Rex Sikes' Movie Beat

Curtis A. Smith, 1st AD. grew up Oak Park, Michigan enrolled in Specs Howard's School of Broadcasting Arts. After graduation 1997, he landed an internship on the feature film Marriage Material, directed by Jody Poldolsky. The film starred Leslie Ann Warren, James Rebhorn, Alanna Ubach & Michael Silver.

Curtis was offered a paid Set Production Assistant position on Out of Sight, directed by Stephen Soderberg, starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez & Ving Rhames. He then worked on Cherry, starring Shalom Harlow & Jake Webber.

As 1st Assistant Director, Curtis is responsible for overseeing the majority of the preproduction & production phases of a film. While scheduling the entire photography of the film, Curtis works very closely with directors, assuring their creative vision is adhered to. He also works with producers to insure a film has what it needs to be a quality project, as well as finish on budget and on time.

Curtis has worked very close with experienced professionals of the independent film world. In 2000, Curtis worked on Girlfight, the Sundance winner produced by Jonathan Sayles and starring Michelle Rodiguez. He went on to work on Pootie Tang directed by Louis CK and featuring Chris Rock, XX/XY which starred Mark Ruffalo and Robot Stories by award-winning director Greg Pak.

The Orphan King with Chris Evans and Bill Pullman. The Tripper, which was actor David Arquette’s directing debut, which also starred Thomas Jane, Paul Ruebens and Lukas Haas.

Curtis also teamed up recording artist Fred Durst for his award-winning film The Education of Charlie Banks. Philip Seymour Hoffman for his film directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating. Starring Himself. Dustin Lance Black for his directorial debut as well What’s Wrong With Virginia. Starring Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris.

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

Juliet Landau PT 2 co-starred in Tim Burton’s ED WOOD as Loretta King and starred opposite Whoopi Goldberg in New Line Cinema’s THEODORE REX. She created the role of Drusilla on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, appearing on BUFFY and ANGEL over the course of six seasons. She just completed playing Russian villainess Nataliya Chernov in the adorable kid’s movie, MONSTER MUTT, created and produced by 4X Oscar-winning Greg Canom’s Drac Studios. Juliet directed the short documentary TAKE FLIGHT about and for Gary Oldman, co-directed/ appeared in Godhead’s HERO music video and co-wrote two issues of the ANGEL comic book about Drusilla. Lead roles in Independents include: THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, DARKNESS VISIBLE, HACK, TOOLBOX MURDERS, REPOSSESSED, CARLO’S WAKE, LIFE AMONG THE CANNIBALS, RAVAGER, DIRECT HIT, CITIZENS and a co-starring turn in Henry Jaglom’s GOING SHOPPING. TV guest appearances include: MILLENNIUM, LA FEMME NIKITA, STRONG MEDICINE, a starring role in the Lifetime movie REUNION and a project directed by Jake Scott for HBO. She has lent her voice to various characters on the popular animated series’ JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED and BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE as well as on BIOSHOCK 1 and 2, STAR WARS THE OLD REPUBLIC and BEN 10 video games. She voiced Labella in GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT. Juliet has worked extensively in the theater, receiving outstanding reviews for her work every time out. She has written the short film IT’S RAINING CATS AND CATS and will play seven different characters in the project. Juliet Landau was a professional ballerina. She studied acting extensively with the late Susan Peretz and is a member of the Actors Studio. 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

Carlo Petrick has been involved in the business of film for more than 30 years, primarily on the exhibition side, but also on the creative side. Petrick, grew up a movie fan and was captivated by the images that flickered across the big screen, determined to someday be part of the magic that was movies. Petrick’s filmmaking career began when he bought a Kodak 8MM camera and started to document the world around him.

Petrick graduated with a degree in communications from UW-Green Bay. Petrick figured that a movie theatre was a great place to work, because he could see all the movies he wanted for free. and it was a good way to learn the movie business. When Werner Herzog when he was filming Strozek in central Wisconsin. Herzog need a place to screen dailies and chose the theatre that Petrick managed.

Petrick’s experience in marketing and promotion includes developing local and regional campaigns for films, PR as the official spokesperson for his company (including a cutaway on Oprah) as well as working closely with the exhibitor relations departments of all major studios. His efforts have included media planning and buying; launching new theatres in Chicago, Columbus, OH, Omaha, NE, Milwaukee, WI and other markets throughout the Midwest; developing and directing direct mail campaigns; coordinating art direction for photo and video shoots; and extensive market research efforts.

As Director of Promotions and Communications and Marketing Manager, Petrick had the opportunity to work with many local filmmakers to help bring their films to the big screen. By connecting filmmakers looking for exhibition venues with his company’s film department several films have had regional runs.

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

Colleen Nystedt, PT 2 MovieSet's CEO, President and Founder is a motion picture producer and production executive who drew on her extensive 20+ year experience in physical production, finance, business affairs and creative development to engineer a platform and toolkit that seamlessly brings the traditional motion picture Industry online. ??First recognized in 2006 with the Vortex Award for Excellence in New Media Innovation by the Marshall McLuhan Festival of the Future, MovieSet continues to receive accolades for its disruptive technology and inventive business processes. MovieSet’s mandate is to build core audiences around film and television projects beginning while they’re being made, in order to capitalize on fan’s insatiable appetite for behind-the-scenes content. MovieSet’s suite of production tools efficiently integrates with the actual production process, making it possible to mine content in real time and thereby provide an authentic view to fans. MovieSet’s social media strategies help build core audiences for evangelizing, and real-time market testing, with the ultimately aim of producing more successful film and television properties. Some of her producer credits include: “THE LAST STOP” starring Adam Beach, Jurgen Prochnow, Rose McGowan, “A COOLER CLIMATE starring Sally Field, Judy Davis, Winston Reckert, “MR. RICE'S SECRET” starring David Bowie, Bill Switzer, “INSPECTORS” starring Lou Gossett, Jr., Dennis Considine, “BIG & HAIRY”starring, Richard Thomas, Robbie Burke, “ABDUCTED:A FATHER’S LOVE” starring Chris Noth, Natalie Cole, “FEAR” starring Mark Whalberg, Reese Witherspooon, “BEYOND THE STARS” starring Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Olivia d’Abo, ?Robert Foxworth, , F. Murray Abraham, William Taylor 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

Larry Thomas is an actor most recognized for his Emmy nominated performance as "The Soup Nazi" from Seinfeld. Larry has been an actor for twenty-five years and is a veteran of dozens of Films, TV shows and hundreds of theatre performances. Some of his credits include the film, Postal, Arrested Development, Hot Properties, Threshold, Scrubs and a Lexus commercial as a crazed pre-Bugsy visionary selling the idea of Vegas. As far as theatre goes, last year Larry completed a thirty-five city, one hundred and forty show production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple-Female Version starring Barbara Eden, and rumor has it that it's not over yet. Larry grew up dreaming of being on the big or small screen. As an Olympic gold medalist in the insomnia-athalon Larry watched a lot of all night TV. Major comedy influences were W.C. Fields, The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy. Also getting lost in those great golden era of Hollywood films wishing he could be Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra all rolled in to one. The answer was theatre classes. Enrolling in a bunch of theatre classes in a pitiful attempt to get a date Larry fell in love with acting and the rest as they say is....well for the first year the teachers told him he had no talent and he should go back to the journalism department. But, being incredibly stubborn and somewhat inspired by a nineteen year old kid in his acting class named Kevin Spacey Larry stuck with it. Within another year they admitted there was some talent there and now they have his picture hanging in the theatre lobby. 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