Author: Deborah Lee Smith

Admitting what you want is scary. I bet even reading that sentence is a little scary. I get it. I don’t just mean admitting your small goals in life, but admitting the big ones. The ones you say under your breath in your affirmations every morning. Your goals like “I want to win an Oscar.” “I want to have my own show.” “I want to have my own private jet.” “I want four perfect children, a house on the beach, and a nanny.” Whatever that big goal is, it can be freaking scary to admit. After all, when you put…

I remember the first time I fell in love with stunts in films. It was the first Spiderman, the Tobey Maguire one, from way back. I remember as soon as MARVEL flashed across the screen and the music swelled, I fell in love with action filmmaking. Of course, at the time I had no idea acting could be an actual career, let alone action filmmaking. Flash forward many many many years later, and I had the good fortune and pleasure to play a female Sith in the Star Wars fan film “The Force And The Fury.” All of my dancing…

Welcome back to Ms In The Biz and welcome to 2020! Have you written down your goals for the year? Have you already broken some of them? Either way, it’s amazing that you are surviving and thriving in the craziness of this industry.  Which brings me to what I want to talk about today: forging your own path. Now we all know that to live a creative life, we are already being forced to build our own path, but I have been finding it more and more difficult lately to do so. I think it is partly because I am…

For many years I have considered moving to NYC. I love the east coast. I have often been told, and even more often felt, that I am more of an east-coast than west-coast person. I love the city, the creative vibe, the infectious energy. To help me solve this NY vs LA dilemma, I called upon some of my amazing friends to ask them about their thoughts about the industry in these two markets. This is a longer article than usual, but FULL of information so buckle up! Let me introduce: Stephan Goldbach – Stephan is an actor and producer, known…

Every month there is a different CEO quoted in some new viral article about the importance of morning routines. They usually proclaim how their productivity and focus is completely enhanced by these routines and some even claim that their success has a direct correlation to said routine. Now I am all about productivity, and heck, I am all about success, but I have always been skeptical. I am someone who thrives under pressure. The more I have on my plate, the better, much to the chagrin of many friends, family members, and my adorable dog. That being said, in the…

The women of KR² Productions, Katy and Kate Rhamey, are a mother daughter team that have taken the world of branded content by storm and are ready to continue growing by utilizing their expertise in the narrative realm. They are two of the most talented, kindhearted women I have had the pleasure of talking to, but they don’t do it alone. As Katy explains, “We are as good as the people we work with. We are only as good as our team. KR² isn’t just a mother-daughter production company, we are an entire family.” Now, let’s dive into KR² Productions…

There’s no question that the industry has changed a lot over the years, and the theater goers’ experience has shifted the most dramatically. One thing that hasn’t changed is that people go to the movie theater to be immersed into a film, and have a collective experience. That is actually why they say that thrillers and horror films still do so well at the box office. People like to go and be scared together. I recently experienced a different kind of communal movie-going experience; Cinespia. If you haven’t been, it’s a staple Los Angeles summer experience. I had been to…

I had the great pleasure of meeting Ashleigh Nichols and Aubrey Duclos on set for a short film of theirs that I starred in. I have been on a lot of sets before, and I have to say that my experience working with them was just incredible. These two women are the brains and brawn behind Minerva Pictures, and after interviewing them I realized why filming with them was just so darn special: they truly care about the success and happiness of every person on the set. They are both mothers and they carry this mothering mentality into their work:…

I had the extraordinary pleasure of talking with Jenifer Westphal, a filmmaker and founder of the company, Wavelength Productions, who’s company mantra is “We Tell Great F***king stories.” I am going to dive right into our discussion about being a documentary filmmaker, mother, and a champion for amazing stories and first-time filmmakers. Why don’t you start us off by sharing some background information about how you got here that isn’t in your standard bio? A lot of different paths, but one thing that really strikes me is that since the early years I have always been the person who lived…

Every year, in Beverly Hills, a group of people come together to celebrate women and the stunt community. This group is a mighty force and growing every year, helmed by the film festival’s founder, Melanie Wise. This festival, the Artemis Film Festival believes that the more strong women that we see, the more it becomes the norm in society. This message resonates throughout the weekend that is filled with incredible films and panels celebrating these communities that don’t get the recognition they deserve. The festival starts every year with a gala awarding women in the stunt community with various awards…

We are going to jump right into the interview because it’s full of incredible information for costume designers and for anyone interested in other aspects of filmmaking! Let’s start at the beginning, where did the artistic costuming bug bite you? I was born and raised in Queens, NY. I grew up in an incredibly creative household. Halloween was the biggest holiday we celebrated. My mom was really into storytelling. I got started into dressing up really early as a child. Even though I loved dressing up, I didn’t really get interested in costuming until Star Wars Episode I and Sleepy…

Last month I talked about figuring out how to uncover your authentic self vs. your brand, and this month I want to talk more specifically about struggling with, and bettering, your authentic self. With the new year come and gone, everyone (myself included) is on a kick to improve habits, figure out how to be your best self, learn from the mistakes of last year and set goals and intentions for the new year. Personally, this is a process lasting a few weeks where I constantly add to a note on my phone about what went well last year and…

Who are you? Truly, at your core? You hear constantly that you have to figure out how you can bring your true authentic self to a role. But what is your authentic self? This is something you really have to figure out as an actor. And even more importantly you have to bring your authentic self to your brand and find that balance between you as a business and your individual assets. Do you know what I’m talking about? Our brand is the persona or character that other people (or yourself) have characterized you as. This is often what you…

Have you ever thought about how much social media personally controls your life? Sure, you’ve read articles about the amount of time we spend on our phones, the dangers of blue light and comparing ourselves to others, but have you actually examined how all of this affects YOU? I did an impromptu social media break a few weeks ago, and I truly feel like my life and understanding of myself has been changed forever. The first few days were a bit rough. Just like any other addiction, I found myself going through the motions to fuel my social media habit.…