Charles Russell is a versatile writer, producer and director who achieved worldwide success with the smash comedy hit "The Mask," which starred Jim Carrey and grossed more than $100 million in the United States alone.

A graduate of the University of Illinois at Champagne, Russell began his eclectic film career sweeping stages. He rose through the industry, working under the tutelage of such teachers as the legendary Roger Corman.

His big break came when he wrote and directed "A Nightmare on Elm Street III," which was the highest-grossing independent film ever made at the time of its release, outgrossing its two predecessors combined. He also was co-writer and director of the remake of the science fiction classic, "The Blob," and writer and co-producer of the cult science-fiction hit "Dreamscape."

As a producer, Russell counts among his credits the hit Rodney Dangerfield comedy "Back to School," as well as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.

Arnold Kopelson earned the 1986 Best Picture Academy Award for "Platoon," and in 1994, his production of "The Fugitive" was among the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture. Kopelson has received 16 Academy Award nominations, and his films have collectively earned over a billion dollars in worldwide box-office receipts. In 1996, he received the Cinema Expo International Lifetime Achievement in Filmmaking Award, and, in 1994, was named Producer of the Year by the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).

Most recently, Kopelson produced the crime drama "Seven," starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman and directed by David Fincher, and the medical thriller "Outbreak," starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman under Wolfgang Petersen's direction.

Kopelson produced "Falling Down," directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. Prior to that, he produced "Triumph of the Spirit," filmed entirely on location at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. Earlier in his career, Kopelson developed the coming-of-age hit "Porky's." He also produced the Steven Seagal action drama "Out for Justice" and executive produced the action-adventure "Fire Birds" and the supernatural thriller, "Warlock."

After graduating from the New York Law School, Kopelson practiced entertainment and banking law, specializing in motion-picture financing. He later formed InterOcean Film Sales, Ltd., with Anne Feinberg, who would eventually become his wife and producing partner. Kopelson also pioneered the concept of international theatrical distribution of movies made for television and represented ABC television in this area.

Kopelson is a member of both the New York and California Bars and is a member of the Board of Trustees of New York Law School. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Producers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Producers Guild of America.

Anne Kopelson began her professional career as assistant to then entertainment and banking attorney Arnold Kopelson. They subsequently formed InterOcean Sales, Ltd., to finance and license films throughout the world and represented such filmmakers as Sergio Leone and John Cassavettes. The Kopelsons then entered into a joint venture with General Cinema Corporation, which produced films such as "Lost and Found" and "Foolin' Around."

Kopelson executive produced "Seven," starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman and directed by David Fincher, and "Outbreak," starring Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Rene Russo. She is co-chairperson of Arnold Kopelson Productions, which has been responsible for the development and production of more than 15 motion pictures, including "Platoon," which won the 1986 Best Picture Academy Award. Arnold Kopelson Productions has also produced the box-office hits "The Fugitive" and "Falling Down" as well as "Triumph of the Spirit," "Fire Birds" and "Out for Justice."

Kopelson also serves on the Executive Committee of the Executive Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Tony Puryear is the first African-American to write a major studio action film. "Eraser" was Puryear's first spec script sale, and he followed it with "Infidels" for Oliver Stone and an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic science-fiction novel "Fahrenheit 451" for Mel Gibson.

Puryear is the founder and "Maximo Jefe" of Black Rebel Digits, a Venice, California-based multimedia company dedicated to combining storytelling savvy and multicultural flavor on the World Wide Web. Earlier this year, Puryear and Black Rebel Digits launched "Rebel Communiqué," an on-line magazine featuring news, reviews, fiction and even recipes. "Rebel Communiqué" also contains "Black City," Puryear's new noirish multimedia serial, downloadable in English and Spanish. "Rebel Communiqué" is on the Web at www.blackrebel.com.

Before coming to Hollywood, Puryear was a writer/art director at J. Walter Thompson, NY, where he worked on campaigns for Burger King, Miller High Life and Goodyear. He also directed music videos for rap artists like EPMD and K-Solo. Puryear is a native of New York City and attended Brown University.

Walon Green is a prolific writer for both the big and small screens. Among his feature credits as writer or co-writer are "The Island of Dr. Moreau," "Robocop 2," "Crusoe," "Solarbabies," "The Border," "The Brinks Job," "Sorcerer" and "The Wild Bunch." He executive produced "Sniper" and direced the features "The Hellstrom Chronicles" and "The Secret Life of Plants."

For television, Green is co-executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning drama series, "NYPD Blue"; executive producer and writer of the acclaimed crime series "Law & Order"; and was a producer and director of "Hill Street Blues." He wrote the mini-series "Robert Kennedy and His Times" and produced and directed a number of National Geographic specials.

Michael S. Chernuchin is the executive producer of the long-running series "Law & Order," which he joined as a member of the writing staff during its first season in 1990. He is also the creator and executive producer of the one-hour drama "Feds," starring Judd Nelson, which is being considered for for CBS' fall season. In addition, he is creating and executive producing the one-hour drama "One L," based on Scott Turow's novel, as a potential mid-season replacement. Chernuchin recently signed a multi-year drama development deal with Universal Television.

Chernuchin has been honored with three Emmy Award nominations, the 1994 Humanitas Prize, the 1995 Angel Award, the Jewish Televimage Award, the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America and the 1994 Media Award for Outstanding Television Drama. Prior to becoming a writer, Chernuchin was an attorney in New York and holds his law degree from Cornell Law School.

Michael Tadross most recently produced the third installment in one of the most successful action series of all time, "Die Hard With a Vengeance," which was the biggest worldwide hit of 1995. Tadross served as senior vice president in charge of feature production for Paramount Pictures, where he oversaw such feature films as "Forrest Gump," "Naked Gun 33 1/3," "Sliver," "Coneheads" and "Wayne's World 2," among others.

Prior to his tenure at Paramount, Tadross co-produced the hit film "Indecent Proposal," starring Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford under the direction of Adrian Lyne. He also served as associate producer of "School Ties" and "Brenda Starr."

His many films as unit production manager and first assistant director include "Ghost," "Coming to America," "Black Rain," "Trading Places" and "Death Wish."

Tadross produced many movies-of-the-week for television, including "When Will I Be Loved" and "Deadly Illusion." Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Tadross graduated from Wagner College with a degree in art and theater. He began his career as a camera trainee and assistant film editor.

Stephen Brown is President of Production at Arnold Kopelson Productions, where he oversees all production activity and is responsible for the administration of the company. During his tenure there, Brown has been co-producer of a string of box-office and critical successes, beginning with the controversial action thriller "Falling Down." He was co-producer of "The Fugitive," which received seven Academy Award nomination, including Best Picture, and became the second-highest grossing film in Warner Bros. history. Brown's more recent co-producing credits include the hit thrillers "Outbreak" and "Seven."

Brown was a producer of the Showtime original feature "Past Tense," starring Scott Glenn, Lara Flynn Boyle and Anthony LaPaglia, and a co-executive producer of "Frogmen," a two-hour pilot for NBC starring O.J. Simpson.

Following graduation from the University of California, Los Angeles, Brown worked at John DeNigris Associates, a financial and corporate communications company in New York City, before joining Arnold Kopelson Productions in 1989.

Caroline Pham followed "Eraser" by executive producing the thriller "Trial of the Century," starring Patricia Arquette. Prior to becoming an independent producer with the family comedy "Spaced Invaders," Pham gained firsthand filmmaking experience on such films as "Sid and Nancy," "Heathers," "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" and "Posse." She also spent a number of years heading feature development for the Melinda Jason Company during its deals with Columbia Pictures and Disney/Touchstone Pictures.

Pham began her college education at New York University, finishing her studies in International Economics at the American College in Paris. The daugher of a South Vietnamese Ambassador, she was born in England and was educated in various countries around the world to which her father was assigned, including Thailand, Belgium and Viet Nam.

Academy Award nominee Adam Greenberg previously worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger on James Cameron's "The Terminator" and its smash sequel, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." He recently signed to direct his first feature film, "Altered Ego," an action thriller. Greenberg's acclaimed list of film credits includes "Dave," "North," "Renaissance Man," "Toys," "Sister Act," "Three Men and a Baby," "Three Men and a Little Lady," "Ghost," "Turner and Hooch," "Worth Winning," "La Bamba," "Alien Nation," "Near Dark," "Once Bitten," "Iron Eagle," "Wisdom" and "The Big Red One."

In addition to his Academy Award nomination for "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," Greenberg served as director of photography on four films that received Best Foreign Film nominations: "Operation Thunderbolt," "I Love You Rosa," "The House on Chelouche Street" and "Lemon Popsicle." He received A.S.C. Award nominations for "Ghost" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

Greenberg's television credits include "Mary and Joseph" and Ingrid Bergman's last film, "A Woman Called Golda."

Bill Kenney entered the ranks of art directors with the James Bond adventure, "Diamonds Are Forever," and also served in that capacity on such features as "Drum," "Sweet Revenge," Brian De Palma's "Carrie" and Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull."

Kenney became a film production designer in 1975. Since then, his extensive credits include "The River Wild," "Under Siege," "Little Giants," "Tango & Cash," "Oscar," "Lock Up," "Rambo III," "Extreme Prejudice," "Rocky IV," "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Body Heat," among many others.

He has worked with such filmmakers as Lawrence Kasdan, Andrew Davis, John Landis, John Milius and Sylvester Stallone.

Michael Tronick recently worked on the Steven Seagal action hit "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory." Tronick has an impressive list of feature credits, including "The Cowboy Way," "Scent of a Woman," "True Romance," "The Last Boy Scout," "Days of Thunder," "Revenge" and "Beverly Hills Cop II." Tronick also edited "Straight Talk," "Hudson Hawk," "The Marrying Man," "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane," "Midnight Run," "Less Than Zero" and "Streets of Fire."

He began his career as a music editor and worked on such popular films as "Reds," "Star 80," "All That Jazz," "48 HRS.," "A Chorus Line" and "Predator." Among his many television credits are the telefilms "American River" and "Side By Side."

Alan Silvestri scored the box-office smash "Forrest Gump," which earned him nominations from the Academy and the Golden Globes for Best Score. His other recent credits include "Sgt. Bilko," "Grumpier Old Men," "Father of the Bride Part II," "Judge Dredd," "The Perez Family," "The Quick and the Dead," "Richie Rich," "Blown Away," "The Bodyguard" and the first "Grumpy Old Men."

Silvestri's other film music credits include "Judgment Night," "Super Mario Bros.," "FernGully: The Last Rainforest," "Father of the Bride," "Shattered," "Ricochet," "Soapdish," "Predator 2," "Young Guns II," "The Abyss," "Overboard," "Predator," "Outrageous Fortune," "Flight of the Navigator," "Clan of the Cave Bear," "American Anthem" and "Fandango." He has scored six motion pictures for director Robert Zemeckis in addition to "Forrest Gump": "Romancing the Stone," all three "Back to the Future" films, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Death Becomes Her."

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