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A romantic comedy in the ‘unlikely couple’ mode starring Jennifer Aniston - and Ben Stiller as her former classmate and would-be suitor.

Along Came Polly

Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) has made a fine life - and a good career - out of playing it safe. The star risk assessor for a leading insurance firm, Reuben is an expert on minimizing danger - nothing ventured, nothing lost.

Meanwhile, Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston) plays her life like a game of chance, taking joy from the serendipity that a rolling stone existence brings her. There’s always another opportunity - a new job, yet another apartment in another city - should this one not work out. No biggie...next.

So when a chance meeting puts Reuben and Polly at the same party, the recently (and extremely) jilted Reuben decides that for once, chance may just be on his side. Dating Polly might just be the answer to getting his life back on track - she’s attractive, fresh, funny - and after all, the two knew each other in seventh grade, when they were both delegates in the Model U.N. together. Just how much can a person change?

Spicy Food

Well, Polly probably didn’t have tattoos in junior high. Or have a penchant for spicy food, steamy salsa dancing or collecting tokens from boyfriends past...like the near-blind ferret she picked up in Italy. And Reuben—his propensity to plan everything in his life may not have been as all-encompassing in middle school, nor his compulsion with living in the middle of the road as pronounced.

But even in the middle of the road, Reuben finds that there are bound to be bumps - like indigestible food, scary children’s stories, sight-impaired house pets. Life is risky, and so is love...and with Polly along for the ride, could one expect (or enjoy) anything less?

Along Came Polly is the latest project from acclaimed comic screenwriter John Hamburg (Meet the Parents, Zoolander and Safe Men)— Along Came Polly - with Hamburg assuming the roles of both screenwriter and director for the first time since his Sundance Film Festival debut and cult hit, Safe Men.

Starring along with Stiller and Aniston are an all-star cast of supporting players, including Philip Seymour Hoffman as Reuben’s lifelong best friend, ex-teen movie star Sandy Lyle; Debra Messing as Reuben’s new ex-bride (sort of), Lisa Kramer; Hank Azaria as the other (French)man, scuba instructor Claude; Bryan Brown as the adventurous Australian billionaire/entrepreneur Leland Van Lew; and Alec Baldwin as Stan Indursky, Reuben’s wheeler-dealer boss.

The film is produced by Jersey Films’ (Erin Brockovich, Man on the Moon, Pulp Fiction) Danny Devito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher. Executive-producing are Jane Bartelme (Bringing Down the House) and Dan Levine (Camp).

Top-notch production talent includes director of photography Seamus Mcgarvey, B.S.C. (The Hours), production designer Andrew Laws (Down With Love), editors William Kerr (Undercover Brother) and Nick Moore (Love Actually), music supervisor Randall Poster (The School of Rock) and composer Theodore Shapiro (Old School).

An innovative actor, director and writer, Ben Stiller (Reuben Feffer) continues to imprint his unique comedic and dramatic perspective on film, television and stage.
Coming up Stiller stars in Along Came Polly, opposite Jennifer Aniston and written and directed by John Hamburg for Universal Pictures. The film centres on the life of an anal-retentive, risk-averse man who analyzes risk for a living. His life is turned upside down when he gets involved in a risky romance. The impressive cast also includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown and Alec Baldwin.

Starsky and Hutch

In March this year, Starsky and Hutch hits theatres with Stiller starring as classic television character Starsky opposite Owen Wilson’s Hutch. Based on the long-running ABC series, the feature version will focus on the formation of the duo’s partnership. The film is written and directed by Todd Phillips and produced by Ben Stiller and his Red Hour partner Stuart Cornfeld.

Stiller is currently in production lending his voice as one of the stars in DreamWorks Pictures’ Madagascar. The film, which also stars Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith and David Schwimmer, is about four civilised Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their entire lives in blissful captivity. But when they are unexpectedly shipped to Africa and get shipwrecked on the exotic island of Madagascar, these native New Yorkers must try to survive and come to terms with what it truly means to be 'wild.'

In 2004, Stiller will also star in Barry Levinson’s Envy, with Jack Black. The duo will play lifelong best friends and neighbours whose relationship takes a nasty turn when one of them (Black) becomes filthy rich by selling an invention. The black comedy also stars Christopher Walken.

Stiller most recently starred in Duplex opposite Drew Barrymore, which he produced through his production company Red Hour Films with partner Stuart Cornfeld. Stiller, under his Red Hour Films banner, also produced and co-stars in a new Dodgeball project for 20th Century Fox, due out in Summer 2004. The film, which recently wrapped production, also stars Vince Vaughn and Christine Taylor.

Stiller also starred as the title role in the Paramount Pictures comedy Zoolander, based on the story of Derek Zoolander, a character he co-created with Drake Sather for the VH-1 Fashion Awards. Stiller co-wrote, directed and also produced the film through Red Hour Films with partner Stuart Cornfeld.

Prior to that Stiller also starred in Jay Roach’s blockbuster Meet the Parents for Universal Pictures. The film, which also stars Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson, has grossed over $150 million in the U.S. The film won a People’s Choice award and earned Stiller an American Comedy Award for 'Funniest Male Performance'. He is also nominated for two MTV Movie Awards: Best Comedic Performance and Best On-Screen Team (with Robert De Niro). Stiller also starred in Wes Anderson’s comedy The Royal Tenenbaums for Disney, with Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Stiller has an exclusive, three-year, first-look film and television production deal with DreamWorks, in which he will write, produce and direct films under his own banner, Red Hour Films.

Stiller made his feature-length motion picture directorial debut in 1994 with the critically acclaimed Reality Bites, in which he also co-starred with Winona Ryder, Janeane Garofalo and Ethan Hawke. He went on to direct Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick in The Cable Guy for Columbia Pictures.

Disney

As an actor, Stiller has amassed a variety of film credits. He starred in Disney’s Keeping the Faith with Edward Norton (who also directed the film) and Jenna Elfman. In 1998, Stiller appeared in Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s smash hit romantic comedy, There’s Something About Mary, for 20th Century Fox. The film also starred Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon. He gained critical notice in the feature film Permanent Midnight, directed by David Veloz and based on Jerry Stahl’s controversial Hollywood memoir.

He was also seen in Universal Pictures’ Mystery Men; directed by Kinka Usher, the film also starred Hank Azaria, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Reubens, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo and William H. Macy. He also appeared in Neil LaBute’s Your Friends & Neighbours; written and directed by LaBute, the ensemble drama also stars Jason Patric, Nastassja Kinski, Catherine Keener and Aaron Eckhart. He appeared in Jake Kasdan’s Zero Effect with Bill Pullman; the comedy/mystery was selected to take part in the 'Un Certain Regard' sidebar of the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

He also starred in David O. Russell’s Flirting With Disaster, opposite Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Josh Brolin, Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin; Steven Spielberg’s epic World War II adventure, Empire of the Sun; John Irvin’s Next of Kin; David Anspaugh’s Fresh Horses; and John Erman’s Stella.

Stiller made his professional acting debut on Broadway in 1985 starring opposite John Mahoney in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves. While appearing in the play, Stiller persuaded Mahoney and fellow cast members Swoosie Kurtz, Stockard Channing and Julie Hagerty to appear in a short comedy film, his first true directorial effort, The Hustler of Money.

The short film, a parody of Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money, eventually aired on US TV's Saturday Night Live, where it was so well received Stiller was subsequently hired as a featured player and apprentice writer for the NBC comedy series.

Following his stint at Saturday Night Live, Stiller directed a comedy special for MTV called Back to Brooklyn. Stiller followed that project by creating The Ben Stiller Show, also for MTV, and later collaborated with Judd Apatow for a 13-episode run on FOX. A critical success, Stiller, along with the rest of the writing staff, was awarded an Emmy for outstanding comedy writing. Warner Home Video recently released all 13 episodes on DVD.

Sit-Com

Born in Sherman Oaks, California, and raised in New York City, Jennifer Aniston (Polly Prince) is a versatile actress who was exposed to acting at an early age by her father, John Aniston, who starred on NBC’s daytime drama, Days of Our Lives, and by her godfather, the late Telly Savalas. Of course, Aniston currently stars in the hit ensemble comedy Friends, along with Courteney Cox-Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow, now in its 10th - and promised final - season on NBC.

Her work as Rachel Green has earned her two Emmy Award nominations for 'Best Supporting Actress'; three People’s Choice Awards for 'Best Actress in a Comedy Series'; two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for 'Best Actress in a Comedy'; as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award for 'Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy', Drama or Mini-series and for 'Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series'.

She won her first Emmy in 2002 as 'Lead Actress in a Comedy Series', as well as her first Golden Globe Award in 2003 as 'Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series'. She recently received her second Emmy nomination for 'Lead Actress in a Comedy Series'.

In addition to the massive success she has achieved on the small screen, Aniston continues to branch out with very different roles on the silver screen. She most recently starred opposite Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman in the smash hit Tom Shadyac comedy, Bruce Almighty. She also recently starred in Miguel Arteta’s critically acclaimed third film, The Good Girl, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly and Zooey Deschanel, a role for which Aniston earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. The film made its debut to rave reviews at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Picture Perfect

Aniston’s film credits include: Rock Star, opposite Mark Wahlberg and directed by Stephen Herek; She’s the One, opposite director Ed Burns and Cameron Diaz; Picture Perfect, opposite Kevin Bacon and Olympia Dukakis, directed by Glenn Gordon Caron; ‘Til There Was You, with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Sarah Jessica Parker and Dylan McDermott; and the critically praised The Object of My Affection, opposite Paul Rudd. Her other film credits include Office Space and Dreams for an Insomniac.

Aniston, who is of Greek descent, spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family, but relocated to New York when her father landed a role on the daytime drama Love of Life. She had her first taste of acting at age 11, when she joined the Rudolf Steiner School’s drama club.

Aniston said, “I was always fascinated by acting, but my experience at Rudolf Steiner encouraged me to pursue it as a career. Steiner was a free-spirited school that encouraged creativity and individualism.”

Her experience at the Rudolf Steiner School also helped Aniston develop a passion for art. At age 11, one of Aniston’s paintings was selected to be on display in an exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

She began her professional training as a drama student at New York’s High School of the Performing Arts. After graduating in 1987, Aniston won roles in such off-Broadway productions as For Dear Life at New York’s Public Theatre and Dancing on Checker’s Grave. In 1989, she landed her first television role as a series regular on Molloy. Aniston’s other television credits include series regular roles on The Edge and Ferris Bueller; a recurring role on Herman’s Head; and guest-starring roles on such series as Quantum Leap and Burke’s Law. Aniston currently resides in Los Angeles.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Sandy Lyle) continues to wow audiences and film critics, starring in a broad range of critically acclaimed productions. Another place to see Hoffman on the big screen at the moment is in Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain. He has just completed filming HBO’s Empire Falls. Earlier this year he starred in Owning Mahowny, which had its world premiere at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

Last year, he appeared in the blockbuster Red Dragon (the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs) with Edward Norton, and in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love opposite Adam Sandler, marking the fourth time Hoffman has worked with his friend Anderson. He also starred in Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, re-teaming him with Norton, and won rave reviews for his soulful performance in Love Liza, which was written by Hoffman’s brother, Gordy, debuted at Sundance and won the 'Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award'.

His other film credits include David Mamet’s State and Main and Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. In 1999 he appeared in three films—opposite Robert De Niro in Joel Schumacher’s Flawless, which earned him a London Film Critics and SAG nomination for 'Best Actor'; alongside Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley; and with Tom Cruise and Jason Robards in Anderson’s Magnolia, in which the cast was honored with an Ensemble SAG Award nomination. Hoffman received the National Board of Review’s 'Best Supporting Actor Award' for his work in both The Talented Mr. Ripley and Magnolia.

Additional notable roles are Anderson’s Boogie Nights and Hard Eight, as well as Happiness (which garnered him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for 'Best Supporting Male'), Patch Adams, The Big Lebowski, Twister, Scent of a Woman and Nobody’s Fool. On Broadway, his recent performance as James Tyrone, Jr. in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night earned him a Tony nomination for 'Best Supporting Actor'. Hoffman starred in the latest production of Sam Shepard’s True West, which earned him a nomination for a Tony Award in dual roles.

Other stage work includes The Seagull, directed by Mike Nichols with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline at the Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park; Defying Gravity at the American Place Theatre and The Merchant of Venice, directed by Peter Sellers.

As the Co-Artistic Director of the New York-based theatre company, LAByrinth, Hoffman directed Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train and In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings, both written by Stephen Adly Guirgis. He also moved the production of Jesus to the Donmar Warehouse and subsequently London’s West End. At the end of 2001, Hoffman directed the New York premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s play, The Glory of Living, for the Manhattan Class Company. In the summer of 2002, Philip directed Our Lady of 121st Street, also written by Stephen Adley Guirgis for LAByrinth, which had such a successful run it was moved to a larger venue, the Union Square Theatre.

Emmy Award winner Debra Messing (Lisa Kramer) can currently be seen in NBC’s award-winning Will & Grace, which is currently in its sixth season. Messing stars as Grace Adler, an interior designer whose best friend and soul mate is gay. Messing has earned one Emmy Award for 'Best Actress' and three nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, one SAG nomination and two American Comedy Award nominations for her portrayal of Grace on the groundbreaking sitcom.

Messing has been juggling both feature films and a successful television show for several years now. She recently completed shooting the lead role in the romantic comedy entitled Something Borrowed, which will be released next year. In the film, Messing portrays Kat Ellis, a woman who hires a male escort (portrayed by Dermot Mulroney) to accompany her to a wedding in London so she can face her ex-fiancée, who happens to be the best man.

Garfield: The Movie

She also lent her voice talents to play Arlene in the animated release Garfield: The Movie, along with Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield. The movie will be released in June, 2004.

Most recently, Messing co-starred in Woody Allen’s comedy, Hollywood Ending, opposite Woody Allen and Téa Leoni, and in The Mothman Prophecies, opposite Richard Gere, in which she portrayed his wife. Additional film credits include: Alfonso Arau’s romantic love story, A Walk in the Clouds; and Woody Allen’s Celebrity. Her television credits include the four-hour CBS mini-series, Jesus; the ABC thriller, Prey; the Fox comedy, Ned & Stacey; NYPD Blue; and Seinfeld.

Messing received her liberal arts education at Brandeis University, where she majored in theatre arts. She spent half of her junior year studying in London’s prestigious B.E.S.G.L. program, which featured dramatic arts teachers recruited from various distinguished institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Cambridge University and Oxford University.

Upon graduating Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University, she was accepted into N.Y.U.’s elite graduate acting program and received her M.F.A. three years later.

Messing garnered much excitement in New York over her portrayal of Harper Pitt in the pre-Broadway workshop of Tony Kushner’s Tony Award-winning play Angels in America: Perestroika. She then left New York for Seattle to star as Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Intiman Theatre. Upon returning, she was cast as both Mary Louise Parker’s and Polly Draper’s understudy in the New York premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s critically acclaimed off-Broadway play Four Dogs and a Bone at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Messing went on to co-star in Paul Rudnick’s off-Broadway play, The Naked Truth.

Messing co-starred with Maria Tucci in the highly acclaimed, two-woman, off-Broadway production of Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories, which premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club and was chosen as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

During her free time she supports charities such as the Human Rights Campaign Project Angel Food and various breast cancer charities. Messing currently resides in Los Angeles.

Hank Azaria’s (Claude) ability to transform himself into a multitude of characters has made him one of the most sought-after actors today.

Azaria was most recently seen in the feature Shattered Glass, starring alongside Hayden Christensen and Chloë Sevigny. Last summer, the actor starred in the London West End production of David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago, opposite Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver.

Azaria will soon be seen starring in Eulogy, with Winona Ryder, Zooey Deschanel and Debra Winger. He will also star in and produce the Showtime drama pilot Huff. He also recently co-wrote, produced and directed the short film, Ray’s X-ray Vision.

Azaria provides the voices for several key characters on the animated hit comedy series The Simpsons. He has won three Emmys for his work on the show - including a recent 2003 win. Azaria has also been nominated for a 2003 Emmy Award for 'Guest Actor in a Comedy' for his role as David (Phoebe’s scientist guy) on NBC’s hit Friends. Last year, he starred in the NBC mini-series, Uprising, which told the story of Jewish resistance fights in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.

Along Came Polly is out now - certificate 12 - on DVD.

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