Another Women’s History Month is upon us and International Women’s Day just passed. Something this…
About Michelle Kantor
Michelle Kantor co-founded Cinefemme, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization for women directors, while studying at San Francisco State University. She is the youngest daughter of political refugees who fled Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960's, and is currently producing two films about her family's historic escape from behind the Iron Curtain: RED STAR, a feature documentary following her father's return on the 50th anniversary of his escape, and THE REBEL, a narrative feature film screenplay written by Michelle, based on their lives. She also directs performance art videos for painter Tara Savelo, former Haus of Gaga member and writes the blog www.ultra-luxurious.com. Michelle's body of work includes short films, experimental narratives, documentaries, and live work for circus performers at San Francisco's Teatro Zinzanni. Her music video "Highway To Yodel-Ay-Hee-Huuu," starring America's Got Talent's Manuela Horn, won Best Music Video at LA Femme Film Festival in 2014. Her production credits include work for HBO, FYI, The History Channel, Sony, Universal, and NASA. An advocate for epilepsy, her groundbreaking film "Bettina in the Fog" won the Thunen Award by the Illuminating Engineers Society. Michelle's other distinctions include the Goldfarb Award for Best Student Film and funding from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for Cinefemme. She holds an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University and BFA in Film Production from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Michelle is a certified paralegal, mother, writer and artist. An active member of the female filmmaking community, Michelle belongs to WIF, AWD and Film Fatales.
When is the last time you had butterflies? During a particularly engaging date last week,…
About Madeline Merritt
Actress, Freelance Writer - Madeline grew up on stage and has loved telling stories her whole life. From the Bay Area, California, Madeline received her degree in Theatre and Political Science from Northwestern University and moved to Los Angeles in 2008. She recently spent a year in Paris, France but missed the city of Angels and the entertainment industry here. She cares deeply about social issues, including women’s rights, indigenous rights, poverty and the environment. She feels the role of storyteller through entertainment is very important in opening dialogue and creating change in the world. You can see her in The Guest House (available on Netflix, Itunes, Amazon and Time Warner on Demand) and the soon to be released American Idiots, coming to a Redbox near you in June 2013. She is thrilled to continue her journey of collaborating with women in film and television through Ms. In the Biz.
“What would get you to go to a local film festival, Joseph?” “I don’t know,…
About Jennica Schwartzman
Jennica Schwartzman, a member of The Producer’s Guild of America, loves tackling a project from idea to distribution. Jennica has been published in the Producer’s Guild Magazine Produced By, Legacy Arts Magazine, Bustle and she is a guest writer on the acclaimed entertainment industry websites MsInTheBiz.com, FilmmakingStuff.com, Artemis Motion pictures’ #WomenKickAss Forum, & WomenandHollywood.com. She has been invited to speak on film festival panels and is a teacher & workshop speaker for The International Family Film Festival’s Road Scholars intergenerational filmmaking camp. Jennica has 6 feature film releases scheduled for 2018. Her films have collected TOP awards from Bentonville Film Fest, Big Bear Lake Int’l Film Fest, Eureka Springs Indie Fest, Film Fest Twain Harte, Worldfest Houston, Fayetteville Film Festival, The Int’l Family Film Fest, & the highest honor from The Dove Foundation. Jennica and her husband/producing partner/writing partner Ryan have 2 kiddos and reside in Hollywood.
Ever wonder what might be stopping you from achieving greater success in your career? Best…
About Wendy Braun
Wendy Braun has enjoyed a successful acting career for over 15 years. You may recognize her from appearances in over 60 television + film credits (including roles on The Mentalist, Bones, Navy NCIS and Criminal Minds), from over 100 television commercials or you may have heard her voice in thousands of voice-overs. Wendy is a Television Academy member (she votes on the Emmy’s!) and loves balancing career, marriage and family (she’s the mom of two young boys). Wendy is also the founder of www.ActorInspiration.com, a site dedicated to uplifting + empowering actors. Her popular guided meditation + visualization audios have helped thousands of actors around the world stay inspired, feel more confident + book more jobs. She gives away a free audio to help actors own the room in every audition. Download it at http://actorinspiration.com/auditionsuccess/
When the story of Raphael Schumacher–the Italian actor who accidentally hung himself during a stage…
About Laura Hunter Drago
Laura Hunter Drago is a producer, writer, and actress living in Los Angeles, California. Laura is a proud SAG-AFTRA member, is the assistant editor-in-chief of Ms. in the Biz, and is the co-founder of New Girl Pictures. She also likes baking, obsessing over Olympic ice dancers, and having long conversations with her dog Buffy. She dislikes being bored. Most recently, Laura just completed her first feature film as a producer, To The New Girl, which will screen at festivals in 2020.
No one likes a braggart. Unfortunately, in order to get ahead, you do have to…
About Brittany Nicole La Hue
Brittany Nicole is a public relations professional representing entertainment, production, post-production, visual effects and virtual reality companies at Press Kitchen PR in Santa Monica, Calif. A USC graduate, she worked with Dr. Stacy Smith at the USC Annenberg School for Communication in media effects research, studying the effects of gender and sexuality in the film industry. This is where she discovered her passion for advancing the cause of women in entertainment. After graduation, Brittany Nicole worked in PR for the city of West Hollywood, a Downtown LA nonprofit and three major automotive companies before venturing into the scary yet exciting world of entertainment. In her free time, she runs a fashion blog, Diaries of a Domestic Diva, which focuses on accessible fashion, LA bars and restaurants and crafts/recipes. She also enjoys writing, exploring, VR experiences, watching documentaries and supporting other women in their career endeavors.
What if I told you, dear actor, that you have a huge last minute audition…
About Sarah J Eagen
A TV actor and writer, Sarah is currently a semifinalist for the prestigious Humanitas NEW VOICES program. She was recently staffed on the sci fi audio drama The Veil from Voxx Studios. Sarah co-wrote/produced/acted in the short Soledad, which screened on the Disney lot at the end of 2018. She was a top 10 finalist for the Stage 32 TV Writing Contest in 2019, a finalist for the NYTVF Script Comp in 2018, and the Women in Film/Blacklist Episodic lab in the fall of 2017. Sarah recently appeared on an episode of The Big Bang Theory, TV's longest-running multi-cam comedy, which was a dream come true because she double majored in Neuroscience and Theatre. She also played the helpful paralegal Carol in CBS's action comedy Rush Hour, and had the pleasure of sharing the screen with funny lady Kristen Schaal in the feature film Austin Found.
Being part of the entertainment business means dealing with rejection (and if that isn’t the…
About Christina Parisi
Before Christina stepped behind the camera, she worked in a variety of positions, including being an assistant to producer Scott Rudin and an assistant editor on American Idol. Armed with knowledge learned on the job, Christina set out to make her own films. She wrote and directed the short film, Making Your Tea, marking her directorial debut. Making Your Tea world premiered at the 2006 Palm Beach Int’l Film Festival. Christina continued writing/directing/producing short films, providing her an opportunity to hone her craft and learn the festival circuit. Christina’s body of work explores themes of humanity and philosophy, told through character-driven stories. Her latest short film, Your Move, can be seen on Gaiam TV and several of her shorts are available on Amazon. Christina is currently seeking financing for her co-written feature script, Driving Your Mind. Christina has been a freelance script analyst for over ten years. And her personal blog "Life As I Know It" can be found here: christinaparisi.wordpress.com
