• Susan
    Sarandon
  • Rose
    Byrne
  • and J.K.
    Simmons
Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria

Synopsis

With a new iPhone, an apartment near the Grove, and a comfortable bank account left to her by her beloved late husband, Marnie Minervini has happily relocated from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be near her daughter Lori, a successful (but still single) screenwriter, and smother her with motherly love. But when the dozens of texts, unexpected visits, and conversations dominated by unsolicited advice force Lori to draw strict personal boundaries, Marnie finds ways to channel her eternal optimism and forceful generosity to change the lives of others - as well as her own - and find a new purpose in life.

"Susan Sarandon approaches a career best."
Richard Lawson, VANITY FAIR

Cast

"A Valentine to mothers everywhere."
Peter Debruge, VARIETY

Filmmakers

"Genuinely hilarious, honestly moving."
John Carrado, ONE MOVIE FIVE VIEWS
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Susan Sarandon

Marnie Minervini

The extremely versatile SUSAN SARANDON brings her own brand of sex appeal and intelligence to every role - from her fearless portrayal in Bull Durham to her Oscar®-nominated performances in Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, The Client, and Atlantic City to her Academy Award®-winning and SAG® Award-winning role in Dead Man Walking as Sister Helen, a nun consoling a death-row inmate. Film credits include Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, Lovely Bones Enchanted, Speed Racer, Elizabethtown, Shall We Dance?, The Banger Sisters, Mr. Woodcock, In the Valley of Elah, Alfie, Moonight Mile, Igby Goes Down, Romance and Cigarettes, Twilight, Step Mom, The Hunger, Jeff Who Lives at Home, That's My Boy, Cloud Atlas, Robot & Frank, Arbitrage, Snitch, The Company You Keep, Tammy, The Last of Robin Hood and The Calling.

Sarandon made her acting debut in the movie Joe, which she followed with a continuing role in the TV drama A World Apart. Early film credits include The Great Waldo Pepper, Lovin' Molly, Billy Wilder's The Front Page, the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Louis Malle's controversial Pretty Baby. She went on to receive her first Oscar® nomination in Malle's Atlantic City.

Her additional feature credits include The Witches of Eastwick, Cradle Will Rock, King of the Gypsies, Compromising Positions, The January Man, White Palace, The Buddy System, Sweet Hearts Dance, A Dry White Season, Bob Roberts, Light Sleeper, Little Women, and Safe Passage.

The hard-working actress has made a career of choosing diverse and challenging projects both in film and television. In 2008, she received an Emmy® Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries for her role in the HBO film Bernard and Doris, as well as a Golden Globe® and SAG® nomination. She received an Emmy and SAG nomination for her work in Barry Levinson's You Don't Know Jack with Al Pacino for HBO.

She starred in the 2003 CBS Movie Ice Bound; in the Sy-Fy Channel Mini Series Children of Dune; in the TV Movie The Exonerated; in HBO's Earthly Possessions; in the CBS Movie Women of Valor; and the HBO Miniseries Mussolini: The Decline and Fall of Il Duce. She has made guest appearances on 30 Rock, The Big C and in the "Mother Lover" video on Saturday Night Live.

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Rose Byrne

Lori Minervini

Rose Byrne is best known for her role as Ellen Parsons in "Damages," opposite Glenn Close. The series, created by Daniel Zelman, Glenn Kessler and Todd Kessler, ran for five seasons on FX and later DirecTV. Byrne earned two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nomination for her role. She is also known for her role in the Paul Feig directed comedy, "Bridesmaids" alongside Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Melissa McCarthy. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Comedy and Musical and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Byrne is currently in production on "X-Men: Apocalypse." She will be reprising her role as Moira MacTaggert in the franchise. The film is slated to be released on May 27, 2016. Later this summer, Byrne is will be reprising her role as Kelly Radner in "Neighbors 2," alongside Seth Rogen and Zac Efron. This film will be released in theaters in 2016.

This past year, Byrne appeared in the independent film, "Adult Beginners," alongside Nick Kroll and Bobby Cannavale. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2014, where its distribution rights were acquired by The Weinstein Company's boutique label, Radius-TWC. The film was released in limited theaters on April 24, 2015. Last year, Rose concluded her limited engagement run on Broadway's "You Can't Take it With You." She played the lead role of "Alice Sycamore" opposite James Earl Jones and Kristine Neilsen. This was Byrne's Broadway debut.

At the end of 2014, Byrne appeared in the remake of "Annie," alongside Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis, Cameron Diaz and Bobby Cannavale. The film opened in theaters on December 19, 2014. That same year, Byrne also appeared in Shawn Levy's "This is Where I Leave You," alongside Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver and Jane Fonda. The film was released in theaters on September 19, 2014. She also appeared in the Nicholas Stoller comedy "Neighbors," opposite Seth Rogen and Zac Efron. The film opened in theaters on May 9, 2014 and earned over $268 million worldwide.

In 2014, Byrne also starred in the film, "The Turning," which was released in Australia on January 26, 2014. She won an award in the category of Best Actress in a Supporting Role from The Australian Film Critics Association and The Film Critics Circle of Australia.

Byrne's other film credits include: The Internship, The Place Beyond the Pines, Insidious, Get Him to the Greek, X-Men: First Class, Marie Antoinette, Troy, Adam, and 28 Weeks Later, among others. Theatre credits include Syndey Theatre Company's La Dispute and Three Sisters.

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J.K. Simmons

Zipper

J.K. Simmons has appeared in a diverse range of projects spanning from motion pictures, television and the stage on and off-Broadway. He won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of merciless jazz instructor, 'Fletcher' in Sony Pictures Classics' "Whiplash." His performance in the film also garnered him a Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and BAFTA Award, as well as many critics' group awards around the world. "Whiplash" premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won the Dramatic Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for Best Film. The film also received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and received awards for Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing in addition to Simmons' Best Supporting Actor award.

Most recently, Simmons wrapped production on the independent film "The Runaround" that also stars Emile Hirsch. Last year, Simmons completed production on Gavin O'Connor's "The Accountant" co-starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. Last summer, Simmons appeared in the much-anticipated "Terminator" reboot, "Terminator: Genisys" alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke. Also last summer, Simmons appeared in the independent film "Break Point" with Jeremy Sisto.

In 2014, Simmons appeared in Jason Reitman's "Men, Women and Children" with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Garner. He also starred on the NBC comedy "Growing Up Fisher," opposite Jenna Elfman, "The Rewrite" opposite Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei and Gillian Raimi's feature "Murder of a Cat."

In 2013, he was seen in theaters in the Steve Jobs biopic, "Jobs," and in Jason Reitman's film, "Labor Day." He is known for playing the character J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's "Spider Man" trilogy and memorably, his portrayal of the off-beat but not deadbeat father, Mac McGuff, in the hit comedy "Juno."

Past projects include "The Words," "The Music Never Stopped," "Jennifer's Body," "Extract," "The Vicious Kind," "I Love You Man," "Beginner's Guide to Endings," "Contraband," "Hidalgo," "The Ladykillers," "The Mexican," "Off the Map," "For Love of the Game," "The Gift," "Thank You for Smoking," "Rendition," "Burn After Reading" and the Academy Award- nominated "Up in the Air."

On the small screen Simmons played LAPD Assistant Chief Will Pope in TNT's hit series "The Closer." He also played Vern Schillinger on HBO's acclaimed drama "Oz," and had a recurring role as Dr. Emil Skoda on NBC's "Law & Order." He has had guest starring roles on NBC's "Parks and Recreation," and a recurring role on TBS' hit comedy "Men at Work." Simmons has appeared on the Broadway stage in performances of "Guys and Dolls," "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," "A Change in the Heir," "Peter Pan" and "A Few Good Men."

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Jerrod Carmichael

Freddy/Fredo

Jerrod is an LA-based standup comedian and performer originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jerrod is currently the star and executive producer of the NBC Series The Carmichael Show, of which he is the star and an executive producer. Jerrod starred in the Nick Stoller-directed summer blockbuster NEIGHBORS, opposite Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, and will be reprising his role in the upcoming sequel. His one hour standup special "Love At The Store," directed by Spike Lee, premiered on HBO in the fall of 2014. In addition, Jerrod is currently writing a feature that Gary Sanchez & Point Grey will co-produce based on his original idea.

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Cecily Strong

Jillian

Cecily Strong returns to "SNL" for her fourth season. Strong earned rave reviews for her "Weekend Update" character "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation with at a Party," which Rolling Stone hailed as an "instant classic." Her recurring character of a ditzy porn star-turned-aspiring-pitchwoman she plays alongside Vanessa Bayer also quickly became an audience favorite. Strong has co-hosted "Weekend Update" alongside both Seth Meyers and Colin Jost.

In Chicago, Strong improvised regularly at iO and served as an understudy for the Second City Main Stage and E.T.C. shows. She performed as a member of the Second City national touring company and has also appeared at the Chicago SketchFest, Chicago Just for Laughs, the New York Sketch Fest and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Strong can next be seen in the upcoming films "Ghostbusters," "The Bronze," and "The Boss". Additionally, Strong headlined the 2015 White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

Strong was raised in Oak Park, Ill., and has a BFA in theater from the California Institute of the Arts.

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Lucy Punch

Emily

LUCY PUNCH's recent credits include Peter Bogdanovich's SHE'S FUNNY THAT WAY (starring Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and Imogen Poots); Disney's INTO THE WOODS (opposite Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Meryl Streep); and CAKE (with Jennifer Aniston, Sam Worthington, Anna Kendrick and William H. Macy)

Lucy is known from such films as Paramount Pictures' DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (alongside Steve Carell and Paul Rudd); Woody Allen's YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER (with Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin); Columbia Pictures' BAD TEACHER (alongside Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake); and Lionsgate's STAND UP GUYS (with Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin). Her most prominent television role is that of "BJ" - a series regular in the Fox network series BEN & KATE.

Lucy began her feature film career working opposite Geoffrey Rush in 2004's THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS. This was followed by the family fantasy, ELLA ENCHANTED (with Anne Hathaway). In 2006, Lucy was chosen as the British Shooting Star by the Berlin Film Festival for her work in BEING JULIA (opposite Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons). She has also appeared in ST. TRINIANS and Edgar Wright's British action comedy HOT FUZZ. Lucy worked with Topher Grace and Anna Faris in Universal Pictures' YOUNG AMERICANS and starred in the musical dramedy, UNTITLED (alongside Adam Goldberg and Marley Shelton).

Lucy has also appeared in numerous television series in the UK such as, DAYS LIKE THESE, DOC MARTIN and LET THEM EAT CAKE. She made her West End debut as Elaine Robinson in THE GRADUATE directed by Terry Johnson. In 2007, Lucy returned to TV in the CBS comedy, THE CLASS alongside Lizzy Caplan, Jason Ritter and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. She also worked on the HBO TV Movie 1% alongside Donal Logue and Kim Dickens. In 2010, she starred in the three part mini-series VEXED for BBC opposite Toby Stevens.

Lucy was born and raised in London, England. She divides her time between London, Los Angeles and New York.

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Casey Wilson

Trish

Casey Wilson was a series regular on the sitcoms Marry Me and Happy Endings. She was twice nominated for a Critics' Choice Award for her performance on the latter show, and Variety has called her one of the "Top 10 Comics to Watch." Wilson's most recent credits include the Untitled Tig Notaro Project for Amazon, directed by Nicole Holofcener.

Wilson was a featured player on Saturday Night Live for two seasons and has guest starred on HBO's Bored to Death and How I Met Your Mother on CBS. Wilson also stars in the Hotwives series, a Hulu original comedy taking place in a different city each season. The second season, Hotwives of Las Vegas premiered in August 2015.

Her film credits include David Fincher's Gone Girl, Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration, Nora Ephron's Julie and Julia, and Kyle Alvarez's indie feature C.O.G. which is based on a short story by David Sedaris.

Wilson hails from Alexandria, VA, and is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. After graduation she co-wrote and performed (along with best gal pal June Raphael) the two-woman sketch comedy show, "Rode Hard and Put Away Wet" at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and Los Angeles. The show ran for eleven months, was an official selection of HBO's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and was listed as a Critic's Pick in TimeOut NY.

Wilson and Raphael's comedy partnership branched out into the film world. They co-wrote Bride Wars starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. They played the leads in Assbackwards, an indie female road trip comedy which they also wrote together. The film was directed by Chris Nelson and premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

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Jason Ritter

Jacob

A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Ritter most recently starred in GHOST STORIES: THE SHAWL & PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, a new collection of short plays written by David Mamet and produced by the Atlantic Theater Company.

Ritter starred on NBC's critically acclaimed "Parenthood" as Lauren Graham's love interest and can currently be seen as a recurring character on HBO's "Girls," the Comedy Central series "Another Period," and Disney's "Gravity Falls." He recently wrapped the feature film "Intervention," directed by Clea Duvall and can next be seen starring in "The Steps" which was featured at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Ritter's other television credits include series regular roles on "The Event', "The Class" and "Joan of Arcadia." His other film credits include "7 Minutes," "Hits," "You're Not You," "Good Dick," "Wild Canaries," "The Education of Charlie Banks," "Our Very Own," "Happy Endings," and "Raise Your Voice."

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Sarah Baker

Elaine

Native to Washington, D.C. and a graduate from James Madison University in Theatre and English, Sarah Baker started out doing theatre and improv in Atlanta, Georgia where she helped build the Whole World Improv Theatre. After moving to Los Angeles, she honed her craft, working a good deal with the well-known Groundlings Theatre.

Sarah got her start on screen in various roles from hit comedies such as THE OFFICE and MODERN FAMILY. In 2012, Sarah got her big break playing Zach Galifianakis' wife opposite Will Ferrell in the Warner Bros comedy feature, THE CAMPAIGN. After the film's release, Sarah was cast as a regular on the NBC series, GO ON. Sarah also recurs on Fox's animated show BOB'S BURGERS and recently returned to her sketch roots in an episode of KEY AND PEELE.

In 2014 Sarah was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for her memorable performance in FX's LOUIE. She was also seen opposite Melissa McCarthy in the Warner Bros feature, TAMMY and the Reese Witherspoon drama, THE GOOD LIE.

Sarah next has a slew of films on the horizon including SPEECH & DEBATE with Liam James and New Regency's UNTITLED WARREN BEATTY feature. She also played opposite Bill Murray and Bruce Willis in Open Road's ROCK THE KASBAH and appeared in BROTHER IN LAWS produced by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video. Sarah is currently prepping to shoot Christopher Guest's next film, MASCOTS.

She resides in Burbank, C.A.

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Michael McKean

Mark

Michael McKean studied acting at Carnegie Mellon University and at NYU (with Olympia Dukakis) before heading out to L.A., where he joined Harry Shearer and David L. Lander in the satirical squad, The Credibility Gap. In 1976, McKean and Lander became notorious as "Lenny & Squiggy" on the iconic TV series Laverne and Shirley.

Steven Spielberg's 1941, Used Cars, Young Doctors in Love, and Rob Reiner's This is Spinal Tap, on which McKean shared starring, screenwriting and composing credits. Other films include: Clue, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Brady Bunch Movie, Jack, True Crime, and about seventy others including Christopher Guest's The Big Picture (which he co-wrote), Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration, and Woody Allen's Whatever Works.

McKean has also appeared as a regular on Saturday Night Live, Dream On, Sessions and Tracey Takes On, and acted as bandleader/straight man for Martin Short's Primetime Glick. His most recent TV work includes Family Tree (HBO) and he is currently starring in Better Call Saul (AMC).

Among his many TV guest appearances: Friends, Murphy Brown, The Simpsons, The X Files, Law & Order, Smallville, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sesame Streeet, The Unit, Off The Map, Happy Endings, Homeland and L&O/SVU.

McKean made his Broadway acting debut in 1990 in Rupert Holmes' Accomplice, which netted him a Theater World Award. After this, McKean made his Broadway musical debut in Hairspray, followed by Woody Allen's original stage production A Secondhand Memory; and Williamstown Theatre Festival in Tom Stoppard's On the Razzle. McKean then appeared in the successful Broadway revival of The Pajama Game with Harry Connick Jr. before starring on London's West End in "Love Song".

Summer 2008 had McKean originate Tracy Letts' play 'Superior Donuts" at Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre which went on to Broadway the following year. Michael starred in the Barrow Street Theatre production of Our Town, King Lear at The Public, and the Randy Newman musical Harps And Angels at LA's Mark Taper and Yes, Prime Minister at The Geffen Playhouse. McKean was back on Broadway in Gore Vidal's The Best Man along with Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones; and most recently appeared in All The Way starring Bryan Cranston.

As Spinal Tap's David St Hubbins, McKean has record multiple albums, appeared in the reunited Spinal Tap performance at Live Earth (2007) at Wembley Stadium, raising awareness about Global Warming; and the band performed at a few very select concert appearances in UK during summer 2009. As lead singer/guitarist/songwriter for Spinal Tap, St. Hubbins was nominated (along with his fellow band members) for two (2) Grammy awards for BEST COMEDY ALBUM and BEST RECORD PACKAGE (January 2010).

In 1999, Michael had the good sense to marry actress Annette O'Toole, with whom he wrote the Oscar-nominated song, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" for A Mighty Wind. He also collaborated with Guest and Eugene Levy on the title song ("A Mighty Wind") of that film, which won a Grammy Award.

He is the first and only million dollar Celebrity Jeopardy champion.

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Lorene Scafaria

Writer/Director

Lorene Scafaria is the writer/director of THE MEDDLER (Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival), starring Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons.

Scafaria made her directorial debut with her original screenplay SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley. The film debuted in theaters in 2012, with Mandate Pictures, Anonymous Content, and Indian Paintbrush producing and Focus Features distributing. She also adapted the young adult novel NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST for Mandate Pictures and Sony, which premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters later that year.

Scafaria's screenwriting credits include THE MIGHTY FLYNN, MAN AND WIFE, THE MARLA RUZICKA STORY and, most recently, 40 DAYS OF DATING for Warner Brothers. She has kept busy directing and producing episodes of Fox's NEW GIRL and BEN & KATE respectively, as well as acting in 2014's critically-acclaimed COHERENCE. Scafaria is also a singer-songwriter whose songs are featured in Drew Barrymore's WHIP IT! and THE ROMANTICS.

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Joy Gorman Wettels

Producer

Joy Gorman is a Producer at Anonymous Content. Founded by multiple Golden Globe winner and Oscar Nominee Steve Golin, Anonymous produced this year's Best Picture nominees THE REVENANT and SPOTLIGHT as well as Golden Globe winning series Mr. Robot, True Detective and The Knick. At Anonymous, Joy focuses on socially impactful and positive content for Women and Youth and advocates for female filmmakers. Previously, Joy produced Scafaria's directorial debut SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley for Focus Features and Scott Coffey's ADULT WORLD starring John Cusack and Emma Roberts (Tribeca Film Festival/ IFC). Joy is an Executive Producer with Selena Gomez on the upcoming Netflix/Paramount TV series adaptation of NY Times Bestselling Novel 13 REASONS WHY. The series is created by Brian Yorkey, the writer of Tony- and Pulitzer Prize- winning Broadway musical NEXT TO NORMAL and will be directed by Oscar Winner Tom McCarthy. Joy is currently developing a cross platform multi- media project based on the acclaimed Civil Rights Era Documentary series EYES ON THE PRIZE in partnership with Nate Parker (BIRTH OF A NATION) and Blackside Inc., the film adaptation of Next To Normal among other projects.

Prior to Anonymous, Joy was Vice President of Production at Robert Simonds Company and worked in production, development and post-production at Miramax Films in New York. In 2007, Joy was named one of The Hollywood Reporter's NEXT GENERATION / "35 under 35". Joy grew up in Yonkers, New York and commuted to Barnard College of Columbia University, where she graduated with a degree in Urban Affairs and Political Science, completing her thesis on the federal desegregation case that re-defined her hometown. When she wasn't working several jobs to pay for college, she spent her time on the famed Columbia Varsity Show, where she produced one of Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt's earliest musical collaborations. Joy is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

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Brett Pawlak

Director of Photography

He worked on SXSW Grand Jury, and Audience award winning "Short Term 12", as well as lensing Halo franchise's first feature length live-action narrative for 323 Industries, "Halo 4 - Forward Unto Dawn." "Halo" earned a cinematography nomination and win at the 2013 Streamy Awards.

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Kayla M. Emter

Editor

Kayla Emter was born and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota and graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Film. Wanting to continue refining her editing skills she moved to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute, with a specialty in Film Editing.

Following AFI, Kayla began her journey as an Assistant Editor and worked for some of the most highly respected Film Editors around, including Dody Dorn, ACE on Casey Affleck's critically acclaimed film I'm Still Here starring Joaquin Phoenix. She then worked with another top Film Editor, John Axelrad, ACE, on Warner Bros' romantic comedy Something Borrowed starring Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin. With the help of Axelrad's vision and support, Emter earned her first Addt'l-Editing credit, on the Summit Entertainment thriller Gone. This was followed by a Co-Editing credit on James Gray's The Immigrant which was in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. And most recently, the two collaborated on Don Cheadle's Miles Davis biopic, Miles Ahead.

Emter has cut several solo features including the Anchor Bay crime thriller 7 Minutes.

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Jonathan Sadoff

Music Score

Jonathan Sadoff moved from Chicago to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music Studio/Jazz Guitar program. He soon widened his studies to embrace composition, orchestration, piano, conducting, voice, and film studies. While in school, he began scoring student films, working in recording studios, producing records, and playing in bands in and around Los Angeles. After graduating from USC, he scored James Franco's feature directorial debut Good Time Max; and wrote music for Michael Keaton's feature directorial debut The Merry Gentleman. In late 2009, Mr. Sadoff was featured on the cover of Keyboard Player Magazine; and named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of "15 Composers Primed to Take Their Place on the A-List." Sadoff has composed scores for feature films such as Beautiful Creatures and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, the former of which featured a 60-piece orchestra recorded at Abbey Road. Sadoff's television credits include the 2014 AMC-produced drama series The Divide, and ABC pilots An American Education, Middle Age Rage and Dangerous Liaisons.

Aside from scoring films, he has produced for and collaborated with a number of recording artists and bands. In 2013 Sadoff produced and arranged for Rufus Wainwright on the Merry Friggin Christmas OST. He also arranged Ed Sheeran's song "I See Fire" for performance at the premiere of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Sadoff was a member of the musical collective Thenewno2. Together with bandmates Dhani Harrison and Paul Hicks they wrote and produced their sophomore record Thefearofmissingout and EP002, which features Regina Spektor, The RZA and Ben Harper. They've toured all over the US, including performances at Coachella and Lollapalooza, and on national television on shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Sadoff also plays guitar/bass and produces The Shortcoats with Lorene Scafaria and actor Adam Brody. Sadoff's classical training combined with his background of playing in rock bands and producing/programming records has created a hybrid sound that blurs the lines between traditional big Hollywood score and modern "needle-drop" source.

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Chris L. Spellman

Production Designer

Soon after graduating from Louisiana State University, Chris Spellman moved to Los Angeles to work on films. He started as a Set Decorator on notable comedies and cult classics such as HEAVY WEIGHTS, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, ORANGE COUNTY, and KNOCKED UP in addition to critically acclaimed movies including FORREST GUMP, OCTOBER SKY, THE INSIDER and MAGNOLIA. Through these prominent projects, Chris gained experience and went on to land roles as a Production Designer. His resume involves a varied slate of films, but Chris continued to work on major comedies.

Collaborating with renowned directors/producers like David Gordon Green, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, Chris designed heavy hitters such as SUPERBAD, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, and THIS IS THE END. More recently, Chris worked on JOE, which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the HBO series TOGETHERNESS, and PAPER TOWNS was just released this past summer.

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Karuna Karmarkar

Set Designer

Karuna is a Los Angeles based set decorator and a native of Santa Cruz, California. She is a graduate of UCLA's prestigious School of Theater, Film & Television. Karuna works frequently as a decorator for commercials and features - including the films WHIPLASH (nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture) THE PURGE, HELLO MY NAME IS DORIS, LOWRIDERS and THE LAZARUS EFFECT. In addition to being a decorator, Karuna is also a photographer. Her understanding of composition and color developed over 10 years of experience has informed her design sensibility. Her favorite photographers include Nobuyoshi Araki, Larry Sultan, Lee Miller, Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton and William Eggleston. Karuna is a member of the Set Decorator's Society of America.

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