Stormbreaker Alex Rider

Starring: Sarah Bolger, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Alex Pettyfer, Missi Pyle, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone, Ashley Walters, Mickey Rourke
Director Geoffrey Sax
Rated M
Running Time: 93 minutes
A new hero comes of age....

Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is a normal teenager who lives with his uncle, a nondescript bank manager... or so it seems until his uncle - Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor) - disappears under mysterious circumstances. Alex soon learns that his uncle was a spy for Britain’s secret intelligence service MI6. Recruited by Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo) of Special Operations, Alex discovers that by encouraging his hobbies, Uncle Ian had actually prepared him for a career in espionage. With Alex’s skills in languages, scuba diving, mountaineering and martial arts, he has all the attributes of a perfect spy. His age not withstanding, Alex endures two weeks of MI6 training. Then, armed with special gadgets to help him, he embarks on his first mission.

Billionaire Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) is donating a free Stormbreaker mega-computer to every school in Britain. But is there more to his generosity than meets the eye? MI6 sends Alex in to investigate. Going undercover as the winner of a computer competition, he infiltrates Sayle’s heavily-guarded compound. He meets the tycoon’s sinister sidekicks - vixen publicist Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) and the disfigured mute Mr. Grin (Andy Serkis)- and gets to test out the impressive and secretive Stormbreaker computer.

While exploring an unrestricted area, Alex runs into Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis), the hired gunman responsible for his uncle’s disappearance - he remembers that this assignment is more dangerous than anything he has ever done. But then his investigating pays off. He sees the delivery of strange containers and begins to figure out the mysterious Stormbreakers - he knows he’s onto something big.

Suddenly, Alex is captured and has no way to let MI6 know what he has discovered. Before leaving Alex to die in the tank with Sayle’s deadly Portuguese man-of-war, Sayle tells Alex his catastrophic plan for the Stormbreakers. Alex manages to escape using his gadgets, and hitches a ride to London to stop Sayle from activating the Stormbreakers and releasing their secret lethal weapon throughout Britain. But time is running out...

With the help of his housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and friend Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger), Alex pursues Sayle through the streets of London bracing for a final showdown at Sayle’s tower, fifty floors above the city. Within days he’s gone from schoolboy to super spy - but will Alex’s first assignment be his last?

About the Production
Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider has become a hero to countless young people around the world. The reluctant teenage super spy was introduced in Stormbreaker, the first book in the bestselling series created by novelist Anthony Horowitz.

Horowitz’s Alex Rider series (Stormbreaker, Point Blank, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike, Scorpia, and the recently published Ark Angel) have sold more than 5 million copies to date in the U.S and more than ten million worldwide. Stormbreaker alone has sold more than 1.5 million copies. The series has spent numerous weeks on the New York Times children's bestseller list and the Publishers Weekly children's bestseller list. The Alex Rider books have garnered many awards including the 2006 British Book Awards for children's book of the year for Ark Angel. Other awards and honors include: "Best Series" by booksellers for Publishers Weekly's annual Cuffie Awards; ALA Best Book For Young Adults; ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers; IRA-CBA Children's Choices; and New York Library Book for the Teen Age, among others. Stormbreaker marks Alex’s spectacular debut on the big screen. Inside Alex Rider

Anthony Horowitz started his career at a very young age. He knew he wanted to be a writer at age eight, and was published for the first time when he was 22. But it was only in 2000, with the publication of Stormbreaker that he found international acclaim. "Spy stories were a huge part of my childhood. I still remember waiting in the wind and the rain to be the first kid in my school to see DR. NO. The Bond films were always a huge event for me."

"Then I began to think, how could you make a spy story fresh? And suddenly, one day, it occurred to me that the way to do it was to make him fourteen. He had to be young. Put it this way - a kid on a skateboard is a great deal more appealing than his dad on a skateboard! But at the same time, I knew that I had to make Alex Rider completely original. I didn’t want to mimic the traditional, self-assured secret agent. In fact, I had to go as far away from him as possible."

"What fourteen-year-old boy would really want to work for his country? We live in a world where no government is fully trusted - and it has to be said that Alex works for a very devious boss. I called him ‘Blunt’ with obvious irony! The crucial thing about these adventures would be that Alex would be drawn into them reluctantly. It wouldn’t be goofy - one of those ‘isn’t it fun to be a spy’ books. It would be a real boy, in real danger, in a real adult world and then we’d see what would happen."

"I do think that 14 is a very particular and special age. You’re a bit too old to be a child but you’re still not quite old enough to be an adult. It’s a brief and wonderful in-between period. I love the idea of Alex being a fish out of water, a teenager in an adult world - particularly in the SAS training sequences. There’s a purity about his actions and his emotions, his friendships, his outlook on life. It’s a very nice age to write about."

As Horowitz admits, Alex Rider is very much a composite character. "He’s many things. The original inspiration was the son of friends of mine who spoke two languages and had a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. But there are other kids in there too as well as many film influences. So, yes, he is a composite - he is many things - but above all, he’s believable to teenagers."

"The heroes of children’s books usually look forward to their adventures - but this is the key issue that makes Alex different. He’s the reluctant spy. He’d much rather be at school with his friends or out kicking a football around. If there’s a secret to the success of these books, it’s simply that he is a normal boy. Alex positively dislikes the adult world in which he’s trapped but there are now six books and a seventh on the way, so it looks as if, for the time being, there’s going to be no escape.

About the Cast
SARAH BOLGER (Sabina Pleasure) made her film debut at the age of eight in Syd Macartney's A LOVE DIVIDED, but it was her appearance alongside her younger sister Emma in Jim Sheridan's IN AMERICA that brought her worldwide attention. The Dublinborn actress’ acclaimed performance saw her nominated as Best Supporting Female at the Independent Spirit Awards, with further awards nominations from America's Broadcast Film Critics and the Screen Actors Guild. She recently co-starred in Gillies McKinnon's film of Maeve Binchy's TARA ROAD and in Philip Saville's romantic drama THE FENCE.

ROBBIE COLTRANE (Prime Minister) has been appearing on the big screen since 1980, in such films as: BRITANNIA HOSPITAL, KRULL, DEFENCE OF THE REALM, CARAVAGGIO and MONA LISA. Having made a notable impact in the TV series TUTTI FRUTTI, he played leading roles in NUNS ON THE RUN and THE POPE MUST DIE, before embodying the unforgettable forensic psychologist Fitz in the hit series CRACKER, for which he uniquely won the BAFTA® award for Best TV Actor in three consecutive years. He became a memorable foil for James Bond as Valentin Zukovsky in GOLDENEYE and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH; he exuded menace as a hulking Mr. Hyde in VAN HELSING; and has filled the role of the giant Rubeus Hagrid in the four Harry Potter films.

STEPHEN FRY (Smithers) is a writer, actor, director, broadcaster, comedian, pilot and polymath, a Tony®, BAFTA® and Golden Globe® nominee. He made his film debut in 1985 in Mike Newell's THE GOOD FATHER, after early success in television comedy. His films have included: PETER'S FRIENDS, I.Q., the much-praised WILDE, GOSFORD PARK, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS (in which he starred with Alex Pettyfer), MIRRORMASK, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY and V FOR VENDETTA. He played the uncredited role of the Chauffeur in BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS the film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies, which also marked his directorial debut.

DAMIAN LEWIS (Yassen Gregorovich), a graduate of the Eton and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his film debut in ROBINSON CRUSOE with Pierce Brosnan. His impeccable performance as US Major Richard D. Winters in the mini-series BAND OF BROTHERS brought him to the world's attention and earned him a Golden Globe® nomination. He followed this with the ITV adaptation of John Galsworthy's classic novel The Forsyte Saga in which he played the landmark role of Soames Forsyte. He has appeared on the big screen in Lawrence Kasdan's film of Stephen King's DREAMCATCHER; in the title role of the anguished KEANE; in the Greek romantic drama BRIDES; in Martha Fiennes' CHROMOPHOBIA and in Lasse Hallström's AN UNFINISHED LIFE with Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez. He recently completed Philip Haas' Iraq-set drama THE SITUATION, opposite Connie Nielsen.

EWAN McGREGOR (Ian Rider), a contemporary of Damian Lewis at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, first made his mark in Dennis Potter's TV play, LIPSTICK ON YOUR COLLAR. His movie debut followed soon after—a one-line part in Bill Forsyth's BEING HUMAN - but it was his teaming with producer Andrew MacDonald, director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge that sent his career into overdrive. SHALLOW GRAVE was praised for its energy and its novel approach to a classic thriller plot and TRAINSPOTTING, adapted from the Irvine Welsh novel, was a runaway success at the UK box-office, shooting McGregor into the top echelons of international acting talent. He has remained one of Britain's most popular film actors ever since, with roles in BRASSED OFF, LITTLE VOICE, BLACK HAWK DOWN, DOWN WITH LOVE, YOUNG ADAM, BIG FISH, THE ISLAND, STAY and SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE. As the young Obi- Wan Kenobi in the first three episodes of George Lucas' STAR WARS saga, he has become one of the best-known actors on the planet. He has voiced the leading roles of two recent animated features, ROBOTS and VALIANT and has confirmed his versatility with his singing performance in MOULIN ROUGE and his recent starring role in the West End musical 'Guys and Dolls.'

BILL NIGHY (Alan Blunt) has become one of Britain's best-loved actors, with an extraordinary variety of award-laden performances on stage, screen and radio, over nearly thirty years. Having failed to fulfil his original ambition to become a writer, he trained to be an actor. His stage work has included several starring roles with the National Theatre and, on television, he played a number of character roles in popular series, such as MINDER, BERGERAC and BOON, before graduating to leading roles in dramas such as THE MEN'S ROOM, LONGITUDE and STATE OF PLAY, which won him a BAFTA® Award as Best Actor. His films include: STILL CRAZY, THE LAWLESS HEART, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, LOVE ACTUALLY, UNDERWORLD, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, ENDURING LOVE, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, NOTES ON A SCANDAL, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST and the third instalment of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.

SOPHIE OKONEDO (Mrs. Jones) was nominated for an Academy Award® as Best Supporting Actress in 2005 for her performance as Tatiana Rusesabagina in Terry George's HOTEL RWANDA. Born in London, she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, making her film debut in Isaac Julien's YOUNG SOUL REBELS. Her stage work has included appearances with the Young Vic, the Royal Court Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. She has appeared in numerous popular television series, including THE GOVERNOR, NEVER NEVER, SWEET REVENGE, CLOCKING OFF, ALIBI and WHOSE BABY?. Her films have included Michael Winterbottom's GO NOW, Stephen Frears' DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, AEON FLUX with Charlize Theron, and the upcoming THE MARTIAN CHILD with John Cusack and SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE, a comedy about relationships, which also stars Ewan McGregor.

ALEX PETTYFER (Alex Rider), in his feature film debut, is undertaking only his second acting role. A former child model, he appeared in a number of high-profile campaigns for major brands such as Gap. In 2002, he was cast in the title role of ITV's film of TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS, which was filmed on the Isle of Man. Alex starred opposite Stephen Fry, who played Rugby School's legendary headmaster, Dr. Arnold. The success of Alex's performance in this classic television film brought him to the attention of Anthony Horowitz and the producers of STORMBREAKER and, after several auditions and the elimination of some 500 rivals, he was cast as Alex Rider in Spring 2005.

MISSI PYLE (Nadia Vole) was born in Texas and raised in Tennessee. She moved to New York to pursue a career in theatre, where she also found success as a voice-over artist. She appeared opposite John Malkovich in the Steppenwolf Company's production of 'The Libertine' and landed a role in the film AS GOOD AS IT GETS, before moving to Los Angeles. There she made a number of appearances in top TV series, including a memorable date with Ross' over-whitened teeth in FRIENDS, before becoming a series regular on The WAYNE BRADY SHOW. Her first substantial film role was as the alien Laliari in the sleeper hit GALAXY QUEST. Since then she has played audience-pleasing roles in films such as JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, BIG FISH, ALONG CAME POLLY, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. She recently completed JUST MY LUCK with Lindsay Lohan, AMERICAN CRUDE and MOJAVE PHONE BOOTH.

MICKEY ROURKE (Darrius Sayle) was born in Schenectady, New York and grew up in Miami Beach, where he achieved notable success as an amateur boxer, with a streak of 12 successive knockout wins. After a small role in Steven Spielberg's 1941, the first of more than 50 film appearances, he made an early and indelible impact on screen playing the ruthless arsonist in BODY HEAT and the gambling hairdresser in DINER. After becoming a powerful leading man in such films as RUMBLE FISH, THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE, YEAR OF THE DRAGON, NINE ½ WEEKS, ANGEL HEART, A PRAYER FOR THE DYING, JOHNNY HANDSOME and DESPERATE HOURS, he returned to boxing as a professional. Alternating film performances with boxing bouts, under the nickname of El Marielito, he retired undefeated in 1995, after eight pro fights. His resurgent film career has included two films with director Tony Scott, MAN ON FIRE and DOMINO, his acclaimed performance as Marv in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's SIN CITY and his latest role as a hit man in John Madden's KILLSHOT.

ANDY SERKIS (Mr. Grin) starred in the most successful film trilogy of all time, as Gollum/Smeagol in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, although his face is unfamiliar to millions of the movies' fans. He recently re-teamed with director Peter Jackson in equally anonymous fashion, in the title role of KING KONG, although he can be recognized in a secondary role, as Lumpy the cook. He has been visible in a variety of movies, including STELLA DOES TRICKS, Mike Leigh's CAREER GIRLS and TOPSY TURVY, AMONG GIANTS, PANDAEMONIUM, THE ESCAPIST, 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and DEATHWATCH. He also provides the voice for one of the leading characters in the forthcoming Aaardman Animations and DreamWorks animated feature FLUSHED AWAY.

ALICIA SILVERSTONE (Jack Starbright) began as a child model, before a guest spot on THE WONDER YEARS steered her into movies. Her debut in THE CRUSH earned the teenage actress the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and Breakthrough Performance, which encouraged Aerosmith to hire her for several of their music videos. She was propelled into the international limelight by Amy Heckerling's sleeper hit CLUELESS which earned her a major studio deal for herself and her production company, First Kiss Productions. She was cast as Batgirl in BATMAN & ROBIN and her films have included BLAST FROM THE PAST, LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST and the global hit SCOOBY DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED. On television she starred in MISS MATCH, created for her by Darren Star, and her recent credits include BEAUTY SHOP with Queen Latifah and Andie MacDowell and the first entirely digital feature film SILENCE BECOMES YOU. Both of Alicia’s parents are British - she spent many summers in England and has dual citizenship.

ASHLEY WALTERS (Wolf) studied at London's legendary Sylvia Young acting school from the age of five and made his first television appearance in the long-running children's series GRANGE HILL at age 15. He continued to appear in television and in films throughout his teens, but he first achieved widespread fame as MC Asher D, a member of the So Solid Crew hip-hop band, which won three Mobo Awards in its first year. He is still involved in music, producing his own album. He has performed at the National Theatre and formed his own TV production company, but it was his success of his role the 2004 film BULLET BOY that brought him back to public notice. He has recently appeared as a footballer in GOAL! and in Jim Sheridan's GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'.

www.stormbreaker.com