soutland tales production notes

PRODUCTION NOTES

A Richard Kelly Film

Dwayne Johnson Seann William Scott Sarah Michelle Gellar

The Internet is the future www.southlandtales.com

The future is just like you imagined

US Publicity Contact:

I.H.O.P. Cannes 2006

Jeff Hill, cell: 06 07 14 1593 email: [email protected]

Jessica Uzzan, cell: 06 07 14 2290 email: [email protected]

US Representation Contact:

Rich Klubeck [email protected] cell: +33 (6) 10 28 35 57 Hotel Carlton Cannes 58 La Croisette Blvd Cannes, FR 06414

hotel phone: +33 (4) 9306 4006

CREDITS

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5/14/2006http://bossa.nerim.net/actualite/2006/southland%20tales/ecrans_southland/pb_05_10/st_no...

CAST

Boxer Santaros...DWAYNE JOHNSON Roland Taverner/Ronald Taverner....SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT Krysta Kapowski/Krysta Now.....SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR Zora Charmichaels.....CHERI OTERI Fortunio Balducci....WILL SASSO Vaughn SmallhouseJOHN LARROQUETTE Bart Bookman..JON LOVITZ Bing Zinneman............TODD BERGER Dion Werner/Dion ElementWOOD HARRIS Dr. Inga Von Westphalen/Marion Card.....BETH GRANT Cyndi Pinziki..NORA DUNN Baron Von Westphalen....WALLACE SHAWN Teri Riley...LISA K. WYATT Veronica Mung/Dream...........AMY POEHLER Private Pilot Abilene.......JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Serpentine......................BAI LING Nana Mae Frost.MIRANDA RICHARDSON Simon Theory....KEVIN SMITH Madeline Frost Santaros...MANDY MOORE Martin Kefauver....LOU TAYLOR PUCCI

CREW

WRITER/DIRECTOR.... RICHARD KELLY PRODUCERS..... SEAN

McKITTRICK

BO HYDE

KENDALL MORGAN MATTHEW

RHODES EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS. BILL JOHNSON

JIM SEIBEL KATARINA K. HYDE OLIVER HENGST JUDD PAYNE

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY...STEVEN POSTER, ASC PRODUCTION DESIGNER...ALEXANDER HAMMOND EDITED BY....SAM BAUER COSTUMER DESIGNER....APRIL FERRY MUSIC BY.......MOBY

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SYNOPSIS Los Angeles, 2008: The city stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. SOUTHLAND TALES is an epic story set over the course of three days that culminate in a massive 4th of July celebration. A large ensemble cast of characters includes Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), an action star stricken with amnesia, Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott), a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

WE SAW THE SHADOW OF THE MORNING LIGHT

THE SHADOWS OF THE EVENING SUN

TIL THE SHADOWS AND LIGHT WERE ONE

-Perry Farrell

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DIRECTORS STATEMENT This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. --T.S. Eliot The conclusion of T.S. Eliots 1925 poem The Hollow Men has been altered for satirical effect in SOUTHLAND TALES, a comedic spin on the apocalypse, as it should occur in the great city of Los Angeles. Trust me on this one if the end is indeed upon us (apparently 59% of fundamentalist Christians believe that it is[1]), it is going to happen in Los Angeles first.

I have always been obsessed with this whole apocalypse thing and trying to decipher the encrypted symbolism in the book of Revelations is enough to give anyone a headache. A friend once remarked that there is a legitimate debate among religious scholars that the book of Revelations was written while the Apostle John was under the influence of hallucinatory mushrooms. Go figure. Another friend sent me a very disturbing link to a story about something called American Hiroshima. Apparently this is one of many planned terrorist attacks that Al-Quaeda has in the works. This is the one where they smuggle nuclear weapons (purchased by Osama bin Laden from the Russian mafia) over the Mexican border into Texas with the aid of Mexican guerrillas. They detonate the nukes in mid-size cities where there is little domestic counter-terrorism surveillance. Sounds like the apocalypse to me. Where would we go from here? These are the sordid tales of what happens next how it all comes crashing down. In the alternate future of SOUTHLAND TALES, the war machine is running out of gas, and there is no alternative. Alternative fuel, that is. Global warming may indeed be the whimper that T.S. Eliot foretold. Perhaps our destiny is to slowly drown ourselves into oblivion. Southland Tales will take you down that other road. The one that ends with a bang. What if there is a path to end all suffering, and hidden somewhere along the way there exists a primer? A primer that could help us extinguish this great big mess of a planet once and for all. Quick and painless. Well, I shouldnt say quick. According to me it takes 2 hours and 31 minutes to explain how the world ends. Im sorry that it isnt shorter, but it had to be this way. There is no alternative. Alternative fuel, that is. Until one day when a mysterious German corporation arrives in the Southland with a kick-ass new formula. A cure for our sickness

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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION Its a comedy about the end of the world, states writer/director Richard Kelly. But summing up SOUTHLAND TALES as merely a comedy is a bit of a simplification. Like Kellys debut feature, the critically acclaimed 2001 cult favorite DONNIE DARKO, the film defies categorization. SOUTHLAND TALES might be part comedy, part action satire, part thriller, part drama and even part musical, but it is definitely all one thing: the singular vision of Richard Kelly. Its a Richard Kelly film. I think thats the best way to describe it, explains Seann William Scott, who plays twins Ronald and Roland Taverner in the film. With DONNIE DARKO, I think everyone has their own interpretation of what its about. And I think the same will go for this movie.

The origins of SOUTHLAND TALES Kelly first began writing this apocalyptic ensemble piece, set against the backdrop of a 2008 Fourth of July celebration in LA, in 2001, shortly after DONNIE DARKO premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and had left without a domestic distributor (Newmarket Films would eventually release the film that fall). We were re-cutting and going through this struggle and pressure and I was really frustrated and angry. And I felt like my career was probably over, or ending, or in the process of ending because our movie didnt get picked up and it didnt seem like it was going to, recalls Kelly. And I wanted to write something about Los Angeles and my frustration with Los Angeles, even though its a town that I really love and continue to love. Kelly wrote the initial draft of SOUTHLAND TALES in about three weeks before showing it to his producing partner Sean McKittrick. I gave it to Sean and he immediately called me and said, We have to go get drunk, remembers Kelly. And we went and got drunk at Hinano, this bar in Venice Beach, and he said, We have to make this. This is like, my favorite thing youve ever written. And it was basically the shell of the story that exists four years later. The original draft of the script featured several characters who would make it into the final incarnation, including Boxer Santoros, the action star stricken with amnesia played by Dwayne The Rock Johnson; Ronald and Roland, a cop and his twin brother, played by Scott; and Zora Carmichaels, the steroid-induced neo-marxist played by Cheri Oteri. What began as a futuristic satire of Los Angeles, however, soon took on a more political bent. In subsequent years, 9/11 happened and then the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq. I started embedding all these sort of layers of political subtext into [the script], and took on more of the influences of Phillip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, Andy Warhol and film noir, explains Kelly. So, it evolved over four years into something more significant and meaningful. New characters were added to the ensemble including the key role of Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality project. Sarah Michelle Gellar was cast, against type, as Krysta, and believes that the film ultimately became a love letter and a hate letter to Los Angeles. It was in this spirit that Kelly turned to a variety of cinematic influences. Certainly, you look at something like THE BIG LEBOWSKI, which is an influence on this film in terms of looking at some of the bottom feeder elements of Los Angeles culture, he says. But I think that any movie about L.A., any film noir that takes this town to heart is gonna be filled with some kind of decadent underbelly. The screenplay actually features a scene from one beloved noir, Robert Aldrichs 1955 KISS ME DEADLY, in which Ralph Meekers character encounters numerous shady characters on his way to discovering a box that triggers the apocalypse. Theres something about those kinds of L.A. stories being just a means to kind of weave your way through the underbelly of Los Angeles, to arrive at some grand revelation. And this is designed in that kind of style and is a tribute, I guess, to those kinds of films.

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Production of the film

While LEBOWSKI and DEADLY took place in the present, however, SOUTHLAND TALES needed to create a futuristic world on an independent budget. I always hoped that this would be in the league of something like BRAZIL or BLADE RUNNER, not that its as futuristic as BLADE RUNNER or as design-heavy as BRAZIL, in the attention to detail, and what, I hope, is a really great visual accomplishment in terms of the production design and cinematography, says Kelly. But, to do all that stuff with 30 days and not too much money is a real challenge. To face the challenge, Kelly assembled a skilled below-the-line team including cinematographer Steven Poster, costume designer April Ferry, and production designer Alexander Hammond, all of whom the director worked with on DONNIE DARKO. To compose the films score, Kelly turned to award-winning contemporary music artist Moby. Despite the month-long shooting schedule and budgetary constraints, Gellar believes there was a genuine camaraderie on set. Everyone was so enthused to be here, the actress believes. Obviously people were not, including crew members, making what theyre used to making. It was a very, very tight schedule. But we had some of the best people in the business. All of these people were here because they loved it. One of the real challenges for the SOUTHLAND TALES crew and cast was that many of the scenes and visual concepts imagined by Kelly werent necessarily in the script. I hope that visually and with the editing and the music, when audiences see the film all put together, that it will make a lot more sense on screen than it does on the page. Because of some of the ways in which weve had to physically make this film, the script got pared down to 90 pages. But the movie we made is not 90 pages long. The editing of the script and Kellys desire to re-insert scenes during shooting was often a daunting experience for the actors. Dwayne The Rock Johnson jokes that he even began to give up on fully comprehending the final product. Ive been close to this project now and close to Richard for over a year, and I stopped trying to completely understand everything thats happening in the movie because theres so many stories that are taking place, all which, by the way, wind up being connected. So I thought the best thing for me to do is to completely understand and have my interpretation of Boxer Santaroswhere he comes from, where he wants to go, what he believes in and things like that. Because there are a lot of things that only Richard Kelly could tell you. I think that it is probably overwhelming, Kelly agrees, in the sense that the script, to the actors, is probably a little confusing and, what is it all about in the end? I think its about where our country is going, our current dilemma when youre talking about alternative fuel, terrorism, our civil liberties being taken away from us, and the potential effects of environmental degradation on human behavior, neurological responses, global warming. You know, theres a lot going on here.

Casting SOUTHLAND TALES For a movie that deals with so many current, hot-button issues, it might seem surprising that Kelly has cast the film with actors known primarily for their roles in television and film comedies, and the lighter side of pop culture in general. In addition to Johnson and Scott, who previously starred together in the 2002 action comedy THE RUNDOWN, Kelly also cast pop superstar Justin Timberlake, actress/singer Mandy Moore, Night Court star John Larroquette, CLERKS director Kevin Smith, and well-known Saturday Night Live alumni Cheri Oteri, Jon Lovitz, Amy Poehler and Nora Dunn in pivotal roles. It just so happens that Saturday Night Live has cultivated, in my opinion, some of the funniest people ever in the entertainment business. And I think if you can do improv and sketch comedy, and you can do it really, really well, Im convinced you can do anything else. I think if you have that ability, you can be

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an extraordinary dramatic actor. Richards a free-thinker who thinks outside the box, says Gellar. And I think, unfortunately now, Hollywood and movie-making has become incredibly formulaic. Richard does the exact opposite. Whether its casting or story ideas or camera shots, its about doing something thats different. And I think, as an actor, whats enticing and why he can always get such amazing casts of people is because of the excitement of the unknown, of doing something that hasnt been done. I feel like theres a real pop art value to what were doing in the sense that weve cast a lot of actors who are usually associated with pop culture, explains Kelly. With The Rock and Sarah and Seann and a lot of the supporting cast coming from either Saturday Night Live or sketch comedy or improv, and having started in action films or teen comedies or horror films, we have people who have muscles that they havent flexed yet and maybe havent had the opportunities to really show what extraordinary actors they are. Its great for me to take people from that environment and put them into a new one, and yet I get the benefit of their charisma and their pop value. This is a very big, dense tapestry of ideas. And its a very political film, I think. And these are all tremendous actors.

The shit hits the fan The variety of acting backgrounds and techniques that Kelly employs in SOUTHLAND TALES might be unconventional but is ultimately appropriate for a film commenting on the unnerving political mood of a current and futuristic United States. The director ultimately believes that what hes made is a movie that moviegoers from everywhere will find accessible: I think this film kind of comes from the left, but it arrives somewhere in the middle, in a way thats trying to, you know, find comedy in our sort-of big cultural divide right now as a countryin how divided we are, and speculate into sort-of the final shit hitting the fan. And that, Kelly says with a smile, is the best way to sum up this Richard Kelly vision that just about no one else involved with the film can seem to sum up: Its about the shit hitting the fan on the Fourth of July weekend.

The Prequel Saga Begins The prequel to SOUTHLAND TALES unfolds in a series of THREE GRAPHIC NOVELS: SOUTHLAND TALES BOOK I: TWO ROADS DIVERGE, SOUTHLAND TALES BOOK II: FINGERPRINTS, and SOUTHLAND TALES BOOK III: THE MECHANICALS. Filmmaker Richard Kelly wrote each novel with the art designed by Brett Weldele (SURROGATES, JULIUS). SOUTHLAND TALES, the film, tells the FINAL THREE CHAPTERS in this Kellys saga. The first graphic novel will be released this May 2006 by Graphitti Designs and Kevin Smiths View Askew in conjunction with Kelly and Mckittricks Darko Entertainment. These novels set the tone and portray the events of the days prior to where the movie begins. Each 6x 9, 96 page, full-color book immerses you in a complex and entertaining storyline from the unique and creative mind of Richard Kelly. Bretts painted art captures the attitude and complexity of Richards story in a brilliant fashion. The SOUTHLAND TALES books can be purchased from Amazon.com or directly from Graphittidesigns.com. The books will also be available at comic specialty and traditional bookstores everywhere.

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ABOUT THE CAST BOXER SANTAROS Dwayne The Rock Johnson Born in San Francisco and raised in Hawaii, Dwayne The Rock Johnson was a third-generation professional wrestler, following in the steps of his father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, Samoan High Chief Peter Maivia, and setting a record as the six-time WWF Champion. His autobiography The Rock Says was published in January 2000 and shot to number one on the New York Times Bestseller List. Following his March 2000 appearance on Saturday Night Live, which revealed a considerable comic talent and garnered the shows highest rating that year, Johnson was cast by director Stephen Sommers in THE MUMMY RETURNS. His character was so well received it prompted the hugely successful international box-office hit, Chuck Russells THE SCORPION KING. Johnson was most recently seen in BE COOL, F. Gary Grays sequel to GET SHORTY. Opposite John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Vince Vaughn, and received rave reviews for his performance. 2006 will see him starring in Andrzej Bartkowiaks DOOM, based on the eponymous video game trilogy, and Phil Joanous GRIDIRON GANG, in which he plays a correctional facility counselor who forms a football team of young criminals. He is currently preparing to star in John Woos SPY HUNTER, a role that will consolidate his premiere league status in Hollywood. RONALD TAVERNER / ROLAND TAVERNER Seann William Scott In 1999, Scott appeared as Stifler in Pauls Weitzs AMERICAN PIE, a role that catapulted him to fame, and which he would reprise two years later in the smash hit sequel AMERICAN PIE 2. The latter film premiered to the largest box office opening ever for an R-rated film, eventually grossing over $300 million dollars worldwide. An actor of remarkable versatility, other standout roles have included his appearances in BULLETPROOF MONK opposite Chow Yun-Fat, DUDE, WHERES MY CAR? opposite Ashton Kutcher, sci-fi comedy EVOLUTION, directed by Ivan Reitman and co-starring Julianne Moore and David Duchovny, a scene-stealing cameo in Todd Philipps OLD SCHOOL opposite Will Ferrell, Jay Chandrasekhars THE DUKES OF HAZZARD and, of course, AMERICAN WEDDING (AMERICAN PIE 3). He was most recently seen in Peter Bergs THE RUNDOWN, where he appeared opposite SOUTHLAND TALES star The Rock, as well as Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken. Scott also has an exclusive first-look deal with Universal, to produce films under his own Identity Films banner. KRYSTA NOW Sarah Michelle Gellar Born in 1977, Sarah Michelle Gellar began her career as a child model, aged 4. She made her cinema debut three years later, in OVER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Gellar is perhaps best known as Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role that established her as the heroine of millions of adolescents the world over.

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Major film roles include her appearances in both SCOOBY blockbusters, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, SCREAM 2 and more recently, Takashi Shimizus THE GRUDGE. Her awards include the 1998 Blockbuster Best Supporting Actress Award for SUMMER, two MTV Awards for her performance in Roger Kumble Liaisons Dangereuses update CRUEL INTENTIONS and an Emmy in 1994 for her role on the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Geller is an active and indefatigable supporter of numerous charitable organizations. PRIVATE ABILENE Justin Timberlake Justin Timberlake is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Beginning his show business career as a child on Disneys Mickey Mouse Club, he progressed to membership of the biggest-selling boy bands of the nineties, NSYNC. In 2002 he released his debut solo album, Justified, which was an immediate and unqualified success both commercially and critically, winning Timberlake numerous awards including two Grammys and two Brit Awards. In 2005 he got engaged to actress Cameron Diaz, and embarked upon an acting career with a role alongside Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey in David Durkes EDISON. He also appears in Nick Cassavettes ALPHA DOG. ZORA CHARMICHAELS - Cheri Oteri Oteri appeared on Saturday Night Live for five seasons, and won many fans for her portrayal of Arianna, the female half of the Spartan Spirit Cheerleader Squad and Cass Van Ry, the dense and shallow co-host of the fictional talk show Morning Latte. Her impressions of Barbara Walters and Judge Judy have both been Cheered by TV Guide. Other memorable impersonations include Mariah Carey, Melissa Rivers, Jennifer Lopez and Ross Perot. In addition to her acclaimed work on Saturday Night Live Oteri was Emmy-nominated for a memorable guest starring appearance on the hit NBC sitcom series, Just Shoot Me, and more recently guested opposite the inimitable Larry David on Curb your Enthusiasm. Oteri was seen in SCARY MOVIE directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans. She also appeared in LIAR, LIAR opposite Jim Carrey, SMALL SOLDIERS and INSPECTOR GADGET. FORTUNIO BALDUCCI Will Sasso Born in Vancouver, Canada, Sasso decided at an early age to become a comic actor. At 15 he snagged his first agent. By the time he moved to Los Angeles at age 21, he had starred in five seasons on the gritty Canadian drama, Madison. Sasso subsequently starred for five seasons on the Fox hit sketch comedy show, Mad TV. Sassos filmography includes roles in BEST IN SHOW, directed by Christopher Guest, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, with Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards, and BEVERLY HILLS NINJA, starring the late Chris Farley. More recently he completed work on A MIGHTY WIND, also directed by Guest, BAD BOY and THE HOT CHICK, starring Rob Schneider. .

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VAUGHN SMALLHOUSE John Larroquette Five-time Emmy winner Larroquette is perhaps best known to TV audiences as 'Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding,' in Night Court during the shows eight season run. He also starred in the NBC comedy series, The John Larroquette Show for which he was also Emmy-nominated, and Hallmark Channels mystery movie franchise,McBride., in which he plays the title role. Larroquette's film credits include Blake Edwards BLIND DATE, as well as SUMMER RENTAL, STRIPES, RICHIE RICH, CHOOSE ME, STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, ALTERED STATES, CAT PEOPLE, and TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. INGA VON WESTPHALEN Beth Grant Beth Grant has appeared in over 60 feature films including DONNIE DARKO, SORDID LIVES, SPEED, MATCHSTICK MEN, THE ROOKIE, RAIN MAN and TO WONG FOO. In television, she has appeared in numerous series including Friends, X-Files, Angel, CSI and Six Feet Under. Grant's many starring roles in theatre include world premieres by prominent playwrights Horton Foote, Romulus Linney and Maya Angelou. In 2004, Grant was the recipient of a Los Angeles Ovation award, the Drama Critics Circle Award and the Garland award for lead actress in a play for The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife by Del Shores. CYNDI PINZIKI Nora Dunn Accomplished stage and screen actress Nora Dunn played for five seasons on Saturday Night Live, where she created and wrote The Pat Stevens Show. Her cinema career began with a role opposite Sigourney Weaver and Melanie Griffith in Mike Nichols hit comedy WORKING GIRL. Further credits include MIAMI BLUES, WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?, BRUCE ALMIGHTY, HEARTBREAKERS, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, WHATS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?, and BULLWORTH. BARON VON WESTPHALEN Wallace Shawn Wallace Shawn is one of the film industrys most recognizable character actors with a long list of movie and television credits. He has appeared in over 50 films in a career that began, and continues, as a writer. His playwriting career began in 1967, when he translated Machiavellis The Mandrake for a Joseph Papp production in 1977, and was asked by the director to appear in it, marking his acting debut. The National Theater in London produced The Designated Mourner, featuring Mike Nichols and Miranda Richardson, who reprised their roles in the BBC Films production. His The Fever was recently produced for Showtime starring Vanessa Redgrave and Marie and Bruce as a feature film starring Matthew Broderick and Julianne Moore. Film appearances include Woody Allens MANHATTAN, RADIO DAYS; SHADOWS AND FOG

AND THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION; Louis Malles VANYA ON 42ND STREET; MY DINNER WITH ANDRE and ATLANTIC CITY, Rob Reiners THE PRINCESS BRIDE; Stephen Frears PRICK UP YOUR EARS; James Ivorys THE BOSTONIANS; Rebecca Millers PERSONAL VELOCITY and THE HAUNTED MANSION. Shawn also voiced Rex in TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2.

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TERI RILEY Lisa K. Wyatt Lisa K. Wyatt is a highly experienced actress with over one hundred fifty film, television and regional theatre credits. In addition to a series regular role in the Fox Family pilot Favor and Family, her numerous film and television credits include MR. WOODCOCK, AMERICAN DREAMZ, LEGALY BLONDE, DONNIE DARKO, Six Feet Under, Frasier, Gilmore Girls, and recurring principal roles on Days of Our Lives and Passions. SERPENTINE Bai Ling Born in the Szechwan province of The People's Republic of China, Bai Ling began her career at the age of 14, when she served a three-year stint in a Chinese Army entertainment troop. She went on to refine her craft with the Szechwan Theater Company, and achieved mass critical and public acclaim in her homeland aged 18 with her portrayal of a mentally ill young woman in Zheng Jun-zhaos ARC LIGHT. Relocating to the US as a Visiting Scholar with NYU's Film School, Bai Ling worked with such prestigious filmmakers as Ang Lee (THE WEDDING BANQUET), Oliver Stone (NIXON), Terence Malick in the Brooklyn Academy of Music's production of his play, Sansho The Bailiff and Alex Proyas (THE CROW). Her role opposite Richard Gere in Jon Avnet's 1997 thriller, RED CORNER, won her great acclaim, and numerous accolades, including the prestigious 1997 Breakthrough Award from the National Board of Review. The same year she was selected as one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World. She has continued to carve out a front rank international career: standout credits include STAR WARS: EPISODE 2, Spike Lees SHE HATE ME, Gerard Krawczyks TAXI 3 and Barry Sonnenfeld's WILD, WILD WEST. NANA VAN ADLER Miranda Richardson One of the UKs most accomplished and celebrated stage and cinema actresses, Miranda trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School and subsequently performed in many plays, the highlights including Albees Whos Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, Terry Johnsons Insignificance, Sam Shepards A Lie Of The Mind, and the one woman piece Orlando for Robert Wilson. Miranda Richardson first astonished cinema audiences in Mike Newells DANCE WITH A STRANGER, in which she played Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in England. In 1992, she garnered rave reviews for her performances in Neil Jordans THE CRYING GAME, Mike Newells ENCHANGED APRIL, and Louis Malles DAMAGE. She also received a Golden Globe for ENCHANTED APRIL and was Oscar-nominated for DAMAGE. In 1995 she received a second Oscar nomination for Brian Gilberts TOM AND VIV. Further stand out film credits include HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Stephen Daldrys THE HOURS, David Cronenbergs SPIDER, Tim Burtons SLEEPY HOLLOW, CHICKEN RUN and Steven Spielbergs EMPIRE OF THE SUN. Her television credits include Stephen Poliakoffs The Lost Prince, BBCs Dance To The Music Of Time, Absolutely Fabulous and Blackadder, and HBOs Fatherland, for which she received a Golden Globe Award.

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SIMON THEORY Kevin Smith Since his entry into the indie film community, Kevin Smith has seen it all - from the surprise critical and commercial success for his debut film CLERKS, to the disappointing critical and commercial drubbing he took on his second outing MALLRATS. He caught a break on his third film, the critically-hailed CHASING AMY, and managed not to get killed by religious zealots over his fourth film, the comedic spiritual meditation DOGMA. With the aptly titled JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, Smith wrapped up the five-film Jersey Trilogy and headed for more grown up territory with JERSEY GIRL. Along the way, Smith has also found time to make himself a nuisance by smearing his name all over John Piersons Indie Film bible, Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes. Hes written numerous comic books for Marvel and DC. With View Askew partner Scott Mosier, hes also executive-produced four low budget, first films (including Bryan Johnsons VULGAR) and one large budget, multiple Academy Award winner (GOOD WILL HUNTING). Besides MALLRATS, however, Smith has survived other humbling creative experiences - such as his ill-fated SUPERMAN LIVES screenplay for Warner Brothers, and his animated series version of CLERKS for ABC primetime, which the network unceremoniously aired only twice. Hood ornaments in his collection include: the Filmmakers Trophy at Sundance for CLERKS; the Prix de la Jeunesse and the International Critics Week Award at the Cannes Film Festival, also for CLERKS: The Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for CHASING AMY, and a Humanitas Award for GOOD WILL HUNTING. For his writing in the comics field, Smith has received a Harvey Award, a Wizard Fan Award, and an Eagle Award. In 2002, the town of Paulsboro in NJ named a street after him: Kevin Smith Way.

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ABOUT THE CREW

Writer/Director - Richard Kelly 31 year-old Richard Kelly is the screenwriter and director of his second feature film, SOUTHLAND TALES. A graduate of the University of Southern California film program, Kelly made his directorial debut in 2001 with DONNIE DARKO, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to achieve true international cult status. Kelly also wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film DOMINO, directed by Tony Scott. He recently founded his own production company, Darko Entertainment with his producing partner Sean McKittrick. Producer - Sean McKittrick After graduating from UCLA, Sean McKittrick first paired with Richard Kelly to produce Kellys short film, VISCERAL MATTER in 1997. McKittrick went on to join the development staff at New Line Cinema where he worked for two years and then re-teamed with Kelly. In 2001, their partnership generated their first feature length film, DONNIE DARKO, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone and Drew Barrymore. Soon after completing production on DARKO, McKittrick and Kelly formed Darko Entertainment, which boasts several films in various stages of development. Under the Darko Entertainment banner, McKittrick and Kellys next project will be INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN, written and to be directed by Kelly from his original script. Other projects in development include THE BOX, an adaptation of a Richard Matheson short story in collaboration with HOSTEL director Eli Roth. Producer - Bo Hyde Holding a degree in economics from Duke University with an MBA from The University of North Carolina, Bo Hyde is co-founder and CEO of Cherry Road Films. Hyde executive produced EULOGY, a comedy about a dysfunctional family going to bury their patriarch, starring Ray Romano, Hank Azaria, Zooey Deschanel, Kelly Preston and Debra Winger. Currently, Hyde is producing ILLEGAL SUPERMAN with Vincente Amorin (THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD), WHITE JAZZ with Joe Carnahan, and SPRINGBREAK IN BOSNIA with Richard Shepard (MATADOR). Prior to Cherry Road, Hyde worked at Goldman Sachs in the Entertainment Division and Gerber-Taylor in Memphis, Tennessee. Producer - Kendall Morgan

Co-founder and president of Cherry Road Films, Kendall Morgans producer credits include EULOGY (2004), MAIL ORDER WIFE, and THE L.A. RIOTS SPECTACULAR. Currently, she is producing UNTITLED IRAQ CONVOY project with Joshua Marston (MARIA FULL OF GRACE), DARK REACHES, a horror film with Jason Xenopolous, and MANHATTAN LOVERBOY with Yann Samuel (LOVE ME IF YOU DARE). Prior to Cherry Road, Morgan worked as producer for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple on Cuba 2000. Morgan shepherded the development, production and post of over 20 docs as a series producer of A&Es Inside Story. Morgan received her undergraduate degree in anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her MFA from Columbia University. She also pontificates about film, Hollywood, and fashion on her news blog, www.spinandstir.com.

Producer - Matthew Rhodes With his producing partner, Judd Payne, Matthew Rhodes, Co-Founder of Persistent Entertainment, has worked on over twenty films in varying capacities: producer, co-producer and executive producer.

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Notable credits include Lasse Hallstroms AN UNFINISHED LIFE with Robert Redford and Arthur Seidelmans THE SISTERS, based on Chekhov's play of the same name, with a terrific ensemble cast including Maria Bello, Erika Christensen, Mary Stuart Masterson, Tony Goldwyn, Eric McCormack, Alessandro Nivola, Elizabeth Banks, Rip Torn and Chris O'Donnell. Prior to forming Persistent, Rhodes produced the satirical comedy feature SHAFTED! written and directed by Tom Putnam and CONVERSATIONS IN LIMBO, directed by Paul Johansson. Rhodes recently produced WALKER PAYNE, directed by Matt Williams, starring Jason Patric, Sam Shepard, Bruce Dern, Drea de Matteo and KaDee Strickland, which had its World Premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Currently, he is in production on BEAUTIFUL ORDINARY in North Carolina with NYU award-winning short filmmaker, Jessica Manfort. Executive Producer - Bill Johnson Bill Johnson, of Inferno Distribution, LLC comes from a business background having successfully built a multi-million dollar insurance company. He has written several screenplays and directed the film, WITHIN THE LINE (1996). Bill now concentrates on producing and financing films for Inferno and its strategic partners. Executive Producer - Katrina K. Hyde Katarina was born in Tehran, Iran and raised in Sweden before moving to the U.S. This diverse rearing has contributed to her being fluent in seven languages. Formerly an actress, in 2003 she became presenter and entertainment correspondent for TIN, Inc., an internationally broadcast Iranian television station based in LA. She is founder and CEO of Eden Roc Productions, which she established in 2004. SOUTHLAND TALES is her company's first project. Executive Producer - Oliver Hengst Born 1955 in Munich, Oliver Hengst is Co-Managing Director of the MHF-Academy Film, a film finance fund. His executive producer credits include LAWS OF ATTRACTION, THE WENDELL BAKER STORY, THE WHOLE 10 YEARDS, THE IN-LAWS and BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER. Executive Producer - Judd Payne Judd Payne, Co-Founder of Persistent Entertainment with producing partner Matthew Rhodes, was previously president of the independent production company Cardinal Entertainment before the two companies merged. Judd has worked as producer on films including Arthur Seidelmans THE SISTERS, SEPTEMBER TAPES by Christian Johnston, and WALKER PAYNE, directed by Matt Williams, starring Jason Patric, Sam Shepard, Bruce Dern, Drea de Matteo and KaDee Strickland, which had its World Premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Production Designer - Alexander Hammond Alexander Hammond most recently designed Robert Schwenkes FLIGHTPLAN, starring Jodie Foster, creating a next-generation Jumbo Jet from nose to tail. His production design can also be seen the in THE CONTENDER, Forrest Whitakers FIRST DAUGHER and the live action/animated feature GARFIELD. Prior to embarking on a film career, Hammond designed scenery and costumes for the stage working with directors Bartlett Sher, Joanne Akaliatis, James Bundy and Tazwell Thompson among many others. His motion picture credits as an art director include THE CAT IN THE HAT, MEN IN BLACK II, K-

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PAX, AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, LOST & FOUND and TINSELTOWN. His futuristic vision for SOUTHLAND TALES is the fruit of his second collaboration with Richard Kelly, following his work on DONNIE DARKO. Director of Photography - Steven Poster Born in Chicago in 1944, Poster launched his cinematography career in Chicago at twenty-one, filming television commercials, documentaries and industrial films. He soon moved on to feature films, working as Second Unit DP on CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and BLADE RUNNER. As a Director of Photography, Posters credits include STUART LITTLE 2, DADDY DAY CARE, ROCKY V, THE CEMETERY CLUB, LIFE STINKS, OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, NEXT OF KIN, BIG TOP PEE-WEE, TESTAMENT and Patrice Lecontes UNE CHANCE SURE DEUX, as well as Madonnas controversial, award-winning video Like A Prayer. SOUTHLAND TALES, is his second collaboration with Richard Kelly, following his extraordinary work on DONNIE DARKO. Editor - Sam Bauer Sam Bauer previously edited Richard Kelly's short film VISCERAL MATTER and was editor on DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTORS CUT. Recently, Sam edited a horror film called DARK RIDE, which is currently in post-production. Make-Up Artist - Louis Lazzara Louis Lazzara has created make-up in over 60 feature films, including THE RUNDOWN, TERMINATOR 3, THE SCORPION KING, COLLATERAL DAMAGE, PAY IT FORWARD, END OF DAYS, ERASER, ADDAMS FAMILY, WILD AT HEART, BAT 21, TEEN WOLF 2 and JARHEAD. His extensive work in the horror genre includes three of THE NIGHTMARE ON ELM

STREET films and two FRIDAY THE 13TH films.

Music - Moby Moby s first solo release, Go (voted one of Rolling Stone's top 200 records of all time), was released in 1991. In the ensuing 14 years, he has had one of the strangest careers in contemporary music. He has made dance records and rock records and ambient records and heavy metal records. He has written classical music for movies and had platinum albums in almost every country in the Western world. He has DJ'd in clubs for 100 people and headlined a Glastonbury show for 125,000 people. He has played punk rock in tiny bars in Germany and performed at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics for an audience of 2 billion people. He has had albums that have sold less than 100,000 copies worldwide (1996's Animal Rights) and albums that have sold in the millions (1999's Play and 2002's 18). He has remixed and produced everyone from David Bowie to Metallica to the Beastie Boys to Aerosmith to New Order. He has toured with David Bowie. He has sung duets with Elton John, Bono, Michael Stipe, Lou Reed, and many others. Yet he still makes all of his records at home in his bedroom. Moby is well known advocate for a variety causes working with MoveOn.org, PETA, The Humane Society, The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function promoting music therapy, Amend.org, a nonprofit that implements injury prevention programs in Africa.

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TIMELY NEWS Al-Qaida Nukes Already in U.S. Terrorists, bombs smuggled across Mexico border by MS-13 gangsters July 11, 2005 2005 WorldNetDaily.com As London recovers from the latest deadly al-Qaida attack that killed at least 50, top U.S. government officials are contemplating what they consider to be an inevitable and much bigger assault on America one likely to kill millions, destroy the economy and fundamentally alter the course of history, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. According to captured Al-Qaida leaders and documents, the plan is called the "American Hiroshima" and involves the multiple detonation of nuclear weapons already smuggled into the U.S. over the Mexican border with the help of the MS-13 street gang and other organized crime groups. Al-Qaida has obtained at least 40 nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union including suitcase nukes, nuclear mines, artillery shells and even some missile warheads. In addition, documents captured in Afghanistan show al-Qaida had plans to assemble its own nuclear weapons with fissile material it purchased on the black market. In addition to detonating its own nuclear weapons already planted in the U.S., military sources also say there is evidence to suggest al-Qaida is paying former Russian special forces, Spetznaz, to assist the terrorist group in locating nuclear weapons formerly concealed inside the U.S. by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Osama bin Laden's group is also paying nuclear scientists from Russia and Pakistan to maintain its existing nuclear arsenal and assemble additional weapons with the materials it has invested hundreds of millions in procuring over a period of 10 years. The plans for the devastating nuclear attack on the U.S. have been under development for more than a decade. It is designed as a final deadly blow of defeat to the U.S., which is seen by al-Qaida and its allies as "the Great Satan." At least half the nuclear weapons in the al-Qaida arsenal were obtained for cash from the Chechen terrorist allies. But the most disturbing news is that high level U.S. officials now believe at least some of those weapons have been smuggled into the U.S. for use in the near future in major cities as part of this "American Hiroshima" plan, according to an upcoming book, "The Al Qaeda Connection: International Terrorism, Organized Crime and the Coming Apocalypse," by Paul L. Williams, a former FBI consultant. According to Williams, former CIA Director George Tenet informed President Bush one month after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that at least two suitcase nukes had reached al-Qaida operatives in the U.S. "Each suitcase weighed between 50 and 80 kilograms (approximately 110 to 176 pounds) and contained enough fissionable plutonium and uranium to produce an explosive yield in excess of two kilotons," wrote Williams. "One suitcase bore the serial number 9999 and the Russian manufacturing date of 1988. The design of the weapons, Tenet told the president, is simple. The plutonium and uranium are kept in separate compartments that are linked to a triggering mechanism that can be activated by a clock or a call from the cell phone." According to the author, the news sent Bush "through the roof," prompting him to order his national security team to give nuclear terrorism priority over every other threat to America. However, it is worth noting that Bush failed to translate this policy into securing the U.S.-Mexico border through which the nuclear weapons and al-Qaida operatives are believed to have passed with the help of the MS-13 smugglers. He did, however, order the building of underground bunkers away from major metropolitan areas for use by federal government managers following an attack. "Terrorists have carte blanche to carry practically anything they want across our national line at this time," he said. "As ordinary citizens have warned this government for years, the only surprising part about the new information reported here is that nothing apocalyptic from Mexican-border weapons trafficking has yet happened. Terrorism has reared its ugly head in London again these past few days, and as we know all too well we are not immune in this country. At this point, the next attempt to attack America at home is just a matter of 'when,' not 'if.' And our unsecured borders have surely contributed to this threat yet our government officials continue to fiddle while our nation's margin of security and safety burns away. The president and Congress had better wake up before they have to answer for another devastating terrorist incursion on our own soil."

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Small Company Aims to Soar Above Lockheed to Win Blimp Contract The firm is confident the Pentagon will pick its design for a craft to move troops and cargo. By Peter Pae; Jan 17, 2006 2006 Los Angeles Times It's the blimp industry's version of David and Goliath. An obscure Tarzana firm run by Russian emigres is locked in competition with Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense contractor, to win a Pentagon contract to build 900-foot-long, blimp-like aircraft to move cargo and troops into combat zones.

Worldwide Aeros, which makes blimps used for flying billboards, generated plenty of buzz in aerospace circles last summer when it and Lockheed each landed $3-million contracts from the Pentagon to do preliminary design work. The Pentagon's advanced research arm expects to pick the winning design in September and award a $100-million contract for a prototype airship. The winner then has a chance to bid on a blimp production contract potentially worth $11 billion over 30 years. "In reality we don't feel Lockheed is our technical competitor," said Igor Pasternak, 41, Worldwide Aeros' founder. "There is only one solution, and we have that one solution," the Russian-trained scientist insisted.

Pasternak's company "wrote a proposal that seemed outstanding," said Norman J. Mayer, a veteran airship designer for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the Navy, who helped the Pentagon evaluate the blimp proposals. "They were very serious about what they were trying to do. Time will tell how well they do it." Winning will not be easy. Lockheed farmed out the blimp job to its Skunkworks unit, the legendary aircraft design house in Palmdale that has developed many of the nation's most advanced aircraft, including the SR-71 and U-2 spy planes.

By contrast, Worldwide Aeros, with 40 employees, expects $10 million in revenue this year from selling blimps for advertising, including promoting MasterCard and Spalding sporting goods. Pasternak has built about 30 blimps in the U.S. His blimps cost about $3 million each; components are made in Tarzana, then assembled in hangars in San Bernardino or Palmdale. But Pasternak said he had faced bigger challenges than outwitting Lockheed, including persuading six of his employees and their families to flee Russia with him in 1993. Pasternak grew up in Lviv, a Ukrainian city of 700,000 near the Polish border.

The Pentagon hopes that these new airships can help move U.S. troops more quickly. Currently, personnel and equipment travel separately; heavy weapons, such as tanks, are transported by ship, which can take more than a month. Ultimately, the Pentagon envisions buying 14 to 16 heavy-lift airships, each capable of carrying 500 tons of cargo and passengers. The airships would travel up to 138 mph, with a range of more than 10,000 miles. In addition to increased cargo capacity, the airships would give the U.S. military additional flexibility in moving troops closer to the battlefield because in theory the craft could bypass ports and runways. The airships would have only one requirement: an open landing field about two to three times their size.

"It can totally change how you conduct warfare," Pasternak said of the concept. He envisions the aircraft as not a blimp or an airplane but as a hybrid of the two. The vehicle would rise into the air thanks to nonflammable helium, much as a blimp does, but the bottom of its hull would act like a wing to give it additional lift and control, he said. The craft would be powered by propellers. Pasternak contends that this new design would be easier to handle and that it could land under a pilot's control, without ground handlers having to pull on tethers as with conventional blimps. But the concept still faces several hurdles, analysts said.

"You can have dinner, go to sleep and wake up in the morning in New York," Pasternak said. He said the craft would cost about $46 million to build -- about the same as the 150-seat Boeing Co. 737 passenger jet but half as expensive to operate. Businessmen have talked up grand plans for passenger blimps for decades, and none has taken hold. Ever since the hydrogen-filled passenger dirigible Hindenburg burst into flames in 1937, lighter- than-air ships have been little more than a footnote in history.

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Endless Cheap Alternate Energy From Under Ocean Earths Mantle and Below April 3, 2005 2005 Indiadaily.com. The quest is on for the source of ultimate alternative fuels for the human civilization, as we perceive that fossil fuels are being exhausted. Scientists and engineers are busy finding that alternative fuel. The future human civilization needs a huge amount of energy. The conventional alternatives are solar, hydrogen, wind, and nuclear and biologically generated synthetic fuel. But all these alternatives have limitation. As in Hydrogen, if you have to spend energy to create energy, it is not an alternative. The solar and wind energy are not concentrated enough. So the researchers looked at alternatives. Soon they realized the amount of energy that is used to move tectonic plates or volcanoes, can feed our civilization for thousands of years. If the energy below earths crust can be tapped, it can provide that magic word that we are waiting to hear for years cheap unlimited energy forever. The earths crust is thinner in certain areas under the ocean. Earths mantle is less than 30 to 40 miles deep from the oceanic crust in these areas. Below the crust lies the upper mantle, which is soft and hot. As you travel below you see softer semi rigid mantle and then the liquid outer core. The lower parts of earths crust and the upper mantle have enough energy to feed the energy needs of human civilization for many years. Engineers are busy in trying to tap this energy. Once this energy is tapped and converted to electricity, the problem of fuel will be solved. Factories, cars you name it all can run with electricity.

The problem lies in the fact that we cannot drill any further than five miles in earths crust. The drill bits deform due to the heat. The upper mantle 50 miles below the earths crust has a temperature 870 degree Celsius. That temperature is more than enough to generate unending superheated steam. That can create endless amount of electricity in a turbine driven generator. That electricity can be brought to the earths crust and used as cheap endless alternate energy. Today, natural gas, coal, diesel or nuclear energy is used to heat the water to generate superheated steam and that runs a turbine to generate electricity. If the energy below the earths crust in the mantle can be tapped, it will provide unlimited energy. It is a material engineering issue. We need materials that can withstand high temperature and still possess the hardness and tensile characteristics. Engineers are busy modeling these super synthetic materials using complex computer models. Some prototypes are being tested. Synthetic materials will allow running super heated steam driven turbines near the earths mantle that will generate unlimited cheap electricity to feed the human civilization for thousands of years to come.

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Police Boost Anti-Terrorist Measures on Pier After Suspicious Videotaping By Gathering Marbet; August 11, 2005 2005 Surfsantamonica.com Police are boosting anti-terrorist security measures at the Santa Monica Pier after obtaining photographs of individuals videotaping the prime tourist destination in a suspicious manner, police officials said Wednesday. The added measures -- which include surveillance cameras and bomb-sniffing dogs -- are being implemented after a concerned citizen, whose identity is being withheld, turned over the photographs, police officials said. The pictures, taken at the Pier on July 3, were turned over to police on July 26, shortly after Londons transit system was the target of terrorist bombings, said Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. There has been a possible probing of the Pier by people (possibly) associated with terrorists, Butts said during a press conference Wednesday. We take this very seriously. The pier is a soft target, Butts said, referring to venues that have no video security, very little uniformed security and can be penetrated from a number of different approaches. This is the first evidence we have heard that somebody has been probing, Butts said. The photographs show three men videotaping around the pier, Butts said. The photographer snapped the pictures after noticing that the men -- who were of Middle Eastern descent -- were not posing in their own videos. Ordinarily when you are vacationing and videotaping to document a vacation you have one or more of the subjects in the picture, Butts said. After receiving the photographs, police consulted with the FBI, the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group and the Department of Homeland Security for the State, Butts said. Authorities determined that the men in the photographs had been seen and detained in other local communities and a videotape that they had shot was seized, Butts said. The Department of Homeland Security visited the pier at the request of police officials and advised them about the physical security improvements that could be made, Butts said. These measures -- which are currently underway -- include the following: 1. Adding four uniformed officers patrolling the Pier 2. Improving security of venues and observation posts 3. Increasing inspection of underwater pilings 4. Randomly checking vehicles that park and drive on to the Pier and surrounding lots

These measures are pre-emptive, said Butts, and are not to be considered connected to a predestined event. Long term security measures will include video surveillance of the Pier and the Third Street Promenade -- with both hidden and visible video cameras -- and acquiring two to four bomb dogs with canine handlers, he said. Bomb dogs cost $5,000 a piece, while hiring a canine handler costs approximately $100,000 a year, Butts said. The installation of surveillance equipment will cost an estimated $1.1 million, he said. We envision a police monitor (on duty) at least some of the time, Butts said. This equipment will also allow us to detect crimes in progress and will provide a record of criminal activity, he said. Other physical enhancements of security are not being released to the public, Butts said. Police presented the safety measures Tuesday night during a closed City Council session. City officials then met with Bayside District and Pier officials and representatives of major hotels and others businesses located in the area. Butts said that the changes will make us different, but that these differences will set the Pier apart in a positive way, showing visitors that their safety is of utmost importance. In recognition of the way the world has changed, we owe it to our visitors to give them the safest destination possible, said Butts. Bush: Sing National Anthem In English Miami, April 28, 2006 CBS NEWS A Spanish-language version of the "Star-Spangled Banner?" "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English," President Bush told reporters Friday, "and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English, and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English," he said.

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British music producer Adam Kidron said he just wanted to honor the millions of immigrants seeking a better life in the U.S. when he came up with the idea of a Spanish-language version of the national anthem. Kidron said his idea of "Nuestro Himno" "has never been to discourage immigrants from learning English and embracing American culture," but rather seeks to provide an outlet for patriotism for those who have not yet learned English. The initial version of "Nuestro Himno," or "Our Anthem" comes out Friday and features artists such as Wyclef Jean, hip-hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tanon. But some Internet bloggers and others are infuriated by the thought of "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung in a language other than English, and the Spanish version of the song has already been the target of a fierce backlash. "It's kind of an odd way for illegal immigrants to ask the American people to forgive them for their offenses to appropriate one of our symbols and make it suit them better, Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that supports tighter immigration controls, told CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger. However, Canada's national anthem, "O, Canada," is sung in both English and French. On Friday, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander introduced a resolution to, in his words, "Remind the country why we sing our National Anthem in English," reports Schlesinger. "Nuestro Himno" uses lyrics based closely on the English-language original, said Kidron, who heads the record label Urban Box Office. In the first verse, the references to bombs and rockets have been changed to "fierce combat." However, the second stanza is almost all new, with phrases that Francis Scott Key never wrote, such as "we are equal, we are brothers." There are four verses in the original poem. "We hope that the President would listen to the passionate and thoughtful rendition of the anthem presented by 'Nuestro Himno' and embrace the opportunity to teach a wider audience about the American Dream," Kidron said. Pro-immigration protests are planned around the country for Monday, and the record label is urging Hispanic radio stations nationwide to play the cut at 7 p.m. EDT Friday in a sign of solidarity. It was being distributed to stations via e-mail as an MP3 file. A remix to be released in June will contain several lines in English that condemn U.S. immigration laws. Among them: "These kids have no parents, cause all of these mean laws ... let's not start a war with all these hard workers, they can't help where they were born."

[1] A 2002 Time/CNN poll found that 59 percent of Americans believe that the prophecies found in the Book of Revelation are going to come true. Nearly

one-quarter think the Bible predicted the 9/11 attacks.

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soutland tales production notes

Documents

boxer santaros dwayne

world ends

cast boxer santaros

synopsis los angeles

great city of los angeles

hotel carlton cannes

richard kelly producers

us representation contact