Tampa, October 17, 2003 -- Artisan Entertainment and Marvel Studio's THE PUNISHER starring Thomas Jane, John Travolta and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos has wrapped production after an 11-week shoot on location in Tampa, Florida it was announced by Artisan Pictures President of Production Richard Saperstein and Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad. Written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, THE PUNISHER is produced by Avi Arad and producer Gale Anne Hurd. Kevin Feige is the executive producer. Ari Arad is the co-producer along with Germany’s The VIP-Group. Supporting cast members include Roy Scheider, Samantha Mathis, Laura Harring, Will Patton, Ben Foster, James Carpinello, Mark Collie, Eddie Jemison, Russell Andrews, John Pinette and Kevin Nash. The event film will be released in North America by Artisan Entertainment on April 16, 2004.
Marvel's unstoppable vigilante THE PUNISHER hits the screen in a new action thriller that introduces a comic book hero unlike any other. The Punisher brings to the screen one of Marvel's top-selling solo comic books and a marquee character whose popularity parallels that of Marvel stars X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. The Punisher walks through the world we all know, a world darkened by war, crime, cruelty, and injustice. He has no superpowers to battle the evil he sees - only his fierce intelligence, his years of combat experience and, above all, his iron determination to avenge those wronged by society's villains.
THE PUNISHER marks the directorial debut of Jonathan Hensleigh, renowned screenwriter of genre blockbusters The Rock, Armageddon and Die Hard: With a Vengeance. Thomas Jane (Dreamcatcher, *61, Deep Blue Sea) stars in the title role, squaring off against superstar John Travolta (Pulp Fiction, Face/Off) as the story's formidable villain. Co-starring are Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men, X-2: X-Men United) as a woman climbing back from a troubled past, Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive) as Travolta's vengeful wife, and Samantha Mathis (American Psycho) as The Punisher's wife.
Thomas Jane is a versatile actor with a wide range of strong performances to his credit. Jane most recently starred in the Warner Bros.' film, Dreamcatcher, alongside Morgan Freeman and can next be seen in the title role of Stander for director Bronwen Hughes. Jane starred opposite Cameron Diaz in Columbia Pictures' The Sweetest Thing. Prior to that, Jane starred as legendary baseball player Mickey Mantle in HBO's acclaimed film 61*. Additional credits for Jane include roles in Lions Gate's Under Suspicion, Warner Brothers' Deep Blue Sea, 20th Century Fox's The Thin Red Line and New Line's Boogie Nights.
A proven megastar with over forty films to his credit, John Travolta has starred in some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters and earned critics' praise for several commanding performances. He has garnered two Academy Award Best Actor nominations -- for his memorable performances as a hit man in Pulp Fiction and white suited disco hustler in Saturday Night Fever - and received multiple Golden Globe Award accolades including winner in the Best Actor, Musical/Comedy for Get Shorty. Additional credits include roles as a free spirited archangel in Michael and as an ordinary man bestowed surreal powers in Phenomenon. He can next be seen opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the upcoming film Ladder 49 for Buena Vista Pictures.
Romijn-Stamos is a talented actress who continues to turn in impressive performances in her films. She recently completed shooting Godsend opposite Robert De Niro and Greg Kinnear. Romijn-Stamos' previous credits include Femme Fatale opposite Antonio Banderas, Rollerball, opposite Chris Klein and LL Cool J, a role opposite Al Pacino in Simone, and the hugely successful films X-Men and X-2: X-Men United.
Writer and Director Jonathan Hensleigh has written some of the genre's most notable action films including The Rock, Armageddon, Jumanji and Die Hard: With a Vengence. Hensleigh also executive produced Armageddon as well as Gone in Sixty Seconds and Con Air.
Avi Arad is President and CEO of Marvel Studios. Following the record-breaking success of the box office smash hit, Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures), and the establishment of two more proven franchises in his first Marvel features - Blade (New Line) and X-Men: The Movie (Twentieth Century Fox) - Arad has numerous film projects based on Marvel super heroes in various stages of development. He has aligned Marvel with several prominent studios to produce full-feature films including: Twentieth Century Fox (X-Men 2, The Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four, Daredevil and Elektra), Sony Pictures (Spider-Man 2, Ghost Rider), Universal Studios (The Hulk, Namor), New Line (Iron Man), Dimension (Werewolf By Night, Dr. Strange), Artisan Entertainment (The Punisher) and Paramount (Deathlok). His reputation has attracted some of Hollywood's most prestigious directors (i.e. Sam Raimi, Ang Lee and Bryan Singer) and writers who are helping translate the ever-popular Marvel super heroes for the big screen.
Gale Anne Hurd recently produced the hit epic fantasy-adventure, The Hulk. Hurd has produced such box office hits as Armageddon, Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Ghost and the Darkness, The Relic and Dante's Peak, and served as an executive producer of this past summer's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Impressively, both Armageddon and Terminator 2: Judgment Day ranked number one in worldwide box office gross in their respective years of release. Her films have earned over $2.5 billion at the box office and have won multiple Academy Awards.
Locations for THE PUNISHER included downtown Tampa, The Tampa Port, Ybor City, Ft. DeSoto State Park, Honeymoon Island State Park, the Old Federal Courthouse and The University of South Florida.
Behind-the-scenes talent includes Cinematographer Conrad W. Hall (Panic Room) Production Designer Michael Hanan (Gods and Generals, Blow,) and Costume Designer Lisa Tomczeszyn.
Artisan Entertainment Inc. is the leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical, television and home entertainment product. The company coordinates its business activities through two wholly owned operating divisions, Artisan Pictures and Artisan Home Entertainment.
The Artisan Pictures division is responsible for the development, production, marketing and distribution of the company's annual slate of theatrical films. The Artisan Home Entertainment division has an extensive library of over 7,000 titles which includes its own properties, as well as a wide spectrum of films from Academy Award winning cl