Biography - Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is perhaps best known for his work in recent Hollywood blockbusters like “Poseidon”, “Stealth”, and “Sweet Home Alabama”, but he has also impressed audiences and critics alike in a variety of impressive character roles. Lucas was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on June 20, 1971 to activist parents who moved the family around the South frequently when Lucas was a child. The sexy actor reportedly lived in 30 different locations by the time he was 13, and the family eventually settled on the island of Gig Harbor, Washington. Lucas became interested in acting in high school, and decided to pursue a career as a performer while briefly attending Washington State University. The talented actor debuted in the early 1990s appearing in small roles on a variety of TV shows and films including “Alive”, “Fatherhood”, and “Thinner”. However, it was Kenneth Lonergan’s 2000 drama “You Can Count on Me” that put Lucas on the map. His brief scene with Mark Ruffalo demonstrated his exceptional ability at occupying unique characters, and he was soon garnering attention for small roles in “American Psycho”, “The Deep End”, “A Beautiful Mind”, “Hulk”, “Secondhand Lions”, and “Wonderland.” His role as Reese Witherspoon’s love interest in “Sweet Home Alabama” made him an up-and-coming leading man, and in 2004 he gave a searing performance in David Gordon Green’s terrific but little seen “Undertow”. The friendly actor briefly dated Salma Hayek in 2004, and had a terrific year in 2005 with the critically acclaimed TV movie “Empire Falls”, the big-budget action film “Stealth”, and in a supporting role alongside Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, and Morgan Freeman in “An Unfinished Life”. 2006 has seen him play an inspiring basketball coach in “Glory Road” and brave the underwater nightmares of “Poseidon” with Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss.

Biography: Michael Cuesta

Following in his father's stead, Michael Cuesta began his career as a photographer before segueing to directing commercials. Eventually, though, he moved into writing and directing feature films and he earned nearly unanimous praise for the well-crafted, controversial "L.I.E." (2001). Raised on Long Island in the tony community of Dix Hills, Cuesta spent two high school summer vacations working as a newspaper intern and photojournalist in Puerto Rico. After attending NYC's School of Visual Arts, he marked time as a photographer's assistant before eventually opening his own shop (as his father had). The Michael Cuesta Studio shot advertising campaigns for such clients as Coca-Cola and Dupont. By 1992, though, Cuesta has made the move to film, shooting tabletop work for the now-defunct London-based firm Jennie & Co. Within six months, he had switched employers and became ensconced at A+R New York and went on to create hundreds of commercials.

In 1995, Cuesta began to write a semi-autobiographical drama about growing up on Long Island. By his own admission, he had run "with a crowd and we caused a little trouble, but I was always much more into books and movies and I always carried a camera." Still, the seed for what would become his first full-length feature was sown. Over the next five years, Cuesta would refine the screenplay with help from his brother Gerald and college pal Steve Ryder. Eventually what emerged was a contemporary snapshot of disaffected suburban teens. The film's protagonist is a young boy on the cusp of manhood struggling with his burgeoning sexual feelings, his attraction to his charismatic best friend and his odd but chaste relationship with an ex-Marine who happens to be a pedophile. Shot almost like a documentary, "L.I.E." (which stands for Long Island Expressway as well as the obvious) garnered strong notices at Sundance and was picked up for distribution by Lot 47 Films