February, 2010

Matt’s film credits include Way of the Vampire, Camp Daze, The Indian, and Babysitter Wanted.

Matt’s TV credits include a guest-starring role for an episode of Entourage. Matt is the title character and lead for Kyle XY.

In Matt’s spare time he enjoys going to the movies, camping, skiing, and hanging out with his friends.

Megan Boone has landed the central role in the CW’s untitled Amy Holden James drama pilot, with Sarah Jones and Tasso Feldman also set for lead roles.

Additionally, Ben Lawson is in talks to star opposite Sarah Chalke in ABC comedy pilot “Freshmen”; Sarah Roemer and Scott Patterson have been added to NBC drama pilot “The Event”; “The Office” alum David Denman will co-star opposite Nelson Franklin in Fox comedy pilot “Traffic Light”; Kelly Hu has boarded CBS’ drama pilot “The Odds”; and John Carroll Lynch, Windell Middlebrooks and Geoffrey Arend have been cast in ABC’s drama pilot “Body of Evidence.”

CW’s untitled Holden James drama, co-exec produced by Hayden Panettiere, revolves around the freshmen class at Harvard Medical School and centers on Nell (Boone), a first-year HMS student intimidated by her new surroundings. Jones (”Sons of Anarchy”), repped by Greene & Associates and Luber/Rocklin, will play another freshman, a super-rich aspiring surgeon. Feldman, repped by Don Buchwald and Jackson-Medavoy, will play an arrogant first-year student.
Boone is with Gersh and D/F Management. Read More

The 19-year-old from Hawaii shot to fame as the 13-year-old who managed to make it to shore after a tiger shark tore off her left arm.

Hamilton said rising Hollywood star AnnaSophia Robb would play her in the film, which traces the horrific attack and her brave journey back to the beach.

Speaking yesterday on a lay day at Sydney’s North Narrabeen beach - where she is a front-running contender at the Billabong world junior surfing championships - Hamilton said the film would begin production towards the end of the month and she would be doing most of the surfing and other stunts in place of Robb.

Titled Soul Surfer, the film takes its inspiration from Hamilton’s biography. READ MORE

Like much else in modern entertainment, “School Gyrls,” a new “movie” premiering Sunday on Nickelodeon, is an element in a cross-platform marketing plan. (It is a movie in the sense that it is a stand-alone talking picture, not that it is any longer than your average hour of commercial-filled television.) That’s fine: I have no problem with being marketed to across platforms, as long as it’s done with verve and personality, and that’s the case here. It’s not as if show business has been ever an exercise in altruism.

Directed and co-written with visual and verbal wit by Nick Cannon, himself a product of the Nickelodeon star-making machinery and now the host of a New York City radio show, “America’s Got Talent,” and chairman of Teen Nick — an executive, not an honorary title — “School Gyrls” will also come at you as an eponymous urban-bubble gum group, a novel and a comic book. A single is already available for download from the usual places. Corporate pop constitutes a tradition now, and though the songs here may be calculated to a sonic millimeter, that doesn’t mean they aren’t also authentic. Read More

We’ve heard mixed reviews regarding Casting Director Workshops. Many actors, who have built their resumes from these workshops, swear by them. Then we have the actors  who believe attending these workshops will pigeonhole them into “small role” actors.  And of course, there are those who just plain refuse to pay to meet a casting director.  I say do your research and decide for yourself.

Backstagemom got a chance to chat with Stan Carlson of ActorsWest. ActorsWest offers casting director workshops, agent & manager nights, and acting classes for adults and teens.

Backstagemom: Could you give us a brief example of how a Casting Director Workshop runs?

Stan Carlson: Typically, ActorsWest workshops start with a Q&A followed by the casting director bringing in their own sides and pairing up the actors. Once the actors have some time to work on the scene, we have everyone come back into the room as each paired actor come up and do their scene. The casting director will then give feedback and re-direct, if necessary. We hear every week that it is a very encouraging format and actors love to learn by watching each other. Even better, they get to hear the casting director’s perspective on 10-15 scenes instead of just their own.

Because we’re trapped in this seemingly endless era of starting new franchises, we’ve been seeing a lot of child actors getting the chance to play superheroes. There was Young Kirk in Star Trek, Young Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Young Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, and now Young Conan in Conan the Barbarian– who, as it turns out, will be the same kid as Young Snake Eyes.

Leo Howard, who played that key role in the opening moments of G.I. Joe, will be playing the Conan role in the first 15 minutes of the new film , according to Latino Review. From there Jason Momoa, whose casting was announced last month, will take care of the actual muscle-bound part of the role.

You may have also spied Howard in small roles in Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts or on something called Leo Little’s Big Show. He’s classing rising-star child actor material, but don’t forget to take him seriously, because last time a kid from a Robert Rodriguez children’s film got cast in something big, he turned out to be Taylor Lautner.

Source: Cinemablend.com

The young ‘Valentine’s Day’ actress has life—and love—at her fingertips.

Just turned 19, tiny, pale-skinned actress Emma Roberts is in amused agreement with her “Valentine’s Day” director Garry Marshall when she’s told that he said her age group “makes love with its thumbs.”

“Our generation is definitely all about the texting and the e-mailing and the BBM-ing and the IM-ing; it’s endless. I think a lot of things get misconstrued, because tone of voice is so important,” she says, by turns claiming she doesn’t text as much as she used to, then declaring she still loves it. “There should be a sarcasm font . . . because I’ll make a sarcastic comment and the other person thinks I’m being rude when I’m not.”

She pulls on her coat as the temperature creeps down on the patio restaurant of a West Hollywood hotel. An avid reader, she says she enjoys the works of Joan Didion and Molly Jong-Fast — as well as Chuck Palahniuk and Nicholas Sparks, two authors whose books it’s hard to imagine peacefully coexisting on the same shelf. Roberts dabbles in painting, assembling collages, writing and music, but says she’s doing less of that these days. Despite her handful of releases (including an album featuring offbeat singer-songwriter Jill Sobule), she’s uncomfortable performing in front of crowds. Read More

Good question. I don’t have an exact answer for since there could be a variety of reasons why you daughter is not getting pilot auditions right now. I can however share a couple of trends that often happen during pilot season that might help ease your mind.

When a pilot begins casting, the priority is to cast the main leads in the project. Attaching name talent to the pilot is crucial so the producers go through their dream cast and go down the list from there. The first actors to get seen are famous name actors, actors that have signed development contracts with the networks and actors who have tested for pilots in the past. Now lets say the producers have gone through all their choices and still cannot find who they are looking for or are just simply looking for more choices, then they will see newcomers. Now this is not an exact formula. There are exceptions but this is just what often happens.

Another note to keep in mind is that children are often cast last in a pilot. Unless it is a “kids” show, parents get cast first and usually by name actors. The children have to match the parents so it only makes sense the kids get cast last. For this reason, kids are often busy auditioning for pilots towards the later part of the season.

I also advise you check in with your daughter’s agent. Maybe they can give you additional info.  Good Luck! Lorena