Talent Jug - Casting Calls and Auditions

Guys like Alex O’Loughlin could grow into big stars

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Almost forgot to post this article from USA Today:

Guys like Alex O’Loughlin could grow into big stars
Friday, April 23, 2010
By Andrea Mandell, USA TODAY

What makes a great date? In Hollywood, it’s a pair of stars bringing in major box-office dollars. But when a leading lady is taking home the movie budget’s proverbial bacon, where does a casting director go to find, say, Jennifer Lopez’s match made in cinematic heaven?

USA TODAY’s Andrea Mandell and casting director Lana Veenker (Twilight, TNT’s Leverage) trace the path that has under-the-radar actors locking lips with some of Hollywood’s hottest stars.

Link to article.

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Leverage Con-Con with Aldis Hodge

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Go with Aldis Hodge as he takes the TNT cameras on a behind-the-scenes tour of Leverage Con Con 2010.

Season 3 premieres in June!! We can’t wait for you to see all of our amazing guests and co-stars!

Link to TNT website.

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John Travolta, Patrick Wilson and more at Sunscreen Film Festival

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After teaching a few workshops back in November for the Sunscreen Film Festival, I was excited to be invited back to St. Petersburg, Florida for their main shindig last weekend!

There was an excellent line up, with actors such as John Travolta (Wild Hogs, Pulp Fiction), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen), Alexa Vega (Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2), Bill Cobbs (Night at the Museum), Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back), Ethan Suplee (My Name is Earl), our own Ayanna Berkshire (Twilight, Extraordinary Measures) and Solomon Trimble (Twilight)–plus Ralph Winter (Producer of X-Men 1-3, Wolverine, Fantastic Four and Star Trek 2-4), Sean Covel and Doc Wyatt (Producers of Napoleon Dynamite), Dean Batali (Producer/Head Writer of That 70’s Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Phil Cooke (Director and Producer of Christian Films), Leo Partible (Comic Author-Producer), Michael Tolcher (Composer/Musician for Scrubs, One Tree Hill and ESPN).

On Saturday, I arrived on a red-eye flight, took a quick shower and raced over to sit on a panel with Solomon, Patrick, Ayanna, Alexa and Ethan to talk with actors about the biz.

In the evening, we attended the Festival Awards Ceremony and Party, featuring John Travolta and hosted by Paul Wilson, who then hit the stage with brothers Patrick and Mark for a special musical performance that brought down the house.

Many thanks to Tony Armer and Dave DeBorde of Sunscreen Film Festival and Sibyl Lazzara, actress and board member, whose support was instrumental in getting me there!

Click here to view more photos by Brad Kugler, Photographer Extraordinaire.

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"Leveraging" the impact of film with our legislators

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Click here to hear our testimony today at the State Capitol on “Leveraging” the Impact of the Film/Video Tax Credit Extension Law of 2009:

House Committee on Sustainability and Economic Development

Testifying:

John Rogers, Executive Producer, and co-creator of Leverage
(via Skype)
Lana Veenker, Casting Director, Lana Veenker Casting
Vince Porter, Executive Director, Oregon Film and Video Office
David Besaw, Owner, 52nd Avenue Hardware & Building Supply

Members:

Rep. Tobias Read, Chair
Rep. Cliff Bentz, Vice-Chair
Rep. Jules Bailey
Rep. Lew Frederick
Rep. Vic Gilliam

Also in Attendance:

Rep. Phil Barnhart (House Revenue Committee)

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Celebrity Vampire Baseball in NOLA and more

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This is a little past due, but my report on the recent Celebrity Vampire Baseball fundraiser in New Orleans was delayed by a little something called the “kernel panic screen” on my computer. Not good.

No amount of restarting would bring this baby back to life. It took three attempts to completely erase my hard drive and reinstall all the programs, only to see the Screen of Death once again, when I attempted to restore my backed-up documents.

So, my beloved MacBook Air has been shipped off to Apple and I’m left trying to cast two TV shows, run a business, finish a book proposal, prepare my personal and business tax returns and update this blog on whatever computers I can get my hands. FUN!!

CELEBRITY VAMPIRE BASEBALL

For those who don’t know about Celebrity Vampire Baseball, it is a fundraising event organized by Fan Trips. In the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer, baseball is a favorite pastime of the Cullen family of vampires. The fundraiser pits Twilight actors against other celebrities to help raise money for various non-profit organizations, such as the American Red Cross and Hope for Haiti Now.

I taught a few acting workshops in conjunction with Vampire Baseball last summer in Portland and also helped out as a talent wrangler (a task similar to herding cats). We had a blast with Edi Gathegi, Rachelle LeFevre, Peter Facinelli and several others from the Twilight cast.

So when I was lucky enough to be invited to help out again on the event–this time in New Orleans–I jumped at the chance. I had never been to Louisiana and was looking forward to seeing many of my Twilight and New Moon friends again, including Alex Meraz, Chaske Spencer, Gavin Bristol, Alexander Mendeluk and many of my behind-the-scenes buddies, such as agents and fan site administrators.

One of the best parts of this game was the team of people on the ground in New Orleans who had banded together to help us out. Louisiana has a thriving film industry and I got to meet several actors, directors, producers and other professionals who had volunteered to pitch in and make the event a success.

I had a blast hanging out with them and learning more about how Louisiana has built its film industry from the ground up. Even post-Katrina, there are 80 (count them: EIGHTY) films shooting in Louisiana this year that have qualified for state film incentives. Other states certainly have a few things to learn!!

Of course, the funnest part was the game itself, which was full of antics on the part of the actors and the other celebrities who participated (including New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley of Super Bowl fame and actor Nelsan Ellis of True Blood).

The evening ended with a concert by MUTEMATH, Lee Safar, The National Rifle and Sole Pursuit, benefiting Haiti relief efforts. All in all, a great weekend!

Once I get my computer back, I’ll edit this post to add some photos. In the meantime, here’s a video taken by one of the fans of Alex Meraz performing some pretty awesome dance moves. Enjoy!

Can’t wait until Vampire Baseball Salt Lake City on May 22nd, where Twilight actors will compete against Olympic athletes!

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