About the filmmakers . . .

Dear won his first of many professional awards when he was only 20 years old with his short film, "Mr. Gray," which he co-wrote and directed. "Mr. Gray" won the Special Jury Gold Medal Award at the first Atlantic Film Festival. He continued writing and directing feature films, shorts, rock videos and commercials, many of which garnered him more awards and recognition for his diverse talents.

His first feature film as co-writer and director, "Timerider, the Adventure of Lynn Swann" won Grand Prize at the 1984 Santa Fe Film Festival. Dear's next feature as a co- writer/director, "Harry and the Hendersons," received the Genesis Award as Best Comedy Film in 1987 and as the Best Family Film from the British Video Association.

Dear went on to direct the feature films "If Looks Could Kill" and "Angels in the Outfield." He co-wrote "The Rocketeer."

Shortly after Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" television anthology premiered, Dear directed Spielberg's story "Mummy-Daddy." The comedy episode later became part of the "Amazing Stories" movie, a trilogy of stories directed by Dear, Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis.

Dear's work for television includes the pilots for the hit show "Dinosaurs," created by Jim Henson, and the medieval action-adventure comedy, "Covington Cross."

Dear has also received nine Cleo nominations for commercial work, including Best Director.

Stouffer has distinguished himself not only as one of the world's premiere wildlife documentarians, but also as a writer, producer and director of outstanding entertainment programming for film and television. He was director, producer and writer of the theatrical release "Man Outside," starring Kathleen Quinlan and Bradford Dillman.

Stouffer's television credits include numerous John Denver specials, including "Music and the Mountains," "The Higher We Fly" and "Rocky Mountain Reunion." His National Geographic specials as director/producer include "Tigers of the Snow," "Secrets of the Wild Panda" and "Braving Alaska"; he also served as director of "Survivors of the Skeleton Coast." He was also a contributing director of the PBS series "Marty Stouffer's Wild America" for 11 years.

Stouffer's dozens of awards include the Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Factual Television, a Best of Category Gold Medal from the San Francisco International Film Festival, a Red Ribbon Award from the American Film Festival, New York, and an award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking from the Denver International Film Festival.

Barber is Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Creek Productions as well as President of Morgan Creek International. He also supervises all Morgan Creek financial, business and legal affairs, including distribution activities.

Barber has executive produced numerous Morgan Creek films, including "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Major League II," "True Romance," "The Crush," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Young Guns II" and "Pacific Heights." Most recently, he served as executive producer on the box office hit, "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls," starring Jim Carrey, and "Diabolique."

Prior to joining Morgan Creek, Barber was President of Vestron International Group, responsible for distributing such successful films as "Dirty Dancing," "The Princess Bride" and Morgan Creek's "Young Guns" in foreign territories.

Tisch won the Academy Award for "Forrest Gump," which received six Oscars including Best Picture.

Since his formation of The Steve Tisch Company in 1986, Tisch has produced memorable projects for both television and film. Along with "Forrest Gump," his films include "Soul Man," "Hot to Trot," "Big Business," "Heart of Dixie," "Heart Condition," "Bad Influence" and "Corrina, Corrina."

At age 22, Tisch became a production executive at Columbia Pictures and supervised production on films including "The Lords of Flatbush," "Tommy" and "The Last Detail."

As an independent producer, his first motion picture was "Outlaw Blues." He then teamed with Jon Avnet, and together they were involved in television projects such as "Silence of the Heart," "Something So Right," "Prime Suspect," "Homeward Bound" and "No Other Love." They also produced the television movie and subsequent series, "Call to Glory." Tisch and Avnet were also responsible for the acclaimed telvision film, "The Burning Bed," which received 11 Emmy nominations and won numerous other awards.

Tisch/Avnet's feature projects include the sleeper hit, "Risky Business," "Deal of the Century" and "Coast to Coast."

Wieger has his first produced screenplay in "Wild America." A veteran of theater, his plays have included "A Balance of Hunger," "The Gentlemen's Club" and "Cows and Other American Heroes." His spec script "Ziggy" earned him a spot at the Sundance Writers Lab. He is currently at work on "Frequent Flyer" for Disney Television and "Hawaii 5-O," which Steve Tisch will produce for Hollywood Pictures.