Tagline: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
The highly anticipated reunion of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, the creative minds behind the record-breaking “Scream” trilogy. This time, Craven and Williamson put their signature on the classic werewolf tale, re-inventing the genre with their hip, edge-of-your-seat style.
Set in Los Angeles, “Cursed” centers around an estranged brother and sister dealing with the recent loss of their parents, whose lives are irrevocably altered one dark night in Los Angeles by a vicious animal attack.
It is a moonlit night in Los Angeles, when something lurking in the shadows causes their car to suddenly swerve off the road, a teenaged brother and his career-driven sister emerge relatively unscathed, but forever changed by the accident. Suddenly, the siblings find themselves blessed with increased physical strength, heightened sensibilities and undeniable allure to everyone around them.
But, what if what happened to them that night wasn’t just an accident and what seemed like fate was really something more? It is only a matter of time before Ellie (Christina Ricci) and Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg “Rodger Dodger”) can no longer control these impulses because their newfound power comes with a price that they never expected to pay and a mystery that only they can solve.
About The Cast
Christina Ricci (Ellie)
Christina Ricci is one of Hollywood’s most respected young actors, possessing talent and poise well beyond her years. Ricci was last seen in the critically acclaimed “Monster,” starring opposite Charlize Theron and based upon the real life of serial killer Aileen Carol Wuornos.
Her recent work also includes Woody Allen’s romantic comedy “Anything Else” opposite Jason Biggs as well as starring opposite Joshua Jackson in Adam Goldberg’s “I Love Your Work.”
Ricci’s performance at age 8 in a school Christmas play caught the attention of a local theatre critic, who suggested to her parents that she consider an acting career. She made her professional acting debut one year later in “Mermaids” in the pivotal role of Cher’s youngest daughter and Winona Ryder’s sister. Ricci continued to mesmerize audiences and critics alike with her winning portrayal of the strangely adorable Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family.”
Her performance so delighted the film’s creator’s and movie fans that Ricci was given an expanded role in the sequel, “Addams Family Values.” She went on to star in the surprise hit of the summer 1995 season, “Casper.” Soon after, Ricci received the prestigious NATO ShowEast Star of the Year Award and the Star of Tomorrow Award from the Motion Picture Booker’s Club for her strong performances.
In 1997, she made a seamless transition into more mature roles, receiving acclaim in Ang Lee’s “The Ice Storm”; then starring as Dedee Truit, in the scathing comedy “The Opposite of Sex,” a performance which won her the Best Actress Award at the Seattle Film Festival; and as Layla in Vincent Gallo’s “Buffalo 66.” She was later nominated for a Golden Globe Award, an American Comedy Award, and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for her work in “The Opposite of Sex,” and earned a National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Award for her combined efforts in “The Opposite Of Sex,” “Buffalo 66” and John Water’s “Pecker.”
Other projects include a memorable cameo in Terry Gilliam’s “Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas” and the ensembles “Desert Blue” and “200 Cigarettes.” Ricci additionally starred opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” for which she won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award. She starred in the unconventional comedy “Pumpkin,” which she also produced, about a sorority girl who falls for a disabled man. She also starred under the direction of Sally Potter (“Orlando”) in the World War II drama, “The Man Who Cried,” co-starring Cate Blanchett, John Turturro and Johnny Depp.
Joshua Jackson (Jake)
Currently starring on stage in the West End production of “A Life in the Theatre” with Patrick Stewart, Joshua Jackson’s forthcoming films include the independent drama “Americano,” shot on location in Pamplona, Spain during the running of the bulls, and starring Leonor Varela and Dennis Hopper; “Shadows in the Sun,” shot on location in Tuscany, Italy, alongside Harvey Keitel and Giancarlo Gianinni; and “Aurora Borealis” as a troubled young man alongside Donald Sutherland. He recently provided the voice of a thoroughbred racing horse in the family film “Racing Stripes.”
Widely known as “Dawson’s Creek’s” fast-talking, self-deprecating Pacey Witter, Joshua has been working in front of the camera for over fifteen years. His first feature film was Michael Bortman’s “Crooked Hearts,” which was quickly followed by the “Mighty Ducks” trilogy, “Digger” and “Andre the Seal.” In 2000, Joshua became a leading man in “The Skulls,” and more recently starred in Rose Troche’s acclaimed drama “The Safety of Objects” and the HBO Films version of Moises Kaufman’s groundbreaking play “The Laramie Project.” He had noted cameos in Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s 11,” “Scream 2” and “Urban Legend,” and “I Love Your Work,” and featured performances in “Gossip,” Bryan Singer’s “Apt Pupil” and “Cruel Intentions.” During the sixth season of “Dawson’s Creek,” Joshua got behind the camera for his directorial debut on the episode “Lovelines.”
Portia De Rossi (Zela)
Portia de Rossi has had a widely varied career, captivating audiences in both television and film. De Rossi can currently be seen in the critically acclaimed Fox comedy “Arrested Development,” which was just nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for the 2005 SAG Awards. Last year, the show won the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in its first season. De Rossi’s is best known for her four seasons on Fox’s hugely successful “Ally McBeal” as lawyer Nelle Porter.
De Rossi received her first acting break in the feature film “Sirens” which co-starred Hugh Grant, Sam Neil and Elle Macpherson, and went on to become an international and critical success. De Rossi also co-starred alongside Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Allen in “Who is Cletis Tout?” as well as Dennis Hopper and Melanie Griffith in “The Night We Called It A Day.” Some of De Rossi’s other film credits include “I Witness,” “Scream 2,” “Stigmata,” “Women In Film” and “The Invisibles.”
In 2002 she starred in the television movie “America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story,” in which she portrayed Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.
Jesse Eisenberg (Jimmy)
Rising teen star Jesse Eisenberg most recently starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s horror thriller “The Village” with Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver and Adrien Brody, and will next be seen in Noah Baumbach’s 2005 Sundance sensation, “The Squid and the Whale” with Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney. Other film credits include “The Emperor’s Club” and “Roger Dodger.” On television Jessie was a series regular on Fox’s “Get Real” and on stage, Jesse has already worked both on and off Broadway in numerous plays and musicals.
Judy Greer (Joanie)
Judy Greer, who has been singled out as one of Hollywood’s most captivating young comic talents, has appeared in such diverse films as “What Women Want,” “The Wedding Planner,” “Adaptation,” “Three Kings,” “The Hebrew Hammer” and “Jawbreaker.” She most recently starred in the Jennifer Garner comedy “13 Going on 30”; in M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” and in writer/director Adam Goldberg’s psychological drama, “I Love Your Work” opposite Giovanni Ribisi. Greer’s forthcoming projects include a co-starring role opposite Orlando Bloom and Susan Sarandon in Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown”; Danny Leiner’s “The Great New Wonderful” starring opposite Thomas McCarthy; “In Memory of My Father” with Jeremy Sisto”; and “The Moguls” with Jeff Bridges.
Greer was born and raised outside of Detroit, the daughter of a mechanical engineer and a hospital administrator. After training for nearly ten years in classical Russian ballet, Greer shifted her interest to acting and was accepted into Chicago’s prestigious Theatre School at DePaul University. After a variety of odd jobs during college, from telemarketer to oyster shucker, Greer landed her first onscreen role just three days after graduation — a small part in the Jason Lee / David Schwimmer comedy “Kissing A Fool.” She flew to Los Angeles for the film’s premiere and never left.
Her additional credits include Mike Nichols’ “What Planet are you From?,” Adam Rifkin’s indie comedy “Without Charlie” and “The Specials” with Jamie Kennedy and Rob Lowe. On television, she had a recurrring role as Jason Bateman’s assistant ‘Kitty’ on FOX’s “Arrested Development,” as well as guest-starring roles on “Love and Money,” “Maggie Winters” and “Early Edition.”
Scott Baio (Himself)
Scott Baio got his big break at age 13 when he was chosen for the lead in the feature film “Bugsy Malone.” Baio’s debut film proved to be an enormous success and was chosen to represent Great Britain as its official entry in the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. His performance soon caught the attention of producer Garry Marshall, who cast the young actor in a “Happy Days” spin-off pilot “Pinky” and in the series “Blansky’s Beauties.
He was then elevated to the status of teen idol when he took on the role of “Chachi Arcola,” Fonzie’s cousin, which Marshall created for him on “Happy Days.” He was so successful in the part that the spin-off series “Joanie Loves Chachi” was subsequently created for him. After “Chachi” came “Charles,” Baio’s equally successful title role in the series “Charles In Charge,” which ran from 1984 to 1990. He then went on to star in the series “Baby Talk.”
In addition to his success in comedy, Baio has also proven himself as a dramatic actor. On television, he starred in the Emmy nominated “Luke Was There,” the After School Special “All The Kids Do It,” both of which earned him Emmy nominations and “The Boy Who Drank Too Much,” in which he played a teenage alcoholic. Other dramatic projects include ”Run Don’t Walk,” the HBO movie “The Truth About Alex” and “Perry Mason: The Case Of The Fatal Fashion.” He also starred for two years as “Dr. Jack Stewart” in the series “Diagnosis Murder and starred as “Charlie” in Danielle Steele’s “Mixed Blessings.”
Baio has successfully also launched a directing career. His directing credits include “Charles In Charge,” “Lassie,” “Out Of This World,” “Harry & The Hendersons,” “Family Man,” “Shaky Ground” and “First Time Out.” As an actor, he most recently starred in the film “SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2.”
Milo Ventimiglia (Bo)
Milo Ventimiglia quickly garnered attention when he joined the cast of the critically acclaimed television drama “Gilmore Girls,” as the quiet and complicated ‘Jess,’ who moves to Stars Hollow to live with his uncle. Before joining “Gilmore Girls” audiences became familiar with Milo when he starred in the Fox series “Opposite Sex” which secured him a holding deal with Warner Brothers. He has had recurring guest roles on “American Dreams” and “Boston Public.” His other television credits include guest starring roles on “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” “C.S.I.,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Promiseland.”
Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screen, Milo’s passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent features. His other film credits include “Sheer Bliss,” “Massholes” and, most recently, “Dirty Deeds.” Additionally he starred in the short films “Nice Guys Finish Last” and “Must be the Music.”
Shannon Elizabeth (Becky)
Shannon Elizabeth, star of the upcoming UPN sitcom “Cuts,” is quickly emerging as one of Hollywood’s brightest young talents. She recently starred as Ashton Kutcher’s love interest on “That 70’s Show.” Recent film credits include the comedy “The Johnson Family Vacation” with Cedric the Entertainer and she was part of the ensemble cast of “Love Actually” starring with Hugh Jackson, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. Her additional movie credits also include Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis’ remake of William Castle’s 1960 thriller, “Thirteen Ghosts” and playing a female jewel thief in Kevin Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”
Elizabeth first gained notoriety starring as Nadia, the foreign exchange student, in the runaway hit comedy “American Pie” and reprised the role in “American Pie II.” Already in her short career, Shannon has been lauded twice by Hollywood: she was awarded the prestigious Female Star of Tomorrow Award at ShoWest in Las Vegas and was received the Female Breakthrough Performer of the Year award at the Hollywood Film Festival Gala Ceremony in 2001.
Mya (Jenny)
Trained as a dancer, Mya had a show-stopping supporting role in the critically acclaimed 2003 Academy Award-winner, “Chicago,” part of a cast that won a Screen Actor’s Guild award for best ensemble. Mya also had a small but pivotal role in “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights,” playing a Latin big band singer in the 1950s.
As a singer, Mya was showcased on the smash single “Lady Marmalade,” which also featured Pink, Christina Aguilera, and Lil’ Kim. This number #1 smash hit from the Academy Award-winning film “Moulin Rouge” won the 2002 Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group and the MTV Award for Best Video of the Year.
At the age of 18, Mya burst on the scene with her infectious self-titled debut CD, which scored three top 10 singles, “It’s All About Me,” “Movin’ On” and “My First Night With You.” The spotlight continued to shine on Mya when “Ghetto Supastar” (from the “Bulworth” soundtrack) became a huge hit, as did “Take Me There” from the “Rugrats” soundtrack. Her next album, “Fear of Flying,” found Mya moving towards a more mature sound. The album yielded the hits “Case of the Ex,” “The Best of Me” and “Free.” Mya supported the album with a rigorous touring schedule, bringing her dynamic fusion of dance with live vocals to audiences internationally. Her latest album is “Moodring.”
Mya has also been featured in several ad campaigns, including a spot for Coke. She has served in past years on the advisory board of the Secret to Self Esteem program (an alliance between the Partnership of Women’s Health and Secret antiperspirant), dedicated to helping girls become strong women; and is presently working with the Pantene sponsored Pro-Voice Program.
Kristina Anapau (Brooke)
Kristina Anapau was born on the big island of Hawaii to an artist mother and a scientist father. She began training in classical ballet at the age of five and still managed to finish high school early at the age of 15. Immediately after graduation, she enrolled as a freshman at the University of Hawaii. However, only one year later, her life took a turn when she was cast in a starring role in “Escape from Atlantis.” That same year Kristina moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actress.
In 2001 Kristina’s life took yet another unexpected turn, when she was chosen by Hollywood Records to become a founding member of their recording group “The 3gs.” She spent that year recording an album and touring with Destiny’s Child in the MTV TRL summer tour. But her true love remained acting and throughout the year she continued her studies at the famed Larry Moss Studio.
Since then Kristina has played supporting roles in the independent feature films “Madison” and “100 Girls,” while starring in Monty Lapica’s “Self-Medicated.” She most recently starred in “Cruel Intensions 3.” Her work in television includes a starring role in the VH1 movie “They Shoot Divas, Don’t They?” and a series regular role on MTV’s “Undressed,” as well as guest starring roles in the television series “Once and Again,” “Haunted,” “Opposite Sex” and “For the People.”
Michael Rosenbaum (Kyle)
Michael Rosenbaum can currently be seen as Lex Luthor on the hit television series “Smallville.” His recent credits include the Steve Martin comedy “Bringing Down The House,” “Poolhall Junkies,” “Sorority Boys” and the ensemble thriller “Urban Legend.” His voice will next be heard as Ruffshodd in the animated feature “Racing Stripes.”
Rosenbaum began his career in off Broadway productions and small independent films, then segued into guest starring appearances on several sitcoms and a recurring role in the ‘Amsterdam Kid’ skit on “The Conan O’Brien Show.” His big break came when he was offered both a series regular role on the WB show “Tom” and the role of George Tucker in “The Midnight Garden of Good and Evil” directed by Clint Eastwood and starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey.
Production notes provided by Dimension Films.
Cursed
Starring: Christina Ricci, James Brolin, Portia De Rossi, Shannon Elizabeth, Judy Greer, Michelle Kruisec
Directed by: Wes Craven
Screenplay by: Kevin Williamson
Release Date: February 25, 2005
MPAA Rating: R for horror violence / terror, sexual references, nudity, drug reference.
Studio: Dimension Films
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $19,297,522 (65.1%)
Foreign: $10,324,200 (34.9%)
Total: $29,621,722 (Worldwide)