Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

John Savage, actor, made his debut in the 1978 Oscar-winning Best Picture film, The Deer Hunter, which gained him international attention for his work. In1979 he had leads in two more big pictures, Milos Forman's musical Hair and Joseph Wambaugh's The Onion Field followed by Richard Donner's Inside Moves and The Amateur for which he was nominated for Best Actor-Foreign. He then co-starred in Maria...

Gordon Firemark began his career working behind the scenes in film, television and theatre.  Now, as an entertainment lawyer, that's still what he does.  As an attorney whose practice is devoted to the representation of clients in film, television and theatre, he helps producers, directors, writers, actors and other industry professionals make deals that make sense, and that get their productions...

Sam Christensen, (PT 2) Image Expert, began his 35-year career as a concert promoter then worked as the company manager of the longest running musical of all time, THE FANTASTICKS. Later Sam served as a executive assistant to renowned playwright/screenwriter/director Arthur Laurents. CBS and MTM Productions brought Sam to Hollywood as an independent casting director. Among his many TV and feature...

Nick Mancuso Pt 6 Critic Walter Kerr of the New York Times called Mancuso’s performance in Merchant of Venice at Stratford Ontario one of the best interpretations of the role of Bassanio in 250 years. In the late 80’s the Los Angeles Times referred to Mancuso as "A Renaissance Man" and Kevin Thomas called his performance in "Ticket To Heaven" one of the best performances of the...

Ken Mora, producer/animator, is best known for creating the computer-animated short films Magnum Farce: A Shot in the Park (2009) and Magnum Farce: Along Came a Sniper (2011). His company, Bella Fe Films, is currently producing the feature film Magnum Farce with an expected release date of 2013. Ken is executive producer of Adventures In Plymptoons the biographical documentary of animator Bill Ply...

Peter Marshall Pt 18 The Director's Series - The nuts & bolts of directing film and television with Peter Marshall. Peter has had a 35-year career and has worked as a PA, dolly grip, electrician, assistant cameraman, commercial production manager, first assistant director, TV series creative consultant, television producer and director. He has worked on industrial films, documentaries; televis...

Frank Hannah, screenwriter, - his  first produced film was The Cooler, a gritty crime drama inspired by his years of gambling in the rundown casino halls of Las Vegas’ Fremont Street. He is credited with coining the phrase “cooler” as a person with infectious bad luck. The film starred William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello and was directed by Wayne Kramer.  Since then, he has written for film...

Sam Christensen, Image Expert, began his 35-year career as a concert promoter then worked as the company manager of the longest running musical of all time, THE FANTASTICKS. Later Sam served as a executive assistant to renowned playwright/screenwriter/director Arthur Laurents. CBS and MTM Productions brought Sam to Hollywood as an independent casting director. Among his many TV and feature film ca...

Director Terry Green PT 4 has over 25 years experience in the entertainment industry, with 13 years managing a successful motion picture production company. He is an Award-winning writer & director with access to the highest levels of talent, production staff & project financing. In 1997 he founded Strata Productions, Inc. that has financed $20 million in private equity for the production...

LaQuanda Plantt, Casting Director, a graduate of The Art Institute of Atlanta, began Scriptwriting and Casting while obtaining her degree, equally sharing a passion for both skills. After graduation in 2008, LaQuanda obtained an Internship with Atlanta Talent Network. During her time with Last Looks Inc (casting director George Pierre's company), she had the opportunity to work with Rainforest Fil...

Jeff Rector, director, wrote, directed,  produced the feature film “Revamped” currently distributed worldwide - available on Netflix, Blockbuster Video and iTunes. Revamped is a feature version of his short film  “Fatal Kiss”. “Fatal Kiss” was one of the first short films ever acquired by HBO for worldwide broadcast.  "Pray Another Day" , Jeff’s second film as writer, director and produc...

Doug Richardson’s screenwriting credits include “Die Hard 2,” “Bad Boys,” “Money Train,” and “Hostage.” He also co-produced “Welcome to Mooseport.” Doug has also authored three novels, “Dark Horse,” “True Believers,” and his latest, “The Safety Expert.” He was born in Arcadia, California. The son of a career politician, Doug grew up outside Sacramento and inside the state Capitol. He used to talk...

Peter Marshall Pt 17 The Director's Series - The nuts & bolts of directing film and television with Peter Marshall. Peter has had a 35-year career and has worked as a PA, dolly grip, electrician, assistant cameraman, commercial production manager, first assistant director, TV series creative consultant, television producer and director. He has worked on industrial films, documentaries; televis...

Patrick Breen, actor, is a founding member of the Naked Angels Theater company and a member of MCC Theater.  As a writer, he is most well known for "Just A Kiss" a movie directed by Fisher Stevens released in 2002, starring Kyra Sedgwick, Marisa Tomei, Taye Diggs, Ron Eldard, and Marley Shelton. HIs Broadway credits include "The Normal Heart", "Brighton Beach Memoirs"...

Brad Bell is a fresh face in TV, currently working as a Consulting Producer for VH1's Pop Up Video. Bell has crafted the online persona of "Cheeks" for years and built a preexisting fan base that he brings to his projects. In addition to short form comedic videos on You Tube, "Cheeks" has also released three albums on iTunes, all of which debuted in the Top Ten Electronic chart...

Jeffrey Winner, Actor began his career as an actor over forty years ago. Prior to that, he trained for two years with the faculty and staff of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art headed by England's noted director, John Fernald. He spent his early years working in New York, as well as with various regional theatres throughout the country. He toured for a year with the original National Company of &q...

Willie Garson, actor, stars as Mozzie in the hit USA Network series, White Collar. The talented Garson is rarely at a loss for work, appearing in over 250 TV episodes of a wide variety of programming, and over 70 feature films. His unorthodox bald and bespectacled look won over fans on "Sex and the City," where he played Carrie's gay best friend, Stanford Blatch. He is also well known as...

Peter Marshall Pt 16 The Director's Series - The nuts & bolts of directing film and television with Peter Marshall. Peter has had a 35-year career and has worked as a PA, dolly grip, electrician, assistant cameraman, commercial production manager, first assistant director, TV series creative consultant, television producer and director. He has worked on industrial films, documentaries; televis...

Joe Dante, director began as trailer editor for Roger Corman's New World Pictures making directorial debut in 1976 with Hollywood Boulevard co-directed with Allan Arkush. Piranha marked his solo directorial debut 1977 and went on to become one of the company's biggest hits. He edited Ron Howard's directorial debut Grand Theft Auto and co-wrote the original story for Rock n Roll High School. He nex...

Jeff Greenstein, Director.  His first job was on the HBO series Dream On, and he stayed with that show for five seasons, garnering several industry awards including a CableACE.  Then he signed on for the first year of NBC's Friends, earning two Emmy nominations, one for co-writing the show's first Thanksgiving episode. He co-created Fox's late, lamented Partners, starring Jon Cryer and Tate Donova...

Cassidy McMillan, PT 2  directed wrote and produced the documentary film on bullying and bullycide “Rats & Bullies”, which is currently garnering awards in the festival circuit. She holds a degree in Communications/Broadcast Journalism and has worked as an investigator for global corporate and entertainment companies where she conducted hundreds of criminal investigations, and arrested subject...

Betty Jo Tucker, editor/lead film critic for ReelTalk Movie Reviews, a website with over 3500 film reviews and more than 500 featured articles. She also writes movie commentary for the Colorado Senior Beacon and is the author of three film-related books: “Confessions of a Movie Addict,” “Susan Sarandon: A True Maverick,” and “The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies”as well as co-author of “It Had To B...

Melissa Skoff (PT 2) Casting director  has well over one hundred feature film and TV credits to her name. She launched her casting career at Warner Bros. after working in production with Clint Eastwood and John Boorman, she segued into casting at the studio level.  When she left Warner Brothers to launch her own independent company, Melissa worked on an array of feature films including “The Emeral...

Cassidy McMillan Actress and director,  directed wrote and produced the documentary film on bullying and bullycide “Rats & Bullies”, which is currently garnering awards coast to coast in the film festival circuit. Cassidy’s acting work includes leading roles for the theater plays, musicals, and work in Film, TV for inde films, Showtime; AMC, Discovery, and has worked with directors James Camer...

Paul Weber, CSA, PT2 is one of Hollywood’s most respected Casting Directors. As longtime Executive Head of Television Casting and Feature Film Consultant for MGM Studios, Weber effectively moved between both mediums with ease. For series television, Weber cast the wildly popular STARGATE franchise. SPARTACUS: GODS OF THE ARENA, SHE SPIES, POLTERGEIST, DEAD LIKE ME, and THE OUTER LIMITS. For the bi...