IRA STEVEN BEHR, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Ira Steven Behr is an executive producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash. Emmy®-nominee Behr has written and/or produced more than 300 hours of television. Behr graduated from Lehman College in New York City, where he majored in mass communications and theatre under the legendary playwright Edward Albee. While studying with Israel Horovitz, Behr was offered a playwriting scholarship to Brandeis University. Instead, he elected to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in writing comedy. However, it was in dramatic television that Behr ended up making his mark, as a writer/producer on such shows as “Fame,” (for which he was awarded the Scott Newman award for the episode "White Light"), “The Bronx Zoo” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” His success on “Next Generation” led to Behr being brought on-board “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” where he became the show’s executive producer and wrote more than 40 episodes during the series' seven-year run. Behr's most recent television writing and producing credits include "Bob Patterson," “Dark Angel,” “The Twilight Zone” (which won him a Rondo award for "It's Still a Good Life," the sequel to the classic “Twilight Zone” episode "It's a Good Life"), “Dr. Vegas,” and “The 4400,” the critically acclaimed and Emmy®-nominated summer series that ran on the USA Network for four seasons. In addition to his television work, Behr is also the author of two best-selling books, “The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition” and “Legends of the Ferengi” (co-author), both based on the comical Ferengi characters from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
JAMES DEMONACO, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
James DeMonaco is an executive producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash. DeMonaco grew up in Staten Island, New York, and attended New York University Film School, where he studied writing and directing. While at film school, he wrote and sold the screenplay Jack to Walt Disney Pictures, which was eventually directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starred Robin Williams. He then wrote the script The Negotiator for Warner Bros., which was made into the movie starring Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson. After doing rewrites for several Jerry Bruckheimer films and director John Woo, DeMonaco produced and wrote the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 for Focus Features, which starred Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. DeMonaco began working in television in 1999, where he created and executive produced the Fox TV show “Ryan Caulfield: Year One,” and then the 2004 Showtime cable movie Hate starring Marcia Gay Harden. In 2007, he created and executive produced the Spike TV miniseries “The Kill Point,” with John Leguizamo in the lead role. His most recent endeavor has been directing his first feature film, Staten Island, which he also wrote. The independent film about his hometown stars Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Seymour Cassel, and was financed by Luc Besson’s Europa Corp. Staten Island debuted at the Berlin Film Festival and is opening in Europe and Asia this August, before coming to the United States. DeMonaco lives in New York City, with his wife, Dr. Selina Cali. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
PAUL HAGGIS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Paul Haggis is an executive producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash.
A director, writer, and producer, Haggis is the award-winning filmmaker who, in 2006, became the first screenwriter to write two Best Picture Oscar® winners back-to-back -- Million Dollar Baby (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and Crash, which he directed. For Crash, he won Academy Awards® for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film also received a Best Editing win, and three additional nominations, including one for Haggis’ direction. Crash reaped numerous awards during its year of release from associations such as the IFP Spirit Awards, the Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA.
In 2006, Haggis’ screenplay collaborations included Clint Eastwood’s World War II productions, Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, the latter earning him his third screenplay Oscar® nomination. He also helped pen Casino Royale (2006), which garnered considerable acclaim for reinvigorating the James Bond spy franchise. Haggis’ directorial follow-up to Crash was the Oscar®-nominated In the Valley of Elah, which he also wrote and produced. The film, which starred Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon, was a suspense drama of a father’s search for his missing son, who is reported AWOL after returning from Iraq. Most recently, Haggis and his partner Michael Nozik formed Hwy 61 Films, based at United Artists. Their first venture is the drama The Next Three Days, which Haggis will direct from his own screenplay. Haggis was born in London, Ontario, Canada and moved to California in his early 20s. For over two decades he has written, directed, and produced many television shows and created the acclaimed CBS series “EZ Streets” which The New York Times cited as one of the most influential shows of all time, noting that without it “there would be no ‘Sopranos.’” Haggis is equally committed to his private and social concerns. He is co-founder of the organizations Artists for Peace and Justice, and the Brand Aid Foundation, both working to improve conditions for children in the slums of Haiti and to empower artists and artisans in the twenty poorest countries in the world. He splits his time between residences in Los Angeles and New York. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
BOB YARI, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Bob Yari is an executive producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash. Yari is the founder and president of Yari Film Group. In addition to his work with YFG, Yari also produces films as an individual producer. Yari began his career in Hollywood after receiving a degree in motion picture cinematography. After working for several years as a producer and director, he concentrated his efforts in the real-estate industry, while always pursuing his interest in film.
Yari has produced over 35 features including Crash, which won the Oscar® for Best Picture. He also produced The Illusionist, which was one of the top-grossing independent films of 2006.
Yari Film Group’s upcoming titles include: Killing Pablo, the story of the life and death of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar; Assassination of a High School President, a film noir starring Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton; What Doesn’t Kill You, a gritty true story of street life in South Boston starring Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo and Amanda Peet; Nothing but the Truth starring Kate Beckinsale; and Maiden Heist, an off-beat caper starring Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, and William H. Macy. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
BOBBY MORESCO, CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Bobby Moresco is a co-executive producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash. Moresco co-wrote and was a producer on Crash. An Academy Award®-winning writer, director, and producer, Moresco started out as an actor in New York City, where he was raised in the Hell’s Kitchen district of Manhattan. After studying acting with the widely respected Wynn Handman and Peggy Fuery, founders of The American Place Theatre and Loft Theatre, respectively, Moresco opened The Actor’s Gym in New York and then moved the company to Los Angeles in 1978. Still running today, the “Gym” specializes in developing new work for stage, film, and television, and the work created there has gone on to Broadway and garnered multiple awards including Emmys®, Oscars®, and Golden Globes®. Throughout the ‘90s, Moresco focused much of his time creating, writing, and producing television projects. Notable projects included “Millennium,” earning him a Genesis Award, and “EZ Streets,” which he wrote and co-produced in 1996, and which won the Viewers for Quality Television Award for best program of the year, as well as being named one of the best television shows of all time as recently as 2008. In 1998, he co-created and executive produced the critically acclaimed series “Falcone,” and was nominated for two Emmy® Awards. In 2007, Moresco returned to television with “The Black Donnellys,” co-creating and executive producing the series for NBC. It starred Jonathan Tucker and Olivia Wilde.
On the big screen, Moresco co-wrote and produced the breakout drama Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, and starring an ensemble cast including Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Phillipe, Thandie Newton, and Ludacris. It was released by Lionsgate Films on May 6, 2005. In 2006, at the 78th Academy Awards®, Moresco and Haggis were awarded an Oscar® for co-writing the film. In addition to winning in the Original Screenplay category, Crash won Oscars® for Best Picture and Best Achievement in Editing. Moresco also received WGA, BAFTA and Critic’s Choice awards for his work on the screenplay.
Moresco’s other features include Million Dollar Baby, the 2005 Academy Award®-winner for Best Picture, which he co-produced and developed with Paul Haggis, as well as 10th & Wolf, his directorial debut, starring James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi, and Brad Renfro. Staying true to his independent spirit, Moresco is currently working on several politically charged films, including one based on Susan McDougal and the price she paid for refusing to testify against President Clinton during the Whitewater investigation; another based on Fidel Castro’s illegitimate daughter, Alina Fernandez, her life growing up in, and ultimately her escape from Cuba; a retelling of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play “A Thousand Clowns”; and a fourth project based on famed gangster Lucky Luciano and his role in helping the Allied war effort in World War II. Moresco also directed the soon to be released coming-of-age film The Kings of Appletown, starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse of Disney’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” fame. Moresco is currently writing the feature Hubris for Universal, slated to be directed by Todd Field. He is married to his wife of 35 years, Barbara, and lives in Los Angeles. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
TOM NUNAN, CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Tom Nunan is a co-executive producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the 2006 Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash. Nunan has a diverse background, operating at the top tiers in network TV and studio suites, and functioning as a high-level, Academy Award®-winning producer in both film and television. In recent years, Nunan is best known for being the founding partner in Bull’s Eye Entertainment, a multi-platform television and film production company entity which produced the independent feature film Crash, winner of the 2006 Academy Award® for Best Picture, along with two other Academy Awards® for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. Nunan and his fellow producers also received the Humanitas Prize and several other noteworthy accolades. The company produced 2006’s independent hit, The Illusionist, which starred Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell, and Jessica Biel. Bull’s Eye also gave comedy filmmaker Mitch Rouse his debut opportunity with the 2006 comedy Employee of the Month, and produced and financed Sundance indie darling Thumbsucker, starring Keanu Reeves, Vince Vaughn, Tilda Swinton, and Benjamin Bratt.
Although best known as a producer of hit independent films, Nunan is also extremely active in TV production. Besides his involvement with season two of “Crash,” Nunan also recently produced “My Fake Fiancé,” a romantic comedy movie that was the highest rated cable movie of the season. It aired on ABC Family and starred Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. Both actors have entered into a series agreement with Nunan to star in a half-hour situation comedy entitled “The Deal.” Bull’s Eye Entertainment’s first dramatic series, “Angela’s Eyes,” premiered on Lifetime in 2006. Created by Dan McDermott, the series starred ingénue Abigail Spencer. It was a co-production between Bull’s Eye and NBC Universal Television. During its overall deal with Sony Pictures TV, Bull’s Eye produced two comedy pilots for CBS: “All Grown Up” and “The Papdits,” the second of which was created by Anthony Hines, Oscar®-nominated for the screenplay Borat. Prior to forming Bull’s Eye, Nunan was president of the UPN broadcast network. While running programming and marketing for UPN, Nunan was also nominated to the board of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, the industry’s largest and longest running philanthropic organization. Shortly after joining the board, Nunan was made vice president, then president. He was responsible for high-profile events featuring Ted Turner, Mel Karmazin, George Stephanopoulos, Larry King, Colin Powell, and Hillary Clinton. Nunan has held prominent positions at the other networks as well, running NBC Studio’s prime time production; heading the FOX Network’s prime time and late night efforts after having run its comedy division; and being the lead executive in charge of TV movies at ABC. During his tenure as a network executive, Nunan developed such hit shows as “Will & Grace,” “Profiler,” “The Pretender,” “Martin,” “Living Single,” “King of the Hill,” “Mad TV,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Bachelor,” and “The Dead Zone.” Nunan began his career at Guber/Peters TV as director of TV long form; was senior vice president of TV drama production at Fries Entertainment; and then joined Weintraub Entertainment Group, where he ran that company’s TV drama slate. A graduate of UCLA’s School of Film, Television and Theater, Nunan currently resides in Venice Beach, CA. He continues his relationship with UCLA by teaching a TV development and production course once a year for the Graduate Producer’s Program, in association with the Anderson MBA School. Nunan sits on the board of the Joyful Heart Foundation, where he formerly presided as vice chair, and chairman. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
DON CHEADLE, CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Don Cheadle is currently working on a film based on the life of jazz legend Miles Davis, and he recently starred in Traitor, an international thriller from Overture Films, set in the world of covert counter-terrorism operations, in which he will starred opposite Guy Pearce. Cheadle also starred in the 2009 release of Hotel For Dogs, directed by Thor Freudenthal. Since being named Best Supporting Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics for his breakout performance opposite Denzel Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle has turned in powerful performances in such notable films as Talk To Me, directed by Kasi Lemmons; Hotel Rwanda, which won him Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award®, Broadcast Film Critics Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Actor; Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, and Ocean’s Thirteen, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney; Mike Binder’s Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler; Brett Ratner’s After the Sunset with Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek; The Assassination of Richard Nixon with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts; the Academy Award®-winning Traffic and the George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez-starrer Out of Sight, both also directed by Soderbergh; Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed Boogie Nights with Julianne Moore and Mark Wahlberg; Volcano with Tommy Lee Jones; Bulworth, directed by and starring Warren Beatty; Swordfish co-starring John Travolta and Halle Berry; Mission to Mars with Tim Robbins and Gary Sinise; and John Singleton’s Rosewood. Cheadle won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary for 2007’s Darfur Now. He has also appeared in The Family Man, directed by Brett Ratner; The United States of Leland, starring Ryan Gosling and Kevin Spacey; Allison Anders’ Things Behind the Sun; Dennis Hopper’s Colors; John Irvin’s Hamburger Hill; and Robert Townsend’s Meteor Man. On television, Cheadle has received a Golden Globe Award® for his portrayal of Sammy Davis Jr. in HBO’s The Rat Pack. He received an Emmy® nomination for his starring role in HBO’s adaptation of the best-selling novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. He also starred for HBO in Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” Manigault, directed by Eriq La Salle. Known for his two-year stint on David E. Kelley’s “Picket Fences,” Cheadle’s other series include a guest starring role on “ER” (a performance that earned him yet another Emmy® nomination); a series regular role on “The Golden Palace”; recurring roles on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Fame;” and the live CBS television broadcast of Fail Safe.
An accomplished stage actor, Cheadle originated the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Top Dog Underdog" at New York’s Public Theatre. His other stage credits include "Leon, Lena and Lenz" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis; "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Liquid Skin" at the Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis; "Cymbeline" at The New York Shakespeare Festival; "‘Tis a Pity She’s a Whore" at Chicago’s Goodman Theater; and Athol Fugard’s "Blood Knot" at The Complex Theater in Hollywood. Cheadle directed "Cincinnati Man" at the Attic Theater; the critically acclaimed "The Trip" at Friends and Artists Theater in Hollywood; and "Three, True, One" at the electric Lodge in Venice, California.
A talented musician, Cheadle was nominated for a Grammy® Award in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album for his narration/dramatization of the Walter Mosley novel "Fear Itself." Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Cheadle earned a bachelor’s degree at the California Institute of the Arts. He resides in Los Angeles. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.
TODD HARTHAN, SUPERVISING PRODUCER
Todd Harthan is supervising producer of season two of “Crash,” a Starz original drama series from the producers of the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Crash. Harthan’s first original screenplay, the action-fantasy Skinwalkers starring Jason Behr, was produced in 2005 with Lionsgate Films. He was the supervising producer/writer of 2007’s critically acclaimed Spike TV miniseries “The Kill Point,” starring Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo. Afterwards, Harthan wrote and directed “Bouncers,” a half-hour comedy pilot for Spike TV starring Dana Ashbrook. Harthan often collaborates with James DeMonaco, and with his best friend, actor/writer James Roday (“Psych,” “Dukes of Hazzard”). After “Crash,” Harthan will be producing an independent film co-written with Roday titled Gravy. Harthan lives in Los Angeles with his wife. “Crash” is the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate.