Movie reviews, production notes, and more! - "Michael Clayton"

Movie : Michael Clayton

- Notes provided by Warner Bros. - 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 the firm. At the agrochemical company U/North, the career of in-house chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the settlement of the suit that Kenner, Bach & Ledeen is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When the firm's top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has an apparent breakdown and tries to sabotage the entire case, Marty Bach sends Michael Clayton to tackle this unprecedented disaster and, in doing so, Clayton comes face to face with the reality of who he has become. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Samuels Media and Castle Rock Entertainment, a Mirage Enterprises/Section Eight Production, "Michael Clayton," starring Academy Award winner George Clooney ("Syriana"), Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson ("In the Bedroom"), Tilda Swinton ("The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe") and Sydney Pollack ("The Interpreter"). The film was written and directed by Tony Gilroy (screenwriter, "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy"). Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Steven Samuels and Kerry Orent served as producers, with Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, James Holt and Anthony Minghella serving as executive producers. Joining the director behind the scenes were director of photography Robert Elswit, production designer Kevin Thompson, editor John Gilroy and costume designer Sarah Edwards. The music is by James Newton Howard. "Michael Clayton" will be released domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, with international territories handled by Summit Entertainment. "Michael Clayton" has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "language including some sexual dialogue." www.michaelclayton.com For downloadable information and photos from "Michael Clayton," please visit press.warnerbros.com. ABOUT THE PRODUCTION George Clooney stars in the title role of Michael Clayton, a "fixer" at Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, a top Manhattan law firm. A former criminal prosecutor from a working-class neighborhood, Clayton is an anomaly at the white-shoe firm; in spite of his 15-year tenure, he has not been promoted to partner and probably never will be. His boss, Marty Bach, sees Clayton as an invaluable asset to the firm, but only in his "niche," one that is relegated to cleaning up the firm's sticky situations quickly and quietly. "While Michael is great at solving other people's problems, the film catches him at the apex of dissatisfaction with his career," says Clooney, who also serves as an executive producer on the film. "He started out with ambitions of becoming a trial lawyer, but along the way what he really becomes is a bag man." "Michael Clayton is a 45-year-old attorney who feels that he hasn't done everything that he could have done with his life; he's starting to think he should have done something else, or could have done better," says writer-director Tony Gilroy. "He's made some bad choices and a lot of compromises. He has come to the point in life where his next few decisions will determine everything about him. "How we make those choices-how fear, comfort, inertia and self-preservation bend us to the wheel-that's the fuel for the story," offers Gilroy. In the midst of his discontentment, Michael Clayton is sent to defuse Arthur Edens, Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's chief litigator. The defense architect for the U/North case, Arthur suddenly suffers a crisis of conscience after finding a "smoking gun" memo that exposes the client's moral turpitude. The character is played by Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson, who notes, "It is very much a `road to Damascus' moment. Arthur's an expert lawyer who has been at the top of his game for years, but comes to a realization that he's been defending a cancer." "Given the infinity of destructive moral choices that are made every day by people who know what they're doing is wrong, it's always amazed me that there aren't more whistleblowers. 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 actually go off the deep end?" says Gilroy. "Tom's character is one of those magnificently intelligent madmen who can convince any judge, jury or plaintiff to drop or settle a case. It's why he's so good at what he does and makes the kind of money he makes. But at the end of the day, what's the real cost?" GENESIS OF THE SCRIPT 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." In developing the script, Gilroy spent time talking to a gamut of law office personnel, including attorneys, paralegals and partners. 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. Things were so far down the line that the firm had begun clearing out the document rooms that had housed all the filings and paperwork. 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." "I wanted to know what kind of person is up at four o'clock in the morning protecting the firm," continues Gilroy. "Who fills those gaps and makes those calls? What else do they have to do? How far could that go? What would it do to you to have that job? The answer to those questions turned into `Michael Clayton.'" "Tony's script was interesting to me right off the bat," says producer Sydney Pollack, who was one of the early producers attracted to the project and also stars in the film as Marty Bach. "It is relevant and gets to the heart of the matter without lecturing, and it tells a story which has genuine suspense independent of moral issues." Gilroy emphasizes, "`Michael Clayton' isn't an issue film. There's no ideological debate. There's no dark overlord arguing for some greater good. You've got a choir of fear and self-preservation on one side and the lone voice of a manic, un-medicated virtuoso on the other. Michael Clayton represents the rest of us in the middle. What will he do?" Producer Steven Samuels remarks, "I enjoyed Tony's realistic approach to telling the story. It's a reflection of our world today. The main characters in `Michael Clayton' have chosen career paths that come with certain rewards and compromises. It takes tremendous courage for someone to risk losing everything in order to do the right thing." CAST AND CHARACTERS The Fixer "Michael Clayton is a complicated character; he's not a hero who always does the right thing," says Gilroy. "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." "One of the things that interested me about this project was that Tony had been saving this script for himself to direct," states George Clooney. "Tony has had much success as a screenwriter, and has been around the block enough to know what he wants. He was clearly driven to make the film, and his confidence was inspiring." Producer Jennifer Fox offers, "George is very believable in the part, and has that unique spark that gives Michael Clayton the ability to charm people into believing that he'll make their problems go away." Gilroy remarks, "George obviously has all the chops, and he's intelligent and charming. He can be very convincing as someone's who's conflicted, which made him perfect for the role." "My first meeting with George lasted eleven hours," the director recalls. The two found much common ground in their affinity for 1970s cinema and spent much of their marathon meeting discussing their various influences and inspirations, overlapping decisively on such directors as Alan J. Pakula, Sydney Pollack and Sidney Lumet. "There was a certain electricity about the way films were made in the `70s. The characters were complex. The films were beautiful, yet they weren't pretty. They didn't always wrap up neatly in the end," says Gilroy. "It was a time of groundbreaking social progress, and filmmakers were really into reflecting that," adds Clooney. "This movie deals with social conscience in an entertaining way. Tony's script was written with the passion of a filmmaker, and scripts like this don't come around very often." Drawing inspiration for the back story of Michael Clayton from his own personal experiences, Gilroy says, "I grew up in Washingtonville, a real cops-and-firemen town on the outskirts of New York City. Every kid on my school bus had a father who was either a cop or a fireman. Michael Clayton is from a proud, working-class neighborhood where his father was a cop and his brother, Gene, is now on the force. Michael is the first male in his family who's not a cop." Michael's career choice has created distance between himself and his family. His decision to commit the last 15 years of his life to Kenner, Bach & Ledeen has begun to take its toll. He barely has time to see his 10-year-old son, of whom he shares custody with his ex-wife, and even less time to see his ailing father. Worse, Michael has a younger, alcoholic brother, Timmy, who drove their once-promising business venture into the ground and stuck Michael with an $80,000 debt, a sum he must pay in less than a week to avoid unstated consequences. Clooney notes, "Michael's one hope for escaping the fixer business was his walk-away money, but that's been blown on the business with Timmy, leaving Michael with very few options." The Defense Architect For the role of Arthur Edens, senior litigating partner of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen and lead defense architect for the U/North case, Clooney suggested Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson. "Tom was the first person I thought of," says Clooney. "He has been so strong in his previous roles and was just perfect for this pivotal character." "Tom is an immaculate film actor," Gilroy comments. "You need to feel Arthur's intelligence; you need to see a momentary glimpse of his brilliance as an attorney. At the same time, I wanted the audience to approach the character with affection. Tom draws you in. Your heart goes out to Arthur." "Tom brought so much life to the role," adds Pollack. "It's not easy to tell a story about morals without coming off as self-righteous or didactic. Tom's performance pulls you into the strangeness and the excitement of what Arthur's experiencing, so watching his crisis of conscience is both compelling and entertaining." Wilkinson was attracted to the project by the subject matter and Gilroy's writing style. "There was no question this is one of the best scripts I'd ever read," he offers. "It's very smartly written. What's also interesting to me is that, like so many people, Arthur started off in the law profession fresh out of school with strong ideals and noble intentions, but years down the road he finds himself defending the indefensible and completely skewed from who he once was-all for money and preserving a way of life. He's allowed his soul to be sullied and corrupted beyond recognition." Gilroy notes, "There are a lot of really decent people who do a lot of really unpleasant things every day. While it's not difficult to empathize with people who have their entire careers invested, it is still astonishing to me the level of evil things that decent people let themselves do without saying, `I've had enough.' On the other hand, Arthur's had enough, and he says it in a way that no one could have anticipated." With a recently deceased wife and an estranged daughter, Arthur has no family and is a diagnosed manic-depressive. But as one of the firm's best litigators, he has been ceaselessly devoted to protecting U/North for the last six years. The unintended by-product of Arthur's life choices manifests itself in ways beyond anyone's control, even Michael Clayton's. The film opens with a confessional monologue from Arthur. "It's a classic stream of consciousness speech," states Wilkinson. "Arthur has this frenzied desire to communicate his epiphany to Michael, whom he trusts and respects." Arthur and Michael share a distinct bond solidified through years of working together at Kenner, Bach & Ledeen. Michael's ability to handle crises delicately and effectively had saved Arthur from a prior breakdown eight years ago. Since then, Arthur had agreed to take prescribed medication and to go to Michael if he felt a relapse surfacing. However, this time around, Arthur skips his meds without talking to Michael and "has a total and complete breakdown, and, in effect, begins to construct a case for the other side," says Pollack. "So the questions become: will Arthur be defused in time to save the case or will he successfully construct a case for the plaintiffs...and how will Michael Clayton fix this one?" The Client On the client side of the U/North case is Karen Crowder, played by award-winning actress Tilda Swinton. Karen is an aggressively ambitious litigator who has just been promoted to the seat of U/North's in-house chief counsel, and assumes the duty of guaranteeing a successful outcome in the class action suit. Gilroy remarks that his goal with Karen's character was not to make the faceless corporation the obvious villain. "I have great affection for Karen," offers Gilroy. "Odd as it may sound, I find 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 Arthur's meltdown. And she breaks. She breaks because she's lost. She breaks because it's coming too fast. She breaks because she's swamped with ambition and fear. And she breaks, ultimately, because she's in the thrall of an illusory 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." In casting the role, Gilroy states, "There are so many great actresses out there, but Tilda stood out in my mind. She is somebody who is strong enough to carry the extra burden of Karen's solitary scenes. She is also very convincing in portraying someone who's deeply flawed." Swinton observes, "Karen is a high-powered executive who's overwhelmed by ambition and seduced by money and power. I think there are a lot of people in all sorts of high-level business situations who will sympathize with the kind of panic attack she has. There are three billion dollars at stake, and those sums of money can do really bad things to people's judgment." Gilroy emphasizes that he specifically wrote the role for a woman to explore the role of gender in the corporate world. "For Karen, I wanted to show her desperately trying to fill the shoes of her mentor and predecessor at U/North who is older and male," says Gilroy. "While she's intelligent and successful, Karen wrongly approximates what she thinks male behavior is in this job." To prepare for the role, Swinton recalls, "I spoke to several female lawyers in very high places, and they found it very easy to understand the kind of pressure for a woman in Karen's position. It's a very tough line to walk, and it feels like everyone's watching your every move, hoping you'll falter. Karen is completely overtaken by the desire to show everyone that she can handle it. She's so afraid of messing up and so obsessed with proving herself that she doesn't ask for help because she fears even more the perception of being weak because she's a woman." "I don't believe that Karen is evil, per se," says Fox. "She's incredibly loyal to U/North, and what makes her character really interesting is that she's just so desperate to succeed. When push comes to shove, desperate people make desperate decisions." The Partner Apart from Karen Crowder, the person with perhaps the most at stake is Marty Bach, a founding partner of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, played by Sydney Pollack. "The character I play depends heavily on Michael Clayton to get Arthur under control," says Pollack. "It's Marty's name on the door, and this incident comes at a critical time when his firm is in the midst of a merger with a company in London, which would be a lucrative buyout for him-a way to retire with a big chunk of change. So when things start going south with Arthur, Marty puts an awful lot of pressure on Michael to rein him in." Pollack, an Oscar-winning director and producer, had initially been developing "Michael Clayton" with Gilroy as a producer through his production company, Mirage Enterprises. Even with Pollack's involvement as a filmmaker, Gilroy still had to do some convincing to get Pollack to agree to play the role of Marty. "I needed someone with real authority, someone who could intimidate Michael Clayton. Who better to play the head of a top New York law firm than a well-respected, award-winning director? After a lot of begging, bribing and whining, he finally said `yes,'" Gilroy laughs. "When I got the call from Tony about acting in the film, I really didn't think I had the time," Pollack recalls. "It's not because I don't enjoy acting, but because it was a really busy time for us at Mirage. Still, Tony's energy and determination was infectious so I couldn't turn him down." REALM AND CONQUEST In contrast to the high-stakes drama among the main characters, Michael Clayton's son, Henry, is played by 10-year-old Austin Williams. A bright and imaginative boy, Henry is an avid reader of a fictional fantasy novel called "Realm and Conquest," which influences both Arthur and Michael in unexpected ways. Time spent with his own son inspired Gilroy to incorporate this story element. "My son spent a great deal of his childhood obsessed with fantasy fiction. Books, cards, graphic novels, multi-player computer games-I've been surrounded by this stuff for years," says the writer-director. "Some of it is brilliant. A lot of it's repetitive. But there's a draw to the genre that has a lot to do with the needs of the reader. There's escapism, there are epic journeys and, more subliminally, there's an unexpressed yearning for virtue. The fact that Henry connects over `Realm and Conquest' with a bipolar attorney in the midst of a manic breakdown hopefully speaks for itself." As for Michael Clayton, Gilroy notes, "it's not much of a surprise that as one's innocence fades, the attraction to this kind of storytelling goes with it. `Realm and Conquest' means a lot to Henry Clayton. Michael can't hear it." Committed to a fully developed back story, Gilroy spent a good deal of time establishing the details of "Realm and Conquest" with production designer Kevin Thompson. "Right from the beginning, when I first read the script, I could tell that `Realm and Conquest' was going to be a key prop. In the movie it's a metaphor for truth and justice," explains the production designer. In creating the details of the fictional novel, Thompson generated original visuals inspired by German Expressionistic images cut from wood blocks, and Gilroy wrote the first two pages for three chapters of the book. They even went as far as designing a "Realm and Conquest" card game for a scene between Henry and Michael. Thompson offers, "This detail was important to Tony because, in his own life, novels and games similar to `Realm and Conquest' allow him to connect with his son in a meaningful way." WRITER AND DIRECTOR Having enjoyed success as a screenwriter, Gilroy stepped up to the challenges of directing his first feature film, including the formidable task of working with a main cast of seasoned actors, two of whom are acclaimed directors. Clooney, who made his feature directorial debut in 2002 with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," knows what it takes to successfully cross over from another focus into directing. He says, "As a director, you're the general. You've got to be smart enough and convincing enough to make everyone believe in you. The very first minute Tony walked in the office, I thought, `I like this guy and I think he's smart. Most important, he knows what he wants.' Tony was not afraid to make decisions on his own." Pollack notes, "Sometimes it's better to work with a director who's not the writer and other times it's better to work with a director who is the writer. It's difficult when writers don't have the objectivity about their own work. With Tony, he's very comfortable and confident and has none of the timidity and confusion that first time directors often have. There's something quite seasoned about Tony's approach." Samuels adds, "Tony just exudes confidence. He really does. You can see it in his eyes. But he's honest about where he is, what he knows and what he doesn't know. Above all, he is not afraid to push new boundaries for himself." Behind the positive first impressions, Gilroy admits, "The thought of directing my first feature with such a high-caliber team was intimidating. Fortunately, I've had great support from a group I really trusted and relied on. Everyone from George and Tom to Sydney and Tilda; from Jennifer, Steven and Kerry to Robert Elswit, Kevin Thompson and my brother, John Gilroy; there was so much brain power and talent on this project that there wasn't much room for fear." TOWN AND COUNTRY Principal photography on "Michael Clayton" began in January 2006 in New York City. "It's very, very ambitious to make a movie in the middle of winter in New York. We had 71 locations, and had to be very lucky with the weather. Fortunately, we were. We had an extremely detailed prep complemented with a very nimble crew," says Gilroy. As many of the world's top law firms have offices in New York City, Gilroy envisioned shooting the film amidst the boxy skyscrapers that line a main artery in midtown Manhattan: Avenue of the Americas, otherwise known as Sixth Avenue. "A building boom in the 1960s and 1970s gave birth to an environment of 50-story international-style glass boxes lined up one after another," notes Gilroy. "The buildings are stacked in such a beautiful, horrifying kind of way." "When you start doing research into the big law firms, it's amazing to discover how massive they are, how they're complete worlds unto themselves," states production designer Kevin Thompson. "People go into the office and rarely leave during the course of the day and into the night. All their meals are catered, and they only go home to sleep and shower. We wanted to show how law firm life can become a parallel universe, and how that disconnect could foster insular thinking and corrupt ideals." The filmmakers agreed early on to shoot most of the film on location. After scouting the offices of several law firms, the filmmakers ended up combining shots from three different offices. For the conference room scenes in the beginning and the end of the film, Gilroy chose the offices of Dewey Ballantine, one of the oldest and most respected practices headquartered in New York City. Located in midtown Manhattan's Corporate Row, the office houses 300 attorneys and has a grand conference room that spans the entire Sixth Avenue side of the building's 22nd floor, with views in 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 Jennifer Fox. The exterior scenes for Arthur's loft were shot in Tribeca, while the interior scenes were shot in a raw space in Little Italy. "It was always Tony's idea to imply that Arthur used to live on the Upper East Side, but that his life fell apart after his wife died," says Thompson. "He tried to start anew by moving and changing neighborhoods, so he bought this huge, palatial raw space loft, but hasn't ever really settled in. He probably intended to renovate the space at some point but became so involved in the U/North case that he never really got it together, so the loft looks almost decayed. We tried to connect the dilapidated, castle-like look of the loft with the visual imagery in the `Realm and Conquest' book." For scenes that contrasted with Manhattan's urban setting, the production moved from New York City to upstate New York. "We looked for landscapes that were wild and bucolic," notes Thompson. "There's a scene in a field that plays twice in the film. It's a big moment in the story, so it was important to find the perfect location," Gilroy recalls. "At the height of the search, my brother was upstate visiting our parents and, on impulse, I had him take his cell phone and grab a couple shots of a place up the road from where we grew up. It's this gorgeous valley, bisected with a very dramatic, hundred-year-old cast iron train trestle. It was a mythic high school hangout and it was still there. "Twenty-four hours later we were up there with a dozen people trying to figure out how we could afford to shoot that far from the city for five days," continues Gilroy. "The answer was to move the company upstate for a week and bundle a couple other locations into the trip. The punch line is we ended up shooting the house where Michael Clayton grew up in the house where I envisioned Michael Clayton growing up, which is where I grew up. And believe me, you haven't experienced surreal until you've brought George Clooney and a movie crew back to your childhood neighborhood." ABOUT THE CAST GEORGE CLOONEY (Michael Clayton / Executive Producer) is an Academy Award-winning actor, who has also been honored for his work as a writer, director and producer. He recently wrapped production on "Leatherheads," a romantic comedy set against the beginnings of American pro football, which he directed, produced and co-wrote. Clooney is also starring in the film opposite Renée Zellweger and John Krasinski. "Leatherheads" is the first film to be produced by Smoke House, the production company Clooney launched with Grant Heslov last year. Clooney will soon begin production on the Coen brothers' dark comedy "Burn After Reading," in which he stars with Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. The film marks his third collaboration with the Coens. In 2006, Clooney earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for "Good Night, and Good Luck."; and Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Syriana." It marked the first time in Academy history that an individual received acting and directing nominations for two different films. Clooney won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year for his performance in "Syriana," on which he also served as executive producer. Clooney's work on "Good Night, and Good Luck." and "Syriana" also brought him numerous other accolades. For the first, he garnered dual Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Critics' Choice Award nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay; nominations for both a Directors Guild of America Award and a Writers Guild of America Award; an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Director; and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nomination for Best Ensemble, shared with the cast. The Broadcast Film Critics Association also presented Clooney with its Freedom Award for "Good Night, and Good Luck." In addition, he won a Golden Globe Award and earned BAFTA, SAG and Critics' Choice Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Syriana." Both films were produced under the banner of Section Eight, the production company in which Clooney was partnered with Steven Soderbergh. Section Eight also produced 2002's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," which marked Clooney's directorial debut. For his directing work on that film, he won a Special Achievement in Film Award from the National Board of Review. Other Section Eight films included "Insomnia" and "Far From Heaven," which Clooney executive produced; "Ocean's Eleven," "Ocean's Twelve" and, most recently, "Ocean's Thirteen"; "The Jacket"; "Full Frontal"; and "Welcome to Collinwood." For Section Eight's television division, Clooney executive produced and directed five episodes of "Unscripted," a reality-based show that debuted on HBO in 2005. He was also an executive producer and cameraman for HBO's "K Street." Clooney previously won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his work in the Coen brothers' acclaimed 2000 comedy "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" He also earned critical acclaim for his work in the award-winning drama "Three Kings" and the Oscar-nominated "Out of Sight," which was his first collaboration with Soderbergh. Clooney's other film credits include the Coen brothers' "Intolerable Cruelty," "Solaris," "The Peacemaker," "Batman & Robin," "One Fine Day" and "From Dusk Till Dawn." Clooney has starred in several television series but is best known for his five years on the hit NBC drama "ER." His portrayal of Dr. Douglas Ross earned him Emmy Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations. Additionally, he was an executive producer and co-star of the live television broadcast of "Fail Safe," a 2000 telefilm based on the early 1960s novel of the same name. "Fail Safe" was nominated for both Golden Globe and Emmy Awards for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. TOM WILKINSON (Arthur Edens) is an award-winning actor of stage and screen. Wilkinson received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his unforgettable performance in Todd Field's acclaimed drama "In the Bedroom," opposite Sissy Spacek. Wilkinson also received a BAFTA nomination, and won an Independent Spirit Award, a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for the role. Prior to that, Wilkinson won a BAFTA for his role in the 1997 British and international box office sensation "The Full Monty," and garnered another BAFTA nomination the following year for his performance in the Oscar-winning Best Picture "Shakespeare in Love." He more recently received Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations for his courageous performance in HBO's 2003 film "Normal," opposite Jessica Lange. Upcoming, Wilkinson will star in the indie romantic comedy "Dedication," with Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore; Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream," with Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor; and the HBO miniseries "John Adams," in which he will portray Benjamin Franklin. Wilkinson is currently filming Guy Ritchie's London-set crime caper "RocknRolla," with Gerard Butler, and Bryan Singer's World War II-set drama "Valkyrie," with Tom Cruise. His previous film credits include Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins"; "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," with Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey; "The Last Kiss," starring Zach Braff; "Stage Beauty," with Billy Crudup; "Wilde"; "The Governess," opposite Minnie Driver; Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility"; "Smilla's Sense of Snow"; Gillian Armstrong's "Oscar and Lucinda"; "Ride with the Devil"; "The Importance of Being Earnest"; "Girl with a Pearl Earring," starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth; Roland Emmerich's "The Patriot"; "A Good Woman"; "Ripley Under Ground"; "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"; and "Separate Lies," with Emily Watson and Rupert Everett. An accomplished stage actor, Wilkinson has played the role of John Proctor in "The Crucible" at the Royal National Theatre; the title role in "King Lear" at the Royal Court; the role of Dr. Stockmann in the award-winning West End production of "Enemy of the People," with Vanessa Redgrave; a London Critics Circle Award-winning performance in "Ghosts"; and David Hare's production of "My Zinc Bed," with Julia Ormond. On the small screen, Wilkinson received BAFTA TV Award nominations for his roles in the British telefilm "Cold Enough for Snow" and the award-winning BBC miniseries "Martin Chuzzlewit." His other notable television credits include such long form projects as the HBO movie "The Gathering Storm" and the BBC telefilm "Measure for Measure," to name only a few. TILDA SWINTON (Karen Crowder) started making films with the English director Derek Jarman in 1985 with "Caravaggio." The two worked together for eight years and made seven films, including "The Last of England," "The Garden," "War Requiem" and "Wittgenstein," before Jarman's death in 1994. In 1990, Swinton won the Coppa Volpe at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in Jarman's "Edward II." Swinton gained wider international recognition in 1992 with her extraordinary portrayal of "Orlando" under the direction of Sally Potter. Since then, her work has included Lynn Hershman-Leeson's "Conceiving Ada" and "Teknolust"; Susan Streitfeld's "Female Perversions"; Tim Roth's "The War Zone"; and Robert Lepage's "Possible Worlds." In 2000, Swinton made "The Deep End" with David Siegel and Scott McGehee, and was honored with numerous international awards for her role, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Swinton's more recent credits include Spike Jonze's "Adaptation," David Mackenzie's acclaimed 2003 Cannes entry "Young Adam," Mike Mills' "Thumbsucker," Francis Lawrence's "Constantine" and Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers." In 2005, she starred in the role of the White Witch in Andrew Adamson's worldwide box office smash "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Swinton also worked with the acclaimed Hungarian director Béla Tarr in "The Man From London," which premiered in competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Swinton most recently finished shooting the eponymous lead in the thriller "Julia" for maverick French director Erick Zonca, and David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," opposite Brad Pitt. She is currently in production on Joel and Ethan Coen's "Burn After Reading," with Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand. SYDNEY POLLACK (Marty Bach / Producer) is an award-winning director and producer. He won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for the 1985 romantic drama "Out of Africa," which collected a total of seven Academy Awards. The film also received three Golden Globes Awards, including Best Picture - Drama, and three additional nominations, including Best Director. Pollack received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director for his Depression-era drama "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?," starring Jane Fonda. In 1982, Pollack directed, produced and co-starred in "Tootsie," which garnered 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture, won a Golden Globe for Best Picture - Musical/Comedy and a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film. Pollack was also honored with Best Directing nominations for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, and won a New York Film Critics Award. Pollack's other directing accolades include an Emmy Award and prizes at Cannes, Berlin, Brussels, Belgrade, San Sebastian, Moscow and Taormina Film Festivals. In 2000, Pollack was presented with the Directors Guild of America John Huston Award by the Artists Rights' Foundation. His other directing credits include "The Interpreter," "Sabrina," "The Firm," "Absence of Malice," "The Electric Horseman," "Three Days of the Condor," "The Way We Were" and "Jeremiah Johnson." In 1985, Pollack formed Mirage Enterprises. Under this banner he has produced such films as "Presumed Innocent," "The Fabulous Baker Boys," "White Palace," "Major League," "Dead Again," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Sense and Sensibility" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In 2000, director-writer¬producer Anthony Minghella became a partner at Mirage Enterprises. Since then, Pollack and Minghella have collaborated on such films as "Iris," "The Quiet American," "Cold Mountain" and "Breaking and Entering," with Minghella writing and directing the last two. They are currently in production on a mystery-comedy-drama entitled "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," also under the direction of Minghella. An accomplished actor, Pollack 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." Pollack is a founding member of the Sundance Institute, the Chairman Emeritus of the American Cinematheque and a sustaining founder of the Artists' Rights Board of the Directors Guild. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the Film Preservation Board and the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS TONY GILROY (Writer / Director) makes his feature film directorial debut with "Michael Clayton." An acclaimed screenwriter, Gilroy spent seven years working on the trilogy of Bourne films: "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and the recently released hit "The Bourne Ultimatum." Gilroy has also written three screenplays 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's additional writing credits include Michael Bay's blockbuster "Armageddon," starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Billy Bob Thornton; Michael Apted's "Extreme Measures," starring Gene Hackman, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker; "The Cutting Edge," starring D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly; and the TV movie "For Better and for Worse," starring Patrick Dempsey and Kelly Lynch. 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, and his brother John Gilroy is a film editor who also worked on "Michael Clayton." SYDNEY POLLACK (Producer) Please see biography in "About the Cast" section above. JENNIFER FOX (Producer) served as President of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's production company Section Eight from 2001 to 2007. She ran the day-to-day operations of Section Eight and produced such acclaimed films as Stephen Gaghan's "Syriana," for which George Clooney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and executive produced the Clooney¬directed political drama "Good Night, and Good Luck.," which received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Fox's other executive producing credits include Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly," starring Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder; "PU-239," which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival; Rob Reiner's "Rumor Has It...," starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo; "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 also produced "Ocean's Eleven," "Welcome to Collinwood," "Full Frontal," "Far From Heaven," "Insomnia," "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," "Ocean's Twelve," "The Good German," and, most recently, "Ocean's Thirteen." Prior to Section Eight, Fox was Vice President of Production at Universal Pictures, where she worked on several films, including Steven Soderbergh's "Erin Brockovich." STEVEN SAMUELS (Producer) heads Samuels Media, an entertainment company that finances, develops and produces feature films. In addition to "Michael Clayton," Samuels recently produced the upcoming dramatic thriller "In the Valley of Elah," starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon and Jason Patric, under the direction of Oscar-winner Paul Haggis. The film is set for release on September 21, 2007. Previously, Samuels executive produced the comedy drama "Running with Scissors," writer-director Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of the book by Augusten Burroughs. Samuels also produced and financed writer-director Craig Rosenberg's 2006 supernatural thriller "Half Light." Beyond his work in film, Samuels has been a real estate developer since 1984, during which time he has built or redeveloped more than 50 retail projects in seven states. He founded Samuels & Associates nearly 20 years ago and helped pioneer Boston's retail renaissance with two 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 developments in over 20 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 Boards 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. KERRY ORENT (Producer) has served since 2002 as producer on FX's hit firefighter drama "Rescue Me," starring Denis Leary. In 2005, the show was honored by the Producers Guild of America with a Visionary Award, which acknowledges producers whose work demonstrates a unique or uplifting quality. Upcoming, Orent will serve as executive producer on the romantic comedy "Definitely, Maybe," starring Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin and Kevin Kline. The film is scheduled for release on February 14, 2008. Orent's film credits as executive producer also include "Kate & Leopold," starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, under the direction of James Mangold; "Rounders," starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton; Jonathan Glazer's "Birth," starring Nicole Kidman; and Fred Schepisi's "It Runs in the Family," starring Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas. Additionally, Orent was a producer on James Gray's crime thriller "The Yards," starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix and Charlize Theron. Orent has also co-produced James Mangold's "Cop Land," with Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta; David O. Russell's hilarious comedy "Flirting with Disaster," starring Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin; James Gray's feature directorial debut "Little Odessa," starring Tim Roth and Edward Furlong; John Duigan's "The Journey of August King"; and Phillip Haas' "The Music of Chance." He was also a producer of an indie feature entitled "Dead Dog," directed by "Michael Clayton" co-producer, Christopher Goode. Orent's other television producing credits include the 2001-2002 ABC series "The Job," starring Denis Leary. Starting his filmmaking career in post¬production, Orent counts among his post-production supervising credits "The Pelican Brief," "Reversal of Fortune," "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "The Cotton Club." STEVEN SODERBERGH (Executive Producer) won an Academy Award for Best Director for his 2000 ensemble drama "Traffic." He had earned dual Best Director Oscar nominations that year, also receiving one for "Erin Brockovich," starring Julia Roberts in her Oscar-winning performance. Soderbergh had earlier gained an Academy Award 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 Jacobs' 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 biography in "About the Cast" section above. 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 Oscar-winning film "The English Patient," which he adapted and directed from Michael Ondaatje's novel of the same name. "The English Patient" won more than 30 international awards, among them nine Academy Awards, 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. Minghella made his feature film debut directing and writing the critically acclaimed "Truly Madly Deeply," which won several awards, including a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. His other film work includes "The Talented Mr. Ripley," which he adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, and seven BAFTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Since 2000, 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 "Breaking and Entering." He is currently in production on "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency." For the stage, Minghella directed "Madama Butterfly" with his wife, Carolyn Choa. "Madama Butterfly" was a co-production of The English National Opera House, The Lithuanian Opera House and The Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production. Since December 2002, Minghella has been Chairman of the British Film Institute. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the University of Hull, the University of Southampton and the University of Bournemouth. 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 honored in 2006 with an Academy Award nomination for his work on George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck." For the film, he won an Independent Spirit Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography. He also received a nomination for Best Achievement in Cinematography from the American Society of Cinematographers. Elswit has worked with numerous acclaimed directors, including Stephen Gaghan on "Syriana"; Paul Thomas Anderson on "Punch-Drunk Love," "Magnolia," "Boogie Nights" and "Hard Eight"; David Mamet on "Heist"; Don Roos on "Bounce"; Curtis Hanson on "The River Wild," "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and "Bad Influence"; and Stephen Gyllenhaal on "A Dangerous Woman," "Waterland," "Paris Trout" and "A Killing in a Small Town." His other film credits include Paul Weitz's "American Dreamz," Gary Fleder's "Runaway Jury" and "Imposter," Roger Spottiswoode's "Tomorrow Never Dies," "Boys," "The Pallbearer," Mike Newell's "Amazing Grace and Chuck," "Desert Hearts," and Rob Reiner's "The Sure Thing." Following "Michael Clayton," Elswit's work can be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," a film adaptation of Upton Sinclair's novel Oil!, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The film is set for release this November. KEVIN THOMPSON (Production Designer) served as production designer on Marc Forster's acclaimed fantasy drama "Stranger Than Fiction," starring Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah and Dustin Hoffman. Thompson had previously collaborated with Forster on the 2005 thriller "Stay," starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. Thompson's other film credits include the sleeper hit "Igby Goes Down," starring Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes and Jeff Goldblum; Bart Freundlich's "Trust the Man" and "World Traveler"; "Birth," starring Nicole Kidman; "The Yards," starring Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix; "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; James Toback's "Two Girls and a Guy," with Heather Graham and Robert Downey Jr.; Cindy Sherman's "Office Killer"; Ismail Merchant's "The Proprietor"; Larry Clark's controversial film "Kids"; "Little Odessa," with Tim Roth and Vanessa Redgrave; "Party Girl," starring Parker Posey; and David O. Russell's "Flirting with Disaster." Prior to his work in feature films, Thompson began his career as an architect and went on to design sets for short films, commercials, theater and music videos. His short film credits include Spike Jonze's "Dog Boy," Tom Kalin's "Urban Legends" and Tamara Jenkins' "Family Remains." JOHN GILROY (Editor) has edited many features over the past decade and a half. He recently completed Gavin O'Connor's film "Pride and Glory," starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight. Also with O'Connor, Gilroy edited "Miracle," starring Kurt Russell, and "Tumbleweeds," for which Janet McTeer won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Gilroy has also worked several times with director Joe Carnahan, editing "Narc," starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric, and "Ticker," a short film starring Clive Owen and Don Cheadle in BMW Films' "The Hire" short film series. Gilroy won a Cleo Award for his work on the latter. His other editing credits include "Trust the Man," starring Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup; "First Born," starring Elisabeth Shue; "Suspect Zero," starring Aaron Eckhart, Carrie-Anne Moss and Ben Kingsley; "Shadow Magic," starring Jared Harris and Yu Xia; and "Billy Madison," starring Adam Sandler. After graduating from Dartmouth College, Gilroy came up through the editing ranks in the `80s working as an assistant editor on numerous features, including two by Francis Ford Coppola, "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Gardens of Stone." His first editing credit was "The Luckiest Man in the World," written and directed by his father, Frank D. Gilroy. "Michael Clayton" marks Gilroy's first collaboration with his brother Tony Gilroy. JAMES NEWTON HOWARD (Composer) is a six-time Academy Award nominee and one of the industry's most prolific composers, with more than 100 motion picture and television scores to his credit. His latest Oscar 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, "The Sixth Sense," and subsequently including "Unbreakable," "Signs" and "Lady in the Water." Howard also received Oscar nominations for his work on "My Best Friend's Wedding," "The Fugitive" and "The Prince of Tides." He gained two more Oscar 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 Globe 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 in television, Howard won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme for the series "Gideon's Crossing" and earned an Emmy nomination in the same category for "ER." SARAH EDWARDS (Costume Designer) designed the costumes for Sydney Pollack's political thriller "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. Based in New York, Edwards has designed the costumes for Boaz Yakin's "Uptown Girls," starring Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning, and Burr Steers' "Igby Goes Down," for which she was nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award. She counts among her other film credits "The Perfect You," starring Jenny McCarthy, "Jack Frost," starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston, and Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco," starring Chloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale. As assistant costume designer, Edwards worked on "Six Degrees of Separation," "The Quick and the Dead," "Great Expectations," "Lolita" and "The Pallbearer." In 1997, she co-designed "The Devil's Advocate" with Judianna Makovsky. Edwards' work in the theatre includes the Broadway production of "Tru," the 2005 production of David Mamet's "Romance" at the Mark Taper Forum and 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. Official Web Site: http://michaelclayton.warnerbros.com/ Back to main movie page Showing Today at: Click here for other showings