was killed in a crash in the late 70s or early 80s. I was actually working on a final draft of the script when Alan Pakula was killed on the L. I. E. I felt it hit very close to home and decided to use their deaths as part of the metaphor. I had written that Howie’s mom had died in a crash at Exit 52, and added that to the other deaths. He goes on to reflect through poetry about watching these people around him taken away by the very road that connects him to the outside world. It’s a metaphor for a kid in the throws of adolescence, someone who is about to be sent into the scary world of adulthood regardless of whether he is ready or not.

Q: You have made a living as a photographer and a director of commercials. What was your original kernel of inspiration for this film?

A: I think the obvious inspiration was my own growing up on the island but I think it was more from a need to make a movie that stayed with people emotionally and psychologically. Those kinds of movies always affected me in some way and I always wanted to create something like that. I guess growing up on the island was pretty basic. I ran with a crowd and we caused a little trouble, but I was always more into books and movies and I always carried a camera. I was much more emotional outward than Howie. There was a Big John kind of guy in the neighborhood who cruised around in a van – we called him The Bloated Man – and I had not thought about him for years until [“L. I. E.” co-screenwriter] Steve Ryder and I started working on the script. Everyone knew that this guy was somehow dangerous, but so much of that is just kids’ wild imagination. Steve Ryder concocted the notion that Big John was an ex-Marine.

Q: How did you get together with Steve Ryder, and how did you end up writing this film together?

A: We met when I was in college. He was a friend of my dad’s. My father was also a commercial director and in addition to Steve being a novelist, an ex-cop, a writer for the New York Daily News and whatever it was Steve did working for the government, he was a SAG member and did extra work. In terms of the writing, I had the boys’ characters pretty much where I wanted them, and Steve was able to better flesh out the larger-than-life father figure of Big John.

Q: The film’s depiction of teenage boys feels very realistic, and so does the depiction of life in the suburbs. What did you do to create such an honest portrait?

A: Having been a kid on Long Island may have had something to do with it, and I was aiming for as realistic a look at teen life as possible. But it wasn’t like I researched teenage boys for months or anything like that. I think a big part of making the film feel real had to do with the casting and the inherent realism that comes along with shooting near a major highway. When I watched those young actors reading the lines I realized the writing might actually be working. I don’t know that it was a matter of having intimate knowledge of what it’s like to be an adolescent – we all remember what that was like – but I think the actors we found are truly extraordinary and the film works because of them.

There’s also something to be said about how the suburbs, as opposed to the city, are the new place to set a film in order to create a sense of realism for the audience. Much like, say, Scorcese was able to use the sounds and the smells and the feel of New York in the 70s, today things like the sounds of the expressway bring up a new kind of shared experience. That constant hum of traffic permeates every neighborhood – everyone deals with that sound. As someone who grew up in the suburbs, moved to the city and moved back to raise a family, I can tell you that the suburbs are no longer bedroom communities. It’s not all the sound of crickets in the wind any more.

Q: Movies like “Happiness” and “American Beauty” seem to get a lot of dramatic mileage out of the fact that they were sent in typical suburban settings.

A: People who do not live in the suburbs – which by definition are communities on the edge of a big city – do not realize that these neighborhoods are no longer dependent on that city. Contemporary suburbs have their own economy, their own news channels. They have their own cultures, rhythms, ethics, and morals. I have conflicting views – look at all the crazy stuff with Joey Buttafuco on Long Island. But also look at [murderer] Joel Steinberg, who lived on my block on East 10th Street when I lived in Manhattan. I live here [on Long Island], I am raising my family here. I love it here – it’s a great place to raise children – and it is quite eclectic. You have everyone from the Mafia to the artists to the 9-5 commuters. All walks of life are represented in today’s suburbs. My two children are going to have it better than I did. But it is certainly true that there is a story behind every door and at the end of every driveway.

Q: Tell me about how you found the boys.

A: We used a New York Casting Agent, Judy Henderson, and she showed us all local kids. Paul Dano who plays Howie, is from Connecticut, and Billy Kay, who plays Gary, is a Huntington [Long Island] boy. Judy cast the film “SubUrbia” for Richard Linklater, and the fact that she had a vast knowledge of new talent from the region was important to me. I love working with kids. No matter how much they want to be actors they are not actors. When they try to act they are bad. Paul is extremely smart – he is so intuitive and sensitive. When he came in to read he was like the second or third person we saw. And I had imagined having to see 600 kids and I was ready for a process that would take weeks. So I thought he was great but I was strangely resistant to him because it was not supposed to be that easy. My producers were flabbergasted and my wife threatened to divorce me if I didn’t take him for the part. Everyone thought he was perfect.

Billy Kay came in to read for Howie but the second he opened his mouth I knew he was Gary. He is like a Tiger Beat kid. Right away he was a wise-ass in the audition, the perfect Gary. I think he’s great in the film.

I still experience moments of awe when I realize how lucky I am to have the cast that I was able to get for this film. But there were many moments during the making of this film that made me realize the stars are with us. There’s a scene where Gary is hanging out with some girls and he has a python around his neck. We had started that scene and I was struggling and then a strange guy with a python was watching us shoot, and I asked him to put the snake around Billy’s shoulders.

In my work as a photographer I was often inspired by the smallest things – a gesture, a shadow, the right prop – when making a film you know that you are on a roll when magic happens and things just fall into place. Every day on this movie there was a little surprise like that.

Q: So, what’s up with the character who is having sex with his sister?

A: Actually, there was a kid in my neighborhood when I was Howie’s age who was telling everyone he was having sex with his sister. I thought it was a good way to let the audience know that kids will be kids. They view it as stupid and funny rather than imposing an adult’s moral view of it. It also shows that Gary may be a kid, but has a bit more knowledge about sex.

Q: You are a parent, although it will be a while before your kids are teenagers. Did the fact that you have kids inform your depiction of the father in the film?

A: I think I am able to see both sides of the parent / child relationship. I totally relate to Marty the father, but I also totally relate to Howie. Being a parent, you mess up. You make mistakes. Like a lot of parents I get wrapped up in my work and it is easy to see how kids can feel like their parents don’t care about them. Marty is like a lot of suburban guys – he gets caught up in making the bucks, keeping up appearances – the pressure to succeed in this world is extraordinary. He’s basically a victim of circumstance.

Q: Marty and Howie’s house has a very distinct look.

A: I wanted that sterile, upper middle class look that came about in the 80’s when the economy was good and money was being thrown around like the character Marty would have done. I wanted a clear contrast between Howie’s house and Big John’s house. I looked for specific qualities in Big John’s house that would be juxtaposed with Howie’s house. Big John’s is stuck in the 70s, eccentric, eclectic and mysterious. The thing about Long Island: location scouting was easy because the community was very helpful in leading us to real authentic locations.

Q: Talk a bit about Brian Cox, the actor who plays Big John.

A: I cannot say enough about this man. He is a great actor, but he was also a great collaborator. To me, Big John is a character who is all about repressed guilt. He is not totally evil or predatory in the way that we would expect a man who likes young boys to be, because he knows that his proclivities are problematic. It was vital that the audience could relate to Big John, even sympathize with him. When I was thinking of Brian for the part, I looked at Michael Mann’s “Manhunter,” in which Brian played the first Hannibal Lecter, and at “Rob Roy,” in which he plays the lackey to Tim Roth’s villainous prince and Jessica Lange slits his throat.

When I met with Brian for the first time I knew right away that he had understood the script when he said that he’d been fascinated by Big John’s paternal aspects. At times when I would second-guess myself, Brian would always urge me to trust the writing and trust the material. He’s an incredibly well read guy who has directed stuff himself, and his insights were always right on.

Q: The relationship between Howie and Big John walks on a very fine edge.

A: I tried very hard to make sure that Big John’s intentions were constantly blurred. Howie awakened a paternal aspect in Big John that’s contradictory to his behavior. But we never really know how it’s gonna go. That’s what I always found intriguing, yet troubling. Howie also knows that he has a lot of power over Big John, and I think that when Big John acknowledges that power it gives Howie strength when he needs it most. We see that when Howie recites the Walt Whitman poem. I think that may be the most intimate scene in the film.

Q: I think Paul and Billy [who play Howie and Gary] could get discovered in this film the way the kids in the Rob Reiner film “Stand By Me” were discovered fifteen years ago.

A: I hope so, because I think Howie and Gary are amazing. That film was more about a group of boys, and “L.I.E.” is more about one boy and his community. There was an honesty about that film that I really admired, although I would not say it was an inspiration for “L.I.E.” per se. I like films that make people question their preconceptions, films that make you think and feel on the way home from the movie theatre.

ABOUT THE CAST

BRIAN COX

Considered "the most prolific actor of his generation," Brian Cox has two Olivier Awards for Best Actor to his credit for his performances in Titus Andronicus at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre and Rat in the Skull for the Royal Court in London and New York.

Cox has roles in a number of upcoming feature films including “An Affair of the

Necklace,” with Hillary Swank; “Morality Play” with Willem Dafoe; and, playing in Sundance’s “Park City at Midnight” section, the ensemble comedy “Super Troopers.” He starts work in his next project, “The Bourne Identity” with Matt Damon, in January.

The year 2000 saw Cox receiving acclaim from new career paths. He received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering in the TNT original film "Nuremberg,” and made his directorial debut at the helm of an episode of the hit HBO prison drama "Oz."

Cox’ other film work includes roles in “The Minus Man,” “For the Love of the Game,” “Rushmore,” “The Corrupter,” “The Boxer,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” the Academy Award-winning “Braveheart,” the Academy Award nominated “Rob Roy,” and “Hidden Agenda,” which was honored with a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Notably, Cox originated the celluloid Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann’s cult classic “Manhunter.”

Cox remains active in theatre, recently returning to the London stage to star in the World Premiere of Conor McPherson’s Dublin Carol, which opened the new Royal Court Theatre. Recent New York theatre credits include Art on Broadway and St. Nicholas at Off Broadway’s Primary Stages, for which he was honored with the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actor and received Drama Desk and Outer Critic’s Circle nominations. Other theatre credits include St. Nicholas at the Bush Theatre in London and the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles; King Lear and Richard III at the National Theatre in London and Skylight at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Cox is the author of two books, Salem to Moscow: An Actors Odyssey and The Lear Diaries.

PAUL FRANKLIN DANO

Paul Franklin Dano plays Howie. A native of Connecticut, Dano has appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” in which he appeared as Scrooge at age 12 opposite both Roddy McDowall and Hal Linden. Other Broadway credits include Ragtime (Toronto World Premiere), Inherit the Wind, A Month In The Country and A Thousand Clowns at the Roundabout Theatre. He has made a couple of independent films, “The Newcomers” and “Animal Room.” His television credits include “Smart Guy” and “Sense! Rainbow & The Dojo Kids.” Dano’s special interests are singing, guitar, snowboarding, biking, soccer, basketball, rollerblading and skate boarding.

BILLY KAY

Billy Kay plays Gary, Howie’s best friend, in “L.I.E.” Currently, Billy is appearing in the popular CBS-TV daytime drama “Guiding Light,” in which he portrays the rebellious teenager, Shayne Lewis. Billy just completed a new film – “Time Share” – with Timothy Dalton and Nastassja Kinski. This film will air on June 7th on the Fox Family Channel.

Growing up in Huntington, Long Island, Billy started in show business by

appearing in commercials, print ads and the feature film “Three Men and a

Baby” at the ripe old age of six months. He was 11 when he appeared in

the musical “Oliver” in which he played the Artful Dodger. He also

appeared in the “The Wiz” and “Tommy.”

Although he has a wonderful singing voice, Billy considers himself an actor

who can sing too. His latest musical endeavor is a new CD entitled “Kids

with Heart” which he recorded with other young people in the entertainment industry. The royalties earned by this CD will benefit various children’s charities.

Billy’s film credits include “Alice,” “Nathan Grimm,” “Tom’s Journey,” “The Magic of Marciano,” and last summer completed an independent film, “The Newcomer” – in which he appears with “L.I.E.” co-star Paul Franklin Dano. He has appeared in such television shows as “Zoya,” “The XY Films” and “The Invisible Man.” Billy also appeared in the Mariah Carey Christmas video entitled “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

When not appearing on stage or before the camera, Billy enjoys singing,

dancing and playing the drums. He has a huge collection of valuable comic books. In his leisure time, Billy works with The Leukemia Society, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and many other charities. He also enjoys in-line skating, baseball, basketball and, especially lacrosse.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Michael Cuesta

Writer/Director

Michael Cuesta is an award winning commercial director. He has been honored at the Museum of Modern Art and at several advertising awards shows and has worked for almost every major advertising agency in the United States and Europe. He is well known for his human-interest stories combined with striking visuals and interesting locations. He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he studied photography and literature. He went on to hone a career as a still photographer before moving into film. He lives in New York with his wife and two children.

Steve Ryder

Co-screenwriter

Stephen Ryder is a Bronx boy who realized one ambition by becoming a cop, then another, years later, as a professional writer. After a stint as a police reporter and a feature writer for the New York Daily News, Ryder had several books of poetry and short stories published. He has written dialogue for stage and screen, and script-doctored many feature films. A divorced father and grandfather, he lives alone in Riverdale, NY. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Academy of American Poets. Ryder is currently on the faculty of the New York University where he teaches writing.

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS

Belladonna was established in September of 1994 as a production service company for foreign producers shooting in North and South America. A year after its inception, in December of 1995, Belladonna’s principals, Linda Moran and René Bastian, took on feature film production, when Amos Kollek’s AmKo Productions asked them to co-produce the feature film “Sue.” “Sue” went on to receive great receptions at the Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals. At the latter it won the International Critics Award (FIPRESCI) and the Award of the Ecumenical Jury. Christa Saredi handled the foreign sales to some 15 territories, in all of which it played to great critical acclaim. The prestigious French film Magazine Cahiers du Cinema called “Sue” one of the ten best films of the year. It has been playing in some French cinemas for two straight years. Moran and Bastian went on to form their second collaboration with Amos Kollek and actress Anna Thomson, “Fiona,” which premiered at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival, with a European premiere in Berlin and is currently in international release. Celluloid Dreams in Paris is handling the foreign sales.

“Harlem Aria,” co-produced and line-produced by the Belladonna team, stars Damon Wayans and Paul Sorvino and was produced by Deepak Nayar whose credits include “Lost Highway” and “The End of Violence.” It was picked up by Artisan Entertainment for theatrical distribution.

Individually, Linda Moran has produced “Swimming,” directed by Robert J. Siegel, which premiered at Slamdance 2000 and the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 2000 and which was just acquired for theatrical distribution by Overseas Film Group, and “Friends & Family,” which was recently completed. Rene Bastian is producer of “Lonesome,” a feature film currently in post-production.

Belladonna has provided production services for both Jim Sheridan’s critically acclaimed film “The Boxer” and Wim Wenders’ Academy Award nominated documentary “The Buena Vista Social Club.” “L.I.E.” is the company’s latest project.

Belladonna continues to develop independent feature films for the international market place. The company’s focus in on projects of the highest creative standard that intend to expand their respective genres and show commercial promise. The company’s creative outlook is decisively global and its financing strategies are geared toward international co-productions.

Due to the company’s successes in the recent past and its strong presence at the most important film festivals over the last few years, Belladonna has established a dense network of international contacts.

At the same time Belladonna continues to provide production services for some

of the top European commercial, music video and television production

companies. In the capacity of service producer, they have produced numerous projects for such blue chip clients as for clients as American Express, El Al Airlines, AT&T and Mercedes Benz, as well as music videos for such globally renowned acts as N’Sync, Angelique Kidjiko and KRS-One.

Belladonna is keenly aware of the dramatic revolution that is going on in the media and communication industries and is committed to stay on its vanguard. For that purpose Belladonna is focusing on the development of interactive entertainment concepts for the Internet. It has formed a strategic alliance with the cutting edge 3D-Animation and digital design company Action Entertainment (Act-E). Through this alliance Belladonna has the creative, technological and production resources at hand to conceive and bring to

life new formats of audio-visual content.

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