Seagal made his motion
picture debut fifteen years ago, starring in Above
the Law, a film that he co-wrote and co-produced. That
film launched his career of signature action-packed
hit movies, including Hard to Kill, Marked for Death,
Out for Justice as well as Under Siege and Under Siege
2: Dark Territory. Seagal made his directorial debut
with the film On Deadly Ground. Seagal also starred
in Fire Down Below. He recently appeared in Exit Wounds,
and is slated to star in The Foreigner and Out for
a Kill next year.
Seagal has contributed to several of his projects as a producer, director
and has even contributed music to the soundtracks of one of his films,
The Glimmer Man.
Seagal was born in Detroit and raised in Southern California. He became
involved in martial arts at the age of seven, and moved to Japan ten
years later, mastering martial arts and becoming the first non-Asian
to organize a Dojo in Tokyo, which is still in operation today.
Having made his film
debut in 1991’s Boyz N the Hood, Chestnut has
stretched his acting wings in dramatic roles on the
big and small screens, from a comedic role in the television
series “Out All Night” to dramatic work
in The Inkwell and G.I. Jane. Lately, Chestnut has
cemented his persona as a dashing leading man in such
romantic comedies as The Best Man, The Brothers and
Two Can Play That Game. Chestnut recently appeared
in the comedy Like Mike, and will next be seen starring
alongside Edward Burns, Andy Garcia and Dustin Hoffman
in Confidence. Chestnut was born on New Year’s
Day and hails from Cerritos, California.
Ja Rule is
a hip hop superstar who made the leap to feature
films shortly after his debut album. Nothing
short of an entertainment phenomenon, he released
his platinum-selling debut album, Venni Vetti
Vicci in 1999, and secured a role in the hip-hop
drama Turn It Up the very next year. Over the
next two years, he continued his pattern of back-to-back
music and film releases. His well-received role
in the blockbuster film The Fast and the Furious
was sandwiched between two multi-platinum albums,
Rule 3:36 and Pain is Love. The entertainer is
set to star in Riddick the sequel to Vin Diesel’s
Pitch Black. A workaholic, Rule continues to
perform and record as a hip hop artist, and recently
announced the first release from his new record
label, MI2 Records. He also recently re-teamed
with rap group CMC (Murder Inc./TVT Records)
for Est. Since ’93, due out November 26.
Nia Peeples
is a versatile entertainer whose work has been
seen in music videos, episodic television and
feature films. She has also recorded two hit
singles. After a career-making role on TV’s “Fame,” where
she was able to showcase her multiple talents,
Peeples continued her contributions on the small
screen. Working as a choreographer on multiple
music videos, Peeples also showed off her dance
skills as host of her own show, “The Party
Machine With Nia Peeples.” Her film career
includes work on the film Blues Brothers 2000.
Having started his career
as an actor, Paul found his true calling as a writer
and director in the early 1990s. He wrote the screenplay
for the raucous modern-day western on motorcycles
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, starring Don
Johnson
and Mickey Rourke and has contributed as a writer
to additional projects on the small screen. Television
writing credits include the small-screen adaptation
of “The Magnificent Seven” and the pilot
for “The Disciples,” starring Ice T.
Paul has directed episodes of television’s “Silk Stalkings,” “Renegade” and “Pacific
Blue.” Half Past Dead marks the feature directorial debut for Paul,
who studied Theatre Arts at California State University at Fullerton.
Stevens, President and
COO of Franchise Pictures, is also the head of the
company’s
Franchise Classics division. Stevens was executive
producer of one of Franchise’s early successes,
The Whole Nine Yards, as well as Get Carter, Driven,
Angel Eyes and City by the Sea. He will serve as
executive producer of the upcoming Steven Seagal
film The Foreigner.
His credits as a producer include the Franchise Classics
films The Caveman’s
Valentine and Green Dragon, as well as Heist. Stevens previously served
as president of four production and distribution companies.
Stevens is currently on the board of the American Film Marketing Association
and is vice-chairman of the Independent Producers Association.
Samaha is Chairman/CEO
of Franchise Pictures, a prolific mini-studio that
has
leveraged its relationships with some of today’s
hottest stars to produce a staggering number of films
in the company’s relatively short history.
After emigrating from his native Lebanon in 1975, Samaha settled in New
York, where he worked as a bouncer at the famed Studio 54. Samaha later
relocated to Los Angeles, where his entrepreneurial spirit led to ownership
of several ventures, from a chain of dry cleaners to the legendary Roxbury
nightclub. It was at the club that he began forging relationships with
many of the actors who would later star in his films.
Samaha has recently worked as a producer on Get Carter
and Driven with Sylvester Stallone; The Pledge, starring
Jack Nicholson and directed by
Sean Penn; The Caveman’s Valentine starring Samuel L. Jackson;
Angel Eyes with Jennifer Lopez and Heist, starring Gene Hackman and written
and
directed by David Mamet.
He served as executive producer on the dating comedy
20 Dates, lending his voice to the project for some
of that film’s most memorable scenes.
Samaha’s executive producer credits also include The Whole Nine
Yards and its upcoming sequel, as well as the upcoming Ballistic: Ecks
vs. Sever.
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