Thursday, October 28, 2010

Sister Entertainment Open Call every other Saturday


Avery Sisters Entertainment (formerly known as Sister Entertainment, LLC) has recently teamed up with a talent and model agency in LA! Not only do we receive castings from the Southeast Region, we will now receive castings from the Los Angeles, CA area.

We are searching primarily for actors that have SAG credentials, but we are also looking for professionals actors and those who have “extreme” potential but must be currently enrolled in reputable acting classes.

We are looking for all ages, genders and ethnicities. (Not accepting children under 5 yrs of age). Please bring headshot and resume. You do not need to prepare a monologue, a short script will be supplied to you.

Open Calls will be every other Saturday at our local office. calls every other Saturday.  Email info@sisterent.com for schedule of next Open Call.

You do not need to make an appointment but please note…contact our office on Friday evenings after 7pm to listen to our voicemail for any scheduling changes that “we” may have.

Our address is: 3783 Presidential Parkway, Suite 142E, Atlanta GA 30340 (Presidential Commons office Park)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Great article in Jezebel Magazine

Hollywood East
Atlanta’s music business has been booming for more than a decade now. But how did the ATL become the East Coast’s answer to Tinseltown?

Perhaps you’ve read about the increasing slew of local celeb spottings within the pages of JEZ, People and US Weekly magazines. Maybe you’ve even seen a star or two around town yourself, what with A-list actors ranging from Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston to Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds descending upon the city. Regardless, it’s clear Atlanta is emerging as the East Coast’s answer to Hollywood, with dozens of big-budget films and TV shows lured here by the gorgeous weather, experienced local crews and state tax rebates.

There was a time when the business of filmmaking was location-driven, with directors seeking out specific locations that best embodied their creative vision. That all changed when Canada began offering competitive tax incentives, which helped production companies that were struggling to finance increasingly big budgets. In 2003, Louisiana became the first U.S. state to offer major tax incentives, which took away much of the business Georgia was getting at that time. It took until 2008 for the General Assembly to pass the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act, offering aggressive tax incentives to production companies choosing to work in the state.

Lee Thomas, the film division director for the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office, remains one of the key players in Georgia’s current film boom. In her eyes, the legislation has proved to be remarkably effective, leading to a 400-percent rise in local productions in the last two years. “In fiscal year 2007, the economic impact of our efforts on film, TV, commercials, music videos and game development was around $241 million,” she points out. “By fiscal year 2010, which just ended, the economic impact was $1.3 billion. So it’s definitely working.”

Oscar-winning film director Aaron Schneider, who shot his latest film, “Get Low” (starring Robert Duvall and Bill Murray), here, claims the tax incentive was one of several reasons he decided to film in Georgia. “One reason is that the crew is terrific, because the people down here are great.  We also wanted to shoot in Georgia because of creative reasons: We saw a beautiful little town in Crawfordville that worked perfectly for us. And the tax rebate plan works out great for everybody. We put some money into the economy, and Georgia helped us out a little in terms of our squeaky little budget.”

That’s not the only way the state helps out. Thomas’ team also assists clients through every step of the production process, from location scouting and finding production office space to securing local crew and equipment. They certainly have their hands full, what with TV shows such as “The Vampire Diaries,” “Drop Dead Diva” and “The Walking Dead” all in production here. The list of films being shot in the area seems to keep growing by the day, from the “Footloose” reboot (starring Dennis Quaid, Andie McDowell and Julianne Hough) and “The Fast and the Furious 5” (Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker and Vin Diesel) to “The Change-Up” (Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman) and “Wanderlust” (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston).

Georgia is also attracting multimillion-dollar production facilities as well. Filmmaker Tyler Perry opened his namesake studio in southwest Atlanta in 2008. Raleigh Studios, the largest independent studio and production support operation in the United States, recently opened a full-service film and TV production facility in Senoia. And major industry player EUE/Screen Gems recently announced a 50-year partnership with the City of Atlanta to open a 30-acre production facility on the Lakewood Fairgrounds property.

“We are so pleased to be open and working in Atlanta,” says Chris Cooney, COO of EUE/Screen Gems. “We’ve hosted one major entertainment brand at the studio already. We’re in discussions with studios about upcoming bookings, and you’ll be hearing soon about some of the Atlanta-based individuals we’ll be hiring as we move forward. The climate here is definitely film- and television-friendly. We are excited about the work and collaboration still to come.”

As happy as Hollywood may be about setting up shop in our fair city, it doesn’t hold a candle to the excitement local actors and other creative types are feeling. For them, more productions means more work, which in turn leads to more opportunities for them to generate their own creative ideas. Adel native Ray McKinnon has been a working actor for more than 20 years now, moving from small parts in “Driving Miss Daisy” and “In the Heat of the Night” to major roles in local productions such as “The Blind Side” and “Footloose.” As a writer and director with several indie films (“The Accountant,” “Randy & the Mob”) under his belt, McKinnon sees the current climate as one that will foster great growth for the city’s creative future.

“There’s a viable entertainment industry happening here, and that creative energy is leading a lot of people to pursue film degrees,” McKinnon says proudly. “They’re gonna make movies come hell or high water. There’s a sophistication about it. The film crews have worked on big productions and aren’t freaked out by them, and even the young actors have been in front of cameras for a good portion of their lives and aren’t intimidated by it. I’m grateful for the fact that it’s happening in Atlanta, and I just want to see it continue for as long as possible.”
By Bret Love