Press Kit - 108 Media

Weapon of Mass Destruction Press Packet
“It Don’t Gitmo Better’n This!”
CONTENTS

CREDITS
3

SYNOPSIS
4

PRESS/FESTIVAL
5

CAST
6

DIRECTOR
12
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DIRECTOR’S VIEW
13
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
15
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WRITER/PRODUCER
16

COMPOSER
17

EDITOR
18

PRODUCTION INFORMATION
19

SCREENSHOTS
20
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CREDITS
Director/Producer
Richard Halpern
Executive Producer
Jeffrey Magnussen
Writer/Producer
Writer
Ian Truitner
Mike Le
Co-Producers
Zubi Mohammed
Kays Al-Atrakchi
Director of Photography
Kevin Burke
Editor
Julien Roussel
Composer
Roman Kovalik
Captain Hank Garrison
Tom Kiesche
The President
John Posey
Sergeant Downey
Weetus Cren
Melody Stone
Leila Birch
Private Riggs
Alexandra Tartakoff
John Brickner
Kate Mines
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SYNOPSIS
GENRE
Action / Thriller / War
TAGLINE
“It Don’t Gitmo Better’n This!”
SHORT SYNOPSIS
2007. The Iraq War has turned from “Mission Accomplished” into a hellhole with an indeterminate
outcome. There are no WMDs. No links to Al Qaeda. No imminent threat as promised by the
administration. In an alternate reality, a group of angry and disgruntled U.S. soldiers set out on a suicide
mission to uncover the truth. Doing the unthinkable, they kidnap the Commander in Chief and interrogate
him using the same techniques they were trained to inflict upon the people whose country they invaded.
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PRESS/FESTIVAL
MARCHÉ DU FILM AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
Premiered 5/21/2013, 81 minutes
Director: Richard Halpern
Cast: Tom Kiesche, John Posey, Weetus Cren, Leila Birch, John Brickner, Kate Mines
2007. In an alternate reality, a group of angry and disgruntled U.S. soldiers in Iraq set out on a suicide
mission to uncover the truth about why they were sent to Iraq.
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CAST
Tom Kiesche as Captain Hank Garrison
Tom Kiesche didn’t follow his pre-med college
path, stay in New Jersey or sell pharmaceuticals
for a Fortune 500 company for very long. Since his
25 th birthday, the day he gave notice to his last
“day job,” he has been highly prolific, continually
working as an actor in all mediums: film, stage,
sketch and improv comedy, internet, cabaret,
commercials and television.
Some of Tom’s favorite roles include four
episodes as Clovis on Breaking Bad, Sheriff
Scutter on Bones, and Logan in the film Alien
Raiders. In addition to his successes as an actor,
he is also an accomplished vocalist, an awardwinning screenwriter and a published novelist.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2014 – Tax Break
2013 – W.M.D.
2012 – School and Board
2011 – Born to Race
2010 – Breaking Bad
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2009 – Bricks and Ashes
2008 – Alien Raiders
2007 – Criminal Minds
2006 – NCIS
2005 – Bones
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CAST
John Posey as The President
Actor/writer John Posey (POTUS) is a thirty year
veteran of television, film and stage, with credits
ranging from Seinfeld to From the Earth to the Moon
to 24 to Criminal Minds and many in between. His
screenplay Legendary was produced in 2010,
starring Patricia Clarkson. His bio pic of Gorgeous
George, the 20th century iconic professional
wrestler, is currently in development.
His solo theatrical production Father, Son & Holy
Coach toured the country for several years. Plans
are in the works to restage it as a two-man
production, alongside his son Tyler Posey, star of
the hit TV series Teen Wolf.
John says, “W.M.D. was a most entertaining ‘seat of
the pants’ shoot.
Playing POTUS was some of the most fun
I’ve had on set.”
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2014 – Teleios
2013 – W.M.D.
2013 – Bones
2011 – Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
2010 – Legendary
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2008 – Boston Legal
2006 – 24
2006 – ER
2001 – Crossing Jordan
1998 – From the Earth to the Moon
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Weetus Cren as Sergeant Downey
After intense classical training at the
Academy of Live and Recorded Arts
(ALRA) in London, Weetus moved to Los Angeles to
pursue a career in film. His first role was in Dies Irae, a
short film that screened at several festivals, including
Stony Brook Film Festival and Milan International Film
Festival. He was then cast as a lead in Cutting Room
(a.k.a. Wide Scream) along with Jon Polito
(Miller’s Crossing, Gangster Squad) and
E.G. Daily (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Happy Feet 1 &
2).
Since 2013, Weetus has starred in several projects,
including: dark comedy short Coffee and Sugar, which
premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival; TV pilot Sunny Side
Up!; and sci-fi thriller Teleios alongside
Sunny Mabrey (Snakes on a Plane, Once Upon a Time)
and Michael Nouri (Flash Dance, Damages).
Weetus continues to hone his craft by training at the
Groundlings and Second City. In his spare time, he
studies foreign languages.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2015 – Sunny Side Up!
2014 – Teleios
2013 – W.M.D.
2013 – Coffee and Sugar
2006 – Cutting Room
2005 – Dies Irae
2013 – GMOs Make Cats Explode
2003 – Days That Shook the World
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Leila Birch as Melody Stone
Leila Birch trained at The Italia Conti Academy of
Theatre Arts in London, studied Shakespeare at
R.A.D.A. (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and
attended the Stanislavski Summer Program at Yale
University when she was only 15.
Leila has worked extensively in film, television,
radio and theatre in the U.S., Australia and the UK
for companies such as DreamWorks,
NBC/Universal, Sony, E! Entertainment, BBC
Television, Warner
Brothers, EA Games, The Style Network, Carlton,
Nickelodeon and many more. For three years Leila
played the series regular Teresa di Marco in the
UK’s BAFTA award-winning BBC drama
EastEnders, with ratings as high as 28 million
viewers.
This year Leila was thrilled to be cast as The
WABAC in Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2014 – Chicanery
2014 – Mr. Peabody & Sherman
2013 – W.M.D.
2010 – Crazy/Sexy/Awkward
2009 – Running in Heels
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2008 – Devlin Made Me Do It
2008 – No Talent Required
2002 – The Bill
2000 – EastEnders
1998 – More Than Dreams
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John Brickner as Private Riggs
Born and raised in Ohio, John Brickner began his
professional acting career performing in the
theatre before moving to Los Angeles in 2006.
His credits include many starring and supporting
roles in theatre shows, television and films,
including roles alongside Vincent Pastore, Nick
Turturro and Ariana Grande.
He also produces and directs films with his
production company, A Day Before Productions,
and performs with his rock band Strathmore.
For the role of Riggs in W.M.D., John drew traits
from his high school friend, Wes, who was
tragically killed serving in Iraq in 2004.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2014 – Territory
2013 – W.M.D.
2012 – How to Grow Your Own
2010 – Book of Alice
2009 – Footprints
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2009 – Addicts
2008 – The Remainder
2008 – The Hollow
2008 – The Pardoner’s Tale
2007 – American Night
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Kate Mines as Alexandra Tartakoff
Kate Mines graduated from the University of
California, Santa Cruz, and sped down to Los
Angeles to begin her career. Her first film role was
opposite Jeremy Renner in the Academy Award
winning film, The Hurt Locker. On the small screen
Kate has appeared as Nurse Gloria for the past
eight seasons on ABC’s hit series Grey’s Anatomy.
Kate is a creator and star of the soon-tobe released
Hulu series entitled Dropping the Soap, starring
Jane Lynch and produced by Lisa Kudrow. This
hilarious new series is an irreverent look behind the
scenes of “Colliding Lives,” a long-running soap
opera that’s circling the drain.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2014 – Grey’s Anatomy
2013 – W.M.D.
2011 – Prairie Sonata
2010 – The Mentalist
2010 – Paranormal, Burbank
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2008 – Suburban Legends
2008 – The Hurt Locker
2008 – Tween
2006 – In Justice
2004 – The Next Movie
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DIRECTOR
Richard Halpern
With 20 years of film, television and dot-com experience, award-winning producer/director/writer Richard
Halpern has worked in many facets of the entertainment industry.
In addition to producing and directing W.M.D., Richard also wrote and produced Under the Bed for Leonardo
DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions and Radar Pictures (Riddick, Spring Breakers); produced the feature
film All Shook Up starring Sarah Chalke of
TV’s Scrubs; executive produced the television series The Strand starring Katherine
Helmond (Soap, Brazil); co-produced the feature film The Objective directed by Daniel Myrick (The Blair
Witch Project); produced and directed the feature film ZZYZX starring Kenny Johnson (The Shield); and
produced Bigfoot County for Lionsgate Entertainment.
Richard conceived and chaired Orlando’s first International Film Festival. With a gala opening night party
at the Disney/MGM Studios theme park, the festival ran for 10 days on six screens with over 100 films in
exhibition and a half dozen name talent in attendance.
Richard was president and CEO of PMF Productions in Los Angeles, a dot-com wholesale gift business
with revenues of over two million dollars, highlighted by a mass-selling compact disc that has sold over
300,000 copies to date. Richard’s company and movies have been publicized in over 500 media outlets
including The Tonight Show, The View, L.A. Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly,
The Howard Stern Show, The Donny and Marie Show, USA Today, Maxim, Reader’s Digest and Money
Magazine.
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DIRECTOR’S VIEW
THE FILM
W.M.D. was inspired by the anger, frustration and lies the world and I witnessed by the George W. Bush
administration. More specifically, it was inspired by a photograph I saw on the internet of W at a
Thanksgiving celebration in Iraq—a surprise visit to the soldiers to inspire them to continue to fight a
useless war.
In the photo, W is holding up a turkey, with soldiers surrounding him, in addition to sharp, metal serving
utensils in view. I imagined, “What if a few of these soldiers— soldiers disgruntled by this war of lies—
kidnapped the President when his guard was down, then interrogated him on national television,
demanding answers about the useless death and destruction this war was creating?”
With this photo, and Executive Producer Jeffrey Magnussen’s greenlight, W.M.D. was brought to life.
THE TEXT
The screenplay was created in a fashion to communicate, in a darkly comedic way, the hypocrisy of the
Iraq War, and the media’s overinflated, bombastic, lie-filled and disturbing coverage of the event. The
script balances high drama, reality and satire, while showing the frustration of the war and political game
being played with the civil rights (and deaths) of human beings.
STYLE & CINEMATOGRAPHY
I am a big fan of the cinéma vérité/Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, greatly influenced by the movie
The Celebration, directed by Thomas Vinterberg, in addition to the films of Lars von Trier. When I saw
The Celebration at a film festival in Ireland, I was captivated by its reality-like feel and compelling
storyline set in a singular location.
When putting together the vibe for W.M.D., I wanted to create this feeling of an event that is happening
live, hence the strong use of handheld, POV cameras, news footage, etc. The trick was to sustain a story
for 80 minutes in one location. Via strong performances and writing that created powerful beats to
motivate new actions in the story, I felt the cast and crew were able to achieve this.
CHARACTERS & ACTING
The characters of W.M.D. were created by myself and writers Mike Le and Ian Truitner. Their characteristics
were a mixture of stories, letters, video blogs and emails sent by frustrated and angered soldiers who
participated in the Iraq War.
Though the acts portrayed in W.M.D. are vicious, these acts are more a metaphor for the senseless
death and destruction created by the George W. Bush regime from 2000 to 2008.
The actors were given the freedom often used in cinéma vérité—that is, to loosely work from the script,
yet incorporate their own dialogue that they felt would work best for the characters. In addition to creating
their own dialogue, I allowed them to also fall into their own space, blocking-wise, as I believed they
would have a better feel of where to move.
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Kevin Burke
Kevin Burke is a twice Emmynominated
cinematographer, as well as a writer and
producer.
He’s been a part of the best of children’s
television programming as a producer
and cinematographer of three home
videos for Sesame Workshop (including
All Star Alphabet starring Stephen
Colbert and Nicole Sullivan); as a
cinematographer for Sesame Street, Bear
in the Big Blue House, It’s a Big, Big
World, The
Electric Company and Disney’s The Book
of Pooh; and as a writer for the Emmywinning Seemore’s Playhouse.
In 1998, Kevin was recommended for an
ambitious update of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. The series, The Book of Pooh, was being developed as
an effects-laden puppet show with animated, real-time 3D virtual sets combined with live action puppet
characters. Kevin received his first Emmy nomination for his work on The Book of Pooh.
He began what would be a six year collaboration with Adam Matalon on Matalon’s film, Seasons in the
Valley, a documentary that turned out to be the progenitor of their production company, Chatsby Films.
The film won “Best Feature Documentary” at the Queens International Film Festival.
Kevin is currently in production on a documentary about Billie Jean Mcloughlin, a tenacious 49-year-old
grandmother, EMT and National Strongwoman competitor.
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WRITER/PRODUCER
Ian Truitner
Ian has written, directed or produced over a dozen
films, and is a longtime collaborator with
Thousand Mile Media and Executive Producer
Jeffrey Magnussen. Ian’s previous productions
with Thousand Mile Media include feature film
Cutting Room (a.k.a. Wide Scream), which won
two awards at the Milan International Film Festival
and was nominated for Best Picture; Coffee and
Sugar, a short film that premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2013; and
Teleios, a sci-fi thriller feature starring
Sunny Mabrey (Snakes on a Plane, Once
Upon a Time) and Michael Nouri (Flash Dance,
Damages). Teleios is currently in post production.
Prior to focusing on independent film, Ian
worked at Warner Bros. Pictures in creative
development, at Walt Disney’s Feature Animation
division, directed an award-winning commercial
campaign for Viacom’s Spike TV and a Telly
Award winning anti-bullying campaign for the
American Taekwondo Association.
Ian also wrote episodes for innovative hybrid
scripted/reality series Critical Condition for GRB
Entertainment. The success of the experiment launched the series Untold Stories of the ER on TLC and
Discovery, for which Ian also penned a dozen episodes in the first season.
Ian holds an MBA from Penn State University, a BA (cum laude) from the University of Minnesota, and a
graduate certificate in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. He is a member of the Directors
Guild of America (DGA) and BMI.
COMPOSER
Roman Kovalik
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Roman Kovalik began his film music studies in Boston at Berklee College of Music where he earned a
BA in Film Scoring (Suma Cum Laude), as well as a Certificate of Excellence in Composition. Born in
Switzerland to Czech parents, he has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2006.
In his career, Roman has worked on multiple successful movies such as the Oscar winning feature film
Rendition. His latest musical contribution was for the feature length documentary Passage of Time, which
became the Official Selection of several film festivals and won an Award of Merit at the San Luis Obispo
Film Festival.
Roman also composed and produced the score to the motion picture W.M.D., and scored Aaron
Mento’s critically acclaimed film Standards of Living, the first movie ever shot on an iPad 2.
EDITOR
Julien Roussel
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Julien Roussel moved to Los Angeles from Switzerland
over a decade ago to develop quality and meaningful
film and television content. He is the owner of White
Swan Films—a Hollywood-based production and postproduction company—and serves the industry as a
producer, director and editor.
Julien is the writer/director of the awardwinning film
Aimee Price, and recently directed the TV comedy
pilot, Sunny Side Up!. He second unit directed W.M.D.
(Thousand Mile Media) and The Lost Tribe
(AfterDark/Lionsgate). He also co-penned Reflection, a
psychological thriller in development, and The Quality
of Mercy, a 16th century drama.
In the edit bay, Julien demonstrates a strong command
of different editorial styles encompassing film,
documentary, commercials, trailers, sizzles and web
series. His most recent film credits
include the independent feature W.M.D.
and the
documentary Without a Net featuring Alfred Molina.
Julien is the recipient of an MFA degree in Film and
Television Directing from the American Film Institute
(AFI) in Los Angeles. Before moving to California,
Julien obtained a “Licence Es Lettres” degree with a
major in French Literature and a minor in Film History and Aesthetics from the University of Lausanne in
Switzerland.
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PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Produced by Thousand Mile Media
5565 Auckland Avenue
North Hollywood, CA 91601
ph: 818.655.0522
email: [email protected]
Distributed by 108 MEDIA CORPORATION
25 Lesmill Road, Unit 5
Toronto, Ontario M3B 2T3
ph: 416.443.9202
Press Inquiries: [email protected]
Sales Inquires: [email protected]
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SCREEN SHOTS
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