Our Industry Advisory
Board
- It includes some of the most active people within the multiple segments of
the entertainment arena.
- These are some of the people YOU are trying to get to and we have them right
here within the company.
- If your goal is to be seen, heard, and discovered, this is the place to start.
- Audition For Hollywood is the critical link between the aspiring talent,
YOU, and the actual search for talent by the folks who make the decisions. The
members of our Industry Advisory Board are in a unique position of being able
to help you.
Our Industry Advisory Board continues to expand
as part of our commitment to provide our users the widest range of services and
benefits possible. Currently it includes executives
from each of the following sectors:
- Film / TV Production Companies and Distribution Companies
- Record Labels / Independent Music Producers
- Casting Directors
- Advertising Agencies
- Beauty Pageants
Robyn Campbell
Expertise: Advertising & Marketing
Robyn brings more than 20 years of advertising, marketing and media
experience to the Audition For Hollywood board. She has worked for
Dennis Holt since 1991, at Western International Media, Initiative
Media and currently, U.S. International Media. Robyn hails from Minneapolis
and lived in New York City for ten years.
An NYU graduate in History and Journalism, Robyn began her advertising
career at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, where she completed both
their media and account management training programs. Robyn was part
of the original team that launched MTV as both a product and a medium.
Her entertainment clients also include: FOX-TV, UPN-TV, The Walt Disney
Company, The Movie Channel and Nickelodeon.
She has vast general market advertising experience as well: National
Car Rental, Benetton, Amplifon USA, Maxwell House Coffee, Wilsons
Leather, Doubletree Hotels, Pillsbury-Green Giant, The Minnesota Timberwolves,
U.S. Senator-Norm Coleman, Albertsons-Sav-On-OSCO-Jewel, National
Academy of Sports Medicine and KB Homes.
An original member of the Partnership For A Drug-Free America, she
has been a regional director since 1989 and was co-founder of the
Partnership For A Drug-Free Minnesota with Hubert Humphrey III.
Robyn lives in Santa Monica, with her two “pups-in-a-bag,”
Yorkshire Terriors: Penelope and Angus.
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Lena Michals
Expertise: Producer
Lena Letto-Michalsky a.k.a. Lena Michals owes her persistence and detail-oriented personality to her eclectic background: a native of France, born into a Russian aristocratic family, Lena has been living in Los Angeles for nearly two decades. She speaks fluently five languages (French, English, Spanish, Russian and German) and recently started to learn Chinese, has a bachelor in mathematics and physics and a degree in recording engineering.
Over the last 17 years, she has produced numerous concerts, festivals and fundraising galas both in the United States and Europe. The artists featured in the projects she's been involved with include Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Cesaria Evora, Manu Dibango, Jeffrey Osborne, Michael Bolton, the Gipsy Kings, Paula Abdul, Liza Minelli, Spearhead, Boyz II Men, Kenny Loggins, Eric Benet, De La Soul, Common, Yolanda Adams, actors Christopher Reeve, John O'Hurley, Laurence Fishburne, Jane Seymour, Halle Berry, directors Steven Spielberg, Roland Jaffe, and film composers Ennio Morricone, David Raksin, John Williams, Maurice Jarre and Elmer Bernstein, just to name a few. She recently was contracted by Fuse Events, a marketing services agency specializing in the creation of programs to generate sales opportunities for clients, to develop and oversee the execution of the Zippo Hot Tour 2004 which consisted of 64 live televised concerts in 8 US cities.
As an artist manager, Lena has been involved in the careers of Humpti Dumpti (Polygram/Polydor), Stone Age (Sony/Columbia) and Dumazz (Narada/Virgin).
For the past eight years, she also has been involved in the film and television industries and has been crucial in the making of the television movie "All My Friends Are Cowboys" featuring Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Wilford Brimley, Joe Diffie, Ty England, Waddie Mitchell, Don Edwards and Roy Rogers.
She is currently producing a feature length movie, "Song for Sara", which will be directed by award-winning director Alfonso Arau (“Like Water for Chocolate”, “A Walk in the Clouds”) and will feature the music and on-screen talent of the Gipsy Kings. Producer Barrie M. Osborne (“Lord of the Rings”, “The Matrix”, “Dick Tracy”, “The Big Chill”) has recently joined her team as the Executive Producer.
Lena is also developing several projects with writer/director Steve Roberts ("Max Headroom", "Hercules", "Highlander", "Queen of Swords"), including a television series, “The World of Greta Lane”, and a feature length movie which will be directed by Rajiv Rai considered one of the top directors in India.
A popular guest speaker, Lena has participated in numerous industry panels worldwide and has been a lecturer at NYU Stern School of Business and UCLA's extension campus. She has also been involved in the creation of several music production and artist management companies in Los Angeles and has served as a consultant in project development for companies such as Qualcomm, DTS Technology, MTV, Open Cube Technologies, Glendale Federal Bank, Canal + and France Inter.
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Danny Duchovny
Expertise: Commercial Director
Danny is recognized as one of the premiere Directors/Cameramen in the arena of
television commercial production. His work combines classically beautiful cinematography
with a very contemporary sense of advertising and performance. Danny has consistently
avoided stereotypical commercials by creating heartfelt stories and beautiful
vignettes, as well as aggressive music driven sports themes and light-hearted
real people portraits.
Danny’s commercials for the original Saturn and Volkswagen launches have been
copied endlessly in both style and content, establishing him in the top stratum
of commercial directors. He is highly sought after as a storyteller, dialogue
director and as a visualist. His commercials incorporate a subtle natural sense
of humor derived from real human situations. In addition to casting well-known
professional actors in his commercials, he is celebrated as a director who will
seek out new and unusual faces and real people.
Danny’s commercial clients include: AT&T, Acura, Adidas, American Airlines, Audi,
Budweiser, Chevrolet, Citibank, Coca Cola, Discover Card, Ford, Gatorade, Gillette,
Kodak, Mazda, McDonalds, Miller, Nissan, Pontiac, Reebok, Saturn, Sprint, Toyota,
U.S. West, Verizon, Visa and Volkswagen.
During the 10 years since he co-founded the Cucoloris commercial production company,
he has worked on hundreds of locations throughout the United States and in France,
England, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and the Caribbean. The company’s
offices are located in Venice, California.
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Peter Jansson
Expertise: Music Publisher
Peter graduated from the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, Australia proficient
not only piano but several other brass, woodwind and stringed instruments. Classical
music soon gave way to rock ‘n’ roll, and a brief but impressive career
was spent playing keyboards in small clubs to outdoor arenas with various bands
in Australia. Peter graduated from live performances to studio work and soon became
a keyboard session player in great demand in many studios Downunder.
In 1979, the position of Professional Manager was offered by Festival Music,
Australia’s largest independent music publisher. Dealing with both local
and international songwriters, Peter soon developed a rapport with many successful
songwriters and artists. EMI Music Publishing offered the position of Creative
Director in 1984 which gave Peter the chance to work with the largest catalog
of songs in the world. As one of the original participants in the EMI Executive
Exchange Program, Peter was given the chance to experience many of the major world
music markets first hand by working in numerous EMI offices such as Tokyo, Paris,
London, New York, Nashville and Los Angeles.
In 1989, PolyGram Music offered a joint venture deal for Peter to set up his
own music publishing company, and Janssongs, Inc. was born. First headquartered
in Sydney, Peter moved the operation to its current location in Los Angeles in
1996. Janssongs’ current writer roster includes an impressive who’s
who of Pop/R&B/Country writers including several Grammy-nominated writers
and producers. The company has also music supervised several feature films during
the course of its operations which enables the company to draw from its talented
pool of writers and composers and ensures activity for their individual catalogs.
As a Music Publisher, Peter has represented Paul McCartney, Queen, David Bowie,
Kate Bush, A-ha, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison, Divinyls,
Roxette, Europe, Gilbert O’Sullivan, The Motels, Leo Sayer, Dexys Midnight
Runners, Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, Blondie, Laura Branigan, Don McLean,
Grace Jones, Juice Newton, Gerry Harrison (Talking Heads), The Wiggles, Little
River Band and Ronnie Milsap amongst countless others.
Peter is a regular guest at music conferences across the country, bringing
his years of knowledge and experience to many Music Publishing panels. He is also
a regular guest lecturer at the UCLA Music Extension course in Los Angeles, and
is a frequent guest for many songwriting associations.
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Tony Klinger
Expertise: Producer/Director
Tony Klinger has enjoyed an award winning 33 year career as a film, television,
documentary, music video and commercial producer. Tony's work has been acclaimed
at numerous festivals and prestigious competitions including the Cannes Film Festival,
The London Film Festival, Soho Shorts Festival, Fuji Film Scholarship Award and
the Kodak Award.
Tony is currently producing and co-directing a feature length documentary OUT
OF THE BLUE at Sea in the US, Israel and the UK. He will be a core member of the
Audition For Hollywood launch in the UK and Europe promoting Audition For Hollywood
to talent who will be considered for the several hundred media productions he
produces each year. In his role as Director of Media Production Center, Media
Ventures and TLMH at the University of East London he produces commercials, corporate
films, web sites, animated films, digital interactive games, graphic designs,
music videos and other screen based media solutions.
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Larry Kasanoff
Expertise: Feature Films
Larry Kasanoff has had a 17-year career as both a successful film producer and
film industry executive. His name has become synonymous with MORTAL KOMBAT. He
is the producer of all the MORTAL KOMBAT media, including the vastly successful
MORTAL KOMBAT - THE MOVIE and its sequel MORTAL KOMBAT ANNIHILATION . He is also
the producer of the MORTAL KOMBAT live-action TV series, the animated TV series
and the live tour. Previously as President and Co-Founder of Lightstorm Entertainment,
Mr. Kasanoff assembled a consortium of worldwide film and ancillary rights distributors
who agreed to provide $500 million in financing for the company's films. This
unique structure gave the company complete creative control and 100% ownership
of its films. Also in that capacity, Kasanoff supervised production, marketing,
publicity and merchandising for the four time Academy Award winning hit "Terminator
Two: Judgement Day". Mr. Kasanoff is Executive Producer of the box-office
smash "True Lies," which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was directed
by James Cameron. Prior to the formation of Lightstorm in 1990, Mr. Kasanoff served
as head of production and acquisitions for Vestron, Inc. producers of "Dirty
Dancing." He executive produced over 25 films and created "prebuy"
financing and acquisition deals for over 200 additional films, including the 1986
Academy Award Best Picture "PLATOON." Mr. Kasanoff also co-founded Vestron's
original and music video programming divisions. In the music world, Mr. Kasanoff
has packaged or produced video projects with several of the world's biggest talent,
including Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones and Dick Clark. He founded Lightstorm
Records and Music Publishing (a partnership with Sony Music). For T2, he produced
MTV's 1991 top video "You Could Be Mine" with Gun's ‘N Roses Larry Kasanoff
is currentlyChairman and Chief Executive Officer of Threshold Entertainment, Threshold
Digital Research Labs and TheThreshold.Com. He is currently in production with
FOODFIGHT!, a $50 million digitally-enhanced family film.
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Don Grierson
Expertise: Music Industry
Don Grierson has over 25 years of successful experience as a professional
music man. As a versatile senior industry executive, he has developed a range
of expertise that covers A&R, marketing, promotion and international. He headed
A&R departments for three major labels, Epic Records/Sony Music (Senior VP), Capitol
Records (Senior VP) and EMI-America Records (Senior VP). He has personally signed
artists who have sold more than 55 million records worldwide and he has helped
create many #1 hits in varying music formats. He has signed platinum and gold
acts such as J. Geils Band, George Thorogood, Kim Carnes, Robert John and Michael
Johnson while at EMI-America Records in the 1970s. He also signed major British
artists Sheena Easton, Cliff Richard, Kate Bush, Talk Talk and Kim Wilde for the
US market in the 1980s. During this time, he was also involved in the acquisition
of United States Records and in the career explosion of Kenny Rogers. During the
four years he headed the A&;R department at Capitol Records in the 1980s, he signed
and guided a number of hit-making acts to career heights. These included Heart,
Joe Cocker, Freddy Jackson, The Motels, Megadeth, George Clinton and Melba Moore.
In addition, he was personally involved with the recording careers of Tina Turner,
Bob Seger, Ane Murray, Duran Duran, Power Station, Billy Squier, Queen and Ashford
and Simpson. As A&;R chief, he assisted in the emergence of Poison, Crowded House,
Smithereens and Great White, and in securing the distribution deals for Enigma
and Rhino Records. While he was at CBS/Sony Music as Senior VP A&R, Epic Records,
he personally signed and worked with such acts as Celine Dion (via Sony, Canada),
Bad English, Iron Maiden, Basia, Tony Terry, Kaoma and Cover Girls, and brought
his expertise to bear on the careers of Cheap Trick, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan,
REO Speedwagon, The Jacksons and Europe. Under his direction, the Epic A&R staff
signed such artists as Living Colour, Indigo Girls, Allman Brothers Band, Alice
Cooper, Social Distortion, Screaming Trees, Suicidal Tendencies, Firehouse, Front
242, Ottmar Liebert, Joe Satriano and the gospel label, Word Records. Grierson
also handled label A&R for the soundtracks Hook, Bugsy, Tap and Iron Eagle.
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Michael P. Hirschenson
Expertise: Casting
Michael Hirschenson is a prominent member of the Hollywood casting community and
one of the founders and managers of the highly regarded THE CASTING COMPANY. Here
is just a partial list of the company's many films and shows:
- HARRY POTTER
- RAT RACE
- THE PERFECT STORM
- BICENTENNIAL MAN
- ED TV
- THE LOST WORLD
- BEAUTICIAN AND THE BEAST
- HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
- RANSOM
- TOMORROW NEVER DIES
- AIR FORCE ONE
- NINE MONTHS
- THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT
- YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES (TV movie)
The Casting Co. has been Nominated for eight ARTIOS Awards Recipient of two ARTIOS
Awards First "Casting Director of The Year" Award.
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Michael (Mike) Maki
Expertise: Pageants
Michael Maki is President of EPIC International, THE Pageant, Event, Modeling
and Talent Association. He is the author of the Industry’s Code of Ethics and
many pageant magazine articles. He has written accreditation courses and conducted
workshops for Directors and Contestants across the nation. Mike has written many
of the judging systems used by national pageants. He is the leading pageant and
event consultant and has served as President of many national and state pageants,
professional organizations and business corporations. Mr. Maki has over forty-two
(42) years of pageantry and event experience that includes:
- Consultant for new and established pageants and events and is the industry’s
leading problem solver.
- Has authored many national judging systems and has written computer judging
software for pageants and events.
- Having judged pageants from Alaska to North Carolina and from Hawaii to Delaware,
he has served as a judge in many different pageant systems such as: Miss USA,
Miss Teen USA; Miss America; Our Little Miss; Mrs. International, Rising Star;
Miss Rodeo America; Miss Teen, Starmania, Sweetheart, Ms. Wheelchair U.S.A. Program,
Mrs. United Nations, Ms. United States of America, Dream Girls USA, Mrs. America,
Ms. Senior America, Stars of the Future, National America and All America Family
national pageants.
- Written an A to Z manual on how to produce and run pageants and events.
- Has been awarded the Governmental Affairs State Award for Oregon , Distinguished
Service Award, and has been selected and appears in Outstanding Men of America
and the Community Leader of America
- EPIC (Events, Pageants and Individual Contestants) International Association,
is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and was established in 1986. It is the oldest
association of its kind in the world and has a corporate-wide mission of Assisting
our members in obtaining maximum success in their endeavors while maintaining
the highest ethical standards in the industry. EPIC's 10,000-plus membership includes
Directors, Models, Contestants, Vendors, Judges, and Consultants. EPIC's staff
has over 100 years of combined pageant and event experience.
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Gary Grossman
Expertise: Television
Award-winning documentarian, broadcast network show producer, author, and eight-time
Emmy award nominee, Gary H. Grossman is co-founding partner of Weller/Grossman
Productions. Grossman's success in television production seemingly springs from
a bottomless-well of intriguing ideas. He develops them with a network eye and
a sensitivity to budget, all the while keeping close to his original vision. The
results have earned him the respect and admiration of audiences and critics alike.
In 1993, Grossman was Executive Producer for the CBS special, "Wanna Bet?"
In addition to his work in film and television, Grossman is the author of two
books on children's television, Superman: Serial to Cereal, and Saturday Morning
Television. Other specials, series and films that Grossman produced include, "Happy
Birthday Bugs Bunny" (CBS), "Against All Odds" (NBC), "American
Detective" (ABC), "I Witness Video" (NBC), "America's Funniest
Home Videos" (ABC), and the 1992 critically acclaimed feature film documentary,
"Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time."In 1989, Grossman produced "Day's
End," a live, late night ABC network show with hosts Matt Lauer and Spencer
Christian. The same year he produced a pilot for Grant Tinker and was historical
producer on FOX's "The TV Academy Hall of Fame" and the highly regarded
documentary series "American Chronicles," which he produced and wrote
in 1990. Grossman earned a Bachelors Degree in Communications from Emerson College
in Boston and a Master's Degree in Urban Affairs from Boston University. At the
age of 15, he first experienced the world of entertainment and broadcasting as
a disc jockey at his local radio station in Hudson, New York, WHUC. His credits
as a producer are diverse. From 1982 to 1986 he was coordinating producer of "Entertainment
Tonight," and producer of "Entertainment This Week" from 1986-1988,
for which he received four Emmy nominations. It was during this period that he
first worked with current partner Weller, who served as co-anchor on both shows.
For five years during and after college, Grossman worked at Boston television
station, WBZ, then returned to academia as an instructor of television production
at Emerson College and Boston University. In 1978, he joined the staff of the
Boston Herald American as a writer and television critic, before moving to Los
Angeles in 1980.
He has been honored with an Ohio State Journalism Award for his documentary series
"Hollywood Stereotypes: The Way They Weren't," the recipient of the
prestigious Connor Award from Emerson College, and a multiple award winner for
Weller/Grossman Productions. Gary has just completed his first novel, a political
thriller. Gary lives in Los Angeles with his wife, writer Helene Seifer and their
children Sasha, Zachary and Jacob. He serves on the Emerson College Board of Trustees.
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Gulshan Grover
Expertise: Actor
Gulshan is best known as “Bollywood’s” most famous villain and the actor of a
thousand faces. In over 100 films to date over a 20 year career, Gulshan has proven
himself to be a versatile professional with a passion for his chosen craft. He
has acted in many of India’s most successful films, received numerous accolades
and awards, and is a prominent figure in the Indian film community. He is also
one of the few Indian actors to have successfully made the transition from Bollywood
to Hollywood.
He was born, raised and educated in Delhi. After receiving his college degree
in Commerce, he decided to pursue his passion and made a lifelong commitment to
entertain others. He honed his skills in theatre, and after many stage productions
with the well-known “Little Theatre Group” he moved to Bombay to pursue a career
in movies. Once there, he began his formal training at Professor Roshan Taneja’s
prestigious Actor’s Studio and eventually became an acting teacher at the school;
in fact, some of today’s leading Indian stars were once his students
Repeatedly recognized as one of the public’s favorite stars, Gulshan prides himself
in his ability to alter his roles and physical appearance with such frequency
that his adoring public waits in anticipation for his next film to see what persona
he’s adopted for the new role. His propensity to choose the role of villain, because
it “…usually offers the chance to really develop a character the audience won’t
forget…”, and his personal commitment to give back to his community through social
causes, has lead to his being labeled “ the bad man with a good cause”. Whether
it’s judging the Miss India Pageant, as he has for the last five years, or touring
in Europe and in the U.S. with other Indian stars in spectacular shows that are
heavily attended by enthusiastic audiences, Gulshan is a true star in the tradition
of Hollywood’s Golden Years.
Some of the many honors he has received include:
On August 15th 2002, at the California State Assembly he was honored with a “Certificate
of Appreciation to Gulshan Grover in honor of your years of service and commitment
to the Indo American community in California.”
In October 6th 2001 Mayor Willie Lewis Brown presided over a ceremony in which
Gulshan was awarded a “Certificate of Honor presented to Gulshan Grover, Cultural
Ambassador on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco.”
On October 6th 2001 Gulshan was also the recipient of a “Certificate of Recognition
presented to Gulshan Grover to commend you as an outstanding entertainer/artist
of Bollywood, India to Hollywood, USA ; to honor you as a role model and cultural
Ambassador.” It was presented to him by Senator John Z. Burton.
The Mayor and City of Los Angeles has awarded a “Certificate of Appreciation”
to Gulshan “…in recognition of your contributions to the Entertainment Industry
through your acting in Indian and American films…”
The BBC honored Gulshan at the BBC Awards 2001 for “… his contribution to Asian
Cinema, working in Indian and International films, and bringing two cultures together.”
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Jeffrey Jolson
Title: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Audition For Hollywood Entertainment Industry Exclusive Articles and Columns
Besides launching four national print magazines as publisher, he has founded and served as Editor-In-Chief for numerous major online publications, several of which receive one million-plus hits a day. They include hollywoodreporter.com, grammy.com and Woodstock.com. In addition he was the first reporter for E!Online and launched his first "online" publication for The Hollywood Reporter prior to the creation of the Internet itself.
Currently, Mr. Jolson-Colburn is assembling a team of seasoned professionals to keep us up to date with the latest "entertainment news we can use". As Editor-In-Chief of Audition For Hollywood's newly launched News Division, and as the most recent addition to the company's Industry Advisory Board, Mr. Jolson-Colburn shares the commitment to make this fast growing Internet based entertainment website the place to "Be seen, Be heard, and Be discovered."
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