A Triple Play Pictures

IFC FILMS

Presents

GO TIGERS!

A Triple Play Pictures

Production

Directed by Ken Carlson

Press Contacts:

New YorkLos Angeles

Jeremy WalkerKaren Fried

Jeremy Walker + AssociatesThe Angelotti Company

T: (212) 595-6161T: (818) 506-7887

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FILMMAKERS

Written and Directed by…………………………….KENNETH A. CARLSON

Produced by………………………………………….……SIDNEY SHERMAN

KENNETH A. CARLSON

Executive Producer………...………………………….……TODD ROBINSON

Edited by……………………...…………………………………..JEFF WERNER

Director of Photography…………………………..………….CURT APDUHAN

Music Composed by………………………………………………………………....RANDY MILLER

SYNOPSIS

“Go Tigers!” spends a season with the high school football team in Massillon, Ohio, where the game is everything. The film focuses on three of the team’s stars, quarterback Dave Irwin, linebacker Danny Studer and defensive end Ellery Moore as they lead the team back from a disastrous 4-6 season the year before. As the town becomes engrossed in the Tigers’ Friday night fights, the county schools run out of money. Unless voters approve a levy, coaches and teachers will lose their jobs. Massillon needs heroes.

“Go Tigers!” takes us to the pep rallies and the Main Street parades, into the homes of the players and right into the middle of the action on the field of play. We go inside the locker room where we pray and get preached at and at halftime we get yelled at and humiliated by coaches and team captains alike. We go to the beer-soaked victory parties where team members and their supporters let off steam, and we see why a school might hold back a student who during his extra year in high school might get bigger, stronger, and more skilled on the field.

The narrative crackle of “Go Tigers!” gains much from the highest-of-stakes love affair between the town and its players, who must not only deliver victory for the town but, in a very real way, its salvation. Director Ken Carlson is a native of Massillon and it is clear that he loves his hometown. Yet “Go Tigers!” succeeds precisely because Carlson – who once had a day job producing hundreds of segments of “Americas Most Wanted” – treats his subjects with neither undue reverence nor a whiff of condescension.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHY

An arsenal of camera systems was employed to tell the story of the Massillon Tigers. In order to get the highly-polished, professional look expected by viewers of major televised sporting events, Sony's High Definition HDW-700A camera became the workhorse of the production. Arri SR-3 super 16mm film cameras were used to augment selected games. In addition, Sony Digital Video Camcorders were provided to the three Captains of the Tigers to record moments from the player’s perspective.

Explains Cinematographer Curt Apduhan, "We had two Hi Def units shooting simultaneously. This enabled us to follow the various events as they developed. Without this multi-unit approach along with the DV Camcorders, I doubt we would have been able to capture this amazing story."

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

KENNETH A. CARLSON

Writer/Director/Producer

Kenneth A. Carlson, a graduate of Brown University and a native of Ohio, wrote, directed and produced GO TIGERS! a feature length documentary on Ohio’s winningest high school football team, the Massillon Tigers. This is a rare behind-the-scenes chronicling of their remarkable 106th season played out in a small rust-belt town that draws its identity from football. GO TIGERS! had its world premiere as an official selection for the Documentary Competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

For more than four years, Carlson produced over 175 feature segments for the reality-based show, AMERICA’S MOST WANTED currently airing on The Fox Network. His credits run the gamut from producing, directing and writing film and video re-enactments to on-camera reporting for the news department. Carlson has contributed to the capture of over forty elusive criminals to date.

This summer Carlson is returning to a “day job” in reality TV as director and cameraman for a team of contestants for the NBC show “Lost.” Airing in September just as “Go Tigers!” is opening, “Lost” deposits its teams in remote areas of the globe; the team that is the first to reach the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor wins. Carlson will begin his work on “Lost” when he and his team are dropped at an undisclosed location in mid-July.

Carlson produced the Academy Award Finalist for Best Documentary Feature, AMARGOSA. The film is about the life of eccentric ballet dancer/artist, Marta Becket and her opera house located in remote Death Valley Junction, California. The film has won awards at several major film festivals.

For Carlson’s independent film company, Carlson Films, he recently wrote, directed and produced the feature film, SPECIAL DELIVERY, a romantic comedy starring Sean Young, Penny Marshall, Paul Dooley and Nell Carter. This independent, heart-warming film was chosen to premiere as the “Opening Night Spotlight Feature” at the Sedona Film Festival and honored by opening the New York International Film Festival. Theatrical release will take place in the fall of 2001 by Liberty Media.

Carlson also produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary, WILD BILL: HOLLYWOOD MAVERICK, based on the life and times of legendary studio director William A.Wellman and featuring such Hollywood luminaries as Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Sidney Poitier, Martin Scorsese and Gregory Peck. It was awarded “Best Documentary of 1996” by the National Board of Review. That same year it made its US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. “WILD BILL” was nominated for a Cable Ace Award after having its world television premiere on TNT in August of 1996. It is currently airing on American Movie Classics.

Carlson has many documentaries in development and production including; CHILDREN OF THE UNDERGROUND and THIRD-WORLD ORPHANS. He is also penning the screenplays PREACHER’S KID and MOTHERS OF OUR COUNTRY.

JEFF WERNER

Editor

Last winter, Jeff Werner edited the Lions Gate release of the theatrical documentary, BEYOND THE MAT for director Barry Blaustein. The film was named an Academy Award Finalist for Best Documentary Feature, and was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Best Documentary.

His editorial work on THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES marked the fifth film in which Werner collaborated with Barbra Streisand, with projects dating back to A STAR IS BORN, and including YENTL and NUTS. He was associate producer on MAIN EVENT.

At present, he is co-directing and editing the feature-length documentary, CAMP SCOTT LADIES, which explores the world of a boot camp for teenage girls. Their crimes range from selling drugs to attempted murder. The film will air on MTV in early 2001. This marks the second film he has made with Koch Productions.

In 1998, he edited Susan Koch's CITY AT PEACE, a documentary dealing with racism in Washington, D.C. It won the Heartland Festival Grand Prize, and aired on HBO. Currently, MTV/Paramount has optioned the movie rights, with production expected to begin in Spring, 2001.

Werner has also directed two documentaries for HBO: THE GODFATHER FAMILY; and BLOODLINES; the latter having been nominated for a Cable Ace Award. In addition, Werner has won several Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards for his work in theatrical trailers.

A former elementary school teacher, Werner received his MA in education at City College of New York. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Elyce, and two children, Juliet and Bobby.

SIDNEY SHERMAN

Producer

SIDNEY SHERMAN (Producer) received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UCLA in 1989. Sherman began his career as a development assistant to David Anspaugh and Angelo Pizzo, the filmmakers behind the critically acclaimed film, “Hoosiers,” starring Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper. After one year, Sherman joined Academy Award-winning producer Arnold Kopelson as the Director of Development. As an executive, he worked on such projects as “Out for Justice,” starring Steven Seagal; “Falling Down,” starring Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall; and “The Fugitive,” starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.

Seeking to gain more hands-on production experience, Sherman left Kopelson Productions to form Rosa Entertainment, an independent commercial and film production company. At Rosa, he has produced public service announcements for UCLA’s Outreach Program, AIDS Project Los Angeles, and The Jewish Federation. Sherman also supervised the Emmy award-winning documentary, “The Legend of Billy the Kid” for the Disney Channel, as well as the documentary, “Wild Bill Hollywood Maverick” for Turner. He also wrote, produced, and directed the New York Festival Bronze Medal-winning short subject film, “The Tunnel” which has screened at over 25 international film festivals.

Moreover, Sherman worked with Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation as a production consultant on a number of projects including the recent Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary, “The Last Days” which is currently airing on HBO, the Emmy award-winning documentary, “Survivors of the Holocaust” for Turner Original Productions, and “The Lost Children of Berlin” for A&E Television.

Recently, Sherman produced, “Stand and Be Counted,” a documentary series with partner, Todd Robinson, which focuses on the role of popular music in social activism, and features interviews with many folk and rock musicians, including Joan Baez, Sting, Michael Stipe, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffet, Elton John, and Melissa Etheridge to name just a few. The film debuted on TLC in the Fall of 2000 as a two-part series.

Previously, Sherman produced the Academy Award Finalist for Best Documentary Feature “Amargosa.” The documentary deals with the life of artist and dancer, Marta Becket. At the age of 76, Marta continues to amaze sold-out audiences each week with her ambitious performances in the desolate, desert of Death Valley, California.

TODD ROBINSON

Executive Producer

For Hollywood Pictures Todd Robinson wrote and co-produced WHITE SQUALL, starring Jeff Bridges, working closely with director Ridley Scott. His screenplay won the Worldfest Special Jury Grand Prize for Best Screenplay. He also wrote and co-produced THE FOUR DIAMONDS for Disney, directed by Peter Werner, starring Christine Lahti and Jane Brooke. Earlier this year his film MERMAID, helmed by Peter Masterson, with Ellen Burstyn and Samantha Mathis starring, aired on Showtime. He is currently at work on THAT OTHER'S MAY LIVE for Wolfgang Peterson and Warner Brothers.

Robinson wrote, directed and produced THE LEGEND OF BILLY THE KID for the Disney Channel, for which he won a PRIME TIME EMMY AWARD, directed the award winning dramatic short subject film ANGEL FIRE and wrote and directed WILD BILL - HOLLYWOOD MAVERICK, a feature documentary film on legendary studio director, William A. Wellman. The film was awarded "Best Documentary Film” by the National Board of Review and was featured at Sundance, London, Berlin, San Sebastian and many other festivals. The film can be seen through 2004 on AMC.

In 2000, Robinson directed the documentary series: STAND AND BE COUNTED for TLC with producing partners, Sidney Sherman and singer/songwriter David Crosby. The program traces the history and impact of social activism through popular music. Network series credits include: THE YOUNG RIDERS, LIFE GOES ON, MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES, THE OUTSIDERS, Hallmark's TALKING WITH T.J. and THE WINGS OF DENALI, a pilot for the WB. He is presently writing for Dick Wolf’s SPECIAL VICTIM’S UNIT.

Robinson wrote and directed AMARGOSA for Triple Play. An Academy Award Finalist for Best Documentary Feature, it is a documentary about artist and recluse Marta Becket that premiered at Slamdance 2000 and has enjoyed an international festival run.

Robinson received a Suma Cum Laude BFA in drama from the Theatre Conservatory at Adelphi University and is one of the founding members of THE JONATHAN LARSON PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION where he serves on the board of directors.

CURT APDUHAN

Director of Photography

For Director of Photography Curt Apduhan, “Go Tigers!” was an opportunity to revisit his past. Having played high school football in Southern California, Apduhan looked upon this film as a chance to capture the drama, dreams, and life lessons he experienced during his "Glory Days.”

“There are not too many times in life that you can go back and experience the world with the innocence of youth. Go Tigers! allowed me to do just that," cites Apduhan.

Go Tigers! represents the second film lensed by Apduhan for Triple Play Pictures and his first for Director Kenneth A. Carlson. "Amargosa,” a 2000 Academy Award Finalist for Best Documentary Feature was his freshmen effort with Todd Robinson directing and Sidney Sherman and Kenneth A. Carlson producing.

In the spring of 1998, Apduhan acted as Director of Photography on Robinson's "Stand And Be Counted,” a feature length documentary on popular music conceived by David Crosby. The two-part series aired on TLC in the Fall of 2000.

MUSIC

RON ALAN COHEN

Songwriter

Two-time Emmy Award winner Ron Alan Cohen continually impresses listeners with his work as a composer, songwriter and music producer. His compositions, songs and themes can be heard worldwide on television shows including "That¹s Life," "Friends," "Drew Carey," "Step by Step," "Extra," "Passions," and "Guiding Light." His feature- film credits include "The Birdcage," "Minus Man," "Bird of Prey," "Special Delivery" and "Warm Texas Rain." Additionally, Cohen has served as producer and songwriter for recording artists Dave Koz, Lauren Wood, Aja Daashuur and Heather Sullivan. Cohen's current project is the production of a CD with artist Katrina Carlson that features three songs included in the documentary "Go Tigers," which will be screened at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Cohen currently works from his studio located in Santa Monica, California.

KATRINA CARLSON

Singer/Songwriter

Katrina Carlson graduated with honors from Brown University with a degree in International Relations, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy with a focus on nuclear arms control. Naturally, she is a singer-songwriter.

Singing always played a big part in Katrina's life and provided a way for her to distinguish herself from her ten older siblings. She began playing the piano at age eight and the guitar at age twelve. She continued on her musical path through school and was trained classically at the Manhattan School of Music and the Brooklyn College Opera program. Her early performance experience ranged from the Aspen Music Festival to the off-Broadway Cole Porter review, "You Never Know." Her range in music is vast, singing opera arias to big band tunes. Her career has taken her from the desert landscape she called home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, to New York City and finally, to Los Angeles, where she now resides in the oceanside city of Santa Monica.

On the left coast, Katrina acted in both film and television while she continued her singing and songwriting. She co-starred opposite Sean Young and Penny Marshall in the feature film "Special Delivery," which also featured Nell Carter, and played a bad girl criminal on "America's Most Wanted" among other roles. For any of you trekkies out there, Katrina played a co-starring role in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as the Bajoran officer in the trilogy "The Siege.”

Nevertheless, she was always loyal to her musical roots. After landing two songs written and performed by her in the feature film "Special Delivery," Katrina was inspired to produce a full-length CD. She released her debut CD of original songs, "Apples for Eve," in conjunction with the premiere of "Go Tigers!" at the Sundance Film Festival 2001. She has three songs written and performed by her in the film. The quirky, hit daytime drama "Passions" also recently picked up a song from "Apples for Eve.” Currently, Katrina plays locally in Los Angeles.

RANDY MILLER

Composer

Composer-Arranger-Conductor Randy Miller has, in just a few years, demonstrated a versatility that few film composers can match. From the energy and excitement of his music for Robert Towne's WITHOUT LIMITS to the Asian colors of Oliver Stone's HEAVEN & EARTH, his music engages the listener and heightens the drama of every scene.

Miller was singled out by The Hollywood Reporter for his "rousing, pulse-quickening score" for WITHOUT LIMITS, the critically praised Cruise-Wagner production about runner Steve Prefontaine. Miller was also praised by The Reporter for his work on the Todd Robinson award-winning feature documentary, AMARGOSA, "making the most out of the transcendentally reflective score."

Stone's HEAVEN & EARTH won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Score; Miller orchestrated, arranged and conducted world-music artist Kitaro's themes as well as providing additional music for the powerful Vietnam war drama. He recently won Best Film Score honors at the Hong Kong and Taiwan Film Awards for his work on THE SOONG SISTERS (co-written with Kitaro), which combined authentic Chinese folk instruments with a sweeping orchestral score.