MEMORANDA: Cast & Crew | Directors' Statement | On the Road with Jacob & Josh | Synopsis

BIOGRAPHIES

Production
Jacob Kornbluth, Director/Writer/Producer
Josh Kornbluth, Director/Writer/Producer/Actor
Brian Benson, Producer
David R. Fuchs, Executive Producer
Michael Peyser, Co-Executive Producer
Don Mathew Smith, Director of Photography

Principal Cast
Warren Keith - Bob Shelby
Helen Shumaker - Marlina D'Amore
Amy Resnick - Mindy
Brian Thorstenson - Clifford
June A. Lomena - DaVonne
Sarah Overman - Julie Faustino

Production

Jacob Kornbluth (Director/Writer/Producer) was born in New York City on the last day of 1972 and spent his early years growing up in Washington Heights, a low-income, mostly Puerto Rican neighborhood at the top of Manhattan. After that, he was forcibly and unwillingly moved to a small farm town in Michigan where he went to high school and eventually attended Michigan State University. By the time he was 18, both of his parents had passed away and he was taking some "time off" from college. His attempt to work at a factory and support his younger brother and sister didn't work out, however, and he went back to Michigan State and ended up getting his degree in interpersonal communications.

Jacob has played harmonica and guitar in a punk /blues band, collaborated on and directed three produced plays, and has written several screenplays that he hopes to make after "Haiku Tunnel." He put himself through his own "film school" by working as everything from a production assistant to a producer on other people’s films. When he finally realized he knew enough to tell stories in film, he told Josh about it and they decided to make "Haiku Tunnel." This is his first feature film.

Josh Kornbluth (Director/Writer/Producer/Actor) was born in Roslyn, N.Y., and raised in New York City. After working for several years as a journalist in Chicago and Boston, he created and hosted a radio variety show called "The Urban Happiness Radio Hour." From Urban Happiness he moved on to stage performing, joining a political comedy revue in Boston called The Gramm-Rudman Act. A brief and happy visit to San Francisco soon led to a full-fledged move to that city, where he performed his first monologue, "Josh Kornbluth's Daily World," in 1989. His second show, "Haiku Tunnel," debuted in 1990, and his third, "The Moisture Seekers," in 1991. In 1992 he made his Off-Broadway debut -- at the Second Stage Theater and the Actors' Playhouse -- with "Red Diaper Baby" (a piece combining elements of "Daily World" and "The Moisture Seekers," along with new material), and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in the Solo Performance category. ("Red Diaper Baby" was also selected for inclusion in "Best American Plays of 1992.") In 1993-'94, he premiered "The Mathematics of Change" in San Francisco; at the same time, the back of his head was making its feature-film debut in Paramount's "Searching for Bobby Fischer." Josh went on to perform "Math" at P.S. 122 in New York, participate in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and play the small but pivotal role of "Cigarette Pack Man" in Francis Ford Coppola's film "Jack." His latest monologue, "Ben Franklin: Unplugged," opened in San Francisco in 1998 and in New York in January of '99. Currently, he is beginning work on a new stage piece and is looking forward to collaborating with his brother Jacob on another film. Also, look for him in the upcoming feature film "Teknolust," written and directed by Lynn Hershman and starring Tilda Swinton. Three of Josh's stage pieces have been collected in a book titled "Red Diaper Baby" (Mercury House). His website is at www.joshkornbluth.com.

Brian Benson (Producer) grew up in a small mountain town in Southern California and with nothing better to do began making super-8 films when he was 10 years old. At age 18, he convinced the entire town to participate in a feature-length film called "A Local Tale" which he directed and produced and ultimately sold to a small distributor. After studying film at UCLA and San Francisco State University, he directed several short films (which were screed at various film festivals) and a few corporate and travel videos (one of which won a Telly Award). Over the last 5 years Brian has worked as a producer, production manager and assistant director on 16 (mostly independent) feature films including "Groove," "The Watcher," "Bartleby" and "Playing Mona Lisa."

David R. Fuchs (Executive Producer) studied Computer Science at Princeton and Stanford. He was the first employee at Silicon Valley startup Frame Technology Corporation. Frame went public and was later bought by Adobe, where David held the title of Principal Scientist. From there, he joined Java tool developer Random Noise, where he served as VP of Engineering until its sale to Vignette Corporation. Now David makes angel and early stage VC investments (notably BeVocal, Tsunami Optics, Holl Technologies, and OnDemand Inc.). David has been a fan of Josh's since 1989, mostly at The Marsh Theater in San Francisco, where David is on the board of directors. David has no business investing in film.

Michael Peyser (Co-Executive Producer) is an accomplished producer of both major studio movies and cutting-edge independent films. He met Josh Kornbluth ten years ago and heard him perform so hilariously that he has been stuck with him in the "Haiku Tunnel" ever since. "I’m very proud to have been any help to Josh and Jake as they led us to the very funny light at the end of the tunnel," Peyser said recently. He recently produced a British independent film entitled "Honest," written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais ("The Commitments") and directed by first-time feature director Dave Stewart (musical genius of The Eurythmics). He was partnered with Jan de Bont in a production entity at Fox that produced the "Speed" sequel as well as the innovative independent feature "SLC Punk!" which debuted at Sundance ’99.

Don Matthew Smith (Director of Photography) was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Don Matthew spent his formative years in the charming New England town of Milford, where his first encounter with the physics of light came by accident. One day, as he was cleaning paint brushes in a darkened garage, light falling through a crack projected an image onto the wall, turning the room into a giant camera obscura. By the age of twelve he was working as a freelance photographer for local newspapers, shooting social events and conflagrations. He received his undergraduate education at the Art Institute of Chicago. While at the Institute he developed an interest in film and the archaic photographic techniques of the 19th century. Mr. Smith pursued these and other interests to the University of Arizona at Tucson. There he studied master prints and negatives in the collection of the Center for Creative Photography. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1984 with a master's degree in photography.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Warren Keith (Bob Shelby) has acted in theaters around the country, most recently in the San Francisco Bay Area. His film credits include "The Manhattan Project," "Hiding Out," "Raising Arizona," "Fargo," and "The Big Lebowski." He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Melissa, and son, Owen.

Helen Shumaker (Marlina D’Amore) is an Emmy Award-winning actress and performance artist. On Off-Broadway she has performed the one-woman show "Mona Rogers in Person" by Philip-Dimitri Galas, as well as appeared in Karen Finley's "Lamb of God Hotel" and several plays by Ethyl Eichelberger. On film, she has appeared in Martin Higgins' "Palooka," Jeff Kahn’s "Revolution," and Francis Ford Coppola’s "Jack" (where she met Josh Kornbluth). She holds and MFA in Choreography and lives in San Francisco.

Amy Resnick (Mindy) is a San Francisco native who has worked extensively in theater in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, originating roles such as Leslie in Wendy MacCleod’s "House of Yes," Lily in Clair Chafeo’s "We have a Baby," and Marty in Aaron Sorkin’s "Hidden in this Picture." A graduate of UCLA and recipient of four Drama-Logue Awards for Acting, Ms. Resnick has appeared in both television and film, including "Law & Order," "Picket Fences," "Back to the Streets of San Francisco," and "Paper Dolls." She is also a director, most recently directing Kenneth Lonergan’s "This Is Our Youth" and Richard Dresser’s "Something in the Air."

Brian Thorstenson (Clifford) is a playwright, poet, and actor who lives in San Francisco. His solo play Heading South was nominated for a Bay Area Critics Circle Award. His play Summerland won the 2000 Highsmith Playwriting Award and recently opened in New York City at Wing Theatre Co. His poetry has appeared in Transfer and Six Thousand Five Hundred. As an actor he has worked at many Bay Area theaters, as well as being a founding member of the Z Collective. "Haiku Tunnel" is his feature film debut. Brian has a B.A. in Theater from Willamette University and is completing his MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University.

June A. Lomena (DaVonne) recently relocated to Los Angeles from the Bay Area, where she worked with the Berkeley Repertory Theater ("Civil Sex," "Macbeth"), Thick Description ("Venus," "The America Play"), the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival ("A Midsummer Night's Dream," "As You Like It"), Edris Cooper and Black Artists' Cultural Collective Experience ("Late Bus to Mecca"), the African American Shakespeare Company ("The Taming of the Shrew," directed by Kathryn Seabron), and A.C.T. ("Insurrection: Holding History"). Ms. Lomena's film and television credits include "Sweet November," "Woman on Top," American Storytellers' "King of the Bingo Game" for PBS, and "Nash Bridges."

Sarah Overman (Julie Faustino) is a Pacific Northwest native residing in San Francisco, where she has launched her professional acting career on the stages of A.C.T., the Magic Theater, the California Shakespeare Festival, and Eureka Theater. She received her Master's Degree in Acting from the training program at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in 1998. "Haiku Tunnel" is her feature film debut.