Muse Productions was founded in 1991 by Chris and Roberta Hanley as an independent feature film company. MUSE made its debut with the feature film Freeway. Matthew Bright wrote and directed the picture which was Executive Produced by Oliver Stone and stars Reese Witherspoon, Keifer Sutherland, Amanda Plummer and Danny Hadaya.
Muse Productions then went on to produce Steve Buscemi’s directorial debut, Trees Lounge. Buscemi, who also wrote and starred in the project, earned an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Director. Trees Lounge boasts an impressive cast of actors including Samuel L. Jackson, Chloe Sevigny, Mark Boone Jr., Kevin Corrigan, Danny Baldwin, Seymour Cassel, and Mimi Rogers.
MUSE then followed with the Jim Thompson thriller This World, Then The Fireworks which made its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival's with its director, Michael Oblowitz, up for the Camera D'or. Fireworks was adapted by Larry Gross (48 Hours) and stars Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, Sheryl Lee, and has outstanding supporting performances from Will Patton, Seymour Cassel, Richie Edson, and Rue McClanahan.
James Toback, the Academy Award nominated writer of Bugsy, wrote and directed Two Girls & A Guy. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Heather Graham, and Natasha Gregson Wagner. MUSE co-produced and co-financed this project with Ed Pressman and sold the US rights to Fox Searchlight.
Buffalo 66, was Vincent Gallo’s stunning directorial debut. Buffalo '66, which Gallo wrote and starred in as well, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and boasts an impressive cast including Anjelica Huston, Christina Ricci, Roasanna Arquette, Mickey Rourke, Ben Gazzara, and Kevin Corrigan.
Muse Productions premiered Ed Wood Jr.’s I Woke Up Early theDay I Died at the Toronto International Festival. The film was directed by Aris Iliopolis and stars Billy Zane with an amazing supporting cast including Christina Ricci, Johnathon Taylor Thomas, John Ritter, Will Patton, Tippi Hedron, Ron Perlman, and many more.
Roberta Hanley’s directorial debut, Woundings premiered at the 1998 AFI Film Festival. Adapted from a play by Jeff Noon (Vurt, Pollen), the film is set on the Isle of Man and stars Guy Pearce, Jonathon Schaech, Noah Taylor, and Emily Lloyd. Blake Nelson's coming of age novel Girl screened at the Slamdance Film Festival. The film was helmed by Jonathan Kahn and stars Dominique Swain and Sean Patrick Flannery.
Also completed is the feature film Revenant, written by Matthew Bright this film was directed by Richard Elfman and stars Casper Van-Diem, Rod Steiger, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Natasha Lyonne, and Kim Catrall.
Muse Productions brought to the screen the best selling novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides. Sofia Coppola directed with Danny Devito, Kathleen Turner, James Woods, Josh Hartnett, and Kirsten Dunst starring. Francis Ford Coppola and Danny Halsted Co-Produced with Muse.
Matthew Bright’s follow up to Freeway was shot in Vancouver. This twist on Hansel and Gretle known as Confessions of a Trick Baby was also titled Freeway II and stars Natasha Lyonne, David Allen Greer, Michael T.Weiss, Max Perlich and Vincent Gallo.
After years of development American Psycho opened across the country in Spring 2000 in over 1000 theatres. Mary Harron directed with Christian Bale in the lead.Psycho also stars Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Chloe Sevigny, Samantha Mathis and Willem Dafoe.
In 2000 Muse completed two Movies, Bully and Love Liza.
Bully is a true story of suburban teens murdering one of their own in Florida. Larry Clark of Kids directs his convincing vision of teenagers who have selected drugs and sex as the center of their lives and opt for lethal violence as well. Clark gets astounding performances from a young ensemble cast: Brad Renfro, Nick Stahl, Rachel Minor, Bijou Phillips, Michael Pitt, Kelli Garner. Bully opened unrated in the Summer of 2001. This controversial film received broad critical acclaim.
Love Liza is the story of a husband devastated by the suicide of his wife and his recovery. Todd Louiso directs the leads Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Oscar winner Kathy Bates.
In the first half of 2001 Muse wrapped the screwball black comedy SPUN. Swedish director Jonas Akerland’s music videos, including Madonna's Ray of Light, have won top honors. Akerland brings his highly stylized view of alternate mindscapes to the desperate antics and delusions of a dysfunctional community of amphetamine addicts in Oregon. Muse's cast for SPUN includes Jason Schwartzman, Brittany Murphy, Mena Suvari, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts and Debbie Harry.