For those actors who have not yet expressed interest in the INDUSTRY SEMINAR which will include a comprehensive Q+A with two CSA CDs, a talent manager and a man who owns and operates one of LAs top photo labs, you must RSVP at castboy@castboy with the subject line I Want to Come, along with your phone # and the number of attendees. THIS IS A FREE EVENT. SPACE IS LIMITED SO YOU MUST RSVP to me at castboy@castboy. If youve already responded, youll get a confirmation email shortly. For those outside the Los Angeles area, were trying to get a livestream or Skype set up for the event, and will keep you posted. Info is as follows: Panelists: Billy DaMota CSA Dea Vise CSA Daniel Rojo, talent manager Ajay Jhaveri, photographer and owner of Argentum Photo Lab. Panelists: BILLY DAMOTA CSA Raised in San Francisco, California, Billy DaMota moved to Los Angeles, hoping to find a place as a guitar player in the Southern California music scene. But there were other things that needed attention - like food and rent - and his live music career was put on hold. So in the mid 80s, as a young and eager man - an artist looking for something to save him from a life in the retail business - Billy began his casting career as an assistant on such films as Predator, The Running Man, The Three Amigos and Project X. In the late 80s, he was hired as the casting associate on the gang epic, Colors, directed by Dennis Hopper. Billy became an independent casting director with the film Miracle Mile, starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. He went on to cast Steven Seagals first film, Above the Law, directed by Andrew Davis, the legendary cult classic Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town, casting the then unknown Billy Bob Thornton in his first co-starring role, and even cast the late Mickey Rooney in the last of the Silent Night Deadly Night series. Over the years, Billy has cast actors like Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Faye Dunaway, James Franco, Martin Landau, Karen Black, John Denver and the legendary Tony Curtis. He even co-wrote a screenplay with Dr. Timothy Leary! More recent films include Touching Home starring Ed Harris, Mickey Matson and The Pirates Code starring Christopher Lloyd, the the 2014 box office hit, the faith-based Gods Not Dead starring Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper and Duck Commander Willie Robertson. He worked with director Alex Proyas as a casting consultant on The Crow as well as the Will Smith hit I, Robot. Billy joined the The Casting Society of America in 1992, has served on their Board of Directors and on numerous committees over the years, and has been nominated four times for Best Casting, twice for Best Casting for an Independent Film and twice for Best Short Film, most recently nominated for the short films, Efrain and Burned. He has worked tirelessly to address the ethical issues involving the notorious casting director payola scheme, where hundreds of casting directors and their staffs - including high profile CSA members - are paid to meet and audition actors. The organization he founded - DoNotPay.org - was created a dozen years ago as a guide to help educate and inform actors about the scam , which continues to this day. Billy is also an accomplished guitarist and songwriter, currently playing and recording with Shelly ONeill and the Big Way. He appears with the Gene Butler Band singing and performing in the film Holyman Undercover, he co-wrote the song Comes on Too Strong which is featured in the film Changing Habits, and has recorded with Hellecaster Will Ray and ex-Mike Bloomfield sideman, the late great Gashouse Dave. He has displayed his paintings and photographs at the world famous Fender Museum, in Corona, California and published his first book, Whispering Lunacies: 100 Love Poems. His second book, An Actor Grovels is due out soon. DEA VISE CSA An actress for over 2 decades, Dea Vise made the move into casting in 1997 in Dallas, TX and continued on her path in Los Angeles, working in some of the biggest commercial casting offices in Hollywood, including Susan Havins, Vicky Goggin, Jeff Gerrard and others. In 2002 she began working full time with Billy DaMota on shows like America’s Most Wanted (casting over 50 episodes), and music videos for country superstars such as George Strait and Big & Rich. She has worked in feature films with Billy for 14 years now, casting the blockbuster God’s Not Dead and family friendly favorites like Finding Normal with Candace Cameron Bure and Daniel and the Lion’s Den with Lance Henriksen. Dea has recently joined the ranks of the CSA, and along with her illustrious casting career Dea holds a BA in Drama from UT Austin and an AA in Film Acting. She recently received her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and is currently enrolled in the doctorate program at the prestigious Chicago School. DANIEL ROJO, Talent Manager Daniel started as an agent at Atkins and Associates over twenty-four years ago, where he learned the intricacies of contract negotiations from Pervis Atkins. The agencys gross receipts increased 600% from Daniels activity alone. He has handled the careers of many actors, including Tyrese Gibson, Mick Fleetwood, Wilmer Vallerama and Sarah Shahi. Daniel is currently a personal manager with his own company. A small list of consistently working actors including: Del Zamora, Randy Vasquez, Nick Jaine, Marilyn Sue Perry and Lourdes Colon. He is the Executive Producer of the Chicano film project “The Last Brown Beret” which is currently in post production. The film stars Del Zamora and Randy Vasquez; he is also co-producer of the award-winning feature documentary, Create Option C: My Journey with Cancer about his client Lourdes Colon’s journey. Daniel also prides himself on the fact that he doesn’t do showcases to supplement his income; he has stayed afloat as a personal manager since 2004, by simply managing actors and always looking out for their best interests. He refuses to take money from actors to be seen for representation. He has an open door policy for submissions. He looks at all pictures, resumes and demo reels that are sent. He wont sign someone unless he feels that he can truly further their career. AJAY JHAVERI, photographer and owner of Argentum Photo Lab. Ajay Jhaveri created Argentum Photo Lab in 1987. A photographer and custom printer by trade, Ajay was keenly aware of the industry’s need for a photo lab that catered specifically to actors and headshot photographers. He began in a humble 700 square foot building as a one-man operation built upon two pillars: excellent work and outstanding customer care. Using this philosophy, Argentum quickly grew. In only a few short years, the Argentum family had grown to over 20 employees, more than 20,000 customers and expanded into a new, two-story, 7200 square foot state of the art facility on historic Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood. Ajay is still the driving force behind Argentum. He is an active presence and is extremely hands on. He takes it upon himself to use and master any and all new technology and equipment as he continues to guide Argentum into the digital frontier. Ajay is the innovative, almost clairvoyant mind that puts Argentum Photo Lab on the cutting edge of the industry. Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 4pm to 6pm The Songwriting School of Los Angeles 4001 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank, CA The event is presented in association with and the Independent Music Conference. indiemusicon/imc2014/pages/overview.html Dea Vise, Ajay Jhaveri, Daniel Rojo, Noël Ramos
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 00:10:29 +0000
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