MANAGEMENT is a romantic comedy that chronicles a chance meeting between Mike Cranshaw (Steve Zahn) and Sue Claussen (Jennifer Aniston). When Sue checks into the roadside motel owned by Mike's parents in Arizona, what starts with a bottle of wine "compliments of MANAGEMENT" soon evolves into a multi-layered, cross-country journey of two people looking for a sense of purpose. Mike, an aimless dreamer, bets it all on a trip to Sue's workplace in Maryland - only to find that she has no place for him in her carefully ordered life. Buttoned down and obsessed with making a difference in the world, Sue goes back to her yogurt mogul ex-boyfriend Jango (Woody Harrelson), who promises her a chance to head his charity operations. But, having found something worth fighting for, Mike pits his hopes against Sue's practicality, and the two embark on a twisted, bumpy, freeing journey to discover that their place in the world just might be together.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT is first and foremost a comedy, but, derives its humor from the thrill and awkwardness of human relationships.  "The characters in the film have gaping human needs that are driving them. When you have that, you can go as broad as you want but only if it's grounded in this human need to connect," explains writer/director Stephen Belber, the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter (THE LARAMIE PROJECT) who makes his feature film debut with MANAGEMENT.  "These are people who are cut off from others, or from their own emotional lives. They so desperately want to live life and be a part of someone else's life."
Wyck Godfrey, who produced the film with his Temple Hill Productions partner, Marty Bowen, notes that the characters and their relationship possess a ring of truth that is fundamentally human.  "These are people who live in small towns," he says.  "To stop and make a movie about normal people muddling through, is completely refreshing.  It's a slice of American humor." 
Playing the two souls at the heart of the romantic quest are Jennifer Aniston, the Emmy Award-winning star of the long-running television series FRIENDS, as well as such films as MARLEY & ME, THE BREAK-UP and THE GOOD GIRL, and Steve Zahn, the award-winning star of such films as HAPPY, TEXAS and RESCUE DAWN.
For first-time director Belber, working with an actor with Aniston's gifts and background helped hone the unique mix of comedy and heart that he sought for the character.  Belber worked with the actress to add layers to Sue Claussen that reflected her instincts.  "I wanted Sue to be a more complex woman than you see in a lot of romantic comedies," he says.  "And Jennifer was approaching this film in the same way I had, which is, yes, it's funny, cute and weird, but it's also coming from a genuine place.  In talking to her the first time, I felt she got that about this movie, and she was willing to go there.  And, obviously, her comic timing in general couldn't be better and I knew that going in."
Belber's script resonated so much with Zahn upon his first reading that he knew, without ever talking to the filmmakers, that he had to play Mike.  "I really thought, 'Man, I'm perfect for this,'" the actor recalls.  "It's the first time I ever had a meeting with producers where I went in and said that.  Wyck Godfrey I'd worked with before, and he knew me, so it all worked out, and I was ecstatic when I found out Jen was doing it.  I don't think there's anyone more perfect to play Sue."
For the writer/director, Zahn provided the right comedic chops to go toe-to-toe with Aniston but also brought the humanity that was essential for Mike.  "You had to have someone whom you believe is living in a motel at age 38 and running his parents' thing.  Not many actors can pull that off and still have a real vitalit which Steve has," says Belber.  "He's got heart to spare.  In everything he has done and, even at his goofiest, there are no false notes.  It's always coming from the heart of a character he has created." 
The third key role in the odd love triangle is Jango, an ex-punk yogurt mogul who becomes Mike's adversary for Sue's heart.  Acclaimed actor Woody Harrelson was the filmmakers' first and only choice.  Aniston even got in on the act of wooing the actor for the role and called him up at his home in Hawaii - even talking to his houseguest at the time, Willie Nelson.  "We lucked into getting him," says Belber.  "He was available and he was terrific.  Honestly, he was beyond what I could have hoped for, and he just brought a quirkiness and humor to Jango that I couldn't have predicted.  It's the kind of humor I love, which is just bizarre and out of left field.  Woody's an incredibly sweet guy to work with, and his ability to ad-lib and improve what's on the page, took the character to a whole new level.  You can't ask for more when an actor has that willingness to put so much thought and energy into a part."
"Woody's amazing," adds Zahn.  "He's so funny as this ex-punk - - this guy who is so punk rock, but who's now an entrepreneur. He has this yogurt company that's made him rich, and it contradicts his whole punk thing."
For the cast, working with an "actors' director" with a background in theater was a delight.  "Stephen has such a warm, open, get-it-done mentality," says Harrelson.  "He's fun to work with and open-minded, and really quick on his feet.  If he thinks of something funnier than what's there, he tries something else to mix it up.  That, to me, is what makes doing comedy so much fun.  I have to say that doing comedy is not like work at all.  You just try to come up with ideas to make it even funnier."
"Stephen has been extraordinary with the cast," adds Godfrey.  "Partly because he's a writer-director, he has this ability to communicate what the scenes are about, what he needs from the scene, and really place them in the context of the movie."
Aniston stars as Sue Claussen, a woman on the rebound from a relationship and at a crossroads in her life.  Though she holds down a job as a traveling corporate art salesperson for a company in Maryland, her heart is not really in the work - she pours her passion into charitable projects, giving away a third of her income and feeding the homeless in her off-time.  "She's an emotionally cut-off woman who sells corporate, decorative art," explains Belber.  "Her M.O. in life is saving the world and recycling with a vengeance, but she has done that at the cost of her emotions."
"Jennifer wanted to create a character who was guarded and had a level of deep sadness that she was masking with this tough exterior," says Godfrey.  "Sue is somebody who subjugates her own needs for helping other people, and I think that's something that Mike recognizes in her - she isn't taking care of herself.  She's not allowing anyone to see her or to love her.  She's so busy not looking inside that she hasn't realized she has a hole.  I think it was fun for Jennifer to explore Sue."
The random act of checking into a convenient roadside motel places one lost soul in the path of another.  Mike, who lives in his own room at the motel, has also hit a dead end in life, but he doesn't see any real way.  "You get a sense when you meet him that this is a guy who is going to be doing this for the rest of his life," says Godfrey, "and that he's never done much more."
Though the motel is the post-retirement project of his parents, Jerry (Fred Ward) and Trish (Margo Martindale), Mike has taken the job as night manager and essentially stalled his own life.  "He's the night manager and is content with that," Steve Zahn describes.  "He's very close to his parents and has this kind of mundane existence of reading NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and taking yoga and keyboard lessons."
"He has stopped trying to connect and is sort of on autopilot," adds Belber.  "He has his own little world.  He lives in a room at the motel and has relics of everything from the year he was born forward."
Zahn describes Mike as someone who is "just a really good listener, doesn't forget anything and, regardless of who he's speaking to, is totally focused on that person.  He's just very honest.  Everything is always right to the point with these characters. He has no pretense whatsoever. He doesn't hide his feelings at all."
But, when Sue enters his life, Mike is intrigued enough to step out of his shell and take a chance. "Whether he has or hasn't done it before, you don't really know," says Godfrey, "but, the second his parents clear out, he just knocks on her door.  That's where we meet Sue, who is very confused as to why this guy is at her door.  He claims that it's just a complimentary gift that they give to every guest, and from there it just develops into this very odd relationship."
"He just wants to get close to her," says Zahn, "and it's this very long, kind of uncomfortable scene of him just trying to chit chat with her.  She knows exactly what he's looking for, but they're both being cordial and pleasant.  And then he puts his hand on her butt for about five seconds, which in a weird way is very sexy, and it's not until the next day when she's leaving that they have this crazy affair in the motel laundry room.  But the beginning scene really sets the tone for their relationship.  It's a very odd, very honest, moment."
"I think it's just partly out of her own loneliness and sense of curiosity she lets him do it, and that becomes about the greatest thing that has ever happened to him in his life," says Godfrey.  "The hook is set for him - from the second she leaves he can't think of anything else or do anything but try to go and get her.  From that moment it becomes this Don Quixote quest for Sue.  For Mike, she becomes this angel whom he feels he must be with, and, this crazy kind of romantic comedy ensues."
The brief interlude in the laundry room of the motel sticks with them even as Sue checks out and heads back to Baltimore.  "She happens to be someone who is also subconsciously seeking a connection, but is basically cut off emotionally and physically from the world she exists in," says Belber.  "For nothing other than timing, they meet, they have a weird connection, it goes away, and then, for the rest of the movie, he pursues her."
Their first encounter is unusual, but electric enough to be the spark for a very strange affair between the two that will take them on a cross-country journey of alternately romantic and awkward connections.  "It's definitely on," says Zahn.  "There's no escape.  He is completely enamored by her and borderline obsessed to the point that he leaves home to fly across the country with no money. It's easy to say he stalks her but he doesn't.  He's just persistent and ends up going to soccer practice with her, and going to the amusement park, talking her into taking the day off, so they can spend time together."
In Baltimore, Mike learns more about Sue - about her failed relationship with Jango; about her charitable works and spare lifestyle.  "They are so different on one level, which is that she's a business woman and it's all about work, all about other people and having a schedule," comments Zahn.  "What's beautiful about her is she is very giving and thoughtful to people whom she doesn't know.  She does these things from her heart, and that's what Mike loves so much about her.  But, because she thinks so much of other people, she forgets to take care of herself."
Eventually, Mike learns that Sue has relocated to Aberdeen, Washington, where she has gotten back together with Jango.  Once at the forefront of the punk rock movement, Jango has invested his money in yogurt and built a mini-empire in Washington State.  "Jango is in his late 40's now and still wants desperately to hold onto that punk image, yet he has become a corporate magnate in the world of yogurt," says Godfrey.  "So, he's this oddity who lives in a mansion and trains attack dogs in the lot next door."
"Punk has become a mass marketed thing, and Jango has come to rationalize yogurt as something that all punks love," Harrelson notes.  "Not all, but most.  Any real punk worth his salt is going to like some yogurt, so that's where his head is."
To help with background on the character, Harrelson got in touch with his friend, Flea, from the L.A. punk band, Red Hot Chili Peppers.  "Flea started introducing me to people, giving me books to read and music to listen to, so I'm a lot more familiar now than when I started this journey," the actor explains.   
Venturing into alien territory, Mike arrives in Aberdeen with no cash, no job, and no place to live.  But, he is soon rescued by a kindred spirit named Al, played by James Liao, who offers him the bonanza of both a job and a place to live.  "Al is so instrumental in helping Mike achieve what he wants to achieve," says Zahn.  "Al and Mike are of the same ilk.  They're just very honest guys, but at very different speeds.  Al's this fast-talking, hip, young guy working at his parents' restaurant and here's Mike, this laid back guy who's working at his parents' motel.  I think that is their initial common ground, but they end up becoming best friends."
Belber had seen fellow Julliard graduate Liao at a reading and had kept his name and contact information on a hunch.  "He was so interesting and cool," Belber remembers.  "I went up to him and said, 'You have to give me your email addresses and then I immediately thought of him when I wrote this role.  He came and auditioned several times and nailed it.  He has a great rhythm of talking and brings so many different cultural sensibilities.  He's half-Japanese, half-Chinese, from Brooklyn, from Julliard, and he's just an incredibly unique actor - - perfect for this role."
Liao identified with the character of Al, an underdog himself who takes a shot at helping one of his own.  "I love underdogs," says Liao.  "I've always been an underdog my entire life.  I've been smaller than every guy I've ever had a fight with, and I feel that Al's the same way.  Big heart, big visions and stuff, but a little isolated, and maybe with an inability to really branch out and realize his potential.  But, with Mike, he finds a way to do maybe the biggest thing he's ever done because he actually gets to help somebody.  He feels like, 'Oh my God, I could actually help this guy realize his dreams.'  And, that's a big thing."
Liao relished the opportunity to work with such an accomplished cast.  "Steve's just talented, down to earth and endlessly generous in the way he works," he says.  "To work with Steve and Woody Harrelson and then Jen was incredible.  She's so generous in what she does and always looks you dead in the eye, even when she's just feeding you lines.  I learned so much from them, and so much from Stephen Belber."
Harrelson echoes the sentiment.  "It's great to work with people who are comedy maestros," says Harrelson.  "Jennifer's one of the funniest people.  She can just give a look that is devastatingly funny.  Steve is really funny too.  It's just weird to call this work when it's so much fun."
With a formidable adversary, and Mike's own emotional roadblocks to conquer, Mike embarks on a quest that will take him places he never would have anticipated in trying to win Sue's heart.  "He just loves her," says Belber.  "He really likes the girl and is willing to prove it and overcome his fears.  He just wants to try and find any way to get to her, and his learning curve over the course of the movie is that you can't just stalk people.  You can't jump in their pools.  You can't knock unsolicited on their motel room doors.  I mean you can, but you shouldn't if you really want to earn their love, and he learns how to do that in a more appropriate way."
The film, says Godfrey, is a story about growing up, "As Mike forges this relationship with Sue and really falls in love with her, he's forced to address her criticisms of him.  'You can't just bounce around.  How are they going to live?'  Part of what he comes to terms with having to let go of everything that has held him back in the past."
Belber feels Mike's journey speaks to the universal need to find human connection, even if it's through unconventional means.  "Sue has channeled her energy into saving others and helping the world," says Belber.  "Jango has channeled that into making money or doing something with all of his intensity.  And Mike has channeled it into living a very closed off life.  They don't have the tools so when they get desperate and seek tools that are not the normal ones we see in everyday life, it comes off as crazy and insane, but it's really just a desire to connect.  These are people who don't know properly how to live, and I think everyone has a dimension of that.  These guys are sort of the heightened reality versions of it, but as long as they are human, the actors find a way to make that truthful.  Love pushes you forward, and love is the ultimate form of engaging with someone else and with the world."

HOW IT ALL STARTED
Stephen Belber originally conceived of MANAGEMENT as a one-act play he wrote for a New York-based theater company, as part of a series that took place in motel rooms.  The one-act was ultimately directed on stage by his wife, Lucie Tiberghien, and though he moved on to other projects, the characters of Sue and Mike stayed with him.  "These two characters just seemed so quirky and interesting, sad but wanting to be happy, and happy and mistakenly being sad," he recalls.  "I always knew I wanted to do something with them, and then a year or so ago I started taking notes.  I would come home and write notes about these two characters just as a hobby."
The piece took shape in between other screenwriting projects.  "My guiding light was the notion of what do you do for love?" he muses.  "What do you do when you're seeking connection, what ends do you go to and what are you willing to put up with as the beneficiary of that kind of energy."
The screenplay ultimately found its way to producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill Productions.  "We read it over the weekend and I literally called Marty on Monday and said, 'this is the best script I've read in years,'" recalls Godfrey.  "It was one of those scripts that just jumped off the page.  It was hilarious.  It was also really emotional. It's such an optimistic and fun story about a guy who goes through all these obstacles for this girl.  As many times as he gets shut down, he just keeps going with this kind of wide-eyed boyish pursuit, which I just loved."
Belber met with the producers and the three clicked.  "Their energy, enthusiasm and passion for making movies that are comparable to the one I wanted to make was so palpable that I just switched my whole preconception on how I thought this was going to proceed.  They had made lists prior to meeting me and had constructed an entire path for how this might get made."
Executive producer Nan Morales then joined the filmmaking team.  "She's so smart about budget and technical stuff, but also incredibly smart about story and characters," enthuses Belber.  "They're all amazing."

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
MANAGEMENT marks STEPHEN BELBER's (Writer/Director) first time behind the camera.  Though he began his career as a playwright, he has recently made a mark in Hollywood.  As a screenwriter Belber wrote TAPE, directed by Richard Linklater, which starred Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke (Sundance; Berlin);  THE LARAMIE PROJECT (co-writer) for HBO Films, (Sundance, Emmy nomination for screenwriting); and DRIFTING ELEGANT, directed by Amy Glazer.  His TV credits include RESCUE ME and LAW & ORDER SVU, (staff writer).
Belber has three prominent features currently in development based on his scripts at Paramount, Universal and most recently Sony, where he recently sold his script THE LONG RUN with Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment.
Stephen Belber's plays include MATCH (Broadway, Tony nomination for Frank Langella), A SMALL, MELODROMATIC STORY, (LAByrinth Theater Company), McREELE (Roundabout), TAPE (Naked Angels--NYC/LA/London), CAROL MULRONEY (Huntington Theater), ONE MILLION BUTTERFLIES (Primary Stages), DRIFTING ELEGANT (Magic Theater), THE TRANSPARENCY OF VAL (Theater Outrageous, NYC), THE WAKE (Via Theater, NYC), THROUGH FRED (Soho Rep) and THE DEATH OF FRANK (Araca Group, NYC).
Belber was born in Washington, D.C. and attended Trinity College in Connecticut, and the Juilliard Playwrights program in New York.  He has received commissions from Manhattan Theater Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Huntington Theater, Arena Stage and Philadelphia Theater Company.
His most recent plays, FAULT LINES and GEOMETRY OF FIRE, will both premiere in New York this fall, at the Cherry Lane Theater and Rattletick Theater, respectively.

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