A LETTER FROM DIRECTOR BOB SHAYE

Dear Journalist,
Of course, The Last Mimzy is a science fiction fantasy. Adapted from a brilliant and exciting short story by Lewis Padgett, which I read as a kid, its theme that young brains are open to influence and learning from any and all sources fascinated me, and does to this day. First, and foremost, the film is intended to be fun and provocative family entertainment.
Peculiarly enough though, there is some validity to the science in the film.
Dr. Brian Greene, Professor of Physics at Columbia University, concurs that theoretically, at least, time travel might occur through the phenomena of worm holes and supernovas. (Dr. Greene, incidentally plays the Intel scientist in the film). The narrative proposition that genetic traits, together, may make up the behavior we call innocence and could be turned off over many generations by disuse is also, in theory, accurate, concurs Dr. Susan Smalley, Professor of Neurobehavioral Genetics at UCLA.
Of course, incredible literary license was taken for the production, but the theoretical foundation is there.
Finally, too, while I don't believe in "message films", there is a fundamental idea intended in The Last Mimzy. If we stop and look around us today, with fresh eyes, there is much to be concerned about. Not only in politics, but sociology. We carry electronic devices all the time, distracted constantly by them. Kids are consumed by gaming machines, television, and internet. TVs are on in many homes many hours a day, even with the sound off. Video screens are everywhere. The news is mostly about death. Electronic ringing and mechanical clanging disturb our lives, inside and outside. With ear buds, and electronics crying for our constant attention, we are becoming isolated slowly, but surely, from one another. With that isolation, in time, we may not need the trait of innocence. And then, I believe mankind could be in big trouble.

Bob Shaye

THE ORIGINS
The origins of The Last Mimzy can actually be traced back to 1943. That's when prolific science fiction author Lewis Padgett (a pen name for the sci-fi writing couple of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore) published the short story Mimzy Were The Borogoves in a collection titled Astounding. The story, a simple tale about two children who discover a mysterious box of toys, would eventually provide the inspiration for The Last Mimzy.
Fast forwarding to the 1990s, Academy Award-winning producer Michael Phillips (The Sting, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) came across the original Padgett story as he searched through anthologies of famous science fiction shorts for film ideas.
"I always felt there was undiscovered treasure in there. We went through about a thousand stories, but Mimsy Were the Borogoves immediately captured my imagination," says Phillips. "My personal taste as a filmmaker is escapist entertainment. I like to go places I've never been before, and this story had the kernel of an idea - the idea of two kids finding a box of toys from the future - that was really promising."
Phillips also saw potential in the story to create a motion picture that was reminiscent of the great sci-fi films of the late 1970s and early 1980s. "This film is, in a way, a throwback to films like ET and Close Encounters in that it's really about wonder, the wonder of the universe and the incredible things that can be there," says Phillips. "And it's about who we are as a species, where we're going, and how we can determine our destiny by getting back on track - we have gifts and potential we may never have dreamed of. The film presents a really lovely future for us as a species."
Phillips continues, "So I acquired the rights and brought the idea to Bob Shaye, the head of New Line, who said, 'I know this story. I've loved it ever since I was a kid.' It was an easy handshake."
It turned out that Shaye was so intrigued by the serendipity of one of his favorite childhood stories now being pitched to him years later that he not only wanted to make the film at New Line, but he wanted to direct it himself as well.
"It was one of my favorite science fiction stories when I was a kid," explains Shaye. "After Michael left my office I thought, I'd like to direct this. It just seemed something that would be a lot of fun, especially since I had such passion for the story for so many years. That was the beginning of it."
Shaye was also drawn to the story because of its timely theme which addresses humanity's loss of innocence as technology's influence on our lives grows. "There is scientific evidence that as man becomes more reliant on technology, we could eventually end up losing the gene or combination of genes that create emotionality," says Shaye. "If we stop using certain genes, they get turned off, and it's easy to see that if we stop needing innocence that gene could slowly be replaced over many generations. We could forget how to be innocent all together."
The news of Shaye's desire to direct the film came as quite a surprise to Phillips, who had previously only dealt with Shaye as an executive. "To be honest, I didn't know whether that was good news or bad news because I didn't know Bob as a director, I knew him as an executive," says Phillips. "It really wasn't until we started serious pre-production that I saw how incredibly focused he was, that he has the language of film in his blood. And he did an incredible job. This was a tougher film to make than any of us thought. There was the challenge of working in almost every scene with two young children, 340 effects shots, and more than half the scenes required the actors to interact with special effects that would be added later. But Bob was more than up to the challenge."
In order to tackle the film's numerous complicated effects sequences, the production actually turned to a trio of companies that specialize in visual effects and assigned each firm its own particular sequence to work on. Visual effects outfit The Orphanage (A Night at the Museum, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) was charged with creating most of the effects, while Rising Sun Pictures (Superman Returns, Batman Begins, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) developed the effects for the spiders sequence, and Gentle Giant Studios (X-Men: The Last Stand, The Da Vinci Code, The Chronicles of Narnia) tackled the challenging bridge sequence.
With Shaye on board as director, he and Phillips began to develop the project. Combining Phillips producing savvy with Shaye's decades of development experience proved useful as the two set out to conquer the challenges inherent in turning a short story into a major motion picture.
"As many short stories do, it didn't really lend itself to a full-blown feature film," says Shaye. "The story had to be fleshed out. We wanted a story that grown-ups would respond to and that kids would respond to because there was really something passionate about it. So we took an option on the material and hired a very good writer named James Hart to do a first draft."
That draft was first commissioned in 1993 and was the launching point for what would eventually become The Last Mimzy.
"I've been a producer for 35 years, and this was unusual in my experience," says Phillips. "This film was in development - continuous development - for 12 years. It went through 19 drafts by five writers. We started with Jim Hart, then Toby Emmerich (who happens to be New Line's current President of Production, but at the time was the head of its Music division and the writer of the sci-fi feature Frequency), then finally Bruce Joel Rubin. I feel like Jim gave us a body, Toby brought life and a heartbeat to the project, and Bruce gave it wings. It's been an incredible journey, a roller coaster."
When Rubin was first approached to write the script, he immediately recognized the story, though he didn't know its name. "When I was 10-years-old, I watched a television show - I believe it was Science Fiction Theater - and there was an episode about these two children who discover toys from another world," remembers Rubin. "I thought, 'This is the most exciting thing I've ever seen in my life.' My little brother Gary and I were glued to the screen, waiting to see what they did with these toys. And then it was over. I looked at my brother and said, 'This must have been part one. Next week, part two.' So the next week, Saturday morning, we were in front of the television waiting. Nothing. We were so confused. Years went by and I kept wondering, whatever happened to those kids and those toys and why did I miss that second episode?
"Then, one day Bob Shaye called me about a story called 'Mimsy Were the Borogoves,' and I realized, 'Oh my God, this is that story! Now I'm going to find out what happens at the end.' But there was no ending. Nothing happens with the toys."
The open ended story proved so frustrating for Rubin that he initially turned down the opportunity to work on the feature film adaptation.
But several drafts later, a version of the screenplay once again came to Rubin's attention. "Bob sent me a draft that Toby Emmerich had written and it was really good," says Rubin. "But the ending remained a problem and I kept thinking, 'What can I do to make this work?'
"I spent a lot of years traveling in Asia, and in Tibet they have a very interesting tradition where when a religious teacher dies, they look for his reincarnation through various mechanisms, one of which is to gather all the toys the teacher had when he was a child and bring them to possible candidates. The toys are mixed in with others and the proof of which child is the true reincarnation is the one that goes to the old toys. I thought this could be the key to the movie's story. I didn't know exactly how yet, but this would be the key to this movie. There are toys from the future, and yet these children know what to do with them."
Summing up his approach to the screenplay, Rubin adds, "This was a movie that I wanted to be about the exploration and discovery of a purity in the human spirit that is something people can look at and touch and watch as it moves through time and space. It is something that is worth preserving. I thought this movie would be a wonderful vehicle for a metaphysical, spiritual, and fable-like mythic story. It has all those possibilities in it. It's such a simple tale but it goes deep. I only want to write movies that have some reason for being in our culture - most of the stories out there just take your mind away for two hours and give nothing back. I don't want to tell those stories. I want a movie where you get something that lingers, that embeds itself inside you and changes you a little bit. I think The Last Mimzy is that story."
Michael Phillips sums up the production that began more than a decade ago with him scouring classic sci-fi literature. "This has been a labor of love for me," says Phillips. "I think it's got a chance of being a film that endures. The barometer for me is originality; as a producer that's what I really look for. I believe that if you find an original, imaginative idea, and you're able to present it well, the audience will respond."

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE
Finding children, especially very young children, who are talented enough to meet the needs of their characters and the demands of a production is difficult enough when they are peripheral characters, and even more so when they must carry the film. For help, Shaye and Phillips turned to casting director Margery Simkin, who has considerable experience casting children.
"Margery encouraged me to reach out, to broaden my imagination, to aim for quality actors," says Shaye. "To truly go for an ensemble that would bring real heart and comedy and depth to the story."
Simkin set up casting centers in four major cities, screened the candidates and then presented the best to Shaye and Phillips. "From the beginning, Rhiannon was really pretty terrific," remembers Shaye. "There was just something about her, not only her physical demeanor, but her puckishness that I really liked."
The search for Rhiannon's brother in the film led the filmmakers to the discovery a new talent in Chris O'Neil. "It was just one of those moments of destiny, I guess," says Shaye. "We had seen a number of boys, and we selected four to do a final reading. The day before that happened, Margery said she had just met a kid who was literally almost off the street, and she thought I should see him. So Chris came in and he had already memorized all his lines - said it took him only 20 or 30 minutes because he has a very good memory. So right away, I sensed this kid was unusual. He did an incredible reading. The next day, even though the others were very good, he blew them all away and got the role."
Shaye continues, "This is Chris' very first time acting. He never had any experience, except some kind of school district dramatic monologue competition which he won. A Hollywood manager happened to be there, and she got so excited about Chris that she proposed to his father that they come to Los Angeles. The day before our final audition they went to see a well-known agent who handles children, who then called up Margery and said, 'You've got to see this kid.' And that's how it all happened."
But equally important to O'Neil's individual talent, was the chemistry he had with Wryn. As producer Michael Phillips says, "They were a perfect match. During casting, Bob put them through one of the most difficult scenes and they were spellbinding. We all sat there with our jaws open."
Director Shaye concurs, adding, "These kids are genuine actors. It's amazing to see people who are so young and so inexperienced be able to conjure up emotions and characterizations that are so full of life."
Working with child actors in such pivotal roles was also an interesting experience for their adult co-stars. "I've done quite a few films with children, but the pressure wasn't on them in the same way it was in this film," says Joely Richardson. "I can tell you Rhiannon and Chris were both phenomenally professional in a way that you wouldn't expect with children. They coped incredibly well. And when people talk about working with children, what they never tell you is the upside. Children can be incredibly instinctive, which is a beautiful thing to play with. It keeps it very natural - technique goes out the door. These are huge bonuses and one of the reasons I personally love working with children."
The family dynamic also paid off in the relationship between Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson. "The parents' roles are very tricky, because they are just reacting to everything that's happening with the kids," remarks Rainn Wilson, who plays Noah's science teacher. "What's so great about Joely and Tim is that they're very complicated people who make these characters a lot richer than they are on the page. You really get a sense of their hopes and dreams and what's driving them."

ABOUT THE MUSIC
The cast of The Last Mimzy were not the only "stars" involved in the film's production. The original music featured in the film was composed by an all-star team that included legendary Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters and Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings trilogy).
With more than 100 film and television scores to his credit, Shore is one of the leading composers working today. In addition to his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy whose soundtrack has sold more than six million copies worldwide, Shore has scored such remarkable films as The Departed, A History of Violence, The Aviator, Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia and The Fly.
Waters recorded the original song "Hello (I Love You)," specifically for the film, marking only the second time the rock icon has ever recorded an original song for a motion picture, while Shore composed the film's score. Waters collaborated with Shore and Grammy Award-winning Pink Floyd producer James Guthrie (The Wall) to record the song, which also features a team of leading musicians including drummer Steve Gadd (Eric Clapton, Paul Simon), guitarist Gerry Leonard (music director/guitarist for David Bowie), and Waters on bass and vocals. The Last Mimzy's 6-year-old star Rhiannon Leigh Wrynn also appears on the track, singing along with Waters on the song's chorus.
"It was great collaborating with Bob Shaye and Howard Shore on this film," says Waters. "I think together we've come up with a song that captures the themes of the movie, the clash between humanity's best and worst instincts, and how a child's innocence wins the day."

DIRECTOR
Since founding New Line Cinema in 1967, Bob Shaye has guided the company's growth from a privately-held art film distributor to one of the entertainment industry's leading independent studios and a veritable box office force.
Recently, Shaye has returned to his origin as a filmmaker directing New Line's sci-fi adventure The Last Mimzy. The film tells the story of two young children who discover a box of highly sophisticated toys which empower them with a series of remarkable abilities. Shaye's previous work as a feature director came with the 1990 romantic comedy Book of Love.
After beginning his filmmaking career at the age of 15 with a training film for employees of his father's supermarket, Shaye found early success as a young filmmaker. He took First Prize at the prestigious Society of Cinematologists' Rosenthal Competition, where he and Martin Scorsese shared the Best Motion Picture by an American Director Under the Age of 25 honor.
While working at the Museum of Modern Art, Shaye began to explore the world of distribution and formed New Line Cinema, in his Greenwich Village apartment. Building on re-releases of cult films like Reefer Madness and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films, New Line broke out commercially with the release of such popular franchises as the Street Fighter series, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Those successful series set the stage for later New Line hits like Rush Hour, Austin Powers, Dumb & Dumber, The Wedding Singer, Seven, Boogie Nights, The Mask and Blade.
With Shaye as Co-Chairman, New Line has developed a reputation for working miracles in "niche" markets and became a trailblazer in the industry thanks to its innovative business strategies, many of which have since become industry norms.
The studio's maverick style was never more evident than in 1998, when writer/director Peter Jackson brought his 25-minute pitch reel for a big screen epic of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings to New Line, hoping to turn the three volumes into two films. Shaye suggested Jackson make three films and mandated the subsequent green-light for an unprecedented simultaneous production for all three installments.
The results of the gamble are staggering. Combined, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was nominated for 30 Oscars, winning 17, including a clean sweep of 11 awards for The Return of the King, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. At the box office, all three films combined to earn nearly $3 billion worldwide.
This established New Line as the most successful independent film company ever. But New Line's recent success is not limited to the Rings phenomenon. Other breakout films include the top-grossing comedy of 2005, Wedding Crashers, as well as such hits as Monster-in-Law, The Notebook, Elf, Freddy vs. Jason, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the Oscar-nominated A History of Violence.
As New Line celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2007, the studio has an exciting slate of upcoming films scheduled for release including The Golden Compass, based on author Phillip Pullman's bestselling "His Dark Materials" trilogy; Rush Hour 3; and a big-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy Hairspray, starring John Travolta and Queen Latifah.
A University of Michigan graduate with a degree in business administration and a J.D. degree from Columbia University Law School, Shaye is also a Fulbright Scholar, member of the New York State Bar, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Motion Picture Pioneers and the American Film Institute.

SCREENPLAY
Bruce Joel Rubin won an Academy Award for his original screenplay, Ghost. The film was also nominated for best picture. Rubin's additional writing credits include Brainstorm, Jacob's Ladder, My Life (which he also directed), Deep Impact (with Michael Tolkin) and Stuart Little 2. He currently has several films in development including Strange Son for Revolution, Into the Light for Fox2000 and The Time Traveler's Wife for New Line.
Rubin graduated New York University in 1965 where he majored in motion picture production and direction. He was an assistant film editor at NBC news in the mid-sixties and hitch-hiked around the world in 1966-67, an experience which he describes as "very formative." He was also curator of film at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York where he helped establish a program called The New American Filmmakers Series, "an important launching pad for independent filmmakers in the early 70's." In addition to his film career, Rubin has been a student and teacher of meditation for the past forty years.

Toby Emmerich is president of production for New Line Cinema. Since being named to the post in January 2001, Emmerich has overseen production in the most successful period in company history.
Since Emmerich took the production helm, New Line has released such hits as the Academy Award-winning blockbuster The Lord of the Rings:Return of the King, 2005's highest-grossing comedy Wedding Crashers, Monster-in-Law, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Elf, The Notebook, and About Schmidt, which starred Jack Nicholson in a Golden Globe-winning performance.
A long-time studio veteran, Emmerich previously served not only as President of New Line Music, but also as an accomplished screenwriter and producer who wrote and produced New Line's sleeper hit Frequency, starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.
Emmerich joined the company in 1992 as a dual development and music executive. In his position as President of Music, he oversaw the development of Platinum or Gold-selling soundtracks such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Elf, Freddy vs. Jason, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Next Friday, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Love Jones, Who's the Man, Menace II Society, Above the Rim, The Mask, Don Juan DeMarco, My Family, Friday, Dumb and Dumber, Now and Then, Mortal Kombat and Seven, among others.
Prior to his posts at New Line, Emmerich was an A&R representative at Atlantic Records from 1987 to 1992. Emmerich attended the Calhoun School and Wesleyan University, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1985, with honors in English, and concentrations in Classics and Film.
Emmerich lives in Los Angeles with his wife Julie and their daughter. An avid motorcycle enthusiast and art collector, he also enjoys long-distance running. Emmerich serves on the board of directors for both the Neil Bogart Foundation and the American Cinematheque, and is on the board of trustees for The Calhoun School in New York City.

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