COnversations

Kim Swanson C S A | Casting Director

Mon, 7 May 2012 14:52:22 -0500

As a performer, Kim Swanson began performing as a dancer at the age of four. She continued dance training for many years, and studied dance with the most respected master instructors in the field of dance, including Savion Glover, Lathanial Cooper, Van Porter, Gus Giordano, Joe Tremaine, Douglas Wassell, and David Howard. She went on to dance with several dance companies including “Jazz Works”, “La Troupe de Jazz”, “The Company”, “The Toledo Ballet”, and “L’ Jazz”.

In addition, she also performed with the world renowned “Giordano Dance Company”, the oldest and most respected jazz dance company in the United States. Later, she continued her stage career, appearing in “George M!” and “A Chorus Line”.

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Rex Sikes’Movie Beat chats with casting director Kim Swanson

Rex Sikes’Movie Beat chats w casting director Kim Swanson PT 2

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Rex Sikes’Movie Beat chats w casting director Kim Swanson PT 3

She also appeared in several national television commercials, print ads, and on film.   After working as a professional dancer and actress, she opened “The Studio, Inc.” one of the most respected dance training facilities in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, which is currently in its twenty first dance season.

The first two projects she completed casting for won Emmy Awards. The St. Louis Production community took notice of her unique ability to locate and spot true talent. Since then, due to her integrity, professionalism and abilities, she became the first Casting Director in the State of Missouri to become a member of the esteemed Casting Society of America, and one of the few outside of Los Angeles or New York to be accepted as a member.

She has been responsible for International Feature Film Projects, the first of which earned “Best Movie”, “Best Actor”, and “Best Actress” awards in Beijing, music videos, national television commercials and print advertisements, having completed casting for more than 500 projects. In addition, she has become an advocate of young talent, and assisted many in their pursuit for ethical representation within the film community, as well as assisting young film makers in pursuing their dreams.

Hanson Entertainment Industries, Inc., currently maintains a database list of more than 7,000 talent, and continues to search out new and fresh faces so we are able to quickly and efficiently meet our clients needs in providing talent of all types. Also believing it is important to continue to learn and grow professionally, Kim Swanson regularly attends training opportunities through CSA, master acting classes and dance classes.

She has been an instrumental part of creating and building the "Regional Casting Committee" within the CSA, to bridge the knowledge and resources of casting directors in the New York and Los Angeles markets, with their fellow professionals in other regions.

Recently, Kim has been the featured guest speaker at the Louisville Film Festival and has had her writings published by "Showfax", offering her insight to actors nationally. Working hand-in-hand with Gary Marsh, CEO of Breakdown Services, she has helped to create an open door to more opportunities for talent based in the Midwest.

By being the first casting director in St. Louis (and the State of Missouri) to bring Breakdown Services to the area, she has created a more professional presentation with more talent options when producer sessions take place within the Midwest market. As a member of CSA, she is also currently a member of the Artios Committee.

Kim has also been a guest panel speaker at various events through SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and other events, to share knowledge with both national and regional talent and increase the awareness of talent and casting professionals outside of the NY and LA markets.

Clint Howard | Actor

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:01:56 -0500

A career spanning over fifty years, Clint Howard has spent his entire life entertaining us in a variety of interesting and unique roles. From childhood roles in The Andy Griffith Show and Star Trek to of course, the hit TV Show Gentle Ben, Clint was a well recognized personality by the time he was ten.

Making the transition from juvenile to adult actor was no problem for Clint. Cult classic Rock N Roll High School and horror genre Evilspeak showed as an adult he could be versatile and affective.

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with actor Clint Howard

Whether Clint works in comedy classics like Waterboy, the Austin Powers film series or a hilarious episode of Seinfeld, he comfortably slides into dramatic roles such as Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon and Alabama Moon.

Recently, Clint can be seen in the campy, B Horror title, Bloodrayne Third Reich and Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem. He's also put on the producing hat, teaming with long time colleague Gavin Grazer on an indie comedy.

Born and raised in Burbank, California, Clint has always balanced his professional career with a 'hometown' oriented life. He continues to live with his wife Melanie in Burbank and stay active in the community.

Nicholas Tabarrok | Producer

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:52:15 -0500

Nicholas Tabarrok is a prolific film and television producer whose company, Darius Films, has offices in Los Angeles and Toronto.

Since 1998, he has produced over a dozen features that have received both commercial and critical success. Many of them have premiered at the world’s top film festivals: “The Life And Hard Times Of Guy Terrifico” (Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW 2005), “Hank And Mike” (Karlovy Vary 2007), “Surviving Crooked Lake” (Slamdance 2008), “Weirdsville” (Toronto International Film Festival and opening night gala of the 2007 Slamdance and Raindance Film Festivals), “Coopers’’ Christmas” (Toronto International Film Festival 2008), and “Defendor” (Toronto International Film Festival 2009).

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with producer Nicholas Tabarrok

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats w producer Nicholas Tabarrok PT 2

Nicholas’ most recent completed film, “A Beginner’s Guide To Endings” starring Harvey Keitel, Scott Caan and JK Simmons, will be released in summer 2012. “The Black Marks”, starring Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Jay Baruchel and Terence Stamp is currently in post-production and will be distributed by Dimension Films. Nicholas’ first television series, “Fugget About It”, will be airing in September 2012.
 Nicholas was honored by Variety Magazine as one the “Top Ten Producers to Watch” in 2008.

Darius Films Official Site

Peter Foldy | Director | Musician

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:20:17 -0500

Peter Foldy, Born in Budapest, Hungary, Peter Foldy spent his formative years in Sydney, Australia where he developed a friendship with three young musicians who would soon find world-wide success as the Bee Gees.

After a family move to Toronto, Canada, Foldy enrolled in film school, supporting himself by playing music at night with a rock & roll band. When a record company heard some of his original songs, Foldy was signed to a record deal and his first single, "Bondi Junction" went to Number One on the Canadian charts. He was contracted by Capitol/EMI and later by Polydor and RCA Records, enjoying a lengthy and successful recording career both in Canada and internationally.

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with director Peter Foldy

After several years of touring and recording, Foldy landed in Los Angeles where he began writing scripts. His second script, a teen comedy entitled "Hot Moves" managed founds it's way into the hands of a producer and was quickly made into a feature, enjoying considerable success in the U.S becoming an early pioneer of the teen comedy genre.

After directing a short film with then un-know actor, Paul Rudd, Foldy managed a random meeting with veteran producer, Menahem Golan, who handed him his first feature directing gig, "Midnight Witness" a project Foldy also wrote and produced. The film starred Jan-Michael Vincent, Maxwell Caulfield and Virginia Mayo and was successfully sold and seen world-wide.

Other feature films soon followed, including the HBO World Premier, "Widow's Kiss" with Beverly D'Angelo and Dennis Haybert, "Tryst" starring Barbara Carrera, Louise Fletcher and David Warner, "Seeds of Doubt" starring Peter Coyote and the quirky "Silver Man" with Eugene Levy, Joe Pantoliano and Daniel Baldwin.

Foldy won Best Director and "Silver Man" was awarded Best Film at the Planet Indie Film Festival in Toronto. The film also garnered a Jury Prize for Best Feature at the Tambay Film Festival in Tampa, Florida. It was shown theatrically in Canada and released on DVD in 2008 by Echo Bridge Entertainment.

He has also directed five episodes of the Fox TV series “US Customs-Classified” and was a co-creator and co-producer on the Showtime TV series, "My First Time."

A live stage production of “My First Time” had a highly successful run from 2007 through 2009 off-Broadway, and is currently being produced in over a dozen countries world-wide.

Foldy is developing several film projects as well as once again recording new music to be release through EMI Canada.

Peter Foldy Official Site

John Savage | Actor | Producer

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:20:37 -0500

This American film actor also multitasks as a producer, composer and production manager. He rose to fame in the 1970s, praised for his range and sensitivity. His blonde rugged looks helped viewers connect even more easily to his powerful performances.  Born John Youngs in Old Bethpage, New York, Savage attended the American Academy of Performing Arts. The Long Island boy debuted on Broadway in the chorus of "Fiddler On the Roof". He ended up playing one of the sons, after another actor fell sick. During this production, managers Stewart Cohen and Rudy Altobelli discovered Savage. Between 1972 and 1975, Savage did a number of films, a TV show and spent three years doing theater in Chicago; "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Dance on a Country Grave".

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Rex Sikes‘ Movie Beat chats with actor John Savage  UPCOMING LIVE: TBA TO LISTEN LIVE CLICK BOLDED Link Below:

Rex Sikes‘ Movie Beat chats with actor John Savage

He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to star in "Eric" with Patricia Neal and Mark Hamill, and then was cast by director Ulu Grosbard to play "Bobby" in the original production of David Mamet's "American Buffalo".  Savage first made a major splash with The Deer Hunter (1978), winner of the 1979 Best Picture Oscar. The film's impact on Hollywood and America remains enormous. Director Michael Cimino cast him as "Steven", who returns from Vietnam missing his legs.  The following year, this actor enjoyed leads in two more big pictures: the film adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh's The Onion Field (1979) and Milos Forman's musical Hair (1979). Savage played the corn-fed recruit "Claude Hooper Bukowski", who turns on, tunes in and drops out. Critics and film historians celebrated his performance -- both then and now. In fact, John Willis' "Screen World" hailed him as one of the 12 promising new actors of 1979 (Vol. 31).  In another major role, Savage appeared as the suicide-survivor in Richard Donner's Inside Moves (1980). Sensitive and moving, this feel-good film delivers a powerful message about overcoming adversity. He was nominated for Best Actor-Foreign for his work in The Amateur (1981). He went on to co-star in Maria's Lovers (1984) with Nastassja Kinski, backed by cinema legend Robert Mitchum.  Later films include Oliver Stone's Salvador (1986) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part III (1990) in place of Robert Duvall (who refused to appear due to a salary dispute). During the late 80s, Savage threw his star power behind the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. He continues to work despite his activism, including guest appearances in "The X-Files" (1993), "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995), "Dark Angel" (2000) and various "Law & Order" episodes.  He first collaborated with director Spike Lee as the bike-riding gentrifier in Do the Right Thing (1989), and then shifted to the camera's other side for Malcolm X (1992) and Summer of Sam (1999). as well as his Showtime TV movie Sucker Free City (2004) (TV). He also had a brief, but powerful, role in Terrence Malick's war epic, The Thin Red Line (1998).

He had also helped organize the Manhattan Children's Theatre Group, which continues to encourage the performing arts to at risk inner-city youth.  Since his return back to Los Angeles, John's career remains split between both television and film projects. He was a series regular on James Cameron's "Dark Angel" (2000), as well as the acclaimed HBO series "Carnivale" (2003). His silver screen presence remained with roles in American Strays (1996), The Thin Red Line (1998) and Message in a Bottle (1999). In 2009, John had several projects being released, including Handsome Harry (2009) (opposite Steve Buscemi) and The Coverup (2008) (opposite Eliza Dushku and Gabriel Macht).   As a producer, John has several projects in development and is committed to working with up-and-coming writers and directors.
 Married twice -- first to artist Susan Youngs and later to South African TV star Sandi Schultz -- Savage is the father of ceramic artist Lachlan Youngs and actress/singer/songwriter Jennifer Youngs.

John’s Facebook Friends Page

New John Savage Films and Awards

Black Dove - John won Best Actor at Houston Int’l Film Fest

SweetWater 2012 Official Trailer

The Last Gamble won NYCIFF Best Film

John Savage on IMDB