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震撼全球法律界的天價集體訴訟案
揭瘡疤 ● 惹爭議 ● 掀殺機

世紀型男 佐治古尼 George Clooney 問鼎影帝巔峰作
入圍本屆「威尼斯影展」 角逐【金獅獎】最高殊榮

《敵對同謀》Michael Clayton

得利影視股份有限公司 榮譽發行 片長、級數、戲院：待定
《叛諜追擊》最佳編劇 東尼格萊 導演
佐治古尼、蒂迪絲雲頓、薛尼波勒、湯韋堅遜 主演

電影簡介

「得利影視股份有限公司」香港榮譽發行的年度猛片《敵對同謀》(Michael Clayton)，已鐵於今年10月11日（星期四）在香港隆重獻映。此片由《叛諜追擊、絕世天劫》美國編劇家協會年度大獎侯選人東尼格萊 (Tony Gilroy) 編而優則導，《盜海豪情》世紀型男暨奧斯卡得主佐治古尼 (George Clooney)、《魔幻王國》型格女星暨柏林影展得主蒂迪絲雲頓 (Tilda Swinton)、《糖衣陷阱》奧斯卡影帝薛尼波勒 (Sydney Pollack)、《窺心事》奧斯卡提名湯韋堅遜 (Tom Wilkinson) 四大演技巨星拚力演出，是今年最劇力萬均、扣人心弦鉅獻，絕對不能錯過。與此同時，《敵對同謀》成功入選了八月尾舉行的「第64屆威尼斯影展」，成為官方選定影片之一，並將角逐最高榮譽「金獅獎」，先聲奪人，值得萬眾期待。

故事大綱

好賭成性的米高基頓（佐治古尼 飾）生意失敗、婚姻觸礁，他為了償還龐大私人債務，每天被迫在紐約最大的律師行打滾，聽命於大奸矩馬田（薛尼波勒 飾），絕不敢反抗。米高不惜利用自己多重身份，顛倒是非，指鹿為馬，以不擇手段打贏不少官司。直到最近，米高遇上一宗非常棘手的懸案，改變其一生。

法律界中敏感熱話，正是由大律師卡琳（蒂迪絲雲頓 飾）主理、涉及幾十億美元的農藥公司集體訴訟案。當她滿以為可以成功歸檔，竟發現案中有案──馬田的另一律師阿瑟（湯韋堅遜 飾）原來有份參與整個陰謀！米高一如以往地奉命追查，先後成功地遊走同謀與敵人；直到他發現真相驚世之謎，才撥亂反正、忠於自己，會否太遲？何況利是當頭，米高內心掙扎不已……

http://michaelclayton.com

2007.10.11 黑白戰

MICHAEL CLAYTON

Production Notes

HK Releasing information

Releasing Date: October 11, 2007
Running Time/ Category/ Theatre: TBC

SYNOPSIS

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house "fixer" at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm's co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's dirtiest work. Clayton cleans up clients' messes, handling anything from hit-and-runs and damaging stories in the press to shoplifting wives and crooked politicians. Though burned out and discontented in his job, Clayton is inextricably tied to Kenner, Bach & Ledeen; a divorce, gambling habit, and a failed business venture have left him with mounting debt.

At the agrichemical company U/North, the career of in-house counsel chief Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class action suit that Clayton's firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has an apparent breakdown and subsequently tries to sabotage the entire U/North case, Michael Clayton is sent to tackle this unprecedented disaster and in doing so comes face to face with the reality of who he has become.

Samuels Media and Castle Rock Entertainment present a Mirage Enterprises/Section Eight Production, Michael Clayton, starring Academy AwardR winner George Clooney (Syriana, Good Night, and Good Luck.), Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Broken Flowers) and Sydney Pollack (Husbands and Wives, The Interpreter).

The film is written and directed by Tony Gilroy (Screenwriter of The Bourne Identity, The Devil's Advocate, The Bourne Supremacy). Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Steven Samuels and Kerry Orent serve as producers, with Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, James Holt and Anthony Minghella serving as executive producers.

Joining the director behind the scenes are director of photography Robert Elswit, production designer Kevin Thompson, and editor John Gilroy. The music is by James Newton Howard. Sarah Edwards is the costume designer.

Michael Clayton will be released domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, with international territories handled by Summit Entertainment.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

"If you look at the stuff I've written over the years it's pretty obvious I'm obsessed with work. What people do, what they earn, how they do it; I'm fascinated by dilemmas, desires, and decisions," says writer-director Tony Gilroy.

The original inspiration for "Michael Clayton" came to Gilroy during visits to New York law firms when he was doing research to write the screenplay of "The Devil's Advocate." Gilroy recalls, "Wandering through these giant New York law offices, I was struck by how much goes on behind the scenes. Every firm had vast, back-of-the-house departments running twenty-four hours a day to keep them afloat."

Gilroy notes, "I heard a story about a firm involved in a huge corporate litigation that had gone on for almost a decade. The case had been essentially settled, and the firm had prevailed. The settlement was over a billion dollars. Two days before the final signing, at four o'clock in the morning, a third-year associate found a document that had never been placed in discovery. It was a very bad document, which would've meant a complete reversal of the case. The document never saw the light of day, and that associate had the fastest partner promotion in the history of the firm." "In another case in the 1970's, Anderson vs. General Motors, cars started exploding into flame on impact. A group of people whose families had suffered "burn deaths" decided to sue, and in 1999, they were finally awarded a $4.9 billion verdict. The thing that swung the case was the discovery of a document that G.M. and their attorneys had spent twenty years trying to hide. It's a simple document. It's a memo written by a G.M. engineer named Edward Ivey titled: Value Analysis of Auto Fuel Fed Fire Related Fatalities. It's just two pages. There's nothing complicated about it. It's a basic cost-benefit analysis. G.M. knew the cars were exploding and Mr. Ivey's memo is a straight-up calculation of whether it's cheaper to change the assembly line or pay out the fatalities. They decided it was cheaper to pay out the burn deaths.

Fascination with stories like these led Gilroy to write the character Michael Clayton, a "fixer," the person who is contracted by law firms to quietly and efficiently clean up sticky situations for its high-profile clients and attorneys.

In spite of his 15 year tenure at the firm, Clayton is still treated as back-of-the-house staff and not a partner. His efforts to escape the life of a fixer have not panned out, and instead have left him in considerable debt.

Meanwhile, Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's chief litigator, Arthur Edens, has a nervous breakdown after finding a "smoking gun" memo which exposes their client U/North's moral turpitude.

"When you consider how much is wrong, how deep that wrong is, and how much of it's done by people who go home and pay their taxes and love their children, isn't it astonishing how few climb over the wall?" says Gilroy.

Producer Sydney Pollack states, "The material was interesting to me right off the bat. I think it's particularly well-written in a way that feels authentic and theatrical at the same time. The themes are very timely and timeless."

In working with Gilroy as a first-time director, producer Steven Samuels offers, "I was really impressed with Tony. He's very talented and a great visionary. I also think the story will hit home for a lot of people who've faced situations where the work or the behavior that's being asked of them is a compromise to their own personal integrity."

To cast the title role, Gilroy says, "Michael is a complicated character. All the traits that have served him so well before -- his charm, his ease, his authority -- none of those things are of much use to him as the story progresses. All the charisma in the world isn't going to help you find your way home when you're lost. Lots of actors say they want to play parts like that, but it takes a certain kind of bravery and ambition to hang your neck out there and really do it".

At that time, Gilroy was working on another project with director Steven Soderbergh, who arranged a meeting with George Clooney.

"George feels like New York," explains Gilroy. "He's got all the chops, and he's intelligent and charming. He can be very convincing and conflicted, which made him perfect for the role."

Producer Jennifer Fox felt that a collaboration between Gilroy and Clooney would work well for several reasons. "They have the same reference points. They're both influenced by great filmmakers of the '70s: Alan Pakula, Sydney Lumet, Mike Nichols, Sydney Pollack. They also both approach their work in an incredibly disciplined and prepared manner but somehow manage to make it look effortless."

For the past six years, Kenner, Bach & Ledeen has represented U/North, an agrichemical company accused of poisoning people with a weed-killer product. As the tenuous case is close to an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiffs, the unthinkable happens when Arthur Edens has a crisis of conscience and breaks down in a deposition. "The company's key litigator is a man who has a total and complete breakdown, and, in effect, begins to construct a case for the other side," explains Pollack. "So the suspense is will or will he not be diffused, will he or will he not win the case for the opposite team, and how will Michael Clayton fix this one."

Acclaimed British actor Tom Wilkinson plays the role of Arthur Edens. Gilroy describes Arthur as someone who's been bottled up for many years. "The life of a litigator is a pretty tough," says Gilroy. "They're working countless hours, and the work is a grind. It's a huge life sacrifice."

Gilroy's first choice to play U/North's in-house counsel chief, Karen Crowder, was Tilda Swinton. "I really needed somebody who was believable as an attorney and capable of pulling off the private moments that make up most of her performance, someone who could be both competent and flawed."

Swinton portrays a character who, as chief counsel at U/North, assumes the duty of guaranteeing a successful outcome of the lawsuit against her company. Additionally, her character bears the burden of proving her worth as a high-powered female in a heavily male-dominated corporate world.

Gilroy emphasizes that the objective of the project was not to make the faceless corporation the obvious villain. "I have great affection for Karen. Odd as it may sound, I found a way to root for her in every scene. She's got this intense job that means everything to her. She's barely up to speed when she's hit with an overwhelming crisis. And she fails. She fails because she's lost. She fails because it's coming too fast. She fails because she's swamped with ambition and fear. And she fails, ultimately, for the same reason Mr. Ivey wrote the memo, because she's in the thrall of a psychopathic corporate mirage. You take that variety of poisons and lay it on someone just crippled enough emotionally to misinterpret the boundaries, and you almost have a victim."

To cast the character of Marty Bach, the commanding senior partner of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, Gilroy turned to his producer Sydney Pollack. Gilroy says, "I needed somebody who you believe is the head of a law firm, and someone who's going to be intimidating to Michael. I needed somebody with real authority, and I wanted somebody fresh. That's a very, very short list."

Pollack states, "Marty depends heavily on Michael Clayton. This case comes at a critical time when Kenner, Bach & Ledeen is in the middle of a merger with a firm in London, which would be a buyout for Marty that would yield a big chunk of change. When the U/North case starts to going south, Marty is desperate to get Arthur under control and puts an awful lot of pressure on Michael."

"Michael Clayton" began principal photography in January 2006 in New York City, the city where Gilroy has lived for most of his life. "There's no place else that has the concentration of money and activity," he explains. "There's no place else that has the level of intensity."

Gilroy envisioned filming amidst the boxy skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan, the heart of the corporate world. In particular, Gilroy wanted to film along the Avenue of the Americas where a building boom in the 1960s and 1970s gave birth to an environment of fifty-story international-style glass boxes lined up one after another. Gilroy says, "The buildings are stacked in such a beautiful, horrifying, Greek kind of way. "

The filmmakers scouted six different law firms, and ended up choosing the offices of Dewey Ballantine, one of the top corporate firms in New York. Scenes were shot in Dewey Ballantine's enormous conference room that spans the entire Sixth Avenue side of the building's 22nd floor, which looks out over three directions.

Marty Bach's office was filmed in the same building as Dewey Ballantine, but on a different floor, in an office of financial company Oaktree Capital Management. "We specifically chose an office on a higher floor with a dramatic view of Central Park to convey the power of Marty Bach's position," explains producer Jennifer Fox.

The exterior scenes for Arthur's loft were shot in Tribeca, while the interior scenes were shot in Little Italy. "The windows were so huge and the sills were so low that it was really dramatic and powerful," says production designer Kevin Thompson. "Arthur had this kind of castle or palace in a way...but it was decayed."

For scenes that contrasted with the urban jungle setting of Manhattan, the production moved outside New York City to Cornwall in Orange County, New York. Thompson explains, "We wanted the landscape to be wild and completely the opposite of what the other world is."

Summing up the experience of working with Gilroy as a first-time director, Pollack states, "There's something quite seasoned about Tony's approach. There are only a few really good writer-directors, and I would say on the basis of what I've watched here, Tony is well on his way to becoming one of the best."

# # #

ABOUT THE CAST

GEORGE CLOONEY (Michael Clayton) Academy AwardR winner George Clooney has gone from actor to producer to executive producer to screenwriter to director.

In 2006, Clooney earned three Academy AwardR nominations: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck; and Best Supporting Actor for his role in Syriana. It was the first time in Academy history that an individual received acting and directing nominations for two different films. Clooney won the Best Suppporting Actor OscarR for Syriana, a film on which he also served as Executive Producer.

Clooney will be seen in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen, this summer and Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton, with Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton this fall.

Clooney is now directing and starring in Leatherheads, a romantic comedy he co-wrote for Universal. The film co-stars Renee Zellwegger and is set in the 1920's during the formation years of professional football. It is due out in December. Clooney starts shooting the Coen brothers' dark comedy Burn After Reading this summer. The film also stars Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand.

Clooney is partnered with Grant Heslov in the recently formed film and television production company Smoke House. The company is producing Leatherheads" Joe Carnahan's White Jazz is in pre-production and The Innoncent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, based on the John Grisham novel, is in development.

Heslov and Clooney previously worked together at Section Eight, in which Clooney was partnered with Steven Soderbergh. Section Eight is producing Ocean's Thirteen and Michael Clayton. The company has produced several other films including The Good German, Good Night, and Good Luck., Syriana. Oceans Twelve, Oceans Eleven, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Jacket, Full Frontal and Welcome To Collinwood. Clooney was an executive producer of three critically acclaimed Section Eight films, Syriana and Insomnia for Warner Bros. and Far From Heaven for Focus Features.

In Section Eight's television division, Clooney was an executive producer and directed five episodes of "Unscripted," a reality-based show that debuted on HBO in 2005. He also was an executive producer and cameraman for HBO's "K Street."

Clooney made his directorial debut in 2002 with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind for Miramax, winning the Special Achievement in Film Award from the National Board of Review.

He followed it up in 2005 with Good Night, and Good Luck., in which he also co-starred. Clooney was recognized for his performance on both sides of the camera. He won the Paul Selvin Award from the Writer's Guild of America, the Freedom Award from the Broadcast Film Critic's Association and the David Lean Award for Best Directing from the British Film Academy. The role also earned him nominations for two OscarsR, three Golden GlobesR, two BAFTA's, a SAG award, an Independent Spirit Award, two Critic's Choice awards, a WGA and DGA award among others.

That same year Clooney starred in and co-produced Syriana, for Warner Bros., playing a CIA agent who fights terrorism. The film again garnered him accolades from all over the world including an OscarR and a Golden GlobeR for his supporting role. He was also nominated for a SAG, BAFTA and Critic's Choice award.

Clooney has also starred in the Warner Bros. blockbuster hits Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Eleven. For Disney's O Brother, Where Art Thou? directed by the Coen brothers, he won a Golden GlobeR Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He also earned critical acclaim for the award-winning drama Three Kings (Warner Bros.) and the OscarR-nominated Out of Sight (Universal). Other film credits include Solaris (FOX), The Peacemaker (DreamWorks), Batman & Robin (Warner Bros.), One Fine Day (20th Century Fox) and From Dusk Till Dawn (Miramax).

He has starred in several television series but is best known to TV audiences for his five years on the hit NBC drama "ER." His portrayal of Dr. Douglas Ross earned him Golden GlobeR, Screen Actors Guild, People's Choice and EmmyR nominations.

Clooney was executive producer and co-star of the live television broadcast of "Fail Safe," an EmmyR-winning telefilm developed through his Maysville Pictures. "Fail Safe" was nominated for a 2000 Golden GlobeR Award as Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. The film was based on the early 1960s novel of the same name.

TOM WILKINSON (Arthur Edens) A leading British actor, TOM WILKINSON is a veteran of stage and screen. It was his film role in the British and international box office sensation, The Full Monty (1997) followed by his performance in the OscarR-winning Shakespeare in Love (1998) that first brought him to the fore with worldwide audiences. Wilkinson was widely acclaimed and nominated for multiple awards for his unforgettable performance as a grieving father in In the Bedroom opposite Sissy Spacek. His honors for that film include an Academy AwardR nomination for Best Actor in a leading role, a BAFTA nomination, a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Actor at the New York Film Critics Awards. Wilkinson followed that performance with another brilliant and polar opposite performance in Normal for HBO opposite Jessica Lange, which garnered him EmmyR and Golden GlobeR nominations.

Wilkinson's broad range of film roles also includes Sense & Sensibility (1995), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997), Oscar & Lucinda (1997), Ride with the Devil (1999), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), and the critically acclaimed The Girl with the Pearl Earring (2003). His recent roles include the critically praised Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey; Stage Beauty with Billy Crudup; A Good Woman with Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson; Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins; Roger Spottiswoode's Ripley Under Ground; The Exorcism of Emily Rose with Laura Linney; and Separate Lies with Emily Watson and Rupert Everett. The next films to be released are include: Dedication with Billy Crudup; the upcoming Woody Allen film Cassandra's Dream with Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor; and the HBO mini-series "John Adams".

On stage, Wilkinson's theatre work includes the role of John Proctor in "The Crucible" at the Royal National Theatre, the title role in "King Lear" at the Royal Court, Dr Stockmann in the award winning production with Vanessa Redgrave of "Enemy of the People" in the West End and a Critics Circle Award-winning performance in "Ghosts." He also won acclaim at the Royal Court in the title role of "King Lear" and some years later David Hare's production of "My Zinc Bed" with Julia Ormond.

Television credits include Pecksniff in the award winning BBC TV series "Martin Chuzzlewit" and the Duke in David Thacker's production of "Measure for Measure" as part of the Performance series for the BBC. Tom was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance in Piers Haggard's drama Cold Enough For Snow.

TILDA SWINTON (Karen Crowder) is the Scottish (and Cambridge-educated) actress who began making films with the English director Derek Jarman in 1985 with Caravaggio. She went on to work with him for eight years and seven more films before his death in 1994, including The Last of England, The Garden, War Requiem and Wittgenstein. In 1990, Swinton won the Coppa Volpe at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in Jarman's film adaptation of Marlowe's Edward II. Two years later, she came to wider international recognition and critical acclaim with her extraordinary portrayal of the androgynous and eternal Orlando, directed by Sally Potter.

Since then, Swinton's work has included two films with director Lynn Hershman-Leeson, Conceiving Ada and Teknolust; Susan Streitfeld's Female Perversions; Tim Roth's The War Zone and Robert Lepage's Possible Worlds. In 2000, she starred in The Deep End for directors David Siegel and Scott McGeehee, again winning numerous international awards, including a Golden GlobeR nomination for Best Actress. In 2005, she co-starred in Spike Jonze's Adaptation, David Mackenzie's acclaimed bete noire, Young Adam and Mike Mills' Thumbsucker. The same year, Swinton reunited with Keanu Reeves in Constantine; co-starred with Bill Murray in Jim Jarmusch's acclaimed drama, Broken Flowers and starred as the White Witch in the blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Upcoming films for Swinton include David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button opposite Brad Pitt; Erick Zonka's Julia; and Bela Tarr's That Man from London, which was selected for the main competition in Cannes this year.

SYDNEY POLLACK (Marty Bach / Producer) Sydney Pollack has directed 20 films, which have received a total of 46 Academy AwardR nominations. Pollack himself has been nominated three times, winning the Best Director OscarR for Out of Africa, which won seven Academy AwardsR, including Best Picture. Pollack won the 1982 New York Film Critics Award for his film Tootsie. He has won the Golden GlobeR for Best Director twice, as well as the National Society of Film Critics Award, the NATO Director of the Year Award, and prizes at the Brussels, Belgrade, San Sebastian, Moscow and Taormina Film Festivals. Most recently he was presented the Directors Guild of America John Huston Award by the Artists Rights' Foundation.

Pollack is also an accomplished actor and has appeared in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, Robert Altman's The Player, Robert Zemeckis' Death Becomes Her, Steven Zaillian's A Civil Action, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and Roger Michell's Changing Lanes.

In 1985, Pollack formed Mirage Productions. Under that banner, he has produced films including Presumed Innocent, The Fabulous Baker Boys, White Palace, Major League, Dead Again, Searching for Bobby Fisher, Sense and Sensibility and The Talented Mr. Ripley. In 2000, Anthony Minghella became a full partner in Mirage Enterprises. Under that banner they have functioned as producers on Iris, The Quiet American, Cold Mountain, Breaking And Entering and Michael Clayton.

Pollack is a founding member of the Sundance Institute, the Chairman Emeritus of the American Cinematheque, a sustaining founder of the Artists' Rights Board of the Director's Guild and on the Board of Directors for the Film Preservation Board and the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation.

MICHAEL O'KEEFE (Barry Grissom) is an Academy AwardR-nominated actor. For his role in The Great Santini, O'Keefe was honored with an Academy AwardR nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The Great Santini, for which O'Keefe also garnered a Golden GlobeR nomination, starred Robert Duvall and Blythe Danner as well. Among O'Keefe's numerous film credits are Ironweed, with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, written by William Kennedy and directed by Hector Babenco; Me & Veronica with Elizabeth McGovern; Ghosts of Mississippi, with Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg, directed by Rob Reiner; The Pledge with Jack Nicholson and directed by Sean Penn; The Glass House, with Stellan Skarsgard; and the comedy classic Caddyshack with Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Ted Knight, and Rodney Dangerfield.

For television, O'Keefe is probably best known for his recurring role on the sitcom "Roseanne. His other television credits include lead roles in the series "Against the Law," "Life's Work," as well as appearances on "House," "The West Wing," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Law and Order," and its spinoffs "Special Victims Unit" and "Criminal Intent." For his role in HBO's "The Hitchhiker," O'Keefe was nominated for the Best Actor Cable ACE Award. He will soon be seen in the upcoming Michael Clayton opposite George Clooney.

Recently O'Keefe starred on Broadway in "Reckless," with Mary Louise Parker and Rosie Perez, for the Manhattan Theatre Club. Last year he starred in "McReele," a new play by Stephen Belber, with Anthony Mackie and directed by Doug Hughes. Among his many other theater credits are "Side Man" on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center, Off Broadway productions of "That Championship Season," "Mass Appeal," and "Short Eyes," and the national tour of "A Few Good Men."

O'Keefe also produced and directed the documentary Raising the Ashes, about a group of Zen Buddhists who gather annually at Auschwitz for five days of prayer and meditation, which was just sold to New Screen TV for its pay per view channel.

ROBERT PRESCOTT (Mr. Verne) has worked extensively in television, film, and stage. After beginning his career as an actor in film and television, Prescott stepped away from the business in 1993 to work in the New York City public school system as a high school teacher and basketball coach, leading his team to a City Championship.

In September 2001, Prescott joined a construction workers union and worked in the recovery effort at Ground Zero, which led to a short, though eventful, career in the New York City construction business.

Most recently Prescott has returned to acting, making appearances on "The Sopranos," "Law & Order," "Third Watch," and "Law & Order: SVU." Prescott also originated the lead role of Walker Dance in the world premiere of Michael Weller's play "Approaching Moomtaj" for the New Repertory Theatre.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

TONY GILROY (Writer/Director) makes his directorial debut with MICHAEL CLAYTON.

An acclaimed screenwriter, Tony Gilroy has written several highly successful films, including the international blockbusters The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, as well as the upcoming The Bourne Ultimatum, all starring Matt Damon in the role of Jason Bourne.

Gilroy has also written three films for director Taylor Hackford: Dolores Claiborne, based on the novel by Stephen King and starring Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh; The Devil's Advocate, starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, and Charlize Theron; and Proof of Life, starring Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan, which Gilroy also executive produced.

Gilroy has also written or co-written The Cutting Edge, starring D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly; For Better and for Worse starring Patrick Dempsey and Kelly Lynch; Extreme Measures, starring Gene Hackman, Hugh Grant, and Sarah Jessica Parker and directed by Michael Apted; Bait, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jamie Foxx, and Armageddon, the blockbuster starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Billy Bob Thornton, and directed by Michael Bay.

Raised in upstate New York, Gilroy is the son of Pulitzer Prize winning Playwright and filmmaker Frank D. Gilroy. His brother Dan Gilroy is a screenwriter. His brother John Gilroy is a film editor whose credits include Michael Clayton.

SYDNEY POLLACK (Producer) please see "About the Cast" section.

JENNIFER FOX (Producer) served as President of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's production company Section Eight from 2001 to 2007. In addition to running the day-to-day operations of this Warner Bros.-based company, Fox produced Syriana, a political thriller that unfolds against the intrigue of the global oil industry for which George Clooney won the Academy AwardR for Best Supporting Actor. Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who was honored with an Academy AwardR nomination for his screenplay, Syriana also stars Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, and Christopher Plummer. Fox also served as executive producer on Good Night, and Good Luck., directed by George Clooney, which received six Academy AwardR nominations, including Best Picture. Other films Fox has executive produced include Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly, starring Keanu Reaves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder; Scott Burns' directorial debut PU-239; Rumor Has It, directed by Rob Reiner; The Jacket, directed by John Maybury, starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley; and Criminal, directed by Gregory Jacobs starring John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

During Fox's tenure, Section Eight produced Ocean's Eleven, Welcome to Collinwood, Far From Heaven, Insomnia, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Criminal, Ocean's Twelve, The Jacket, Rumor Has It, PU-239, A Scanner Darkly, Good Night, and Good Luck., Syriana, The Good German, Ocean's Thirteen, and Michael Clayton.

Prior to coming to Section Eight in 2001, Fox was Vice-President of Production at Universal Pictures, where she worked on several films, including Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich.

STEVEN B. SAMUELS (Producer) heads Samuels Media, an entertainment company that focuses on the financing, development, and production of feature films. The company seeks to create commercially viable films of exceptional quality by bringing together the artistic vision of talented creative teams with the discipline of a well-structured financing approach. The company focuses on filmed-entertainment properties across a wide array of genres/subject matters, and leverages its own equity funding to bring together a strong financial structure tailored to the specific needs of each project.

In addition to Michael Clayton, Samuels also recently produced Paul Haggis' harrowing dramatic thriller In The Valley of Elah starring Charlize Theron, Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon. Samuels Media co-produced and co-financed the film with Summit Entertainment. The film will be released Sept. 21 by Warner Independent Pictures.

Steve Samuels also executive produced writer/director Ryan Murphy's Running With Scissors starring Annette Bening, Joseph Cross, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alec Baldwin, Evan Rachel Wood and Joseph Fiennes. He produced and financed writer/director Craig Rosenberg's supernatural thriller Half Light starring Demi Moore.

Samuels Media is currently working on a number of new projects which are in various stages of development.

Aside from his activities in the entertainment industry, Steve Samuels has been a real estate developer since 1984, during which time he has built or redeveloped over fifty retail projects in seven states. With his founding of Samuels & Associates nearly twenty years ago, he created a company which prides itself on its success through building enduring relationships with its business partners, its focus on creating developments that enhance local neighborhoods and communities, and its impeccable reputation among the residents, community groups, and businesses affiliated with its projects.

One of the first in the country to return new development to the urban core, Samuels pioneered Boston's retail renaissance with two extremely successful projects in the city's underserved underprivileged neighborhoods, Dorchester's massive South Bay Center and Roxbury's Grove Hall Mecca. The South Bay Center, built in 1991, was hailed as one of Boston's first urban retail development in over twenty years and inspired a flurry of other retail developments in the city. The Grove Hall Mecca Project, undertaken in 1997 at the request of Mayor Thomas Menino, was a pro bono project motivated by the desire to resuscitate a stagnant retail area that had been neglected for decades. The development is currently one of the most vibrant retail centers in Boston.

Samuels also serves on the Board of both the Boston Police Athletic League (P.A.L.), an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the positive development of Boston's youth, and Mayor Menino's Boston Main Streets Foundation, a program focused on the aesthetic and commercial revitalization of the city's historic neighborhoods. He is also very actively involved in fundraising for Boston Medical Center and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (J.D.R.F.).

KERRY ORENT (Producer) served as executive producer on Birth, starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, and Danny Huston. He is also currently serving as producer on Rescue Me, the popular television series starring Denis Leary. Orent was recognized by the Producer's Guild of America when Rescue Me was honored with the 2005 Visionary Award, which acknowledges producers whose work demonstrates a unique or uplifting quality.

Orent also executive produced Kate & Leopold, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman and directed by James Mangold; The Yards, starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, and Charlize Theron and directed by James Gray; It Runs in the Family, starring Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas, and directed by Fred Shepisi; and Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton and directed by John Dahl.

Previously, Orent co-produced James Mangold's Cop Land, David O. Russell's Flirting with Disaster, James Gray's Little Odessa, John Duigan's The Journey of August King, and Phillip Haas's The Music of Chance. He was also a producer of the independent feature film, Dead Dog, directed by Christopher Goode, starring Julianne Nicholson and Jay O. Sanders.

Orent was the producer of the ABC television series The Job, starring Denis Leary, a half hour comedy that portrayed both the light and dark sides of being a New York City police detective.

Early in his career, Orent held several production and post-production positions on films such as The Pelican Brief, Reversal of Fortune, Peggy Sue Got Married, and The Cotton Club.

STEVEN SODERBERGH (Executive Producer) won an Academy AwardR for Best Director for his 2000 ensemble drama Traffic. He had earned dual Best Director OscarR nominations that year, also receiving one for Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts in her OscarR-winning performance. Soderbergh had earlier gained an Academy AwardR nomination for Best Original Screenplay for sex, lies, and videotape, which marked his feature film directorial debut. The film also won the Palme d'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.

Soderbergh's film credits include Ocean's Thirteen, The Good German, Bubble, Ocean's Twelve, Solaris, Full Frontal, Ocean's Eleven, The Limey, Out of Sight, Gray's Anatomy, Schizopolis, The Underneath, King of the Hill and Kafka.

He also wrote, directed, photographed and edited Equilibrium, starring Alan Arkin, Robert Downey, Jr. and Ele Keats, which was one of a trio of short eroticism-themed films released as Eros. Michelangelo Antonioni and Wong Kar-wai directed the other two segments. The film had its premiere at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.

In addition, Soderbergh has produced or executive produced a wide range of features. His credits as a producer include John Maybury's The Jacket, starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley; Lodge Kerrigan's Keane, which played at the Telluride, Toronto and New York Film Festivals; Gregory Jacob's directorial debut, Criminal, with John C. Reilly and Maggie Gyllenhaal; Anthony and Joseph Russo's Welcome to Collinwood, starring William H. Macy; Gary Ross' Pleasantville, with an ensemble cast led by Tobey Maguire; and Greg Mottola's The Daytrippers.

GEORGE CLOONEY (Executive Producer) please see "About the Cast."

JAMES HOLT (Executive Producer) is head of finance and production at Samuels Media. In addition to Michael Clayton, he also serves as executive producer on the upcoming Iraq-themed drama In the Valley of Elah, written and directed by Paul Haggis starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and James Franco.

Holt's film credits as a co-producer include The Whole Ten Yards, Alex & Emma, The Heist, Get Carter, and The Whole Nine Yards.

ANTHONY MINGHELLA (Executive Producer) is an acclaimed film director, producer and writer. He is best-known for his OscarR-winning film The English Patient (1996), which he adapted and directed from Michael Ondaatje's novel of the same name.

The English Patient won more than 30 international awards, amongst them nine Academy Award OscarsR (including Best Picture and Best Director), six BAFTA Awards (including Best Picture and Best Screenplay), the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Screenplay, and the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director.

He made his feature film debut, directing and writing the critically acclaimed Truly Madly Deeply (1991), which won several awards including a BAFTA.

His other film work has included The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), which he adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel. It was nominated for five Academy AwardsR (including Best Adapted Screenplay), and seven BAFTA Awards (including Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay).

Since 2000, Anthony Minghella has been joint-owner with Sydney Pollack of Mirage Enterprises. The company has been involved in projects such as Iris, The Quiet American, Cold Mountain, The Interpreter and most recently Breaking and Entering. He is currently in pre-production with The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Anthony also directed "Madam Butterfly" with his wife Carolyn Choa. "Madam Butterfly" was a co-production between The English National Opera House, The Lithuanian Opera House and The Metropolitan Opera House in New York. "Madam Butterfly" won a Lawrence Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.

Since December 2002, Anthony Minghella has been Chairman of the British Film Institute. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Hull (1998) the University of Southampton (2000) and the University of Bournemouth (2001).

He has long affiliations with the Arvon Foundation, which offers creative writing courses, the Script Factory and the Canadian Screenwriters' Workshop.

ROBERT ELSWIT (Director of Photography) was recently honored with an Academy AwardR nomination for his work as cinematographer on George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck. He also received a nomination for Best Achievement in Cinematography from the American Society of Cinematographers, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Cinematography, and won the Best Cinematography awards from both the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Los Angeles Society of Film Critics for Good Night, and Good Luck.

Throughout the course of his impressive career, Elswit has worked with numerous acclaimed directors, including Paul Thomas Anderson, David Mamet, Don Roos, Curtis Hanson, and Stephen Gyllenhaal, among others.

His cinematography credits include Runaway Jury, Gigli, Punchdrunk Love, Imposter, The Heist, Bounce, Magnolia, Tomorrow Never Dies, Boogie Nights, Boy,s The Pallbearer, Hard Eight, The River Wild, A Dangerous Woman, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Waterland, Paris Trout, Bad Influence, Killing in a Small Town, Amazing Grace and Chuck, Desert Hearts, and The Sure Thing.

Most recently, Elswit served as cinematographer on Paul Weitz's American Dreamz, starring Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, and Mandy Moore.

KEVIN THOMPSON (Production Designer) began his career as an architect and went on to design sets for many acclaimed features, short films, commercials, theater productions, and music videos.

Thompson served as production designer on such recent feature films as Stay, directed by Marc Forster and starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts; Trust the Man, written and directed by Bart Freundlich, and starring David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, and Billy Crudup; and Birth, starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, and Danny Huston. He also designed the upcoming film Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, and Emma Thompson, and directed by Marc Forster.

Among Thompson's other film credits as designer are the sleeper hit Igby Goes Down, with Kieran Culkin and Claire Danes; The Yards, starring Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix; and World Traveler, starring Billy Crudup and Julianne Moore. Thompson also designed 54, starring Ryan Phillippe and Salma Hayek; Down to You, starring Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze, Jr.; Kicked in the Head, with Kevin Corrigan and Linda Fiorentino; Two Girls and A Guy, for director James Toback, starring Heather Graham and Robert Downey, Jr.; director Cindy Sherman's Office Killer, with Carol Kane; The Proprietor, with Jeanne Moreau, and directed by Ismael Merchant; Larry Clark's controversial film Kids, with Chloe Sevigny; Little Odessa, with Tim Roth and Vanessa Redgrave; and Party Girl, starring Parker Posey.

Thompson's short film credits include Spike Jonze's Dog Boy, Tom Kalin's Urban Legends, and Tamara Jenkins' Family Remains. His commercial credits include on-air television spots for Old Navy Clothing, Fresca, and The New York Times. His theater credits include "Yes, I've Been To All These Places" and "Minnesota Dance Theater Fall Concert."

Thompson designed the sets for various music videos including Cheap Trick's "Cold Turkey," Jimmie Dale Gilmore's "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and David Sanborn's "Bang Bang."

Thompson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's architecture school. In 1988, he won the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Facade Restoration.

JOHN GILROY (Editor) began his editing career working on numerous films as an assistant editor, including two Francis Ford Coppola films Peggy Sue Got Married and Gardens of Stone.

Gilroy has edited over a dozen features, including Billy Madison, Trust the Man, Suspect Zero, and Miracle. His other feature film credits include Narc, Tumbleweeds, and Shadow Magic.

Gilroy won a Cleo award in 2003 for his editorial work on "Ticker," one of eight short films created for BMW's "The Hire."

JAMES NEWTON HOWARD (Composer) is a six-time Academy AwardR nominee and one of the industry's most prolific composers, with more than 100 motion picture and television scores to his credit. His latest OscarR nomination came for his score for M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Howard has scored all of Shyamalan's films, beginning with the director's hit debut film, The Sixth Sense, and subsequently including Unbreakable, Signs and Lady in the Water.

Howard was also OscarR-nominated for his scores for My Best Friend's Wedding, The Fugitive and The Prince of Tides. He gained two more OscarR nods for Best Original Song for "Look What Love Has Done," from the movie Junior, and "For the First Time," in One Fine Day. He also garnered Golden Globe Award nominations for both songs. Howard received his third Golden GlobeR nomination for his score for Peter Jackson's hit remake of King Kong.

Howard's long list of film credits also includes Blood Diamond, RV, Freedomland, Batman Begins, The Interpreter, Collateral, Hidalgo, America's Sweethearts, Runaway Bride, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Primal Fear, Outbreak, Wyatt Earp, Dave, Falling Down, Grand Canyon, My Girl, Pretty Woman and Major League, to name only a portion.

Also honored for his work on television, Howard won an EmmyR Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme for the series "Gideon's Crossing," and earned an EmmyR nomination in the same category for "ER."

SARAH EDWARDS (Costume Designer) most recently created the costumes for Sydney Pollack's The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.

The New York-based Edwards also designed the costumes for Boaz Yakin's Uptown Girls starring Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning, and Burr Steers' Igby Goes Down, starring Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, and Susan Sarandon. Among her other credits are The Perfect You, starring Jenny McCarthy, Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston, and Whit Stillman's The Last Days of Disco, starring Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale.

As assistant costume designer, Edwards worked on Six Degrees of Separation, The Quick and the Dead, Great Expectations, Lolita, The Pallbearer, and she co-designed The Devil's Advocate with Judianna Makovsky.

Edwards' work in the theatre includes the Broadway production of Tru, best actor Tony Award for Robert Morse, and the recent production of David Mamet's Romance at the Mark Taper Theatre, as well as numerous productions at the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York.

Edwards is the daughter of two distinguished theatrical designers: set designer Ben Edwards and costume designer Jane Greenwood.

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