Laurel Canyon : About The Filmmakers


Raised in Los Angeles, LISA CHOLODENKO (Writer/Director) worked as an assistant editor on studio features before moving to New York in 1992. While earning her MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University, she made short films including "dinner party," winner of The UK's Channel 4 TX prize. "High Art," her first feature film, was screened at the 1998 Director's Fortnight at Cannes and won several awards the same year including The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance and The Jury Prize at Deauville. The film received several IFP Spirit Award nominations with Ally Sheedy winning the Best Actress honors as well as honors from The National Society of Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics and an Independent Spirit Award. In addition to her two feature films, Cholodenko has directed episodes of NBC's "Homicide" and HBO's "Six Feet Under" and has recently returned to Columbia University to teach in the film division.

SCOTT FERGUSON (Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager) received a BA in theatre from Cornell University and an MFA from Columbia. He began working in motion picture production in 1989 and includes, among his credits, David Mamet's "Heist," Milos Forman's "The People Vs. Larry Flynt" and "Man on the Moon," Robert Benton's "Nobody's Fool" and "Twilight," Sydney Pollack's "The Firm," and Richard Pearce's "A Family Thing. " In addition to working with such high-end talent, Ferguson also takes great pleasure in helping talented newcomers realize their first films. These include James Mangold's "Heavy," Alan Taylor's "Palookaville," and Joseph Castelo's "American Saint. " Since 1990, he has served as Vice President of the Production Company Cinehaus, Inc.

With "Laurel Canyon," JEFFREY LEVY-HINTE (Producer) has produced the second film of writer/director Lisa Cholodenko. Their first effort together was the critically lauded award-winning "High Art. " The pair met on a video shoot in 1995 when Levy-Hinte became very impressed with Cholodenko's industriousness on the set. "She sat down and really did the work at hand," the producer recalls. The pair discovered that both were from the San Fernando Valley and quickly struck up a professional relationship. When the time came for "High Art" to go into production, Cholodenko called upon Levy-Hinte to lend a hand and he produced the film with Dolly Hall and Susan Stover.

Levy-Hinte sees the producer's job as a precise and time-consuming function. "We had been in various stages on 'Laurel Canyon' since 1996," he notes. "I was involved with every step of the way. I think my function is to provide the means for the director to realize her vision in such a way so that it is not compromised. On the set, you surround yourself with great people, here it was Scott Ferguson in particular, who was pivotal to the film's production. It's hard for a director to maintain balance during production without someone at their side. To the cast and crew, at times, you're a combination of father figure and court jester. You have to wear a lot of hats. " Born in 1967 in Santa Monica, CA and a student at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, Levy-Hinte left school to pursue other interests. His life has taken many twists and turns with him eventually earning a BA in Political Science from Cal State Northridge (where he graduated summa cum laude) and an MA in Political Science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Always a politically involved animal, Levy-Hinte has worked in a wide variety of jobs, from wood working to real estate. His other producing credits include "Wendigo," "American Saint," "Limon: A Life Beyond Words," and, as executive producer, the feature "First Love, Last Rites. " A onetime film editor, he edited the Academy Award winning documentary "When We Were Kings. " He has also created several film-related enterprises including Post 391, an editing facility in New York, and DIG, a sound company. In 2000, he founded the production company Antidote Films which has produced three films-"Wendigo," "American Saint," and "Limon," and has another three in various stages of development.

SUSAN STOVER (Producer) In 1999, Susan was awarded the Ralph Lauren Independent Spirit Producer Award from the Independent Feature Project/West. She was the recipient of the 1998 Mark Silverman Fellowship; a grant sponsored by the Sundance Film Institute awarded anually to one producer. Stover currently serves on the Board of Directors of the IFP/New York as well as the National IFP Board. Susan works under her banner, HeadQuarters, in Tribeca. A native of Texas, Susan practiced law in New York City prior to producing independent film projects. She was the Associate Producer of Larry Fessenden's "Habit," winner of a 1997 Independent Spirit Award for "Someone to Watch," and Kelly Reichardt's "River of Grass. " which premiered at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. She produced Rachel Reichman's "Work," which premiered at the 1996 New Directors/New Films series at New York's Museum of Modern Art, and was Co-Associate Producer of Todd Solondz's "Welcome to the Dollhouse," winner of the 1996 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. For Good Machine, Inc. , she was the Line Producer of Frank Grow's "Love God" and the Producer of Hilary Brougher's "The Sticky Fingers of Time. " Stover produced Lisa Cholodenko's "High Art," which screened at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the 1998 Director's Fortnight at Cannes. Susan also produced "Ode," a Super 8 movie by Kelly Reichardt, which premiered at the 1999 Venice Film Festival and Brad Anderson's "Happy Accidents," which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.

Susan's most recent project is Patrick Stettner's "The Business of Strangers," starring Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles. Susan is currently developing Kelly Reichardt's Miami based "Royal Court," starring Alfre Woodard and Mark Bomback's "Disturbing The Peace," a film adaptation of the Richard Yates' novel, starring Matt Dillon.

DAVID McGIFFERT (Co-Producer) has been an associate producer on many successful films, such as "A Civil Action," with John Travolta, "Twilight," with Paul Newman and Gene Hackman, "Clara's Heart," with Whoopi Goldberg, and the Academy Award winning film "Rain Man. " McGiffert has also served as first assistant director on films such as Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky," "Heartbreakers," Milos Forman's "Man on the Moon" and "People Versus Larry Flynt," Sidney Pollack's "The Firm," The "Back to the Future" trilogy, "Tootsie," and "An Officer and a Gentleman. "

DARA WEINTRAUB (Co-Producer) In addition to her current credit as Co-Producer of "Laurel Canyon," Dara Weintraub's other co-producing assignments are "Bad Boy" (2001), "Wishcraft," "The Man From Elysian Fields," and "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia. " Her line producer credits are Bruce Wagner's "I'm Losing You," "Luminous Motion," "The Winner," and "Don't Do It. ' Weintraub's additional production credits - in various capacities - include Bryan Singer's "X-Men," "Simpatico," "The Brave," "The Winner," "Requiem for a Dream," and "Outbreak," among others. WALLY PFISTER (Director of Photography) has worked as a cinematographer of such notable features as Christopher Nolan's" Memento," "Amityville: A New Generation," "Stranger by Night," "Object of Obsession," "The Granny," "Rhapsody in Bloom," "Breakfast With Einstein" and "The High Line. " He was the Second Unit Director of Photography on "Dennis the Menace Strikes Again," New York Unit Director of Photography on "Stuart Little," and did Additional Photography on "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. "

AMY DUDDLESTON (Editor) Amy Dudleston's editorial credits include "Welcome to Collinwood," "A Time for Dancing," Rodrigo Garcia's "Things You can Tell Just by Looking at Her," Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of "Psycho," "Crocodile Tears," and Lisa Cholodenko's 1998 indie "High Art. " For television, she has edited the telefilm "My Horrible Year. " As assistant editor, her credits include "To Die For," "My Own Private Idaho," and "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," all for director Gus Van Sant.

CATHERINE HARDWICKE (Production Designer) Catherine Hardwicke has worked as a motion picture production designer since 1987. Among her many credits are Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky," "Anti Trust," David O. Russell's "Three Kings," "The Newton Boys," "Mad City," "SubUrbia," "Two Days in the Valley," "Tank Girl," "Posse," "Tombstone," "Freaked," "Passed Away," "Tapeheads," and "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. " As art director, she worked on "Mr Destiny" and "Hunk" and also served as second unit director for the independent production "SubUrbia. "

Harwicke was born in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas and has an Architecture degree from the University of Texas in Austin. She was an architect prior to attending the UCLA Graduate School in Film where, among her accomplishments, was an award-winning animated/live action short film.

CINDY EVANS (Costume Designer) Costume Designer Cindy Evans' credits include the recent release "How High" as well as the indie hit "Memento," and "River Red. " Her additional credits, as a costume designer or supervisor, include Charlize Theron's wardrobe for the remake of "Sweet November," Clint Eastwood's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do," "Black Sheep," the German film "Angus," and the award-winning HBO miniseries "Truman. "

KARYN RACHTMAN (Music Supervisor) As music supervisor, Karyn Rachtman has been responsible for the soundtracks of some of the most significant films of the past decade including "Pulp Fiction," "Boogie Nights," "Bulworth," "The Rugrats Movie," "Reality Bites," and "Reservoir Dogs," among others. Her additional credits include the highly regarded musical "Grace of My Heart," "Get Shorty," "Clueless," "Desperado," "Timecop," "The Last Seduction," "Fresh," and "Texasville. "

Author : Sony Pictures Classics