I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS is the improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic conman’s journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping from the Texas prison system on four separate occasions – all in the name of love.
Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) leads a seemingly average life – an organ player in the local church, happily married to Debbie (Leslie Mann), and a member of the local police force. That is until he has a severe car accident that leads him to the ultimate epiphany: he’s gay and he’s going to live life to the fullest – even if he has to break the law to do it. Taking on an extravagant lifestyle, Steven turns to cons and fraud to make ends meet and is eventually sent to the State Penitentiary where he meets the love of his life, a sensitive, soft-spoken man named Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). His devotion to freeing Phillip from jail and building the perfect life together prompts him to attempt (and often succeed at) one impossible con after another. Told with an uncanny sense of humor and a lot of heart, “I Love You Phillip Morris” is an oddball tale of what can happen when the legal system, a daredevil spirit and undying love collide.
ABOUT THE CAST
Jim Carrey (Steven Russell) - Biography
Jim Carrey will next be seen on screen in "I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS," a dark comedy that was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the writing team behind "Bad Santa." Based on a book by Houston Chronicle crime reporter Steve McVicker, the fact-based film casts Carrey as Steven Russell, a family man whose exploits in white-collar crime land him in the Texas criminal justice system. In prison he falls in love with his cellmate (Ewan McGregor), who eventually is set free, leading Russell to escape from Texas prisons four times. The film will be released in theaters on December 3rd, 2010.
Carrey will soon begin production on “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” for FOX. In the film he will star as Mr. Popper, a New York City businessman whose life is turned upside down when he acquires six penguins in the mail. The script is based on the 1938 award-winning book by Richard and Florence Atwater; Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”) will direct.
Ewan McGregor (Phillip Morris) - Biography
Ewan McGregor is known for successfully portraying an array of diverse characters. From his breakthrough role as his the heroin-addicted Mark Renton in Irvine Welsh’s “Trainspotting,” to the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars Episode 1,” to starring as “Christian” opposite Nicole Kidman in the Oscar and BAFTA award winning musical “Moulin Rouge” directed by Baz Luhrmann, McGregor has proven himself as a true actor time and again.
Leslie Mann (Debbie Russell) - Biography
Mann last starred in Judd Apatow's "Funny People" opposite Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen and Burr Steer's "17 Again" opposite Zac Efron and Matthew Perry. "17 Again" grossed over $125 million worldwide.
Mann also starred in Judd Apatow’s acclaimed film, "Knocked Up" opposite Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. Her performance in the film garnered her rave reviews as well as a 'Best Supporting Actress' nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Association. "Knocked Up" grossed over $300 million worldwide and won the People's Choice Award for 'Favorite Movie Comedy.' It was also nominated for a Critics Choice Award for 'Best Comedy Movie' and was named as one of AFI's Top Ten Films of the Year.
Rodrigo Santoro (Jimmy Kemple) – Biography
Last year he could be seen as Raul Castro, in Steve Soderbergh’s film, “Che.” He was also in “Lion’s Den” by Pablo Trapero, which competed against “Che” at the Cannes Film Festival that year. He also starred in Fox Searchlights’ “The Post Grad Survival Guide” along side Michael Keaton and Carol Burnett.
In 2008, Santoro was featured in writer/director David Mamet’s film “Redbelt”, the story of Mike Terry, a Jiu-jitsu master who has avoided the prize fighting circuit, instead choosing to pursue a life by operating a self-defense studio in Los Angeles. Santoro is already known for his performance in Warner Bros. “300,” based on the Frank Miller’s graphic novel, which broke box office records throughout the world. Rodrigo starred as Xerxes, the Persian King who sent his massive army to conquer Greece in 480 B.C. He was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. Rodrigo has also gained attention for his role of Paulo in ABC’s hit series “Lost.”
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Glenn FICARRA & John REQUA
(Co-Directors and Co-Writers) - Biography
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa met at Pratt Institute where they were both studying film. Eventually they ventured out to Hollywood together and got their start working in animation at Nickelodeon.
They have since written the feature film screenplays “Cats & Dogs,” the high-tech espionage comedy starring Jeff Goldblum and Elizabeth Perkins; “Bad Santa,” starring Billy Bob Thornton; “Bad News Bears,” with Billy Bob Thornton reprising Walter Mathau’s crusty minor-league baseball Coach Buttermaker; and made their directing debut with “I Love You Phillip Morris,” starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.
They recently finished shooting the Dan Fogelman scripted film, “Crazy. Stupid. Love.,” for Warner Bros. “Crazy” stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone and is due out in the spring of 2011.