A jury of internationally acclaimed actors and filmmakers convenes to award the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best New Narrative Filmmaker, and Best Actor and Actress in a Narrative Feature prizes. Learn more about the jury, which includes Bradley Cooper, Richard Fischoff, Todd Haynes, Meg Ryan, and Uma Thurman.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper was recently seen in the comedy He’s Just Not That Into You and hosting Saturday Night Live. This summer, he’ll be seen in the comedy The Hangover, costarring Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis as three friends who lose their best friend at his bachelor party in Las Vegas. Cooper will also be seen in New York, I Love You and opposite Sandra Bullock and Thomas Haden Church in All About Steve. Cooper’s other film roles include Yes Man, Wedding Crashers,and the cult favorite Wet Hot American Summer. Cooper made his Broadway debut in 2006 opposite Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd in Three Days of Rain, and in 2008 he joined the cast of the critically acclaimed Theresa Rebeck play The Understudy, which premiered to rave reviews and sold-out performances. Cooper’s television credits include the critically acclaimed Nip/Tuck, Kitchen Confidential, Alias, and Jack & Bobby. Born in Philadelphia, Cooper studied at Georgetown University and received his MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School. Cooper currently resides in Venice, California.
Richard Fischoff
Richard Fischoff has spent more than 30 years in the entertainment industry as both an executive and producer in the film and television arenas. He is currently developing and producing film and television projects as an independent producer. Fischoff served as president of Jaffe-Lansing Productions and Carson Films and co-president of Sandollar Films. He also held executive studio positions, where he was involved in the development and production of feature and television films including Fatal Attraction, The Big Chill, Desert Bloom, The Accused, Racing with the Moon, First Born, Steel Magnolias, Sleepless in Seattle, Thunderheart, Mistress, and When the Time Comes. Prior to that, Fischoff was vice president of Stanley Jaffe Productions, where he was involved in Taps and Without a Trace. Fischoff served as Associate Producer on the company’s multiple Academy Award®-winning film, Kramer Vs. Kramer. Fischoff’s most recent television credits include Write & Wrong, Relative Chaos, For One Night, The Hunt for the BTK Serial Killer, While I Was Gone, Stuck in the Suburbs, The Mystery of Natalie Wood, and Inside the Osmonds. Fischoff started his career in the publishing field and worked for MCA Publishing and Warner Books. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
In support of Stand Up to Cancer, Richard Fischoff Stands Up to Cancer. Stand up at su2c.org.
Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes burst onto the experimental filmmaking scene two years after his graduation from Brown University with his now-infamous 43-minute cult treasure Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, which, because of a cease and desist order, cannot be seen by the general public. His award-winning first feature, Poison (1991), was pilloried by the American Family Association as government-sponsored homoerotic filth but established Haynes elsewhere as a socially conscious artist for the AIDS era. He followed with the short Dottie Gets Spanked, which aired as part of PBS’ TV Families in 1994, and the 1995 feature Safe, starring Julianne Moore. Haynes took a highly personal look at the British glam rock scene of the early ’70s with Velvet Goldmine, self-consciously structured as a Citizen Kane-like investigation into the life and career of a vanished superstar. He was nominated for an Academy Award® for writing the screenplay of his film Far From Heaven, and his most recent film was I’m Not There.
In support of Stand Up To Cancer, and in honor of my amazing and courageous mother and cancer survivor, Sherry Haynes, Todd Haynes Stands Up To Cancer. Stand up at su2c.org.
Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan exhibits her versatility and natural charm in every role she plays. She recently completed filming Serious Moonlight, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. She has also published photographs in both New York Times Travel Magazine and Glamour. Ryan was recently seen in The Women and In the Land of Women. Her other films include Against the Ropes, In the Cut, Kate and Leopold, Proof of Life, Hanging Up, You’ve Got Mail, Hurlyburly, The Deal, City of Angels, Prelude to a Kiss, IQ, The Doors, and Top Gun. Ryan’s comedic appeal was widely recognized in her Golden Globe-nominated performances in When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Acclaim has also come to Ryan for her distinctive dramatic portraits, including her roles in Courage Under Fire and When a Man Loves a Woman. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Promised Land.
Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman has proven herself to be one of the most versatile young actresses by playing a variety of compelling characters. She received international attention in Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and critical acclaim for her role in Dangerous Liaisons. In 1996, Thurman received an Academy Award® nomination for Quentin Tarantino’s critically lauded Pulp Fiction. In 1999, she made her stage debut in Moliere’s The Misanthrope at the Classic Stage Company in New York. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Tape and won a Golden Globe for Hysterical Blindness, which she also produced. Additional films include The Accidental Husband (which she also produced), Henry & June, Where the Heart Is, Final Analysis, Mad Dog and Glory, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, A Month By the Lake, Beautiful Girls, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Gattaca, Les Miserables, The Avengers, Sweet and Lowdown, Vatel, The Golden Bowl, Be Cool, The Producers, and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. In 2003 and 2004, Thurman was nominated for Golden Globes for her role in Kill Bill. She was most recently seen in the HBO movie My Zinc Bed and The Life Before Her Eyes. Next up is Motherhood and Percy Jackson, in which she plays the Mythical character Medusa.
Photo credit: Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton
