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"Intolerable Cruelty," a new comedy from Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Oscar(R)-winning filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen ("Fargo," "The Man Who Wasn't There") and Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind"), has begun principal photography in Los Angeles.

Starring George Clooney ("Ocean's Eleven") and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Traffic"), the film re-unites the Coens and Clooney after their critically acclaimed work together on "O Brother Where Art Thou?," which brought Clooney a Golden Globe award. Also starring are Academy Award(R) winners Geoffrey Rush ("Quills") and Billy Bob Thornton, who starred in the Coens' Oscar(R)-nominated "The Man Who Wasn't There." The cast also includes Cedric the Entertainer ("Barbershop," "Serving Sara").

Joel Coen is directing "Intolerable Cruelty" from a screenplay he wrote with Ethan Coen. Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind") and Ethan Coen are producing the film; James Jacks and Sean Daniel are the executive producers.

"Intolerable Cruelty" is the story of a fabulously successful Los Angeles divorce attorney, Miles Massey (Clooney). Sated on success, he is seeking new challenges when he meets the much-divorced Marylin Rexroth (Zeta-Jones), a hard-headed woman pursuing financial independence through serial matrimony. What follows is the mother of all battles of the sexes as the two square off, personally and professionally.

The production team reunites several frequent Coen collaborators, including Oscar(R)-nominated director of photography Roger Deakins, A.S.C., B.S.C. ("The Man Who Wasn't There"), production designer Leslie McDonald ("Snow Day") and costume designer Mary Zophres ("O Brother Where Art Thou?").

George Clooney, the award-winning actor and producer, recently turned director on "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," has starred in such blockbuster hits as "Ocean's Eleven" and "The Perfect Storm," as well as the critically acclaimed "Three Kings" and "Out of Sight." He will next be seen in "Solaris."

Catherine Zeta-Jones, a Golden Globe nominee for her role as a drug-runner's wife in "Traffic," recently completed the film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Chicago." Zeta-Jones gained international recognition for her starring role in the action adventure "The Mask of Zorro" opposite Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. She has also starred in "America's Sweethearts" and "Entrapment."

Oscar(R) winner Billy Bob Thornton is a writer, director and actor whose versatility was recently seen in the comedy caper "Bandits," which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best actor, and in the drama "Monster's Ball." He wrote, directed and starred in the 1996 feature film "Sling Blade," which brought him an Academy Award(R) for best adapted screenplay and an Oscar(R) nomination for Best Actor. In addition to "The Man Who Wasn't There," which earned him a Golden Globe nomination, Thornton has also appeared in such recent hits as "Armageddon," "U-Turn," "Primary Colors," "Pushing Tin" and "A Simple Plan."

Since winning the 1995 Best Actor Academy Award(R) for his portrayal of David Helfgott in "Shine," Geoffrey Rush has been seen in such films as "Oscar and Lucinda," "Les Miserables," "Elizabeth," "Shakespeare in Love," "Quills," "Tailor of Panama" and "Lantana." He was Oscar(R)-nominated as best supporting actor for his role in "Shakespeare in Love" and received a best actor nomination for his role as the Marquis in "Quills."

Actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer is featured in two summer film releases this year, "Barbershop" and "Serving Sara." He also hosts the television variety show, "Cedric the Entertainer." Cedric won four consecutive NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Coach Cedric Jackie Robinson on "The Steve Harvey Show," which aired on the WB from 1996 until February, 2002. Cedric also starred in Spike Lee's "The Original Kings of Comedy."

Joel Coen was honored by the Cannes International Film Festival in 2001 as Best Director for "The Man Who Wasn't There" and in 1991 as Best Director for "Barton Fink." In 1996, he was honored as Best Director by The New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review and the BAFTA Awards for "Fargo" and also won the Academy Award(R) for Best Original Screenplay for "Fargo," which he co-wrote with his brother Ethan. The screenplay for "O Brother Where Art Thou?," also co-written with Ethan, was nominated for a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award(R) for Best Adapted Screenplay. He has also directed and co-written "The Big Lebowski," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "Miller's Crossing," "Raising Arizona" and "Blood Simple."

Ethan Coen has produced and co-written such critically acclaimed films as "Miller's Crossing," "Barton Fink," winner of the Palme d'Or, Best Director and Best Actor Awards at the 1991 Cannes International Film Festival, and "O Brother Where Art Thou?," which was nominated for two Academy Awards(R), four BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. In 1996, one of the year's most honored films, "Fargo," which he produced and co-wrote, received four Academy Award(R) nominations and won two including Best Original Screenplay for Ethan and his brother Joel. Among the other films he has co-written and produced are "Blood Simple," "Raising Arizona," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "The Big Lebowski" and "The Man Who Wasn't There."

Brian Grazer has been making movies and television programs for more than 20 years. As both a writer and producer, he has been personally nominated for three Academy Awards(R), and in 2002 he won the Best Picture Oscar(R) for "A Beautiful Mind." In addition to winning three other Academy Awards(R), "A Beautiful Mind" also won four Golden Globe Awards (including Best Motion Picture Drama) and earned Grazer the first annual Awareness Award from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign.

Over the years, Grazer's films and TV shows have been nominated for a total of 39 Oscars(R) and 17 Emmys(R). At the same time, his movies have generated more than $10.5 billion in worldwide theatrical, music, and video grosses. Reflecting this combination of commercial and artistic achievement, the Producers Guild of America honored Grazer with the David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. His accomplishments have also been recognized by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which in 1998 added Grazer to the short list of producers with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In addition to "A Beautiful Mind," Grazer's films include "Apollo 13," for which Grazer won the Producers Guild's Daryl F. Zanuck Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award as well as an Oscar(R) nomination for Best Picture of 1995, and "Splash," which he co-wrote as well as produced and for which he received an Oscar(R) nomination for Best Original Screenplay of 1986. Among his other films are "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas;" "Nutty Professor;" "Liar Liar;" "Ransom;" "My Girl;" "Backdraft;" "Kindergarten Cop;" "Parenthood;" "Clean and Sober;" and "Spies Like Us." His most recent film is "Blue Crush;" his upcoming film projects include "8 Mile" and "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat."

SOURCE: Universal Pictures