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03.01.03

TV DRAMA

Taken - Production biographies

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Tobe Hooper

Episode 1 - Beyond the Sky

If he did nothing else, Tobe Hooper would have earned his place in film history with the cult classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which he wrote and directed in 1974.

The film changed the face of horror forever, spawning three sequels and inspiring a host of horror films featuring masked villains.

It was honoured by the Cannes Film Festival, and remains in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Tobe made his first film with his family's 8mm camera, when he was three, and continued to make movies while growing up in Austin, Texas.

After the success of Chainsaw, which was his third film, he made a number of other features: Fun House, Invaders from Mars, Life Force, and The Mangler.

Tobe's most ambitious and commercially successful project was the 1982 hit Poltergeist, which was his first collaboration with DreamWorks-founder Steven Spielberg. Poltergeist spun off two sequels and a television series.

Tobe has worked extensively in television since the late 1970s.

In 1979, he directed Salem's Lot, a four-hour mini-series starring James Mason that remains one of Stephen King's favourite film translations of his work.

More recently, he worked on series such as Freddie's Nightmare, Tales from the Crypt, and Night Visions.

Tobe also directed the pilots of Nowhere Man for UPN and Dark Skies for NBC/Columbia.

Breck Eisner

Episode 2 - Jacob and Jesse

Breck Eisner was born in New York and raised in Los Angeles.

He graduated from Georgetown University in Washington DC, majoring in both English and Theatre.

Breck received a Master's degree in directing from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.

His Masters Thesis at USC, the short film Recon, has been screened around the world at events such as the Venice Film Festival, The Hamptons Film Festival, and The Edinburgh Festival.

Breck's first commercial spot, Budweiser's Powersurge, aired during the 1997 Superbowl Game, and ranked highly among viewers and critics alike.

This was followed by Rold Gold's Pretzel Boy spot, which starred Jason Alexander.

In the four years following he has directed upwards of fifty different commercials for such clients as Coke, Pepsi, Heineken, Sony, PowerBar, McDonald's, Burger King, and Kodak to name a few.

In 1999 Breck directed The Invisible Man, a two-hour television pilot. The show aired in the summer of 2000, receiving the highest ratings in the history of the SCI FI channel, and ran for two years.

After the success of The Invisible Man, Breck directed the pilot Wilder for Universal Productions.

In mid-2001, Breck sold a back-door pilot, with writers Tom Donneley and Josh Oppenheimer, to USA Network titled Thoughtcrimes.

He is scheduled to direct and executive-produce the two-hour pilot episode.

In the film world, Breck has signed on with Warner Brothers to develop and direct the Brian Lynch film, Nightcrawlers, and is in production with DreamWorks on Big Ticket.

Sergio Mimica-Gazzan

Episode 3 - High Hopes

Sergio got his start in movies working on the Croatia set of 1982's Sophie's Choice.

As Steven Spielberg's first assistant director, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan has played a central role in all of his films from the past ten years: Schindler's List, The Lost World – Jurassic Park, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, A.I., Minority Report, and Catch Me If You Can.

Sergio has also worked as first assistant director on films such as Independence Day, Inspector Gadget and How to Make an American Quilt.

In 1999 he wrote, produced, and directed a 40-minute dramatic short entitled An Incident.

Bryan Springer

Episode 4 - Acid Tests

Bryan Spicer got his start in the film industry as a production-assistant on the pilot for the hit series Moonlighting, before working for several years for the Stephen J. Cannell Company.

He made his directorial debut on the Cannell show, Booker, and began to attract serious attention as director and producer of the innovative Fox series Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

Since then, Bryan has worked on shows such as X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, SeaQuest DSV, 24, and directed Kevin Spacey in an episode of the Emmy-award-winning anthology series Tribeca.

Bryan has made three features: 1995's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, 1997's McHale's Navy, and For Richer or Poorer, which starred Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley.

Felix Alcala

Episode 5 - Maintenance

Born in Bakersfield, California, and raised in Christoval, Texas, Felix Alcala got his start in the business by working for KERA-TV, while still in College at the Southern Methodist University Film School in Dallas.

Following his graduation, Felix collaborated on the short film Who Built this Place, winning first prize at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Following his move to Los Angeles, Felix broke into cinematography, and then production, winning an A.S.C. nomination for his cinematography on the Amblin/NBC pilot Earth II.

Alcala also served as Director of Photography for series such as I'll Fly Away, 91Èȱ¬front, and the pilot episodes of South Beach and South of Sunset.

He moved into directing episodic television, winning a DGA nomination for his work on the Emmy-winning drama ER.

Most recently Alcala served as the Creative Consultant on the NBC series Third Watch, which also brought him a 2001 best drama director ALMA Award.

Thomas J Wright

Episode 6 - Charlie and Lisa

Beginning his career in film as an actor, Thomas Wright got his start in film production, of which the majority of these projects were action films.

Thomas began as second unit director on Staying Alive and worked on Beverly Hills Cop, Howard the Duck, and Rocky II.

Thomas went on to direct, write and produce a wide range of television projects as well as a number of feature films.

He served as director on such hit series as The X-Files, Angel, Dark Angel, CSI, The Fugitive, Highlander and MaxHeadroom, to name a few.

Thomas' TV movies include the two-hour special Mancuso FBI for NBC, Fatal Image for CBS, and Chrome Soldiers for the USA Network.

Thomas made his feature directorial debut with the independent film Torchlight, directed Hulk Hogan in the 1998 feature No Holds Barred and in 2001, he directed Dennis Hopper in the independent psychological thriller Unspeakable.

Jeremy Kagan

Episode 7 - God's Equation

Jeremy Kagan's career as a director, producer, writer, and teacher has included a remarkable range of work.

Educated at NYU and Harvard, Jeremy's early films included award-winning animated shorts, and experimental-movies; which led to his selection as one of the first fellows at the American Film Institute.

Jeremy began working in television in the early seventies directing episodes of The Bold One and Columbo before creating a series of acclaimed movies for television.

One of these made-for-television films was Katherine, which was among the first TV films to be honored at film festivals.

Jeremy's other notable television credits include: Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8, which was a winner of the 1988 ACE award for best dramatic special, the Golden Globe-nominated Roswell: The UFO Conspiracy, the pilot for Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, and Bobbie's Girl, which was the highest rated film for Showtime in 2002.

Jeremy won an Emmy for his work on Chicago Hope, and has directed episodes of series such as Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Picket Fences, and The Guardian.

Jeremy's feature films include Heroes, The Big Fix, and 1981's The Chosen, which won the Grand Prix at the World Film Festival in Montreal, and The Journey of Natty Gann, which won the Gold Prize at the 1987 Moscow Film Festival.

Jeremy is a tenured professor at USC's prestigious school of film and television and has served as artistic director at Robert Redford's Sundance Institute.

Jeff Woolnough

Episode 8 - Dropping the Dishes

Jeff Woolnough's first foray into filmmaking came when he was chosen to be Norman Jewison's apprentice on Moonstruck.

For the past two seasons he worked extensively on James Cameron's Dark Angel.

His other directing credits include The Agency, from Wolfgang Petersen, Smallville, Birds Of Prey, both from Warner Bros., UC: Undercover, from Danny Devito, and Soul Food from Baby Face and Showtime.

Jeff is now developing several projects for the big screen.

John Fawcett

Episode 9 - John

Trained at the Canadian Film Centre, John Fawcett first earned attention in 1996 when his short film, Scratch Ticket, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

He has gone on to direct two features: 1997's The Boys Club, which starred Chris Penn, and 2000's Ginger Snaps, an innovative horror movie he created with writer Karen Walton.

John also directed the 2001 film Lucky Girl, which received two Gemini awards.

John's television credits include work on series such as John Woo's Once a Thief, La Femme Nikita, Xena: Warrior Princess, Queer as Folk, and DaVinci's Inquest.

In 1999 Fawcett earned Gemini nomination, for best director, for his work on the CBC series Power Play.

Mike Katleman

Episode 10 - Taken

Michael Katleman joined the film industry after a successful career as a musician, working his way up from production assistant to the assistant director on features such as La Bamba, Predator, Commando, and Jumpin' Jack Flash.

He made his debut as a director in 1990 on the acclaimed television series China Beach, and has since directed many hours of episodic television, including: ER, The X-Files, Northern Exposure, and Smallville.

Mike co-created and executive-produced his own series, VR.5, for Fox, directed the pilot and executive-produced the sci-fi medical drama Mercy Point, for UPN, and joined forces with director Tim Burton to executive-produce the pilot Lost in Oz, a series based on the immortal work of L. Frank Baum.

Recently, Mike served as co-executive-producer and director on the hit series Gilmore Girls.

He is currently co-executive-producing and directing the new WB series Birds of Prey.

Leslie Bohem

Writer/ Executive Producer

When musician Les Bohem traded in his bass for a keyboard a dozen years ago, he wasn't changing instruments.Leslie changed professions.

Leslie made his first mark as a musician in the 1980s, scoring an cult hit with The Gleaming Spires' Are You Ready For the Sex Girls, and touring with the tirelessly quirky pop band Sparks.

After trying to flog semi-autobiographical scripts about musicians whose burgeoning careers in rock and roll stopped burgeoning, Leslie made his film debut with the screenplay for A Nightmare on Elm Street: Part 5.

After writing films such as The Horror Show, Nowhere to Run, and Kid, Leslie turned his attention to rewriting a 1935 script by his father, Endre Bohem, who had started as a screenwriter in the 1930s and later worked as a writer and producer on the TV western Rawhide.

Twenty Bucks, which followed the path of a $20 bill as it makes its way through the world, earned critical raves and several awards.

Other recent screenwriting credits include 1996's Daylight, and the 1997 hit Dante's Peak.

Steve Beers

Co-Executive Producer

Director and producer Steve Beers got his start in the television business in the early '80s when he wrote an episode for Stephen J. Cannell's hit series The A-Team, and for the action series Riptide.

Steve went on to work as an executive producer on the Cannell series 21 Jump Street and Booker, as well as co-executive producing on the Warner Bros. series Maximum Bob.

His other credits include work as supervising-producer on Fox's Dark Angel, which is not to be confused with the Aaron Spelling pilot of the same name which Beers also produced, and WB's Young Americans.

In 1987 Steve won the Scott Newman Drug Abuse Prevention Award for his work on 21 Jump Street.

Richard Heus

Producer

Richard Heus first made his mark producing the award-winning American Playhouse production of Darrow, starring Kevin Spacey, Chris Cooper and Calista Flockheart.

He later partnered with the Oscar-winning writer Barry Morrow, and together they produced films such as Race the Sun, starring Halle Berry and Jim Belushi.

Together they also produced critically acclaimed and popular television movies and mini-series such as Switched at Birth, with Bonnie Bedelia, Christmas on Division Street, with Hume Cronyn and Fred Savage, and Behind the Mask, with Donald Sutherland.

Richard also produced Serving in Silence, starring Glenn Close and Judy Davis, which was nominated for six Emmy's.

More recently, Heus has been producing television series including the CBS/Sony hit Early Edition, NBC's Raising Caines, and UPN's Secret Agent Man.

James Lima

Co-Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor

After beginning his career as the Visual Effects Art Director on the Academy award-winning Total Recall, James made his debut as Visual Effects Supervisor on the innovative NBC series SeaQuest DSV.

In feature films, James has supervised the visual effects on Strange Days for James Cameron, and Space Jam for Ivan Reitman, before returning to television and reuniting with Steven Spielberg on the critically acclaimed NBC series The Others.

James has also worked extensively in commercials, designing and supervising visual effects for such directors as Joe Pytka, Tony Scott and Herb Ritts, while directing several commercials and music videos himself.

James' work as a visual consultant can be seen in such blockbusters as Starship Troopers, The Mummy, and the recent mega-hit Spider-Man, for which he designed the Green Goblin.

On Taken, James has supervised the visual effects, and concentrated on the design, personality, and persona of the Alien Grays.

Chris Gorak

Production Designer

As an Art Director, Chris Gorak has been fortunate enough to collaborate with the industry's most visually-gifted Production Designers and Directors.

Most notably, Chris was Supervising Art Director on Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, and Art Director on David Fincher's Fight Club and Terry Gilliam's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.

He was also Art Director on the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There, and John Singleton's Rosewood.

Chris has a degree in Architecture from Tulane University, and climbed the art department ladder from the bottom assisting, set designing, and illustrating on films such as The Lawnmower Man, The Hudsucker Proxy, Tombstone, and Tank Girl.

Chris learned his craft under the guidance of several highly regarded production designers including: Alex McDowell, Dennis Gassner, Academy award-winner for Bugsy, and Paul Sylbert, Academy award-winner for Heaven Can Wait.

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Production notes

Steven Spielberg - Biography

Cast Biographies

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