Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

Paul Weber, CSA, PT3 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. Rex Sikes' Movie Beat is sponsoring a one day casting workshop with Paul Saturday October 13 in Milwaukee, WI and during the show we will discuss what actors need to know to be professional in their career, to make advancements, book more work and getting casting directors and directors to take notice. Paul will cover this and more in the workshop, look at scene work and headshots and make recomendations. This show will include information on how you can attend. Workshop is also for directors who want to get better at casting actors in their projects. 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 big screen, Weber has advised on numerous MGM features including t

Brad Lichtenstein, award-winning filmmaker, president of 371 Productions, from 2003 when he moved from NYC to Milwaukee, WI. His newest documentary is As Goes Janesville. The film will air on the PBS series Independent Lens in October of 2012. Before making his own films, Brad associate produced FRONTLINE’s Peabody award-winning presidential election year special, Choice ’96, and Lumiere Production’s PBS series, With God on Our Side: The History of the Religious Right.  With Lumiere, he produced and directed André’s Lives, a portrait of the “Jewish Schindler;” Safe, Discovery Channel documentary about domestic violence, Caught in the Crossfire, about Arab-Americans after 9/11, and the BBC/Court TV co-production of Ghosts of Attica, about the infamous 1971 prison uprising and aftermath, for which he was awarded a Dupont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Journalism. His film, Almost Home, a PBS Independent Lens documentary about people in a retirement care community trying to improve their institution and lives,

Marci Liroff, casting director. Her extensive credits as a casting director span more than 50 films. While working at the renowned casting office of Fenton-Feinberg Casting she, along with Mike Fenton, cast such films as Bob Clark's “A Christmas Story” and “Porky’s”; the Academy Award-nominated “Poltergeist”; Steven Spielberg's “E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, and Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner”. After establishing her own casting company in 1983, MARCI LIROFF CASTING, Liroff cast “Footloose”, “St. Elmo's Fire”, “Pretty in Pink”, “The Iron Giant”, “The Spitfire Grill”, “Untamed Heart”, “Freaky Friday”, “Mean Girls”, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”, “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” to name a few.Whether it's an indie or big blockbuster movie, Liroff makes a good film great and a great film a classic. In addition to casting film and television, Liroff is an acting coach working with actors in person and worldwide thru Skype. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived

Xan Aranda, director/producer, an award-winning indie filmmaker is affiliated with documentary powerhouse Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams.) She's a consultant, with a hand in dozens of international productions. Xan’s clients h range from national universities,  the U.S. Dept of Ed., to branding companies, advertising agencies, film festivals and emerging filmmakers. Her director debut, Andrew Bird: Fever Year World Premiered at Lincoln Center as part of the prestigious NY Film Fest. Fever Year received Jury Prize for Best Doc. at the Omaha Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Noise Pop Film Festival in SF. Xan is a Producer of the award winning 2008 Kartemquin Films release Milking the Rhino which received a four-star review from the Chicago Tribune. Xan serves as Outreach Dir.  for Prisoner of Her Past, directed by Gordon Quinn. She handled the broadcast of both films on PBS. Xan Aranda is currently directing her next project, Mormon Movie.  She is a featured speaker for students, guesting at Seattle U

Rick Vaicius PT 2 is director and founder of Flyway Film Festival, Wisconsin's bluff premier destination for independent film as noted by Emmy award-winning blogger Scott W. Smith “ … a festival that should be on your radar” . Founded in 2008 it evolved from the monthly film programming and semi-annual filmmaker events Vaicius proposed and curated at the Lake Pepin Art & Design Center in Pepin. Vaicius has created a standout, intimate and high-quality annual festival. Over the past four years, Flyway has brought over 80 filmmakers into the local community. In addition to screening remarkable films, it has become a unique venue for filmmakers to network and discuss projects and the "state of the industry" in the film world. Vaicius has already persuaded some top film industry talent to appear Scilla Andreen is keynote speaker and it looks like Paul Rachman from Slamdance. There is a Crowdfunding workshop and a Women in film round table. Some program highlights include Red Flag by Alex Karpovsky Caroline an

Steve Anderson is a writer/director/producer based in Santa Monica, CA. He is proud to be in the top ten of the over fifty “Steve Anderson’s” on IMDb.com. Readers of that website seem most impressed with his “Special Thanks” on the indie smash “Napoleon Dynamite” but Steve has plenty of other sweet credits. Most recently he wrote and produced the Sony released feature “The River Sorrow” starring Ray Liotta. Steve is also the producer/director of the documentary “” which was released theatrically by THINKFilm, and made audiences laugh and swear at over 100 film festivals around the world. His first theatrical feature film was the dark comedy “The Big Empty.” It starred Jon Favreau, Kelsey Grammer, Daryl Hannah, Rachael Leigh Cook and Sean Bean. Anderson’s very cool media company, Mudflap Films, is currently working on new feature projects, including “The White Orchid” and “This Last Lonely Place.” Steve is also an accomplished musician, plays regularly around L.A., and is one of the original founding members o

Jamie Nieto, (PT 2) Actor, Producer and 2012 Olympic High Jumper, is no stranger to perseverance, innovation, challenges and achievement.  He made the U.S. A. Olympic Team in 2004, missed them in '08 due to a technicality and came back stronger than ever to earn a spot on the '12 Olympic High Jump Team.   At 35, Jamie is the oldest male high jumper in the history of the U.S. to make it to the team. Jamie turned his disappointment of not making the Olympic team in '08 into a victory by carefully evaluating his goals and his desires.  Through introspection, Jamie discovered his deep passion for acting and producing.  Jamie started taking acting lessons in 08 and since then has been in three films and produced a web series.  His film credits include: “Kontrast” (09), “The Encounter” (10), “Jerusalem Countdown” (2011), “Red Line” in (11) and  “Baseball’s Last Hero: The Roberto Clemente Story” (11).  He colleague Von Ware, Trilogy Medias, recently completed episodes for his new web series “Blood Brothers,”  On thi

Jack Marchetti, director, is loosing his vision and has a dream to direct his feature before this happens. Jack is corwdfunding to make his dream come true. 4 of a Kind is a gritty crime drama that takes place in Chicago. Growing up in Chicago in a rough neighborhood gave Screenwriter Director Marchetti some strong insight in how to best portray and reveal his characters. Now  weeks into his Kickstarter campaign, Jack has received some nice shout-outs from Actors Matthew Lillard and Holt Boggs, and Writer Neil Gaiman. The filmmaking community has rallied behind this particular campaign because it is a solid script and has an inspiring backstory. Actress/Producer Liz Friedman (‘LA Ink’),  introduced him to Dan Distefano who will help produce 4 of a Kind when the Kickstarter campaign is successful. Distefano worked at Paramount as Assistant to the VP of Production and also with Weinstein Co. Jack and Liz Friedman worked together on the screenplay All I Want for Christmas optioned by Light House Pictures in 2011

Jamie Nieto, Actor, Producer and 2012 Olympic High Jumper, is no stranger to perseverance, innovation, challenges and achievement.  He made the U.S. A. Olympic Team in 2004, missed them in '08 due to a technicality and came back stronger than ever to earn a spot on the '12 Olympic High Jump Team.   At 35, Jamie is the oldest male high jumper in the history of the U.S. to make it to the team. Jamie turned his disappointment of not making the Olympic team in '08 into a victory by carefully evaluating his goals and his desires.  Through introspection, Jamie discovered his deep passion for acting and producing.  Jamie started taking acting lessons in 08 and since then has been in three films and produced a web series.  His film credits include: “Kontrast” (09), “The Encounter” (10), “Jerusalem Countdown” (2011), “Red Line” in (11) and  “Baseball’s Last Hero: The Roberto Clemente Story” (11).  He and long-time friend and colleague Von ware, Trilogy Medias, recently completed episodes for his new web series “Blood

Sam Christensen, (PT 5) 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 casting credits was the most popular small screen series of all time, M*A*S*H. Sam was the first person to ever be accorded front title billing on a major Hollywood release for his casting work on the MGM film, "Coma".  Pictures like "The Champ" and "The Clash Of The Titans" followed.  Sam continued to cast Broadway tours, television series and pilots and acclaimed mini-series, like the Emmy-winning "Jonestown, The Guyana Tragedy".  He retired from active casting in 1982 to become a personal manager and guided the careers of many important actors, including Rita Wilson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patricia Elliott an

David Winning, PT 2, director ,14 features, 22 series, over 100 TV credits is mainly known for his work on Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, MGM’s Stargate: Atlantis, ABC’s Dinotopia and the HBO thriller Exception to The Rule, starring Kim Cattrall, Sean Young and Eric McCormack. At 27, he landed directing gigs on the Canadian-produced Friday the 13th: The Series for Paramount Pictures he received three Canadian Emmy Award nominations. M. Night Shyamalan has cited Winning’s episode of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark:  The Tale of the Dream Girl, as the inspiration for The Sixth Sense.  His episodic work has received twenty-four first places at the Houston Film Festival, a Gold Hugo and two Silver Hugos in Chicago, and Four national Gemini nominations for Best Director/Dramatic Series. He has received over 60 international awards.  He has directed many international stars including: Daniel Baldwin, Patrick Duffy, Peter Strauss, William Devane, Peta Wilson, Markie Post, Lance Henriksen, Frederic Forrest, J

Patrick Giraudi PT 3 is a pioneer in using digital workstation in sound editing and mixing films. He is a well established Sound Supervisor/Re-recording Mixer in the film industry with over 330 film credits to his name. From music engineer to sound editor, he started to work as a freelance dialogue editor. He quickly became renowned for his professionalism and knowledge of digital technology. In 1991, a State Of The Art post production facility in Culver City hired Patrick, and from editor and became within a couple of years lead Re-recording mixer using the top digital equipment available. He was nominated and won MPSE awards for shows such as Tales From The Crypt, Xena Warrior Princess and many other. Sometime in 1994, while mixing Now and Then produced by Demi Moore, the studio was upgrated with a new digital editing system which also allowed sound mixing within a software called Protools. From that day on, the possibilities became endless and Patrick never went back to using analogue outboard gear and tra

Sam Christensen, (PT 4) 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 casting credits was the most popular small screen series of all time, M*A*S*H. Sam was the first person to ever be accorded front title billing on a major Hollywood release for his casting work on the MGM film, "Coma".  Pictures like "The Champ" and "The Clash Of The Titans" followed.  Sam continued to cast Broadway tours, television series and pilots and acclaimed mini-series, like the Emmy-winning "Jonestown, The Guyana Tragedy".  He retired from active casting in 1982 to become a personal manager and guided the careers of many important actors, including Rita Wilson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patricia Elliott an

Peter Marshall Pt 20 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; television commercials, music videos; Emmy Award nominated TV series and features. Peter has directed over 30 TV episodes and written, directed or produced over 50 hours of documentary educational programs. His works have won, or been nominated for 14 International awards. He's worked for directors such as Zack Snyder, John Woo, Ed Wick, Phillip Noyce, John Balham, Roger Adam, Anne Wheeler, Bobby Roth & Kim Manners. He has worked with actors including Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Mel Gibson, Kathy Bates, Adam Sandler and Peter O'Toole. Other credits inclurde scores of television series

Rex Piano, director, PT 4 Upon graduating NYU School of the Arts , Rex worked as a 1st A.D. on dozens of commercials and films until he took a full time position at a NY Commercial Production Company. In 1985 Rex as Head of Production for O’Quinn Productions. he produced numerous videos for Fangoria Magazine. In 1987 Rex became Head of Production for Associated Television International.  Rex wrote, produced and/or directed several TV specials and numerous travel videos. Rex also co-wrote and line produced the feature film “Chill Factor,” starring Paul Williams, Patrick Macnee and Andrew Prine. Rex line produced “Severed Ties” in 1991 for Fangoria Films. In 1995 he produced the syndicated TV show “High Tide,” starring Rick Springfield. Rex became one of the series’ rotating directors. Some of the episodic shows Rex has directed  “Mike Hammer, Private Eye”, “Silk Stalkings”, “Born Free”, “Air America” and “Nightman.” In 2000 Rex produced and directed the multi-award winning romantic comedy  feature film “The Mo

Jason Brubaker, producer, PT 2, is passionate about helping other filmmakers make their movies and apply proven marketing strategies to reach a global audience through new movie distribution models. He's over a decade of movie making experience, and has produced numerous shorts and THREE feature films including (Special Dead 2006, Rattle Basket 2007 and Toxic Soup 2009). Jason is a contributing author of The Independent’s Guide to Film Distributors (2009 Independent Media Publications), and founder of Filmmaking Stuff, an educational resource for independent filmmakers and screenwriters.  Brubaker has has lectured on these subjects to filmmakers from around the globe at the Maine Media Workshops. Brubaker began his movie making career paying his dues at a small market production company in Pennsylvania. In January 2002 Jason took a bite out of the Big Apple (NYC), where he worked in story development for an independent producer. There he read hundreds of screenplays, learned how to raise money for movies and

Kim Swanson, PT 3, casting director, first two casting projects won Emmsy .  The St. Louis Production community took notice of her ability to locate and spot talent. She became the first Casting Director in Missouri to become a member of the Casting Society of America, and one of the few outside of LA or NYC to be accepted as a member.  She has been responsible for Intern'l Feature Film Projects, music videos, national television commercials and print advertisements, having completed casting for more than 500 projects. Hanson Entertainment Industries, Inc., currently maintains a database of more than 7,000 talent, and continues to search out new and fresh faces to quickly and efficiently meet client needs in providing talent of all types.  Believing it is important to continue to learn and grow professionally, Kim Swanson regularly attends trainings through CSA, master acting classes and dance classes.  She's been an instrumental part of creating and building the "Regional Casting Committee" within the CSA, t

Peter Foldy, director,  began writing scripts. His second script, a teen comedy entitled "Hot Moves" found it's way into a producer's hands 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 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.  He won Best Director and Best Film  "Silver Man"  at the Planet Indie Film Festiva

Kim Swanson, PT 2, casting director, had her first two casting projects won Emmy Awards.  The St. Louis Production community took notice of her unique ability to locate and spot true talent. She became the first Casting Director in Missouri to become a member of the 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, music videos, national television commercials and print advertisements, having completed casting for more than 500 projects .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 inst

Peter Marshall Pt 19 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; television commercials, music videos; Emmy Award nominated TV series and features. Peter has directed over 30 TV episodes and written, directed or produced over 50 hours of documentary educational programs. His works have won, or been nominated for 14 International awards. He's worked for directors such as Zack Snyder, John Woo, Ed Wick, Phillip Noyce, John Balham, Roger Adam, Anne Wheeler, Bobby Roth & Kim Manners. He has worked with actors including Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Mel Gibson, Kathy Bates, Adam Sandler and Peter O'Toole. Other credits inclurde scores of television series