Ismail Merchant

Heights -- Spanning twenty-four hours, Heights follows five New Yorkers challenged to choose their destiny before the sun comes up the next day.

The White Countess -- Set in 1930s Shanghai, a blind American diplomat (Ralph Fiennes) develops a curious relationship with a young Russian refugee (Natasha Richardson) who works odd - and sometimes illicit - jobs to support members of her dead husband's aristocratic family.

In this final film by Oscar-nominated producer Ismail Merchant (1994, Best Picture, Remains of the Day), and Oscar-nominee James Ivory (1993, Best Director, Howard's End), 1930s Shanghai provides the backdrop for this exceptional drama starring two-time Oscar-nominee Ralph Fiennes (1997, Best Actor, The English Patient; 1994, Best Supporting Actor, Shindler's List) as Todd Jackson, a diplomat blinded in a bombing. An encounter with Sophia (Natasha Richardson, Maid in Manhattan), an exiled Countess employed as a bar girl, inspires him to open his own club, but only if she will work for him. Sophia's in-laws (two-time Oscar-nominee Lynn Redgrave) and Sarah (Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave), greedily pocket her income, but denounce her as a bad influence on her daughter. When Japanese troops invade the city, a mass exodus ensues! Alone and afraid, Sophia clings to the only hope left to her - finding her missing daughter!

Diana (Glenn Close) is a legendary superstar who's attracted to Alec (Jesse Bradford, Swimfan), a struggling young actor who lives in the same building as her daughter Isabel (Elizabeth Banks, Spider-Man 2), a self-absorbed photographer who's about to marry Jonathan (James Marsden, The Notebook), atemperamental attorney who's trying to avoid Peter (John Light, TV's "Band of Brothers"), a Britishjournalist assigned to interview his famous lover's ex-flames. These five very different people meet, connect and resolve their relationships in this "wonderfully-acted, intelligently-written and directed drama. One of the best films of the season" (Jeffrey Lyons, NBC)!