apocalypto press book english

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Elite Film AG Molkenstrasse 21 CH-8026 Zürich Phone +41 44 298 81 81 Fax +41 44 298 81 89 [email protected]

www.ascot-elite.ch

ASCOT ELITE

presents

an ICON Productions/Touchstone Pictures production

APOCALYPTOA film by Mel Gibson

USA, 2006, c.120 min, 35mm (1 :1,85), Couleur

Presse :

Miriam Raccah, Ascot Elite, Marketing & PR, Genève

Tel: 022 344 40 25 – Fax: 022 344 40 26 – Email: [email protected]

Laura Burro, Ascot Elite, Marketing & PR, ZürichTel: 044 298 81 72 – Fax: 044 298 81 89 – Email: [email protected]

www.ascot-elite.ch

RELEASESFRENCH PART: 10.01.2007GERMAN PART: 11.01.2007

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ascot-elite.ch/

http://www.ascot-elite.ch/





ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until

it has destroyed itself from within.”-- W. Durant

From Academy Award® winning filmmaker Mel Gibson (“The Passion of the Christ,”

“Braveheart”), comes APOCALYPTO: a heart stopping mythic action-adventure set against the

turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization. When his idyllic existence is disrupted by a

invading force, a man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a

harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman

and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

Visceral, thrilling and boldly thought-provoking, APOCALYTO brings to life, through Gibson’s

ambitious creative vision, a world from the ancient past hereto never before seen on the modern

screen that speaks powerfully to our lives today.

Shot on location in Catemaco -- in one of the last remaining tracts of rainforests left in Mexico

-- and in Veracruz, with a cast made up entirely of indigenous peoples from the Americas,

APOCALYPTO is directed by Mel Gibson, produced by Gibson and Bruce Davey and written by Gibson

and Farhad Safinia, who co-produces. The executive producers are Ned Dowd and Vicki Christianson.

The behind-the-scenes team, who spent intense months shooting in the jungle and recreating

a spectacular Mayan kingdom of soaring pyramids and mysterious temples, includes Academy

Award®-winning director of photography Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), two-time Academy

Award®-nominated production designer Tom Sanders (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Dracula,” “Braveheart”),

two-time Oscar®-nominated film editor John Wright (“Speed,” “The Hunt For Red October,” “The

Passion of the Christ”) and Oscar® winning composer and multiple Academy Award® nominee James

Horner (“Titanic,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “House of Sand and Fog,” the forthcoming “The Good Shepherd.”)



A Legend that Begins as a Civilization Ends:

Mel Gibson Takes on APOCALYPTO

“Beware the blackness of the day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar . . . for he will lead you to

your end.”-- Oracle Girl, APOCALYPTO

Powerful Maya kingdoms ruled in the Americas for more than 1,000 years, forging expansive

cities, constructing sky-piercing pyramids and building an impressively advanced society of

extraordinary cultural and scientific achievement. Then, in a flash of history, this world collapsed. All

that was left behind were a few jungle-covered pyramids and a tantalizing mystery. Now, 500 years

after the end of the Mayan civilization, director Mel Gibson delves into this never-explored realm to

create a modern screen adventure which unfolds like a timeless myth about one man’s quest to save

that which matters to him the most in a world on the brink of destruction: APOCALYPTO.

As a filmmaker, Gibson has always been drawn to the biggest, boldest and most enduring of

stories. Though he began his career as a charismatic screen idol in films such as the iconic action

thriller “Mad Max,” the hugely popular “Lethal Weapon” series and the recent blockbuster “Signs,” he

has become just as well known as a major American director with a penchant for intense storytelling.

His second feature film was the exhilarating epic “Braveheart,” which mixed history, romance, graphic

action and drama to unfold the inner and outer battles of the legendary Scottish hero William Wallace.

The film would receive ten Academy Award® nominations and win five Oscars®, including Best Picture

and Best Director.Following on the heels of that success, Gibson took another daring turn. His third work as a

director was “The Passion of the Christ,” an exploration of the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life in a

film that revisited this eternal story with the uncompromising realism and raw emotion of contemporary

cinema. The film was an unprecedented worldwide success and changed the face of Hollywood.

But few could have imagined where Gibson would turn next – to one of the most mysterious

and alluring civilizations in all of history, where he would set a non-stop, constantly accelerating thriller,

driven by visuals and pure emotion, forging an original film experience truly unlike any other.

The inspiration for APOCALYPTO came following “The Passion of the Christ,” as Gibson

began to sense a growing hunger among film audiences for movies that would be thrilling and

entertaining, but also something more. “I think people really want to see big stories that say something

to them emotionally and touch them spiritually,” Gibson says. Fascinated by the precipitous collapse of

the ancient Mayan civilization, Gibson imagined setting such a story inside this mystery-laden culture.



To begin with, Gibson knew only that he wanted to create an incomparable chase film in which

a man must put everything on the line. “I wanted to make a high-velocity action adventure chase film

that keeps on turning the screws,” recalls Gibson. “I was intrigued by the idea that most of the story

would be told visually – hitting the audience on the most visceral and emotional of levels.”

But as Gibson shared his ideas with screenwriter and graduate of Cambridge University,

Farhad Safinia, they began to explore the seemingly wild notion of setting this epic tale of action at the

end of the reign of the Maya. Safinia, who had traveled in the Yucatan and seen Mayan ruins firsthand,

intrigued Gibson with his stories and the script began flowing from there. “The idea was like this

fantastic engine,” Safinia says. “The story was always driving, driving towards something, and it was

thrilling even as we were writing it. There are a lot of revelations, plot twists and developments that

happen at high speed.”

As they wrote, Gibson and Safinia immersed themselves in the fascinating history of the Maya.

They spent months reading Mayan myths of creation and destruction, including the sacred texts of

prophesy known as the “Popul Vuh.” They pored through the latest archeological texts about new digs

and theories about the civilization’s collapse. Then, they made their own first-hand journeys to view

ancient Mayan sites for themselves, which had an especially profound effect.

Recalls Gibson: “I stood on top of the temple at El Mirador in Guatemala, in the only rainforest

left in the country, and looking out I could see the outlines of 26 other cities – all around us like a clock.

You could see pyramids popping out of the jungle in the distance. It was quite something. You really

got the sense of how powerful a civilization this once was.”

Gibson and Safinia also had long conversations with Dr. Richard D. Hansen, a world –

renowned archeologist and expert on the Maya who served as a consultant on the film. “Richard’s

enthusiasm for what he does is infectious. He was able to reassure us and make us feel secure that

what we were writing had some authenticity as well as imagination,” says Gibson.

It was Hansen who helped Gibson and Safinia uncover some of the secrets of the Maya that

most intrigued them – and especially to get a grip on how such an amazing society could fall to pieces.

Hansen confirmed what Gibson and Safinia had intuited: that there are provocative parallels between

the end of Mayan society and the contemporary chaos of our own.

“We really wanted to know – what were the reasons behind the Mayan cycles of rise and

collapse?” notes Safinia. “We discovered that what archeologists and anthropologists believe is that

the daunting problems faced by the Maya are extraordinarily similar to those faced today by our own



civilization, especially when it comes to widespread environmental degradation, excessive consumption

and political corruption.”

Adds Gibson: “Throughout history, precursors to the fall of a civilization have always been the

same, and one of the things that just kept coming up as we were writing is that many of the things that

happened right before the fall of the Mayan civilization are occurring in our society now. It was

important for me to make that parallel because you see these cycles repeating themselves over and

over again. People think that modern man is so enlightened but we’re susceptible to the same forces –

and we are also capable of the same heroism and transcendence.”

The deeper Gibson and Safinia probed into Mayan culture, the more they were able to fully

develop their lead character – Jaguar Paw. Jaguar Paw’s story, that of an ordinary man who is pushed

into heroic actions, is at the very heart of APOCALYTPO. As the movie begins, he is a young father,

promising, instinctively aware but not quite yet a leader in his small, idyllic village of traditional hunters.

Then, in one breathless moment, his entire world is ripped apart. when he is captured and taken on a

perilous march through the forest to the great Mayan city – where he learns he will be sacrificed to the

gods to “pay” for the widespread famine that has ravaged their realm. Facing imminent death, Jaguar

Paw must conquer his greatest fears as he makes an adrenaline-soaked, heart-racing dash to try to

save all that he holds dear.

Throughout his stunning journey, the camera never leaves him, revealing everything he sees,

feels and experiences.

Despite the fact that character lived in a mysterious culture centuries ago, Jaguar Paw’s

moving coming-of-age story and his increasingly courageous fight to save his family felt deeply

contemporary to the screenwriters. “Jaguar Paw’s story is one that anyone will relate to,” notes Gibson.

“In the course of his journey, he has to put his own self aside and fight for something much larger.”

Part of what makes Jaguar Paw’s battle so epic is the sheer enormity of what he is fighting.

“The key villain in the film is really not a person,” says Gibson. “It’s a concept, and that concept is fear.

The hero has to overcome his fear, and being overtaken with fear is something we all have struggled

with in history as well as in today’s world, so it’s something everyone relates to.”

For Gibson and Safinia, the underlying themes of man’s struggle to live in balance with nature,

of corrupted societies, of familial love and of sacrifice for others became a foundation for building sheer

excitement as Jaguar Paw makes his way through a gauntlet of both human and wild threats. They

hoped to create a story that moves so fast, that cuts so closely to the bone, that the full impact of its



themes would only hit audiences later. “I think the first thing that strikes you about this story is the great

adventure of it, and the incredible kinetic impact,” Gibson says, “but beneath that are the underpinnings

of all that has set Jaguar Paw’s journey in motion.”

Relentless motion and starkly visual storytelling lay at the very core of APOCALYPTO’s

creative concept. “ “From the minute the story gets going, almost everything you see on the screen is in

motion,” Gibson explains. “In every frame, the camera is always moving and there’s always someone

or something moving within that moving shot.”

Once, he and Safinia completed the screenplay, all the dialogue was translated into the

Yucatec language, the primary Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula today. Gibson felt that

the effect would be to pull the audience completely into this world – just as it had done when he used

authentic languages for “The Passion of the Christ.”

“I think hearing a different language allows the audience to completely suspend their own

reality and get drawn into the world of the film,” Gibson summarizes. “And more importantly, this also

puts the emphasis on the cinematic visuals, which are a kind of universal language of the heart.”



CASTING MAYA IN THE MODERN WORLD:

MEL GIBSON ASSEMBLES A REMARKABLE INDIGENOUS CAST

“When a tree falls, a star also falls.

When the forest is gone, we will be gone.”

-- Contemporary Mayan Elder Chan Kin

If Gibson’s vision for APOCALYPTO was going to come to life, the director knew he would

need actors who would make the story feel completely and utterly real, as if it were dynamically

unfolding in the here and now. He was determined from the start to use only faces that were

authentically indigenous to tell this indigenous story – and to cast actors who would be completely

unknown to movie-going audiences. “It makes the story feel that much more real and convincing

because you don’t have any reference points for the performances you’re watching,” comments

Gibson. “But this doesn’t mean you won’t see amazing performances, because you will.”

To capture a consistent Mesoamerican look in each of his actors, the filmmakers cast an

unusually wide net, going on extensive searches throughout Mexico, especially in the Yucatan, Mexico

City, Oaxaca, Xalapa, Veracruz and Catemaco. The quest continued in Southern California and New

Mexico; in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver; as well as Central America. Ultimately, three

cast members hailed from Canada, two from the United States, and the remainder came from México

and other parts of Central America, including over 700 extras who create the sense of a teeming

metropolis of many classes and backgrounds in the Maya City sequences. Some of the younger cast

who came from isolated Indian communities had never even seen a hotel room before the production.

“Many of our cast had never been in a film before,” says Gibson, “but that worked because

what we really wanted to capture were the primal instincts and natural reactions that to me are the

most heartfelt and emotionally real. I wanted everything to feel authentic and believable.”

Gibson hired Carla Hool, a Mexico City based casting agent, to help with the auditions, which

involved an unusual process. “The actors had to be really physically fit with bodies like athletes or

dancers and have great stamina,” she explains. “In fact, part of our casting process was seeing how

the actors could move and run. We also had them read Mayan poetry. We were not necessarily

looking for people with a background in acting although we do have a number of fine actors in the cast.

But they didn’t have to act per se. It was more about their look, their movements and what they had

within them.”

For the lead role of Jaguar Paw, Gibson knew he would need an actor who the audience

would follow through this unremitting journey of unexpected battles, shocks and revelations. After



extensive auditions, he discovered Rudy Youngblood, a Native American of the Comanche, Cree and

Yaqui people, who makes a riveting acting debut in APOCALYPTO. A pow-wow dancer, singer and

artist, Youngblood also is an accomplished athlete, cross-country racer and boxer – and his physical

vibrancy along with his natural expressiveness made him perfect for the role of a man racing to save

his life, his loved ones and the forest that has always been his home.

“ Rudy has an innocence but also an incredible strength,” says Safinia. Adds Gibson: “I’m so

proud of what he was able to achieve.”

Despite the fact that Jaguar Paw lives within an ancient culture, Youngblood immediately

related to him. “Jaguar Paw is a lot like me,” he says. “We’re from different eras but very much the

same person. He is strong. He’s a giver, not a taker. He loves his family. He’s respectful and he

learns in the course of the story not to be afraid. This is also what I have been taught in my culture.”

. Youngblood’s physical prowess and honed athleticism enabled him to do most of his own stunt

work including a scene that simulates a death-defying free-fall from the top of a raging waterfall, as well

as the breath-taking sequence in which Jaguar Paw is chased by a jaguar – which involved Rudy

getting up close and personal with a really big cat. “Rudy is probably the purest athlete I’ve ever seen,”

comments Mic Rodgers, stunt coordinator on APOCALYPTO. “He has his head together and is totally

on top of his game. If he wasn’t an actor, he could be a stuntman.”

Says Youngblood: “The physicality of this film was gut-wrenching and some of the scenes –

jumping off the waterfall and being chased by the jaguar – were literally heart-pounding for me. There

was constant adrenaline, constant action, and lots of pain and fear, but Jaguar Paw is able to

transcend all of that. It’s part of who he is.”

Meanwhile for the role of Zero Wolf, the fierce Holcane warrior who captures and then must

hunt down Jaguar Paw, Gibson cast Raoul Trujillo, a native of New Mexico who is an established actor

in film and television (“Black Robe,” “The New World”) as well as a dancer and choreographer. It was

Trujillo’s intense focus and leadership qualities -- along with a more vulnerable, paternal side -- that

convinced Gibson he could pull off a role that goes beyond the typical black-and-white contours of a

villain.

Trujillo’s transformation became complete when he donned the complex makeup that turned

him into Zero Wolf. “He’s actually a very handsome guy so we had to ugly him up some!” remarks

Gibson. “We marred his natural features and gave him a more mythic proboscis. He became very

scary looking.”



Trujillo picks up the story: “At our first meeting, Mel said to me ‘You are Zero Wolf” and at that

time, I really didn’t know who Zero Wolf was. But when I put on the costume and make-up, I truly did

become Zero Wolf. It was like Mel said, ‘You don’t have to be scary. You are scary.”

Yet in playing Zero Wolf, Trujillo wanted to emphasize that the character isn’t necessarily evil.

“Zero Wolf is a character who has a timelessness, who has existed in all cultures, within all of

humanity,” he says. “He represents the shadow of the hero of the film. He drags Jaguar Paw through

all the paces necessary to become who he needs to be to present hope for humanity and a future. I

wanted him to have the complexity of being someone who has a job to do and does it. I really invested

energy into developing a character that was not rooted or based in evil but rooted in the fact that he is

just carrying out his duty.”

Many of the other key characters in APOCALYPTO are played by newcomers who impressed

the filmmakers with their unique combinations of classical looks and colorful personalities. For

example, in the role of insidiously impatient Holcane Warrior Snake Ink is Rodolfo Palacios, an actor

from Mexico City, who was cast because of his unique ability to look threatening in a fresh way.

Palacios endured 7 hours in the makeup chair everyday to sport the complex web of facial and torso

tattoos that make Snake Ink so uniquely frightening. It wasn’t easy, but Palacios was always

impressed by how generous Gibson was with his diverse and largely inexperienced cast. “He was

always talking with us about our opinions on the script, our characters, the whole process. It was very

special,” says Palacios.

To portray another terrifying warrior, the fierce and imposing warrior Middle Eye, veteran

Mexican actor Gerardo Taracena joined the cast. “Middle Eye is an absolutely insane character and

Gerardo has a great look and is a wonderful actor,” says casting director Carla Hool of the choice.

One of the film’s most humorous characters, Jaguar Paw’s fellow villager and bane of many

village jokes is Blunted. He is played by another new discovery: Jonathan Brewer, who hails from the

Blood Reserve in Canada, where he acts and also teaches his culture to inner-city schoolchildren. It

was Brewer’s impressive size yet gentle spirit that drew Gibson to him for the role. Brewer wanted to

bring the sense of a real human being beneath the comic relief his character provides. “I read the

script numerous times to figure out who Blunted really is and talked to Mel and the other actors about

him. The character you see on screen grew from all of that,” says the actor. “He’s someone we all can

relate to -- the big, gentle guy who always gets picked on.”



In the role of the powerful High Priest of the Maya City is Fernando Hernandez, who is himself

a Maya originally from Chiapas, Mexico and who currently lives in Canada, where he conducts

indigenous healing ceremonies. Hernandez also appears this year in Darren Aronofsky’s “The

Fountain.” As a Maya, he felt especially close to the film’s larger themes. “I believe that to stay in

balance is important and the movie shows what happens when imbalance takes hold,” he says. “As

human beings, we always have the responsibility to try to create a society that restores balance.”

Additional Mayan actors in the film include the Old Storyteller who entertains the village with

vital myths and tales by firelight. To play this brief but haunting role Gibson chose an actual Maya

storyteller who was discovered in a tiny village in the Yucatan.

Many of the actors were found by serendipity. The character of Money Jaw is played by Carlos

Ramos – an immigrant from El Salvador who worked at a juice car in Santa Monica before he was

discovered dancing at the Third Street Promenade. Another inspirational find came when the

filmmakers first saw the stunning visage of Dalia Hernandez, a dancer and student in Veracruz, whose

movingly classic features made her the very picture of Jaguar’s beautiful and enterprising wife, Seven.

Others cast in APOCALYPTO emerged from such diverse non-acting backgrounds as dancers, mimes,

acrobats and gymnasts, circus performers, stage and street theatre actors, musicians, as well as a

television production assistant and even a primary education teacher from Cancun.

Yet no matter where the cast members hailed from or what previous experience they had,

Gibson wanted all of that to be erased as they immersed themselves completely in the reality of the

Mayan world of the film.

“What’s amazing is that Mel has basically created this epic movie with non-professional actors

most of whom have never been in front of a camera,” says executive producer Ned Dowd. “He was

patient, caring and detailed to the point that many times, he was acting out the scenes for and with the

actors. It was remarkable to see how committed he was to this cast, tirelessly devoting his time and

energy not only to the main actors but also to the extras, to help them understand and find that special

something within them that defines their character.”



ONE LANGUAGE UNITES THE MULTINATIONAL CAST:

LEARNING TO SPEAK YUCATEC MAYA

“True creativity often starts where language ends.”-- Arthur Koestler

As APOCALYPTO got under way, Mel Gibson faced an extraordinary set of challenges. Not

only was he working with a cast of newcomers and non-professional actors, many of whom spoke

different mother tongues, but he wanted that entire international cast to speak in Yucatec Maya for the

film. Though Yucatec Maya is the language spoken today in the Yucatan Peninsula, few people

outside of that area have ever even heard it being spoken, let alone speak it.

Although the film puts the emphasis on powerful visuals over the use of dialogue, for the

actors, getting the language right was a big part of forging authentic performances. Says Rudy

Youngblood: “It’s an issue of respect, because we’re not just depicting characters, but a people’s

entire way of life, its way of speaking and its way of carrying themselves. So the understanding of the

culture and the language was very important to us.”

Native Yucatec speakers trained the actors for five weeks on the correct pronunciation and

inflection of their lines, which was challenging for everyone. Says Jonathan Brewer, who plays

Blunted: “It’s a pretty tough language to learn because you’ve got all these pops and clicks you make

with your mouth and tongue. It’s also one thing to learn to speak it and another thing to speak it

wearing false teeth!”

To further assist in the process, each actor was given an MP3 player so they could continually

listen to their dialogue lines until the language felt familiar. During production, the dialogue coaches

were on set every day to verify pronunciation and make whatever corrections were needed. In cases

where the filmmakers needed additional lines or if dialogue changes were made, they would provide

Gibson with the correct phrasing and pronunciation of the way it actually would be spoken.

The local dialogue coaches were themselves moved by Gibson’s willingness to use their local

language in a major global motion picture. “ APOCALYPTO will have a great impact on my Maya

brothers because of the pride and love of our culture and above all our roots, our language and our ancestors,” says Hilario Chi Canul, one of the Mayan dialogue coaches whose last name,

coincidentally, means “Keeper of the Language.”

Yet for Gibson, the real impact of APOCALYPTO lies in a language that unites people around

the world: the language of the visual , with its impact going far beyond words.



JOURNEY INTO THE JUNGLE:

THE PRODUCTION OF APOCALYPTO

“The most alluring moon has risen over the forest.”

-- From “The Songs of Dzitbalché,” Ancient Mayan Poem

Before he set off for the jungles of Mexico, Mel Gibson had a strong vision of what he hoped to

accomplish there – and it was nothing less than a time machine effect. “I wanted the audience to feel

completely a part of that time and I didn’t want one trace of the 21 st century – while at the same time,

cinematically, I wanted it to have a kind of break-neck kineticism and be very up-to-the minute,” he

says. “That was very difficult to do.” He knew it would require an incredibly talented, but also unusually

flexible and devoted team of craftsmen, so he assembled a crew that includes multiple veterans of

epics and Oscar® winners.

To begin, the team scouted relentlessly for locations that could establish an authentic jungle

atmosphere. They scoured Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica but, right off the bat, they faced

daunting challenges. As they searched, the team was struck by just how little primary rainforest is left in

the Americas. “It really smacks you between the eyes,” says Gibson. “It’s a huge shame that these

forests are disappearing by the hectare by the minute. Luckily, we were ultimately able to find a very

beautiful rainforest in Mexico that became our jungle.”

This thick, verdant forest with the tangled vines and towering trees so vital to the story’s action

was found just outside Catemaco, Mexico. It is one of the last preserved rainforests in Mexico and is

known locally simply as “La Jungla.” Meanwhile, to build the Maya City, the filmmakers settled on a

vast and remote sugar cane field in Boqueron, about 45 minutes outside the city of Veracruz, where

Gibson and his team would have the room to create an entire Mayan metropolis from the ground up.

Using mostly regional labor, the production was especially pleased to be able to provide jobs and boost

the local economies.

Next, to create APOCALYTPO’s high-octane look – in which the camera glides fluidly and at

great velocity through the Mayan jungle -- Gibson recruited cinematographer Dean Semler, an Oscar®

winner for his work on the Native American epic “Dances With Wolves.” Gibson wanted someone who

was willing to take daring visual risks and carry off the rapid-fire camera movements he had

envisioned. “I need someone who could execute my ideas as well bring their own,” he says.

After intensive discussions, Gibson and Semler decided they would shoot APOCALYTPO

digitally, using Panavision’s state-of-the-art high-definition Genesis™ camera system. Though the



system was brand new, Semler felt it could give them the enhanced mobility, versatility and especially

the ability to shoot in extreme weather conditions – drenching rains, searing heat and viscous mud all

awaited -- they would need to pull off the story.

The Genesis™ also offered other advantages. “APOCALYPTO is about a heart-pounding

chase so we wanted to emphasize speed, which can only be enhanced by some sort of strobing effect

-- an effect we were able to create with the Genesis™ and its 360 degree shutter capability,” explains

Semler. “It proved to be phenomenal in the chase scenes, giving us images that could not have been

gotten on any other camera. It’s all there, it feels real, and it has given us a whole new heightened

dimension and velocity.”

Genesis ™ also gave Gibson and Semler the opportunity to use natural light sources and

shoot in the near-darkness of a rainforest canopy, where the ambient light often would fall to drastically

low levels by late afternoon. Furthermore, nighttime scenes could be shot with incredible detail using

just the light emanating from campfires around the village. “During the campfire scenes, we looked at

the monitors and the whole village was illuminated. The whole place came to life – the people, the

faces, the huts and trees. I couldn’t believe it,” recalls Semler. “And because we were shooting with a

slower aperture, it made the flames look languid, flickering but almost like liquid, very smooth. It was

absolutely beautiful.”

Semler was especially thrilled to be able to use long lenses at night, which gave the film’s

opening action sequences a kick right from the start. “Using the long lens in that opening night scene,

when you see the Holcanes running towards the camera, they are very compressed, very stacked. It’s

spectacular, something you couldn’t have done on film,” he says.

Often utilizing four cameras simultaneously, shooting digitally further allowed Semler to let the

camera run in long, continuous takes – sometimes for up to 20 minutes at a time – which would also

have been impossible on film. On top of the camera system’s versatility, it also withstood some

outrageous conditions, including hurricanes, high winds and days of 120-degree heat.

Sums up Semler: “I was able to go to places as a cinematographer on this film, I’d never gone

before. The creative possibilities were truly phenomenal.”

Also facing incredible creative possibilities was production designer Tom Sanders, a two-time

Academy Award® nominee who previously collaborated with Gibson on his Oscar® winning film

“Braveheart.” Sanders’ career has spanned numerous epic films -- his designs have ranged from

World War II battlefields in “Saving Private Ryan” to the fairy tale world of “Dracula” – but for



APOCALYPTO, he faced the unique task of bringing fully to life a vanished world of primal villages and

kingdoms of extreme opulence.

He began with extensive research into Mayan architecture and construction techniques that

would have been used in an ancient Maya city, including the fortification walls, buildings, pyramids,

plazas, monuments, skull rack, huts, marketplace and merchant areas. Working closely with Dr.

Richard Hansen, Sanders also studied up on Mayan tools, utensils, weapons of war (in collaboration

with armorer Simon Atherton), right down to their textiles and pottery. Then, he began the enormous

task building this world from scratch. “Almost everything you see in the film, including the props, was

made by hand in Mexico,” says Sanders.

For Jaguar Paw’s village, where the people live in harmony with nature., Sanders found that

there was not a lot of factual data to draw from. As only the lives of Mayan nobles were written or

drawn, the life of the common villager in the forest remains a mystery to this day– so here Sanders

used extrapolation and imagination. “I thought it would be interesting if the village huts looked like

nests in the forest. In the village everything is very round and organic, which contrasts with the

mechanical, square stone columns of the Mayan city,” he says.

The design was also influenced by the harrowing, surprise siege that sets off Jaguar Paw’s

journey. “Because of the verticalness of the forest, I wanted to create structures where you could see

through the walls of the houses when the village is being attacked,” Sanders notes. “We elevated the

huts so you would be able to see just feet running and to get frighteningly chaotic points of view of

people attacking and fleeing.”

But Sanders’ coup de grace was constructing the great Maya City in a way that gives

audiences a sense of the full resplendence – but also the teetering chaos with intimations of slavery,

starvation and panic -- of the Mayan centers of power towards the end of their days. The mission

started with an intricately detailed model. “I am a sculptor and the way I design is to build the entire set

first in a large 14 foot three-dimensional model,” Sanders comments. “In this way, I could see how

each piece related to another and I would see the best camera positions for how Mel envisioned it on

the screen.”

He then recruited several construction teams, as well as sculptors, model makers, painters,

plasterers, greens masters and over 100 local workers to turn the model into life-sized reality.

Ultimately, the city would contain a remarkably diverse landscape. On the periphery is the destitute and

dilapidated Shanty Town, leading into the middle class sections of the town with their palm thatched



huts, and on to the commercial area where manufacturing is taking place, and finally to the

marketplace where rich and poor gather to buy and sell commodities including slaves.

After the primary construction, everything was distressed to reveal the city’s recent state of

decline – right down to simulated raw sewage flowing into the polluted city canals. Terraced fields of

corn and other crops were grown and then killed to add to the looming atmosphere of famine and

catastrophe. “Everything we planted, we wanted dead,” says Sanders. “The theory is that we’re in a

middle of a drought and that’s why they’re sacrificing human beings at such a great pace. We wanted

to show the environmental damage that has led to this situation.”

The pyramids Sanders and his team built were inspired by those found in the ancient city of

Tikal, which was once the largest of the Mayan cities. Although they based their designs on extensive

research, the team also had to adapt the proportions to the demands of modern filmmaking. “To

accommodate actors, extras, crew and cameras on top of the main pyramid, we had to scale the

narrowest sections up 20 % to give more space in which the action could occur,” explains Sanders.

Especially gratifying to Sanders was how moved the Mayan expert Dr. Hansen was the first

time he set foot in the re-created Mayan city. Says Hansen: “They have brought the past to life in a

way that has rarely been seen in the movies.”

To further bring the past to life, Gibson relied on another key team – costume designer Mayes

Rubeo, hair and makeup designer Aldo Signoretti and makeup designer Vittorio Sodano, who worked

in concert to craft a complete head-to-toe look for each of the film’s characters. From the scantily-clad

villagers – with their ear plugs and rotted teeth -- to the elaborate costumes of the Mayan royalty and

priests -- with their patterned embroidery, elaborate shell beading, ornate headpieces and over-sized

jewelry -- the trio had its work cut out for them.

Nearly ever element of the costuming was created by hand in exquisite detail by hundreds of

artists from throughout Mexico. Costume designer Mayes Rubeo, a native of Mexico City, was well

prepared for the task. She had previously conducted extensive research for a never made Mexican

documentary on the ancient Maya, so was intimately aware of Mayan fashion, from the everyday to the

ceremonial. Rubeo then assembled a team of 52 people, including professors of fine arts, fashion

students, embroiderers and feather artists who individually created each piece for each character.

Rubeo focused on bringing out the surprising diversity of looks that would have been seen in a

major Mayan city. “We wanted to show the complexity and variety of Mayan styles, from patterns to



jewelry, to headdresses and show the way different classes dressed in Maya society,” says Rubeo.

“The Maya had many styles of beauty. Everyone would personalize his or her being.”

One challenge Rubeo faced was the Mayan love of jade in their jewelry denoting power, wealth

and prestige. “Because jade is so heavy and expensive, my team learned how to hand paint other

materials to allow them to have the beauty of jade but be lightweight,” says Rubeo. Also impossible to

come by were the prized, emerald-colored Quetzal bird feathers traditionally used in the spectacular

headdresses of Mayan kings. Since the Quetzal bird now lingers near extinction, Rubeo found a

suitable substitute in the form of more mundane, brown pheasant feathers which were individually

bleached, dyed green and hand-painted for the desire effect.

When it came to textiles, Rubeo tried to use materials indigenous to the Maya, procuring

patterned fabric from such modern Mayan communities as s San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas as

well as from Oaxaca where cotton is still hand loomed. “Obviously, we could not get enough of this

fabric to make over 700 costumes with multiple copies of each,” says Rubeo. “So using authentic

samples, I did intensive research to find reproducible fabrics that look very close to the real thing.”

Using the services of a master dyer from Mexico City, the fabrics were hand dyed to match the colors

that the ancient Maya would have obtained from animal, mineral and plant sources.

Enhancing Rubeo’s work and adding more intricate details was an international team of hair

stylists, wig makers and make-up artists, ultimately numbering 300, from Italy, Mexico, Malta, France,

England, Ireland and other countries. Their jobs ranged from applying tattoos and body paint to

simulating the body markings of ritual scarification. Several of the film’s characters – including the

powerful Mayan figures of the King, Queen, High Priest, Chacs, and Jade Women – were so complex

in their look that they took three to four hours of preparation in the makeup chair each morning. In the

case of Snake Ink, with his wild tangle of scarifications and tattoos, the complete make-up procedure

lasted about seven hours.

“All our tattooing was done by hand for the actors as well as the extras,” says hair and makeup

designer Signoretti. “We wanted the lines of the tattoos to look just like a real tattoo artist would have

done them.”

No matter what the character, perfection of the tiniest details was a necessity. “Because of the

way Mel shoots, we had to have everything perfect at every angle even for every single extra,” says

makeup designer Sodano. “Mel does a lot of close-ups and while the camera is focusing on the scene

being shot, another may be focusing on one of the extras.”



The makeup artists also had to attempt to recreate some of the unusual body deformations

which the Maya used as indicators of status. Every actor and extra had to don special ear spools,

extended ear lobes plugged with stones or bone, which were a trademark of the ancient Maya. Since

they couldn’t actually stretch the ears of the actors – as the Maya did – special ear attachments were

made of a pliable silicon, then painstakingly painted to match each actor’s skin. Another common

Mayan practice was the deformation of the skull. A few days after an infant was born, a board was

placed on the forehead which caused the forehead to recede into the famous Mayan head shape. To

simulate this effect, many of the actors had their hairlines shaved higher up on the head, and wore

elongated hairpieces.

The spectacular sets and makeup – along with the digital cinematography and irreplaceable

beauty and dangers of the jungle -- helped to forge the intense visual reality that was so key to

Gibson’s vision. “What we wanted to do with the camera, sets, makeup, costumes and performances

is make everything as real and believable for the time as possible,” he says. “I think the film has an

important message to convey but if you can carry that message in a heart-stopping, thrilling way that is

so much better.”



THE HEART OF APOCALYPTO:

WHO WERE THE MAYA AND WHAT BECAME OF THEM?

“These are the days of our great lament. The land thirsts. A great plague infests our crops.”

-- High Priest, APOCALYPTO

APOCALYPTO is the first major Hollywood action-adventure to be set amidst the great Mayan

civilization of Mesoamerica. But just who were the Maya? Like detectives sifting through a vast

mystery, today’s archeologists are trying to come up with answers to that question from the fabled

pyramids, buried cities and intriguing artifacts they left behind. For though they were once the mightiest

civilization in the America, neither wealth, nor power, nor brilliant engineering could save the Mayans

from a devastating societal collapse.

The vast Maya homeland once spanned five modern countries – Mexico, Guatemala, Belize,

Honduras and El Salvador --- and flourished in three distinct periods: Pre-Classic Maya, Classic Maya

and Post Classic Maya, all the way from 2400 BC to the 15th Century AD. We know they were an

advanced society who created intricate art, mastered mathematics, forged their own writing system,

had a profound understanding of astronomy and were skilled farmers, artisans and architects whose

urban cities flourished in the rain forest. But we also know they engaged in brutal practices, fomented

war and that their complex society devolved into violence, slavery and chaos.

To learn more about who the Maya were and why their sophisticated civilization declined and

disappeared, Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia and the entire production of APOCALYPTO worked closely

with several archeologists, including one of the film’s key consultants: Dr. Richard D. Hansen, a

modern-day explorer who has been excavating a massive network of 26 ancient Maya cities entombed

under centuries of jungle growth in Guatemala.

For Hansen, the allure of APOCALYPTO wasn’t just the film’s visceral re-creation of what it

might have felt like to live in the time of the Maya – but its exploration of how such a society of such

extraordinary power self-destructed. “I felt Mel Gibson was really interested in not only the reality of this

civilization but the reality of the stresses that were key to its end. It’s a story that needs to be told. If asociety doesn’t learn from its history, it may be forced to repeat it,” warns Hansen.

Hansen emphasized to Gibson just how accomplished Maya society had become during the

Classic period. “The fascinating thing about the Maya is they were able to develop societal complexity

at a new level in the Western Hemisphere,” explains Hansen. “By the Classic Period, huge cities were



thriving everywhere, and a series of smaller cities scattered around them were feeding and supplying

these larger cities with the commodities they needed.”

Indeed, part of the key to the civilization’s longevity was their agricultural success. “The Maya

cities were green cities,” notes Hansen. “They had every available resource for cultivation. They were

raising corn, squash, beans, cotton, cacao and a range of tropical fruits. And when you can eat, you

can focus on other things like astronomy, mathematics, music, art, warfare and government.”

At the height of the civilization, the Maya were especially focused on trying to understand time

and the very meaning of life. “The cycle of time became very carefully woven and engraved into their

ideology, cosmology and behavior. The cycle of life and the cycle of time began to be a pattern that

was observed in the natural and spiritual world,” Hansen notes.

Yet coupled with their early fascination with science was a belief in superstition and the

influence of invisible forces. They believed the world was ruled by powerful deities who maintained

order – but only if human beings behaved properly and observed the prescribed rituals and offerings.

Failure to do so, or so the high priests and kings warned, would result in vengeance from the wrathful

gods, in the form of disease, pestilence, crop failure, drought and other natural disasters.

Powerful Mayan priests were said to be the only people who could communicate directly to the

gods, and it was they who oversaw the regular offerings to the deities. These spanned from food and

ceramic idols all the way to full-scale human sacrifices in the Late Post classic period. Human beings

were considered the ultimate offering and were often resorted to in the hopes of appeasing the gods in

times of greatest tumult. Eventually, to procure more captives for sacrificing, the Maya engaged in

increased warfare.

The sacrifices themselves were rife with ritual. The victim was stripped and painted blue, then

draped over an altar stone. Finally, the priest would plunge a knife made of flint or obsidian directly

through the chest and pull out the still-beating heart. Yet the Maya also believed that the sacrificial

victims would gain something even while giving up their lives – instant entrance to Paradise. “The

Maya had a devout belief in the Underworld and life after death,” says Dr. Hansen. “They believed they

were here for a purpose and they had a place to go, and that they had an opportunity to resurrect,

which was very deeply rooted in their ideology.”

Gibson was fascinated by this dichotomy between the light and dark sides of the Mayan

culture. “In many ways they were so sophisticated and in other ways they were so savage,” he

observes. “But one of the things that’s very interesting is that they were very clear that their society



was going to rise and fall. Whether it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, they were just dead accurate,

they knew that there was certain amount of time, a period of about 400 to 500 years, that a society

could prosper before everything just falls out from under you.”

As Mayan cities grew, the political power of the royalty and the priests was also magnified.

Over time, the society appears to have become more and more obsessed with conspicuous

consumption, with preserving the power of the elite, controlling resources and manipulating subservient

populations through awe, humiliation and fear. The rulers constantly demanded bigger, better and

more. And with all this unquestioned growth for growth’s sake came a price to pay – the ultimate

demise of one of the greatest civilizations the world has known.

“We find this same story in many cultures throughout the world in history, and even today,

where a degeneration of the environment and a degradation of social systems can lead to wholesale

stress on a society. This type of stress is what leads to catastrophic events, tragic events in human

history, and we have to learn from them,” says Dr. Hansen.

There was probably not a single, definitive cause of the final Mayan collapse. Rather, scholars

and archeologists cite a number of inter-related causes including deforestation, climactic stresses such

as drought and famine, increased warfare, the spread of disease, a loss of critical trade routes and

popular revolt. Each of these likely contributed to the fracturing of the society.

Deforestation is of particular interest to Dr. Hansen, who explained to the filmmakers how it

might have played a major role in the annihilation of the Mayan kingdoms. He discovered that in the

process of creating the lime stucco cement used to build their temples, palaces, plazas and

monuments, the Maya had to create fires to heat the limestone. “It took five tons of fresh, green wood

to make one ton of quick lime,” notes Hansen. “I found one pyramid in El Mirador that would have

required nearly 1,600 acres of every single available tree just to cover one building with lime stucco.

So, how many more acres would be used for a Maya city? Epic construction was happening in a lot of

different places, creating devastation on a huge scale.”

He continues: “Once the forest’s tree were gone, clay washed into the swamps rendering the

organic muck that was essential for their agriculture difficult to get to. They could no longer feed large

populations, and so they couldn’t maintain scientists, priests, astronomers, soldiers and all the

trappings of a complex society. Peace and tranquility had vanished.”



Much of this is depicted in APOCALYTPO in stark visuals, rather than through dialogue, which

reveal the desiccated fields and endless construction of the Maya City, far from the green abundance

of Jaguar Paw’s jungle. .

Yet even though the Mayan civilization declined and then disappeared, the Mayan people did

not. There remain about four million ethnic Maya living today in Mexico and Central America. The

largest group is the Yucatec, who number about 300,000 in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Near

Chiapas, Mexico live the Lacandon Maya, who continue to practice elements of the ancient Mayan

religion and culture. Yet, ironically the Lancandon and other Maya face a modern battle against those

who seek to deforest what remains of their sacred jungles. Even the jaguar, once revered as a great

power among the Maya, is now endangered.

In making APOCALYPTO, Mel Gibson hoped to be unflinching in his portrait of a society

heading towards its final days – but he also wanted to include another vital concept: hope. “The story

of Jaguar Paw is the story of the spark of life that exists even in a culture of death,” he says. “Every

ending is also a new beginning.”

TIMELINE OF THE MAYA

3100 B.C. According to the Mayan calendar, the creation of the world takes place

2600 B.C. The Mayan culture begins to form in the highlands and lowlands of CentralAmerica. Village farming techniques are established

1500 B.C. The Pre-Classic period of the Maya begins as the culture begins to flourish

700 B.C. The first writing appears in Mesoamerica

400 B.C. Stone Mayan solar calendars, the earliest known, first appear

300 B.C. Major Mayan cities start to dot the landscape., including Tikal, Uaxactun and ElMirador. The royal system of rule by kings and nobles is established

200 A.D. As the Olmec civilization declines, the Maya become the dominant power in theregion. The Classic Period, a peak of knowledge of cultural expression, begins.

600 A.D. The city of Tikal reaches a population of 500,000, becoming the largest and mostpowerful city-state in Mesoamerica, while an unknown event destroys the oncepowerful city of Teotihuacan.



750 A.D. A period of war and tumult ensues as Mayan trade declines and conflict betweenMayan states increases

800 A.D. Many major Mayan cities are abandoned, as power shifts eastward to citiessuch as Coba in Mexico.

899 A.D. Tikal is abandoned

900 A.D. With the collapse of the great cities, the Post Classic period begins. Althoughmany Mayan townships continue their traditional ways, within a fewhundred years the Maya culture will have become mixed with the Toltec culture

1517 A.D. The Spanish arrive in the Yucatan, bringing diseases that will kill 90% of theremaining Mayan population. Though most of the Maya are conquered, manycontinue to revolt against Spanish rule in skirmishes that continue for a century

1695 A.D. The ruins of Tikal are discovered by a Spanish priest

1697 A.D. The last functioning Maya City, Tayasal, falls

2012 A.D. On December 22, the Mayan calendar ends. According to the Mayan prophecy,the world will be forever altered by a series of powerful earthquakes.

A GLOSSARY OFMAYANPHRASESFROMAPOCALYPTO

“My Son, don’t be afraid” (Flint Sky to Jaguar Paw)In Mayan: In waal ma’ saajakta.

“We seek a new beginning.” (Fish Hinter to Jaguar Paw)In Mayan: Yan kaxtik tuumben chuunuj.

“Our life is over.”In Mayan: Ak kuxtale’ ts’o’oki

“Our lands were ravaged” (Fish Hunter)In Mayan: K-lu’uma p’ap’ay xoot ta’abi.

“Fear is a disease. Strike it from your heart.” (Flint Sky to Jaguar Paw)

In Mayan: Le saajkilo jump’eel k’oja’anil. Jo’os ta puksi’ik’al.

“I saw a hole in the Man. Deep, like a hunger he will never fill..”In Mayan: Tene’ tin wilaj lu’ulumkabe yaan ti jump’eel noj jool tu puksi’ik’al. Jun’p’eel

jool bey wi’ij mun xu’upule.

“Go to the forest. Run. Do not look back.”In Mayan: Puuts’ ene’ex tu t’s’u noj k’aax. Ma’ sut ka wiche’ex.



“Raise up your spirit. Believe you have strength.”In Mayan: Liik’sa wo’ol, tukle’e yaan a muuk’.

“I am Jaguar Paw, son of Flint Sky. My Father hunted this forest before me. My name is Jaguar Paw.

I am a hunter. This is my forest. And my sons will hunt it with their sons after I am gone.”In Mayan: Tene’ J-Yich’ak, u yaalen J-Tuunich Ka’an. Leti’e’ ts’oonaj te’ ts’u noj k’aaxa’

taanil ti’ teen. In k’aaba’e’ J-Yich’ak. J-ts’oonaalen. Le noj k’aaxa’ in tial. In paalal yaanu ts’oono’ weye’ yeetel u paalalo’ob xan ken xi’iken.



ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

MEL GIBSON (Director/Producer/Co-Screenwriter) directed, co-wrote and produced theworldwide box-office phenomenon “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), the highest grossing independentfilm in history (over $600 million worldwide). He directed, produced and starred in the critical and box-officesuccess “Braveheart” (1995) which received 10 Academy Award® nominations and won five including BestPicture and Best Director. In addition, he received a Golden Globe as Best Director, a Special

Achievement in Filmmaking Award from the National Board of Review, the National Association of TheatreOwners/ShoWest award as Director of the Year, and was named Best Director by the Broadcast FilmCritics’ Association. He was further nominated for the “David Lean Award for Direction” and for an“Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures” by the Directors Guild of America.

Gibson attended the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) at the University of New SouthWales, where his stage appearances included the role of Biff in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” Onthe strength of his stage work Gibson came to the attention of physician-turned-film-director George Miller,who cast him in the title role in “Mad Max” (1979), the low budget science-fiction car chase thriller thatbecame a surprise smash around the world. The same year he played an almost diametrically opposite

role as a gentle mentally handicapped man in Tim, and won the Australian Film Institute’s Best Actor award. He was further established as an international star by Peter Weir’s “Gallipoli” (1981), which broughthim a second Australian Best Actor prize, and by Miller’s “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior” (1981), whichwas released in the USA by Warner Bros.

Gibson solidified his reputation when he teamed with Weir again for “The Year of LivingDangerously” (1983) for which he was nominated “Best Actor in a Lead Role” by the Australian FilmInstitute. He then made his American debut opposite Sissy Spacek in “The River” (1984), portrayedmutineer Fletcher Christian in Roger Donaldson’s “The Bounty” (1984), and a charismatic young convict inGillian Armstrong’s dark romance Mrs. Soffel” (1984). But it was undoubtedly the continuation of the MadMax series, “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” (1985), and the opening salvo of an even more durableaction-adventure franchise, “Lethal Weapon” (1987), that truly certified his standing as a global superstar.

After starring in “Tequila Sunrise” (1988), “Lethal Weapon 2” (1989), “Air America” (1990), and“Bird on a Wire” (1990), Gibson formed Icon Productions with partner Bruce Davey to produce “Hamlet”(1990), directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The role brought him the William Shakespeare Award from the Folger Library in Washington, DC. Gibson has since starred in several Icon projects, including “Forever Young”(1992), “Maverick” (1994), “Payback” (1999) and “What Women Want” (2000), while continuing to work infilms produced by other companies, such as Ron Howard’s “Ransom” (1996) for which he was nominatedfor a Golden Globe® in the “Best Actor, Motion Picture Drama” category and Richard Donner’s“Conspiracy Theory” (1997). Gibson also made his directorial debut in 1993 with Icon’s “The Man Withouta Face.”

In 2000, Gibson became the first actor to star in three films in the same year that each earning$100 million in domestic gross: Roland Emmerich’s “The Patriot,” the animated adventure comedy “Chicken

Run,” lending his voice to Rocky, and the smash hit “What Women Want,” co-starring Helen Hunt. He wasnominated for a Golden Globe® for his performance, in the “Best Actor, Motion Picture Comedy” category.In 2002, Gibson starred in Randall Wallace’s “We Were Soldiers” and in M. Night Shyamalan’s box-officesmash (over $400 million) “Signs.”

Academy Award®-winner BRUCE DAVEY (Producer) is president/CEO/producer at IconProductions, the company he co-founded with partner Mel Gibson in 1989. In this capacity Davey overseesevery facet of Icon’s day-to-day operations, from the creative to the financial. A native of Sydney, Australia,



Davey began his career as an accountant and business manager for actors, rock groups and musicians.He first met Gibson in a professional capacity in 1980, and when the actor was putting together Hamlet(1990) he asked Davey to move to L.A. to work with him as his production partner. In addition to

APOCALYPTO, he produced in 2005 the Icon motion picture “Seraphim Falls,” starring Liam Neeson andPierce Brosnan.

Davey has produced such Icon films as “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), “Forever Young”(1992), “Immortal Beloved” (1994), Gibson’s directorial debut “The Man Without a Face” (1993), “Maverick”(1994), “Airborne” (1993), “An Ideal Husband” (1999), Gibson’s multi-Oscar®-winning Best Picture“Braveheart,” “Payback” (1999), Atom Egoyan's “Felicia's Journey” (1999), Wim Wender’s “The MillionDollar Hotel” (2000), “What Women Want” (2000), “We Were Soldiers” (2002), “The Singing Detective”(2003) and “Paparazzi” (2004). Davey has been a driving force behind Icon’s on-going commitment tosuperior family films, including "FairyTale: A True Story" (1997), recipient of the 1998 BAFTA Award for Best Children’s Picture.

FARHAD SAFINIA (Co-Screenwriter/Co-Producer) was born in Tehran in 1975. He left Iran withhis family at the age of four to live in Paris, then London. At King’s College Cambridge, where he read

Economics, he directed and acted in a number of stage productions for the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club and other theatre companies. After graduating, he moved to New York City where hestudied film at the New School University and at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.“Apocalypto,” which he co-wrote with director/producer Mel Gibson, is his fist feature length screenplay. Hepresently lives in Los Angeles.

NED DOWD (Executive Producer) has had a varied and successful career for 30 years in motionpictures as an executive producer, producer, assistant director and production executive at CaravanPictures. He produced the upcoming feature film “Ghostwood” (2006), “The 13th Warrior” (1999) and “Stateof Grace” (1998) and served as executive producer on “Last of the Mohicans” (1992). He also producedTV’s “Lip Service” (1988). In addition to “Apocalypto,” Ned executive produced “Speed Dating” (1006),“King Arthur” (2004), “Veronica Guerin” (2003), “Wonder Boys” (2000), and was line producer on “Reign of Fire” (2002), and “The Count of Monte Cristo” (2002), and co-produced “Shanghai Noon” (2000), “TheThree Musketeers” (1993) and “Let It Ride” (1989).

As Head of Production at Caravan Pictures, he was responsible for such motion pictures as ““Rocket Man” (1997), “Washington Square” (1997), “G.I. Jane” (1997), “Gone Fishin’ (1997), “GrossePointe Blank” (1997), “Metro” (1997), “The Rich Man’s Wife” (1996), “First Kid” (1996), “Celtic Pride” (1996),“Before and After” (1996), “The Big Green” (1995), “Powder” (1995), “While You Were Sleeping” (1995),“Tall Tale” (1995), “Heavy Weights” (1995), “The Jerky Boys” (1995), “Houseguest” (1995), “A Low DownDirty Shame” (1994), “Angels in the Outfield” (1994) and “Angie” (1994).

A former professional hockey player, Ned got his start in motion picture production as an actor,technical advisor and stunt coordinator on “Slap Shot” (1997), written by his sister Nancy Dowd (who wonan Oscar® for “Coming Home”). He then segued into physical production as a second and first assistantdirector. He also acted early on in his career with roles in “Popeye” (1980), “Southern Comfort” (1981),“Endangered Species” (1982) and “48 Hrs.”

VICKI CHRISTIANSON (Executive Producer) has been with Icon Production since 1991 and isthe company’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer responsible for the review of worldwideoperations and tax planning for the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Prior to joining Icon, Ms.Christianson worked at KMPG Peat Marwick entertainment tax practice in Century City, California and at



The Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California. She began her career as a Certified Public Accountantwith a Master’s degree in Taxation. She is based out of Icon’s Santa Monica offices.

DEAN SEMLER, ASC, ACS (Director of Photography) won an Academy Award® for his work onKevin Costner’s epic of the American West, “Dances With Wolves” (1990) and also won the top honor that

year from the American Society of Cinematographers. One of the world’s most accomplishedcinematographers, Semler has photographed a wide range of productions both in his native Australia, theUnited States and around the world.

Semler began his career at a local television station photographing news stories This lead to anine-year-long stint at Film Australia where he made documentaries and anthropological films for educational and research purposes. His first credit as a feature cinematographer was “Let the Balloon Go”in 1976. In Australia, Semler served as cinematographer for “Hoodwink” (1981), the now classic futuristicthriller “The Road Warrior” (1981) and its follow up “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” (1985), “Razorback”(1984 and for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award), “The Coca-Cola Kid” (1985), “TheLighthorseman” (1987) and “Dead Calm” (1989). His U.S. credits include “Young Guns” (1988) and “YoungGuns II” (1990), “Cocktail” (1987), “Farewell to the King” (1987),“City Slickers” (1991), “The Power of One”

(1992), “The Three Musketeers” (1993), “The Cowboy Way” (1994), “Waterworld” (1995), “The BoneCollector” (1999), “Nutty Professor: The Klumps” (2000), “Heartbreakers” (2001), “Dragonfly” (2002), “WeWere Soldiers” (2002), “XXX” (2002), “Bruce Almighty” (2003) and “The Alamo” (2004), among others.

Semler most recently was the director of photography on “Click” (2006), the romantic comedy “JustMy Luck” (2006), the box-office hit “The Longest Yard” (2005), and director Rob Cohen’s action adventurescience-fiction thriller “Stealth” (2005.) He also had directed the feature film “Firestorm” (1998).

For television, Semler photographed “Return to Eden” in Australia and “Passion Flower” in the U.S.He also served as cinematographer and second unit director of the television miniseries “Lonesome Doves”and “Son of the Morning Star.”

During the filming of “XXX”, it was announced that Semler was the recipient of a Member in theGeneral Division of the Order of Australia, appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services to thearts, an honor bestowed upon him by his fellow countrymen. Two years later, he received the CentenaryMedal for services to international cinematography.

TOM SANDERS (Production Designer) received Academy Award® nominations in Art Directionfor his work on “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992). He previously workedwith Icon and Mel Gibson as Production Designer on “We Were Soldiers” (2002), the Oscar® winning“Braveheart” (1994) and “Maverick” (1994), and also served as Production Designer on “Rumor Has It”(2005), “Mission: Impossible II (2000), “Father’s Day” (1997), “Assassins” (1995) and “Days of Thunder”(1990). He also was Art Director on “Hook” (1991), “Naked Tango” (1991) and “Revenge” (1990). Tomalso served as visual consultant on “Timeline” (2003), and directed in 1966 the “About Face” episode for HBO’s successful series “Tales from the Crypt.”

JOHN WRIGHT (Editor) is a two-time Academy Award® nominee for his work on “The Hunt For Red October” (1990) and “Speed” (1994) also garnering a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for the latter.Wright previously worked with Mel Gibson as film editor on “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), and mostrecently completed work on “Glory Road” (2006). Among the many films he has edited are “The ThomasCrown Affair” (1999), “X-Men” (2000), “The Rock” (1996), “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” (1995), “Broken

Arrow” (1996), “Last Action Hero” (1993), “Frances” (1982) and “Sea of Love” (1989). For his work on theacclaimed telefilm “Sarah, Plain and Tall” (1991), Wright received an Emmy® Award for OutstandingEditing as well as the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie® Award.



After serving in the U.S. Army, Wright began his career as an apprentice editor with David WolpertProductions, assisting on such documentary projects as “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” Hewent on to become a film editor and associate producer on several National Geographic specials. Early inhis career, Wright won his first Eddie® Award for the documentary “Life Goes To War: Hollywood and theHome Front.”

JAMES HORNER (Music) is one of the most celebrated of modern film composers. Having createdthe music for dozens of the most memorable and successful films of the past two decades, Horner washonored with two Academy Awards® and two Golden Globes for James Cameron’s “Titanic.” In addition,he has earned Academy Award® nominations for his Original Scores for “House of Sand and Fog.” “ABeautiful Mind.” “Braveheart,” “Apollo 13,” “Field of Dreams” and “Aliens” (1986) and for the Original Song“Somewhere Out There” from “An American Tale” (1986). He has also garnered four more Golden Globenominations, and has won six Grammy awards, including Song of the Year in both 1987 (“Somewhere OutThere”) and 1998 (“My Heart Will Go On”).

In April 1998, Horner’s “Titanic” soundtrack completed an unprecedented run of 16 weeksat #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, setting a new record for the most consecutive weeks at #1 for a

score album.Known for his stylistic diversity, Horner’s most recent film credits include “All The King’s Men,” “TheNew World,” “The Legend of Zorro,” “Chumscrubber,” “Flightplan,” “The Forgotten,” “Troy,” “The Missing,”“Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius,” “Radio,” “Beyond Borders,” “Enemy at the Gates,” “Dr. Seuss’ How theGrinch Stole Christmas,” “The Four Feathers,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Freedom Song,” “Bicentennial Man,”“Mighty Joe Young,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Deep Impact,” “The Devil’s Own,” “Ransom,” “Courage Under Fire,” “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday,” “ “The Spitfire Grill,” “Casper,” “Legends of the Fall,” “Clear andPresent Danger,” “The Pagemaster,” “Bopha!,” “The Pelican Brief,” “The Man Without a Face,” “PatriotGames,” “Thunderheart,” “Sneakers,” “The Rocketeer,” “Glory,” “In Country,” “Field of Dreams,” “Honey IShrunk the Kids,” “The Land Before Time,” “Willow,” “An American Tail,” “The Name of the Rose,”“Cocoon,” “Gorky Park,” “48 Hours” and “Star Trek II.” He also wrote the score for this year’s “The GoodShepherd.”

MAYES C. RUBEO (Costume Designer ) worked as an assistant costume designer and costumesupervisor for many costume designers including Shay Cunliffe, Erica Phillips, Ellen Mirojnick, as well asmany collaborations with her mentor Enrico Sabbatini. She began her career as a costume supervisor for extras on Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), and as an associate costume designer onTaylor Hackford’s “Bound by Honor” (1993). Since then, she has been a costume designer and/or supervisor on a number of motion picture and television projects and was nominated for a CostumeDesigners Guild Award for her work on Showtime’s “Fidel” (2002). Among her most noted credits are four John Sayles films: “Casa de los Babys” (2003), “Sunshine State” (2002), “Men Without Guns” (1997) and“Lone Star” (1996) serving on the latter as assistant costume designer, “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear”(2004), “Warden of Red Rock” (2001), “Desert Heat” (1999), “The Arrival” (1996), “One the Air” (1995),“The Client” (1994), and “Last Light” (1993) as well as work in commercial. Mayes was born in Mexico Cityand completed her studies in Costume Design at the Los Angeles Trade Tech. also studying at UCLA andthe Institute Statale d’arte in Italy. Married to production designer Bruno Rubeo for the past 22 years,Mayes divides her time between assignments in Los Angeles and Umbria, Italy where they reside and havetheir studio.

ALDO SIGNORETTI (Hair & Make-Up Designer), a native of Italy, has worked in motion picturesin the USA and internationally as a hair designer, supervisor and stylist. Among his most noted credits are



“Fade to Black” (2006), “Capote” (2005), TV’s “Rome” (2005), “Kingdom of Heaven” (2005), “Troy” (2004),TV’s “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone” (2003), “Gangs of New York” (2002), “Callas Forever” (2002),“Moulin Rouge” (2001), “The Grey Zone” (2001), TV’s “Arabian Nights” (2000), “Up at the Villa” (2000),“Liberate i Pesci” (2000), “Cookie’s Fortune” (1999), “Leggenda del Pianista sull’Oceano” (1998).“Sandrach” (1998), “The Devil’s Advocate” (1997), “Romeo + Juliet” (1996), “Kansas City” (1996), “Dolores

Claiborne” (1995), “Only You” (1994), “M. Butterfly” (1993), “Cliffhanger” (1993), “Year of the Gun” (1991),TV’s “The Josephine Baker Story” (1990), “La Putain du Roi” (1990), “Leviathan” (1989), “Transformations”(1989), “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1987), “Rent-a-Cop” (1987), “Raw Deal” (1986), “Ginger e Fred”(1986), “La Sposa Americana” (1986), TV’s “Louisiana” (1984), TV’s “The Scarlet and the Black” (1983),“Perche non Facciamo l’Amore?” (1982), “Popeye” (1980), “Al di la del Bene del Male” (1997), “Suspira”(1977), “Mogliamante” (1997), “L’Innocente” (1976), “Salon Kitty” (1976), “Gruppo di Famiglia in un Interno”(1974) and “Il Coltello di Ghiaccio” (1972).

VITTORIO SODANO (Make Up Designer), a native of Italy, has worked in motion pictures in theUSA and internationally as a make up designer and artist. Among his most noted credits are “Fade toBlack” (2006) on which he was prosthetic and special effects designer, “Liscio” (2006), “Casanova” (2005),

“The Black Dahlia” (2005) for make-up special effects, “L’Empire des Loups” (2005), TV’s “Imperium:Nerone” (2004), “Il Siero della Vanità” (2004), “L’Amore Ritorna” (2004), TV’s “Part Time (2004). “Ricordatidi Me” (2003), TV’s “Il Papa Buono” (2003) (TV), “Ma Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi” (2003), “Il Più Bel Giornodella Mia Vita,” (2002), the TV mini-series "Incompreso" (2002), “Tre Mogli” (2001), “Le Fate Ignoranti”(2001), “Controvento” (2000), “Prima del Tramonto” (1999), and TV’s “Le Madri,” (1999).

TED RAE (Visual Effects Supervisor) worked previously with Mel Gibson as Visual EffectsSupervisor and 2nd Unit Director on “The Passion of the Christ." He has been working for 25 years onfeature films, television series, music videos, and commercials, serving as Director of Photography, 2ndUnit Director, or Visual Effects Supervisor. He is the recipient of several international awards andnominations: an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects for "Stargate SG-1: Children of theGods" Two-Hour Premiere; both a British Academy Award (BAFTA) nomination and a Saturn Awardnomination for Best Special Effects for "Beetlejuice;" a Clio® Award for Make-up Effects for Epyx"Mindblow;" a Telly® Award as Cinematographer for At Home Healthcare "Remember When;" and theBest Cinematography Award at the 8th Annual Magnolia Film Festival for the short film "SolomonBernstein's Bathroom" on which Rae served as Director of Photography and Associate Producer.

Previously Rae provided select on-set supervision for director Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday"(1999) and "Nixon” (1995). Rae has contributed to other feature films such as "Idle Hands" (1999), “Drive”(1997), "Pontiac Moon" (1994), "The Resurrected" (1992), "Memoirs of an Invisible Man” (1992), "Bugsy”(1991), "The Abyss" (1989), "Beetlejuice" (1988), "Mystic Pizza” (1988) and "The Terminator" (1984).Rae's television projects include VFX supervision and / or 2nd Unit direction /photography for "Stargate:SG-1" (two-hour pilot and two episodes), "Babylon 5" (22 one-hour episodes), Disney's "You Wish" (12 half-hour episodes), "Troubleshooters: Trapped Beneath the Earth," Disney's "Still Not Quite Human," and "TheBirds II: Land's End" for Showtime.

MIC RODGERS (Stunt Coordinator) has been a stunt double for 15 years and has worked withMel Gibson since 1983 as a Stunt Coordinator, 2nd Unit Director and Stunt Double. He worked with Gibsonas 2nd Unit Director and Stunt Coordinator on “Payback” (1999), “Lethal Weapon 4” (1998), “Braveheart”(1995), “Maverick” (1994), “Lethal Weapon 3” (1992), “Bird on a Wire” (1990), “Lethal Weapon 2” (1989) aswell as on “Conspiracy Theory” (1997), “Ransom” (1996), “Forever Young” (1992), “Tequila Sunrise”(1988) and “Lethal Weapon” (1987). In addition, he has worked on stunts and as a stunt coordinator on



such major films as “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (2005), “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), “The Fast and theFurious” (2001), “Volcano” (1997), “Twister” (1996), “Virtuosity” (1995), “Intersection” (1994) and“Scrooged” (1988), among others.

SIMON ATHERTON (Weapons Master) began training as a gunsmith before beginning his career

as a film armourer which he has been doing for the past 26 years. He has worked on weapons of all kindsfrom crossbows to pulse rifles, from blowpipes to bazookas, and is one of the most sought-after professionals in the business. He has created weaponry for a number of major motion pictures spanninghistorical epics to science-fiction spectacles, among them “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), “Munich” (2005),“Kingdom of Heaven” (2005), “V for Vendetta” (2005), “Cold Mountain” (2003), “King Arthur” (2004), “Troy”(2004), “Timeline” (2003), “Black Hawk Down” (2001), “Gladiator” (2000), “The Mummy” (1999), “The Maskof Zorro” (1998), “Saving Private Ryan” (1998), “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” (1998), “The FifthElement” (1997), “Hamlet” (1996), “Othello” (1995), “Cutthroat Island” (1995), “Braveheart” (1995), “The 3Musketeers” (1992), “1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992), “Aliens 3” (1992), “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves” (1991), “Highlander II: The Quickening” (1991), “Memphis Belle” (1990), “Indiana Jones and theLast Crusade” (1989), “Aliens” (1986), “The Mission” (1986), “A View to a Kill” (1985), “Greystoke: The

Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes” (1984), “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), and “TheKilling Fields” (1984).” Among his major credits for television are the HBO mini-series “Band of Brothers”and “The Professionals.”

JESUS “CHUCO” DURAN (Special Effects Supervisor), a native of Mexico, has a distinguishedcareer in motion pictures and television special effects for American and Mexican productions. Among hismost noted credits are “The Legend of Zorro” (2004), “Voces Inocentes” (2004), “Man on Fire” (2003),“High Crimes” (2002), “Revenus” (2001), “Toby’s History” (2001), “Original Sin” (2000), “McHale’s Navy”(1997), “The Cisco Kid” (1994), “Gunman” (1994), “The Cover Girl Murders” (1993), “Revenge” (1990), “AtPlay in the Fields of the Lord” (1990), “Naked Tango” (1989), “Old Gringo” (1989), “Born in East LA.”(1987), “Predator” (1987), “Let’s Get Harry” (1986), “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins” (1985), “TheFalcon and the Snowman” (1985), “Under the Volcano” (1984), “Under Fire” (1983), “Missing” (1982),“Cattle Annie and Little Britches” (1981),“Cabo Blanco” (1980), “Sunburn” (1979) and “The Revengers”(1972).

ANNA ROTH (Unit Production Manager), a native of Poland who moved to Mexico City at theage of 11, has a career in production spanning over 30 years. In addition to being UPM on “Apocalypto,”Ms. Roth served in that role on “The Legend of Zorro,” “Man on Fire,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Titanic.”She also served as an executive consultant developing several projects for Altavista Films and producedtheir film “Por La Libre.” She also was executive producer on “Innocent Voices” and associate producer on“The Wrong Man” and “Under Fire.” As a 2nd AD, her credits include “Under Fire” as well as “Missing.”

Roth has worked in physical production in a number of capacities including production consultanton “Master and Commander: Far Side of the World” (2002), “Frida” (2001 “Collateral Damage” (2002),“Deep Blue Sea” (1998), and “Ravenous” (1998), and production supervisor on “Stigmata” (1998). Asproduction manager, Ms. Roth worked on “Titanic” (1997), “The Juror” (1995), “”Clear and Present Danger”(1993), “Gunmen” (1992), “Medicine Man” (1991), “One Man’s War” (1990), “Revenge” (1988), “Predator”(1987), “Hot Pursuit” (1986), “Power” (1985) and “Falcon’s World” (1982). She was location manager on“Total Recall” (1989), “Old Gringo” (1988), “Let’s Get Harry” (1985), “Remo Williams: The AdventureBegins” (1985), “Miracles” (1984), “The Falcon and the Snowman” (1984), “The Evil That Men Do” (1983),“Falcon’s Gold” (1982) and “Zorro the Gay Blade” (1980).



Roth began her career in 1974 as assistant at Lonka Becker, the largest actors agent and castingagency in Mexico, segueing into production on several Mexican features as production assistant, assistantdirector, and as production coordinator on “10,” “Mr. Horn,” “Sorcerer,” “Domino Principle” and“Swashbuckler.”

CARLA HOOL (Casting Director), a native of Mexico City, was Casting Director on the films “LaTicla” (2006), “The Air I Breathe” (2006), “Camino del Diablo” (2006), Cansada de Besar Ranas” (2006),“Welcome to America” (2006), Nacho Libre” (2005), Morirse en Domingo” (2005), “Cuando las CosasSueden” (2005), Amapola” (2005), “I Love Miami” (2005), “Bandita” (2004), “The Matador” (2004), “TheLibrarian” (2004), “Innocent Voices” (2004), “Siete Dias” (2003) and “Zapata” (2003). She also was CastingConsultant/Mexico for the feature films “Meet the Frockers” (2004), “Spanglish”(2004), “Puno Rosas”(2003) and “The Fountain” (2003); did additional casting and was dialogue coach on “Man on Fire” (2003),and was Casting Supervisor on “Club Dread.” Carla also was Casting Director on the short films “Ofelia”(2005, “Por Eso No Tienes Novio” (2005), “A Calle Es de Todo” (2004) and “Aqui No Hay Nadie” (2003), aswell as the television series “Los Simuladores.” Her company, Bazooka Films Casting, has offices inMexico City and Los Angeles.

DR. RICHARD D. HANSEN, Ph. D. (Consultant) is a specialist on the early Maya and is theDirector of the Mirador Basin Project in northern Guatemala. Formerly a Research Scientist (Level IV) withthe Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA, he is now Affiliate Research AssistantProfessor in the Department of Anthropology, American Indian Studies Program at Idaho State University.Dr. Hansen is the founder and president of the Foundation for Anthropological Research andEnvironmental Studies (FARES), a non-profit scientific research institution, based in Idaho and Salt LakeCity. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Archaeology from UCLA in January 1992, and previously held a doublemajor B.S. degree in Spanish and Archaeology from Brigham Young University (1978), and a M.S. degreein Anthropology (1984). While a Ph.D. student at UCLA, he was selected by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Graduate Fellow and a Jacob Javits Fellow from all college and university studentsthroughout the nation in the arts, humanities and social sciences for five years. He was named the UCLADistinguished Scholar in 1988, a Fulbright Scholar in 1990, the UCLA Outstanding Graduate Student in1991 and the UCLA Chancellor's Marshall in 1992.

He has published 83 papers and book chapters in scientific and popular publications and haspresented more than 151 professional papers in scientific symposia throughout the world. He hasconducted and/or directed archaeological research in Israel, the U.S. Great Basin, the U.S. Southwest andCentral America. Dr. Hansen has conducted research in the remote rainforests of northern Guatemalasince 1978 and is currently the director of the Mirador Basin Project, representing one of the mostcomprehensive scientific studies of the ancient Maya in Guatemala, and currently involves scholars from 36universities and research institutions from throughout the world. As a project, his team has currentlypublished 192 papers and books. Hansen’s studies have identified some of the largest and earliest ancientcities in Central America, and his work has been an important contribution to the developmental history of Maya civilization. His work has recently been featured in film documentaries on the Learning Channel, theDiscovery Channel, 20/20, 60 Minutes Australia, CNN Global Challenge, the BBC and the NationalGeographic Special “Dawn of the Maya.” He also was a consultant for “Survivor: Guatemala.”

Among his most recent honors are the National Order of the Cultural Patrimony of Guatemala,bestowed upon him in 2005 by President Oscar Berger; Isuzu Worldwide Environmental Award (2002),Elected to the Academy of Geography and History of Guatemala (2000), Medal of Peace, Guatemala fromthe Ministerio de Cultura (1998), and grants from the Foundation for Advancement of MesoamericanStudies and National Geographic, among others. He is currently involved in the formation of a new



protected preserve system in northern Guatemala with the government of Guatemala, the FundaciónCarlos F. Novella. Cementos Progreso of Guatemala, Friends of the Natural and Cultural Patrimony of Guatemala (APANAC), the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), the Institute of Anthropology andHistory of Guatemala (IDAEH), the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and the National Council of Protected

Areas (CONAP). He currently lives with his family in Idaho.

HILARIO CHI CANUL (Mayan Language Dialogue Coach), whose last name in Mayan means“Language Keeper,” is a native speaker of Mayan who only began learning Spanish at the age of 14. Hecomes from the small Mayan village of Naranjal Poniente in Quintana Roo where be teaches residents howto write Mayan and speak and write Spanish. He also hosts a bi-lingual Mayan-Spanish radio show onRadio Chan Santa Cruz in Quintana Roo. Hilario studied at El Instituto Tecnologico Superior de FelipeCarrillo Puerto for his license in Tourism Administration and Business, and recently won an academicachievement award. Hilario also worked in 1996-97 for El Consejo Nacional de Fomento Educativo(CONAFE) teaching children Mayan and Spanish in the village of Triunfo.

MIRIAM MARIA TUN HAU (Mayan Language Dialogue Coach) was born in the small Maya

village of Tixhualahtun Municipio de Peto in the Yucatan and spoke only the Mayan language until she was10 years-old when she began learning Spanish. She studied for her Licenciatura en Administracion deEmpresas Turistica at Instituto Technologico Superior de Felipe Carrilo Puerto in Quintana Roo. Beforeher assignment on APOCALYPTO, she worked in production at Radio Chan Santa Cruz in Quintana Roo.



ABOUT THE CAST

THE VILLAGE

RUDY YOUNGBLOOD (“Jaguar Paw”) makes his acting debut in the lead role of APOCALYPTO.

Also known as Tee-Dee-Nae (“Strong Boy”), Youngblood is a gifted grass dancer, pow-wow singer andartist. He, along with Michelle Hall and Patrick Shendo Mirabal, have created and produced “Elements,” aNative American theatrical production of dance, music, film and storytelling to debut in the Spring 2007.

Rudy is of the Comanche, Cree and Yaqui people and was raised in Washington State, Texas and Arizona. His pow-wow circuit has taken him throughout the United States, Canada and abroad. His latestwork includes two seasons in Peter Buffett’s “Spirit – The Seventh Fire” as a key cast member: the “Warrior Protector” and solo artist of the poignant “Chicken Dance” scene. He has toured with the Native AmericanDance Theatre. Opening act opportunities have included the Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets, themusical sensation The String Cheese Incident, the original Navajo Code Talkers, a Purple Hearts AwardsCeremony and a presentation before General Colin Powell, to name just a few.

Youngblood is a skilled horseman, avid outdoorsman, athlete and a championship boxer and crosscountry-runner. As an artist, he incorporates oil and acrylic paints, prismacolors, pastels and charcoal intohis work. He is always looking for ways in which he can give back to his Native community and honor hisfamily as well as the culture and traditions of his people. Proud of where he comes from and who he is,Youngblood is honored to stand for something other than himself, both as an individual, and as a humanbeing.

DALIA HERNANDEZ (“Seven”) was born in Veracruz, Mexico and presently lives in Xalapa. Sheis a student at the University of Veracruz where she has been studying dance for the past five years.

APOCALYPTO is her first acting experience.

JONATHAN BREWER (”Blunted”) is from the Blood Reserve in Canada and was born inCardston, Alberta. He presently lives in Lethrbridge, Alberta. Prior to acting in APOCALYPTO, he had asmall role playing a dog soldier in the television movie drama “Dream Keeper” from HallmarkEntertainment, and had been teaching his culture to inner city school children. He studied Criminal Justicein College.

MORRIS BIRD (“Flint Sky”) is a Treaty Indian, Indigenous to Canada and has previously acted inthe upcoming motion picture “September Dawn,” produced and directed by Christopher Cain. He alsostarred in three television miniseries: “Daughters of Joy,” directed by Walter Hill; “Into the West,” producedby Steven Spielberg and directed by Simon Wincer and Robert Dornhelm; and “Dreamkeepers,” directedby Steve Barron. Morris comes from a lineage of hereditary Chiefs and was raised in the IndigenousCulture and Tradition on Paul's Band’s Indian Reserve 133B, located 70kms west of Edmonton, Alberta.

CARLOS EMILIO BAEZ (“Turtles Run”) is four years old and lives with his family in Cancun,Mexico. This is his first experience in acting.

AMILCAR RAMIREZ (“Curl Nose”) was born and presently lives in Mexico City. He graduatedfrom National Autonoma de Mexico (UAM) with a degree in Psychology. He also studied drumming andperforms in a blues band. Amilcar presently works as a production assistant and music editor in televisionin Mexico City.



ISRAEL CONTRERAS VASQUEZ (“Smoke Frog”) was born in Salamanca, Guanajuato andpresently lives in Colima, Mexico. He is a dancer and has done theatrical acting in college. He studied for his dance degree earning a Licenciatura en Danza Escenica from the Instituto Universitario de Bellas Artesde la Universidad de Colima. APOCALYPTO is his motion picture acting debut.

ISRAEL RIOS (“

Cocoa Leaf”) was born in Toluca and presently lives in Mexico City. Israel wasstudying acting at Instituto Nacional de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City when he was cast in “Apocalypto.”This is his first motion picture performance. Prior to his role, he had a small cameo in a Mexican televisionprogram, and worked in independent and college theatre.

ISABEL DIAZ (“Mother-in-Law”) has appeared in numerous motion pictures including “Romeo +Juliet,” “”La Esperanza,” “Himperio Blanco,” Camino al Inferno,” “Rubi Cairo,” Tregua,” and “Vuelo de lasMariposas.” She also has appeared on Mexican television in “Vuelo del Aguila,” “Amor Gitano,” “Frente alSol,” “Amigos por Siempre” and the documentary “Brisa Navidena.” In addition, she has done theatre andcommercial work in her Mexico. Isabel lives in the city of Veracruz, Mexico.

ESPIRIDION ACOSTA CANCHE (“Old Story Teller”) is Maya and an actual storyteller in VillaTecoh, a small village in the Yucatan. The 80 year-old, who celebrated his birthday during the shooting of the film, has never has acted in films before and only speaks own his native Mayan language.

MAYRA SERBULO CORTES (“Young Woman”) was born in Xalapa del Marquez in the state of Oaxaca and resides in Mexico City. In addition to Spanish, she speaks Nahuatl and a little Zapoteco andEnglish. She is an accomplished actress in her native Mexico working in motion pictures, television,theater and dance, and recently received an Ariel Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress from the

Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematografias (Mexico’s equivalent to an Oscar® nomination)for the motion picture “Mezcal” (2004), which won an Ariel Award as Best Motion Picture. Her actingcredits in films include “Cuento de Hadas para Dormir” (2000), “El Grito” (1999), “Piedras Verdes,” (1999),“Ave Maria” (1998), “Un Embrujo” (1997), “Fibra Optica” (1996), “El Santo Luzbel” (1996), “ Un Hjito deSangre” (1994), “A Reina de la Noche” (1994), “El Jardin del Eden” (1993), “Cortometraje Haciendo laLucha” (1993), Desiertos Mares” (1992), Novia que te Vea” (1992) and “La Ofrenda” (1991). On television,she has appeared in “La Reina Roja” for Discovery Channel, National Geographic’s “Lost Kingdoms of theMayas,” the telefilms “Todo por Amor” and “Yacaranday,” and the programs “Lo que Callamos las Mujeres”and “Encuentro de dos Mundos.”

IAZUA LARIOS RUIZ (“Sky Flower”), who lives in Mexico City, studied film, theater and dance inBarcelona, Spain as well as being a photographic model. She had small roles in two short films in 2005:“Maquina” in Mexico, and “Menguerre” in Spain, as well as a part in the feature film “Transeuntes” that year in Spain. She also performed in various theatrical and dance productions in Barcelona, Spain andGuanajuato, Mexico.

HIRAM SOTO (“Fish Hunter”) was born in Mendoza City, Veracruz and presently lives in MexicoCity. He has been involved in street theatre as well as in circus performances such as the unicycle, jugglingand clown presentations. Hiram has traveled extensively throughout Mexico with the theatre company“Camparsa La Bulla.” APOCALYPTO is his first acting performance in a motion picture.



THE HOLCANE WARRIORS

RAOUL TRUJILLO (“Zero Wolf”) is a native of New Mexico and an accomplished actor, dancer,choreographer and director whose career spans more than 25 years. An actor for film and television for more than 18 years, he continues to dance and choreograph for dance artists and companies. He teachesthe Nikolais technique all over the world, as well as technique based on native dance vocabulary mergingwith Nikolais and yoga.

Trujillo recently was seen in the role of ‘Tomocomo’ in the motion picture “The New World” (2005).His extensive acting career includes “Frankenfish” (2004) , “Adventure Inc.” (2002), “The Blue Butterfly”(2004), “Waking Up Horton” (1998), “Song of Hiawatha” (1997), “Highlander III” (1993), “Paris, France”(1993), “L’Autome Sauvage” (1992), “Montreal Vu Par: Vue d’ailleurs” (1991), “Shadow of the Wolf” (1992),“Black Robe” (1991), “The Adjuster” (1991), “Clearcut” (1991) and “Scanners III: The New Order” (1991).Other acting roles include the lead in the television series “Destiny Ridge,” the ABC mini-series “Black Fox”(co-starring Christopher Reeve), and guest appearances on popular shows such as “La Femme Nikita,”“The Rez,” “JAG,” and “Lonesome Dove,” among others.

Trujillo’s professional work as a choreographer and dancer has contributed to a better appreciation of Native American dance worldwide. Between 1980 and 1986, he performed as principal dancer, soloist andmaster teacher with the Nikolais Dance Theatre, touring five continents. He also was the originalchoreographer and co-director of the American Indian Dance Theatre (a 26-member Native ensemble,formed in 1987 and still touring today, which achieved international acclaim for its excellence) for its firsttwo years. His work, “The Shaman's Journey,” was turned into a short dance film for PBS, “Alive from Off Center.”

GERARDO TARACENA (“Middle Eye”) was born and presently lives in Mexico City. He studiedacting at el Centro Universarsitario de Teatro de la Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM),and has performed in motion pictures, theatre and dance. He worked with the dance group Integro de Peruin 1992 performing in the II Encuentro Latinoamericano de Danza Contemporanea Independiente in la SalaMiguel Covarrubias and in the V Festival Latinoamericano de Teatro de Cordoba ’92 in Argentina. Hecontinued to work in dance through 1996 in various festivals throughout Mexico and Latin America. Onstage, Gerardo acted in over 30 plays participating in the Festival Internacional Cervantino on threeoccasions; the Festival de la Ciudad de Mexico, the Festival Latinoamericano de Teatro Cordoba in

Argentina, Programa Iberoamericano de Teatro in Buenos Aires, the Festival de las Artes in Costa Rica,and the Japan Street Theatre Festival in Tokyo and Jamamatsu. He also was a member of the theater group, Teatro Mito. He has acted in films both in his native Mexico and the USA including “El Violin,” “ClubEutanasia,” “Man on Fire,” “American Family,” “Al Rescate de la Santisima Trinidad,” “The Mexican,” SinDejar Huella,” “De Ida y Vuelta,” and “La Hija del Puma,” among others.

RODOLFO PALACIOS (“Snake Ink”), a native of Mexico city, studied dramatic arts at the Casadel Teatro school. He received a grant from the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA), and

also studied Communications Science at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México. Rodolfo previouslyappeared in the motion pictures "El Cometa" (1997) and "Sangre Joven" (2002).He wrote and directed twoshort films: "Bajo el Puente" and "Taxi.”

ARIEL GALVAN (“Hanging Moss”) was born and lives in Mexico City. He studied Economics atthe University of Mexico. After a brief move to Argentina, he returned to Mexico City where he enrolled inthe Escuela Nacional de Arte Teatrical And studied acting for four years. He performed in various



independent theatrical productions at this school as well as at Bellas Artes, and also performed in streettheatre. Prior to acting in “Apocalypto,” he appeared as a warrior in the Mexican film, “El Violin” (2005).

BERNARDO RUIZ JUAREZ (“Drunkards Four”) is originally from San Jose el Pacifico, a smallvillage in the State of Oaxaca, and presently lives in the city of Oaxaca. He is a painter and sculptor and

has studied at the Escula de las Bellas Artes in Oaxaca. While APOCALYPTO is his first film acting role,he has done some acting in Oaxaca with the theatrical group, Casa del Teatro. In addition to Spanishwhich he learned attending school as a child, Bernardo also speaks his native Zapoteco.

RICARDO DIAZ MENDOZA (“Cut Rock”) was born in Naucalpan in the state of Mexico andpresently lives in Mexico City. Ricardo started working in the circus at the age of 14. At that time, he alsobegan to work on artistic gymnastics at the Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). He presently works atHumanicorp Co. in theatre and aerodancing. One of his specialties is performing on 80cm stilts at twopoints and four points (hands and feet) imitating the movement of animals. APOCALYPTO is his first actingrole.

RICHARD CAN (“Ten Peccary”) was born in the village of Presumida in Quintana Roo and grewup in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo. Richard speaks his native language of Mayan as well asSpanish which he learned while attending school. He received his degree in Primary Education andpresently lives in Cancun, Quintana Roo where he has been a primary education instructor for the past 11years teaching children between the ages of 6-14 years old. APOCALYPTO is his first acting role.

CARLOS ENRIQUES RAMOS AVILAR (“Monkey Jaw”), a native of Sonsonate, El Salvador, wasdiscovered breakdancing on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California where he resides andworks at Jamba Juice. He moved with his family to Tijuana when he was 14, and a year later, moved toLos Angeles where he presently lives. His break dancing group has been the opening or closing act for anumber of musical performers including Linkin Park, Cypress Hill and Kurtis Blow, and have performed atmajor venues including the Universal Amphitheatre; Los Angeles, San Diego and Anaheim ConventionCenters, and in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada.

AMMEL RODRIGO MENDOZA (“Buzzard Hook”) was born and raised in Mexico City where hepresently resides. He studied in el Centro Universitario de Teatro in Mexico City and prior to acting in“Apocalypto,” starred in Sergio Magana’s “Montezuma II” as the last Aztec emperor. Ammel alsoperformed in theatre including productions of “Eumenides” by Aeschylus, “Treason” by Harold Pinter, ““Bodas de Sangre” by Garcia Lorca and “Camino Rojo a Sabaiba” by Oscar Liera.

MARCO ANTONIO ARGUETA (“Speaking Wind”), who lives in Mexico City, studied theater atUniversidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in el Centro Universitario de Teatro. While there, he performedin a number of theatrical productions including “La Vista de la Vieja Dama,” “Los Bajos Fondos,” “LaVenganza de Tamar,” and “Coriolano.” He also took various courses and workshops at el Centro Nacionalde las Artes (INBA), and at the Colegio “Teatro del Cuerpo” Contro Cultural Helenico. APOCALYPTOmarks his first motion picture performance.



THE CITY

FERNANDO HERNANDEZ PEREZ (“High Priest”) is Tzotzil Mayan from Chiapas, Mexico andpresently resides in Toronto, Canada. He grew up speaking his language, subsequently learning Spanish,French (from living in Paris) and English. Fernando works in Toronto with Native peoples including youthand adults in healing intergenerational trauma from colonization and residential schools, a healing donefrom a base of traditional ways of indigenous healing/ceremony and contemporary approach to therapy.

APOCALYPTO is Fernando’s second motion picture. He previously had a role in “The Fountain” (2006).

MARIA ISIDRA HOIL (“Oracle Girl”) lives in the small Maya village of Campamento in QuintanaRoo, Yucatan and only speaks the Mayan language. Her experience attending her audition for

APOCALYPTO in Mexico City was an eye-opener for the seven year-old. She had never seen a car, bus,plane, eaten rice, been in a hotel or seen a floor that was not dirt before in her life. Maria has never beento a movie before and this is her first experience in acting.

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