News & Events

Genre: 3-D CGI Feature
Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Miranda Cosgrove, Jack McBrayer, Mindy Kaling, Jemaine Clement and Julie Andrews
Directed by Chris Renaud & Pierre Coffin
Written by: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio
Produced by: Chris Meledandri, John Cohen, Janet Healy
Executive Producer: Nina Rappaport-Rowan

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me.

Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.

The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

JESSICA BIEL (Charissa Sosa) has become one of Hollywood’s most coveted leading women. Biel was hailed for her performance in film The Illusionist alongside Oscar nominated actors Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Entertainment Weekly wrote, “Jessica Biel pulls off her most impressive trick yet: transforming herself into a turn-of-the-century Austrian duchess – and a serious art house actress.”
Biel was recently seen in the Gary Marshall directed romantic comedy Valentine’s Day along with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba. Biel’s character plays a publicist unlucky in love.
Biel was seen starring in the romantic dramedy, Easy Virtue opposite Colin Firth, Ben Barnes and Kristin Scott Thomas. She portrays an American who is in constant conflict with her new mother-in-law (Scott Thomas) after marrying a young wealthy Englishman on a spur of the moment trip to France. The film is based on the play by Noel Coward and adapted by writer/director Stephan Elliot. Easy Virtue premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival to rave reviews and received an overwhelming positive response when screened again at the prestigious Rome, London and Tribeca Film Festivals.
Biel starred in Nailed, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, James Marsden and Catherine Keener. This comedy was directed by David O. Russell and follows a waitress who gets a nail accidentally lodged in her head causing unpredictable behavior that leads her to Washington, DC, where sparks fly when she meets a clueless young senator (Gyllenhaal) who takes up her cause.
Biel shows great range in the dramatic film Powder Blue, in which she stars opposite Oscar winner Forrest Whitaker, Patrick Swayze and Ray Liotta. This dramatic film follows the lives of several Los Angeles strangers who meet by chance on Christmas Eve through a shared tragedy.
Biel was seen in the Universal comedy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, opposite Adam Sandler and Kevin James. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry opened #1 at the box office and grossed well over $100 million domestically.
For her work in The Illusionist, Biel received numerous awards including Hollywood Life’s Annual Breakthrough Award, the Shining Star Award at both the Giffoni Film Festival and the Maui Film Festival, as well as the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 18th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Biel starred in the return-from-war drama Home of the Brave opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. In addition, she starred in the sci-fi thriller Next with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore for Revolution Studios.
As a child, Biel initially pursued a career as a vocalist, performing in musical theatre. She starred in productions such as Annie, The Sound of Music and Beauty and the Beast. A natural beauty, she soon turned to modeling and commercial work by competing in The International Modeling and Talent Association’s Annual Conference in 1994.
In her feature film debut at age fourteen, Biel garnered acclaim for her portrayal as the rebellious daughter in Victor Nunez’s acclaimed film Ulee’s Gold, starring Oscar nominee Peter Fonda. She then appeared in Disney’s I’ll Be Home For Christmas with Jonathan Taylor Thomas; Warner Bros.’ romantic comedy Summer Catch, co-starring Freddie Prinze Jr.; Lions Gate Films’ The Rules Of Attraction, for director Roger Avary; New Line’s hit remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Blade: Trinity with Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson and Ryan Reynolds; Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown, with Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon; and Stealth, starring alongside Josh Lucas and Jamie Foxx.
In her spare time, Biel is active with Make the Difference Network, an online organization that she started with her father, Jon Biel. MTDN is a “national wish list” where people can search, find and fund specific wishes that have been listed by nonprofit organizations. Through MDTN, Biel has become involved in such charities as Serving Those Who Serve, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and PETA. She was recently honored with the National Impact Award at the 2008 Heart of Los Angeles Gala and previously honored with the Young Philanthropist of the Year Award at the 2006 Golden Karma Awards for her charitable work. Biel’s hobbies include ballet, soccer, running, yoga and hiking with her dog, Tina.

QUINTON “RAMPAGE” JACKSON (B.A. Baracus) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who rose to prominence with his fights in Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships and is currently the top rated light heavyweight in the UFC. He is known for both his trademark slams and powerful striking, as well as for his colorful personality.
Jackson, born and raised in Memphis, TN, originally intended on pursuing a career in professional wrestling upon finishing high school, but he was drawn to the discipline of mixed martial arts. Impressed by the success of other wrestlers in MMA, Jackson decided to try his own hand at the budding sport. Jackson began to gain notice in the sport and subsequently rose through the ranks of both Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships and the UFC.
Jackson signed with the UFC and turned heads when he defeated the reigning champ Chuck Liddell in a staggering one minute and fifty-three seconds making him the Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. Jackson has continued to rise in the UFC and has emerged as one of the most successful and recognizable faces of the sport.

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT (Arthur) starred last year in the award-winning sleeper hit “(500) Days of Summer,” opposite Zooey Deschanel. Gordon-Levitt earned Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and People’s Choice Award nominations for his work in the film, which was Marc Webb’s feature directorial debut.
Gordon-Levitt next stars with Rainn Wilson and Natalie Portman in the independent drama “Hesher,” which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Among his other upcoming films are an as-yet-untitled Seth Rogan comedy, also starring Anna Kendrick and Bryce Dallas Howard; and the action thriller “Premium Rush,” to be directed by David Koepp, who also co-wrote the script.
His broad range of film credits also include the global action hit “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” for director Stephen Sommers; Spike Lee’s World War II drama “Miracle at St. Anna”; the controversial drama “Stop-Loss,” in which he starred with Ryan Phillippe under the direction of Kimberly Peirce; and the crime drama “The Lookout,” which marked Scott Frank’s directorial debut. In addition, Gordon-Levitt has received widespread praise for his performances in such independent features as John Madden’s “Killshot,” with Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke; Lee Daniels’ “Shadowboxer”; Rian Johnson’s award-winning debut film, “Brick”; “Mysterious Skin,” for writer/director Gregg Araki; and “Manic,” with Don Cheadle.
Early in his career, Gordon-Levitt won a Young Artist Award for his first major role, in Robert Redford’s drama “A River Runs Through It.” He went on to co-star in “Angels in the Outfield,” “The Juror,” “Halloween H20” and “10 Things I Hate About You.”
Gordon-Levitt is also well known to television audiences for his starring role on NBC’s award-winning comedy series “3rd Rock from the Sun.” During his six seasons on the show, he won two YoungStar Awards and also shared in three Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Comedy Series Ensemble. Following the series, Gordon-Levitt took a short break from acting to attend Columbia University.
Behind the camera, Gordon-Levitt made his directorial debut with the short film “Sparks,” starring Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz. The film, which premiered in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Shorts Competition, was the first official production to bear the hitRECord.org brand, a website he created as an outlet for actors, producers and directors to team up to refine each other’s work. hitRECord had a major presence at the 2010 Sundance and South by Southwest Film Festivals, where they set up facilities that offered patrons the opportunity to witness the endless creative possibilities firsthand. By encouraging aspiring artists to showcase their creative work online via the site, Gordon-Levitt was recently named by The Huffington Post as one of the top ten Game Changers in entertainment.

BRADLEY COOPER (Templeton ‘Face’ Peck), with extensive training and experience in theater, television and film, is one of the industry’s most sought after actors of his generation.
Cooper starred in the hit comedy, The Hangover. Directed by Todd Phillips, the film revolves around three friends who lose their best friend at his bachelor party in Las Vegas. The trio (Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) attempts to retrace bad decisions from the night before in order to figure out what went wrong. The Hangover opened as the number one movie two weeks in a row and was the breakout comedy of the summer of 2009.
Cooper was recently seen as part of a star-studded ensemble, including Julia Roberts, in the romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, directed by Garry Marshall. Cooper starred opposite Sandra Bullock and Thomas Haden Church in the comedy All About Steve, and he appeared in New York I Love You, directed by Allen Hughes. Cooper starred opposite Jennifer Connelly and Scarlett Johansson in the comedy He’s Just Not That Into You, based on the best-selling novel by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. Cooper hosted Saturday Night Live coinciding with the release of the film.
Cooper’s other film roles include the box office success Yes Man opposite Jim Carrey, Wedding Crashers in 2005 opposite Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in which he came to prominence portraying a quintessential jerk and the 2001cult favorite Wet Hot American Summer, opposite Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, and directed by David Wain.
Cooper made his Broadway debut in the spring of 2006 in Joe Montello’s production of Three Days of Rain opposite Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd. In July 2008, Cooper joined the cast of the critically acclaimed Theresa Rebeck play The Understudy, which premiered at Williamstown Theatre Festival to rave reviews and sold out performances. The Understudy has been invited to premiere on Broadway in 2010.
Cooper had a guest-starring role on the critically acclaimed F/X drama Nip/Tuck. In 2005, Cooper starred in FOX’s single camera comedy Kitchen Confidential based on the trials and tribulations of renowned chef Anthony Bourdain. Other television credits include the Golden Globe nominated series Alias, Jack & Bobby, Touching Evil, Law & Order: SVU and Trial By Jury.
Born in Philadelphia, PA, Cooper graduated with honors in the English program at Georgetown University. After moving to New York City, he obtained his Masters in the Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at the New School University.

KEN WATANABE (Saito) was already an honored actor in his native Japan when he gained worldwide recognition for his role in Edward Zwick’s 2003 epic “The Last Samurai,” opposite Tom Cruise. Watanabe received Academy Award®, Screen Actors Guild Award®, Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his performance as the warrior Katsumoto in the film, which also marked his American movie debut.
Watanabe first collaborated with director Christopher Nolan as a member of the ensemble cast of the 2005 blockbuster “Batman Begins,” with Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine. That same year, he starred in “Memoirs of a Geisha,” Rob Marshall’s lush screen adaptation of Arthur Golden’s best-selling novel. In 2006, he portrayed the courageous Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Clint Eastwood’s award-winning World War II drama “Letters from Iwo Jima.”
In addition, Watanabe starred in and executive produced the 2006 Japanese film “Memories of Tomorrow,” for which he won a number of Best Actor awards, including the Japanese Academy Award and the Hochi Film Award. In 2009, he starred in the award-winning feature “Shizumano Taiyô” (“The Unbroken”) for which he won his second Japanese Academy Award, as well as the Hochi Film Award for Best Actor. Watanabe next co-stars with John Cusack and Gong Li in Mikael Hafstrom’s drama “Shanghai,” which is due out later this year.
Watanabe began his acting career with the Tokyo-based theater company En. His lead performance in the company’s production of “Shimoya Mannen-cho Monogatari,” directed by Yukio Ninawara, caught the attention of both critics and Japanese audiences. He also starred in the 1985 international comedy hit “Tampopo,” directed by Juzo Itami.
He made his television debut with “Michinaru Hanran” in 1982. Subsequently, his formidable screen presence in the Samurai drama series “Dokuganryu Masamume” led to additional roles in the historical series “Oda Nobunaga” and “Chushingura,” and the film “Bakumatsu Junjou Den.” His other film credits include “Ikebukuro West Gate Park,” “Space Travelers,” “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” and “Oboreru Sakana (“Drowning Fish”). In 2003, Watanabe appeared in “Shin Jinginaki Tatakai/Bosatsu” (“Fight Without Loyalty/Murder”), an updated version of the popular Yakuza movie series.