Prince of Persia Production Notes

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has continually conquered both the big and small screen throughout his remarkable career. The numbers of dollars and honors are a matter of often-reported record. Bruckheimer's films have earned worldwide revenues of over 15 billion in box office, video and recording receipts. In the 2005-6 season he had a record-breaking 10 series on network television, a feat unprecedented in nearly 60 years of television history.

His films (16 of which exceeded the $100 million mark in U.S. box office receipts) and television programs have been acknowledged with 41 Academy Award^® nominations, six Oscars^®, eight Grammy Award^® nominations, five Grammys, 23 Golden Globe^® nominations, four Golden Globes, 88 Emmy Award^® nominations, 18 Emmys, 23 People's Choice Awards nominations, 15 People's Choice Awards, 12 BAFTA nominations, two BAFTA Awards, numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade for 'Beverly Hills Cop', and 20 Teen Choice Awards.

The Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer juggernaut produced one hit after another, including 'Top Gun,' 'Beverly Hills Cop,' 'Dangerous Minds' and 'Crimson Tide.' On his own, Bruckheimer's credits include 'Con Air,' 'Armageddon,' 'Remember the Titans,' 'Pearl Harbor,' 'Black Hawk Down,' the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' trilogy (the fourth goes into production this year), the 'National Treasure' franchise and this year's 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer and Monica Bellucci, directed by Jon Turteltaub.

MIKE NEWELL's (Director) wide-ranging output has alternated between London and Hollywood, from film to TV. A Cambridge graduate, Newell began directing at age 22, working on numerous plays for TV, both for the BBC and for most of the ITV companies. His television feature 'The Man in the Iron Mask' (1977), which was ultimately released as a feature film, served as the springboard to international success. His formal theatrical debut 'The Awakening' (1980), starring Charlton Heston, began to cement Newell's reputation for getting the best results from his actors.

He worked in many genres with films such as 'Dance with a Stranger' (1984) and 'Enchanted April' (1991), among others. In 1994, he made 'Four Weddings and a Funeral,' the record-breaking romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell.

Returning to America, Newell made the Mafia thriller 'Donnie Brasco' (1997), delivering outstanding performances from Johnny Depp and Al Pacino, followed by such films as 'Pushing Tin' (1999), starring Cate Blanchett, John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie, and 'Mona Lisa Smile' (2003), with Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Newell served as executive producer on several projects, including 'Traffic' (2000) and 'High Fidelity' (2000). As the director of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (2005), Newell became the first British director to helm an installment of the hugely popular franchise.

Newell's recent credits include Colombia's 'Love in the Time of Cholera,' an adaptation of the classic novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, starring Javier Bardem.

• AIM HIGH - The first shooting location was at an altitude of 8,200 feet in the mountain village of Oukaimden in the High Atlas Mountains, surrounded by indigenous Berber communities. The cast and crew had to acclimate themselves to proceed with the demanding action sequences filmed there.
• IT TAKES A VILLAGE - In Morocco, there were a combined 1,350 cast and crew members, including 800 local Moroccans. Adding the 500 people working in post-production, the total cast and crew amounted to more than 1,850.
• STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE - The film's parkour adviser is none other than France's David Belle, who actually invented parkour.
• A NUMBERS GAME - The exterior set of Alamut, designed by Wolf Kroeger, was constructed around the actual 700-year-old walls of the village of Tamesloht, 20 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh. It required 30 miles of scaffold tubing and 400 tons of plaster, with 350 members of the construction crew. The Alamut Eastern Gate set built at Pinewood Studios' '007 Stage,' also designed by Wolf Kroeger, required 3,000 eight-by-four-foot sheets of wood, 70,000 feet of three-by-one inch timber, and 40 tons of casting plaster for moldings.
• COPIOUS COSTUMES - With more than 7,000 costumes created and fabricated for the film, costume designer Penny Rose's wardrobe department exceeded that of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films, on which she also served as costume designer.
• TRICKS OF THE TRADE - The patchwork coats worn by Alfred Molina as Sheikh Amar were made from Indian bedspreads sewn together. Their shredded look, revealing the different layers of fabric, was achieved by rubbing cheese graters across the coats. Other costumes were aged by throwing them into a cement mixer with stones.
• THE UNCLE'S NEW CLOTHES - The character who has the most wardrobe changes is not Tamina, played by the beautiful Gemma Arterton, but Nizam, portrayed by Sir Ben Kingsley.