Film Independent Spirit Awards

Synopsis

Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, Margin Call is an entangling thriller involving the key players at an investment firm during the first 24-hours of the 2008 financial crisis. When an entry-level analyst unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster. Writer/director J.C. Chandor’s enthralling first feature is a stark and bravely authentic portrayal of the financial industry and its denizens as they confront the decisions that shape our global future.

SCREENWRITER
J.C. Chandor
J. C. Chandor has honed his distinctive narrative voice over the past 15 years by directing, producing, and writing award-winning commercials, documentaries, and narrative films. He directed and produced a six-part concert film series featuring Sting, Elton John, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Beck and also worked on the three-part documentary series In Pills We Trust (2002) for Discovery Europe. His writing credits include Every Fifth House, a project for Telefilm Canada. He also wrote and directed the short Despacito (2004). Margin Call is his narrative-feature directorial debut.

CASTING DIRECTORS
Bernard Telsey
Owner of Telsey + Company founded in 1988, Bernard Telsey is an award-winning organization of casting professionals in New York City, with local, regional, national, and international clientele.  With projects spanning all mediums of performance art.  Some credits include: FILM – Margin Call (Independent Spirit Award), Rachel Getting Married, Sex and the City 1 & 2, I Love You Phillip Morris, Howl, Joyful Noise, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Friends with Kids, Across the Universe, Dan in Real Life. TELEVISION – The Big C (Showtime), Smash (NBC), A Gifted Man (CBS), Ugly Betty (Emmy Award).  THEATRE – Wicked, The Normal Heart, Hairspray, In The Heights, The Color Purple, Rent, Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, Next to Normal and many more.

Tiffany Little Canfield
Tiffany has enjoyed being a casting director at Telsey + Company for ten years.  Some of her favorite projects include Margin Call, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Dan In Real Life, Across the Universe, the Sex and the City films and Rachel Getting Married.  In addition to films, Tiffany also casts television and theater projects.  Some of her favorite projects include Baz Luhrmann’s production of Puccini’s La Boheme on Broadway and the upcoming musical television series on NBC “Smash.”  She has a degree in Drama Directing from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

NOMINATED CAST

KEVIN SPACEY
Kevin Spacey is Artistic Director of The Old Vic Theatre Company in London. He has appeared in National Anthems, The Philadelphia Story, Richard II, A Moon for the Misbegotten, which subsequently transferred to Broadway, and Speed-the-Plow with Jeff Goldblum. Previous theatre includes The Iceman Cometh (Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor) directed by Howard Davies (Almeida, Old Vic and Broadway); Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award, Best Supporting Actor); Long Day’s Journey into Night with Jack Lemmon, directed by Jonathan Miller (Broadway and West End). His most recent stage appearance was in The Old Vic production of Inherit the Wind, which marked his second production with Trevor Nunn. He will next be seen starring in Richard III, which will be directed by Sam Mendes. Films include The Usual Suspects (Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor), American Beauty (Academy Award and BAFTA Awards, Best Actor), Swimming with Sharks, Se7en, LA Confidential, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Negotiator, K-Pax, The Shipping News, Superman Returns, Beyond the Sea, Shrink, The Men Who Stare at Goats with George Clooney, and most recently as Jack Abramoff in the feature Casino Jack, directed by George Hickenlooper, for which he received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actor. He will next be seen in the Warner Brothers summer comedy, Horrible Bosses with Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell; and in Margin Call to be released in the fall with Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Zach Quinto and Simon Baker – about the collapse of the banking industry.

PAUL BETTANY
While the British-born Bettany is a recognized star overseas with well-received performances in film, on the London stage and on British television, American audiences first discovered him in A Knight’s Tale, in which he played the comical role of Chaucer opposite Heath Ledger. For this performance he won the London Film Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he was named one of Daily Variety’s “Ten to Watch” for 2001. Bettany went on to star as the imaginary roommate opposite Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly in the Academy Award-winning A Beautiful Mind for director Ron Howard. His performance in the film won him the London Film Critic’s Award for Best British Actor. He then starred opposite Crowe again in Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World for director Peter Weir. Bettany went on to star as “Silas” in the most highly anticipated film of 2006, The Da Vinci Code based on Dan Brown’s novel and directed by Ron Howard, earlier helmsman of A Beautiful Mind. The film went on to huge box office success driven by its star powered cast, which included Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen and Alfred Molina. Paul could next be seen in the Fox Searchlight feature The Secret Life of Bees, opposite Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Dakota Fanning, based on the best selling book. In January 2009 Paul joined the cast of the film Inkheart, a fantasy adventure for New Line Cinema/Warner Brothers, based on the best-selling children’s books. He starred opposite Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren, as Dustfinger, a fire-eating performer, for director Iain Softley. Paul’s next project was Graham King and Martin Scorsese’s The Young Victoria in which he starred opposite Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend and Jim Broadbent. Paul and his wife Jennifer Connelly then played Charles and Emma Darwin in Creation, the story of Darwin’s relationship with his eldest daughter Annie. In the 2010 Screen Gems thriller, Legion, Paul held the lead role of Archangel “Michael.” Also in 2010, Paul joined Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in The Tourist. He played Inspector John Acheson in the Sony Pictures film. In May 2011, Paul appeared in the title role of Priest, from Sony Screen Gems.

JEREMY IRONS
Jeremy Irons began his career in England in theatre at the Bristol Old Vic and then debuted in London in “Godspell” as John the Baptist. His work in the West End and at Stratford Upon Avon culminated with his performance of Richard II for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his Broadway debut in 1984 in Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing,” opposite Glenn Close, for which he won both the Drama League Award and Tony Award for Best Actor. Irons starred again with Glenn Close in “Reversal of Fortune,” the film based on the re-trial of Claus von Bulow. For this performance, Irons received the 1990 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

Irons went on to work on films including Steven Soderbergh’s “Kafka,” David Cronenberg’s “M. Butterfly,” and Bille August’s “The House of the Spirits,” with Meryl Streep and Glenn Close. In 1994, Irons created the voice of Scar for Disney’s animated film “The Lion King.” He followed with the action film “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” co-starring Bruce Willis, and Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Stealing Beauty,” co-starring Liv Tyler. 1n 1998, Irons traveled to Hong Kong to make Wayne Wang’s “Chinese Box,” to be followed by production on “Man in the Iron Mask,” in which he co-starred with Gerard Depardieu, Leonardo DiCaprio, and John Malkovich. He also played Humbert Humbert in Adrian Lyne’s controversial film “Lolita,” which in the United States appeared on Showtime. This was followed by “Longitude,” an A&E Granada film that premiered on the BBC. Irons was in production with four films in 2001, including “And Now…Ladies and Gentleman,” directed by Claude Lelouch, “The Time Machine,” based on the H.G. Wells novel, “Callas Forever,” directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and “Last Call,” a Showtime Original Picture directed by Henry Bromell, co-starring Neve Campbell. He also starred in István Szabó’s film “Being Julia” opposite Annette Bening. In late 2004, Irons played Antonio in Michael Radford’s production of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” co-starring Al Pacino. In spring 2005, Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven” was released, in which Irons co-starred opposite Orlando Bloom. “Casanova,” by Lasse Hallström, was released Christmas 2005; Irons co-starred opposite Heath Ledger. In 2005/6, Twentieth Century Fox’s “Eragon,” directed by Stefen Fangmeier, featuring Irons as Brom, was released, as well as David Lynch’s “Inland Empire.” “Appaloosa” was Irons’ next film role. He played Randall Bragg in Robert Knott and Ed Harris’ 2008 screen adaptation of Robert Parker’s 2006 novel by the same name. The film, directed by and costarring Ed Harris, also features Viggo Mortensen and Renée Zellweger.

Irons also co-starred opposite Joan Allen in the TV movie “O’Keeffe,” as Georgia O’Keeffe’s husband Alfred Stieglitz. The film, directed by Academy-Award nominee Bob Balaban and written by Pulitzer-Prize winner Michael Cristofer, aired in late 2009 on Lifetime. For his portrayal of Stieglitz, Irons was nominated for both a Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG) and a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. In 2010 Irons began production on “The Borgias,” series to air on Showtime in 2011. Irons stars as the infamous Borgia family patriarch and Pope Rodrigo Borgia.

ZACHARY QUINTO
Zachary Quinto grew up in Pittsburgh. He began performing and studying acting there as a child, but what started as a hobby quickly evolved into a vocation, and he eventually matriculated to Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and received a BFA in 1999.

Some of his memorable theatre experiences include: Side Man, Gross Indecency (City Theatre Company), Much Ado About Nothing, A Lonely Impulse of Delight (Vineyard Playhouse), The Bear (Tintreach Company – Galway, Ireland), Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow (Old Globe), Much Ado About Nothing (LA Shakespeare Festival), Pro Bono Publico, A Map of Doubt and Rescue, Laying On of Hands, Lonesome Hollow, I am Montana (Ojai Playwright’s Conference). Upon graduation from CMU, Quinto surprised even himself by foregoing a career in New York

and moving to Los Angeles almost immediately. Work began trickling in, and before long he had a resume of guest starring roles on such shows as: Touched By an Angel, CSI, Off Centre, Haunted, The Agency, Six Feet Under, Joan of Arcadia, and Crossing Jordan, to name a few.

In 2004, he spent an entire season in the CTU, as computer analyst Adam Kaufman on FOX’s highly rated drama 24. His character went home at the end of the day, and apparently never came back to work. He spent a short time as Tori Spelling’s flamboyant best friend on the critically acclaimed but underrated half hour series so noTORIous, and went on to emerge as a breakout star of the NBC hit ensemble series Heroes, as the superpowered psychopathic serial killer, Sylar.

Most recently, Quinto appeared to overwhelming critical acclaim as Spock in the highly anticipated and enormously successful eleventh feature film installment of the Star Trek franchise, directed by JJ Abrams.

In 2008, Quinto founded Before the Door Pictures, with long-time friends and collaborators Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa. The company is actively developing projects across all media platforms, and in addition to no fewer than six feature films and three television series in various stages of development, they will publish their first comic book: Lucid, with Archaia Comics in August. The movie will be released in the October 2011.

PENN BADGLEY
Penn Badgley was last seen on the big screen starring in Sony’s hit comedy “Easy A.” Badgley currently stars as Dan Humphrey in The CW’s hit drama Gossip Girl, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, based on the tremendously popular book series about privileged teenagers who attend an elite private school in New York City.

This past year, Badgley starred in the dramatic thriller “The Stepfather” opposite Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward. In 2008, Badgely took a villainous turn in the rugby-themed “Forever Strong.” He also appeared in “John Tucker Must Die,” and has starred in several television series, including the short-lived “Do Over”; Badgley’s first starring role, which came at the age of15, and garnered critical acclaim. Born in Baltimore, Badgley split his formative years between Midlothian, Virginia and Seattle, Washington. It was in Seattle that, through his love of music, he stumbled upon a local playhouse and became involved in musical theatre, where his passion for acting grew. Badgley relocated to Los Angeles and built up his resume while attending Santa Monica College. He had planned to transfer to USC, where he was accepted at 17, but life and work intervened. Badgley currently resides in New York. He enjoys writing music and playing soccer in his spare time.

SIMON BAKER
A Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor, Australian-born Simon Baker has an impressive background that spans both film and television, capturing the attention of audiences worldwide. Baker can currently be seen playing ‘Patrick Jane’ in the hugely popular series The Mentalist on CBS. Now shooting its 3rd season, Baker plays a former ‘psychic’ scam artist who now uses his gifts of human observation to help the California Bureau of Investigation. His performance has earned him both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series. The Mentalist is one of the networks highest rated shows, breaking viewing records right out of the gate.

Last year, Baker was seen in director Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me opposite Casey Affleck. Prior to this, Baker starred in the 20th Century Fox smash hit, The Devil Wears Prada opposite Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway; he also starred in Something New, a romantic comedy from Focus Features co-starring Sanaa Lathan. Baker first gained attention in Curtis Hanson’s Academy Award winning film LA Confidential opposite Kevin Spacey and Danny Devito. Other early roles for Baker include; Affair Of The Necklace opposite Hilary Swank, Red Planet opposite Val Kilmer, Sunset Strip opposite Anna Friel and Nick Stahl, Sex And Death 101 costarring Wynona Ryder, and Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed Ride With The Devil which screened at the 1999 Deauville Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival. Other feature film credits include, Universal’s Land Of The Dead, George Romero’s highly anticipated continuation of his famous zombie series, which co-starred Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo, DreamWorks’ horror sequel The Ring 2 opposite Naomi Watts and Sissy Spacek, and the independent feature film Book Of Love opposite Frances O’Connor, which screened in competition at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Baker starred in the highly rated, CBS drama The Guardian from 2001 to 2004. He portrayed a hardened corporate lawyer sentenced to work as a legal child advocate after being found guilty of drug possession. Baker’s standout performance garnered him his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Other television credits include the critically acclaimed but short lived CBS series, Smith, created by John Wells and also starring Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen.

STANLEY TUCCI
Stanley Tucci, has appeared in over 50 films and countless television shows. In the past few years he has appeared in films such as The Devil Wears Prada, The Terminal and Road To Perdition. He is no stranger to the theater; and has appeared in over a dozen plays, on and off Broadway. 2008 was an extremely busy year for Tucci as he appeared in the soon to be classic, Julie & Julia, opposite Meryl Streep and directed by Nora Ephron and The Lovely Bones, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination along with Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG and Broadcast Film Critics nominations. Tucci can currently be seen in Captain America, The First Avenger and is now on location in London filming Jack And The Giant Killer, which is a modern day fairy tale in which the long-standing peace between men and giants is threatened, as a young farmer leads an expedition into the giants’ kingdom in hopes of rescuing a kidnapped princess. Bryan Singer is directing.

In 2008, Tucci partnered with his friend for more than 20 years, Steve Buscemi and Wren Arthur to form OLIVE Productions, a New York based film and television company. One of OLIVE’s mandates is to cast a wide net when developing film and television material, with a portion of the projects to be earmarked for Stanley and Steve to direct. OLIVE is a co-producer of Vine Talk, and additionally has other TV shows in development at HBO and AMC. It also has films projects currently in development at HBO, SONY and Fox Searchlight.

Tucci’s previous film credits include Easy A, Burlesque, Swing Vote, Kit Kitteredge: An American Girl, Robots, The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, Shall We Dance, Spin, The Terminal, The Tale Of Despereaux,Deconstructing Harry, A Mid Summer Night’s Dream, The Alarmist, A Life Less Ordinary, The Daytrippers, Kiss Of Death, Mrs. Parker Andthe Vicious Circle, It Could Happen To You, The Pelican Brief, Preludeto A Kiss, Billy Bathgate, In The Soup and Slaves Of New York.

In 2002, Stanley won a Golden Globe Award for his brilliant portrayal of Lt. Colonel Adolf Eichmann in the television film entitled, “Conspiracy.” This was the dramatic recreation of the Wannasee Conference where the Nazi Final Solution phase of the Holocaust was devised. He also received a Golden Globe, as well as an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Walter Winchell, a founder of American gossip, in the HBO original film, Winchell.

DEMI MOORE
Demi Moore continues to be one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. She recently had two films premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Margin Call and Another Happy Day, purchased by Phase 4 Films and slated for a 2011 release.

In 2012, Moore will be seen opposite Miley Cyrus in LOL. In addition to acting, Moore teamed up with Lifetime to direct Project Five’s “Charlotte,” an anthology of five short films exploring the impact of breast cancer on people’s lives which will premiere on September 10th 2011. Moore is directing alongside Jennifer Aniston, Patty Jenkins and Alicia Keys. Moore also signed a multi-project development deal with Lifetime where she will be the executive producer of “The Conversation” hosted by renowned photographer Amanda de Cadanet. The series aims to provide a refreshing and modern take on celebrity interviews in which the hour-long program will feature intimate interviews with high-profile celebrity role models and every day women about a variety of topics that are universal to all women.

Moore’s film credits include Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle in which she starred opposite Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in. In the film, Moore played “Madison,” a former “Angel” who left the team to take up a life of crime. Other film credits include indie hits Happy Tears, The Joneses opposite David Duchovny, and Flawless opposite Michael Caine. Moore also starred opposite Kevin Costner in Mr. Brooks and was also seen amongst the star studded cast of BOBBY, the story of the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, which centers around 22 people who were at the Ambassador Hotel where he was killed. Moore also starred in the Castle Rock film, Striptease, opposite Burt Reynolds; Tri-Star’s THE JUROR, with Alec Baldwin; Disclosure, with Michael Douglas; Indecent Proposal, opposite Robert Redford and Woody Harrelson; A Few Good Men, with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, directed by Rob Reiner; She also starred opposite Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost, a performance that earned Moore a Golden Globe Award nomination.

In addition to achieving great success as an actress, Moore has had a very successful career as a film producer with her production company, Moving Pictures. Her credits as actor/producer include Gi Jane, in which she starred opposite Viggo Mortensen; the Emmy-nominated film for HBO, If These Walls Could Talk, with Sissy Spacek and Cher; Now And Then, with Melanie Griffith, Rosie O’Donnell and Rita Wilson; and Mortal Thoughts with Bruce Willis. She is also a part of the team behind the successful Austin Powers franchise, having produced all three films with Jennifer and Suzanne Todd. In 2008, Moore made her directorial debut, directing the short film, STREAK, as part of the award winning short film series, Glamour Reel Moments.

This year, Moore recently traveled to Nepal where she filmed a documentary with CNN entitled “Nepal’s Stolen Children” which is slated to air the second week of July 2011. The documentary follows Moore throughout her trip to Nepal as she learns more about and discusses the different stages of trafficking, the battle against it and some of the trauma that often follows rescue.

MARY McDONNELL
Mary McDonnell is a renowned actress for her work in film, television, and theatre.  Two-time Oscar-nominee, McDonnell has transformed both period and present-day screen roles into dynamic character portrayals.

McDonnell received her first Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress, for her portrayal of Stands With a Fist, a white woman raised by the Sioux, in Kevin Costner’s “Dances With Wolves.”   Additionally, she received her first of two Golden Globe nominations for that performance.  McDonnell also garnered a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of a paraplegic soap opera star in John Sayles’ critically acclaimed “Passion Fish.”

She recently appeared in Wes Craven’s “SCRE4M” and opposite Kevin Spacey in the acclaimed drama “Margin Call.”

McDonnell currently co-stars on the award-winning hit TNT drama “The Closer.”  The series will return this summer for its final season run.  McDonnell’s popular character of Captain Sharon Raydor will then topline the new drama from the creators of “The Closer” “Major Crimes,” for the summer of 2012.

McDonnell received magnificent reviews for her portrayal of President Laura Roslin in the Sci-Fi channel’s hit award-winning series “Battlestar Galactica” which several top critics called “the best show on television.”  TV Guide called McDonnell’s performance Emmy-worthy noting, “McDonnell juggles vulnerability and authority as a cancer-stricken president.”

McDonnell’s extensive list of film credits include: acclaimed art-house cult hit “Donnie Darko”  with Jake Gyllenhaal; “Nola” with Emmy Rossum; the Lawrence Kasdan films “Grand Canyon” and “Mumford”; Roland Emmerich’s smash “Independence Day,” with Bill Pullman and Will Smith; William Friedkin’s “Blue Chips,” with Nick Nolte; and “Sneakers,” with Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Sir Ben Kingsley.

McDonnell garnered an Emmy nomination for her recurring guest role on the television series “ER.”  Some of her other television credits include the ABC hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” the CBS series “High Society,” TNT’s adaptation of Arthur Miller’s “The American Clock,” the critically acclaimed CBS movie “Behind The Mask,” and Lifetime’s “Two Small Voices.”

McDonnell began her career in theatre and has starred in a wide variety of both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.  She received an Obie Award for her performance in Emily Mann’s “Still Life” and has starred in off-Broadway productions such as Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Buried Child,” John Patrick Shanley’s “Savage in Limbo,” John O’Keefe’s “All Night Long,” Michael Cristofer’s “Black Angel,” Kathleen Tolan’s “A Weekend Near Madison,” Paula Cizmar’s “Death of a Miner” and Dennis McIntyre’s “National Anthem.”  Her Broadway credits include Tennessee Williams’ “Summer and Smoke,” the title role in Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, “The Heidi Chronicles” and Emily Mann’s “Execution of Justice.”