It was an especially hot day at my summer camp. As I stood listening to my father on the phone tell me Grandpa Harry "passed on", a thud happened in my universe. I could feel myself grabbing for fond memories that were turning from color to black and white without the presence of my grandfather in them.
The last time I saw him flashed into my mind: He lay on a perfectly starched bed in an anti-septic smelling bedroom. A mysterious force drew me to him as if he were a candle in the dark. It was a gentle force. His eyes were opened and moved to take me in. A slight smile came across his lips. I watched his hand start to slowly move across the sheet toward mine. My hand immediately wrapped around his. The enormously kind look in his eyes embraced me as it always did. I felt his grip strengthen transmitting and sealing an important request—something of great importance was being entrusted to me. I squeezed back. A promise was made!
I feel a great honor and privilege to have fulfilled that promise!
Most Sincerely,
Cass Warner Sperling
THE BROTHERS WARNER: An intimate portrait of the four film pioneers who founded and ran Warner Bros. for over 50 years.
This is the inside story of the little known major player in the Warner Bros. studio legend, Harry Warner (Cass’ grandfather); honest Abe, visionary Sam, and volatile Jack—the original Hollywood independent filmmakers. This close-knit band of brothers proved in their pioneering efforts to use mass media to “educate, entertain, and enlighten” while being commercially successful. Their films were often produced from stories ripped from news headlines. It was Harry’s personal belief that, “Those who make a nation’s entertainment have obligations above and beyond their primary commercial objective, which is the box office.”
Their legendary scrappy rise from nothing, their overcoming of personal tragedies, and their battles are all woven together with the times they lived in. From opening their first storefront theater by hanging a sheet on the wall and borrowing chairs from a funeral parlor to creating one of the top studios in the world—four brothers built an empire on a dream and revolutionized Hollywood.
It’s written, directed and in the voice of Cass Warner Sperling, Harry Warner’s granddaughter. Their epic story includes never before seen photos and footage, and unfolds through the eyes of family members and those who personally knew them and experienced the Golden Years of Hollywood.
In December 2005, Kate Amend received the International Documentary Association’s inaugural award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing for her work which includes two Academy Award- winning documentary features: INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS: Stories of the Kindertransport and THE LONG WAY HOME.
Amend also received the 2001 American Cinema Editors’ Eddie award for INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS, and edited the 2001 Oscar-nominated documentary short ON TIPTOE: Gentle Steps to Freedom. Her recent film, BEAH: A BLACK WOMAN SPEAKS, about the late actress Beah Richards, directed by Lisa Gay Hamilton and produced by Jonathan Demme, received a Grand Jury award at the 2003 AFI Film Festival, aired on HBO in February 2004, and received a 2005 Peabody Award. COWBOY DEL AMOR, a film she edited and co-produced, received both the Audience and Jury Awards at the 2005 South by Southwest Festival and was broadcast on Showtime in April 2006.
Credits include THIN (2005) and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET (2005) which premiered at Sundance in 2006; PEACE BY PEACE: WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINES (PBS, 2004); PANDEMIC: FACING AIDS (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and HBO, 2003); BATAAN RESCUE and THE GREAT TRANSATLANTIC CABLE (PBS’ American Experience); THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (Sundance ‘99); FREE A MAN TO FIGHT (History Channel, March 1999); TOBACCO BLUES (P.O.V., 1998); and SOME NUDITY REQUIRED (Sundance ‘98). Other credits include ASYLUM and SKINHEADS USA (HBO America Undercover), and the feature documentaries LEGENDS about the longest running show in Las Vegas; METAMORPHOSIS: Man into Woman, a Sundance award-winner; and SPREAD THE WORD, a film about the acappella group The Persuasions which premiered at the Smithsonian Institute and on PBS.
Amend was an advisor at the first Sundance Institute Editing Lab in June 2004, and a speaker at The Edit Room panel at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. She was a juror at the 2006 Sundance International Documentary Competeition.
Amend is on the faculty of the Cinema Department at the University of Souther California and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Cinema Editors, and the International Documentary Association. She holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University.
Director of Photography: ARLENE DONNELLY NELSON
Arlene Donnelly Nelson is a director/cinematographer/producer with degrees in philosophy and fine art photography. She served as director of photography on Christopher Guest’s film, A MIGHTY WIND, as well as additional photography on FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION for Castle Rock/Warner Bros. Nelson photographed VOICES OF WOMAN, a documentary on the World-wide Women’s Conference in Beijing, China. The film reached thousands of women as it toured the country and was screened at the White House for President Clinton and Hilary Clinton.
Nelson made her directorial debut with the award-winning documentary NAKED STATES and the sequel, NAKED WORLD which were broadcast on HBO as part of its AMERICA UNDERCOVER series. POSITIVELY NAKED completes the trilogy and was awarded the HUGO Award for best documentary: Humanities and Arts. Arlene Donnelly Nelson, International Movie Database
Composer: DAVID CAMPBELL
David Campbell is a composer whose work can be heard in such films as NIGHT OF THE COMET, RISKY BUSINESS, ALL THE RIGHT MOVES, BACKBEAT and many others. As an Arranger, he has orchestrated the soundtracks for such films as RENT, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, and DEAD MAN WALKING. Numerous songs he has arranged for films, including Phil Collins’ TARZAN, have been nominated for Grammys and Oscars.
David plays a slew of instruments including the violin, viola and piano, and has played on best-selling albums for the likes of Marvin Gaye, Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand among many others. Today, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, The Rolling Stones, and many others can currently be heard playing to the arrangements of David Campbell. As of May 2007, David had arrangements on up to 11 of the nation’s 200 top-selling albums. David Campbell: Arranger, Composer, Conductor
“(My Father) always had an ear for the weirder harmonies.
That’s probably what he passed to me.” - Beck
Editor: Stephan
Malik
Driven by his love of artistic expression, Stephan Malik focuses his creativity into the practice of
editing. His visual and musical background infuses his approach with a style that is all his own. Broadly experienced in a variety of formats, he is able to take the director's vision and craft it perfectly to achieve any desired look and feel.
With an in-depth understanding of film composition, Stephan understands the importance of rhythm and cadence in association with emotive storytelling. The balance between the selection of superior imagery, and the manner in which it is used, makes a cut successful. With additional training in instrumentation and graphic design, he knows the importance of how both the auditory and visual elements are woven together to make a piece truly come together.
It is the combination of his natural creative drive and learned technical skills that have propelled him thus far as an editor. Stephan has based a career around his appreciation of art and continues to refine his talents by continually immersing himself in projects, of any style or format, that come his way.
