THE CREW

The Crew
Crew Overview
About the Filmmakers

The Crew:

John Miles Murphy – Writer/Producer

Tim Boxell – Director

Scott Rosenfelt – Executive Producer

B. Billie Greif – Executive Producer

Hiro Narita – Director of Photography

Douglas Freeman – Production Designer

Jay Boekelheide – Editor

Cathleen Edwards – Costume Designer

Robin Gurland – Casting Director

Richard Gibbs - Composer

Nicholas O'Toole - Composer

Press on the highlighted links for crew biographies.

Crew Overview:

Many independent films are produced by young, up and comers. There is a niche market for quality, art films that send a message. Scott Rosenfelt and B. Billie Greif are two such Hollywood producers, choosing to work within the independent world and fill a niche gap – producing quality, low budget features that promote a cultural point of view. Miles Murphy selected this producing team for this reason alone. Scott Rosenfelt has a background as an accomplished producer with such features as Home Alone and Smoke Signals under his belt.

The goal of the production team was to keep the work in the San Francisco Bay Area and employ local below-the-line talent. “The story is a Northern California fable, and it was important to me to have a Northern Californian crew” says Miles Murphy.

Tim Boxell, was introduced to Miles early on in the development of the story and the two worked side-by-side, in Murphy’s San Francisco home, as hundreds of storyboards were drawn. “My background as a storyboard artist allowed the crew to actually see the movie, scene by scene prior to filming, making this a much stronger production process. The set-up of each scene was fast, efficient and very effective and allowed the production to not get behind,’ reports Boxell.

To capture the look for this period film the producers went to local Northern Californian cinematographer Hiro Narita. Hiro has a long list of credits including Apocolypse Now, Star Wars and Local Hero. Shot entirely on HD digital format, “This film has the look and feel of a major Hollywood movie, the master lighting and cinematography bring the film to a higher level,” says Executive Producer Scott Rosenfelt.

About the Filmmakers:

JOHN MILES MURPHY John ‘Miles’ Murphy was a founder of what became one of the largest accredited higher education institutions in the world. John ‘Miles’ left the private university in 1997 to dedicate himself to varied other interests, including the writing of a screenplay based on an historical event that he had researched while a college student in the 1970’s. Previous to helping found and manage the private university, John ‘Miles’ taught at San Jose State University where he founded and directed Community of Communities, a mental health socialization and advocacy project with former state mental hospital patients, and published a layman’s guide to mental health services and laws, Family Journal of Mental Health, for the families of the adult mentally ill. John ‘Miles’ and his wife, Paula, support a variety of arts and human services organizations, and he is on leave from the Board of Smuin Ballets of San Francisco. This is John ‘Miles’ first feature film. John ‘Miles’ has also penned The Iron, an action-thriller set in San Francisco.

TIM BOXELL directed feature films "Aberration" for Artisan and romantic comedy "Chasing Destiny" for Artists View as well as working on dozens of features in the roles of visual consultant and storyboard artist. As a writer he's scripted dozens of TV and feature scripts including a comedy for Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures. As creative director for Colossal Pictures Tim was actively involved in MTV's notorious mixed media hit show "Liquid Television" for which he directed "Winter Steele" and "Las Apassionadas". His work has been seen on Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central, The Disney Channel, ABC, The WB and Nickelodeon. He's directed and designed numerous award-winning commercials (Hershey's, Nintendo, Doritos, Budweiser) and broadcast graphics (VH-1, MTV, TNT) featuring an inventive blend of animation, live action and effects. Tim recently co-founded "Alligator Planet", an animation company, serving as the chief creative for developing and producing original content for feature films and television.

SCOTT ROSENFELT (Executive Producer) commands a distinguished reputation in the motion picture industry as one of its most progressive and cutting-edge producers. In a career that spans 30 years in feature films and television, perhaps the most memorable is the small story about a kid left by himself in a big house to battle wits with two dimwit burglars… that film, Home Alone, was one of the most successful movies of 1990 and made its star MacCauley Culkin a household name. Rosenfelt subsequently moved from major studio films to become an independent producer of such films as Smoke Signals, which went on to garner several awards at the Sundance Film Festival. He recently produced (with B. Billie Greif) the teen drama Kids in America starring Gregory Smith and Nicole Richie, The Californians with Noah Wyle, and Lenny the Wonder Dog. His other credits include Mystic Pizza, starring Julia Roberts, Big Man on Campus, Russkies, and Teen Wolf, actor Michael J. Fox’s first feature film. He also directed the feature film Family Prayers, starring Joe Mantegna and Anne Archer. His television work includes Getting to Know You and T Bone ‘N’ Weasel. As head of his own production entity, i.e. Productions, in which he is partnered with producer B. Billie Greif, Rosenfelt has many projects currently in development, including the chess drama Your Move, and the psychological thriller Stranglehold.

B. BILLIE GREIF (Executive Producer) has worked on a wide range of films with today’s young talent. Her credits, with producer Scott Rosenfelt, include The Californians, a retelling of the Henry James novel The Bostonians, starring Noah Wyle and Illeana Douglas, the teen drama Kids in America starring Gregory Smith and Nicole Richie, and the kids comedy Lenny the Wonder Dog. As a producer and screenwriter, Greif has many projects currently in development, including the teen racing film Mustang Sally, and the chess drama Your Move (with writer Tom Musca).

HIRO NARITA, A.S.C. (Director of Photography) has established himself as a highly regarded cinematographer with over 50 feature films and television shows to his credit. He most recently completed cinematography on The Darwin Awards. Other feature credits include live action work on James and the Giant Peach, Hocus Pocus, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, The Rocketeer, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, and Carroll Ballard’s entrancing Never Cry Wolf. Narita has also worked on Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, The Right Stuff, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as two of the best concert films of all time, Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps, and Martin Scorcese’s documentary of The Band’s final concert, The Last Waltz. His television work includes Gilmore Girls, Long Shadows, They, and Tales From the Crypt.

DOUGLAS FREEMAN (Production Designer) began his career as a set decorator on George Lucas’ classic American Graffiti, and has steadily built an impressive body of work. His credits include the upcoming Black August, The Men’s Room, Adventures with Kanga Roddy, which he also directed, and Farmer & Chase. His television work includes The Sculptress for USA, and Holding On.

JAY BOEKELHEIDE (Editor) has segued from a prolific career in film sound (Academy Award, The Right Stuff) to picture editing on such films as Sing Faster: The Stagehand's Ring Cycle (Filmmaker's Prize, Sundance Film Festival) and The Method. An early career as an assistant in picture, sound and mixing for Francis Coppola and American Zoetrope, including years working on Apocalypse Now, mutated into steady work supervising sound, sound designing and sound editing on such films as Dragonslayer, River's Edge, Amadeus, Xiu Xiu - the Sent-Down Girl, and The Blood of Heroes. At the same time he continued picture editing for both documentary and feature films.

CATHLEEN EDWARDS (Costume Designer) has worked primarily in the theatre, and Valley of the Heart’s Delight marks her first feature film. She has previously worked on television on George Lucas’ The Ewok Adventure. Her work for the stage includes shows for American Conservatory Theatre, Alaska Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Musical Theater of San Jose, Sherwood Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, California Coast Opera, and Opera San Jose.

ROBIN GURLAND, C.S.A. (Casting Director) has lent her eye for talent to a number of prominent feature films such as the upcoming Bee Season, starring Richard Gere and Juliet Binoche, George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and Roald Dahl’s classic James and the Giant Peach for director Henry Selick. Her television work includes Redwood Curtain and The Spirit of ’76.

RICHARD GIBBS (Composer) is one of the most versatile and successful contemporary composers and has over 50 film and television scores to his credit. He recently scored the films John Tucker Must Die and The Honeymooners. His many film scores include Fat Albert, Johnson Family Vacation, Barbershop 2, Love Don’t Cost a Thing, Step Into Liquid, 101 Dalmations 2, I Spy, Queen of the Damned, Big Momma’s House, 28 Days, 10 Things I Hate About You, Doctor Doolittle, That Darn Cat, and Dumb & Dumber. His television work includes scores for Tracey Ullman: Live and Exposed, Battlestar Galactica, The Jesse Ventura Story, Barbarians at the Gate, How to Murder a Millionaire, A Killing in a Small Town, and The Simpsons Christmas Special. He was Musical Director for The Tracey Ullman Show and Muppets Tonight!, and did music for the first season of The Simpsons. As an accomplished keyboardist, Gibbs was a member of the wildly successful band Oingo Boingo from 1980 to 1984, and has performed with Korn, Chaka Khan, Tom Jones, and recorded with Robert Palmer, Tom Waits, Melissa Etheridge, War, Stan Ridgeway, and many others.

NICHOLAS O'TOOLE (Composer). A graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Film Composition, Nicholas apprenticed directly under veteran film composer Richard Gibbs. Nicholas has since scored several independent features, shorts and documentaries including the controversial Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch?s War on Journalism. His unique orchestral style and knowledge of technology makes him one of Hollywood?s most promising up and coming composers.