Hi Ms. In The Biz family! I’ve decided to start an ongoing column here at Ms. In The Biz aka) the place I like to call “home.” This column is going to be all about “fun finds” that I’ve stumbled upon that are entertainment industry related. So here we go! #1) The “Inside Acting Podcast.” I’ve been listening to Trevor and A.J. rock this podcast since it began, and I’ve got to say this is definitely one of my absolute favorite resources for actors. These gents really know their stuff and have great guests on every week. Seriously, check them…
Author: Helenna Santos
Helenna Santos
Helenna Santos is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Ms. In The Biz. She is also an actor and producer with Mighty Pharaoh Films and can often be found on panels at conventions such as San Diego Comic-Con, and has been interviewed by major press outlets including CNN. Her work as a contributing writer has been featured in MovieMaker Magazine, Backstage Magazine, IndieWire and BUST Magazine. She has produced numerous award winning short films, digital series, and feature films. As an actor, she can be seen in CW's "The Flash," as well as ABC's "A Million Little Things" and "The Good Doctor", and the highly anticipated Netflix limited series "The Baby-Sitters Club". Her latest feature film as producer and actress "The Shasta Triangle" is now available via VOD.
I had the honor of sitting on a SAG Foundation LifeRaft panel this past Thursday night with Mark Gantt, Yuri Baranovsky, Machinima’s Ian Moffitt and Zadi Diaz who was the moderator. This was a true privilege for me because these are people who I’ve learned a great deal from over the years, and who have been at the forefront of web video since scripted web content started to been seen as a viable vehicle for storytelling. Previously on this blog as well as other sites, I’ve shared my favorite resources for those of you who are new to the…
Like many actors, I’d always dreamed about walking a major Hollywood red carpet. 2012 was the year it happened. I’m writing this piece to let you in on the tips and tricks that I used to remain calm, cool, and collected, and able to enjoy every moment of what had the potential to be a very surreal and overwhelming experience. My hope is that by sharing this with you, you can start the research now for when you also have this opportunity for the first time. And I really do mean research. But first, here’s the backstory. I have a small…
There are a zillion restaurants in LA. Seriously, a zillion. Simply put, there are a ton of wonderful places to get together with friends, have meetings, chill for happy hour etc… My husband and I don’t go out to eat a lot, but when we do we want to make sure that our hard earned dollars are going somewhere that we love. We have our favorite sushi place and our favorite happy hour venue for “date day” at the Arclight Holywood, but there is something about Cafe Gratitude on Larchmont Blvd that warms our hearts like nowhere else. We first…
I’ve talked about being Asian in Hollywood before, and when the awesome Lynn Chen tweeted about Erin Quill’s LA Stage Day speech this morning, I knew that being Asian in the LA theater community is also something that we really really need to talk about. So here it is. This speech is awesome and powerful, so let’s discuss. <3 http://youtu.be/-Bx-rp3_oN4 xoxoxoox hels
Insert can of worms being opened… and a big can of worms it is, so get ready for a good, long, meaty read…(yes all sexual innuendo intended). I am an actress. Recently I’ve been really disturbed by the huge number of roles needing to be cast for “strippers, women who look like strippers, ridiculously hot women willing to act in simulated sex scenes, and women who will be fully nude but…there is no pay.” For example these breakdowns for roles have included phrases like: Now… I should probably enter a disclaimer here so: *DISCLAIMER* I know that in writing this I…
I’m addicted to NBC’s “The Voice.” I tweet about it a lot and man, I am really really addicted. Like, there should be a 12 step program to detox it from my system between seasons addicted. **In full disclosure, this blog post that you are reading was originally written a year ago, but these lessons are still totally relevant so I decided to publish it here and share it with you, the Ms. In The Biz community…now back to it… I usually dislike reality TV. I’ve never been a fan of “American Idol” and I don’t watch “The Bachelor,” but…
http://youtu.be/zv1joIajgLs Check out these cool cats! Marc Royce Photography: http://www.marcroyce.com/ instagram: http://instagram.com/marcroyce Alta DeKoven: http://altamakeupart.com/ instagram: http://instagram.com/altamakeup
Warning: You are about to embark on something really sappy. More specifically, I’m going to tell you about finding the amazing person I decided to spend the rest of my life with, and why I believe that “true love” actually does come when you aren’t looking. Like, at all. I know that it’s a cliche, but it was true for me and who knows, it might end up being true for you too. I have a number of single girlfriends and one of them asked me the other day how I met my husband and if I had any advice on…
Well… the time has come. I’m putting “Helenna’s Tinseltown Tuesdays” to rest with the “FINAL VLOG 100 aka) the end of an era.” What is “Helenna’s Tinseltown Tuesdays?” It’s a vlog that began in 2008 for the YouTube Channel “Musecast 5.” After that it moved over to a website called “Somebody’s Basement,” and then continued at my personal YouTube channel. This vlog chronicals my life pursuing a career in entertainment over the last 4 1/2 years showing you all the good, the bad, and the ugly. All 100 episodes can be viewed HERE on the PLAYLIST, and this is the final…
Ms. In The Biz’s first “Spotlight Interview” is with one of the most lovely women I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting over the years, Mena Suvari. We recently caught up over email, and I’m bringing some questions and answers straight to you, the Ms. In The Biz community! MENA SUVARI Helenna: I’ve been a big fan of your work from “American Beauty” to “Day of the Dead” (because of course, I love a good zombie flick), to “American Horror Story” and “American Pie” and everything in between. You do a wonderful job of really embodying each and every character. Has there…
I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately. In fact, I’ve been thinking about, reading about, and watching a lot of documentaries about food quite avidly for the past 5 years. I don’t want to get all soap-boxy, but I do want to share my own personal journey and relationship with food. Over the course of my life so far I’ve gone from being a meat eater to a vegan, and many variations in between. I think my interest in what I’m putting in my body started when I was 14 and first became a vegetarian. While I haven’t…
Recently my ginger BFF Risdon Roberts and I attended a talk with Krysten Ritter at theWriter’s Bootcamp in West LA. I’ve gone to a number of talks around Los Angeles and I always love attending the ones where you leave feeling like you are on the right path. This was one of those talks. I’d say that the number one most difficult thing about being an actor in Los Angeles is pushing through the intensely hard times when jobs come too far apart and money is extremely tight. It’s in these moments that a lot of people either really stick their feet in the broken…
Yes, I’m Asian. This usually surprises people since my family name is Santos and people automatically assume it’s Spanish. While this is true, it is also a Filipino surname, and I am in fact Filipino. In truth, I am what Hollywood likes to label as “ethnically ambiguous” which can be a blessing and a curse. I have been very lucky to be able to play characters from a myriad of races and backgrounds, and yet at the same time, I usually don’t look enough like any specific race to be cast when that character has to be a sister or…