Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was an Italian composer, pianist and writer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In 1939 he immigrated to the United States and became a film composer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next fifteen years. He also wrote concertos for Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky.
Jon Raymond Polito was an American actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. His television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and Phil Bartoli on the first season of Crime Story. He also appeared in several films including The Rocketeer, The Crow and Gangster Squad, as well as his work with the Coen brothers. He appeared in five of their films, including Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski. Polito also portrayed "hungry i" nightclub impresario Enrico Banducci in a large supporting role in Tim Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
Alexander Harper Berkeley is an American actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His films include Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Candyman (1992), Barb Wire (1996), Air Force One (1997), Gattaca (1997), and Shanghai Noon (2000). He also appeared in the crime dramas L.A. Takedown (1989) and its remake Heat (1995), although he played a different character in each film. On television, he headlined the Citytv psychological thriller The Booth at the End (2010–2012) and was a series regular on the Fox action drama 24 (2001–2003) and The CW action thriller Nikita (2010–2012). As a guest star, Berkeley portrayed Sheriff Thomas McAllister on the CBS drama The Mentalist (2008–2013) and Gregory on the AMC post-apocalyptic horror The Walking Dead (2016–2018).
Timecode is a 2000 American experimental film written and directed by Mike Figgis and featuring a large ensemble cast, including Salma Hayek, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Suzy Nakamura, Kyle MacLachlan, Saffron Burrows, Holly Hunter, Julian Sands, Xander Berkeley, Leslie Mann and Mía Maestro.
Dame Emma Thomas, Lady Nolan, is a British film producer. She has produced all of the feature films directed by her husband Sir Christopher Nolan, which have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide and are regarded as some of the greatest films of their respective decades.
Son of Lassie is a 1945 American Technicolor feature film produced by MGM based on characters created by Eric Knight, and starring Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart and Pal. A sequel to Lassie Come Home (1943), the film focuses on the now adult Joe Carraclough after he joins the Royal Air Force during World War II and is shot down over Nazi-occupied Norway along with a stowaway, Lassie's son "Laddie" – played by Pal. Son of Lassie was released theatrically on April 20, 1945, by Loew's.
Herman Stein was an American composer who wrote music for many of the 1950s science-fiction and horror films from Universal Studios. "Herman Stein was one of the architects of the sound of 1950s science-fiction movies." Stein retired in the 1970s and died of congestive heart failure in his home in Los Angeles at the age of 91.
Michael Victor Sporn was an American animator who founded his New York City-based company, Michael Sporn Animation in 1980, and produced and directed numerous animated TV specials and short spots.
The Wrecking Crew is an American documentary film directed by Denny Tedesco, son of guitarist Tommy Tedesco. It covers the story of the Los Angeles–based group of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, famed for having played on numerous hit recordings throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The film premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival.
Courage of Lassie is a 1946 American Technicolor MGM feature film featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal.
Strictly Dishonorable is a 1951 romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, and starring Ezio Pinza and Janet Leigh. It is the second film to be based on Preston Sturges' 1929 hit Broadway play of the same name after a pre-Code film released by Universal Pictures in 1931 with the same title.
Syncopy Inc. is a British-American film production company founded and operated by Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan. The name of the company is a play on syncopation and was suggested to Nolan by his late father, who was a classical music fan. It has offices in London and Los Angeles.
David Joseph Phillips is a Canadian actor and producer best known for starring in numerous theatrical performances in Toronto and at the Stratford Festival, hosting Video & Arcade Top 10 and The Miss Canada Pageant. He is also known for acting in the films Poker Night,Shark City, Green Guys and Re-Generator, and then producing and acting in Life Happens , Moments of Clarity, Amateur Night, Mission Park, The Maestro and Eat Wheaties!.
Jerome Philip Herst, known as Jerry Herst, was a lawyer and a songwriter best known for his collaborations with Jack Sharpe on a number of compositions, notably "So Rare", a much-recorded song that was published in 1937.
Wish Me Away is a 2011 documentary film directed by Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf. Winner of 12 film festival awards, it is about the coming out of the country music singer and gay rights activist Chely Wright. In May 2010, she had become the first major country music performer to publicly come out as gay.
Brinton Averil Smith is an American cellist.
Maestro is a 2023 American biographical romantic drama film that centers on the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre. It was directed by Bradley Cooper, from a screenplay he wrote with Josh Singer. It was produced by Cooper, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Fred Berner and Amy Durning. The film stars Carey Mulligan as Montealegre alongside Cooper as Bernstein; Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, and Sarah Silverman appear in supporting roles.
Adam Cushman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and author. He directed the films Restraint and The Maestro. His books include the novel "Cut" (2014) and "Critically Acclaimed" (2018).
Jonathan Wysocki is an American writer, director and producer of independent films. He is known for his feature film Dramarama (2020), and for his award-winning short films A Doll's Eyes (2016) and Adjust-A-Dream (2014).
