Filming Begins on Niki Caro's Latest Drama

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 24, 2005 - Warner Bros. Pictures' drama "North Country," directed by Niki Caro ("Whale Rider") and starring Academy Award-winning actresses Charlize Theron ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," "Monster"), Frances McDormand ("Laurel Canyon," "Fargo") and Sissy Spacek ("A Home at the End of the World," "In the Bedroom"), has commenced principal photography on location in Minnesota, it was announced by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures. The film will also star Woody Harrelson ("The People vs. Larry Flynt"), Sean Bean ("National Treasure"), Richard Jenkins ("Intolerable Cruelty") and Michelle Monaghan ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith").

Theron plays single mom Josey Aimes, who rallies her female coworkers to rise above unfair treatment they face at a local mining company. McDormand plays Glory, Josey's closest friend; Spacek and Jenkins are Josey's parents, Alice and Hank; Bean plays Glory's boyfriend Kyle; Harrelson is Josey's lawyer, Bill White; Renner is Bobby, a mineworker and Josey's former classmate; and Monaghan plays Sherry, Josey's fellow mineworker.

Presented by Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Participant Productions, "Untitled Niki Caro Project" is written by Michael Seitzman, inspired by the book titled "Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law," by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler. The film is being produced by Nick Wechsler, with Nana Greenwald, Jeff Skoll, Helen Bartlett and Doug Claybourne serving as executive producers. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Chris Menges ("The Mission," "The Killing Fields") is the director of photography. "Untitled Niki Caro Project" will be released worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.