Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

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 instrumental part of creating and building the "Regional Casting Committee" within the CSA, to bridge the knowledge and resources of casting directors in the New York and Los Angeles markets, with their fellow professionals in other regions. She has been the featured guest speaker at the Louisville Film Festival and has had her writings published by "Showfax", offering her insight to actors nationally.  Working hand-in-hand with Gary Marsh, CEO of Breakdown Services, she has helped to create an open door to more opportunities for talent based in the Midwest By being the first casting director in Missouri to bring Breakdown Services to the area, Kim has been a guest panel speaker at various Screen Actors Guild and other events. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews,

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 as 1st Ad & as a director. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at rexsikes.com

Kim Swanson, 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 instrumental part of creating and building the "Regional Casting Committee" within the CSA, to bridge the knowledge and resources of casting directors in the New York and Los Angeles markets, with their fellow professionals in other regions. She has been the featured guest speaker at the Louisville Film Festival and has had her writings published by "Showfax", offering her insight to actors nationally.  Working hand-in-hand with Gary Marsh, CEO of Breakdown Services, she has helped to create an open door to more opportunities for talent based in the Midwest By being the first casting director in Missouri to bring Breakdown Services to the area, Kim has been a guest panel speaker at various Screen Actors Guild and other events. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at rexsikes.com

Nicholas Tabarrok, producer, is a prolific film and television producer whose company, Darius Films, has offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. Since 1998, he has produced over a dozen features that have received both commercial and critical success. Many of them have premiered at the world’s top film festivals: THE LIFE AND HARD TIMES OF GUY TERRIFICO (Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW 2005), HANK AND MIKE (Karlovy Vary 2007), SURVIING CROOKED LAKE (Slamdance 2008), WEIRDSVILLE (Toronto International Film Festival and opening night gala of the 2007 Slamdance and Raindance Film Festivals), COOPERS’ CHRISTMAS (Toronto International Film Festival 2008), and DEFENDOR (Toronto International Film Festival 2009). Nicholas’ most recent completed film, A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO ENDINGS starring Harvey Keitel, Scott Caan and JK Simmons, will be released in summer 2012. THE BLACK MARKS, starring Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Jay Baruchel and Terence Stamp is currently in post-production and will be distributed by Dimension Films. Nicholas’ first television series, FUGGET ABOUT IT, will be airing in September 2012.Nicholas was honored by Variety Magazine as one the “Top Ten Producers to Watch” in 2008. Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at rexsikes.com

Sam Christensen, (PT 3) 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, MAS*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 and Jean-Claude Van Damme. For two decades Sam Christensen has thrived as a teacher and personal consultant, advising working actors and movie stars, community leaders and political candidates, entrepreneurs and CEOs.  His original process, developed first for artists has been expanded to the corporate market and is the subject of his upcoming book Charisma: the art of authenticity.  Stay tuned to Rex Sikes Movie Beat for other great archived interviews, cast and crew listings, events, festivals, premieres, and more at http://www.rexsikes.com