LOS ANGELES (July 14, 2006) – Five-time Grammy Award-winning composer and drummer Stewart Copeland’s directorial debut, EVERYONE STARES: THE POLICE INSIDE OUT, will premiere Sunday, August 6 at 8:30 PM ET/PT, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks. 

 

EVERYONE STARES: THE POLICE INSIDE OUT is a first-person account of The Police’s ascent from obscurity to worldwide fame as well as an astute and sometimes hilarious commentary on the pop culture of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. Culled from more than 50 hours of Super 8 movies Copeland shot during the acclaimed trio’s heyday, the film offers an insider’s perspective on touring, band members and adoring fans, putting the audience in the drummer’s seat. Copeland’s kinetic and artful camerawork forms a visual ode to the rhythm of the road: a surreal swirl of hotel rooms, bus rides, press conferences and record signings, punctuated by nightly flashes of electrifying on-stage exhilaration.

 

Formed in 1977 and marked by Copeland’s intricately syncopated Caribbean-influenced drumming, Andy Summers’ lush guitar harmonies and Sting’s keening vocal style and driving bass, The Police delivered a bracing, sophisticated alternative to the head-banging punk rock of the day. Shortly after the release of their first album, Outlandos d’ Amour, the band’s fresh sound caught fire with audiences in the U.S. and Europe. In a few short years, these 20-something rock virtuosos went from touring grungy clubs in a beat-up car to flying between arena gigs in a private plane. But despite the sudden, intoxicating and sometimes terrifying rush of fame, The Police remained a remarkably close-knit unit throughout the early 1980s, sustained by a rare musical compatibility, a shared sense of humor and the knowledge they had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams – largely on their own terms.

 

Copeland’s breezy narration and on-screen annotations provide a wry, sometimes self-mocking perspective on the group’s high jinks: from a lip-syncing session on skis for an early music video to their later travels throughout the world. Edited with a percussionist’s precision timing and a composer’s ear for the inherent pulse of each scene, Copeland scores the film using a pastiche of de-constructed studio and live versions of The Police’s extensive and memorable repertoire.

 

“As soon as I raised the camera to my eye and started filming, amazing things began to happen,” Copeland recalls. “A thrill ride began that took our group to the tippy-top of the music ziggurat. It was such an unreal experience that it seemed to make the most sense when I watched it through the lens of my camera. It was literally like watching a movie as the band sparked a fire that lit up the world for us. EVERYONE STARES is that movie.”

 

Copeland is an award-winning film and television composer who has written scores for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film Rumble Fish, for which he received a Golden Globe^® nomination, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street and Talk Radio, John Hughes’ She’s Having A Baby, John Waters’ Pecker and Bruno Barretto’s Oscar^® nominated Four Days In September. His television credits including scores for “Desperate Housewives,” “Dead Like Me,” for which he received an Emmy^® nomination, and “The Amanda Show.”

 

Copeland was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for “Birds Of Prey” from his 2005 CD Orchestralli. Copeland won five Grammys for his work with The Police.

 

EVERYONE STARES: THE POLICE INSIDE OUT is directed, produced, and written by Stewart Copeland. He is also co-editor, cinematographer and narrator. Derek Power and Miles Copeland are the film's Executive Producers.The documentary debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.

 

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND™ and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.

 

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Nicole Caprio                                                Amy Grey/Ashley Marriner

Showtime Networks                                      Dish Communications

(310) 234-5218                                             818-508-1000

 

 

From the first time they set foot on American soil, The Police were hailed as a "must-see" band -- a group that alchemized an already impressive studio sound into something utterly otherworldly when they hit the stage. Masters of controlled energy and insidiously evocative melodies, Stewart Copeland, Sting and Andy Summers played with the improvisational instincts of a jazz trio and the raw energy of a punk-rock band -- a combination that made them one of the definitive rock groups of the'70s and'80s.

 

The group originally broke through at the same time that punk was shaking up the music scene in the late 70’s. Each member came from a different musical font-background-vcpe: Summers played with Soft Machine and Kevin Ayers, Copeland was a member of Curved Air and Sting had played in various jazz fusion groups. The band took a pass on histrionics, and instead forged an understated virtuosity, burying their chops inside reggae grooves and intricate arrangements. Between Summers' alternately scathing and delicate guitar work, Copeland's deceptively complex polyrhythms and Sting's loping bass and soaring vocals, The Police were indisputably the most adventurous ambassadors of the genre then known as new wave.

 

Their first album, Outlandos D’Amour debuted on A&M Records in 1978 and quickly climbed the charts with such hits as “Roxanne” and “So Lonely,” The following year saw the release of their sophomore record Reggatta de Blanc which also topped the charts and brought us such hits as “Message in a Bottle” and “Walking on the Moon” as well as honoring the band with their first Grammy for the record’s title track. Zenyatta Mondatta soon followed in 1980, resulting in two more Grammy awards for the group as well as Top Ten hits “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.”   In 1981, The Police put out Ghost in the Machine which went double platinum with hit singles “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” and “Spirits in the Material World.”

 

After a year-long sabbatical, the members reunited to record Synchronicity, an album that would prove to be their studio swansong. The most successful Police album yet, it produced one of the most-remembered rock ballads of the '80s -"Every Breath You Take" - and led the band to embark on a wildly successful tour that would complete their journey from sweaty clubs to stadiums. In fact, the Police ranked the #1 most played band on U.S. radio in the '80s.

 

Although they existed for just over six years, the band's contribution to the lexicon of rock was immense. They were the first band to fully integrate the no-nonsense approach of punk rock and the spirit-moving positive energy of reggae. The Police had phenomenal chart success and won a multitude of accolades both public and critical, but they never allowed such peripherals to overshadow their commitment to the music itself. The band’s history bears that out from the beginning to end, providing a clear, concise picture of a musical group that took us on a short-but-unforgettable trip through the inner reaches of its soul - and let us have a great time in the process.

 

 

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Recipient of the Hollywood Film Festival's first Outstanding Music in Film Visionary Award, a Grammy nominee for his 2005 CD “Orchestralli” and a 2003 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Stewart Copeland – the former drummer and founder of The Police – has been responsible for some of the film world's most innovative and groundbreaking scores. His career includes the sale of more than 60 million records worldwide, and numerous Awards, including five Grammies. Meanwhile, his travels in search of musical celebration and exotic rhythms have taken him around the world several times.

 

No journey, however, was more profoundly life changing for Copeland than that taken when he founded the Police. The trio, featuring Sting as its charismatic lead singer, principal songwriter and bassist, Andy Summers as its highly inventive guitarist along with Copeland’s unique drumming went on to sustain an extraordinary career both critically lauded and hugely respected as one of the world’s biggest selling and melodically and lyrically original rock and roll bands. The rise, subsequent success and ultimate demise of the Police over an eight year period were all recorded and kept as a video diary in 8mm film by Copeland, the band’s founder. That diary has become Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out premiered in January 2006 at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was acquired by Showtime and will debut on the network, August 6, 2006.

 

During his composing career Copeland has enjoyed successful collaborations with some of Hollywood's most acclaimed and eclectic directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone, Kevin Reynolds, Bruce Beresford, Ken Loach, and John Hughes. His recent film and television assignments have included Desperate Housewives, a two-year stint on the quirky, critically acclaimed Showtime series, Dead Like Me, the upcoming Amanda Bynes film, Lovewrecked for director Randall Kleiser, I Am David, written and directed by Paul Feig, of the much acclaimed series, “Freaks and Geeks.” Copeland also composed the music for Miramax's teen smash She’s All That, for Sam Shepard's taut drama Simpatico, and for Brazilian auteur Bruno Barretto's Four Days in September (which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film in 1998).

In the fall of 2000, Copeland teamed up with Primus' vocalist and bass player Les Claypool, and guitarist and vocalist Trey Anastasio of Phish to form ‘Oysterhead’ with whom he recorded a sparkling album on Elektra Records and toured to sold-out houses. Copeland's recent work spans a broad spectrum of the musical world. His “Orchestralli” ensemble CD, a current Grammy nominee, comprised of Copeland, a four piece percussion quartet and a chamber orchestra performed Stewart's blend of energetic original compositions and has appeared every year since 2002 in several Northern European cities. A Southern Italian version of that ensemble: ‘La Notte di Taranta’, toured Italy to rapturous response and he made a guest appearance as the drummer in a new version of The Doors, fronted by The Cult's Ian Astbury.

It was in 1984 that Copeland began his move beyond the rock arena, creating a memorable score to Francis Ford Coppola's so called ‘art movie for kids’ Rumblefish. That soundtrack featured a strikingly original mixture of traditional percussion, electronically sampled car horns and ticking clocks. Stewart's unique and daring work pioneered the whole field of sound-designed scores, and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Score. Soon after, Oliver Stone called on him to write the score to Wall Street in which he wove eerie howls and ringing bells to help create the tone of Stone's dog-eat-dog world,and before long Copeland realized he was fully launched into a new field, one that he enjoys as his ‘day job’ to the present moment.

 

In 1977 Copeland founded The Police with singer/bassist Sting and guitarist Henri Padovani, who was soon replaced by Andy Summers. After a string of worldwide hits, five Grammy Awards, tens of millions of albums sold and a series of packed arena tours, the band broke up in 1986.

 

Born in Damascus, Copeland grew up in the Middle East and later attended college in California before moving to England in 1975. He is married to his second wife and is the father of seven children. He lives in Los Angeles.

 

Nicole Caprio                                    Amy Grey

(310) 234-5218                                 818-508-1000