Presenting... Part 2 of my Filmmaker Roundtable at the Hampton International Film Festival. In this episode, we talk to the filmmaking teams of four short films. We delve into the process of creating their films and their experience at the festival. Including: Director Jack Kendrick and Producer Taylor Ervin for TORNADO: A struggling contractor risks his young sons’ wellbeing to cut a sweet deal. Director Geneva Peschka and Cinematographer Safiyah Chiniere for THE SOLACE OF SISTERHOOD:...

Tom Nesher - Director & Writer Born in Los Angeles in 1996, Tom Nesher is a graduate of the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School. She directed four award winning shorts, and has created dozens of unique freeform documentary pieces as a journalist at one of Israel’s most prominent networks. Come Closer is Nesher’s debut feature film. Logline: When Eden’s beloved brother suddenly dies, she takes desperate measures to fill the void. Once she discovers he had a secret girlfriend, these...

Presenting... Part 1 of my Filmmaker Roundtable at the Hampton International Film Festival. In this episode, we talk to the filmmaking teams of two feature narratives and one documentary. We delve into the process of creating their films and their experience at the festival. Including: Delaney Buffet (Director, Lead Actress, Writer) and Katie Corwin (Lead Actress, Writer) for Adult Best Friends. Nothing holds a mirror up to your life more than the examination of a friend from childhood....

Carol Baum has produced thirty-four movies, seventeen of them independently. Before becoming an independent producer, Baum was co-president of Sandollar Productions, Dolly Parton and Sandy Gallin’s production company, for ten years, where she produced such hits as Father of the Bride; the Academy Award-winning HBO documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt; Tidy Endings; I.Q.; Jacknife; True Identity; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Gross Anatomy; Shining Through; Straight Talk; and Kicking...

Cara Cusumano has been with Tribeca since 2008, during which time the festival has become a globally respected showcase for film and TV premieres, live music, talks, interdisciplinary events, and talent discovery. During her tenure as Festival Director, Tribeca has been called “an annual powerhouse” (Time Out), “reliably and inarguably excellent” (Village Voice), and “one of the most prestigious festivals of the new millennium” (Playlist). She has served on nominating committees for the...

Bryan Smiley is President & Chief Content Officer of Hartbeat, the global multi-platform media company founded by Kevin Hart. Named to Variety’s 2022 “New Leaders” and Hollywood Reporter’s 2018 ”Next Gen” and “Rising Executives 35 under 35” lists, Smiley oversees Hartbeat production, financing, and development, including the company’s 70+ projects in development and more than 20 projects released in 2022 across top tier partners including Netflix, Peacock, SiriusXM, Netflix, Audible and...

ROB DECINA - In December of 2018, Rob Decina was named VP, Casting in NY for CBS Studios. He has contributed to the casting of many shows across several broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, including: Your Honor, The Comey Rule (SHOWTIME), Nancy Drew & The Dynasty (CW), Diary of a Future President (Disney+), Guilty Party & The Game (Paramount+) and Swagger ( Apple TV+). At CBS, he developed two programs: a Casting Fellowship, designed to encourage diversity and inclusion in...

With 15 wins and 76 nominations, Bernard Telsey is one of the premier Casting Directors in the industry. Casting our favorite films, television shows, and Broadway shows, Telsey Casting is well known for excellence in casting. From the original production of RENT to NBC's This Is Us to Only Murders in the Building to Wicked (both the upcoming movie and the show), their office is constantly busy. In this episode, we talk about: • His first job as a casting assistant and building his rolodex...

LIVE on the Red Carpet of the World Premiere of the film "All That We Love." Starring:                       MARGARET CHO (Cast) JESSE TYLER FERGUSON (Cast) KENNETH CHOI (Cast) (Halloweentown, Captain America, Ironside, American Crime Story, The Wolf of Wall Street ALICE LEE (Cast) ATSUKO OKATSUKA (Cast) DEVON BOSTICK (Cast) (Pppenheimer, Saw 4 and 5, Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies) YEN TAN (Writer, Director)  Missi Pyle (Just my Luck, Soul Place, A Cinderella Story (with Lucy Hale),...

LIVE on the Red Carpet of the World Premiere of the film "Sacramento." Starring: Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart, Michael Angarano, and Maya Erskine Written by: Michael Angarano and Chris Smith Interviews including Michael Angarano, Chris Smith, AJ Mendez, and Iman Karram Logline: Ricky, an energetic and free-spirited young man convinces Glenn, his long-time friend who's settled into domestic life, to go on an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento. Host: Instagram:...

Video Available on Spotify. This year, I achieved one of my goals of covering a Film Festival for my podcast. I interviewed big actors, incredible filmmakers, Tribeca programmers, and enjoyed myself immensely. In this special 4th Anniversary episode of Mentors on the Mic, I share: • What made me feel more confident and relaxed at this Film Festival in comparison to others • How I booked red carpets and big interviews with Lisa Edelstein, Margaret Cho, Gina Torres, Mark Duplass, Katie...

Susanne Scheel is a New York-based casting director with a Bachelor of Science in Film and Television from Boston University. Susanne has won three Casting Society of America Artios Awards for Excellence in Casting and has been nominated for nine more. Susanne has had the honor of collaborating with several visionary creatives including Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Frances McDormand, Barry Levinson, George Clooney, Kasi Lemmons, Ryan Murphy, Jim Mickle, Cherien Dabis, John Lee Hancock, Peter...

I had the opportunity to go LIVE on the RED CARPET at Tribeca for three movies. The first was interview the Duplass family for their film "Oh, Christmas Tree." This 11 minute short film was shot in their cabin in upstate NY. It truly was a family affair, written by Mark Duplass to star in with his daughter Ora Duplass, and directed by Katie Aselton, Mark's wife and Ora's mom. I asked them a couple of questions about shooting this short film and working together. It was Ora's first time in a...

Nicole Frail is a senior editor at Skyhorse Publishing, a traditional publishing company based in New York City. She has been with the company more than a decade and currently works on both adult and children's titles in both fiction and nonfiction categories. She has worked with debut authors and illustrators, as well as New York Times bestsellers, James Beard Award winners, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musicians. In this episode, we talk about: • Getting a full time publishing...

Since 1994, Timothy Travaglini has worked in trade marketing for Scholastic, Inc.; been a bookseller for Books of Wonder, an all-children’s bookstore in New York City; and has edited for Henry Holt and Company, Walker & Company, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, and Open Road Integrated Media where he was the director of children’s acquisitions. Tim is now a Senior Agent at Transatlantic Agency. He primarily represents authors and illustrators of book for...

TIM BLAKE NELSON - Actor, writer, director, and producer Tim Blake Nelson has appeared in over ninety feature films, including Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Ang Lee’s Billy Lynne’s Long Halftime Walk, Louis Letterier’s The Incredible Hulk, Jay Roach’s Meet the Fockers, Steven Gaghan’s Syriana, Miguel Arteta’s The Good Girl, Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, Andrew Davis’ Holes, and the Coen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou? Nelson also starred as the...

LISA EDELSTEIN - From her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the hit Fox series “House” to her star turn as Abby McCarthy in Bravo’s first scripted series “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” Lisa Edelstein’s range of roles are as diverse as her talent. “Girlfriends’ Guide” is a dramedy following a best-selling author of a self-help series who separates from her husband and must navigate big career changes and the dating world as a newly single mother. Edelstein also starred in the Golden Globe, Critics...

BRYCE NORBITZ is currently the Director of Artist Programs at Tribeca Studios, where they oversee filmmaker development programming. Prior to this, they served as the Director of the Stowe Launch Program at Stowe Story Labs. Bryce also has extensive experience at the Tribeca Film Institute, where they held various roles including Director of Scripted Programs, Manager of Artist Programs, and Coordinator of Artist Programs. Bryce supported both scripted and documentary programming, executed...

Bonus Episode LIVE from the RED CARPET of the New York Women in Film and Television Muse Awards. First ever red carpet interviews with: - Tantoo Cardinal (04:41) - Michele Stephenson (05:31) - Raney Aronson-Rath (07:40) - Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago (09:32) - Alex Borstein (11:00) - Pat Swinney Kaufman (14:31) - Kyra Sedgwick (16:55) - Latasha Gillespie (18:30) Bios: Tantoo Cardinal is an award-winning actress of Indigenous descent, who was most recently on screen with Robert DeNiro...

I recorded the intro to this episode earlier this week and already it's outdated! The strike is over! We can now talk about how GREAT Carol Baum is. Carol Baum has produced thirty-four movies, seventeen of them independently. Before becoming an independent producer, Baum was co-president of Sandollar Productions, Dolly Parton and Sandy Gallin’s production company, for ten years, where she produced such hits as Father of the Bride; the Academy Award-winning HBO documentary Common Threads:...

One of Carol's superpowers as a successful producer is her relationships with WRITERs. She is credited for starting the careers of David O’Russell, Noah Baumbach, and Mike White, in addition to being Former VP at 20th Century Fox and Co-President of Sandollar Productions (founded by Dolly Parton and Sandy Gallin). This is an excerpt from Carol Baum's new book: ⁠⁠⁠Creative Producing: a pitch-to-picture guide to Movie Development⁠⁠⁠. It is available wherever you buy books. Here we delve...

Ready to elevate your social media game? Join us for an enlightening session with Heidi Dean, a master of social media strategy, as we uncover the secrets to crafting an irresistible online persona. In this engaging episode, we're diving into your most pressing questions: How can you build a compelling brand on Instagram? Heidi shares practical steps to showcase your unique identity. What is Heidi's process? How did she start her social media profile without a team? Mastering the...

If you're wondering, "How can we use Instagram highlights to network effectively and even book jobs?" – you're in for a treat. Join us as Heidi Dean, the renowned social media strategist, unravels her secret playbook to harness Instagram Highlights for networking and job opportunities. Get ready to revamp your approach and master the art of strategic storytelling. Heidi's tips will empower you to turn your Instagram profile into a networking powerhouse, boosting your chances of landing those...

Dreaming of making your social media posts go viral? Join us in this dynamic episode as we team up with social media strategist for actors, Heidi Dean, to unveil the secrets of going viral. Discover three powerful strategies to transform your online presence and create a buzz that resonates. From engaging content to trending techniques, we're here to elevate your actor journey to new heights. Tune in to explore the uncharted territory of social media during the strike and learn how to...