About the production

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

RICKY GERVAIS (Co-Writer/Director, Producer) See ABOUT THE CAST

MATTHEW ROBINSON (Co-Writer/Director) marks his feature film debut with “The Invention of Lying,” which he co-wrote and co-directed with Ricky Gervais, based upon Robinson’s own original screenplay.Born and raised in Los Angeles, Robinson attended Sarah Lawrence College, where he graduated as a Literature major in 2000. He is currently in development on his next few projects.

LYNDA OBST (Producer) is one of the most prolific female producers, authors and commentators in the film industry. In the business for over 25 years, she has produced films at almost every major studio. Her upcoming projects include Steven Spielberg’s “Interstellar,” a sci-fi feature from “The Dark Knight” scribe Jonathan Nolan; “What Was I Thinking,” starring Leslie Mann and Elizabeth Banks; and “Getting Rid of Matthew,” set to star Jennifer Aniston.

Obst was recruited to Hollywood in 1979 by Peter Guber, then chairman of Casablanca/Polygram. There she developed “Flashdance” and “Clue,” and began to develop Carl Sagan’s novel Contact. In 1982, she joined The Geffen Company, where she worked on the development and production of a number of films, including “Risky Business” and “After Hours.”

In 1985, Obst partnered with producer Debra Hill, forming Hill/Obst Productions at Paramount Pictures. They soon after moved to Disney, where they made the iconic teen pic “Adventures in Babysitting,” Chris Columbus’ directing debut. Then at TriStar the duo produced Terry Gilliam’s Oscar-nominated “The Fisher King,” starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges. The film garnered five Golden Globe nominations and five Academy Award nominations.

Obst then began a solo producing career, securing a deal at Columbia Pictures, where she produced Nora Ephron’s directing debut, “This Is My Life,” and executive produced Ephron’s second film, “Sleepless in Seattle.” Obst moved on to Fox to produce “The Siege,” starring Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis and Annette Bening; “Hope Floats,” starring Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr; “One Fine Day,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney; and “Someone Like You,” starring Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman. One of Obst’s earlier projects came full circle when she developed and executive produced “Contact,” starring Jodie Foster, for Warner Bros. in 1997.Obst didn’t limit herself to the big screen. In 1999, she executive produced NBC’s Emmy-nominated, two-part miniseries “The 60s,” which also broke ratings records and featured a best-selling soundtrack.

Moving back to Paramount Pictures, Obst produced such films as “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, and “Abandon,” the directing debut of Academy-Award winner Stephen Gaghan. In 2007, Obst signed a first-look deal with CBS Paramount Television, where she is currently developing an adaptation of the highly successful “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” for television, along with many other projects.

Obst grew up in suburban New York and graduated from Pomona College in 1972. She attended graduate school at Columbia University, majoring in philosophy. She then began her film and journalism career as the editor/author of The Rolling Stone History of the Sixties, a compendium of the era’s people, politics, and popular culture. Obst then became an editor at The New York Times Magazine, where she covered such diverse topics as science, philosophy, and publishing.Obst’s non-fiction book Hello, He Lied & Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches, was first published by Little Brown and debuted at #1 on the Los Angeles Times Bestsellers List. The book was released in paperback by Broadway Books in 1997, once again debuting on the Bestsellers List, where it remained for 12 weeks. Hello, He Lied... was adapted into a documentary by the award-winning directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini of the highly acclaimed feature film “American Splendor,” and aired on AMC.

A regular contributor to New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, salon.com, and the Huffington Post, Obst also covers the Academy Awards every year for such periodicals as Slate.com, New York Magazine, and Atlantic.com.

OLY OBST (Producer) makes his feature film producing debut with “The Invention of Lying.” Obst spent several years as a development executive at Warner Bros. before transitioning into artist management. He is currently a manager at Underground Films. The son of film producer Lynda Obst, he graduated from Pitzer College in Claremont, California, with a degree in 19^th Century Russian Literature.

DAN LIN (Producer) is the CEO of Lin Pictures, which is based at Warner Bros., where it has an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. Lin most recently served as an executive producer on Robert Rodriguez’ family film “Shorts,” and on the sci-fi actioner “Terminator Salvation,” starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington.

Lin is currently producing two films due out later this year: “Sherlock Holmes,” directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr; and “The Box,” directed by Richard Kelly and starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. In addition, Lin has a number of projects in development, including “Justice League,” “Tomb Raider,” “The Lego Movie” and “Tom & Jerry.”

Prior to forming Lin Pictures in January 2008, Lin served as Senior Vice President of Production for Warner Bros. Pictures. During his eight-year tenure at the studio, from 1999 to 2007, he oversaw the development and production of such films as Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-winning drama “The Departed”; “10,000 BC,” directed by Roland Emmerich; “The Aviator,” directed by Scorsese; “TMNT”; “Invasion”; “Unaccompanied Minors”; “Alexander”; “Scooby-Doo 2”; and “Torque.”In September 2008, Lin was named one of Variety’s “10 Producers to Watch.” He had been profiled on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Generation List” in 2005.

Lin received his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before earning his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1999.

SUE BADEN-POWELL (Executive Producer) recently produced Ricky Gervais’ second film as writer/director, next spring’s “Cemetery Junction,” a comedy set in the 1970s featuring Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson and Gervais. Baden-Powell also served as executive producer on this fall’s thriller from writer/director Richard Kelly, “The Box,” starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, and based on a short story by Richard Matheson.

Throughout her career, Baden-Powell has played numerous roles behind the scenes in feature production. She produced the thriller “Below,” from writer/director David Twohy, and “The Public Eye,” from writer/director Howard Franklin. She executive produced the hit Eddie Murphy comedy “Doctor Doolittle,” directed by Betty Thomas; Franklin’s “Larger Than Life,” starring Bill Murray; and Matthew Warchus’ “Simpatico,” starring Nick Nolte and Jeff Bridges and based on the Sam Shepard play.

Baden-Powell also co-produced the features “Equilibrium,” “Boys and Girls,” “Andre” and “Chattahoochee,” was supervising producer on Michael Fields’ “Bright Angel,” and served as production manager or unit production manager on such films as “Nomads,” “1969,” “Earth Girls Are Easy,” “Radio Flyer” and “Primeval.” She began her career in film as an executive in charge of production on Andrei Konchalovsky’s “Runaway Train,” starring Jon Voight, and also worked in that capacity on Gregory Nava’s “A Time of Destiny,” starring William Hurt and Timothy Hutton.

TED FIELD (Executive Producer) is a proven and respected producer whose more than 60 movies have generated nearly $7 billion worldwide. His diverse list of credits includes such hits as “The Last Samurai,” “Runaway Bride,” “Jumanji,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Mr Holland’s Opus,” “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Cocktail,” “Revenge of the Nerds” and the remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Field serves as executive producer on a number of upcoming 2009 releases, including “All About Steve,” starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper, and Richard Kelly’s “The Box,” starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella. He serves as producer on the December release “Everybody’s Fine,” with Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore, and on the 2010 drama from Joel Schumacher, “Twelve.” Field currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Radar Pictures, a film production company he founded in 1999.

Throughout his career, he has also executive produced several movies for the small screen, and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program for the telefilm “A Mother’s Courage: The Mary Thomas Story.”

Field also co-founded Interscope Records, operating as a top creative and management force behind the successful record label. Albums produced under the Interscope name have sold over 300 million copies worldwide and have featured some of the industry’s top-selling artists, including Dr Dre, Eminem, Tupac, Snoop Dog, Nine Inch Nails, The Wallflowers, No Doubt, Limp Bizkit and Marilyn Manson.

Field has a long and successful history as a businessman, investor and entrepreneur that predates his creative success in movies and music. He was the co-owner of Field Enterprises, the parent company of the Marshall Field department store chain in Chicago, and was actively involved in the management of his company’s diverse operations, which included real estate, the Chicago Sun-Times and several television stations. Field has also successfully executed and integrated numerous strategic transactions outside of his involvement in Field Enterprises, including Panavision and Crown Zellerbach.

His philanthropic endeavors have led Field to support such nonprofit organizations as amfAR, the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, the Sundance Institute and the Rape Treatment Center.

PARIS KASIDOKOSTAS LATSIS and TERRY DOUGAS (Executive Producers) are the principals of 1821 Pictures. Along with “The Invention of Lying”, they have executive-produced such movies as “Swing Vote,” starring Kevin Costner, and the upcoming “The Box,” directed by Richard Kelly and starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella.

Dougas produced his first movie in 2002, “The Mesmerist,” which starred Neil Patrick Harris and Jessica Capshaw. Barbara De Fina was an executive producer on the film, and they continued their close relationship by working together on the film “Brides,” which Martin Scorsese executive-produced.

In 2005, Dougas combined his experience making films with the business acumen of close friend and film fanatic Paris Kasidokostas Latsis, forming G&M Films, a film and television production company. The following year, G&M Films continued to expand by partnering with Ted Field’s Radar Pictures, as a way to make movies on a much larger scale. The partnership has yielded three studio movies to date, with more planned for the years ahead.

In 2008, Kasidokostas Latsis and Dougas re-branded their company, launching 1821 Pictures. 1821 currently has a slew of projects in development, including “The Odyssey,” as well as “True Believer: The Stan Lee Documentary,” based on the life of comic book legend Stan Lee. The company also continues to expand, and in April of 2009 launched a comic book/graphic novel division, 1821 Comics.

TIM SUHRSTEDT (Director of Photography) has lensed more than 50 films, ranging from major studio releases to small independent features, including the recent Oscar-winning sleeper hit “Little Miss Sunshine.” He is also an Emmy-winning television cinematographer.

His film credits include “Extract,” for writer/director Mike Judge, and the upcoming “The Marc Pease Experience,” starring Ben Stiller, and “All About Steve,” starring Sandra Bullock.

Suhrstedt previously collaborated with Judge on the features “Idiocracy” and “Office Space.” His other film credits include “17 Again,” “The Brothers Solomon,” “Clockstoppers,” “Summer Catch,” “The Wedding Singer,” “To Gillian on Her 37^th Birthday,” “Noises Off...,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “Mystic Pizza.”

Suhrstedt won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for his work on the television series “Chicago Hope.” He recently returned to the medical drama genre, serving as the cinematographer on multiple episodes of the hit series “Grey’s Anatomy.”

CHRIS GILL (Editor) is currently at work on writer/director Neil Marshall’s action-adventure war drama “Centurion,” about a group of Roman soldiers behind enemy lines. Gill recently cut the horror film “Heartless,” for writer/director Philip Ridley, as well as the Irish thriller “The Daisy Chain” for director Aisling Walsh.

Gill took on both the editing and second unit directing chores in Julian Jarrold’s recent feature adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh classic novel Brideshead Revisited. He also edited “Outpost,” a UK feature from director Steve Barker, and “28 Weeks Later,” Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s sequel to “28 Days Later,” the hit sci-fi horror-thriller from director Danny Boyle on which Gill made his feature film debut as an editor. Gill has worked with Boyle on two subsequent occasions, cutting both the family crime comedy “Millions” and the sci-fi thriller “Sunshine.”

Gill also edited the mystery thriller “The Dark,” from director John Fawcett, the UK film “The Lives of the Saints,” under the direction of Chris Cottam and Rankin, and the short films “Elephant Palm Tree,” “The Stronger,” “The Odds” and “The Happiness Salesman.”

ALEXANDER HAMMOND (Production Designer) most recently designed the upcoming thriller “The Box,” based on a short story by Richard Matheson, marking Hammond’s third collaboration with writer/director Richard Kelly. He previously worked with Kelly on Kelly’s cult favorite “Donnie Darko,” and on the futuristic drama “Southland Tales.” Hammond also recently designed the feature crime drama “Street Kings,” for director David Ayer, and the 2010 romantic comedy “The Back-Up Plan,” from director Alan Poul.

Hammond previously designed the suspense thriller “Flightplan,” directed by Robert Schwentke, creating a next-generation jumbo jet from nose to tail, and “The Contender,” for director Rod Lurie. He also designed Forest Whitaker’s “First Daughter” and the live action/animated feature “Garfield.”

On the small screen, Hammond served as production designer on the pilot episode and first season of the current series “Lie to Me,” and designed Lurie’s first television pilot, “Capital City.” Hammond’s other TV credits include pilots for the HBO series “12 Miles of Bad Road” and the pilot for “Wedding Chapel.”

Before becoming a production designer, Hammond worked as an art director on several feature films, including “The Cat in the Hat,” “Men in Black II,” “K-Pax,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “Lost & Found” and “Tinseltown.”

Prior to and occasionally during his film career, Hammond has worked as a theater and opera set and costume designer, most recently designing “To Kill a Mockingbird” for the Intiman Theater in Seattle. He has designed scenery and costumes for the stage directors Bartlett Sher, JoAnne Akalaitis, James Bundy, Tazewell Thompson, Fracaswell Hyman, and many others. His designs have been seen at Juilliard, Yale Rep, The Intiman, Indiana Rep, Playmakers Rep, Williamstown Theater Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater Festival and off-Broadway.

Hammond was awarded the Princess Grace Foundation’s inaugural Fabergé Award for Scenic Design in 1995, and in 2008 was awarded their highest honor, the Statue award, for continuing excellence in the arts. He is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, and received his MFA at the Yale School of Drama, where he was the Oenslager Prize winner.

SUSIE DESANTO (Costume Designer) designed the costumes for the upcoming feature drama “Mother and Child,” from director Rodrigo Garcia. “The Invention of Lying” marks DeSanto’s fourth collaboration with producer Lynda Obst, following their work together on “Bad Girls,” “One Fine Day” and “Hope Floats.” It is also DeSanto’s second collaboration with Jennifer Garner, with whom she worked on the romantic comedy “13 Going on 30.”

DeSanto’s extensive list of feature credits also includes the films “Mad Money,” “The Dead Girl,” “White Oleander,” “I Am Sam,” “Miss Congeniality,” “What Lies Beneath,” “The Deep End of the Ocean,” “The Baby Sitters Club,” “Stuart Saves His Family,” “Bad Girls” and “A Dangerous Woman.”

TIM ATACK (Composer) composed music for Sam Miller’s feature films “Among Giants” and “Elephant Juice” and, with recording artist Des’ree, co-wrote the memorable song “I’m Kissing You,” the love theme from Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet.” In addition to being a featured song in the film, an instrumental version underscored the famous balcony scene. The movie’s soundtrack album has sold in excess of five million copies worldwide.

Atack has also composed for a number of television productions, several of them with director Miller: the historical drama “Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction”; the crime thriller “Quite Ugly One Morning”; and the live BBC production of the sci-fi thriller “The Quatermass Experiment,” for which Atack provided a live score. Atack also scored Brian Percival’s “Much Ado About Nothing” for the BBC1’s contemporary “ShakespeaRe-Told” series, as well as the telefilm “Comedy Showcase: Other People” and the BBC series “Roman’s Empire.”

Atack got his start in music as the drummer in a band called Child. He then decided to concentrate on keyboards and began working as a freelance musician and programmer for various artists. It was during this period that he also developed his skills as a composer and record producer. In the early 1990s, he toured and recorded with Oleta Adams and began a fruitful creative relationship with Des’ree, becoming her musical director in 1995 and completing three world tours with her in two years. In 1998, Atack co-wrote, recorded and produced a number of tracks for the artist’s album “Supernatural,” and served as both keyboardist and musical director promoting the album on tour. The busy musician has also played keyboards in live performances with Michael Kamen and Bryan Ferry.

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