Distribution Contact:
Artistic License Films
250 West 57th Street
Suite 2602
New York, NY 10107
212.265.9119

Press Contact:
Bazan Entertainment Marketing
330 West 38th Street
Suite 1005
New York, NY 10018
212.643-4664

THE CAST
(in order of appearance)


Dr. Ty Adams..........Michael Beach
The Man...................Eriq La Salle
Dr. Delazo...............Ronny Cox
Parker.......................John C. McGinley
Orderly....................Sinbad
Lupa..........................Tia Texada
Cheryl......................Tracy Pettit

THE FILMMAKERS


Director.....................................Eriq La Salle
Producers..................................Butch Robinson
...................................................DJ Caruso
...................................................Ken Aguado
...................................................Eriq La Salle
From a Story By.......................Jeremy Leven
Screenplay By...........................Jeremy Leven
.....................................................Erik Jendresen
Line Producer............................Michael Huens
Director of Photography.........George Mooradian
Production Designer................Charles Lagola
Editor..........................................Tony Takaki A.C.E.
Music By.....................................Billy Childs
Make-up.....................................Tatiana Thorpe
Hair Design...............................Dennis Rhoden
Costume Designer...................Donna Berwick
Casting Director.......................Lynn Kressel

Dr. Ty Adams (Michael Beach) is a maverick psychiatrist whose non-medicinal approach to treatment makes him a hero in some circles and an egoist in others. When a new patient admits himself to Sedah State Mental Hospital claiming to be Satan, Dr. Adams’ methods and treatments are pushed to the limit. Lucid and enigmatic, Adams’ new patient (Eriq La Salle) irreverently challenges him and all hell breaks loose. Adams does his best to meet the challenges but, through the course of their therapy, finds himself wrestling with more than just his own demons.

Shadowed by a film crew producing a documentary on his work and haunted by images of his dead wife and child, Adams spirals from a professional state to one where he could be considered as insane as many of the patients he treats. In the meantime, traditional doctor-patient boundaries are obliterated by Adams and his new patient as they delve deeper into the psyche.

An Orderly working at the hospital (Sinbad) is the only man who may be able to offer some salvation to the troubled Doctor. Adam’s however, chooses to ignore the Orderly’s pleas to talk and continues his ominous descent.
Dr. Adams eventually discovers that his world has been turned upside down and what he once thought of as reality has become a true den of iniquity.

Origins
CRAZY AS HELL is the feature film directing debut for Eriq La Salle (actor/director/producer). The film is the culmination of a long journey for both the story and the director. Based on the 1982 novel, Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S., by Jeremy Leven, La Salle and partners at his production company, Humble Journey Films, were presented with a screenplay over four years ago by producer Ken Aguado.

"I was drawn by the notion that Satan might want psychotherapy," Aguado explains of his initial interest in the novel, "and the idea that he might seek a psychotherapist who is his antithesis, who is an optimist, a man of direction, an humanist, a man who believes he can cure people and make them better."

"I instantly liked the concept," said La Salle, "the concept of a man being presented with a character who is impossible to tell if he’s crazy, or if he is who is says he is. I found a lot of potential for conflict and humor and wit. I thought it was very different."

The original work, a 700-page novel, was cost-prohibitive, but in the four years Humble Journey had the original screenplay, they adapted it to a scale where it could be produced as an independent film.

"We wanted to find an economically viable way of shooting it," explains La Salle, "and so we downsized, we came up with the concept of a documentary so that we could contain it in one primary location. So we really adapted it to our needs. It’s so different from anything that we had read at any stage.

"As a filmmaker it is extremely important to take chances, to do bold films and to make films where the first and foremost question isn’t how commercial the film will be. The first and foremost questions for us were: how intriguing is the story, how good is the acting and how interesting is the plot? We never said how can we sit down and make lots of money. We asked ourselves, how can we tell this story, how bold can we be and serve the story?"


Casting
Even though La Salle had known Michael Beach for fifteen years and had worked with Ronny Cox in his two previous films, Humble Journey initially tried a more traditional approach to casting (with a white male lead) in order to make the film more studio friendly. "However, after going down a list of actors who were interested and those who were not," explains La Salle, "I decided I needed to go with an actor who was strong and could help me with the story. Mike was the best choice for the lead and the same with Ronny. If you have a chance to have it your way there is always a cast of actors you want to work with and that’s how our casting came to fruition."

Says producer DJ Caruso, "For Eriq I think it was one of the more liberating casting experiences, because he didn’t have anyone tell him ‘you have to have this person or this person.’ Because of financing it was a little more free. This was a limited budget and there weren’t casting mandates that normally fall on you. Eriq basically chose the actors he felt best for the role."

Now flanked by Beach in the lead and a team of screen veterans like Cox and John C. McGinely (both Cox and McGinely had appeared in La Salle’s 1996 short, "Psalms from the Underground"), La Salle set off to turn the gamble of independent filmmaking into something of a more well calculated risk.


High Definition Video
The film was shot on location in Los Angeles in 19 days on 24-frame-per-second digital video. In an article for The Los Angeles Times on February 6, 2002, Eriq explains, "I liked the Steadicam…I didn’t want to overdo it, but we felt it made sense and saved time and, of course, saved money. I wanted to add fluidity to the film. Low-budget filmmaking can still have eye candy. I think you can still have things aesthetically pleasing. That is what we were going for."

The decision to shoot on digital cameras wasn’t without some trepidation from Caruso, however. "Eriq is very free and his visual sense is very strong," says Caruso. "I’m very old-fashioned and I was very skeptical about this 24-P thing. But when I looked at the dailies and finally saw the final transfer I thought this thing looks really good."

Says producer Butch Robinson, "The high definition video was pretty amazing. The speed at which we could do camera set-ups was wonderful. The set-ups took very little time, so it gave the actors extra time to rehearse, which for a producer is both good and bad."


Collaboration
La Salle described an on-set experience akin to being back in school. "During the filming, I was able to work with my best friend, Michael Beach and my partner, Butch Robinson, and we lived together. It was like going back to college days—working together every morning and working all day as hard as we could. We came home exhausted, frustrated and excited together. We went through the process together. If I ever direct an $80 million film, I want it to be like that."

Says Robinson, "As producer, it was interesting for me because the lead actor was always there. Normally the lead actor is not running lines and having conceptual story conversations with the producer, but Michael Beach and I did. Mike is a natural actor but very technical. I remember conversations with Mike that hinged on two words in a line of dialogue in a four page scene.

"Sometimes it was a wonderful experience because his character has subtle nuances, and obviously he is doing battle with the devil, so it was important that he and Eriq be on the same page. Everything that could be debated was, and sometimes at three or four o’clock in the morning we’d be going over these subtleties."


Directing
But why direct his own film? La Salle first acknowledged his desire to direct when he was fired from "Love Field" because it was thought that he looked too young to be Michelle Pfeiffer’s love interest. Says La Salle, "I didn’t like that I was at the mercy of someone who could fire me without regard for how hard I was working. Artists want artistic control and to have their vision protected. As an actor you are at the mercy of the director. I decided to enroll in some filmmaking class in New York and just went for it. I started shooting short films and learning how to respect the process. ‘ER’ became instrumental because I was working and I had time to cut my teeth on filmmaking which prepared me."

La Salle recognized that a darker, character-driven film was not the sort of fare that studios tend to take much interest in. La Salle decided to make the film independently. He explains, "As an independent filmmaker, every image in the film is what you want. It’s an old-fashioned way of filmmaking. It’s about the love, the adrenaline and the desire. Having a studio head or a test audience decide the destiny of your film is not the essence of filmmaking. The essence is a team of people fulfilling a vision and not apologizing for it. It felt good to make the film for the love of making it and to tell a story—that is the passion."


Working with an Actor/Director
For a first-time feature director, La Salle didn’t have to do much convincing to secure his cast. "I’m an actor first, so I know that my cast knows I relate to them on a basic, visceral level. I treat my actors extremely well. I don’t treat them as dummies because I hate feeling that way as an actor. So I have respect for them and all of the crew. It is evident at the forefront of every day and each activity. I think cast members are excited to work with someone who understands your craft. I truly study my craft and I really respect it, and actors know that and actors feel that."

Says Aguado, "Eriq is a passionate individual, and he really responded to the character of ‘The Man,’ and felt that he wanted to direct with him in mind to act. I said, ‘great, let’s kick and scream and try to make it happen.’ I think he delivered a unique and consistent and consistently personal vision of the screenplay, which was quite different before he got involved with it. He put his personal stamp on it. He made a great devil—a great ‘Man.’"

"Eriq is extremely detail-oriented," says actor John C. McGinley (Parker). "He has a stunning creative focus. He’s intensely loyal to this ensemble of actors that have worked from this short film through the three others that he has done. Most importantly, he brings a bottomless store of love and compassion to his sets, and as a result, his film."

Says Caruso, "I think he’s an incredibly passionate director and particularly strong with actors. He really built a foundation and a base with the actors. It’s not a surprise—Eriq is a very good actor and he loves to teach acting. He has a really good sense of what he’d like to do and lets the actors take chances, and creates an atmosphere where it’s okay for them to fail. You might try this in this take and if it doesn’t work, it’s alright, we’ll go again and just by trying it that you learned a lot about the scene."

Says actor Michael Beach (Dr. Ty Adams), "With all the projects that [Eriq and I] have done, I seem to take more risks with him in the choices I make. I’m a lot more sure of the fact that he has an idea in mind. Eriq and I have a shorthand. Some directors, if they say anything at all, feel the need to talk a lot. With us it doesn’t really take that much, a sentence or two, or sometimes he’ll say, ‘remember the time…’ and I’d go, ‘yeah, yeah, okay,’ and then I’d have a good idea of what he is talking about."

As for living with Eriq during the shoot, Beach says, "It was great because we could talk about the writing, we could talk about the meaning of certain scenes or lines, and when we it came time to shoot it, we were all in a similar place—an easy place because we had so much time to discuss things.

"Because we got along so well, the time together was invigorating. Eriq had a lot at stake on this project. I really felt the need to give it my full attention, and prepare fully. I wanted it to be good, so I needed to be on my toes. I was excited during the entire process—tired, but excited."

"Eriq knows exactly what he’s doing," says actor Ronny Cox (Dr. Delazo). "The thing about Eriq is that he really does all the things we wish for from a director in giving you the space, in talking to actors in a language we understand. His agenda is always to help you find the best way to do this, and so because of that, working with Eriq is a great joy.

"It was a fast shoot, but you know, from my point of view it always felt like we had enough time. The secret is in preparation, and Eriq did his homework. I never felt we were under the gun.

"For me, the greatest experience here was that with Eriq, Michael and I, there was almost a symbiotic relationship. The fun of acting for me was reacting, but being in the scenes with Michael, all you had to do was be present to win. He’s so grounded and so there. The relationship between Michael and I is vitally important, and having Eriq allow to us to explore that, in a way that I’m not sure a non-actor/director could have, was a great joy for me," continued Cox.

"It was a more enjoyable experience than anything I’ve ever done," says Sinbad (Orderly). "Eriq knows what he wants but also knows what you can bring [as an actor]. He allows you to find a way to interpret [the script]. He’s the first director that gave me a chance to do a role that wasn’t funny."

As for directing himself, Eriq’s philosophy is simple. "It’s always been a process, little by little, doing bigger roles. This is obviously the most challenging role and the most challenging project. I didn’t have time to second guess myself, it’s great because I had to truly rely on my instincts. Shooting on such a tight schedule and with such a low, low budget, we just had to go for it.

"As a director you just use your instincts, and I find that being an actor you don’t have any time for vanity or ego. It’s just about, ‘do I have it? Do I trust my instincts? Okay, move on.’ It’s actually very helpful.

"I work very closely with my partner Butch Robinson. As my producer, he’s always staying two or three steps ahead. He knows my tastes, so if I’m acting it’s very important because he can watch my performance. If he sees that we have what I wanted, he’ll give me a nod, and we keep shooting without having to interrupt. From that point of view that collaboration is very important. The best collaboration that I have with producers is when I’m not aware of the minutiae of everything they do so that I can focus on being the director and being the actor."


The Film’s Design
Despite all the preparations, there were some surprises in store, at least for the crew. "Eriq’s wardrobe was a surprise, every day," says Robinson. "One of the ideas behind Eriq’s character was that we imagined the devil was all things to all people. He can be a white man to white people, a black man to black people; a brown man to brown people, a woman to women. He can find some kind of way to attract anyone. One day Eriq might have on riding pants with boots, or a Harry Belafonte shirt with the big cuffs, the next day he might have on a dress.

"One day he came to the set in a dress—a beautiful flowing dress that looked very good on him. He’s got bow legs, but it looked good. He wore the dress in the scene then ran over to look at the monitor, then directed the other actors in the same get-up. It was absurd. His Grace Jones-looking costume was my favorite. He’d work closely with [costume designer] Donna Berwick so no one knew what he was going to wear on any given day. He would just show up with these outlandish outfits on, and it really helped his character."


Regarding Race in Filmmaking
Says La Salle, "I think that we have to get to the point where African-American directors are just considered directors. We have to be able to change the adjective from a ‘black’ director to a ‘good’ director or a ‘bad’ director. As much as Hollywood might not want to make it seem, African-Americans as well as other racial/ethinic groups have much wider ranges of genres that they are attracted to. This film has not one reference to race whatsoever. It happens to be populated with two African Americans in the leads, but it could have been two Asians, two Latinos, two whites, a white and a Latino—it could have been anything, because what we were going for was the universal appeal of good versus evil. So every culture, every race, every gender has that as a challenge at some point in their lives. I’m attracted to materials that are universally appealing.

"There will be times of course when my stories are more based in the African-American community, but the actual theme and structure is still universal. And when we, as artists, can get our work viewed as universal, then I think we can possibly start changing titles and stop saying ‘black’ director and start saying ‘good’ director. If we like a film, we don’t say that’s a really good ‘white’ film, we just say that’s a good film. Eventually, it will probably take a long time, we’ll start recognizing art as art.

"Traveling around the festival circuit in the last few months, we’ve been screening to standing-room-only showrooms and having Q&As after. People are just hungry, particularly professional African-Americans over 30, who don’t have films to go and see. It’s also interesting when some young hip-hop heads come up to me and say ‘yo man, this is dope,’ and they weren’t even necessarily the target audience, but it speaks to the film’s universal appeal. We just came from Atlanta and some white people in the audience were as impressed as anyone else. It’s not about making a ‘black’ film, it’s about making an interesting story. It’s about a man wrestling with his soul, and there have been stories about that since the beginning of time."


Success
"This film has had a long, strange trip," says Aguado. "So much about succeeding in Hollywood is just hanging in there and getting said ‘no’ to a hundred times. If you’re lucky, maybe you hear ‘yes’ every twenty years. I was thrilled to see the movie made with such integrity."

Success for La Salle meant not reducing the film to the lowest common denominator. "You don’t have to insult people’s intelligence in order to have universal appeal. I think the audience gets more and more sophisticated. I try to write and direct films that people say, ‘that is a really good story, really good acting. I left that film feeling something and I thought about the film afterwards.’

"There are so many Hollywood films that I go to see where an hour later I’m no longer thinking about it, I’m no longer thinking about it in the evening. I love when people say that, ‘I’ve been thinking about that image for the last three days and I’ve just figured something out.’ That is success to me.

"To me, this film was a huge gamble, but ultimately, I’m the type of person, whether this film succeeds or fails—and for me it’s already been very successful—it’s a work that I truly believe in, and I’d much prefer to fail at something I believe in."

Michael Beach
Dr. Ty Adams
Michael Beach’s credits span the worlds of film, television and theater. A graduate of the Julliard School, Beach has worked with acclaimed directors such as Tony Scott, James Cameron, Robert Altman and Mike Figgis. He currently stars in "Third Watch" as idealistic paramedic Monte "Doc" Parker.

In 1997, Beach was in the hit film "Soul Food" about a family dealing with death and survival (starring Vanessa Williams and Vivica A. Fox). Directed by George Tillman and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, the film received rave reviews from critics. In what many consider to be his breakout film role, Beach starred in "Waiting to Exhale" opposite Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston. He also starred in "A Family Thing" with Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones. Other film credits include "White Man’s Burden," "True Romance," "One False Move," "Internal Affairs," "Lean on Me" and "The Abyss."

On television, Beach had a recurring role on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning drama "ER," portraying Jeanie Boulet’s (Gloria Reuben) husband who had contracted the HIV virus and passed it on to her. Beach also starred opposite Don Cheadle in the cable movie "Rebound," directed by his best friend, Eriq La Salle ("ER"). Beach has played the nephew to Cicely Tyson’s Scrooge in "Ms. Scrooge," a cable network’s update of Charles Dickens’ classic "A Christmas Carol," and starred opposite Lela Rochon in the Disney telefilm "The Ruby Bridges Story," a true depiction of desegregation in public schools. He will appear in the film "Asunder" with Blair Underwood.

Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Beach has been acting since high school when a friend talked him into auditioning for a school play. He has performed off-Broadway, in regional theater and in Los Angeles theater in such productions as "Much Ado About Nothing"


Ronny Cox
Dr. Delazo
After winning instant acclaim for his motion picture debut in "Deliverance," Ronny Cox went on to star in the feature films "Bound for Glory," "The Onion Field," "Vision Quest," "Beverly Hills Cop," "Beverly Hills Cop 2," "Total Recall," "RoboCop," "Murder at 1600," "Taps," "Forces of Nature," "Deep Blue Sea" and "American Outlaws."
He made his Broadway debut in "Indians," then spent a year in repertory with Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare in the Park. He starred in the Off Broadway production of "The Happiness Cage," which was made into the feature film "The Mind Snatchers."
His television credits include, "The Agency," "Stargate SG-1," "Family Law," "The Outer Limits" and "The Practice." He is also an accomplished singer and songwriter and has recorded a self-titled CD.


John McGinley
Parker
Born in Greenwich Village, New York, McGinley’s love for acting began as an undergraduate at New York University. In 1984, he received a master of fine arts degree from the prestigious New York University theater school. McGinley’s first big break in theatre came when he took over the role played by actor John Turturro in the Circle-in-the-Square’s "Danny Deep Blue Sea." He went on to perform in numerous theatrical productions, including "Requiem for a Heavyweight" on Broadway as well as "Ballad of Soapy Smith" and "Talk Radio" at Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival.

McGinley has also had an impressive career in film, portraying a diverse range of characters. Most recently, he starred opposite Rob Schneider in the box-office hit "The Animal." Additional film credits include "Any Given Sunday," "The Rock," "Set It Off," "Seven," "Office Space," "Wall Street" and "Platoon." He also served as producer on a number of films including "Colin Fitz" and "Watch It."

Among McGinley’s television credits are guest-starring roles on NBC’s "Frasier" and "The Practice." Additionally, he starred in two Dean Koontz miniseries, "Intensity" and "Sole Survivor." He also starred in and produced the television movie "The Jack Bull." McGinley is actively involved in fund-raising activities for the National Downs Syndrome Association.


Sinbad
Orderly
Sinbad made his big screen debut in the 1991 gridiron comedy "Necessary Roughness." His other motion picture credits include a starring role in "Houseguest" and a cameo in "Coneheads." He was the voice of the canine Riley in "Homeward Bound II." On television, he starred in the title role of "The Cherokee Kid" on HBO; was star and executive producer of his own acclaimed FOX TV sitcom, "The Sinbad Show and Sinbad’s Summer Jam Weekend IV" airing on HBO. The latter program won the prestigious NAACP Image Award for two consecutive years. The actor has also built a loyal following with sold-out comedy shows and has published a book entitled Sinbad’s Guide to Life [Because I Know Everything].


Tia Texada
Lupa
Born in New Orleans, Texada earned a major break as a singer on the 1995 Lilith Fair tour. While her songs could be heard on the soundtrack for TV teen drama "Dawson’s Creek," Texada herself moved into acting with guest appearances on such shows as "ER" and "NYPD Blue," and a bit part in Robert Rodriguez‘s "From Dusk Till Dawn." Texada went on to garner roles in the Jamie Foxx crime comedy "Bait" and Neil LaBute‘s critically acclaimed "Nurse Betty." Texada used both her music and acting talents as one of Mariah Carey‘s friends and band mates in "Glitter." More recently Texada experienced festival success with Jill Sprecher‘s ensemble film "13 Conversations About One Thing."


Tracy Pettit
Cheryl
Tracy Pettit is making her feature film debut. She has held lead roles in the theater productions of "My Children, My Africa," "Hurly Burly," "Measure for Measure," "Mademoiselle Columbe," "Road," "Freudian Slips," and "The Seagull."
Crazy As Hell