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Tenant Spotlight: Byron Balasco creator of Direct TV’s hit show Kingdom

Kingdom

In this Halloween edition of Tenant Spotlight, Ariana caught up with writer/producer Byron Balasco on a warm fall day in Hollywood. Byron is the creator of Direct TV’s hit show Kingdom and is currently writing Season 3 while Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on the Audience Network October 14th at 9/8c. Kingdom is set in Venice Beach and focuses on a family’s mixed martial arts gym and the relationships and addictions of the characters. Kingdom Stars Nick Jonas (Singer/Songwriter) and Frank Gillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Purge: Anarchy).

 

Wow, Byron you are just cranking out these episodes. What can fans expect in Season 2? The theme of season 2 is the painful ascent. So the gym is on the rise, some of the fighters are on the rise but with that success comes some shifting dynamics with the characters. Not everyone gets dragged along at the same pace and so, many tensions arise.

 

How did the idea for Kingdom come about and how did Venice, California come into the shows setting? I’ve been a fan of MMA for a long time; I really wanted to dive into the MMA world in a way that is different than how the sport itself is marketed. The more and more I got to learn about these fighters and got to know them personally, their lives are filled with the same struggles as anybody else’s but often times a little more extreme. They don’t have a safety net, it’s very dramatic, very risky, there is a lot of high stakes so it was a great place to set a family drama. A lot of things these guys and girls struggle with, mirror what everybody does, so there is universal themes in their lives. But distilled down to a more visceral level.

 

And Venice? Venice came into the setting because there is a ton of MMA in LA so it’s an organic place to have it. Venice is a very interesting setting, where you have a little bit of the glamour of LA but you still have the grit and sort of the danger. It’s sort of all mixed together which is a lot of how the world of MMA is.  

 

The show is centered on Mixed Martial Arts, do you have onset trainers and is craft service a donut free zone? We do have a lot of trainers, professionals on set at all times. All of our background in the gym are real fighters. We have a guy named Joe “Daddy” Stevenson who is a very famous UFC legend and coach who is on set with us every day. He is our onsite technical advisor and he trains all the actors one-on-one, together and while we’re shooting. Joe is on the show a lot. We also have another technical advisor by the name of Greg Jackson. He is a legend in the sport and is the top trainer in the world right now. Greg is based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico but he is the guy I talk to on a regular basis. He and I go through all the scripts. I always go out and spend a couple of weeks with him before every season starts.  

 

One of your fans, Julie Plec, who has tweeted about Kingdom, her writers take daily walks as a group around the facility. What sort of daily rituals do your writers do to get the creative juices flowing? When we come in, we all have coffee and then we beat the shit of Johne Frye, who is our writers assistant. [Laughs] So we beat him around for a while and then when we tire, we’re ready to go.

 

Which character do you most identify with? This isn’t a copout, but really and truly, they all are my favorites in that… As a writer, a little piece of you is in everything, so they each kind of have a thread running through them that is personal or at least interesting. If it’s not the literal thing that they’re dealing with it still has an emotional resonance to me. All of these guys.

 

Ronda Rousey is killing it in the UFC world and has a little feud with Floyd Mayweather. Who do you think would win that fight? Ronda versus Floyd… I think if Ronda could get a hold of him, get him on the ground, she might be able to beat up on him. If it’s stand up, I think he’d probably smoke her. But if she can get a hold of him, who knows.

 

More and more woman are creating a lasting impression in the MMA world, will you have more women in Season 2? We definitely have that this coming season. It’s a huge part of the sport, it’s an incredibly fast growing side. I think Ronda Rousey has been amazing for it and she is dominating and I think in the future the talent pool will become a lot deeper. There will be more rivals for people like Ronda and a little more parody. Right now, she’s just a superstar and everyone else is kind of new.

 

Do you think there is anyone that can beat Ronda right now? No, I don’t think she really has a challenger. But I think it’s great for the sport, it’s happening at every gym you go to. There are women training all the time.

 

Nick Jonas plays Nate Kulina and in Season 1 he battled a lot with his sexuality. Will Nick’s character continue to battle with his sexuality in Season 2? Not only Nate’s character, it’s sort of everyone trying to figure out their identity and who they are and where they fit in. So Nate’s struggle will continue, it’s not so simple. He’s not in a theatre troupe he’s in a fighting family and a very aggressive testosterone driven world. His family loves him, his immediate family of course, but also the family at the gym and the world. They love him. But I think he’s scared and afraid of how his sexuality might re-contextualize him in relation to those people. Even if he is accepted, he doesn’t want to be thought of as other, you know, different.  

 

Mark Consuelos will be guest starring in this coming season as a friend from Alvey’s past. Tell us a little bit about his character. He plays a guy named Sean Chapas, who was a guy who fought with Alvey back in the day. They were contemporaries. They haven’t really seen each other in several years. But in the meantime Chapas has gone off and become very successful. He comes back to see Alvey and I think they both feed each other’s dark side.  

 

What kind of drinking game should Kingdom fans play while watching the Season 2 premiere? Take a show of tequila every time somebody says “fuck”. You’ll get pretty drunk by the time you get out of the teaser.

 

What shows are you binge-watching at the moment? I’m not really binge watching. Well, what’s your go-to when you get home? College football. [laughs] Project Greenlight has been pretty good. I love Veep. I think Veep is such an amazing show. I really like Fargo.

 

What advice would you give to some of our readers who are currently trying to produce a dramatic series? I say, number one, there’s a lot of different ways to do it. I don’t like to know exactly where I’m going. I mean, I like to know the kind of global truth of what I’m going towards. But I don’t like to know plot wise exactly what I’m heading towards. I like to be able to kind of discover as you go, and that’s just how this show works. Not all shows can work that way. But for me, I don’t like to get slaved to a premise or like a hook for the show. I really like it to be about the characters because that’s really what I think, in my opinion, is what people come back for: falling in love with the people populating the show. Versus the hook or the gimmick which, you know, I think you have to have in a lot of ways to sell a network show. But for me, it’s find a great world that you could put your characters in. A world where the premise doesn’t swallow up the characters.   

Last question, it being our Halloween edition, what are you going to be for Halloween? Oh man, a fern.

Categories
Celebrity News Hollywood News Movies/Television

Emmys 2015

This year’s Emmy award show was hosted by Andy Samberg and there was a lot of wins and shockers during the night!
Transparent! Director Jill Soloway took the time during her acceptance speech for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series to bring awareness to the fact that in 32 states, trans-people still face legal discrimination when doing something as simple as renting an apartment. “We don’t have a trans-tipping point yet—we have a trans equality problem,” Soloway said.

There were also two more hot headlining wins that night. First came to Jon Hamm. After 16 nominations and seven seasons of Mad Men, Jon Hamm finally received his Emmy—and to a standing ovation, no less. “It’s incredible and impossible for me personally to be standing here,” he said in his speech.

Then came the powerful win of Viola Davis for Best Actress! As the first African American actress to win an Emmy in the drama category, she started off by quoting Harriet Tubman: “In my mind I see a line. And over that line I see green fields, and lovely flowers, and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me…but I can’t seem to get over there no how. I can’t seem to get over that line.”
Davis continued: “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that simply are not there. So here’s to all the writers, the awesome people…Thank you for taking us over that line.”

Read more at: glamour.com

Categories
Hollywood News Movies/Television Celebrity News

2015 Emmy Award nominations

The 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on July 16 and HBO’s “Game of Thrones” received the most nominations.

Andy Samberg will host the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20. Fox will broadcast them live from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

The nominees are below:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

“Better Call Saul”

“Downton Abbey”

“Game of Thrones”

“Homeland”

“House of Cards”

“Mad Men”

“Orange is the New Black”

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

“Louie”

“Modern Family”

“Parks and Recreation”

“Silicon Valley”

“Transparent”

“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

“Veep”

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA

Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”

Kyle Chandler, “Bloodline”

Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”

Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”

Jeff Daniels, “The Newsroom”

Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA

Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”

Claire Danes, “Homeland”

Viola Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder”

Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”

Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”

Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Timothy Hutton, “American Crime”

Ricky Gervais, “Derek Special”

Adrien Brody, “Houdini”

David Oyelowo, “Nightingale”

Richard Jenkins, “Olive Kitteridge”

Mark Rylance, “Wolf Hall”

LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”

Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”

Queen Latifah, “Bessie”

Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honorable Woman”

Frances McDormand, “Olive Kitteridge”

Emma Thompson, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY

Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”

Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”

Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”

Will Forte, “The Last Man On Earth”

Louis C.K., “Louie”

William H. Macy, “Shameless”

Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY

Lisa Kudrow, “The Comeback”

Lily Tomlin, “Grace And Frankie”

Amy Schumer, “Inside Amy Schumer”

Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”

Amy Poehler, “Parks And Recreation”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

REALITY-COMPETITION SERIES

“The Amazing Race”

“Dancing With The Stars”

“Project Runway”

“So You Think You Can Dance”

“Top Chef”

“The Voice”

VARIETY SERIES

“The Colbert Report”

“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”

“Jimmy Kimmel Live”

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”

“Late Show With David Letterman”

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

LIMITED SERIES

“American Crime”

“American Horror Story: Freak Show”

“The Honorable Woman”

“Olive Kitteridge”

“Wolf Hall”

VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

“Drunk History”

“Inside Amy Schumer”

“Key & Peele”

“Portlandia”

“Saturday Night Live”

TELEVISION MOVIE

“Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Curtain, Poirot’s Last Case”

“Bessie”

“Grace of Monaco”

“Hello Ladies: The Movie”

“Killing Jesus”

“Nightingale”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA

Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”

Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”

Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey”

Peter Dinklage, “Game Of Thrones”

Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”

Michael Kelly, “House Of Cards”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA

Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”

Lena Headey, “Game Of Thrones”

Emilia Clarke, “Game Of Thrones”

Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife”

Christina Hendricks, “Man Men”

Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is The New Black”

GUEST ACTOR, DRAMA

Alan Alda, “The Blacklist”

Michael J. Fox, “The Good Wife”

F. Murray Abraham, “Homeland”

Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards”

Beau Bridges, “Masters Of Sex”

Pablo Schreiber, “Orange Is The New Black”

GUEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

Margo Martindale, “The Americans”

Diana Rigg, “Game of Thrones”

Rachel Brosnahan, “House Of Cards”

Cicely Tyson, “How To Get Away With Murder”

Allison Janney, “Masters Of Sex”

Khandi Alexander, “Scandal”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY

Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

Adam Driver, “Girls”

Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele”

Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”

Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

Tony Hale, “Veep”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY

Mayim Bialik, “The Big Bang Theory”

Niecy Nash, “Getting On”

Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”

Allison Janney, “Mom”

Kate McKinnon “Saturday Night Live”

Gaby Hoffmann, “Transparent”

Jane Krakowski, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

Anna Chlumsky, “Veep”

GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY

Mel Brooks, “The Comedians”

Paul Giamatti, “Inside Amy Schumer”

Bill Hader, “Saturday Night Live”

Louis C.K., “Saturday Night Live”

Bradley Whitford, “Transparent”

Jon Hamm, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY

Christine Baranski, “The Big Bang Theory”

Gaby Hoffmann, “Girls”

Pamela Adlon, “Louie”

Elizabeth Banks, “Modern Family”

Joan Cusack, “Shameless”

Tina Fey, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Richard Cabral, “American Crime”

Denis O’Hare, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”

Finn Wittrock, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”

Michael Kenneth Williams, “Bessie”

Bill Murray, “Olive Kitteridge”

Damian Lewis, “Wolf Hall”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Regina King, “American Crime”

Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”

Angela Bassett, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”

Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”

Mo’Nique, “Bessie”

Zoe Kazan, “Olive Kitteridge”

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

“The Americans” • Do Mail Robots Dream Of Electric Sheep? • FX Networks • Fox 21 Television

Studios and FX Productions

Joshua Brand, Written by

“Better Call Saul” • Five-O • AMC • Sony Pictures Television / Gran Via Productions

Gordon Smith, Written by

“Game Of Thrones” • Mother’s Mercy • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead,

Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions

David Benioff, Written by

D.B. Weiss, Written by

“Mad Men” • Lost Horizon • AMC • Lionsgate Television / UROK Productions

Semi Chellas, Written by

Matthew Weiner, Written by

“Mad Men” • Person To Person • AMC • Lionsgate Television / UROK Productions

Matthew Weiner, Written by

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

“Boardwalk Empire” • Eldorado • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions and Cold Front Productions

Tim Van Patten, Directed by

“Game Of Thrones” • Mother’s Mercy • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead,

Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions

David Nutter, Directed by

“Game Of Thrones” • Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with

Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions

Jeremy Podeswa, Directed by

“Homeland” • From A To B And Back Again • Showtime • SHOWTIME Presents, Fox 21, Teakwood

Lane Productions, Cherry Pie Productions, Keshet

Lesli Linka Glatter, Directed by

“The Knick” • Method And Madness • Cinemax • Cinemax Entertainment in association with Ambeg

Screen Products, Anonymous Content and Extension 765

Steven Soderbergh, Directed by

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

“Episodes” • Episode 409 • Showtime • SHOWTIME Presents, Hat Trick Productions, Crane Klarik

Productions

David Crane, Written by

Jeffrey Klarik, Written by

“The Last Man On Earth” • Alive In Tucson (Pilot) • FOX • 20th Century Fox Television

Will Forte, Written by

“Louie” • Bobby’s House • FX Networks • Pig Newton, Inc. and FX Productions

Louis C.K., Written by

“Silicon Valley” • Two Days Of The Condor • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with

Judgemental Films, Alec Berg, Altschuler Krinsky Works and 3 Arts Entertainment

Alec Berg, Written by

“Transparent” • Pilot • Amazon Instant Video • Amazon Studios

Jill Soloway, Written by

“Veep” • Election Night • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Dundee Productions

Simon Blackwell, Teleplay and Story by

Armando Iannucci, Story by

Tony Roche, Teleplay and Story by

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

“The Last Man On Earth” • Alive In Tucson (Pilot) • FOX • 20th Century Fox Television

Phil Lord, Directed by

Christopher Miller, Directed by

“Louie” • Sleepover • FX Networks • Pig Newton, Inc. and FX Productions

Louis C.K., Directed by

“Silicon Valley” • Sand Hill Shuffle • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Judgemental

Films, Alec Berg, Altschuler Krinsky Works and 3 Arts Entertainment

Mike Judge, Directed by

“Transparent” • Best New Girl • Amazon Instant Video • Amazon Studios

Jill Soloway, Directed by

“Veep” • Testimony • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Dundee Productions

Armando Iannucci, Directed by

WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

“American Crime” • Episode One • ABC • ABC Studios

John Ridley, Written by

“Bessie” • HBO • HBO Films in association with Flavor Unit Entertainment and the Zanuck Company

Dee Rees, Screenplay and Story by

Christopher Cleveland, Screenplay by

Bettina Gilois, Screenplay by

Horton Foote, Story by

“Hello Ladies: The Movie” • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Four Eyes Entertainment,

Quantity Entertainment and ABC Studios

Stephen Merchant, Written by

Gene Stupnitsky, Written by

Lee Eisenberg, Written by

“The Honorable Woman” • SundanceTV • Drama Republic and Eight Rooks Productions for BBC TWO,

co-produced by SundanceTV

Hugo Blick, Written by

“Olive Kitteridge” • HBO • HBO Miniseries in association with Playtone

Jane Anderson, Teleplay by

“Wolf Hall” • PBS • A Playground Entertainment and Company Pictures Production for BBC and

MASTERPIECE in association with BBC Worldwide, Altus Media and Prescience

Peter Straughan, Written by

DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

“American Horror Story: Freak Show” • Monsters Among Us • FX Networks • 20th Century Fox

Television

Ryan Murphy, Directed by

“Bessie” • HBO • HBO Films in association with Flavor Unit Entertainment and the Zanuck Company

Dee Rees, Directed by

“The Honorable Woman” • SundanceTV • Drama Republic and Eight Rooks Productions for BBC TWO,

co-produced by SundanceTV

Hugo Blick, Directed by

“Houdini” • HISTORY • Lionsgate Television and A+E Studios for History

Uli Edel, Directed by

“The Missing” • Starz • New Pictures & Company Pictures in association with Two Brothers Pictures,

Playground Entertainment & the BBC

Tom Shankland, Directed by

“Olive Kitteridge” • HBO • HBO Miniseries in association with Playtone

Lisa Cholodenko, Directed by

“Wolf Hall” • PBS • A Playground Entertainment and Company Pictures Production for BBC and

MASTERPIECE in association with BBC Worldwide, Altus Media and Prescience

Peter Kosminsky, Directed by

HOST, REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM

Tom Bergeron, “Dancing with the Stars”

Jane Lynch, “Hollywood Game Night”

Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, “Project Runway”

Cat Deeley, “So You Think You Can Dance”

Anthony Bourdain, “The Taste”

STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM

“Antiques Roadshow”

“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”

“MythBusters”

“Property Brothers”

“Shark Tank”

“Undercover Boss”

UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM

“Alaska: The Last Frontier”

“Deadliest Catch”

“Intervention”

“Million Dollar Listing New York”

“Naked And Afraid”

“Wahlburgers”

VARIETY SPECIAL

“Bill Maher: Live From D.C.”

“The Kennedy Center Honors”

“Mel Brooks Live At The Geffen”

“The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special”

“Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE!”

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES

“The Colbert Report”

“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”

“Inside Amy Schumer”

“Key & Peele”

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL

“The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards”

“Key & Peele Super Bowl Special”

“Louis C.K.: Live At The Comedy Store”

“Mel Brooks Live At The Geffen”

“The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special”

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES

James Hoskinson for The Colbert Report, “Show 11040″ from Comedy Central, Hello Doggie, Inc. with Busboy Productions and Spartina Productions

Chuck O’Neil for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, “Show 20103″ from Comedy Central, Central Productions

Amy Schumer and Ryan McFaul for Inside Amy Schumer, “12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer” from Comedy Central and Jax Media

Jerry Foley for Late Show With David Letterman, “Show 4214″ from CBS and Worldwide Pants Inc.

Dave Diomedi for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, “Show 203″ from NBC, Universal Television and Broadway

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL

Natalie Johns for “Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live In Concert” from PBS, A Tricycle Logic Production in association with Blue Note Records and THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET

Louis J. Horvitz for “The Kennedy Center Honors” from CBS and The Stevens Company

Hamish Hamilton for “The Oscars” from ABC and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Don Roy King for “The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special” from NBC, SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video

Glenn Weiss for “68th Annual Tony Awards” from CBS and White Cherry Entertainment

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM

“Beyoncé And Jay Z On The Run”

“The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards”

“The Oscars”

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”

“68th Annual Tony Awards”

SHORT-FORM LIVE-ACTION ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

“Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis: Brad Pitt”

“Billy On The Street With First Lady Michelle Obama, Big Bird And Elena!!!”

“Childrens Hospital”

“Key & Peele Presents Van And Mike: The Ascension”

“Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show Starring Katy Perry”

SHORT-FORM NONFICTION PROGRAM

“American Horror Story: Extra-Ordinary Artists”

“Parks And Recreation: Behind The Final Season”

“30 For 30 Shorts”

“Transparent: This is Me”

“A Tribute To Mel Brooks”

INTERACTIVE PROGRAM

“@midnight With Chris Hardwick”

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”

“Saturday Night Live: SNL40″

“Talking Dead”

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM

“Alan Alda And The Actor Within You: A YoungArts Masterclass”

“Degrassi”

“Dog With A Blog”

“Girl Meets World”

“Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: Coming Out”

NARRATOR

Neil deGrasse Tyson for “Hubble’s Cosmic Journey”

Anthony Mendez for “Jane The Virgin”

Miranda Richardson for “Operation Orangutan”

Peter Coyote for “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History”

Henry Strozier for “Too Cute!”

DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SPECIAL

“The Case Against 8″

“Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief”

“Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck”

“Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All”

“Virunga”

DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES

“American Masters”

“Cancer: The Emperor Of All Maladies”

“The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst”

“The Roosevelts: An Intimate History”

“The Sixties”

INFORMATIONAL SERIES OR SPECIAL

“Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown”

“Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways”

“Inside The Actors Studio”

“StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson”

“Vice”

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING

“Citizenfour”

“The Great Invisible”

“Hot Girls Wanted”

Read more at: www.emmys.com

Categories
HPC News Glendale News

Tenant Spotlight with Christopher Montgomery

We chatted with Chris Montgomery of Prodigy Talent at HPC in Glendale.
We chatted with Chris Montgomery of Prodigy Talent at HPC in Glendale.

We had the opportunity to catch up with Christopher Montgomery of Prodigy Talent from our Hollywood Production Center location…

Chris Montgomery is the Managing Member at Prodigy Talent. Prodigy Talent is a full service talent agency representing actors in television, film and commercials. They additionally  represent producers and financers for independent feature films. Chris has been extremely proud of his clients’ work this year, with them appearing in several Super Bowl commercials, HBO’s True Blood and more.

Tell us about yourself.
I was raised in the metro area of Denver, Colorado. I graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and then did my graduate work there, as well getting my JD (law degree) from there as well.

How did you get started in the entertainment industry?
After having several years in the political arena serving in the US House, the US Senate, a Governor and in the White House I was given a great chance to work with my best friend open a production company in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Soon, I found myself missing campaigning. And, talent representation is the campaign that never ends.  Where they say “DC is Hollywood for Ugly People” (my previous career) I figured working in real Hollywood would be more for me. Plus, this is the campaign that never ends!

What is Prodigy Talent?
We are a full service talent agency representing actors in television, film and commercials. Additionally we represent producers and financers for independent feature films.

When did Prodigy Talent come about?
After owning Prodigy Pictures for a while in Las Vegas, I found myself missing the campaign trail. But, I knew returning to politics was just not for me. Working with great and talented people in the field of representation allowed me to work in a campaign that never ended!

Are there any cool projects your clients have starred in recently?
This year we have had a lot of actors in commercials for the Super Bowl, we had actors on True Blood, on a variety of television shows and in major advertiser spots. This has been a great year for us. We have been truly blessed in 2014.

What’s your favorite part about your job?
Building a strong solid relationship with my actors and seeing them grow, seeing them go from a struggling actor to a booking and working actor.

You have accomplished so much in your career, what makes you so driven to succeed?
For me, I think it was just always instinctual. I have always been driven. We built a production studio, and released a film, during the Great Recession.  We opened the agency just as the economic recovery began.  Succeeding became the only choice during the recession!

If there is one person to thank for your success who would it be and why?
I have to say that there are two (2). First of all, my dad has been incredibly helpful to this endeavor.  I am very grateful to him. Secondly, to my late Grandmother who just passed.  She was a major influence to this.

What’s in the future for Prodigy Talent?
We are continuing to focus on our core beliefs.  We fundamentally believe that we can all do more together than we can apart. The film making process is synergetic, it is a mutual aid society. It takes so many of us working to a common goal to succeed. We want to continue to focus on our actors, our producers, and our team to keep doing what we do well. We have been so blessed this year, we want to stay on that path of gratitude and never forgetting why we are all here.

When did Prodigy Talent move to Hollywood Production Center?
We first moved into HPC2 in 2012. We came here at the suggestion of one of the producers we represent.  We found it to be the perfect home for us because there is so much of a community here. From production to casting.  Agents cannot be based “on lot” but here we have the feeling we are. To know that some great TV shows, movies and projects are just  down the hall, or on another floor really gives us such an advantage and gives us such a sense of community I cannot honestly think of us being anywhere else.

 

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to interview with us, Chris!

Categories
HPC News Glendale News Movies/Television

MTV’s ‘Finding Carter’ Found its Home at HPC

U.K.'s 'Skins' star Kathryn Prescott will star in MTV's upcoming drama 'Finding Carter.'
U.K.’s ‘Skins’ star Kathryn Prescott will star in MTV’s upcoming drama ‘Finding Carter.’

HPC News – There are a lot of new faces at the Hollywood Production Center, and that includes New Remote Productions who is working on a new television pilot for MTV called Finding Carter. The new drama centers on a teenage girl, Carter who has the perfect life being the center of attention at school and living with her fun-loving single mother. Things take a dramatic turn when a police bust reveals that Carter’s supposed mother abducted her as a toddler. Carter now has to navigate the struggles of high school and boys while adapting to her recently discovered biological family, which includes a twin sister and police detective mother.

Kathryn Prescott, known as Emily on the U.K.’s Skins will star as Carter. Lost alumna Cynthia Watros recently announced her role as Carter’s biological mother, and Alexis Denisof from Much Ado About Nothing will play her father.

Emily Silver and Terri Minsky’s Finding Carter was picked up alongside cyber thriller, Eye Candy from the horror producer Jason Blum. These two drama pilot orders come just behind two comedy pickups, Faking It and Happyland, while a Scream series adaptation continues to be in the works. MTV is continuing to expand its scripted lineup, with past successes including Awkward and Teen Wolf.

View full story at The Hollywood Reporter.