Rosewood - About The Filmmakers

Rosewood: About The Filmmakers

Director JOHN SINGLETON's searing debut film, "Boyz N the Hood," earned the writer-director the distinction of being the youngest individual and the first African-American ever nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director, as well as earning him a separate nomination for Best Screenplay.

He followed that remarkable debut by writing and directing the inner-city drama "Poetic Justice," which starred Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. Singleton's most recent film was the collegiate drama "Higher Learning," starring Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Michael Rapaport.

A resident of South Central Los Angeles, Singleton attended the University of Southern California's Film School in the Filmic Writing Program. While still a student there, he was signed by Creative Artists Agency, following his receipt of the Robert Riskin Writing Award and the Jack Nicholson Writing Award in an unprecedented two consecutive years.

In 1992, Singleton wrote and directed Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time," and he has since created a record label as a division of his New Deal Productions. New Deal Music produced soundtracks for "Poetic Justice" and "Higher Learning" and will soon debut two new performing acts.

Singleton is currently producing the film "Woo," starring Jada Pinkett, and "Golddiggaz," which he co-wrote with Kim Green and Camille Tucker. Singleton is currently prepping his next directorial effort, "Shaft."

Academy Award-winning producer JON PETERS most recently produced "My Fellow Americans," starring Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall, and previously produced "Money Train," starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.

Peters has had an acclaimed list of motion-picture triumphs as a producer, including such highlights as John Singleton's debut film, "Boyz N the Hood," "Batman" and "Rain Man," which earned the Academy Award for Best Picture. During his tenure as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Peters initiated such blockbusters as "A Few Good Men," "The Prince of Tides," "Hook," "Bugsy," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "My Girl" and "A League of Their Own."

Peters' other credits include "Batman Returns," "The Color Purple," "Gorillas in the Mist," "The Witches of Eastwick," "A Star Is Born," "Eyes of Laura Mars," "Caddyshack," "Endless Love," "An American Werewolf in London" and "Missing."

In 1991, Peters left his position at Sony to form Peters Entertainment. Under their exclusive partnership with Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures, Peters Entertainment is developing a slate of more than 80 films.

Executive Producer TRACY BARONE most recently executive produced "My Fellow Americans," starring Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall, and previously executive produced "Money Train."

As President of Peters Entertainment, Barone oversees a diverse slate of approximately 80 projects to be produced through the company's exclusive partnerships with Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures.

Barone began her career as an editorial consultant at the New York Times Magazine before working as a both a playwright and director in New York. She made her entry into film as a story analyst for TriStar Pictures, which was followed by a post as Vice President of Rastar Productions, where she was involved with the Emmy and Cable ACE Award-winning telefilm "Barbarians at the Gate," as well as the films "Mr. Jones" and "Lost in Yonkers."

Barone then became Senior Vice President of Channel Productions, where she oversaw the development and production of such films as "Cops and Robbersons," "Guarding Tess" and "Mary Reilly." She joined Peters Entertainment as Executive Vice President in 1994, moving into her present post in May, 1995.

PENELOPE L. FOSTER (Co-Producer) was hired at the age of 19 as a typist by the Young & Rubican advertising agency, which quickly promoted her to casting director. After three years with the agency, Foster worked freelance in commercial production, first as a production assistant, then assistant director and finally, as production manager.

Hired to work in major TV mini-series and telefeatures at ABC, Foster was first assistant director on Dan Curtis' epic, "The Winds of War," and "Raid on Coffeyville," and was production manager for another large-scale mini-series, "Space." She then began to work as a production manager on feature films, including "Tough Guys," "Burglar," "Like Father, Like Son" and "Blaze."

Foster's reputation led Warner Bros. to invite her to join the company as executive production manager. For the studio, she oversaw the making of such films as "Curly Sue," "Final Analysis," "A Class Act," "Batman Returns" and "Free Willy."

GREGORY POIRIER's screenplay for "Rosewood" marks his first produced work. He has an extensive background in directing theater, including two shows at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Poirier earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from the University of Southern California and his Master of Fine Arts from UCLA's film school. He currently has several scripts in development at major studios.

Director of Photography JOHNNY E. JENSEN was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and moved to Los Angeles in 1966. Pursuing a career in cinematography, Jensen worked as a camera operator during the 1970s and early 1980s on such films as "Blade Runner," "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Best Friends."

He became a director of photography on dozens of national commercials in 1983, ascending to television movies and miniseries the following year, photographing "Shattered Spirits," "Liberty," "Into the Badlands" (for which he received an Emmy nomination) and Hallmark Hall of Fame's "An American Story," which brought Jensen an American Society of Cinematographers Award nomination.

Jensen has shot three films for director Martha Coolidge: "Rambling Rose," "Lost in Yonkers" and "Three Wishes," as well as "Angie."

Production Designer PAUL SYLBERT earned an Academy Award for his work on "Heaven Can Wait" and was nominated for "The Prince of Tides." His credits reflect a wide diversity of films and include such classics as "A Face in the Crowd," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Kramer vs. Kramer." Additional credits include "The Wrong Man," "The Drowning Pool," "Mikey and Nicky," "Hardcore," "Resurrection," "Wolfen," "Blowout," "The Journey of Natty Gann," "Gorky Park," "The Pope of Greenwich Village," "Ishtar," "Nadine," "Biloxi Blues," "Rush," "Sliver" and "The Grass Harp."

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Sylbert studied art at Temple University in Philadelphia and trained with Hans Hoffman in New York City. During the golden age of television, he worked on a number of live shows and later directed episodes of "The Defenders" and "The Nurse." In 1971, he made his feature-film directorial debut with "The Steagle," starring Richard Benjamin, from a script he also wrote. Sylbert also wrote the story on which the film "Nighthawks" was based.

He has designed sets and costumes for the New York City Opera Company, where he directed "Oedipus Rex," and for the Spoleto Festival in Italy and the Theatre Kentribkon in Athens, where he directed several productions.

Editor BRUCE CANNON has worked with John Singleton on all three of the director's previous films, "Boyz N The Hood," "Poetic Justice" and "Higher Learning." Cannon's other credits include "Carried Away," "The Heart of Justice," "Crazy People," "The End of Innocence," "Dead Man Out," "The Making of Bikini School II," "Time Out," "One Fine Night," "The Wind" and "Rose and Katz." As assistant editor, Cannon worked on "Silverado," "Creator," "The Big Chill," "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," "Rocky III" and "Body Heat."

Costume Designer RUTH CARTER received critical acclaim for her work on "What's Love Got to Do With It?" and earned an Academy Award nomination for her designs for Spike Lee's "Malcolm X."

A Massachusetts native and graduate of Hampton University, Carter began her career as a costuming apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera. Her other film credits include "The Great White Hype," "Cobb," "The Five Heartbeats," "Meteor Man," "Jason's Lyric," "I'm Gonna Git U Sucka," "Denial," "Money Train" and, for Spike Lee, "Clockers," "Crooklyn," "Jungle Fever," "Mo' Better Blues," "School Daze" and "Do the Right Thing."

Carter's television credits include "Seinfeld," "It's Showtime at the Apollo," "Otis Sallid's A Night for Dancing" and the pilot for Fox-TV's hit variety show "In Living Color."

Composer JOHN WILLIAMS has composed the music and served as music director for more than 75 films, including the recently released "Sleepers," as well as "Sabrina," "Nixon," "Schindler's List," "Jurassic Park," "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," "Far and Away," "JFK," "Hook," "Presumed Innocent," "Always," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Stanley and Iris," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "The Accidental Tourist," "Empire of the Sun," "The Witches of Eastwick," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Return of the Jedi," "E.T. the Extra-terrestrial," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Superman," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Star Wars," "Jaws" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips." He has received 33 Academy Award nominations and has been awarded five Oscars, one British Academy Award and 15 Grammy Awards, as well as several gold and platinum records. His most recent Oscar was for Best Original Score for "Schindler's List."

In addition to his film music, Williams has written many concert pieces, including two symphonies, a bassoon concerto, a cello concerto premiered by Yo Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, concertos for flute and violin, and concertos for clarinet and tuba. His most recent work, a trumpet concerto, will be premiered by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra this year.

Williams has also written music to accompany the ceremonies for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, the Special Olympics and the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

He has conducted music for numerous successful recordings and was conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993, as well as a guest conductor with dozens of orchestras around the world.

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