Get ready for a fun episode to kick off the new year!! Please welcome Wendy Kurtzman to The FilmUp Podcast! Wendy is an Emmy-nominated casting director who has helped launch the careers of many well known actors including such notables as Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey and Evan Rachel Wood. She has more than 30 years of experience in feature films, movies for television, mini-series and theater and has worked with many distinguished directors such as Paul Schrader, Diane Keaton, Sally Field and Roland Emmerich, for whom she cast the blockbuster “Independence Day,” starring Will Smith. Prior to starting her own casting business, she was a casting executive at Lifetime and NBC. She began her career as an actress in musical theater and graduated with a degree in theater from UCLA. In 2013 Wendy launched College to Career Acting, to help emerging BFA/MFA artists navigate the transition from Academia into the Entertainment Industry. Her experience as both a performer and a casting director afford her a unique perspective into what it takes to succeed as a performer. Recently, Wendy joined PhilmCo Media as Head of Casting while also serving as Faculty at UCLA and Pace University where she teaches personal narrative, audition technique and transition to the Industry. Wendy is also a big supporter of ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CIVIL RIGHTS LAW AND COMBATS ANTISEMITISM. So she is dedicating this episode to their organization. You can learn more by going to adl.org --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thefilmuppodcast/support