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Morgan Creek Productions’ comedy-with-music that is tentatively titled "The Family Business," (renamed "I'll Be There") starring Craig Ferguson ("Saving Grace," "The Big Tease"), Jemma Redgrave ("Howard’s End") and introducing the phenomenal soprano artist Charlotte Church, commenced principal photography in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2002. The announcement was made today by James G. Robinson, Chairman/CEO and Guy McElwaine, President of Morgan Creek Productions.

In addition to starring in the film, Craig Ferguson will also make his directorial debut in "The Family Business," from his original screenplay co-written with Philip McGrade. The film is a Morgan Creek Production produced by James G. Robinson and executive produced by Guy McElwaine.

"The Family Business" ("I'll Be There") is an off-beat comedy about a former 80s pop star (Ferguson) whose downward spiral is halted when he discovers he has a teenage daughter (Church) - the product of a weekend love affair.

For this production, Morgan Creek and Ferguson have surrounded themselves with such renowned names in production personnel such as editor Sheldon Kahn, a two-time Oscar nominee who has edited such films as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," "Ghostbusters," "Out of Africa," "Dave," "Road Trip," "Proof of Life" and "Evolution;" music supervisor Bud Carr, who has worked on close to 50 feature films including "Platoon," "Terminator," "Heat," "JFK," "Donnie Brasco," "Hoosiers" and "Born on the Fourth of July;" Cinematographer Ian Wilson, whose credits include "The Crying Game," "Edward II" and "Emma;" and Oscar-nominated production designer Tim Harvey, who has designed the productions for such films as "Henry V," "Hamlet" and what many consider to be the finest television adaptation ever, the BBC mini-series "I, Claudius."

Craig Ferguson most recently starred in "Saving Grace" with Brenda Blethyn, a film which he also wrote and co-produced. Prior to that, Ferguson wrote, starred in and executive produced "The Big Tease," the mock-documentary of a gay Glaswegian hairdresser who assumes he’s been invited to the Beverly Hills World Freestyle Hairdressing Championship. While remaining one of Great Britain’s leading comedians, having starred in several BBC self-titled specials and series, he is best known to American audiences as the supercilious Nigel Wick, Drew Carey’s boss on "The Drew Carey Show."

Welsh soprano Charlotte Church became an overnight classical superstar in November 1998 with the release of her debut album Voice of an Angel, issued when she was just 13 years old. Born in Llandaff, Cardiff, she began performing in public at age three, and five years later was a regular at local karaoke competitions; from there Church made a series of television appearances, followed by live dates at prestigious venues including the London Palladium and the Royal Albert Hall. Upon signing to Sony Classical, she released Voice of an Angel to considerable media attention; a self-titled effort followed in 1999. Both albums went platinum in the U.S. after reaching the Top Ten in the U.K. Dream a Dream, a Christmas album, released in 2000, hit the Top Ten and went platinum in the U.S. Her fourth release, Enchantment, appeared in the fall of 2001.

Supporting cast members include Joss Ackand ("The Hunt for Red October," TV’s "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"), Ralph Brown ("The Crying Game," "Impromptu"), Ian McNeice ("84 Charing Cross Road," "Valmont"), Stephan Noonan ("Affair of the Necklace"), and Imelda Staunton ("Shakespeare in Love," "Sense and Sensibility").

SOURCE: Morgan Creek Productions