JUDGES

John Cusack
Actor, Writer, Producer
John Cusack is, like most of his characters, an unconventional hero. Wary of fame and repelled by formulaic Hollywood fare, the Chicago-born actor has built a successful career from playing underdogs and odd men out in classic unforgettable films like Say Anything, The Grifters, Grosse Point Blank (which he also co-wrote and co-produced), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Being John Malkovich and High Fidelity. He's a founding member of the Chicago-based political and avant-garde theater group The New Criminals and currently is developing and producing films with New Crime Productions.

Al Franken
Comedian, Author and Commentator
An Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, New York Times bestselling author, and Grammy-winning comedian, Al Franken was part of the original writing staff that created the groundbreaking late night show Saturday Night Live. In 1992, he anchored Comedy Central's Indecision '92, winning wide critical acclaim for his coverage of both conventions and election night, and has since remained a passionate and outspoken political commentator.

His most recent book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, was on The New York Times bestseller list for thirty-five weeks and was number one for seven weeks. Franken's recording of Lies on tape won the 2003 Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album.

Arianna Huffington
Political Commentator & Satirist, Author, Columnist
An impassioned, independent advocate for political reform and social awareness, Arianna Huffington gives voice to those who are frustrated by politics as usual.

Named one of Washington's most influential commentators by both Newsweek and People, Huffington writes a syndicated column for newspapers around the country. With wit, candor and a dose of political satire, she counters conventional wisdom and inspires others to take action to produce change. Some of the issues she is most passionate about include economic morality, civic engagement, reframing the values that define the Democratic Party, and the influence of special interest money on public policy. She is the co-founder of The Detroit Project, the national campaign linking fuel efficiency to national security and our addiction to foreign oil.

Huffington is the author of ten books, including NY Times bestseller Pigs at the Trough; and international bestselling biographies of Maria Callas and Pablo Picasso. Her latest book, Fanatics & Fools: The Game Plan for Winning Back America, offers a how-to guide for anyone interested in restoring America to the promise and moral greatness envisioned by our finest leaders, from Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Rooselvelt to FDR and JFK. Born in Greece, Arianna Huffington holds a Masters in Economics from Cambridge University.

Richard Linklater
Writer, Director
Richard Linklater is known for his independent-spirited filmmaking and for discovering some of today's most talented actors. Before Slacker, an experimental narrative revolving around 24 hours in the lives of 100 characters, garnered acclaim in 1991, Linklater had made many shorts and completed a Super 8 feature, It's Impossible To Learn How To Plow By Reading Books (1988).

Linklater's additional credits include the 70's cult hit Dazed and Confused (1993); Before Sunrise (1995), for which Linklater won the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Award for Best Director; Suburbia (1997); The Newton Boys (1998), a western/gangster film set in the 1920s; the animated feature Waking Life (2001); the low-budget, real-time drama Tape (2001); the short documentary Live FromShiva's Dance Floor (2003): the hit comedy School of Rock (2003); and the critically-acclaimed Before Sunset (2004). He is currently in postproduction on an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly, which is another feature using the animation techniques pioneered by Linklater with Waking Life .

Linklater also serves as the Artistic Director for the Austin Film Society, which he founded in 1985 to showcase films from around the world that were not typically shown in Austin. The Austin Film Society shows over 100 films a year and has given out $473,000 in grants to Texas filmmakers. In 1999, the Austin Film Society received the first National Honoree Award from the Directors Guild of America in recognition of its support of the arts.

Aaron McGruder
Artist, Animator, Writer, Political Satirist
Breaking down barriers in ways that are both stimulating and inventive, Aaron McGruder is the creator and executive producer of THE BOONDOCKS, Sony Pictures Television's new half-hour animated comedy for Cartoon Network, which is based on his award-winning comic strip of the same name.

The Boondocks tells the story of Huey and Riley, two African-American inner-city youths who move to the suburbs with their grandpa, Robert "Granddad" Freeman

McGruder has voiced his thoughts on the world around him through Huey and Riley, and whether considered taboo or not, has tackled topics such as race relations, interracial marriage, bi-racial identity and juvenile delinquency, in addition to political happenings and current events. At launch in April 1999, The Boondocks comic strip was published in over 150 newspapers across the nation, making it the second largest launch for a strip ever. Within its first few months in print, The Boondocks quickly made its way into 200 publications and today the groundbreaking strip can be seen in more than 350 newspapers nationwide.

The enormous success of the comic strip led to a multiple book publishing deal with, The Boondocks: Because I know You Don't Read the Newspaper, Fresh 01…You Suckas, A Right to be Hostile, (released in October 2003 with a forward written by filmmaker Michael Moore), the political comedy Birth of A Nation and finally, McGruder's Public Enemy #2: An All-New Boondocks Collection is due in bookstores in March 2005.

McGruder is currently working with Sony Pictures Animation on an animated film version of The Boondocks. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Afro-American Studies, with a concentration in social and cultural analysis. McGruder was awarded the prestigious Chairman's Award at the NAACP Image Awards 2002. www.boondocks.net