~ Final Production Information ~

Brad “B‑Rad” Gluckman (JAMIE KENNEDY) is Malibu’s most unwanted rapper.  He spends his days hangin’ at the Malibrew Coffee Shop with his pimpin’ crew, Mocha (NICK SWARDSON), Monster (KEILI LEFKOVITZ) and Hadji (KAL PENN), and bustin’ rhymes about his hard-core life up in “the ‘Bu.”  Immersed in hip-hop culture, B-Rad spits lyrics about his phat life (“Life’s a beach and then you die / I could tell you stories, make your caterer cry”) – and this beach boy is convinced that his wack rhymes are tighter than Hadji’s cornrows.

While B-Rad thinks his lyrical stylings and hip-hop lifestyle are down (“I may be white / but my rhymes is tight”), he’s actually taking his whole family down with him – especially his father, Bill Gluckman (RYAN O’NEAL), who is currently campaigning to be the next governor of California.  Bill doesn’t understand his son’s jungle fever and thinks all B-Rad needs is some unusual family therapy – or tough love – to cure him of his gangsta delusions. 

But when therapy can’t solve the B-Rad public relations problem in time to stop Bill Gluckman’s disastrous slide in the polls, campaign manager Tom Gibbons (BLAIR UNDERWOOD) concocts a scheme to neutralize the problem: they’ll hire out-of-work actors Sean and PJ (TAYE DIGGS and ANTHONY ANDERSON) to play thugs, “kidnap” B-Rad and scare the poseur out of him with a drive-by tour of the real ‘hood.  

The Gluckmans hope that a dose of urban reality will force their black sheep son to reveal his “true” color, but B-Rad proves to the playa-haters that even under fire in the middle of South Central, this plain white rapper is too legit to quit.  In a wild ride from Malibu to Compton and back again, B-Rad keeps it rizz-eal and wins much love from booty-ful business‑savvy hottie Shondra (REGINA HALL) along the way.

         Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Karz Entertainment production starring JAMIE KENNEDY (Scream, The WB’s JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment).  Malibu’s Most Wanted also stars TAYE DIGGS (Chicago, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Brown Sugar) as Sean, a Julliard‑trained actor who needs a little extra dough to pay his bills; ANTHONY ANDERSON (Barbershop, Kangaroo Jack, Cradle 2 the Grave) as PJ, who poses as a gangster for the cash; BLAIR UNDERWOOD (Full Frontal, Final Breakdown) as Tom Gibbons, an ambitious spin‑doctor who heads Bill Gluckman’s gubernatorial campaign; REGINA HALL (The Other Brother, Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2) as Shondra, a business‑savvy hottie from South Central who deserves better than her gangbanging ex‑boyfriend Tec;  DAMIEN DANTE WAYANS (Passing Glory, Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood) as Tec;  and RYAN O’NEAL (People I Know, Epoch) as Bill Gluckman, the wealthy Malibu businessman and absentee father  who fears his son “B‑Rad” will spoil his bid for governor.  SNOOP DOGG makes a special appearance as the inspirational Ronnie Rizat, as does BO DEREK (10, The Master of Disguise) as Brad’s mom, Bess Gluckman.

Directed by JOHN WHITESELL (Calendar Girl, See Spot Run), Malibu’s Most Wanted is produced by MIKE KARZ (Max Keeble’s Big Move, JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment), FAX BAHR and ADAM SMALL (In Living Color, MADTV and JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment) from a screenplay written by FAX BAHR & ADAM SMALL & JAMIE KENNEDY and NICK SWARDSON.  BILL JOHNSON (A Walk to Remember, The Kid) serves as executive producer; the director of photography is MARK IRWIN, C.S.C.-A.S.C.; BILL ELLIOTT is the production designer; the film is edited by CARA SILVERMAN, A.C.E; the co-producers are RUSSELL HOLLANDER and JOSH ETTING; themes by JOHN DEBNEY; the music score is by JOHN VAN TONGEREN with DAMON ELLIOTT.

Malibu’s Most Wanted will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company.  

Malibu’s Most Wanted has been rated “PG-13” by the MPAA for “sexual humor, language and violence.”  

www.malibusmostwanted.com / AOL Keyword: Malibu’s Most Wanted

DON’T BE HATIN’

Livin’ in the ‘Bu, trying hard to survive

It’s a struggle sometimes just to stay alive, yo.

Livin’ in the ‘Bu, trying hard to make it

It’s a struggle sometimes when people think you’re fakin’.

– Brad “B‑Rad” Gluckman 

           Meet Brad “B‑Rad” Gluckman, Malibu’s most unwanted rapper.  When he ain’t tippin’ back a Frapachizzo with his crew at their hizz‑ome away from home, the Malibrew Coffee Shop, B‑Rad’s busting rhymes for his self‑styled hip‑hop album Malibootay and representin’ the hardcore “sippin’ on gin and Jamba Juice” lifestyle in “the ‘Bu.”          

While he waits for his rap career to blow up, B-Rad’s living the life, hangin’ with the hardest crews in the oceanfront community: The Beach Bõyz! and The A.C.C.’s (Abused Children of Celebrities).  It’s nothin’ but a B-thang, baby.

“B-Rad thinks he’s down with what’s going on in the streets even though he’s never been east of the San Diego Freeway,” says Malibu’s Most Wanted co-writer and star Jamie Kennedy, who first created the naïvely winning B‑Rad character in the early 90s and incorporated him into his stand‑up comedy act.  “I used to see this white kid hanging out in a coffee shop in West Hollywood who was always talking about how ‘hard’ he was even though he grew up in Beverly Hills, and I thought it was such a funny juxtaposition,” Kennedy recalls.  “I grew up in the suburbs and I’ve listened to rap music since I was ten years old, so the character is definitely part of me, too.  I gave B‑Rad the background of living in Malibu because it seemed like the most ludicrous notion of all.”

Like the rappers who inspire him, B‑Rad rhymes about the hardships of life as he knows it, from the mad traffic up in the ‘Bu  (“Traffic, traffic / Lookin’ for my Chapstick / Feelin’ kinda car sick / There’s a Ford Maverickº”), to the lifestyle struggles of the rich and famous  (“Mansions, movie stars and cars / It looks beautiful, it do. / But things go on here, I’d never wish on you…”), and the importance of a flava-flave customized cup of coffee (“The name is B‑Rad / Not Robbie Van Winkle / I like my latte nonfat / And don’t forget the sprinkle!”).

 Judging from B-Rad’s wack rhymes, producer Mike Karz says, “It’s pretty obvious that he has almost no talent as a rapper, but he’s such an incredibly charming character with such dedication to his craft and belief in himself that he captures attention wherever he goes.”

After further developing the character with co-screenwriters Fax Bahr and Adam Small, Kennedy began to feature B-Rad regularly in segments of his hit WB TV show, JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.  “Brad Gluckman is the character on the show that people always talk about and seem to love the most,” observes Kennedy, who pushes sketch comedy to new extremes with the posse of irreverent characters he unleashes weekly on JKX.  “Making this movie was the next logical step for me in B‑Rad’s evolution.”

Director John Whitesell jumped aboard to direct the project after screening the JKX pilot and reading an early draft of the feature script.  “I was familiar with Jamie from his work in the Scream movies and I thought he was a really talented comedic actor,” Whitesell says.  “And I love the character of B‑Rad.  He approaches his life with the same intensity and commitment as the rappers from the inner‑city.  Brad’s not saying that he grew up on the streets of Compton.  He’s saying, ‘I’m rich, but my life is hard too.’  He connects with the culture of hip-hop and in his heart, he is B-Rad.”

“Brad’s young and naïve, but more than anything, he’s passionate about being a rapper,” Kennedy explains.

As this “rhyme‑a big time‑a” pursues his dream of convincing platinum rapper Dr. Dre to listen to his Malibootay CD, his detractors insist that B‑Rad is frontin’ – after all, why is a rich white kid from the beach acting like he’s a gangbanger from the ‘hood?  Shoot.

No one wants to know the answer to that question more desperately than B-Rad’s father Bill Gluckman, who is currently campaigning for Governor of California.  Unfortunately for the ambitious politico, B-Rad’s well‑meaning but politically incorrect contributions to his conservative father’s campaign clash with the constituents and wreak havoc on Big Daddy Gluckman’s standings in the polls.  


From the issues raised by his wildly inappropriate lyrical campaign slogans to the controversial graffiti‑style banner he creates in an attempt to promote his father’s pro‑women’s‑rights stance, B‑Rad proves to be more than a liability on the campaign trail – he’s a public relations nightmare, yo.

On the brink of political disaster, Bill Gluckman reluctantly concedes to his campaign manager’s unorthodox approach to B-Rad damage control: they’ll hire out‑of‑work actors to portray gangstas from “the ‘hood,” kidnap the wannabe rapper and scare the poseur right out of him with a drive-by tour of South Central.

THE PLAYAS

While the Gluckmans hope that a dose of urban reality will force their son to reveal his “true” color, in actuality, the African-American actors they hire are no more streetwise than the Mali-bred B-Rad.  “Sean’s the type of guy who gets into his gangsta persona by watching MTV and buying a hip-hop dictionary,” says Taye Diggs of his character, a Julliard-trained actor desperate for a paying job in Hollywood.  “He convinces himself that this will be a serious acting experience because he’s so far removed from thug life.  But his attempt at being ‘ghetto’ is ridiculously generic.” 

Sean’s partner in faux crime is Pasadena Playhouse veteran PJ, played by Anthony Anderson.  “We get hired to scare the black out of this privileged white boy,” says Anderson, “but we’re so far out of our element that we wind up getting the black scared out of us.”

            The professional competitive tension between Sean and PJ compromises their already shaky attempts to “keep it real.”  “There’s a rivalry between the guys because Sean is ‘classically trained’ and he feels superior to PJ,” says Anderson.  “But I’m definitely the better one in the movie,” he jokes.

The opportunity for natural comedic improvisation between their characters meant that Anderson, Diggs and Kennedy were able to mix it up during filming.  “We shared so many scenes together,” reports Kennedy, “that it became a constant contest of one-ups-manship between us to improv material on the spot, pushing each other to make each take funnier than the last.” 

“Every day on the set is fun when you’re surrounded by experienced comedians like Anthony and Jamie,” adds Diggs.  “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to bounce off of their energy.  We would sit behind the video monitors watching our takes, laughing at how far we could push the humor. ‘Oh, that was funny.  No, you funny.  No, you funny!’”

Writer-producer Fax Bahr, a veteran of sketch comedy shows such as In Living Color and MAD TV, encouraged the actors to push themselves (and each other) comedically.  “This story’s humor begins with the writing,” he says, “but these actors amplified the comedy by bringing their different backgrounds and individual flavor to the material.”

Co-screenwriter Kennedy admits that even he never knew exactly how far Diggs and Anderson would take a scene off the page.  “They each have crazy energy – Taye is like a cat moving at you and Anthony is this wild tornado of hilarity,” Kennedy enthuses.  “You can’t predict what’s going to happen when you’re working with them.”

While the increasingly terrified Sean and PJ struggle to hold B-Rad captive in Compton, the ambitious spin‑doctor who hired them is livin’ large in Malibu under the banner of Bill Gluckman’s floundering campaign.  Blair Underwood, who plays perpetratin’ campaign manager Tom Gibbons, is convinced that it’s no mistake his character’s name is Tom.  “He’s definitely an Uncle Tom-type who manipulates the situation to serve his interests,” Underwood says.  “He condemns B-Rad for acting differently from what’s expected of a rich white kid, but the irony is that Tom is an African American who lives what some may consider to be a ‘white’ life.  He doesn’t see that B-Rad’s lifestyle choice has just as much merit as his own.”

“On the surface, it looks like Brad’s the one who’s posing,” muses co-writer and producer Adam Small, “but really, the film plays with the idea that everyone else – from his father and his campaign manager to the thugs hired to scare Brad – are the ones who are putting on a front.”

 “Hip‑hop – and white kids like B‑Rad who emulate the hip‑hop lifestyle – are often perceived as aggressive and threatening,” Whitesell adds.

Aspiring politician Bill Gluckman doesn’t know hip-hop from a hoochie in the wall, but he’s convinced that his son’s “phase” is ruining his run for governor.  Everything would be fine if he could just convince Brad to embrace his “true” identity, which Bill assumes is that of a mild-mannered Jewish boy from Malibu.  “Brad is a handful for Bill because they’re not on the same wavelength at all,” says O’Neal of the strained relationship between father and son.  “In fact, Bill’s not sure what wavelength Brad’s on.”

Neither is Mrs. Gluckman, played by the luminous Bo Derek, whose laser-like focus on being a devoted spouse has significantly hindered her ability to be a devoted mother to Brad.  “She’s the perfect wife for the campaign trail because she just agrees and agrees and agrees,” says Derek, flashing her character’s bling-bling diamond ring.  “Even to the point of lying to her son and agreeing to this outrageous scheme that could put him in serious danger.”

 “Working with Ryan O’Neal and Bo Derek was truly amazing,” Kennedy says.  “I did scenes with them totally thinking they were my parents.  Maybe I’m flattering myself, but we even look alike.  I’ve got some great-looking parents.” 

To help dupe the unsuspecting B-Rad, pseudo-thugs “Bloodbath” (Sean) and “Tre” (PJ) enlist the aid of PJ’s cousin Shondra, the finest girl B-Rad has ever seen.  Shondra wants to do more with her life than make ends meet with her mall job at Weiner-On-A-Bun – and she’s got the business plan to back up her dream.  “B-Rad is the first guy who has ever believed in her,” explains Regina Hall, who plays the feisty entrepreneur.  “She’s used to most guys, especially her ex-boyfriend Tec, being pretty dismissive of her ambitions.  So when B-Rad actually listens to her and is supportive, she looks beyond his outer persona and sees a really sincere guy with a lot of heart.”

 “Shondra and B-Rad both have dreams that they’re working to achieve,” Whitesell says.  “Their common motivation brings them together and ultimately enables them to transcend their differences.”

Kennedy relished portraying the genuine – if unlikely – chemistry between B-Rad and the ghetto-fabulous bombshell.  “Regina is so sexy and funny, which is a rare combination,” Kennedy compliments.  “She’s also a really good kisser, which is great because we make out a lot on screen.”  

“I had to kiss Jamie a lot,” Hall concedes jokingly, “but, you know, somebody’s got to do it.”

When “Bloodbath” and “Tre” drag the plain white rapper to a hip-hop club in the ‘hood, they expect their captive to freak and run back home to Malibu where he belongs.  But as soon as he steps into the club, B-Rad realizes he’s home – these are his people, dawg!  Unfortunately, B-Rad’s hook-up with Shondra puts him in serious jeopardy when they cross paths with her gangbanging ex-boyfriend Tec.  There’s only one way for B-Rad to get his props and escape a tail-whuppin’ from Tec – he’s gotta prove he’s D-shiznit by rockin’ the mic right in a rap battle against renowned rap artists Hi C, Young Dre, Drop Da and Big Steele. 

When B-Rad steps up to command proper respect and let his inner booty shine, even Drop Da has to take a beat.  “I seen his style, and quite frankly, I ain’t heard nobody rap like that,” Drop Da admits.  “Very unique.   He’s straight-up representin’ the ‘Bu, baby.”

B-Rad’s musical stylings put a whole new spin on the meaning of “white noise,” but rapper Young Dre gives the playa his due.  “B-Rad has confidence,” says Young Dre.  “Confidence can get your a*# kicked sometimes, but he’s got confidence.”

The Malibu production team, which shot the film in and around Los Angeles in only 29 days, had just a few hours in which to stage and shoot the roof-raising rap battle.  Director of photography Mark Irwin utilized two cameras to film Kennedy’s improv-based performance (“I may be white / but my rhymes is tight!”) at The Proud Bird club.  “Jamie is incredibly fast on his feet and so good at improvising under pressure,” Whitesell says.  “And Mark was amazingly adept at capturing Jamie’s crazy energy and creating a visceral club vibe in a very limited amount of time.”

“When I was rapping onstage, I got out of breath, and then trying to dance on top of it…whew,” Kennedy recalls.  “I have new respect for Britney Spears.  She’s really earning her money.”

 “I think the accuracy of our production is flawless, all the way down to the extras in the club crowd,” Anthony Anderson attests.  “I love a hoochie, and we had them on-set hoochie-fied!

For all of the broad satire’s attention to fly appearances, Whitesell sees Malibu’s Most Wanted as a character-driven comedy.  “Our characters have real stakes,” he points out.  “Shondra dreams of getting out of the ‘hood and being successful on her own terms; Sean and PJ are trying to maintain their integrity and still get paid; Tom wants to win the election at any cost; the Gluckmans don’t know how to deal with their son; and B-Rad’s journey is about being accepted for who he is.”


As B‑Rad careens on a riotous and enlightening journey from the ‘Bu to South Central and back again, the ever‑upbeat rapper teaches his family a valuable lesson.  “Don’t be afraid of someone because they’re different from what you expect or what you know,” Kennedy says of the film’s message.  “Learn to accept people for who they really are.  When B‑Rad’s dad stops trying to change him and simply accepts him, they’re finally able to experience the father‑son relationship they’ve never had.”


After finally earning his mad props, B‑Rad schools his mom and pops, Malibrew homies and the Malibu community at large in the power of being yo’self.  “With this film, we want to capture the spirit of the American neighborhood – any neighborhood, whether it’s South Central, the Midwest or Malibu,” Whitesell says.  “If the community pulls together, and the neighbors care about each other, whether they’re rich, poor, black, white, Chinese, whatever – that kind of positive energy transcends race.”

ROCK THE MIC RIGHT

B-Rad’s lyrical flow may be wack, but the music propelling his raps is for rizz-eal. “We want people to laugh at B-Rad’s rhymes, but we also want the music supporting him to be legitimate, because his entire journey is about being taken seriously,” Adam Small contends.

Malibu shows how infectious hip-hop music is, and how much it has transcended the community in which it was created,” says Whitesell.  “Kids are attracted to the culture of hip‑hop in large part because the music derives from a very exciting, physical, gut‑wrenching, down‑and‑dirty emotional beat, and the lyrics come from the heart.”

The filmmakers brought in respected music producer Damon Elliott, who has worked with P!nk, Beyoncé Knowles and Mya, to lay down phat beats under B-Rad’s humorous lyrics.  Kennedy, who wrote or co-wrote all of B-Rad’s raps, says, “Damon’s amazing.  He’s taken these kooky rhymes and turned them into real songs with dope hooks.  They pop, but they’re still gritty and hard.” 


“It was my job to bring the hip to the hop and the beat to the bop,” says Elliott.  “The sound is definitely on and Jamie’s lyrics are a riot.”

The Malibu’s Most Wanted soundtrack features the singles “Girls, Girls, Girls” by platinum rapper Snoop Dogg, featuring Jamie Kennedy, “Blah Blah Blah” by 702, “Choppa Style” by Choppa and “Crush On You” by Mr. Cheeks. 

*          *          *

B-RAD’S ANTHEM: LIVIN’ IN THE ‘BU

Hey, yo, this here’s the story from the streets of Malibu.

Mansions, movie stars, and cars,

It looks beautiful, it do.

But things go on here, I’d never wish on you.

But that’s how it is when you live in Malibu.

Like, life’s a beach and then you die.

I could tell you stories, make your caterer cry.

I’m the baddest homie, soon y’all gonna know me

Just because I’m from Malibu don’t mean I’m phony.

Chorus:

Livin’ in the ‘Bu, tryin’ hard to survive

It’s a struggle sometimes just to stay alive, yo.

Livin’ in the ‘Bu, tryin’ hard to make it

It’s a struggle sometimes when people think you’re fakin’.

Maitre’d be sweating me, what you lookin’ at, punk?

That caviar you slanging got some stanky a*s funk.

Oh you wanna step? I’ll call my dad, he’ll call his lawyer.

I’ll catch you on TV squirtin’ tears to Diane Sawyer.

Chorus:

Livin’ in the ‘Bu, tryin’ hard to survive

It’s a struggle sometimes just to stay alive, yo.

Livin’ in the ‘Bu, tryin’ hard to make it

It’s a struggle sometimes when people think you’re fakin’.

Margaritas, senoritas, and sunsets, too.

Damn! Life is kinda hard when you roll on 22’s.

It’s gettin’ so bad, I can’t take it no more.

The only thing to lean on is my boogie board.


Spoken (over chorus):

My boogie board, you know what I’m sayin’

That’s the only thing that helps me out.

When I’m ridin’ waves, you know what I’m sayin’

Sometimes it protects me from scraping my stomach on the sand.

*          *          *

WORD: B-RAD’S GANGSTA TRANSLATA


B-Rad says:                                                                  Translation:


“Off the Hizzook!’                                                        Cool!

“I’m in da hizzy.”                                                          I’m here. / I’ve arrived.

“I’m da shiznit!”                                                            I’m cool.

“For rizz-eal?”                                                              Seriously?

“Mazel Tizzov.”                                                            Congratulations!

“Frapachizzo”                                                               Frozen/blended coffee beverage.

“Scizone”                                                                     B-Rad enjoys these with his coffee.

“Malibootay”                                                                City where B-Rad is from, Malibu.

                                                                                    Or, name of B-Rad’s demo album.

“The Beach Bõyz! and The A.C.C.’s”                           B-Rad’s group of friends.

“P.H.D.”                                                                      Poseur-hater degree.

“Y’all got some duckets, ‘cause I’m tapped”                 May I borrow some money?

“Gangsta-Phrenia”                                                        Technical term for someone from Malibu who thinks they’re from the hood.

“Wigga”                                                                       Slang name for above.

*          *          *

ABOUT THE CAST

            With a unique viewpoint and offbeat sensibility, JAMIE KENNEDY (Brad Gluckman/Writer) is setting himself apart from his contemporaries as an actor, writer and producer.  Having co-written Malibu’s Most Wanted, Kennedy also stars as Brad “B-Rad” Gluckman.

            His Malibu’s Most Wanted character Brad is based on one that Kennedy created and often portrays on his hit WB television series JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, where he wears three hats as writer, producer and star.  This variety show, in its second season (Thursdays, 9 p.m.), is best described as hidden camera meets MAD TV. 

            Following his performance in Wes Craven’s Scream and Scream 2, for which he won a Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actor/Horror, Kennedy has been working non-stop.  He has been seen in such films as Bait, starring Jamie Foxx and David Morse; New Line Cinema’s Boiler Room, starring Ben Affleck and Giovanni Ribisi; the Warner Bros. Pictures feature Three Kings, starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze; and the Universal feature Bowfinger with Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin and Heather Graham. 

            Kennedy’s other credits include the independent feature Sparkler with Freddie Prinze, Jr.; Enemy of the State, opposite Will Smith and Gene Hackman; The Debtors with Randy Quaid and Michael Caine; Starf*cker; William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo Di Caprio; Clockwatchers; Bongwater; and The Specials.

            Kennedy currently resides in Los Angeles.

TAYE DIGGS (Sean) made his feature film debut starring opposite Angela Bassett in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and since then turned heads in every role he has chosen.  A New Yorker, Diggs moves comfortably between film, television and the stage.

            Diggs’ most recent credits include his NAACP nominated role in Brown Sugar, in which he stars opposite Sanaa Lathan and Queen Latifah; in the Golden-Globe winning Chicago, which was nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, co-starring with Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah and directed by Rob Marshall; Basic, also starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson; and Equilibrium, starring opposite Emily Watson and Christian Bale.

Diggs’ other credits include The Best Man, Just A Kiss, House on Haunted Hill, The Way of the Gun, The Wood, GO and the TV series Ally McBeal and New York Undercover.  His theater credits include The Wild Party, Chicago, Carousel and Rent, where his talent was first recognized.

ANTHONY ANDERSON (P.J.) is a hot new star taking Hollywood by storm.  In the last three years alone his career box office gross reached nearly $1 billion dollars domestically and he has starred in six number one films.  Last year he also received his second NAACP Image Award nomination and became a television star/creator/producer as he sold a sitcom – based on his life – to the WB. 

2003 will truly be the year that Anthony becomes an established star and a household name.  Anderson recently starred opposite Jerry O’Connell in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced hit Kangaroo Jack, which opened at number one in January.  Most recently, Anderson starred in the blockbuster hit Cradle 2 the Grave, starring Jet Li and DMX, and will soon be seen starring with Eddie Griffin in the comedy My Baby’s Mama.  All of this happens just in time for the premiere of his WB series, All About the Andersons, which will feature Anthony in an episode that he also wrote. 

            Though still in his twenties, Anderson is well prepared for the attention.  Raised near Los Angeles, he is the son of a career film extra and her entrepreneur husband.  As a toddler he accompanied his mother to several film sets and by age four he knew acting was his destiny.  While attending the High School for the Performing Arts, Anderson earned first place in the NAACP’s ACTSO Awards by performing the classic monologue from The Great White Hope. His dedication and talent earned him a dramatic arts scholarship to Howard University.  Then he headed home to Hollywood.

In early 1996, Anderson landed his first gig as a series regular in NBC’s long-running kids’ series Hang Time.  That was followed by guest star turns in primetime shows J.A.G. and NYPD Blue.  His breakout feature film roles include Life with Eddie Murphy; Big Momma’s House with Martin Lawrence; Me, Myself and Irene with Jim Carrey; Romeo Must Die with Jet Li; and the recent blockbuster hit from MGM, Barbershop.  He also starred in Fox Searchlight’s Kingdom Come and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Exit Wounds.  On the small-screen, kingmaker David E. Kelley was so impressed with Anderson that he tailor-made a two-episode arc for him on the hit series Ally McBeal.

Anderson is married to his college sweetheart and is a father of two.  He lives with his family in Los Angeles.

BLAIR UNDERWOOD (Tom Gibbons), an established charismatic and versatile actor on film, in television and on the stage, was recently seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal opposite Julia Roberts, in Final Breakdown and also in G, which won the Critics Award at the CineVegas Film Festival.  He will soon make his feature directorial debut with the supernatural thriller, My Soul To Keep.

Other credits include starring roles in the features Rules of Engagement, Deep Impact and Just Cause, and on television in Inside TV Land: The African-American in Television, City of Angels and LA Law, to name but a few.

REGINA HALL (Shondra) most recently appeared as Coretta Lipp, a junior associate to Robert Downey Jr.’s character on David E. Kelley’s critically acclaimed show Ally McBeal

Hall’s feature credits include Keenan Ivory Wayans’ hit comedies Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2, the acclaimed Love & Basketball, The Best Man and most recently Paid in Full.  On television she co-starred opposite Wesley Snipes and Sanaa Lathan in Gina Prince’s Disappearing Acts for HBO Films and also appeared on NYPD Blue and New York Undercover.

DAMIEN DANTE WAYANS (Tec) is a member of the famous Wayans family, whose feature credits include roles in Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking your Juice in the Hood and Major Payne.  Television credits include TNT’s Freedom Song and Passing Glory, as well as guest starring roles on NYPD Blue, New York Undercover and 413 Hope Street.

Currently, Damien writes for and has directed the television series, My Wife and Kids.

RYAN O’NEAL (Bill Gluckman) gained fame as one of the stars of TV’s prime-time soap opera Peyton Place, followed by an Oscar-nominated performance in Love Story opposite Ally McGraw.  Other film credits include What’s Up Doc, Paper Moon, Barry Lyndon, So Fine, Irreconcilable Differences and Chances Are.  He will soon be seen in People I Know opposite Al Pacino.

O’Neal co-starred opposite Katherine Hepburn in the telefilm The Man Upstairs, and with Farrah Fawcett in the acclaimed TV movie Small Sacrifices.  At the 74th Annual Academy Awards, he presented the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

SNOOP DOGG (Ronnie Rizat) is a major star in the hip-hop and rap music world who has also appeared in a number of feature films.  He was recently seen in the hit comedy Old School and in the gritty police drama Training Day with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.  He also starred in such films as The Wash, Bones and John Singleton’s Baby Boy.  Snoop Dogg next stars as Huggy Bear in Warner Bros. Pictures’ feature film version of Starsky & Hutch, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. 

            Snoop Dogg helped put Death Row records on the music scene map with a string of platinum and gold records.  His sixth and most recent studio album is called Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$. 

His success extends beyond his work as an actor and rap artist to include his own eponymous clothing line as well as his own Snoop DeVille car line with Cadillac. 

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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

JOHN WHITESELL (Director) is a filmmaker able to seamlessly meld high concepts with true and endearing characters.  Most recently, Whitesell directed See Spot Run, a family comedy starring David Arquette.  Essentially, he made the film for his son who was six years old at the time, with the intention of creating a piece of entertainment that would appeal to both kids and their parents.  He made his feature film debut with the coming-of-age drama, Calendar Girl, about three best friends on their last adventure together before parting ways into adulthood.

            Whitesell, one of television’s most consistent and respected directors of comedy, has a stellar list of credits, including the hit sitcoms: Damon Wayans, Cosby, Roseanne, A Different World, Coach, and three seasons of The John Laroquette Show.  Other television credits include Law & Order, of which he directed the first episode to air, Action, Jack & Jill, and Providence.

Born and raised in Iowa, Whitesell attended Simpson College and studied at Circle in the Square Theatre in New York.  He directed The Glass Menagerie at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and founded The Writer’s Theatre in New York, where he continued to direct and develop plays.

Whitesell went on to direct and executive produce daytime dramas for both NBC and CBS.  He won a Daytime Emmy Award for directing The Guiding Light and holds the distinction for, at 31, being the youngest executive producer in daytime history.

MIKE KARZ (Producer), President of Karz Entertainment, is the co-creator and executive producer of JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.  Karz has produced the Disney live-action feature Max Keeble’s Big Move, which also co-starred Kennedy. He produced The Wonderful World of Disney’s Geppetto, Disney’s first original TV musical, and executive produced Joe and Max, the first original television movie for Starz Pictures. Other credits include Model Behavior, My Date With the President’s Daughter, Spring Break Lawyer and Toothless (as co-producer).

Prior to forming Karz Entertainment, he served as Vice President of Mandeville Films and associate produced the film Senseless for Miramax. Before joining Mandeville, Karz was director of creative affairs for TriStar Pictures.

A graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Karz got his start in the entertainment field at Orion pictures where he served as the story editor of the motion picture division.

FAX BAHR & ADAM SMALL (Producers/Writers) are comedy veterans that have been collaborating since their work on the writing staff of In Living Color, where they won two Emmy nominations and two NAACP Image Awards.  Bahr and Small currently serve as co-creators and executive producers of JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment

Bahr and Small also joined Quincy Jones and David Salzman to create and executive produce the late-night sketch comedy Mad TV.  Additional credits include co-writing the feature comedies Son-in-Law and In the Army Now; co-executive producing and co-writing the pilot for the John Leguizamo comedy series House of Buggin’; and partnering with Will Vinton Studios to create and executive produce the stop-motion animated series Gary & Mike.

Before Bahr and Small began writing together, they were each accomplished documentarians.  Bahr’s critically acclaimed documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse chronicled of the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won numerous accolades for Bahr, including a Primetime Best Director Emmy, the D.W. Griffith Award, and Best Documentary Award from the National Film Board of Canada. 

Small began his filmmaking career when he co-directed the critically acclaimed documentary Another State of Mind, a searing look at the punk rock scene.

Bahr, a Michigan native, began filmmaking at the University of Michigan where he wrote and directed short films, including Nuclear Beach Party, which was nominated for a student Academy Award.  After graduating, Bahr moved to Los Angeles and began directing theater, picking up a DramaLogue Best Director Award for The Steven Weed Show, a satirical send-up of the 1970s.  That’s where he met Small, who also earned a DramaLogue Award for acting in the play and sharing the writing credit.

NICK SWARDSON (Co-Writer) wrote the original screenplay for Malibu’s Most Wanted and performs regularly as a stand-up comedian throughout Los Angeles.  Swardson has appeared in the feature films The Det. Kent Stryker One-Man Film and Almost Famous.

On television, Swardson has co-starred in Spring Break Lawyer and appears regularly on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Swardson also has a half-hour special on Comedy Central. 

BILL JOHNSON (Executive Producer) recently completed work on The Ring for Dreamworks, and prior to that, executive produced the Warner Bros. Pictures hit film A Walk to Remember, starring Mandy Moore and Shane West. 

Johnson also co-produced Disney’s The Kid and A Walk in the Clouds for Twentieth Century Fox, and served as associate producer on My Best Friend’s Wedding and High School High for Columbia/TriStar.

His production management work includes Instinct for Disney and A Time to Kill for Warner Bros. Pictures through New Regency, where he served as a production executive during the making of Under Seige, The Mambo Kings, The Power of One and That Night

Director of Photography MARK IRWIN, C.S.C. - A.S.C. has lensed some of the biggest comedies in the last decade, such as There’s Something About Mary, Road Trip, American Pie 2, Me, Myself & Irene, Osmosis Jones, Dumb & Dumber and the recent smash hit Old School.

            Other blockbuster credits for Irwin include Scream, 10 Things I Hate About You, Kingpin, Robocop 2 and Passenger 57, and among Irwin’s dozens of sci-fi credits as cinematographer are The Dead Zone, Videodrome, The Blob and The Fly

BILL ELLIOTT (Production Designer) has designed many major films, including the recent hit Undercover Brother, John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, The Nutty Professor and its sequel, Nutty professor II: The Klumps, Doctor Doolittle, Metro, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Andre, Hot Shots! Part Deux, Honeymoon in Vegas and Impulse.

Elliott was art director on such films as Regarding Henry and Silverado, and was nominated by the Academy for his work on Rainman and The Untouchables

CARA SILVERMAN (Editor) recently completed editorial work on The Guru, directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and See Spot Run, her previous feature collaboration with director John Whitesell.  Recent credits include Head Over Heels, directed by Mark Waters, The Best Man, Permanent Midnight and Party Girl.

Silverman has also worked on Paul Schrader’s Touch; Robert De Niro’s A Bronx Tale and Jeffrey.  Her television work includes the American Playhouse production Blow Sideways Through Life. 

RUSSELL HOLLANDER (Co-Producer) has been a business associate of Mike Karz’ for the past five years.  He worked on Max Keeble’s Big Movie, Geppetto, Model Behavior and My Date With The President’s Daughter.

JOSH ETTING (Co-Producer) has collaborated with Jamie Kennedy on numerous film and television projects over the past five years and has been a staff writer on Kennedy’s hit WB series JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment for the past two seasons.  Etting has also produced the feature film Grift (aka Tough Luck) through his company Garlin Pictures, which will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival later this year. 

JOHN DEBNEY’s (Themes) extensive list of film credits as composer includes Liar Liar, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Replacements, The Emperor’s New Groove, See Spot Run (Debney’s previous collaboration with director John Whitesell), Spy Kids, Heartbreakers, Cats & Dogs, The Princess Diaries, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Snow Dogs, The Scorpion King, Spy Kids 2:  Island of Lost Dreams, Swimfan, The Tuxedo, The Hot Chick and the upcoming Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey. 

Debney was nominated for the prestigious Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score (animated) for The Emperor’s New Groove, and is a three-time Emmy winner for his work on The Young Riders (Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Dramatic Series), SeaQuest DSV (Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music) and The Cape (Outstanding Music Composition for a Dramatic Series). 

JOHN VAN TONGEREN’s (Music Score) film credits as a composer include contributions to the scores for True Romance, Speed, Money Train, Assassins, Twister and Armageddon.  For television, Van Tongeren has composed for Poltergeist: The Legacy, The Outer Limits and Peter Benchley’s Creature.  He has also contributed to a wide selection of discography recordings, including Al Jarreau (Real Tight), Robbie Nevil (C’est La Vie), Chicago (Hard Habit to Break), Michael McDonald (Your Precious Love), Pointer Sisters (Automatic) and Indigo Girls (History of Us), amongst many others. 

DAMON ELLIOTT (Music Score) is a dynamic music producer who has worked with such artists as Destiny’s Child, P!nk, Mya, Eminem, Sticky Fingers and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, just to name a few. 

Elliott has also produced several original songs for feature films including Austin Powers in Goldmember, Biker Boyz, Small Soldiers, Down to Earth, Two Can Play That Game and The Master of Disguise.

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