Ambition, greed, lust and jealousy take center stage as a group of ruthless strivers compete for riches and power in “Sharper,” a neo-noir thriller set in the bedrooms, barrooms and boardrooms of New York City. Everyone is out for themselves and no one is exactly who they seem as a bookstore owner, a PhD. candidate, a business magnate, an elegant socialite and her ne’er-do-well son collide in a high- stakes game that will keep audiences guessing until the very last secret is revealed.

“Sharper” is directed by Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Benjamin Caron from the Black List script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka. The film is produced by Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich; Gatewood and Tanaka; and Erik Feig and Jessica Switch through Picturestart, with Julia Hammer and Amy Herman executive producing, and Jodie Caron serving as co-producer.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

When Julianne Moore first came across the script for “Sharper,” a suspenseful character-driven drama about seduction, deception and betrayal, its multiple points of view, twists and turns astonished her. “It was wild and fun and entertaining,” she recalls. “The characters are unforgettable. It’s really funny. It’s very mysterious. It’s surprising. It’s the kind of movie I love myself and I hadn’t seen one like it for a long time.”

Written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, the film was first conceived around the time the pair met as students in Columbia University’s screenwriting program. But when Tanaka shared the idea in one of his classes, the response was lukewarm. “So I put it away,” Tanaka remembers. “Fast forward to about 15 years and I came across it in my files. I really thought there was something there so I showed it to Brian. He just said, ‘We’re putting everything else aside until we finish this.’”

Longtime fans of thrillers, they began discussing how to give the genre a fresh and modern take. “We had long conversations about how pervasive cheating and lying has become,” says Gatewood. “Fake news is everywhere. People can go online and create profiles and false impressions of who they are. Everything has to be questioned.”

“Our goal was to write a fun, entertaining and engrossing movie with some social relevance for adults that plays with that idea,” adds Tanaka. “Within six weeks, we had our first draft.”

The first person the pair sent it to was Moore. “She actually got back to us that day,” says Gatewood. “She wanted to meet as soon as possible. Within a week, we were in New York with her talking about our script.”

The trio also talked about their shared love for the kind of movies they had grown up on, says Tanaka. “You don’t see those movies much anymore — sophisticated, mid-budget films made for grownups.”

Moore wasted no time before making a surprising offer. “I told them I wanted to play Madeline and I wanted to produce it,” she remembers. “Brian and Alessandro are extraordinary writers. One of the things I had been missing in the material I was seeing is this kind of character work, where the drama is driven by what these people are doing and saying to each other, not by some outside action. This has been my first time as a real hands-on producer spearheading a film and it came together in the most wonderful way.”

“Sharper” traces the lives of five New Yorkers as they interconnect and don the masks people wear to get what they want. “None of us is the same person to everyone,” says Gatewood. “It’s pretty common to give ourselves a professional or social advantage by behaving in a certain way. Some may even do it for nefarious reasons.”

With Moore’s imprimatur, the screenplay quickly became a hot commodity, soon appearing on the 2020 Hollywood Black List of the most promising unproduced screenplays. “But even before that, as soon as people heard Julianne was committed to producing and starring, we started getting offers,” says Gatewood. “She brought in producer Erik Feig of Picturestart right away and we eventually pulled in A24 and Apple as well.”

“I started reading ‘Sharper’ late one night, thinking I was just going to read a few pages before signing off and finishing it the next day, but at the first surprising turn at the 20-page mark, I sat bolt upright and started smiling, and then didn’t stop smiling or reading until I had inhaled the whole thing,” says Feig. “The twists were so smart and so well constructed, but it was really the character work that made the script feel like more than an homage to noir classics, as much as I love them. I immediately reached out and said I had to be involved.”

Tanaka feels that without Moore’s support, it might have taken a lot longer for “Sharper” to reach the screen. “Julianne pushed this movie forward,” he says. “We were blessed to have her. She guided it with a very steady hand in everything from choosing the director to casting. She really deserves the lion’s share of the credit for putting the entire movie together.”

“It was such a familial group that came together in developing and packaging the script, and more so because it was in the deepest depths of COVID,” says Feig. “Talking about the project and mapping out the elegant turns was our happy place and reminded us of the kinds of movies we first set out to make in the business.”

LOOKING FOR DIRECTION

Director Benjamin Caron, at the time best known for helming marquee episodes of the hit series “The Crown,” threw his hat into the ring early on, recalls Moore. “Ben had a magnificent pitch,” she says. “I responded to his sense of how these people relate to one another. He had the intellectual, emotional and visual clarity we were looking for.”

While giving his take on the material, Caron referenced some of Moore’s favorite character pieces of the 1970s. “He talked about movies with a lot of visual flair and emotion,” says Moore. “He described the way in which each character’s point of view would be highlighted as the film progresses, with the city always present as a sixth character. He talked about color a lot, what color the character brought to the film in terms of the temperature. His specificity was so wonderful. I felt we were in very assured in his hands.”

“Because I’m so gullible, I kept on gasping at every twist,” says producer Jessica Switch. “I had no idea where it was going. It surprised me at every turn and I loved that. By the third act, I was anticipating a huge twist and I was ready for it. When the big moment happens, I was honestly second guessing myself on what to believe. That’s the sign of a great story.”

“We had been huge fans of Ben from ‘The Crown’ and also ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ and hearing more of his personal life and connection to the world of ‘sharpers’ – nothing too close to home, don’t worry! – we knew he could make the world feel rich, layered and gorgeous but not artificial,” says Feig. “Every turn, every twist, was always motivated by character in his approach.”

Agrees Switch, “Ben came in with a personal connection and incredible insight to this very specific world. We loved his work on ‘The Crown’ and we were blown away by his perspective. He put together an incredible deck for the big pitch. The images were so thoughtful, and he was able to bring the story to life on one Zoom. We were all so impressed.”

Describing the screenplay as smart, funny, sexy, character-driven and original, Caron says he embraced the nonlinear nature of the narrative. “The structure itself echoes the story’s tricks and turns,” he notes. “It seemed to me a very American movie, which would allow me to explore the feel of some films that I loved, like ‘Klute.’”

“Sharper” is also a New York City movie to its bones. “The city operates at the sharp end of the American Dream,” Caron says. “It is a transactional place that in a few short decades became the heart of free market capitalism, hostile takeovers, deregulation and bull markets, and insane wealth. The evidence of the chasm between rich and poor is everywhere. It’s also a city that attracts hustlers, chancers and grifters. Our characters could only exist there.”

Moore, who has resided in the city for most of her adult life, agrees that this is an only in New York story. “This is very much about the city as a place where everything is allowed,” she explains. “You can be whoever you want to be. There don’t seem to be any kind of parameters to what people can experience here. Anything can happen.”

A PERFECT COUPLE

A stunning cast of award-winning actors give life to a group of questers and schemers, all looking for the opportunity to make their mark in the world. “These actors’ performances bring to the characters the depth of human experience — the minutiae, the joy, the tragedy, the paradox and the contradictions,” says Caron.

Each character is uniquely flawed, but none more so than Madeline, as portrayed with exceptional power and nuance by Moore. “Madeline is addicted to winning and obsessively seeks power,” explains Caron. “She expresses her vulnerability by exerting it over everyone who comes into her circle.

Julianne is perfect in that role. She approaches her work with quiet intensity and complete professionalism, while also being incredibly kind at all times.”

Moore says one of the things that fascinates her most as an actor is watching relationships unfold on screen. “I’ve made a lot of ensemble movies and this is a great example of how strong an ensemble can be,” she says. “I like to watch them and I like to be in them. Life is a lot like an ensemble movie, really.”

One of the most lauded actors working today, John Lithgow has received two Tony Awards, six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, three SAG Awards and has been nominated for two Oscars and four Grammys, among other honors. As Richard, a hedge fund billionaire and socially acceptable apex predator, Lithgow plays a man who has employed his innate and brutal ruthlessness to succeed. “John is a wonderful actor and human being,” says Caron. “We met when I directed him as Winston Churchill in ‘The Crown’ and we’d been hoping to work together again ever since.”

Lithgow says he loves that the film keeps the audience guessing. “You honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next, right up to the end. Here are five fascinating, complicated, devious characters interacting. Some of them are not what they seem, and that’s all I’ll tell you. But by the end, you feel like nobody’s actually legit.”

“Richard is a very powerful man who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps and thinks everybody else should too,” he continues. “But late in life he finds himself addled with love for Madeline. He’s got power, love and fear all cooking inside him. The way it folds in and out of the plot is a terrific piece of storytelling.”

The actor gives Caron high praise for his handling of their second collaboration. “He is superb,” Lithgow says. “This may be Ben’s first feature, but he was in charge of some of the best actors in the world on ‘The Crown.’ When I was on my way to the first rehearsal for ‘Sharper,’ the driver told me he’d gotten this letter from Ben that had been sent to every single member of the crew. He said it’s the first time he’d ever gotten a letter. And I got that letter, too.”

“All the casting was tricky in the film, because in essence every actor is playing at least two characters with their one character,” says Feig. “But the role of Richard is interesting in that he is the only character who is not, knowingly, playing a con game. At the same time, though he is a sophisticated pillar of society, we are able to play with what it means to be an ‘institutionalized’ sharper. He may be wearing a suit and chairing the gala, but make no mistake, he can be just as wily as any of the other cons in the film. We knew we needed someone brilliant but also approachable, diabolical but also likable, and that perfect blend rests squarely with John Lithgow.”

Lithgow had also long been a huge fan of Moore’s and had been waiting for a chance to work with her for many years. “She’s one of the most original and courageous actors around and she loves to act,” he explains. “I can’t quite imagine this film without her. It’s almost as if the script was written with all of us in mind. It’s really good actors, playing characters who are really good actors.”

Moore returns the praise and then some, admitting that she has admired Lithgow for a long time. “He’s so accomplished and yet so incredibly kind,” she says. “Every ounce of his acting is exciting to watch. It was wonderful to work with him, as it was with this entire cast. They’re really different and surprising and they’re as wonderful in person as they are as actors.”

A TRIPLE THREAT

There was a great deal of discussion among the filmmakers regarding the casting of the character of Sandra, an urban naïf whose bad choices begin to entrap her. “Sandra is obviously a very central figure in the movie,” notes Moore. “A lot of the plot revolves around what happens to her. To find Briana Middleton to play her — this lovely, talented girl who is just starting her career — was a real stroke of luck. The camera loves her. She’s a natural movie star.”

Feig adds, “There are so many deeply important things that are experienced or explained in ‘Sharper’ just as a close up of Sandra, on Briana Middleton’s face. It was a stroke of fantastic luck for us to meet her and a testament to her immensely strong but also subtle work that all of us levitated watching her self-tape on Zoom.”

“We had so many actors read for Sandra,” agrees Switch. “Everyone wanted to play this role. But once we saw Brianna’s read, it was unanimous. We all collectively felt she was Sandra and that it would only be a matter of time before she is number one on the call sheet.”

Middleton drew critical kudos for her first major motion picture performance last year in “The Tender Bar,” starring Ben Affleck and Tye Sheridan, and directed by George Clooney. “Strangely this is another story about families — both the one we’re given and the ones we create for ourselves,” she says. “It’s also a story of self-realization and self-creation of the stories we tell ourselves and everyone else, about ourselves.”

Tackling the serpentine narrative of “Sharper” was an exciting challenge for Middleton. “I’d never read anything structured in such an unusual way,” she notes. “It’s suspenseful, clever and fun. ‘Sharper’ is a thriller that is just a never-ending line of questions. Even at the end, you’re still left with questions. It felt unique.”

Youthful and optimistic, Sandra wants to see the best in people, despite a tumultuous past, according to the actress. “She doesn’t know the world she’s entering in the same way the others do,” she says. “Sandra slowly realizes that she may have bitten off more than she can chew.”

The actress says she found inspiration for her character in a playlist she made for Sandra, selecting certain songs that matched parts of her story, including Adele’s cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong,” some Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar and a lot of Sade. “But there’s a couple of upbeat bangers in there too,” she says. “You’ll see her and the other characters in some extreme circumstances and be surprised at what they do.”

And working with these filmmakers and this cast was a life-changing experience, says Middleton. “Julianne’s so sweet, warm and encouraging. The best part was hearing someone as experienced as her sometimes say, ‘Oh, I don’t know,” and be okay with that. As a young actor, it felt very validating to know I don’t have to have all the answers. I can just be in the moment. It has clearly worked out for her to be open to whatever comes. And Ben was endlessly curious about the different ways that we could shoot something. To find a different take on a line or a scene, or new ways to tie other moments in the script back to each other, he always wants to find those little gems and never gets tired of playing with different options.”

The movie begins as Sandra meets Tom, a charming but shy bookstore owner, while looking for a gift for her professor. “That is the beginning of their relationship, which is rather sweet and hopeful,” the actress says. “Justice Smith, who plays Tom, is great. He’s very playful and loose on set, so there was always a fun, creative and collaborative energy around him.”

The role of Tom required a very specific type of actor, says Moore. “Justice has a sweetness about him

— an openness, a sense of joy and a soulful quality that anchors the movie.”

Smith says he doesn’t normally like to read a script in one sitting, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t put “Sharper” down. “There were so many surprises!” the actor says. “I never knew where it was going to go. Every time I thought I had it figured out, it revealed itself to be something completely different.”

Tom, who has recently lost his mother and is estranged from his father, is looking for connection in a very lonely world, according to Smith. “His bookstore is his life,” he says. “He lets it isolate him from the rest of the world. When Sandra enters his life, she becomes the light at the end of the tunnel. She is everything that he’s ever looked for in a partner. She shows him that he can be loved. So when things from Sandra’s past start bubbling up, Tom tries to find a way to help her through that.”

“When the movie begins, you think you are watching a romantic comedy and you are rooting for these two young people to find love and stay together,” says Feig. “But then, wham! You realize it might be a little more complicated. But from the jump, you are wildly on Tom’s side and rooting for him, and his experiences are yours, the audience’s. We knew we needed someone charismatic, sympathetic, trusting, but also highly intelligent. Thank god we found Justice!”

Because each act of the film is told from a different character’s perspective, the audience is often left to decide what they think is the truth, Feig points out. “Things you might have believed at the start begin to show a darker side. It touches on the way that we perceive ourselves and other people, and the duality in everyday life, where first impressions are only the tip of the iceberg. And money infects the ability to empathize. I think it can be blinding and can turn people into wolves.”

Smith says that the time spent with his colleagues on the film also fostered some new friendships. “Briana is an absolute force,” he raves. “Julie is so cool. She makes incredibly bold choices on each take, leading by example. I don’t think she seeks to teach, but I always absorb so much from talking to her. And Ben — it’s really refreshing to work with a director who puts character first.”

Sebastian Stan, recently nominated for an Emmy Award for playing Motley Cruë drummer Tommy Lee in “Pam & Tommy,” appears in “Sharper” as Max, who serves as a mentor for Sandra when she finds herself down and out in New York. “I so admire Sebastian,” says Moore. “The energy he brings to Max is just extraordinary. Each of these characters is an incredibly mutable human being and Sebastian was really able to bring that dimensionality to his character. He’s very vibrant, very alive on screen.”

Caron calls Max audacious, smart and inventive, as well as vulnerable and unpredictable. “It’s a precarious balance and Sebastian inhabits those dualisms while commanding your emotional investment,” he says. “He’s terrifically committed to his character and to exploring the truth of the story.”

When Caron and Stan started trading emails about inspirations for “Sharper,” the actor was intrigued by the director’s plan to make a movie in the spirit of some of their mutually favored films. “I felt like we

were very much on the same page,” he says. “It is a character-based film that is fun and unpredictable. I always want to be surprised by a film and I think we had a good opportunity to do that.”

“I know I drove Sebastian crazy by telling him he has to be the next James Bond, but he has to be!” raves Feig. “There are few people who combine wit, humor, calculation and vulnerability, toughness and emotional openness as well as Sebastian, and the look on his face at the end of the movie is, to me, classic movie star icon status.”

“We were lucky to get Sebastian before he got really hot off ‘Fresh’ and ‘Pam and Tommy,’” adds Switch. “He has an intensity to him that feels so natural but also a bit unhinged – in the best way! There were audible screams on set in the hotel room when he punches the wall. We were all shocked. We weren’t expecting him to take it that far.”

Of all the characters, Max lives life closest to the edge. Driven by the adrenaline of the moment, he has a talent for deceit. Unpacking that would be a challenge, the actor admits. “He presents with many different personalities in the film, so it was a bit of a guessing game to identify the real Max,” says Stan. “It’s a seductive world that Madeline has pulled Max into. She pushes him forward in a way that has traumatic effects. He passes on that education and that experience to Sandra, who finds her own way to pay it forward.”

Stan says there were myriad reasons he wanted to be part of the film, but having the opportunity to work with these actors and this creative team were at the top of the list. “Julianne was probably 90 percent of the reason I wanted to work on this film. I found her to be an incredibly generous person, very open. She clearly enjoys the process of making a movie. And Ben is a director who reads actors well. He’s a really good communicator. In this film, every scene has multiple messages that depend on your point of view. He put that jigsaw puzzle together so well.”

ONLY IN NEW YORK

Kevin Thompson’s work as a production designer has taken him to the many corners of New York City, from the Broadway theater world in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” working class Staten Island (“The King of Staten Island”) and the halls of media power (“Succession”). For “Sharper,” Thompson drew on his extensive knowledge of the city he loves.

“You won’t find a finer production designer working today,” says Caron. “Kevin knows New York like no one else. The city is an essential character in the film, so we talked about getting the pulse of New York just right. We agreed that ‘Sharper’ shouldn’t be a tourist video. I wanted to feel the specificity of each of the city’s neighborhoods. Kevin and the location managers took me on a tour around the different boroughs of New York. We immersed ourselves in the worlds of Madeline, Max, Sandra and Tom.”

The film was primarily shot on location in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as on a Queens soundstage. “You see people on the streets, in big houses and tiny apartments,” says Moore. “The variety of experience and emotion you feel here is very specific to New York. We built a lot of the interiors on the stage. Kevin Thompson designed gorgeous sets.”

Thompson’s ingenuity and skill is dramatically displayed in Richard’s lavish Fifth Avenue apartment and luxurious office spaces. Inspired by 1970s modernism, the vast Upper East Side penthouse reflects wealth and power. “The scale of the rooms alone tells you that he is one of the elite,” says Thompson. “All empty real estate and only a few people walking around. His arrogance is clear from the way he bought into a historic building for the prestige and then disrespected it by having his architect completely gut-renovate with cold, modern walls and textures.”

Each of the five acts of the film has a different look and feel, the designer reveals. “The first act seems like a romantic comedy,” he says. “It’s springtime in the West Village. It’s colorful and full of beautiful young people. The feeling is downtown, slightly bohemian. It is cozy and warm to reflect how you feel about these people in the first act. The second act lands you in a much harsher, colder environment, taking the audience off guard. It starts in a Queens bar with harsh lighting and moves to Max’s apartment, which is just a bland, neutral, anonymous space with no art on the walls.”

The end result of Thompson’s efforts is an insider’s view of the city that includes both iconic locations like Washington Square Park, as well as more obscure and personal settings. “I sought out ways of shooting New York that were unique to this film,” Caron says. “I deliberately restricted featuring too much sky for most of the film. My own impression is that the sky in New York is only what you can see slotted between tall buildings. You rarely see a horizon or achieve perspective. It can be claustrophobic, which was perfect for our characters. And then there’s that contrast in the final chapter when we’re in a flat, open space where we see nothing but sky and suddenly the characters have nowhere to hide.”

Caron had long hoped he would be able to shoot his first feature on film and the 35-millimeter format was essential to the look and feel that he and director of photography Charlotte Bruus Christensen created. “I don’t know how else to achieve the randomness of the grain, the information and the empty space between your characters, the liquid texture of the light,” the director says. “Charlotte has extensive experience in shooting on film, so she was the perfect choice.”

Christensen, honored for her work on “Far From the Madding Crowd” and “Jagten,” says she and the director had long conversations about using style, mood and rhythm to create a confident, classic- looking movie with a very modern story. “We knew from the start we wanted to shoot on 35-millimeter both for the look and the atmosphere it creates on set,” she explains. “We used widescreen anamorphic lenses from the Panavision C-Series, lenses that I am very familiar with. They are unique. Each one has its own character. Ben is a very visual director who is always aware of camera moves, lenses,

lighting, all that stuff. Everything we did was a deliberate choice. For me, it was wonderful to be able to work with someone who was knowledgeable about cinematography.”

“When I initially spoke to Charlotte, we talked about Gordon Willis, the cinematographer known as ‘the prince of darkness,’” says Caron. “We both love his sophisticated compositions of light. I wanted to use shadows and underexpose long takes to infuse every frame with meaning, atmosphere and delicacy.”

Creating a recognizable but never stereotypical view of New York City was accomplished using small touches that will instantly remind the audience of the Big Apple. “But you won’t see that familiar shot of the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn side of the river,” Christensen cautions. “It’s in the details, like the yellow taxis, the flower shops and the placement of small trees along the sidewalks, rather than postcard images. Ben also focused a great deal on the background actors, who they are, what they look like and what they tell the audience about place.”

Emmy Award-nominated costume designer Melissa Toth says she likes to start each project by having conversations with each of the actors to get their impressions of their characters. “Some, like Julianne Moore, have concrete ideas and have done a lot of investigative legwork in advance,” she says. “Other actors ask more questions and don’t come to any answers until we get into the fitting room. I also played with the idea that each of our characters could be their own costume designer, perfecting the looks they use to fool their individual audiences.When we meet Madeline, it is autumn, and that is helpful in setting up the joie de vivre of her social set in New York City. Fall is the time for the arts and fundraising parties. And, of course, when Sandra and Tom meet, it’s springtime in New York, a classic romantic season.”

For inspiration, Toth often turned to social media. “In the past I used street photography for contemporary costumes, but with Instagram a lot of that gumshoe work is already out there for the picking,” she observes. “I love to dig into archives and period photography. We were inspired by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s effortless chic for some of the details of Madeline’s looks and I was looking at Will Smith for Tom.”

Creating a wardrobe for Madeline, a woman who epitomizes wealth and glamour, proved to be great fun for Toth. “Madeline is a woman who spends an unlimited amount of money on her clothes, jewelry, and accessories,” says Toth. “After several fittings, we nailed down each of her 20 or so looks. We didn’t plan it but somehow there was a lot of pink, red, orange and burgundy. Those were the colors that seemed right for her.”

As someone renowned for her appreciation of fashion, Moore dove into that aspect of her character. “I love clothes so it was great,” she says. “I think everything we do and say in our lives is a signifier. We’re telling people who we are and how we want to be seen by the way we dress, the way we do our hair,

the glasses we wear, the way we walk. In this movie, people — and my character, in particular — are sending very specific signals. I get to wear the most beautiful clothes and some great jewelry.”

The seasons and character matching gave Toth another avenue to expression. “I like that the Max and Sandra chapter takes place in winter,” she says. “Sandra goes through a major transformation in the story, so we dressed her in a pumpkin orange bomber jacket when we first meet her, which evokes a Cinderella transformative fairy tale. The winter gives a sense of coldness to Max’s personality, so we kept his palette very dark.”

Toth says that after collaborating with Caron on the film, he has become one of her all-time favorite directors. “He is willing to let ideas germinate and he has the patience to let creative ideas form over time. He also has boundless trust in his creative heads. None of us like or want someone breathing down our necks while we produce ideas. It was a joy to work with him.”

PRECISE STORYTELLING

Editor Yan Miles and Caron have frequently worked together on series over the last decade, including “The Crown” and the recent “Star Wars” spinoff “Andor.” Miles was delighted to reteam with his longtime colleague on what would be an unusual project for them both. “The big questions I had were about shooting on film,” says Miles. “The complication it presented was some delay. On digital, you see the footage immediately. With film, you see it a day later. I was able to set a feed that is like a small camera inside the film camera that produces digital files. It looks like the worst VHS tape you’ve ever seen. It was like watching a cascade of mud that sort of resembles the scene. But I could get them quickly and feed them into the AVID to start planning. The miracle would happen the next day when I saw the final stuff. In general, my plans didn’t really change that much. It allowed me to assure Ben that everything was working.”

Finding a path through the film’s meandering narrative also presented a new challenge for the editor. He says it takes precise storytelling to present events in non-chronological order and from different points of view without confusing the audience. “The brilliance of this script is that it manages to do that constantly,” Miles says. “There’s a montage in the second act that I especially enjoyed editing. Without giving anything away, it shows you bits of certain characters that you didn’t get to know earlier or that will prove revelatory later.”

Composer Clint Mansell, who has created scores for films including “Black Swan,” “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Wrestler,” was excited by the potential to add to the story through music. “All of the characters are in some ways lost or broken,” he notes. “The momentum of the story provides a lot of room for the music to bring the unspoken subtext to the film. It was something I could really get my teeth into.”

One of the challenges he faced was how to reflect the different narrative perspective of each chapter. “If we tried to keep changing the music with the story, it would become schizophrenic,” he observes. “A movie’s score needs a cohesive thread. I saw Sandra as that. Her story is central. We see many important things from her point of view. She’s not omnipresent, but her story inspired what I think of as the spine of the score.”

Things really got rolling when Caron, Miles and co-producer Jodie Caron came to Los Angeles for several days to meet with Mansell. “We had put together enough material to have conversations that eventually helped crack the puzzle and translate it into music,” the composer recalls. “It was great to be part of that team.”

In a movie where motives are often unclear, people are not who they seem and what the audience sees is not always fact, Mansell says he hopes the score has heart and soul, mystery and a certain ambiguity that keeps the audience wondering. “The score and source tracks should work together to take us someplace unexpected.”

Music supervisor Simon Astall selected tracks he felt had a timeless feeling and an undertone of New York jazz and soul. “Ben’s big note was that he wanted music that wasn’t going to date easily,” he explains. “It had to be cool and classy. We wanted music that would reflect character, but also location. I read the script, made a playlist and from there we went back and forth. We tried to stay away from anything too modern or on the nose. There is a scene in a Japanese restaurant that looked like the kind of place that might play vinyl from Japan so I brought a track by the artist Masatoshi Nakamura. For Sandra, we dropped some Supremes, which her grandmother could have played when she was growing up.”

Astall says he sometimes likes to enhance the story subtly with lyrical themes as well. “Max is ‘Slippery People’ by Talking Heads, which was a great fit for him, and some cool New York ’80s music,” he says. “He and Madeline have a scene where they dance to Don Henley’s ‘Dirty Laundry’ in a dive bar, which was fitting.”

But the song choices are mostly intended to evoke an overall feeling, he says. For example, a romantic track by soul musician Curtis Harding starts during a montage of Tom and Sandra and then plays in the kitchen as they start to fall in love, creating a sense of continuity in the relationship. For a party in Richard’s penthouse, Caron hadn’t planned on live music until Astall pointed out that the billionaire could afford any of the best jazz singers in New York. “So we got Samara Joy to perform in that scene,” says the music supervisor. “Details like that bring the authenticity that was so important to Ben, our editor Yan and me.”

CINDERELLA STORY

In addition to being a thrilling crime story, “Sharper” is interested in the way people talk, lie, impersonate and connive in order to get what they want. At times, the stakes may seem low, but small deceptions have far-reaching, explosive effects. “We are exploring a deeper theme,” Caron says. “It’s a film where confidence is currency. The profit motive affects every aspect of our lives, from sex to physical and mental health, family, work and politics, and certainly not least, love. As an Englishman making a film about the U.S. in the U.S., I hope I bring an outsider’s sensibility that was advantageous to telling the story.”

“We all love stories of transformation, but ‘Sharper’ is so brilliant because it twists, and then twists again, just who is transforming, in whose estimation, and to what end,” says Feig. “We always wanted to make a modern noir romance that spoke about class, race, and gender in an elegant and timeless way but that also just entertained. Every time I hear audiences gasp at the end of the film, I think ‘Ben did it!’”

Caron believes the idea of transformation is hugely seductive for most people. “The notion of escaping one reality with all its contingent difficulties and entering another improved set of circumstances is the realm of fairy tales,” he says. “It’s Cinderella going to the ball. It’s George Bernard Shaw’s Eliza in ‘Pygmalion.’ It’s Vivian in ‘Pretty Woman.’ We are conditioned to respond positively to stories of reinvention. I would say that the transformations in ‘Sharper,’ being motivated by deceit, are more unscrupulous and cunning. Transformation here is a weapon of treachery as much as wish fulfillment, which hopefully makes it more intriguing. Sexual politics, trust and treachery build, like a poker game in which the stakes get higher and higher.”

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ABOUT THE CAST

JULIANNE MOORE

‘Madeline,’ Producer

Julianne Moore is an Academy Award, BAFTA and Emmy Award winner known for her breadth of work and a host of memorable performances. Moore was the first American woman to be awarded top acting prizes at the Berlin, Venice and Cannes film festivals. Most recently, she starred opposite Finn Wolfhard in “When You Finish Saving the World,” written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. In 2021 she starred in “Lisey’s Story,” based on the Stephen King novel, and the Broadway adaptation “Dear Evan Hansen,” alongside Ben Platt.

In 2015 Moore won an Oscar, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA and SAG Award, among other honors, for her role in “Still Alice,” alongside Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin and Kate Bosworth. In 2014 she received the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress Award for her work in “Maps to the Stars.”

Moore is the ninth person in AMPAS history to earn two Oscar nominations for acting in the same year. She was nominated for performances in “Far From Heaven” (Best Actress) and “The Hours” (Best Supporting Actress), after receiving many critics’ awards as well as SAG and Golden Globe nominations for both roles.

In 2012 Moore won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the movie “Game Change.” This role also garnered wins at the 2013 SAG Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Moore’s additional honors include the Excellence in Media Award at the 2004 GLAAD Media Awards, the Silver Bear at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, the 2002 Copa Volti for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, the Actor Award at the 2002 Gotham Awards and a Tribute to Independent Vision award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

In the course of her career Moore has starred in over 70 films including “The Glorias,” “After the Wedding,” “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” “Gloria Bell,” “Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1 & 2,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “A Single Man,” “The Forgotten” and “The Big Lebowski. “

Moore is a New York Times bestselling author for her children’s book series Freckleface Strawberry. In 2015 she became founding chair of the Everytown for Gun Safety’s Creative Council, a creative community established to help amplify the movement to end gun violence in America.

SEBASTIAN STAN

‘Max’

Sebastian Stan recently starred in the limited series “Pam & Tommy,” alongside Lily James. Stan’s portrayal of rocker Tommy Lee garnered his first Emmy nomination in the Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category, as well as his first Golden Globe nomination and a Critics Choice nomination. He can also be seen in Mimi Cave’s thriller “Fresh,” alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Stan recently wrapped production on the psychological thriller “A Different Man.” He is also an executive producer on the film.

In 2021 Stan reprised his role as ‘Bucky Barnes,’ the Winter Soldier, in the highly successful miniseries “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” alongside Anthony Mackie. Stan has also portrayed the character in multiple Marvel films including “Avengers: Endgame,” “Ant-Man,” “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

Stan’s work in independent films includes some of his most celebrated performances. In 2019 he starred in Drake Doremus’ “Endings, Beginnings,” alongside Jamie Dornan and Shailene Woodley, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He also starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Karyn Kusama’s “Destroyer.” In 2017 Stan portrayed Jeff Gillooly in Craig Gillespie’s Golden Globe, Gotham and New York Film Critics award nominee “I, Tonya,” opposite Margot Robbie and Allison Janney.

Previously, Stan appeared in “Ricki and the Flash,” alongside Meryl Streep; “Gone,” with Amanda Seyfried; “Black Swan,” opposite Natalie Portman; “Rachel Getting Married,” with Anne Hathaway; “The Architect,” co-starring Anthony LaPaglia; and “Spread,” alongside Ashton Kutcher.

Stan’s other film credits include Ridley Scott’s “The Martian,” Bryan Buckley’s “The Bronze,” Simon Kinberg’s “The 355,” Argyris Papadimitropoulos’ “Monday,” Antonio Campos’ “The Devil All the Time,” Todd Robinson’s “The Last Full Measure,” Steven Soderbergh’s “Logan Lucky,” Steve Pink’s “Hot Tub Time Machine” and Fred Durst’s “The Education of Charlie Banks.”

Stan’s television credits include “Gossip Girl,” “Once Upon a Time” and Greg Berlanti’s critically acclaimed miniseries “Political Animals,” for which he was nominated for a Critics Choice TV Award.

Stan is also an accomplished stage actor. In 2007 he made his Broadway debut opposite Liev Schreiber in Eric Bogosian’s Tony Award-nominated revival of “Talk Radio.” He also starred alongside Maggie Grace and Ellen Burstyn in the 2013 revival of William Inge’s “Picnic.”

JUSTICE SMITH

‘Tom’

Justice Smith has become one of Hollywood’s most promising and in-demand young actors after breaking out in 2016’s critically acclaimed series “The Get Down,” created by Baz Luhrmann, and he continues to charm audiences across TV, film and the stage. Smith’s first blockbuster lead role came opposite Ryan Reynolds in the 2019 hit “Pokémon: Detective Pikachu,” which grossed over $430 million worldwide.

Smith was most recently seen in the series “Generation,” from creators Daniel Barnz and Zelda Barnz and producer Lena Dunham, which premiered in 2021. Up next is the much-anticipated feature “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” releasing worldwide on March 31.

In 2021 Smith starred in Michael Mohan’s thriller “The Voyeurs,” opposite Sydney Sweeney. He also appeared in “Jurassic World: Dominion,” the latest installment of the global blockbuster franchise, reuniting him with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard after their first team-up in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”

Smith’s other film credits include “All the Bright Places,” opposite Elle Fanning, and “Paper Towns,” alongside Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff.

The actor has also developed a love for the theater. In 2017 Smith made his stage debut Off Broadway in the play “Yen,” opposite Lucas Hedges. He then starred alongside Isabelle Huppert in “The Mother,” also Off Broadway.

Outside of his acting career, Smith is making waves in the fashion industry, having been the face of the Men’s Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2021 campaign.

Smith graduated from the Orange County School of the Arts in 2013 with a major in acting. In his senior year the National Young Arts Foundation ranked him in the top 1.3% of young artists across the nation.

BRIANA MIDDLETON

‘Sandra’

Briana Middleton made her feature film debut in George Clooney’s “The Tender Bar,” based on Pulitzer Prize-winning writer J.R. Moehringer’s memoir. She will next be seen as the lead in the feature “The Inheritance,” which is currently in post-production, and she has a role in the forthcoming miniseries “Beauty & the Beast,” starring Luke Evans, Rita Ora and Josh Gad.

JOHN LITHGOW

‘Richard Hobbes’

John Lithgow has long been regarded as one of America’s most distinguished performers. He has made an indelible impression on audiences with his work in film, television and the theater. Lithgow is a prolific actor who has won two Tonys, six Emmys, two Golden Globes and three SAG Awards, in addition to his pair of Oscar nominations. He has appeared in a long list of critically acclaimed films including “All That Jazz,” “The World According to Garp,” “Terms of Endearment” and “Bombshell.”

Up next for Lithgow are Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro; “Conclave,” with Ralph Fiennes; and the animated film “Spellbound,” featuring the voices of Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem.

On the small screen, Lithgow has starred in the hit shows “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dexter,” “The Crown” and most recently “The Old Man.” On stage, he has appeared on Broadway 25 times, including award-winning appearances in “The Changing Room,” “M. Butterfly” and “Requiem for a Heavyweight” as well as roles in the musicals “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Sweet Smell of Success.”

At the start of his stage career, Lithgow directed several major productions in regional theater. Recently he returned to this role, staging “Everything’s Fine,” a solo play written and performed by the late Douglas McGrath, at New York’s Daryl Roth Theater.

Lithgow has written several bestselling children’s books for Simon & Schuster. His recordings for kids have landed him four Grammy Award nominations and he has appeared with a dozen major American orchestras in children’s concerts featuring many of his own songs. He wrote the narration for New York City Ballet’s “Carnival of the Animals” in 2003 and even danced the role of the elephant.

In 2011 a warm reception greeted Lithgow’s memoir Drama: An Actor’s Education, published by HarperCollins. Since 2019 he has written and illustrated the Dumpty Trilogy, three books of political satire from Chronicle Prism that achieved the remarkable feat of landing Lithgow on the New York Times bestseller list (non-fiction) for three consecutive years.

Lithgow recently completed his term as co-chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Arts. Advancing the commission’s recommendations, he continues to advocate on behalf of arts in education and the livelihood of America’s creative workforce. One product of Lithgow’s tenure is “Art Happens Here,” a documentary special in which he interacts with kids in their classrooms and studios in four different arts disciplines to highlight the work of great art teachers and the importance of the arts for young people. The special will air this spring.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

BENJAMIN CARON

Director

Benjamin Caron is an award-winning filmmaker and producer. He recently directed multiple episodes of “Andor” and he directed 11 episodes across four seasons of the series “The Crown,” earning Emmy nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in both 2020 and 2021. Caron shared in the show’s Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series.

Previously, Caron helmed the series finale of “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and three episodes of “Wallander,” starring Kenneth Branagh. He is currently developing multiple projects with his sister and longtime producing partner Jodie Caron.

Caron got his start in television, helming numerous documentaries and music videos including several for platinum-selling artist Jay-Z. His directing work on “Derren Brown: The Heist” garnered BAFTA and RTS (Royal Television Society) nominations and he earned another RTS nomination (Best Director) for the drama series “Skins.”

Caron’s subsequent TV credits includes the Emmy, BAFTA and RTS nominee “My Mad Fat Diary,” a series co-starring Jodie Comer, and the telefilm “Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This,” also a BAFTA nominee.

BRIAN GATEWOOD AND ALESSANDRO TANAKA

Producers, Writers

Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka wrote David Gordon Green’s feature “The Sitter,” starring Jonah Hill, and created the limited series “Comrade Detective,” starring Channing Tatum.

Gatewood and Tanaka are currently writing and executive producing the Anthony Bourdain comic book “Get Jiro!,” for Warner Bros. Television. Up next is an as-yet-untitled heist project for Daniel Dae Kim and Randall Park. They also penned “Blood Brothers,” with Dark Horse Productions producing.

JULIANNE MOORE

‘Madeline,’ Producer

See “About the Cast,” above.

BART FREUNDLICH

Producer

Bart Freundlich is a film director, screenwriter and producer whose films include “After the Wedding” (2019), “Wolves” (2016), “The Rebound” (2009), “Trust the Man” (2006), “Catch That Kid” (2004) and the Sundance hit “The Myth of Fingerprints” (1997). Freundlich has directed episodes of the series “Little Voice,” Golden Globe-winning comedy “Mozart in the Jungle” as well as numerous episodes of long-running hit “Californication.”

Freundlich grew up in New York City, where he attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He currently lives in NYC.

ERIK FEIG

Producer

Erik Feig is the founder and CEO of Picturestart, a media company specializing in premium “discovery of voice” content for worldwide engagement across all platforms. Since Picturestart launched in 2019 Feig has produced a diverse slate of projects, most recently Mike Barker’s “Luckiest Girl Alive,” based on Jessica Knoll’s New York Times bestselling novel. He also produced a pair of Sundance debuts, Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro’s “Am I OK?” and Cooper Raiff’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” which won the 2022 Audience Award. Both films starred Dakota Johnson.

Over the course of his career Feig has produced, supervised or originated the production of more than 100 films ranging from the “Step Up,” “Twilight” and “Hunger Games” series to Academy Award winners such as “La La Land” and “The Hurt Locker.” Collectively, his films have grossed over $13 billion at the box office.

Up next is Josh Greenbaum’s raunchy comedy “Strays,” featuring voice performances by Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx, and Eli Roth’s “Borderlands,” the ambitious video-game adaptation starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jack Black.

Prior to founding Picturestart Feig was one of the founding partners of Summit Entertainment, which became the most successful independent film studio of all time. He then served as co-president of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group when they acquired Summit.

Feig is a board member of the Columbia University School of the Arts, City Year Los Angeles, Represent Us and the MOCA acquisition and collection committee. He is also an ambassador for the ReFrame Project.

JESSICA SWITCH

Producer

Jessica Switch currently serves as senior vice president, production and development, at Picturestart. In this capacity she oversees production of the company’s film projects. With Picturestart’s “discovery of voice” theme as a guide, Switch continues to build a production slate that identifies new voices and tells diverse stories in film, television and digital productions across all distribution platforms.

After joining the company in 2018, Switch quickly jumped into the role of executive producer on the teen road-trip film “Unpregnant” (2020). The slate of films overseen by Switch include Cooper Raiff’s 2022 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” starring Raiff and Dakota Johnson; “Strays,” the forthcoming comedy about an abandoned dog who teams up with other strays to get revenge on his former owner; and “Sweethearts,” starring Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga (a project that Switch brought to Picturestart), which is now in post-production.

Switch’s slate of projects currently in development includes “Monster,” written and directed by Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss; Frankie Shaw’s “4 Kids Walk Into a Bank,” written by Matt Robinson; Bad Genius, by J.C. Lee and Julius Onah; as well as “Blacktop Wasteland,” by Virgil Williams.

AMY HERMAN

Executive Producer

Amy Herman produced Barry Levinson’s “Paterno” and co-produced “The Wizard of Lies” both of which were nominated for an Emmy and PGA award.

Herman served as co-producer on Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning film “Argo,” Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island,” Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah,” Angelina Jolie’s “By The Sea,” and Susan Stroman’s “The Producers.”

Herman’s television experience includes producing season one of “City On A Hill.” In addition, she has been the unit production manager on such hits as Robert Redford’s “The Horse Whisperer”; Harold Ramis’ “Analyze That”; Tim Robbins “Cradle Will Rock”; and “Ladder 49” starring John Travolta.

Herman’s work has taken her on international locations including London, Malta, Turkey, Iceland and throughout the United States.

JULIA HAMMER

Executive Producer

Julia Hammer is a vice president of production at Picturestart. Hammer most recently produced “Theater Camp,” which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Her other credits include “Luckiest Girl Alive,” starring Mila Kunis, and “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” starring Dakota Johnson, which won the 2022 Sundance Audience Award.

Up next for Hammer is “Strays,” starring Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx, which will arrive in theaters this summer.

CHARLOTTE BRUUS CHRISTENSEN

Director of Photography

Charlotte Bruus Christensen is a cinematographer whose latest work includes the upcoming miniseries “Retreat,” from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. She recently lensed Janus Metz’s feature “All the Old Knives,” starring Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton. In 2020 Christensen shot and directed the miniseries “Black Narcissus,” starring Gemma Arterton and Alessandro Nivola. She also filmed George Nolfi’s feature “The Banker,” starring Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie, and John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place,” starring Krasinski and Emily Blunt.

Previously, Christensen served as DP on Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut “Molly’s Game,” starring Jessica Chastain; Denzel Washington’s Oscar winner “Fences,” starring Washington and Viola Davis; Tate Taylor’s thriller “The Girl on the Train,” starring Emily Blunt; Thomas Vinterberg’s Thomas Hardy adaptation “Far From the Madding Crowd,” starring Carey Mulligan (which earned Christensen a spot on Variety’s 10 Cinematographers to Watch list); and Anton Corbijn’s James Dean biopic “Life,” starring Dane DeHaan and Robert Pattinson.

Christensen’s other film credits include Jonas Elmer’s “IRL: In Real Life,” Marc Evans’ “Hunky Dory”

and Oliver Ussing’s “My Good Enemy.”

In 1999 Christensen began studying filmmaking at the European Film College in Denmark. In 2002 she was admitted into the National Film and Television School’s cinematography course. Since then she has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, which began when her short films caught his attention. This led to Christensen’s first feature “Submarino,” which garnered her a Golden Frog nomination at Camerimage as well as a nomination for the Danish Film Academy’s Robert Award for Best Cinematography.

Christensen maintained her partnership with the director by shooting Vinterberg’s next film, “The Hunt.” Her work was recognized with a Vulcan Prize at Cannes as well as the Danish Film Critics’ Award for Best Cinematography.

YAN MILES

Editor

Yan Miles has won multiple awards for editing and has years of experience working on prestige film and television projects. Miles won his first Emmy for Nick Hurran’s 2014 “Sherlock” episode entitled “His Last Vow,” in addition to an ACE Eddie Award and a BAFTA Craft Award. He has edited on multiple seasons of the drama “The Crown,” working with frequent collaborator Benjamin Caron, and won an Emmy for his cut of the season four episode “Fairytale.” Miles’ latest project with Caron was “Andor,” for which he edited two episodes.

Miles’ first credits as lead editor include the entire 2009 miniseries “The Prisoner” as well as episodes of series such as “Primeval,” “Endeavor,” “Fortitude” and “Game of Thrones.” He was then lead editor on Mike Bartlett’s 2018 miniseries “Press” and in 2020 he edited the series “White Lines,” with showrunner Álex Pina.

KEVIN THOMPSON

Production Designer

Kevin Thompson recently designed the Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson collaborative feature film “The King of Staten Island”; the Amy Adams-led “The Woman in the Window”; and “Scenes From a Marriage,” with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. Most recently, Thompson completed shooting “Maestro,” directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Cooper and Cary Mulligan.

He served as production designer on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s acclaimed film “Birdman,” starring Emma Stone, Edward Norton, and Michael Keaton. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, “Birdman” was awarded with four, including Best Picture. For his work on the film Thompson was honored with nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, the Satellite Awards, and won the Excellence in Production Design Award from the Art Directors Guild.

Thompson designed James Gray’s outer space odyssey, “Ad Astra,” nominated for an Art Directors Guild Award and starring Brad Pitt, Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones. Prior to that he worked on designing internationally acclaimed, South Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s “OKJA,” starring Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal. Thompson designed the pilot for the series “Succession,” directed by Adam McKay. He also served as the designer on “Girl on the Train,” as well as Jodie Foster’s “Money Monster,” starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

Thompson served as production designer for Judd Apatow’s box office hit “Trainwreck,” starring Amy Schumer, as well as the acclaimed series “The Affair,” starring Dominic West and Ruth Wilson.

Thompson also designed George Nolfi’s romantic thriller “The Adjustment Bureau,” starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, as well as Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult,” starring Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson.

Thompson designed Tony Gilroy’s Oscar-nominated “Michael Clayton,” starring George Clooney. For his work on the film, the Art Directors Guild nominated Thompson for Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Feature Film. Thompson went on to collaborate with Tony Gilroy again on the thriller “Duplicity,” starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, and on “The Bourne Legacy,” starring Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz.

Thompson 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. He previously collaborated with Forster on the 2005 thriller “Stay,” starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. Thompson’s other film credits include “Did You Hear About the Morgans?,” starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant; the 2007 remake of Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games”; 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.”

MELISSA TOTH

Costume Designer

Melissa Toth has been designing costumes for feature films and television for over 25 years. Notable credits include the highly acclaimed “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and the critical and commercial favorite “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” both of which earned her Costume Guild Nominations.

She has collaborated with Kenneth Lonergan on each of his films, most recently on the Oscar-winning “Manchester by the Sea.” More recently she designed “Tick…Tick…Boom!” for director Lin-Manuel Miranda. She was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Period Costumes for her work on the series sensation “Fosse/Verdon.”

Toth also designed costumes for Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”; Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret” and “You Can Count On Me” (Sundance Grand Jury Prize); Tom’s McCarthy’s “The Visitor” and “Win Win,” Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland”; Curtis Hanson’s “Too Big To Fail”; and Todd Solondz’s “Welcome To The Dollhouse” (Sundance Grand Jury Prize).

Toth is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Aaron, a film editor, and their two daughters.

CLINT MANSELL

Music

Clint Mansell is a composer and musician from Stourbridge, England, and the former frontman of Pop Will Eat Itself. In 1998 Mansell scored “Pi,” his first film for director Darren Aronofsky, which would lead to their collaboration on five more films after 2000’s cult classic “Requiem for a Dream.” He received

a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score for Aronofsky’s “The Fountain” (2006) and a Grammy bid for “Black Swan” (2010).

Mansell has also collaborated with Duncan Jones (“Moon”), Ben Wheatley (“Rebecca,” “High-Rise,” “In the Earth”), Park Chan-wook (“Stoker”), Carol Morley (“Out of Blue”), Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman (“Loving Vincent”) and Charlotte Colbert (“She Will”), among other filmmakers.

Now twice Ivor Novello Award-nominated, Mansell continues to innovate and expand his unique approach to scoring while seeking out first-time directors and outliers to collaborate with.

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