As in life, especially in the entertainment biz, one can suddenly encounter legal snafus, so I am relieved to have a great lawyer and friend in entertainment attorney Nadia Davari. As someone riddled with insomnia and a perpetual worrier, knowing I have Nadia on my team allows me to sleep soundly at night. A quintessential Renaissance woman, Nadia has excelled in academic disciplines in such varying fields as the sciences and humanities. Her undergrad degree is in Molecular, Cell, Genetics and Developmental Biology from UCLA, and she graduated from USC’s Gould School of Law with an emphasis on Entertainment Law.…
Author: Vida G
Vida G
Vida G. is a multi-talented performer that is active on the Tinsel town scene as an actress,voiceover artist and a reporter. Vida recently shot a supporting role in Savage Cinema’s campy horror flick,”Pond Scum,” directed by legendary indie Aussie filmmaker Mark Savage, who has also cast her in a major supporting role in his upcoming thriller called “Circus of Dread” starring Bill Oberst Jr. Vida recently voiced two characters in an animated film called “Lovesick Fool” created by Emmy-nominated director Dominic Polcino (“The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” and “King of the Hill”), which stars Fred Willard, Lisa Kudrow, and Janeane Garofalo also voiced roles in this film. “Lovesick Fool” is hitting the festival circuit and has won first place at the Topanga Film Festival and LA Arthouse Film Festival. It has also screened at the Burbank International Film Festival, the Manhattan Film Festival, and the NYC Independent Film Festival.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing noted casting director Renee Garcia and it was so hard to work around her understandably busy schedule that I literally did it on the fly in between her countless production meetings and endless casting sessions. I was struck by her limitless positivity and refreshingly peppy attitude. Renee is the owner of her own casting company called Renee Garcia Casting in Beverly Hills, which casts mainly films, but also TV pilots, commercials, web series, voiceovers, music videos and print work and she cast from kids to seniors. Before she got into the field of…
I had the pleasure of voicing a fun character role in Elisabetha Pejcinoska’s compelling filmmaking debut “Lost Angeles” recently. Being directed by her was a delightful experience and I had a great time doing my different accents in the booth for a fun character role. I was lucky enough to meet her through my wonderful entertainment attorney, Nadia Davari, who I profiled for Ms. In the Biz a while back. Elisabetha is a very striking, svelte, sophisticated and stylish European gal who is probably blessed with the world’s best metabolism, so this casually dressed Persian gal from the Maryland suburbs…
I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Nicole Hansen by actress/writer/producer Camillia Monet (The Shield, War of the Worlds), who I will soon be interviewing for this particular column. Camillia spoke very highly of Nicole and she suggested that I immediately interview her and rightly so. Nicole wears many hats effortlessly in this industry and can impart a lot of good advice to our readers, so without any further ado, here’s my interview with Nicole. Nicole Hansen studied at North Carolina School of the Arts and Playhouse West. After winning a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest, she was cast by…
I had wanted to interview the amazing Natasha Ward for months. I had it all planned. I’d interview her in the fall, giving me plenty of lead-in time to have the story in by early February, just in time for Black History Month. This was going to be a great profile of a very accomplished woman of African-American descent who has cast many ethnically diverse projects. I had no such luck as Natasha is a very, very busy casting director who also finds the time to teach a workshop once a month and she’s also a young mom, so this…
I recently came across a very thought provoking Buzzfeed article written by Elaine Loh, which featured her hilarious short “Accent For Actors: Finding Your True Self.” You can read the story and see this compelling short here. As an ethnic character actress, this short really hit home, especially given the trials and tribulations I’ve experienced in my veil wearing days as an actress. As it turns out, Elaine and I know a ton of people in common, and one of the actors in this short film (Ahmed Lucan of “Homeland”) played my husband in another short, so I sensed some…
Through my adventures in show business as an actress, voiceover artist and journalist, I have met all sorts of people from all walks of life. As many of you know, unfortunately there is a huge flake factor. Very few of them have follow through and a great vision. One person who does, however, is my dear friend and entertainment attorney Nadia Davari. She really goes the extra mile with her clients and I’ve made many career strides since working with her. I haven’t always had this fortune with entertainment attorneys. While I’ve worked with some good ones, none of them…
Forging a career in Hollywood is tough right? I mean that’s a given. Imagine being an ethnic character actor. That’s the conundrum that I’ve been in over the years as an actress of Middle Eastern descent, who is too charactery to be a leading lady, but often times told that I’m not “charactery enough” to play a character role. I’ve also been told that I’m not “ethnic enough” to play an ethnic role and not “western looking enough” to play a more Americanized role. Over the years, I’ve heard insane things in the audition room and on set, especially when…