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From “Old School” director Todd Phillips comes a comedy about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong.

Two days before his wedding, Doug (JUSTIN BARTHA) drives to Las Vegas with his best buddies Phil and Stu (BRADLEY COOPER and ED HELMS) and his future brother-in-law Alan (ZACH GALIFIANAKIS), for a blow-out bachelor party they vow they’ll never forget.

But when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning with pounding headaches, they can’t remember a thing. Their luxury hotel suite is beyond trashed and the groom is nowhere to be found.

With no clue about what happened and little time to spare, the trio must attempt to retrace their bad decisions from the night before in order to figure out where things went wrong in the hopes of finding Doug and getting him back to LA in time for his wedding.

But the more they begin to uncover, the more they realize just how much trouble they’re really in.

Warner Bros Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Green Hat Films Production of a Todd Phillips Movie: “The Hangover,” starring Bradley Cooper (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), Ed Helms (“The Office”), Zach Galifianakis (“What Happens in Vegas”), Heather Graham (“Baby on Board”), Justin Bartha (the “National Treasure” films) and Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”).

The film is directed by Todd Phillips (“Old School”) from a screenplay by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (“Four Christmases”). Todd Phillips and Dan Goldberg (“Old School”) produce, with Thomas Tull (“Watchmen”), Jon Jashni (“Observe and Report”), William Fay (“Observe and Report”), Scott Budnick (“School for Scoundrels”), Chris Bender (“American Pie,” TV’s “Kyle XY”) and JC. Spink (“Kyle XY”) serving as executive producers.

The creative team includes director of photography Lawrence Sher (“Dan in Real Life”), production designer Bill Brzeski (“The Bucket List”), and editor Debra Neil-Fisher (“Baby Mama”). Music is by Christophe Beck (“What Happens in Vegas”). Soundtrack album is available on New Line Records. “The Hangover”

To a night the four of us will never forget.

The bachelor party is a time-honored tradition. Every weekend across the country, countless men on the brink of their wedding dates are taken out by a select few of their best buddies for a symbolic last hurrah. “Just a few friends getting together,” says director Todd Phillips casually, as if to downplay the possibility that anything crazy, dangerous or illegal could ever erupt from such an innocent premise.

“It’s such a typical thing to do, they don’t even want to call it a bachelor party because they see it more as a guys’ night out,” he adds. “A nice dinner, some laughs, and a toast to the new groom.” You know, “Harmless.” Granted, this night out is awfully close to the day of Doug’s actual ceremony…

And yes, his future father-in-law has entrusted him with his prized Mercedes…

And sure, Stu has to lie to his girlfriend about where they’re going…

And yes, they’re taking along Doug’s new brother-in-law Alan, who’s socially awkward and somewhat of a loose cannon…

But other than that, what do they have to worry about?

When the foursome checks in to Caesars Palace they’re feeling good and relaxed. Stepping out onto Caesars’ rooftop to start their evening with a toast amidst the wraparound glow of Vegas lights under the desert sky, they raise their glasses to Doug’s upcoming new life and “to a night the four of us will never forget.”

And that’s the last thing any of them can remember.

What Happened?

The next thing that Phil, Stu and Alan know it’s morning and they’re sprawled out with their faces on the marble floor. Sunshine streams in through the windows, revealing a palatial suite that is totally trashed.

But that’s not so unusual, as bachelor parties go, Phillips grants. “Getting drunk and waking up next to a pile of empty bottles is pretty much par for the course.

For a movie about a hangover to end all hangovers, we had to take things a gigantic step beyond. We thought, ‘What would be the craziest night you could possibly have and still live to talk about it.’”

“How about, there’s a baby in their room, that they’ve never seen before, and a tiger in the bathroom?,” adds producer Dan Goldberg, who marks his fourth feature collaboration with Phillips on “The Hangover,” following “Road Trip,” “Old School” and “School for Scoundrels.”

Party dolls bob atop the Jacuzzi bubbles, a chair still smolders from what appears to have been a fire and an ottoman dangles from the ceiling.

Oh, and one more little thing… the groom is missing.

As the three revelers struggle to regain consciousness, each reacts to the scene in his own way. Leader-of-the-pack Phil surveys the damage with a confident but blurry eye, assumes they had a good time and that Doug will turn up soon. Stu, the worrier, and the one whose credit card is on file with the front desk, launches into a panic that escalates with each new offense he uncovers in the wreckage of their $4,000-a-night suite. And Alan kind of takes it all in with a crazy sense of wonder – that is, once he gets over the fact that he was just standing, half naked, within pouncing distance of a real, live, full-grown tiger.

Bradley Cooper stars as Phil, “the guy with the plan, the fast-talker,” says Goldberg. The only one of the group who has experienced marriage and fatherhood, Phil feels a bit restricted by his life as a family man and high school English teacher and was looking forward to this trip as a rare opportunity to cut loose with his old college gang. He’s not about to let this little setback ruin his weekend.

“Phil thinks, ‘Let’s just get some aspirin and take this one step at a time. No need to panic,’” says Cooper. “No matter how uncontrollable the situation becomes, he keeps thinking he can manage it. And he keeps trying, right up to the point where it absolutely gets away from him.”

“Bradley is very funny, both on and off the screen, but I think of him more as a leading man, and in this story he takes on the role of the de facto leader. He’s the one who emerges from this morning-after mess and tries to get the other two to focus so they can figure out what happened,” says Phillips.

Meanwhile, Stu, the sweet but tightly wound dentist with the crushing sense of responsibility and a girlfriend back home who keeps him on a short leash, is far from calm. The only thing that finally takes his mind off the fear of his precious Melissa finding the credit card receipts for this catastrophe is his discovery that, somehow, he has managed to lose a tooth. A first bicuspid, to be exact – right up front, where there is now a gaping bloody space that he cannot begin to explain.

“I was flattered the filmmakers liked me for the part, but at the same time slightly offended, because Stu is kind of a dork, an anal-retentive nervous Nellie character,” jokes Ed Helms, who stars as Stu, and who commuted to the Las Vegas set from LA. to accommodate his shooting schedule for “The Office.” “If you break them down to archetypes, Phil would be the cool guy, Alan would be the weirdo and Stu would be the nerd. I have to wonder what it is about me that made them think of me for that particular role…”

Perhaps it’s because, Phillips attests, “Ed kills as a hen-pecked, pent-up guy who is long overdue for a complete meltdown.”

Of the three, Alan, played by Zach Galifianakis, is the one whose temperament is probably best suited to their current situation, but that’s not to say he has any answers either. As Stu carries on about his lost tooth and presumably ruined life, and Phil tries to channel their attention with talk of breakfast and a game plan, Alan, draped in a sheet-sarong, casually picks through the trash with childlike curiosity and a certain amount of pride, between bites of a pizza he peeled off a sofa cushion.

As if things could get any worse, Alan’s ambling recon soon uncovers an apparently happy, healthy and completely unidentifiable baby, stashed in a corner.

A fan of Galifianakis’ inventive stand-up comedy, Phillips knew he would shine in a part crafted to his unique style and creativity, and so cast him as Alan, “a guy with two left feet who always makes the wrong decision.”

“Alan is a little bit off. He has no friends and no idea that people think he’s weird, because he believes everything he does and says is completely cool and appropriate,” explains Galifianakis, who goes on to describe his character as “someone who probably took too many barbiturates at too many raves. The good thing about this role is that it doesn’t have to make a lot of sense. Generally, an actor is aware of things like motive and consistency for his character, but Alan functions on his own perverse logic.”

“Stuff will come out of his mouth and you don’t know where it’s coming from,” Goldberg affirms. “It can be completely non-referential, but hilarious. Alan is a true outsider but he clearly wants to be friends with these guys, and he does manage to endear himself in his own strange way through this disaster they all go through together.”

What these three really need, in more ways than one, is Doug. Starring as the mysteriously missing husband-to-be, Justin Bartha says, “Doug is the voice of reason in the group. I wanted to make him the guy who tied the other personalities together. He’s the common denominator and when he’s lost, all hell breaks loose.”

Though necessarily absent from a portion of the proceedings, “Doug is vital to the story. He’s the glue that holds these guys together and when he goes missing they suddenly seem less like friends and more like a three-way odd couple,” observes Jon Lucas, who, with partner Scott Moore, wrote “The Hangover” screenplay. “He becomes the Holy Grail – that one thing the heroes desperately need to find and that we desperately want them to find.”

“Luckily,” says Moore, “they care enough about him that they’re willing to endure everything that comes next, and they stick together to find him no matter how much they might piss each other off.”

Phillips concurs. “The best humor comes from the heart. You need to believe that these guys are really concerned about each other and have a genuine connection, and that elevates things beyond just the telling of jokes. It’s about exploring the natural humor and awkwardness of male friendships and the kind of things that bond them.

“Comedy is 70% casting,” he continues. “Certainly, you need a great story, but beyond that it’s about pacing, putting great comic actors into a situation and letting them respond to it and to each other. The script was a blueprint for Bradley, Ed and Zach, and they took it and ran with it. The same was true for each of the actors we cast in supporting roles. When you populate a film with genuinely funny people it helps to keep that momentum going.”

We Did What?

OK, then; they’re on their own and Doug needs them. What can Phil, Stu and Alan do to piece together the events of a night they cannot remember? It’s time to empty their pockets and search for clues: receipts, ATM slips, valet tickets, those little plastic bracelets you get at the hospital…

The film’s forward-in-reverse structure especially appealed to Phillips as a storyteller. “Starting from that morning, these three have to put their heads together and pursue one potential lead after another that will take them back through every twist and turn and screw-up of the night before and, hopefully, get them to the place where they last saw Doug. And the audience gets to take that ride along with them. You pick up the pieces when they do. In some ways it’s like a classic detective story,” the director offers.

Except, as Goldberg points out, “These detectives have pounding headaches.”

“The beginning of the story lures you in one direction and then completely stops and swings another way,” says Cooper.

“You never know what’s coming,” adds Helms. “Everything is out of left field, every single scene is, like, whoa, where did that come from? But it all fits together. It’s not just a lot of disconnected set pieces; every big action or crazy scene moves the story forward and cranks it into overdrive until it all gets justified at the end.” Also, he notes, “It gives Zach Galifianakis the opportunity to appear in a jock strap.”

Galifianakis himself is still questioning whether or not that’s a good thing.

“When you’re in a movie and you’re wearing a jock, you know you’ve made it,” he responds. “I told Todd, ‘We’ve seen chubby guys in tightie-whities on screen before; what about taking it to the next level?’ Of course, he agreed. I can’t believe I mentioned it. So now I’m in a jockstrap and my poor mother…. Sorry, Mom.”

The trail of clues our hungover heroes unearth will lead them through some of the city’s lesser-known “hot” spots, namely: the ER, the Metro Police Station and a wedding chapel somewhere off-off-off The Strip. Clearly, these were not the places the Las Vegas tourism board had in mind when they introduced the slogan “What happens in Vegas…”

Among the principal players in this unraveling tour of shame is Heather Graham, starring as Jade. Graham describes her character as “a stripper/escort with a sweet disposition and a relaxed point of view on true love.” Jade might also be, as of approximately 4 hours ago, the wife of a certain still-dazed dentist who is missing a front tooth.

“She’s quirky and kind of cool, a hippie stripper. She has no pretense,” says Graham, who also happily notes that the role gave her the opportunity to flaunt her pole-dancing prowess, newly acquired in an LA.-area fitness class. She also offers an interesting conversation she had with a Las Vegas cab driver during production. “He asked me about the movie and I told him it’s about these three guys who get wasted and can’t remember what they did the night before. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve had many nights like that.’ So I guess a lot of people are going to relate.”

Unfortunately, not everyone the guys run into are as nice as Jade.

Rob Riggle of “The Daily Show” appears as Officer Franklin, not exactly one of Las Vegas’ finest, but unnaturally talented with a stun gun. Ken Jeong (“Pineapple Express”) is the lethal and completely unhinged Mr Chow, intent on seeking revenge for offenses that neither Phil, Stu, nor Alan have the vaguest recollection of having committed. Finally, comedy club headliner Mike Epps (“Soul Man”) involves the three in a sub-plot of mistaken identity that could cost the guys $80,000 they don’t have.

But their most dramatic encounter, by far, is with Mike Tyson.

Appearing as himself in the movie, Tyson takes a playful jab at his formidable badass image, performs a little “air drum” number and reminds everyone that, retired or not, he has absolutely, positively still got it.

Stand-up comedy veteran Helms credits the fighter for one of the funniest lines uttered during production. “Todd was giving Tyson direction on how to punch Zach in a scene, and he was saying stuff like, ‘Mike, we need you to do it a little more like this and move your hand over a bit.’ And Tyson says, ‘I can’t believe the captain of the high school debate team is teaching me how to throw a punch!’ It broke up everyone on the set. Who knew the guy was funny? I’ve been doing comedy for 10 years; Mike Tyson walks in and he’s just like, ‘Check it – I’m funnier than you.’”

All in all, Goldberg sums up, “There’s a lot of physical comedy. We have big stunts, car crashes, fights, property damage, crazy naked guys, tigers, guys getting punched – it was a tough job.”

Production secured renowned stunt co-ordinator Darren Prescott to handle the rough stuff, but even he had to draw the line somewhere. At one point, Cooper recalls with a laugh, “We had this tasering scene. Now, Todd likes to do things as realistically as possible so it didn’t seem completely out of the realm when we heard he wanted us to really get shocked. He was saying, ‘C’mon, guys, it’s just fifty thousand volts,’ and it actually took me a minute to realize he was probably kidding.”

Of course, while all of this is going on, Phil, Stu and Alan are still desperately looking for Doug. Remember Doug? He’s the reason they’re all in this mess. “It’s almost like a comedic version of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’” Phillips riffs. “With Doug as the missing soldier these guys go through hell to rescue.”

Meanwhile, being held at bay on the other end of a mercifully long-distance cell connection is Stu’s domineering girlfriend Melissa, played by Rachael Harris (“Notes from the Underbelly”), none too pleased at having lost control of her man for the first time in their entire relationship. Likewise, Doug’s reasonable but increasingly frantic fiancée Tracy, played by Sasha Barrese, is fully engulfed in wedding prep back in LA. and also holding her breath at the other end of a phone. She hasn’t heard from her groom-to-be in 48 hours. Every time she calls, she gets voicemail or a hurried response from Phil assuring her that everything is okay.

Tracy’s father Sid, played by Jeffrey Tambor, is the only one who remains remarkably calm, considering that he is not only the father of the bride but the owner of a classic Mercedes he loaned to his future – and ostensibly missing – son-in-law. Says Tambor, “Sid is convinced that Doug is just on a heater, and if he knows one thing it’s that you never walk away from the table when you’re hot.” If only it were that simple.

Las Vegas in the Light of Day: For Some, a Rare Perspective

“The Hangover” was filmed at numerous practical locations in and around Las Vegas and in Southern California. Says Phillips, “For me, the key to doing a movie like this is to make it as real as possible. The humor is in the juxtaposition of every outrageous action against the very normal settings we have all experienced. If we’re going to Vegas, let’s shoot in the lobby and elevators and hallways of Caesars Palace.”

Production did exactly that, capturing a significant amount of footage at the famed hotel, an enduring and evolving Las Vegas landmark since the 1960s. Caesars shots include the rooftop toast and the poolside morning-after breakfast scene.

At the north end of The Strip, another Vegas icon, The Riviera, provided casino interiors, complete with thousands of fake chips the prop department created to outfit the fifteen surrounding blackjack tables visible in a key gambling sequence.

Cast and crew soon learned that their presence made little difference to casino patrons, many of whom appear on screen as extras. Recalls Bradley Cooper, “No one seemed to care we were shooting a movie. Everyone was focused on their own playing and partying. We had to work around the screams of people at the roulette table. One guy was up $5,000 and then lost it all. Even our crew was cheering him on.”

The downside to filming in Sin City for more than a month was that, as Phillips acknowledges, “It’s hard to wind down and get to sleep after work.” While sampling from the buffet of blackjack, craps, roulette, Baccarat, slots and Pai Gow as many of his compatriots did during their downtime, Justin Bartha shared Phillips’ interest in Texas Hold’Em, and says, “For our filming kick-off party, Todd hosted a poker tournament for the cast and crew. He hustled all of us.”

“After five weeks, you realize Vegas is a place where people go to make terrible decisions,” says Ed Helms, who goes on with mock delight: “Here’s a bad decision. Oh, here’s another one. And hey, here’s something you can do that could ruin your entire life! The city is set up brilliantly for that and our movie is its ultimate expression.”

Additional Nevada locations included the Fremont Street area in downtown Las Vegas, and a gas station and dry lake bed in nearby city Jean, where sandy wind gusts commonly reach 50mph, as they did on the days of shooting.

The fictitious Best Little Wedding Chapel was on Las Vegas Boulevard several blocks south of The Strip. Though appearing to have been part of the neighborhood for years, it was actually built on an empty lot to allow maximum control of the space around it for exterior action shots.

Returning to the Los Angeles area, the production used the old Rampart detectives’ headquarters at Union and Third Streets to stand in for the Las Vegas Metro Police Station, relying upon its strict blue and gray palette and serious air to contrast with the distinctly crazier atmosphere that Phil, Stu and Alan have been experiencing. But the most striking contrast was between the Las Vegas chaos and the country club wedding that awaits Doug and his would-be groomsmen back home.

“We wanted to set up polar opposites. In Vegas, it’s a visual nightmare: loud, bright, grating, without a bit of softness. Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone in LA. where Tracy is preparing for the ceremony, we have beauty and serenity, soft music, attractively dressed people and a garden with roses and hydrangeas,” says production designer Bill Brzeski.

Film fans may recognize the wedding reception entertainers as irreverent singer Dan Finnerty and his Dan Band, previously featured in Phillips’ “Old School” and “Starsky & Hutch.”

Brzeski and his team created one set from scratch on Stage 15 at Warner Bros Studios, the lavish – and then lavishly trashed – hotel suite. Working from a template of existing rooms at Caesars Palace and comparable hotels, Brzeski designed a look “rich in red and brown tones, with wood paneling, marble and beautiful fabrics, to reflect the sensual and luxurious side of Vegas, as experienced by a certain echelon of high-rollers.”

Addressing the decision to construct the space, the designer asserts, “We didn’t want to wreck a real hotel suite,” and adds that there was another special consideration: “You can’t get a tiger into a real hotel room.”

Well, maybe you can, but you shouldn’t.

Four tigers were trained for different and specific tasks on screen, while the film’s cast and crew were similarly trained to a strict protocol about sharing space with them. “Tame or not, working with wild animals is serious business and tigers, in particular, don’t like surprises. The facility was fully locked down whenever they were present and non-vital personnel were kept off the set,” says Brzeski. Those remaining were cautioned to avoid sudden movements or hiding themselves from view.

For certain actions, it was necessary to use a life-size animatronic tiger provided by the Jim Henson Creature Shop, requiring two puppeteers to operate. Thirty tiny intricate servo motors controlled the model’s realistic facial movements, while a concoction made from K-Y Jelly served as saliva on its impressive fangs. Brzeski also learned a bit of big cat trivia: tigers prefer to walk on firm surfaces.

Therefore, in scenes that called for them to be inside the back seat of the guys’ Mercedes, seat cushions were removed and replaced with hard, solid material.

“Hey, we wanted the tigers to be as comfortable as possible,” he jokes.

The car itself was a work of art: a vintage 1969 soft-top convertible Mercedes Benz, graciously lent to Doug by his future father-in-law, Sid, for this trip. A total of five identical models were collected and used by the production to illustrate the various ways in which the car gets wrecked and battered. Says Brzeski, “We couldn’t take just one car and put it through the process because we were shooting out of sequence. We even had to cut one in half and put it on a trailer. It was one of the movie’s running jokes: every time you let your kid borrow the car, something is going to happen.”

Of course, the reason Sid offered the car was in keeping with his philosophy that Doug should have a good time in style before the wedding – a point of view not shared by the actor playing Sid. “I’m the exact opposite of this guy. He says you’ve got to sow your wild oats, stir up some trouble before your wedding. That’s him. Me, I say take a hot bath, have some yogurt, maybe a Xanax and go to bed because it’s going to be a big day. That would be better,” Jeffrey Tambor suggests.

Todd Phillips acknowledges that they pushed the envelope on “The Hangover” for the sake of comedy, but remains convinced that there are real bachelor party stories out there that could make any one of these elements pale by comparison. With that in mind, he offers this sage advice to potential grooms or brides embarking on their own boys’ or girls’ night out. “Use the buddy system.

Everyone in the party is responsible for one other person. Use name tags if you have to.”

ABOUT THE CAST

BRADLEY COOPER (Phil) is one of Hollywood’s busiest actors. He was most recently seen in the comedy “Yes Man,” in which he co-starred with Jim Carrey under the direction of Peyton Reed, and in the ensemble romantic comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You.”

Following “The Hangover,” he stars in several very different films due out in 2009: “All About Steve,” a quirky tale in which Cooper plays the title role as the object of Sandra Bullock’s attention; the horror thriller “Case 39,” opposite Renée Zellweger; and the biopic “The Prince of Providence,” in which he stars with Robin Williams and Oliver Platt. Cooper also appears in the anthology film “New York, I Love You,” in a segment directed by Allen Hughes. The American version of “Paris, je t’aime,” the film debuted at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival and is set for a 2009 release.

Cooper’s earlier feature film credits include the romantic comedy “Failure to Launch,” starring Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker and Zooey Deschanel; David Dobkin’s comedy smash “Wedding Crashers,” starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson; and the indie comedy “Wet Hot American Summer,” in which he made his feature film debut.

In addition to his film work, Cooper is well known to television audiences for his work on several hit series. He most recently had a recurring role on the critically acclaimed “Nip/Tuck,” and also played the lead role on the comedy series “Kitchen Confidential,” based on the trials and tribulations of renowned chef and author Anthony Bourdain. His other notable credits include regular or recurring roles on “Alias,” starring Jennifer Garner; “Jack & Bobby,” with Christine Lahti; “Touching Evil,” for the Hughes brothers; and “The $treet.” He was also seen in guest spots on such shows as “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” and “Sex and the City.”

In 2006, Cooper made his Broadway debut in the play “Three Days of Rain,” in which he starred with Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd under the direction of Joe Montello. More recently, he joined the cast of the Theresa Rebeck play “The Understudy,” which premiered to sold-out audiences at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and has been invited to move to Broadway in 2009.

Born in Philadelphia, Cooper graduated with honors from the English program at Georgetown University before moving to New York City to obtain his Masters in the Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at the New School University.

ED HELMS (Stu) currently stars in the scene-stealing role of Andy Bernard, Dunder Mifflin’s irrepressible salesman-with-anger-management-issues, on NBC’s hit comedy “The Office.”

On the big screen, he most recently appeared with Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Robin Williams in “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” for director Shawn Levy. Helms will next star in the comedy “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard,” scheduled for an August 2009 release.

Helms’ previous film credits include “Semi-Pro,” “Knocked Up,” “Meet Dave,” “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” “Walk Hard” and “Evan Almighty.” Also a talented writer, he recently sold a comedy pitch with writing partner Jacob Fleischer to Warner Bros through Steve Carell’s Carousel Productions, about Civil War re-enactors.

In addition to appearances on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” and FOX’s “Arrested Development,” Helms may also be familiar to television audiences from his four-year stint as a Senior Correspondent on the Emmy Award-winning “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” for which he also wrote.

Helms was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, and headed to New York City to pursue comedy shortly after attending Oberlin College in Ohio. He now resides in Los Angeles and plays a mean banjo.

ZACH GALIFIANAKIS (Alan) moved to New York City after failing his last college course by one point at North Carolina State University. He got his start performing his brand of humor in the back of a hamburger joint in Times Square, graduating to stand-up in clubs and coffeehouses in the city. While working as a busboy, he got his first acting job on the NBC sitcom “Boston Common.” In the eclectic career that followed, he has gone on to perform on a number of late night talk shows, including “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Among his recent film credits are the comedy “What Happens in Vegas,” starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, and Sean Penn’s critically acclaimed “Into the Wild.” He recently wrapped production on the independent features “Little Fish, Strange Pond,” “G-Force,” “Rogue’s Gallery” and “Youth in Revolt,” all scheduled for a 2009 release. Also set to debut this year is the HBO comedy “Bored to Death,” with Jason Schwartzman and Ted Danson.

Galifianakis’ additional film credits include roles in “Visioneers,” “Heartbreakers,” “Bubble Boy,” “Below,” “Corky Romano,” “Out Cold,” and the documentary “The Comedians of Comedy.”

In 2008, he was the writer and co-creator of the Comedy Central pilot “Speed Freaks.” His television work includes a series regular role on “Tru Calling”; a host spot on his own critically acclaimed VH-1 talk show “Late World with Zach”; and numerous appearances on such shows as “The Sarah Silverman Program”; as well as a recurring role on “Reno 911!” He also wrote for, and starred in, Comedy Central’s “Dog Bites Man.”

While not filming, Galifianakis continues to tour the country performing stand-up comedy in rock clubs, coffeehouses and universities.

HEATHER GRAHAM (Jade) discovered her passion for acting at an early age and caught the attention of filmmakers with her breakout role in Gus Van Sant’s “Drugstore Cowboy,” for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She went on to unforgettable roles in the 1997 classic “Boogie Nights,” for which she received the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and 1999’s “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” Also in 1999, Graham was named ShoWest Female Star of Tomorrow.

More recently, she starred with a stellar ensemble in Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby,” about the assassination of Robert F Kennedy, which premiered at the 2006 AFI Film Festival. That same year, she starred in several independent films: “Gray Matters,” with Bridget Moynahan; the drama “Broken,” opposite Jeremy Sisto; the comedy “The OH in Ohio,” with Paul Rudd and Parker Posey; and “Adrift in Manhattan,” opposite Victor Rasuk for director Alfredo De Villa.

Throughout her career, Graham has worked with some of the industry’s most respected actors and directors. Her performances include that of a doe-eyed girl in “Swingers,” with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn; an ambitious young actress in Frank Oz’s “Bowfinger,” with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy; and the tragic Mary Kelly in Albert and Allen Hughes’ “From Hell,” opposite Johnny Depp, as well as roles in “The Guru,” with Marisa Tomei; “Hope Springs,” opposite Colin Firth; “Committed,” with Luke Wilson; Ed Burns’ ensemble “Sidewalks of New York”; James Toback’s “Two Girls and a Guy,” with Robert Downey Jr.; “Lost in Space,” with Gary Oldman and William Hurt; and “Six Degrees of Separation,” starring Will Smith.

Her upcoming film projects include “Baby on Board,” opposite Jerry O’Connell and John Corbett, and “Boogie Woogie,” alongside Stellan Skarsgard and Gillian Anderson, for director Duncan Ward.

Graham executive produced and starred in the feature film “Cake,” a romantic comedy also starring Sandra Oh and Cheryl Hines. In 2004-2005, she received rave reviews for her guest-starring stint on the critically acclaimed series “Scrubs.”

On stage, Graham made her theatrical debut off-Broadway in Playwrights Horizons’ “Recent Tragic Events.”

JUSTIN BARTHA (Doug) has four very different leading roles in films set for release this year.

He recently re-teamed with “Trust the Man” director Bart Freundlich on the upcoming romantic comedy “The Rebound,” starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, about a single mom who falls for her babysitter, Bartha’s character. Additional upcoming releases include “New York, I Love You,” an American version of the well-reviewed “Paris, je’taime.” Bartha appears in two vignettes directed by two-time Emmy Award winner Randall Balsmeyer.

Additionally, Bartha executive produced, and stars opposite Cesar Award winner Melanie Laurent, in writer-director Jennifer Devoldere’s “Shoe at Your Foot,” as a man who takes a romantic Paris vacation, despite having just been dumped by his girlfriend, and has his luggage swapped for a French woman’s. He also recently wrapped the indie drama “Holy Rollers,” with Jesse Eisenberg, in which he stars as a Brooklyn Hasid who lures a young neighbor into drug trafficking.

Bartha is best known as Riley Poole, partner to Nicolas Cage’s character Ben Gates from the worldwide successes “National Treasure” and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” Other past film credits include “Failure to Launch,” opposite Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, and Bart Freundlich’s ”Trust the Man,” opposite Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Bartha also garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of the psychologically challenged brother of a powerful federal prosecutor in Martin Brest’s “Gigli,” opposite Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez and Christopher Walken.

On television, he starred in Sidney Lumet’s ”Thought Crimes,” an HBO film produced by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson; and starred as the title character in the NBC mid-season comedy “Teachers,” directed by James Burrows.

Bartha studied acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and graduated from its film school.

JEFFREY TAMBOR’s (Sid) credits include notable performances in film, television and theater. He recently earned two consecutive Emmy Award and SAG Award nominations for his starring role as patriarch George Bluth Sr. in FOX’s critically acclaimed and award-winning comedy “Arrested Development.”

Previously, Tambor garnered four Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Hank Kingsley on the hit HBO series “The Larry Sanders Show,” which ran for six successful seasons, and a Daytime Emmy nomination for lending his voice to the 1998 animated comedy “The Lionhearts.”

Tambor starred in the CBS series “Welcome to the Captain” and NBC’s “Twenty Good Years,” opposite John Lithgow. He also starred in his own series, “Mr Sunshine,” and has appeared in regular, recurring and guest-starring roles on “C.S.I.,” “Law & Order,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “American Dreamer,” “Studio 5B,” “Tales from the Crypt,” “Max Headroom” and the critically acclaimed animated series “WordGirl.”

On the big screen, Tambor most recently joined the all-star voice cast of the hit animated adventure “Monsters vs Aliens.” Among his upcoming feature projects scheduled for 2009 release are “The Invention of Lying,” for director Ricky Gervais, the action comedy “Rogue’s Gallery,” and the drama “The Mad Cow.” His previous film credits include “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “Sponge Bob,” “Hellboy,” “Never Again,” “Pollack,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Girl, Interrupted,” “Get Well Soon,” “Meet Joe Black,” “Dr Doolittle,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “…And Justice for All,” “City Slickers,” “Mr Mom,” “Pastime,” “Crossing the Bridge,” “Article 99,” “Life Stinks,” “Three O’Clock High,” “Saturday the 14th,” “Lisa,” “No Small Affair,” “Face Dancer,” “Under Pressure,” “A House in the Hills,” “Radioland Murders,” “Heavyweights,” “Big Bully” and “Learning Curves.”

Also a veteran of the legitimate stage, Tambor last year returned to his roots in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” opposite Alan Alda and Liev Shreiber. He has acted and directed at such prestigious regional theatre companies as Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, San Diego Shakespeare Festival, and South Coast Repertory Theatre.

Tambor began studying acting at age 12 in San Francisco, where he was born and raised. He continued to study his craft at San Francisco State University, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. He went on to complete his Masters degree in Theatre Arts at Wayne State University and became a member of the Hilberry Classic Theatre.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

TODD PHILLIPS (Director/Producer) started his career as a documentary filmmaker, inspired by humor taken from everyday reality and the belief that the truth is often stranger than fiction.

His first film, “Hated,” portrayed the revolting antics of extreme punk rocker GG. Allin and became an instant underground sensation. It was released in the summer of 1994 and went on to become the highest grossing student film of its time.

He followed that up in 1998 with “Frat House,” a documentary that he produced and directed for HBO’s popular America Undercover series. “Frat House” premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary features. The unflinching exposé of life in fraternities created a public controversy that eventually caused the film to be shelved by HBO. Phillips still hopes to release it in the future.

After meeting producer Ivan Reitman at Sundance, Phillips made his crossover to features with 2000’s “Road Trip,” which established him as a new force in comedy. He simultaneously produced and directed “Bittersweet Motel,” a documentary on musical cult phenomenon Phish.

In one way or another, Phillips’ films explore the nature of male relationships, and in doing so he has worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest comedic actors, writing and directing such films as “Old School” in 2003, “Starsky & Hutch” in 2004, and “School for Scoundrels” in 2006.

Phillips was nominated for a 2006 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on “Borat.”

DAN GOLDBERG (Producer) marks his fourth film collaboration with Todd Phillips on “The Hangover.” Previously, he served as producer on Phillips’ “Old School,” “Road Trip” and “School for Scoundrels.”

Goldberg also produced the outrageous comedy “Howard Stern’s Private Parts,” and the animated comedy adventure “Space Jam,” starring Michael Jordan, and was an executive producer on Ivan Reitman’s romantic adventure “Six Days Seven Nights,” starring Harrison Ford.

His screenwriting credits include the classic comedies “Stripes” and “Meatballs,” both of which he also produced; “Feds,” which he also directed; and the enduring cult favorite “Heavy Metal.”

JON LUCAS & SCOTT MOORE (Screenwriters) most recently teamed on the romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, which opened nationwide on May 1.

Their previous writing credits include the hit holiday comedy “Four Christmases,” with an all-star ensemble cast led by Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.

THOMAS TULL (Executive Producer) is the Chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, a private equity-backed film production company with more than $1.5 billion in total financing. Legendary Pictures’ current deal, through which it co-produces and co-finances films with Warner Bros Pictures, runs through 2012.

Since its inception in 2005, Legendary has joined with Warner Bros to make such successful films as “Superman Returns,” “Batman Begins,” the blockbuster “300,” “Watchmen,” the record-breaking, award-winning film phenomenon “The Dark Knight,” which has earned in excess of $1 billion worldwide, and the Seth Rogen comedy “Observe and Report,” released in April.

Upcoming releases in the partnership include “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Ninja Assassin.” Legendary films currently in production or pre-production include “Clash of the Titans,” “Jonah Hex” and “Gears of War.”

Legendary Pictures is also developing a number of film projects in-house, including “Paradise Lost,” “Warcraft,” “Kung Fu,” “The Mountain” and “The Lost Patrol.”

Tull is a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute (AFI) and the Board of Directors of Hamilton College, his alma mater. He serves on the Board of the Fulfillment Fund and is a Board member of the San Diego Zoo.

JON JASHNI (Executive Producer) is the Chief Creative Officer of Legendary Pictures and is currently overseeing the development and production of such films as “Clash of the Titans,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Paradise Lost,” “Warcraft” and “Gears of War.” He most recently served as executive producer on the comedy “Observe and Report,” starring Seth Rogen.

Prior to joining Legendary, Jashni was President of Hyde Park Entertainment, a production and financing company with deals at 20th Century Fox and Disney.

While there, he oversaw the development and production of “Shopgirl,” “Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story,” “Walking Tall” and “Premonition.”

Before joining Hyde Park in 2002, Jashni was a producer of director Andy Tennant’s smash hit romantic comedy “Sweet Home Alabama.” The film set the record for the highest-grossing September opening ever and went on to earn $140 million domestically.

Jashni’s collaboration with Andy Tennant began with the $100 million-grossing fairytale “Ever After,” on which Jashni oversaw the development and production as a 20th Century Fox senior production executive.

Jashni has co-produced two films that have received a total of three Academy Award nominations. The critically acclaimed “The Hurricane” garnered a Best Actor nomination for its star, Denzel Washington, and “Anna and the King,” directed by Andy Tennant, earned two nominations and grossed over $125 million worldwide.

Earlier in his career, Jashni partnered with Irving Azoff in the Warner Bros Pictures-based production company Giant Pictures. Their association resulted in the production of the aforementioned “The Hurricane,” “Jack Frost” and “The Ink Well.”

Jashni joined with Azoff after a stint as a Columbia Pictures production executive, where he was involved in the development and production of such films as “Groundhog Day,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” “Mo’ Money,” “Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers” and “Fools Rush In.” He began his career at Daniel Melnick’s The IndieProd Company, where he was involved in the production of “Air America,” “Mountains of the Moon,” “Roxanne” and “Punchline.”

WILLIAM FAY (Executive Producer) has been a successful producer and executive producer for over 20 years. He is currently president of production at Legendary Pictures which, since its inception in 2005, has joined with Warner Bros to make such successful films as “Batman Begins,” “Superman Returns,” “300,” “Watchmen” and “The Dark Knight,” which grossed over $1 billion at the box office, was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two. Their most recent release is the comedy “Observe and Report,” starring Seth Rogen, on which Fay served as executive producer.

Prior to his work at Legendary, Fay was president of Centropolis Entertainment, one of the most successful production companies in Hollywood. During his tenure Centropolis produced films that totaled nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide box office, including “The Patriot,” starring Mel Gibson, and the blockbuster “Independence Day,” which at the time of its release was the second-highest-grossing motion picture of all time, taking in more than $800 million worldwide. Under his leadership, the company also successfully developed digital entertainment ventures such as Centropolis Effects, a top-tier visual effects house, and mothership.com, a leading sci-fi online vertical sold to USA Networks in June 2000.

SCOTT BUDNICK (Executive Producer) began his entertainment industry career in local casting while at Emory University in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Upon graduation, he relocated to Los Angeles. As fate would have it, he was then asked to work on Todd Phillips’ “Road Trip” on location in Atlanta, where he had first crossed paths with the filmmaker.

Budnick continued his collaboration with Phillips on the comedy “Old School,” and became associate producer on “Starsky & Hutch.” He served as co-producer on Phillips’ 2006 comedy romance “School for Scoundrels.”

Budnick is currently Executive Vice President at Phillips’ production company, Green Hat Films, where he develops and produces film projects under the Green Hat Films banner.

His additional film credits include that of associate producer on the Steven Zaillian feature drama “All the King’s Men.”

CHRIS BENDER and JC SPINK (Executive Producers) established Benderspink in 1998. A diversified management and production company, it specializes in managing the careers of writers, directors and actors, as well as producing film and television projects.

In their debut year, the company co-produced the hit comedy “American Pie” and signed a long-term first-look production deal with New Line Cinema.

Benderspink went on to expand its production efforts with the feature films “Final Destination,” “Cats & Dogs” and “American Pie 2,” and entered into a first-look production deal with 20th Century Fox Television.

In 2001, Benderspink’s “The Ring” hit number one in its opening weekend. The company’s successful film projects in years following include “American Wedding”; “The Butterfly Effect,” which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival; Wes Craven’s “Red Eye”; the holiday comedy “Just Friends,” starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart; “The Ring Two”; the hit comedy “Monster-in-Law,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda; and the acclaimed drama “A History of Violence,” which premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Directed by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt and Ed Harris, “A History of Violence” garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Drama and an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as a Best Supporting Actor nomination for William Hurt.

Their upcoming slate includes the romantic comedy “Leap Year,” written by Benderspink clients Harry Elfont & Deb Kaplan, and directed by Anand Tucker. The film, which stars Amy Adams, Matthew Goode and Adam Scott, is currently in production and scheduled for a 2010 release.

LAWRENCE SHER (Director of Photography) has been a director of photography for more than 15 years, shooting commercials, music videos and feature films. He most recently completed the hit comedy “I Love You, Man,” starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Sher’s other recent credits include “Trucker,” “The Promotion,” “Dan in Real Life,” “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The Chumscrubber.”

Born and raised in New York City, he studied economics at Wesleyan University where, in his junior year, he turned an interest in still photography into a fascination with motion pictures. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and began his career as a camera assistant.

After shooting the award-winning USC short “12 Stops on the Road to Nowhere” for fellow Wesleyan alum Jason Lowi, Sher worked as director of photography on several smaller films and music videos, coming to the fore in 2001 with the award-winning independent film “Kissing Jessica Stein,” followed by director Zach Braff’s “Garden State.”

BILL BRZESKI (Production Designer) has been working in films, television, interior design and theatre for over 20 years. He began his career in television and has designed more than 800 episodes.

As a production designer in feature films, Brzeski has lent his talents to James L Brooks’ Oscar-winning “As Good As It Gets,” Martin Lawrence’s “Blue Streak” and Danny DeVito’s “Matilda.” He also designed the ground-breaking CGI movie “Stuart Little” and its sequel, “Stuart Little 2” for director Rob Minkoff.

Among his recent endeavors was another Minkoff collaboration, “The Forbidden Kingdom,” starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, requiring an eight-month location shoot in China. He also designed the 2007 Rob Reiner comedy drama “The Bucket List,” which paired Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman; and the telefilms “Hackett” and “The More Things Change…,” the latter for director Todd Phillips.

Brzeski also designs commercial spaces, most notably the award-winning Susina Bakery in Los Angeles.

He received his undergraduate degree from Miami University and a Master of Fine Arts in Design from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Originally interested in designing for the ballet and opera, he began his career in the theatre before moving to Los Angeles from New York City. Most recently, Brzeski has embarked on a teaching career, conducting production design workshops at graduate and undergraduate levels. His seminars have been hosted by New York University School of the Arts, Miami University, Clemson University, and Loyola University Film School.

DEBRA NEIL-FISHER (Editor) most recently worked on the hit comedies “Baby Mama,” “Semi-Pro” and “Role Models,” and the romantic comedy “You, Me and Dupree.”

Neil-Fisher’s work includes three collaborations with director Donald Petrie: “Just My Luck,” “Welcome to Mooseport” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” She counts among her feature editing credits a range of genres, including the comedies and romantic comedies “Without a Paddle,” “Saving Silverman,” and two hugely successful Austin Powers films, “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”; the character-based dramas “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “The War” and “Up Close and Personal”; and the thrillers “Teaching Mrs Tingle” and “Dr Giggles.”

In 1991 she won a CableACE Award for her work on the Turner Network’s telefilm “Heat Wave,” for director Kevin Hooks. Among her early television credits are the headline-based movies “The Amy Fisher Story” and “The Case of the Hillside Strangler” and the TNT thriller “Breaking Point.”

CHRISTOPHE BECK (Composer) has composed scores for well over 40 feature films and nearly 20 television shows. With more than 15 years of experience, Beck has scored a wide array of projects, including such action films as “The Sentinel” and “Elektra,” the comedies “Charlie Bartlett,” “The Pink Panther” and “Bring It On,” and such dramas as “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “Year of the Dog.”

Beck most recently composed the action adventure “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising”; the comedies “Drillbit Taylor” and “What Happens in Vegas”; the drama “Phoebe in Wonderland”; the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury nominee “The Greatest”; and the comedy sequel “The Pink Panther 2,” released in February.

His additional credits include a previous collaboration with director Todd Phillips on “School for Scoundrels,” as well as “License to Wed,” “We Are Marshall,” “Yours, Mine and Ours,” “Taxi,” “A Cinderella Story,” “Saved!,” “Garfield,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “American Wedding” and “Just Married.” Beck’s upcoming projects include “The Post Grad Survival Guide,” “I Love You, Beth Cooper” and “All About Steve,” all features scheduled for release this year.

He began his scoring career on the Canadian television series “White Fang,” and from there went on to score three seasons of the hit television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition.

LOUISE MINGENBACH (Costume Designer) marks her fourth collaboration with director Todd Phillips on “The Hangover,” following their work on the feature comedies “Starsky & Hutch” and “School for Scoundrels” and the 2007 telefilm “The More Things Change…”

Her designs can currently be seen on screen in the action epic “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Her other recent projects include the Farrelly Brothers’ romantic comedy “The Heartbreak Kid” and Peter Berg’s “Hancock,” starring Will Smith.

Previously, Mingenbach teamed with director Bryan Singer on five films, starting with the 1995 thriller “The Usual Suspects” and going on to “X-Men,” for which she earned a Saturn Award and a Costume Designers Guild Award nomination, “X2,” “Apt Pupil” and “Superman Returns.” The two also collaborated on the 2004 pilot for “House MD.”

Mingenbach’s additional feature film credits include “Spanglish,” “The Rundown,” “K-PAX,” “Gossip,” “Permanent Midnight,” “Nightwatch,” “The Spitfire Grill” and “One Night Stand.”