Millionaire George Wade (HUGH GRANT) needs a new Chief Counsel. The charismatic “public face” of the Wade Corporation, one of New York’s leading real estate development firms, George has a bad habit of hiring attractive female attorneys with dubious credentials and sleeping with them...until they make a costly mistake and get fired by his stodgy brother Howard (DAVID HAIG), the brains behind the business.
When Howard demands he hire an Ivy League lawyer to serve as Chief Counsel or kiss his stock options goodbye, George turns an unexpected confrontation with passionate environmentalist advocate Lucy Kelson (SANDRA BULLOCK) into a spontaneous job interview.
A brilliant Harvard-educated attorney with a strategic mind and a social conscience, Lucy has no interest in serving the Wade Corporation’s agenda — in fact, she’s trying to stop George and company from demolishing her neighborhood Community Center and building condos on adjacent land. When George promises Lucy that he will protect the Community Center and put her in charge of distributing Wade Corp.’s discretionary funds to charitable causes of her choice, she reluctantly agrees to take the job.
As the months pass, Lucy establishes an impeccable track record at Wade, despite countless sleepless nights and the ulcer she’s developed.
It’s not the job that’s getting to her. It’s George. Fabulously irresponsible and undeniably self-absorbed, he treats her more like a personal assistant than his multi-tasking Chief Counsel — and he can barely choose a tie without her help. After months of taking innumerable late-night phone calls and advising him on everything from his clothes to his tennis game to his divorce settlements, an exasperated Lucy gives George her two weeks notice.
But George stubbornly refuses to release Lucy from her iron-clad contract and makes it impossible for anyone else to hire her. He finally agrees to let her leave — on the condition that Lucy find her own ultra-capable replacement. Enter June Carter (ALICIA WITT), an ambitious young lawyer with little experience but a keen eye for George. Before Lucy can arrange a proper interview with June, George offers her the job.
Unlike Lucy, who ensured that the Wade Corporation used its considerable means for worthy causes, June is an opportunist who makes George feel good about his wealth, power and superficiality. She’s unfazed when Howard reneges on George’s commitment to protect Lucy’s beloved Community Center. And she doesn’t consider dating the boss to be a conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, liberated from Wade Corporation’s 24/7 demands, Lucy shifts her focus back to pro-bono work and unhappily considers life after George. When she sees June as George’s new vivacious Chief Counsel, she realizes her true feelings for him cross the line from the professional to the personal. Perhaps she’s replaced herself all too well.
At the same time, George copes with the incalculable loss of a trusted confidant, a polymath consultant and a touchstone that brings out his best. For them both — is it ever too late to say, “I love you”?
Castle Rock Entertainment, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment, presents a Fortis Films Production, Two Weeks Notice, a contemporary romantic comedy written and directed by MARC LAWRENCE (Miss Congeniality), starring SANDRA BULLOCK (Miss Congeniality), HUGH GRANT (About a Boy), ALICIA WITT (Playing Mona Lisa), DANA IVEY (Orange County), ROBERT KLEIN (One Fine Day), HEATHER BURNS (Miss Congeniality), DAVID HAIG (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and DORIAN MISSICK (3D).
Two Weeks Notice is produced by Sandra Bullock. MARY McLAGLEN (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) and BRUCE BERMAN (Miss Congeniality) serve as the film’s executive producers. Award-winning cinematographer LASZLO KOVACS, A. S. C. (Miss Congeniality) is the director of photography; PETER LARKIN (Miss Congeniality) is the production designer; SUSAN E. MORSE, A. C. E. (Hannah and Her Sisters) is the editor; JOHN POWELL (Forces of Nature) is the composer; and GARY JONES (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) is the costume designer.
Two Weeks Notice will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Castle Rock Entertainment is an AOL Time Warner Company.
This film has been rated PG-13 for “some sex related humor.”
www.twoweeksnoticemovie.com / AOL Keyword: Two Weeks Notice
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Sharing the silver screen for the first time, internationally renowned actors Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant star in Two Weeks Notice, the third collaboration between actress-producer Bullock and screenwriter Marc Lawrence, best known for writing her hit films Miss Congeniality and Forces of Nature. “It’s scary and challenging to do a comedic love story,” Bullock reveals. “It’s difficult enough to be funny, but to find just the right chemistry with someone isn’t easy, either. I feel very fortunate that this project came together and allowed me to collaborate with Marc and Hugh, two men I really admire.”
The film also marks the culmination of Bullock and actor-producer Grant’s long search to find the ideal project to do together. “I’ve always wanted to work with Sandy because to my mind, to my eye and my ear, no one does this kind of comedy better than she does,” says Grant, star of the internationally acclaimed hits About a Boy, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill. “She can be attractive, sexy, believable, funny and romantic all at the same time. We did actually meet up a few years ago to talk about the possibility of working together. I told her a revolting story about the hotel room next door to the one in which I was staying, and I think that put her off for another three years.”
On the contrary, says the famously good-natured Bullock: “Hugh is not only a gifted comedian, he’s a consummate filmmaker and an incredibly accomplished actor on many levels. No one else can do it like Hugh can.”
While in post-production on Miss Congeniality, Marc Lawrence began writing an original screenplay with Bullock and Grant in mind. “I liked the idea of writing a movie about two people who work closely together and share an intense relationship, but have never dealt with their romantic feelings for each other,” Lawrence recalls.
Bullock had an unwitting hand in the evolution of a project she would eventually choose to produce through her production company, Fortis Films, as well as star in. “I kept looking over Marc’s shoulder at his laptop and I would read a scene and add a couple of lines. But I didn’t realize I was adding lines to something he was writing for me,” Bullock says with a laugh.
“I love the dynamic Marc created between Lucy Kelson and George Wade,” she continues. “They drive each other crazy but you want to see them make it work, even though it seems virtually impossible. Ultimately, Lucy and George have to ask themselves ‘Is it too late to tell the other person I love them?’ And how do you take that kind of risk when you’re not sure how the other person feels?”
Lawrence’s Two Weeks Notice screenplay also struck a chord with highly sought-after leading man Grant. “I sent the script to my closest friends in London and said ‘Am I drunk or on drugs, or is this really as funny as I think?’ And they sent it back saying ‘Yes, it really is,’” Grant remembers. “Marc combines very sharp wit with quite a lot of humanity. I was always keen to do one of his scripts, and what particularly appealed to me about this project was the idea of two people who have this intensely intimate relationship, but they’re totally unaware that they’re in love until it’s almost too late.”
Bullock and Grant not only put their faith in Lawrence’s screenplay, but they also championed the writer’s transition to directing. “It’s difficult to convince actors to take the leap with a first-time writer-turned-director, but I was happy to take that leap with Marc,” says Grant. “We met in London to discuss the project and I could tell that all his instincts about directing actors were spot-on.”
“Marc is incredibly good with actors,” Bullock concurs. “He isn’t afraid to tell me if something isn’t working. And unlike some writer-directors, he’s very comfortable making changes to his material on the spot.”
Lawrence took the challenging transition in stride. “Writing is a fairly lonely business,” he notes, “but when you’re a director, there’s always someone looking after you. If you leave the set to use the bathroom, you’ll hear the news broadcast over 40 walkie-talkies, which is always exciting. But I really do enjoy the energy and camaraderie of collaborating with hundreds of people, from the actors to the cinematographer to craft service.”
Like Lawrence, producer Bullock enjoyed playing a dual role on the project. “I like the fact that you utilize more than one aspect of yourself as a producer,” she observes. “Sometimes I enjoy the production side even more than the acting side because it can be more collaborative.”
Joining the cast as detail-obsessed activist lawyer Lucy Kelson gave Bullock the opportunity to explore a character new to her repertoire. “Lucy is a socially conscious attorney who is hyper-intelligent, anal-retentive and very contained in a way that I haven’t played before,” Bullock says. “Basically, Lucy has a big pole up her bum, which is really fun to play.”
The sparks — romantic and otherwise — fly as Lucy’s democratic ideals clash with her boss George Wade’s famously freewheeling lifestyle. “Lucy’s parents are both activist lawyers, so she often feels like she’s betraying herself and her family just by working for George,” says Lawrence. “She rationalizes that with her acumen and his money and resources, she can do an enormous amount of good for the world. But there’s a tremendous conflict, because in addition to handling legal matters for the Wade Corporation, she’s expected to pick out George’s ties and select his furniture and manage his love life.”
“Lucy’s whole world is about accommodating George,” Bullock says. “She’s allowed his life to become her priority so she doesn’t have to deal with her own. George knows this and he abuses the privilege. When Lucy realizes she’s enabled him to take advantage one too many times, she finally has to address the real question: Why does she allow him to do it?”
“My theory is that Lucy has been in love with George since they met,” Lawrence muses. “I think she was immediately attracted to him and has been fighting a huge internal battle ever since. ‘How could I have feelings for a guy I don’t respect?’”
Lucy’s internal conflict eventually compels her to make a life-altering decision. “Lucy decides she cannot continue to waste her life serving the trivial needs of this irresponsible buffoon, i.e. me, so she resigns,” Grant says. “So George does everything he possibly can to stop her because he’s come to rely on her in almost every aspect of his life.”
Whether or not George can admit it to himself, there is another reason why he is so reluctant to let Lucy go. Lawrence explains: “George lives in a world where everyone tells him what he wants to hear. Lucy is the only person who will tell him the truth and he just can’t afford to give that up. As much as he loves the flattery and the money and being surrounded by gorgeous women, the best part of him knows that he needs someone like Lucy in his life to tell him what’s true and what’s real and when he’s being a schmuck.”
Regardless, Lucy refuses to continue playing the role of George’s conscience-at-large and insists on serving him her two weeks notice — complete with the promise that she’ll find him “someone even better” to replace her as Wade Corp.’s Chief Counsel. Enter June Carter, a savvy young lawyer with questionable credentials but undeniable chemistry with George.
“I was excited about playing the part of June because invariably the ‘third character’ in a romantic comedy is a bitch or an ice princess or really unlikable,” says actress Alicia Witt, who delivered a memorable performance as a jaded Hollywood executive in HBO’s top-rated drama series The Sopranos, as well as impressive turns in the feature films Playing Mona Lisa and Cecil B. DeMented. “I thought Marc’s script was clever in part because June is none of those things.”
“June absolutely believes that money is a good thing and that people who deny it are hypocritical,” remarks Lawrence. “While Lucy makes George feel guilty about being so wealthy and not doing more for those in need, June’s attitude toward George is, ‘You’re great. You deserve this. You should enjoy it.’ For George, it’s incredibly seductive to have a beautiful, intelligent woman telling him he’s perfect.”
Indeed, the seduction is mutual. “It’s not only the fact that George is rich and sexy and sophisticated,” Witt says of her character’s attraction to the charismatic entrepreneur. “I think June is naïve. She genuinely believes this thing might work out. At the same time, I think it’s a lot easier for George to accept that he’s attracted to a woman he knows nothing about than to contemplate his true feelings for Lucy.”
As happy as she is to be liberated from George and the Wade Corporation, Lucy finds she cannot escape her own true feelings. As Lawrence sees it, “Before June, Lucy never felt threatened by any of the women in George’s life. But here is someone who isn’t a mindless eighteen year-old or a trophy wife. She’s attractive, smart and highly educated. So when Lucy sees George begin to fall for June, their relationship seems real to her in a way that none of George’s other liaisons have been.”
Meanwhile, the loss of the one honest person in his life leads George to confront the truth. “Deep down,” says Grant of his character’s struggle, “George is in love with Lucy, though he’s not truly aware of it until she leaves.”
“The love of his life has been working down the hall, in his limo and by his side for months, but George doesn’t realize it until it’s too late,” Lawrence says. “Or is it? He’s got to decide if, for once, he’s brave enough to follow his heart, regardless of the consequences.”
Like George, Lucy must contemplate her own truths and the consequences of her actions. Says Bullock, “When Lucy finally addresses her true feelings for George, she can’t help but wonder ‘If I had stayed at Wade, if I’d said something to him, could things have been different?’”
Exploring these characters and the timeless issues of life, love and romance they face has been a rewarding experience for the first-time director. “Watching Hugh Grant work is like watching Willie Mays play baseball,” Lawrence attests. “His timing is impeccable, his performance is nuanced and he manages to communicate real comedy without being flippant. He also thinks like a writer, which is especially valuable in a collaboration like this one.”
“What I admire most about Hugh is his amazing work ethic and his perfectionism to the nth degree,” says Bullock. “He’s constantly thinking about ways to make a scene better, helping and supporting everyone around him. He also sees the big picture; he’s capable of stepping outside the scene and looking at it for what the film needs, not just what his own character needs. And he’s hilarious.”
“Hugh and Sandy have been fantastic to work with,” Witt adds. “This production is one of the most stress-free, ego-free environments I have ever worked in.”
According to Grant, Bullock helped to create an on-set atmosphere that was almost too comfortable. “She has the same effect on me as that friend with whom you can’t make eye contact, because if you look them in the eye, it makes you laugh,” Grant says. “We had very, very serious giggling problems on this film. We drove the crew completely nuts.”
“Sandy brings enormous energy to the set for me, the crew, and the other actors,” Lawrence says. “People might look at what she does and think it’s easy, but in fact it’s incredibly difficult. She makes a scene funny and real. She’s a gifted physical comedienne with great comic instincts and remarkable truth-telling in her work. It’s been an amazing experience to collaborate with her as both a director and a writer.”
Rounding out the stellar Two Weeks Notice supporting cast are Dana Ivey and Robert Klein as Lucy’s left-wing activist parents, Ruth and Larry Kelson; David Haig as George Wade’s bottom-line-minded brother Howard; Heather Burns as Lucy’s forthright best friend Meryl; and Dorian Missick as Tony, George’s street-smart chauffeur.
LOCATIONS, SETS & COSTUMES: A LOVE LETTER TO NEW YORK CITY
In February 2002, Lawrence, Bullock, Grant and company began filming Two Weeks Notice in Manhattan’s Financial District. “We always saw this film as a love letter to New York,” Bullock says. “I love architecture, and we wanted to infuse the story with as much of New York and its unique structural design as possible, but we also wanted to depict these elements in a fresh way. So we chose to shoot the City at a level where you’re peeking over the buildings and seeing rooftops and details that you don’t normally see.”
Audiences will get a spectacular view of New York’s architectural treasures during a helicopter sequence in which George and Lucy discuss the history of the Chrysler Building as they fly over the beloved landmark. “I get really emotional watching that scene,” Bullock reveals. “It makes you think, ‘Wow, after everything this City has been through, it’s still so strong and so breathtaking and so inspiring.’”
Under the guidance of production designer Peter Larkin, the Two Weeks Notice art department created a backdrop for the film that reflects New York’s vitality and diverse landscape. Larkin selected the Lucent Building in the Financial District to serve as the exterior for the Wade Corporation headquarters, punctuating the sidewalk in front of the impressive structure with an enormous ‘W’ fashioned after the Wade company logo.
“The Wade Corporation is a very powerful Trump-like organization with a major presence throughout the City,” Larkin says. “George and Howard Wade own a great deal of real estate and they put their ‘W’ logo everywhere, from the front of their building to the wrecking ball used to demolish old properties and make way for their modern developments.”
The interior of George’s sprawling penthouse apartment was filmed at Sky Studio, a 3-story Greenwich Village loft complete with rooftop pool and garden. “George Wade is lazy, but he’s very smart and has great taste, and his home should reflect this,” says Larkin of his design concept for the ultimate New York bachelor pad. “Hugh suggested we look into a group of English artists known as the Sensationals, and we got permission from a few of the artists to hang their artwork in George’s apartment.”
For Lucy Kelson’s more modest digs, Larkin and his team utilized an apartment in Brighton Beach, a district adjacent to the Coney Island neighborhood in which Lucy and her parents live. “At first, we thought of Lucy’s home as messy, and we cluttered the apartment as if she was so busy at work that she hadn’t gotten around to organizing her own life,” Larkin explains. “But Sandra felt Lucy was more orderly than that and so we neatened it up considerably.”
“I wanted Lucy’s apartment to convey her manic quality; she’s the kind of person who makes ‘To Do’ lists even when she’s sleeping,” says Bullock. “I asked Peter to build a mobile bedside table that functions as a tray to hold Lucy’s various electronic and communication devices like her laptop, Blackberry, Palm Pilot and cell phone. I wanted to show that nothing in her home is about living — the bathroom, the kitchen and her desk are one step away from George. Everything in her apartment is about his life rather than hers.”
“We were filming at Fulton’s Landing at night,” Bullock recalls, “and it wasn’t until after we finished shooting a series of close-ups that I looked up and realized that our director of photography, Laszlo Kovacs, had lit the entire Brooklyn Bridge and the tip of the island. It was truly beautiful.”
In creating Lucy’s wardrobe for the gala sequence, costume designer Gary Jones designed a striking black and white gown inspired by vintage Yves St. Laurent and Valentino. “We wanted a classic look that meshed with Lucy’s professional style: feminine but fitted,” says Jones, who took further inspiration from films of the 1930s and 40s, as well as the cinematic style of Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn.
“George has more than a little flair,” Jones observes. “The John Tudor suits he wears in the film all have a strong shoulder, a bow to his English heritage. Hugh Grant wears a tailor-made John Tudor tuxedo in the circus gala sequence. We gave him a navy blue tuxedo for the circus party because it photographs more romantically than traditional black.”
For June Carter, Lucy’s ambitious successor at the Wade Corporation, the party serves as an opportunity for advancement — both professionally and personally. Jones costumed actress Alicia Witt in a black Armani dress that stands out in the midst of the vibrant atmosphere. “June is very self-assured; she’s not as corporate as her colleagues, and her wardrobe reflects this,” says Jones.
To convey the wealth and prominence of the Wade family, the production traveled upstate to Westchester County to film at Seven Springs, a property owned by the Trump Organization that has never before been used as film location. Doubling as Howard Wade’s palatial estate, Seven Springs is best known as the childhood home of Katherine Meyer Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post.
The production also commandeered Shea Stadium to film a scene at a Mets-Giants game attended by George and Lucy. Following the game, die-hard Mets fan Marc Lawrence had the pleasure of shooting a scene with all-star catcher Mike Piazza, who makes a cameo appearance in the film. Bullock even took a swing at bat, knocking a solid line drive out of the infield.
In addition to these locales, the production lensed at numerous locations throughout the City, including the Tribeca Grand Hotel; South Street Seaport, the berth for George’s yacht; the famous Coney Island Boardwalk; and Coney Island’s Community Center, the site of a controversial Wade Corporation development. Says Bullock, “Another aspect of this film that I love is that we not only depict Coney Island, a legendary area of New York that hasn’t been seen in movies in a long time, but the neighborhood plays a vital role in our story.”
Propmaster Jim Mazzola worked in collaboration with the art department, carefully studying each of the film’s characters to develop a palette for their personal belongings, including their vehicles. “Lucy Kelson is a highly paid lawyer, but her character is down to earth and she’s not into glamour,” Mazzola says. “It wouldn’t make sense for her to drive a luxury car like a Mercedes, so we outfitted her with a sensible Volvo. On the other hand, everything George owns is the very best. He wears a Patek Philippe watch and he’s chauffeured around in a $250,000 Mercedes Pullman limousine we brought over from Germany.”
Finding the right boat to portray George’s yacht “was a little tough,” Mazzola admits. “I had to find a yacht in the offseason going into winter and after making a lot of phone calls, I found a businessman in Manhattan with just the right yacht to fit George perfectly. She’s a 120-foot Benetti, a real beauty.”
ABOUT THE CAST
SANDRA BULLOCK (LUCY KELSON / PRODUCER) stars a brilliant attorney with a boss that is driving her crazy.
One of Hollywood’s most sought after leading ladies, Bullock was most recently seen in the hit film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood for director Callie Khouri; Murder by Numbers, a psychological thriller she executive produced and the blockbuster hit Miss Congeniality, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
Bullock’s career breakthrough came with the runaway success of Speed, followed by While You Were Sleeping, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, and The Net. Her subsequent starring roles include the critically acclaimed 28 Days; the box office smash Forces of Nature; Hope Floats, which marked her feature film producing debut; Practical Magic, which she also co-produced for her production company Fortis Films; Speed 2: Cruise Control; A Time to Kill; In Love and War; Two If By Sea; The Vanishing; Demolition Man; Wrestling Ernest Hemingway and The Thing Called Love. She also voiced the role of Miriam in The Prince of Egypt.
Bullock is also an executive producer of the new ABC sitcom, The George Lopez Show.
HUGH GRANT (GEORGE WADE) stars as a millionaire real estate developer who stubbornly refuses to let his Chief Counsel quit her job.
A versatile actor whose career has spanned theater, television and film, Grant received international acclaim for his role in Four Weddings and a Funeral, earning him both a British Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
Most recently, Grant starred in the critically acclaimed film About A Boy, based on the best selling novel by Nick Hornby.
A graduate of Oxford University, Grant first received critical attention in the 1987 film Maurice. This led to a succession of films including Impromptu, The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility, Nine Months, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain and An Awfully Big Adventure.
He recently completed the ensemble film Love, Actually, which is the directorial debut of Richard Curtis.
ALICIA WITT (JUNE CARTER) plays a sharp Harvard Law grad who wastes no time in getting to know her handsome new boss.
Most recently seen in Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky and the John Waters film Cecil B. DeMented, Witt also won a Best Actress Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival for her role in Playing Mona Lisa. She also received the “Special Jury Recognition” Award at the Sundance Film Festival for her role in the critically acclaimed Fun. She made her film debut in David Lynch’s Dune and was cast by the same director in his Emmy Award-winning television series Twin Peaks. Witt has also appeared in Mr. Holland’s Opus, Four Rooms, Liebestraum, Bodies, Rest & Motion and Bongwater.
Witt co-starred as Cybill Shepherd’s quirky daughter for four years on the popular CBS sitcom Cybill, and later appeared on the television period drama Passion’s Way. She has also made memorable appearances on HBO’s The Sopranos as well as Ally McBeal.
DANA IVEY (RUTH KELSON) plays Lucy Kelson’s mother, a liberal law professor disappointed that her daughter works for an illustrious corporate tycoon.
A renowned New York stage actress, Ivey has earned Tony nominations for her roles in Heartbreak House, Sunday in the Park with George and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. She has also earned an Obie Award for Quartermaine’s Terms and for creating the title role in Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Driving Miss Daisy.
Her numerous film credits include Orange County, The Kid, Simon Birch, Sabrina, The Scarlet Letter, Sleepless in Seattle, The Color Purple and Postcards from the Edge, among many others.
She has appeared in such episodic television shows as Frasier, Law and Order, Homicide and Oz.
ROBERT KLEIN (LARRY KELSON) plays a liberal lawyer who wants the best for his attorney-daughter Lucy.
A versatile actor and comedian whose work has spanned film, television and theater, Klein earned a Tony nomination and The Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1978 for his starring role in the Broadway production of They’re Playing Our Song. He also received an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig.
Klein released his first album, Child of the Fifties, in 1973, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy of the Year. Three albums followed: New Teeth, Let’s Not Make Love and the Grammy nominated Mind Over Matter.
Among his numerous movie roles are Hooper, The Owl and the Pussycat, One Fine Day, Next Stop Wonderland and People I Know with Al Pacino.
Well-known for his unique brand of stand-up comedy, Klein was the first comic to appear in concert for HBO in their On Location series and has since recorded six more concerts for HBO. His most recent, Child in His 50’s was nominated for an Emmy award.
HEATHER BURNS (MERYL) plays Lucy’s best friend and believes that her pal is in love with George Wade. Two Weeks Notice marks Burns’ second project with Bullock and Lawrence, having co-starred as a beauty pageant contestant in Miss Congeniality. She also had a featured role in the romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail.
Burns is a veteran student of Chicago’s famed improv troupe, Second City. She earned a BFA at New York University and spent a summer at the Yale Drama School. After three years with the Atlantic Theater Company and several independent films, Burns appeared in three television pilots, Nearly Yours for DreamWorks/NBC, Chicks for Fox Television and most recently, ABC’s With You in Spirit. Her other television appearances include Law and Order and as a series regular on Tom Fontana’s The Beat.
Burns also appeared in Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero at the Playwright Horizons Theater.
British actor DAVID HAIG (HOWARD WADE) plays George’s brother and deal-making business partner. Haig worked previously with Grant in the production of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Haig’s numerous theatre credits include Life X 3, Gasping, Garden, House, Art, My Boy Jack, Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards, Dead Funny, The Prisoner of Zenda, Measure for Measure, Berenice, Our Country’s Good, The Recruiting Officer, Greenland, Midsummer Night’s Dream, World’s Apart, Every Man in His Humour, Tom and Viv, Time of Your Life and Volpone.
Among his numerous British television credits are Crime & Punishment, Station Jim, Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Talking Heads 2, Keeping Mum, Soldier, Soldier, Thin Blue Line and Portrait of a Marriage.
Haig has written two stage plays for the Hampstead Theatre: My Boy Jack and The Good Samaritan, both critically acclaimed. Carnival Films has commissioned three films from David and he is currently working with Hartswood Films on an adaptation of The Good Samaritan for television.
DORIAN MISSICK (TONY) plays George’s limo driver and an expert in chess and women. Missick will soon be seen starring in Crime Partners opposite Ice T and Snoop Dogg. Other film credits include Shaft and a starring role opposite Kerry Washington in 3D. At 26 years old, Missick has displayed his versatility in both comedic and dramatic roles in film, television and stage. He has guest starred on many of the top television network dramas including Law & Order, Philly, NYPD Blue and Now & Again. He has also been seen on The Chris Rock Show.
Missick began acting in commercials at the age of twelve. He was cast by Coca Cola during the Max Headroom campaign and went on to study drama at Clark University where he was named “Most Outstanding Drama Student.” He also studied at the Alliance Theatre School in Atlanta and Michael Howard Studios in New York.
His first appearance on stage was a starring role in Where The Wild Things Are. He performed off-Broadway in Paul Robeson, All American by Ossie Davis and starred opposite LL Cool J in Ball, choreographed by Savion Glover.
Multi-talented, Missick has recently completed development on a project with Pete Chatmon, the writer and director of 3D. He is also part of a hip-hop group called THLO.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
MARC LAWRENCE (WRITER / DIRECTOR) makes his directorial debut with Two Weeks Notice, his third collaboration with Sandra Bullock. He co-wrote the box-office smash Miss Congeniality and wrote Forces of Nature, which co-starred Ben Affleck.
A Brooklyn native who dropped out of NYU Law School, Lawrence began his career as a writer for television and received Emmy and Humanitas nominations for his work as writer and producer on the NBC Series Family Ties. He also wrote and co-produced the NBC series Pride and Joy.
Additionally, Lawrence wrote the feature film Life With Mikey, which starred Michael J. Fox, and The Out-of-Towners, which starred Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin.
MARY McLAGLEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) joins Sandra Bullock for the fourth time, having also executive produced the films Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Practical Magic and Hope Floats. Prior, she was executive producer for Pay it Forward. Her credits as co-producer include One Fine Day, Sgt. Bilko, Moonlight and Valentino, The Client and Sommersby.
McLaglen grew up in the movie business, granddaughter of famed character actor Victor McLaglen and daughter of director Andrew V. McLaglen. She began her own film career as a production assistant on her father’s films. In 1988, she produced her first film Cold Feet.
BRUCE BERMAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) joined the production division of Warner Bros. Pictures and rose through the ranks of executives to become President of Worldwide Theatrical Production. Under his aegis, the studio produced and distributed such titles as the Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy, as well as Goodfellas, Presumed Innocent, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Batman Forever, Malcolm X, The Bodyguard, JFK, The Fugitive, Dave, A Time to Kill and Twister.
In 1996, Berman started Plan B Entertainment, the Warner Bros. Pictures-based independent production company that was later acquired by Village Roadshow Pictures. Village Roadshow Pictures, where Berman now holds the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, currently has 20 projects in various stages of development at Warner Bros. Pictures.
More recently, Berman executive produced the immensely successful Training Day, Cats & Dogs, Three Kings, The Matrix, Analyze This, Deep Blue Sea, Practical Magic, Space Cowboys and Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven, through Village Roadshow’s partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as the hit comedy Miss Congeniality, produced jointly with Warner Bros. Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment.
Berman will serve as executive producer on the next two installments of The Matrix trilogy being released in 2003 and Dreamcatcher, based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, produced jointly with Warner Bros. Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment.
Award-winning LASZLO KOVACS, A. S. C. (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY) learned his craft at the Academy of Theater and Film Art in Budapest, has more than sixty feature film credits to his name and was the recipient of the American Society of Cinematographers 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Among his most recent films are Miss Congeniality, Return to Me, Jack Frost and My Best Friend’s Wedding. His American work began with such seminal motion pictures as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, That Cold Day in the Park and The King of Marvin Gardens.
He was also the cinematographer on What’s Up Doc?, Paper Moon, For Pete’s Sake, Shampoo, Nickelodeon, New York, New York, Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, Frances, The Toy, Ghostbusters, Mask, Say Anything, Legal Eagles and Radio Flyer, among others.
PETER LARKIN (PRODUCTION DESIGNER) most recently designed Dinner with Friends for HBO and Miss Congeniality.
His numerous feature credits include The First Wives Club, Get Shorty, Major Payne, Guarding Tess, House of Cards, Three Men and a Baby and Tootsie.
The son of an art history professor, Larkin initially tried his hand at drawing cartoons and comic strips in New York. Dissatisfied, he returned to school, studying art at Yale.
He designed his first Broadway show, The Wild Duck, in 1951. Larkin collaborated with Bob Fosse on two of the late director/choreographer’s shows, Dancin’ and Big Deal. He has won three Tony Awards to date for his work on No Time For Sergeants, Teahouse of the August Moon and Ondine. In 1979, Larkin got his first credit as a feature film production designer on Nighthawks.
Larkin has also designed the productions of two made-for-television movies, The Lost Honor of Katherine Beck and Murder, Inc.
SUSAN E. MORSE, A. C. E. (EDITOR) has enjoyed a long-time association with actor-writer-director Woody Allen, beginning with Annie Hall in 1979.
Among the twenty-plus films she edited for Allen are Manhattan, Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway. She also edited the box office smash Arthur.
Morse was nominated for an Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters and has received five BAFTA nominations for her work on Manhattan, Zelig, Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days and Crimes and Misdemeanors.
JOHN POWELL (COMPOSER) is steeped in classical tradition, yet is drawn to the idea of turning it on its head. Powell has composed a series of acclaimed motion picture soundtracks since arriving in America six years ago. He brought out the film noir undertones of John Woo’s direction for Face/Off and co-wrote four imaginative scores for the animated films Antz, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run and Shrek. He’s also the creative force behind the hip, experimental scores for Forces of Nature and Endurance. Powell’s most recent feature credits include Rat Race, I Am Sam, The Bourne Identity and Drumline.
Powell attended London’s Trinity College of Music, where he studied composition, earning the John Halford and the Boosey and Hawkes Music College Awards. While at Trinity, Powell joined performance art group Media Arts. With longtime collaborator Gavin Greenaway, he composed music and sound for their conceptual performances. Although the duo left the troupe upon graduating in 1986, they continue to co-create mixed-media installation pieces with artist Michael Petry, the most recent featuring bare-bottomed men and a German brass ensemble.
Powell made his first foray into feature films at London’s Air-Edel Music in 1989. There he worked alongside composers Hans Zimmer and Patrick Doyle, assisting Doyle with the score of Into the West and writing cues and working as an electronic music programmer for Zimmer on White Fang.
In 1994 Powell left Air-Edel to co-found (with Greenaway) London-based commercial music house Independently Thinking Music (ITM). Together they composed scores for more than a hundred high-profile European ad campaigns.
Arriving in the states in 1997, he immediately scored two DreamWorks TV projects: the second season of Steven Spielberg’s High Incident and the pilot For the People. He also arranged songs composed by Stephen Schwartz for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt.
Powell’s other film credits include Evolution and the forthcoming Agent Cody Banks.
GARY JONES (COSTUME DESIGNER) worked with Sandra Bullock recently as the Costume Designer for Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.
His costume design credits cover a wide range of feature films for some of the industry’s most acclaimed filmmakers, including The Princess Diaries, Heartbreakers, Desperate Measures, Vanya on 42nd Street, Guilty as Sin, The Mosquito Coast and Trip to Bountiful.
He has enjoyed a long creative collaboration with Ann Roth, and together they worked on films including Primary Colors, The English Patient, Sabrina, Consenting Adults, The Mambo Kings, Just Cause and Dressed to Kill. In 1999, Jones and Roth shared an Academy Award nomination for The Talented Mr. Ripley.
