Press Release

What The Critics Say...

"Rick" is a haunting and chilling, yet biting black tragi-comedy... The film does a wonderful job portraying the soulless world Rick inhabits, while imbuing him with just enough of a tattered soul to give the audience hope for his redemption. ...a gripping thriller that seems more like a classic Greek Tragedy than it is a modern American movie. Pullman is at peak form here... while the rest of the quirky cast gives the film a harrowingly realistic feel. It's not often a film comes along that gets its audience to cheer for a bad guy. But as Rick O'Lette points out in this intriguing wicked comedy, he wasn't always a bad guy. The captivating question for Rick in "Rick" is, can he become a nice guy again in time to save his soul? "

- Merle Bertrand, FILM THREAT

"Harden your heart and blind justice may rip it out of your chest learns our hero (Bill Pullman)... in Curtiss Clayton's incisive directing debut.

- David Germaine, Associated Press

"The wonderfully sick RICK, based on the opera Rigoletto, is highlighted by a smoldering performance by Agnes Bruckner. The light-touch direction of Curtiss Clayton is terrific."

--Boby Kirk,

Playback St. Louis

"RICK does a truly wonderful job of depicting corporate America, dissecting the vacuousness of its concerns and the indifference of its practices. The film gains true tragic power when its troubled, compromised protagonist decides to protect the one thing of value in his life -- his daughter. When office and home collide, and searing cynicism clashes with paternal determination, something has to give."

-- Piers Handling,

Toronto Film Festival

"One of those films that makes you want to take a long shower afterward."

-- Todd McCarthy, Variety

Hollywood - Curtiss Clayton, a veteran film editor with over 20 films under his belt, including

work with Gus Van Sant (DRUGSTORE COWBOY, TO DIE FOR) and Vincent Gallo's BUFFALO 66,

makes his directorial debut with the stylish New York thriller/satire - and indictment of American Corporate

Culture -- RICK (2003, 93 min., USA.), based on the opera "Rigoletto" stars Bill Pullman (JU'ON: THE GRUDGE)

as a middle-aged corporate climber who has lost sight of his humanity. RICK was written by Daniel Handler,

a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, the author of the popular children's book series that has been adapted for the screen by

Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Pictures as LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

starring Jim Carrey. Pullman's character Rick circulates in a world of bizarre coincidences and not so coincidental

ramifications to bad behavior. His highly stylized universe is the adult equivalent of the world Daniel Handler
created for children in his books. Vitagraph Films opens RICK in Los Angeles on October 8th and in New York
on September 24th. It will roll out in other cities in Fall 2004 (see below for details).

RICK stars Bill Pullman (LOST HIGHWAY, INDEPENDENCE DAY), Aaron Stanford (X-MEN II, TADPOLE),

Agnes Bruckner (BLUE CAR, THE WOODS and the upcoming HAVEN with Bill Paxton and Orlando Bloom,

Sandra Oh (UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN and Alexander Payne's upcoming SIDEWAYS), Dylan Baker

(HAPPINESS, SPIDERMAN II), Paz de la Huerta (HOMEWORK) and Emmanuelle Chriqui.

RICK is directed and edited by Curtiss Clayton and written by Daniel Handler. Lisa Rinzler (POLLACK,

MENACE II SOCIETY, THREE SEASONS) is the cinematographer. RICK is produced by Ruth Charny,

Jim Czarnecki (Michael Moore's FARENHEIT 911) and ContentFilm's Sofia Sondervan, with

Edward R. Pressman and John Schmidt of ContentFilm serving as executive producers.

RICK opens with Bill Pullman's character arriving at the office, a Wall Street marble mausoleum serving as the

corporate headquarters of the Image Corporation, a soulless capitalist outfit with the motto "We Can Do This"

emblazoned on the lobby wall. The embodiment of corporate executive male arrogance, Rick proceeds to

meet a prospective candidate (Sandra Oh) for a job, and so humiliates the young woman, she ultimately

curses him, spewing, "You are an evil person with an evil soul, and it will come right back at you."

However, Rick shifts gears when he gets home to his beautiful 17-year-old daughter Eve (Agnes Bruckner),

who is at once self-assured, holding her own in internet chat rooms talking dirty to someone named "Big Boss" -

and a vulnerable young woman, desperately missing her deceased mother. Rick is tender with his daughter

and his cockiness eases up as he tries to hold it together for her. It slowly unfolds that Rick was not always the

repugnant fellow he is today. He lost his wife sometime ago and he lost himself in a world of capitalist, corporate

greed, back-stabbing and amoral mantras that have rendered him a casualty in his own life.

But the real thorn in Rick's side is his boss Duke (Aaron Stanford), a hedonistic, immature, amoral jerk, some

20 years his junior, who demoralizes Rick on a regular basis. When Rick's old business school classmate Buck

(Dylan Baker) happens to witness Duke's behavior over an after hours drink in a trendy bar, he approaches Rick

with an invitation to use the services of his unorthodox company... a company that promises to "Take the Rat

Race to the Next Level." Buck tells Rick to watch the morning news to understand his business. The story is

about the head of a corporation found in the bottom of the river. Rick understands and is appalled.

Then, suddenly Rick O'Lette's private and professional lives collide in an alarmingly twisted way. Impassioned,

he starts the ball rolling with Buck's company's services. But in this morality tale, Rick cannot stop what he has

started, and when plans go wildly awry he is left to suffer the consequences.

Director Curtiss Clayton is an editor on over 20 feature films, including Gus Van Sant's DRUGSTORE COWBOY,

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO and TO DIE FOR. RICK is Clayton's directorial debut. He also edited the film.

Screening cassettes, press kits and photos are available immediately. Press kit information and high resolution

photos are available at www.vitagraphfilms.com. To request screeners please include your mailing address.

A theatrical press screening will most likely be set up in Los Angeles closer to the release date.

To request interviews with talent, please send an e-mail to mgerber@bgerber.com with specific information

about your media outlet, deadlines, etc.

The publicist for RICK in NEW YORK is Grady Hendrix at Subway Cinema: grady@subwaycinema.com

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