Sam Steele - Set to begin shooting!

The film Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency is set to begin shooting in June.

Talent Unlimited is thrilled to be working with Tom Whitus and Silver Hills Pictures again! This will be the 5th Tom Whitus film to feature Talent Unlimited actors. Other Tom Whitus films include Puppy Love, Matchmaker Mary, Threat of Exposure and The Only Witness.

Shooting is set for June 1st in the Des Moines, Iowa area. Celebrities cast in the film are Luke Perry (Beverly Hills 90210) and M. Emmet Walsh (Snow Dogs, Free Willy 2).

The 4 other lead roles went to Talent Unlimited actors.


Jacob Hays is "Sam Steele, Jr." Darren Kennedy is "Detective Sam Steele"

Jilanne Klaus is "Kathy Steele"

Katherine McNamara is "Emma Marsh"

Click on the photo to read the full film description....

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Screen Daily announcement on the film...

Fantastic Films boards Sam Steele And The Junior Detective Agency

29 April, 2009 By Jeremy Kay

http://www.screendaily.com/

Luke Perry and M Emmet Walsh have joined the cast of Sam Steele And The Junior Detective Agency, which worldwide sales agent Fantastic Films International will introduce in Cannes.

Silver Hills Pictures and Three Blondes Film Company are collaborating on the production, set to begin shooting in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 1.

Tom Whitus of Silver Hills Pictures will direct the family film about a 13-year-old who forms his own private detective agency to emulate his father, Des Moines detective Sam Steele, and helps track down a jewel thief.

Jilanne Klaus and Katherine McNamara co-star. Perry’s credits include The Fifth Element and Beverly Hills 90210. Walsh has appeared in Blade Runner and Snow Dogs. Richard A Sauget and Rick Barnes are serving as executive producers.

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Fantastic Films International, Silver Hills Pictures team up for Cannes

24 April, 2009 Updated: 29 April, 2009 10:56 am By Jeremy Kay

http://www.screendaily.com/

Roxane Barbat and Fred deWysocki’s Los Angeles-based Fantastic Films International has signed a multi-picture worldwide distribution deal with Indianan family entertainment producers Silver Hills Pictures.

Heading into Cannes, Fantastic will introduce buyers to Silver Hills’ first title Matchmaker Mary starring Jeff Fahey and Dee Wallace that Silver Hills’ Tom Whitus directed.

Also bound for the Cannes market is Sam Steele And The Junior Detective Agency starring Jacob Hays that is scheduled to begin shooting on June 1. Whitus will direct.

The deal includes future Silver Hills projects such as the family adventure Puppy Patrol, the family medieval adventure The Double Life Of Danny Dugan and the Western title Justice.

“There is a great demand for family films,” Barbat said. “Tom’s films will appeal to our buyers, as well as to well known actors who respond well to Tom’s writing and want to act in his family films, which they will be proud to show their kids.”

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Watch for more Blog posts on this exciting project!

Lili Wexu

Talent Unlimited represents the award winning Bilingual Voiceover talent Lili Wexu!
Lili will voice the countdown to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics games live on location, the 2009 Junos awards gala dinner ceremony, as well as French Canadian clips Tout sur vos avoirs airing on major Quebec TV network TVA.

If you don’t know Lili you’ve probably heard her distinctive & comforting voice on campaigns for companies like HDTV, Toshiba, Intel and Staples. Known for her unique voice print and flawless work with absolutely no trace of an accent in both English and French, Lili is now Montreal based and works from her own professional recording studio; she is equipped with an AKG C414 microphone and uses Apogee sound gear for better sound quality. Source Connect and Phone patches are available.

Contact Talent Unlimited to book Lili Wexu!

The Pirates of Penzance

See Talent Unlimited actress Sarah LaBarr in...
The Pirates of Penzance at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City


The Pirates of Penzance
by Gilbert and Sullivan
Sung in English with subtitles

Audiences young and old adore this Gilbert and Sullivan classic. This swashbuckling tale about the zany misadventures of pirates in the port of Penzance will leave you aching with laughter.

April 25, 27, 29, May 1, 3, 2009

Click HERE for more information.

"Last Breath"

KC Star's Top 10 guide to the Kansas City FilmFest -
Bob Butler's review

Talent Unlimited actors in the film are...
Alex Neustaedter

Aaron Laue

“Last Breath”: Imagine “Saw” with a higher purpose and you get an idea of what local filmmaker Ty Jones attempts with this thoroughly professional and astonishingly sadistic feature. Jones plays Michael Johnson, a young business owner who is considering running off with his secretary, a move that would devastate his wife, Tina (Mandy Bannon), and especially their young son Caleb (Alex Neustaedter). But soon Michael and Tina find themselves imprisoned and tormented by a hirsute young man in a tattered trench coat (Aaron Laue). This demonic entity uses bizarre torture devices to push them ever closer to madness –– or to the realization that they really need each other. Who is this guy and what’s his game plan? The answers aren’t wholly logical, but what impresses are Jones’ tension-generating direction, the solid acting and a superb physical production. Gorehounds will love it.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Click HERE to visit the KC FilmFest website.

Bare

Talent Unlimited actors in the show are Nedra Dixon, Shea Coffman, Katie Karel, Kathryn McCreary and Evan White on guitar.

Bare, a merge of Spring Awakening and The Dead Poets Society, explores the pleasures and pains of high school seniors at a co-ed Catholic boarding school. Each of them questions where they are in their lives while trying to uphold the standards of their families and the Church. Answers are sought in the confessional, the stage, a rave and a well-locked dorm room.

Bare opens this week, April 24th, at the Unicorn Theatre.

Visit their web site http://www.unicorntheatre.org/ for additional details and ticket ordering information.

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Edited to Add -

I went to the show last week and highly recommend it! It's thought provoking and hilarious! Here's a photo taken after the show....

L-R: Katie Karel, Nedra Dixon, Katheryn McCreary, Tracey from Talent Unlimited, Shea Coffman

Earl May

If you've been listening to the radio in Kansas City this spring.... you've heard Linda Putthoff. She is the voice of Earl May Garden Centers.

Click HERE to listen to her full voice demo.

In addition to being a top voice talent, Linda owns Plaza Wellspring. Her studio specializes in yoga, energy healing, massage, and more. Click HERE to visit the Plaza Wellspring website.

Learning Quest

Watch for these Talent Unlimited actors in the latest TV Commercial for Learning Quest.

Caden Cummings...
Parker Johnson...

Jon Daugharthy...
Watch the commercial here....

Sonic

Talent Unlimited actress/model Hailey Stueber is one lucky girl! She landed several National Sonic TV commercials.

Watch one of the spots here....

Kansas City FilmFest

Kansas City FilmFest debuts Wednesday

We hope you are planning to join us April 22-26 at the newly renovated AMC Mainstreet. It’s a bigger and better festival this year because two festivals, the Kansas City Jubilee Film Festival and FilmFest KC, with 25 years of experience have combined to create this five-day film extravaganza.

You'll see an Oscar Award-winning short, Toyland, Sundance fan favorites The Only Good Indian and Brothers Bloom ; the Oscar-nominated documentary, The Garden ; as well new films made by up-and-coming talent, both local and from around the world. Lots of filmmakers will be present to talk about their work, plus writers, directors and actors such as Wes Studi, star of Kevin Willmott’s new film The Only Good Indian.

Tickets are on sale now at http://www.kcfilmfest.org/: $8 for individual screenings and $50 for a festival pass. Over 100 films will be screened from Missouri, Kansas, and around the world - dramas, comedies, documentaries, animations, and experimental works. Q&As will follow most screenings.

The AMC Mainstreet (1400 Main in downtown KCMO) is our new home and you'll be the first to see this new, exciting downtown film venue.

PARKING is not a problem - $2 with validation if you stay in KC Live / AMC Lots (see map on our website for locations) - http://www.kcfilmfest.org/.

FILM PROFESSIONALS & STUDENTS

We have many FREE seminars throughout the festival - details on Web - http://www.kcfilmfest.org/
Casting (for actors, directors & producers)
Exploring the Grip Truck & Lighting Demo
Demo - The RED Digital Camera
Breaking & Entering - Getting into the Business
Festival Strategies
Music in Movies
The Digital Future
Some Festival Highlights

Here are some notable films in this year’s festival, but there are more than 115 other treasures to choose from, including features, documentaries and shorts. The full schedule of films, receptions and seminars is on the festival website

April 22,7 p.m. Opening night showing of the new Kevin Willmott film, The Only Good Indian, fresh from its premiere at Sundance. Kevin Wilmott will be in attendance along with the film’s star – Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and currently starring in the TV show Kings). Kevin Willmott is a KU professor and well-known independent filmmaker. THIS SHOW WILL SELL OUT .

April 23, 5 p.m. Toyland won the 2009 Oscar for Best Short Film. It will be shown within a program of other short films in the “War and Remembrance” shorts program.

April 24, 7 p.m. Brothers Bloom debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and will receive a theatrical release in May 2009. It stars Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody & Mark Ruffalo. Writer and director Rian Johnson will be in attendance. After the screening, Jeff Goldsmith, senior editor of Creative Screenwriting Magazine, will record an interview for one of his noted podcasts. Be part of the live audience.

April 24th & 25th. CinemaJAZZ returns for a fifth year to explore America's most indigenous art form JAZZ. See documentaries on Don Ellis, Arnie Lawrence, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Olivier Ker Ourio, and KC's Marilyn Maye, Arch Martin, Tommy Ruskin, June Turner, and Dave Rizer; plus animations, and a drama based on the life of Moe Koffman

April 25, 5:45 p.m. The Oscar-nominated feature documentary, The Garden, by Scott Hamilton Kennedy. This film is about a community garden in South Central Los Angeles that was at the center of a major dispute between citizens and the city that wanted to reclaim the garden they had made available to the community.

April 25, 8:15 p.m. The Narrows features performances by Vincent D’Onofrio and Sofia Bush. It is a compelling drama based on Tim McLoughlin’s novel “Heart of the Old Country.”

Sunday, April 26, 3:30 p.m. The locally-made documentary Mary Pickford - Muse of the Movies by Nicholas Eliopoulos. Plus a screening of the newly restored silent film, My Best Girl featuring Mary Pickford and then husband-to-be Buddy Rogers of Olathe, KS.

See you at the movies. Bring lots of friends.

Jennie Greenberry - KC Star

Three Kansas City artists share their turning points
By ROBERT TRUSSELL
The Kansas City Star
(Edited for blog)

Jennie Greenberry’s creative life pivoted on a heart-to-heart with her mother in her senior year in high school.

For four years Greenberry’s entire extracurricular life had been theater — play rehearsals, speech and debate tournaments, rehearsing with the school improv team — but now she was looking at the real possibility of leaving all that behind.

One day Greenberry’s mother saw her pacing up and down the hall in their suburban St. Louis home and decided it was time to have a talk.

“Up to that point, I wanted to be a nurse and I wanted to go to William Jewell, but she could sense that I wasn’t really excited about doing that,” says Greenberry, 21. “And truthfully, I just wanted to study nursing because I thought that would be a practical job, whatever that means. And she just asked if that was really what I wanted to do.”

Greenberry’s answer: “I don’t think so.”

So her mom asked what she thought she really wanted to do.

“What makes you happy?” her mother asked. “What do you think God has given you the ability to do?”

“Act,” Greenberry answered.

Her mother’s advice, in so many words: Go for it.

So it was settled. She would go to Stephens College and get her bachelor of fine arts.

“From then on, I was determined that that was what I was going to do, even if I was scared to do it,” Greenberry says.

Last year Greenberry, who projects unforced elegance and a commanding stage presence, moved to Kansas City to begin her professional career. (Kansas City offers more opportunities to actors than St. Louis.) She signed on with a talent agency and so far has been in two shows at the Coterie and one at the American Heartland and has appeared in a handful of TV commercials.

She says she plans to stick around.

“I love it here,” she says. “I grew up in the suburbs. I like the city life.”

Rollen, Greenberry and Swenson are just three examples of the young artists in Kansas City pumping energy into the city’s cultural life, which seems to be expanding exponentially in quality and quantity. But their stories also reflect the circuitous route some people take before making a mark in the arts.

•••
The artist’s life is, virtually by definition, composed of uncertainty. Nobody knows where the road will lead. Nobody knows if an audience can be found. Greenberry is acutely aware of all of this because, she says, the theater faculty at Stephens drummed the reality of an actor’s life into every student.

“I don’t know what other theater programs teach, but I do know that at Stephens they drill professionalism into you from your first day there,” she says. “It’s all about how to conduct yourself as a professional and, of course, how to deliver the goods as an actor or actress. But they really try to convey the business side of acting as well as the creative side.”

And she says there was another important lesson. Nobody without a desire for applause will become an actor, but to succeed actors need to keep it all in perspective.

“They (the faculty) try their best to make sure that by the time you leave there, any sense of ego or diva attitude is gone, because that won’t get you work,” Greenberry says. “No one wants to work with someone with an over-inflated sense of self. The reality is that most actors are a dime a dozen. If you have a bad attitude, they can easily find someone to replace you.”

Greenberry is part of a kind of Stephens College mafia. Graduates of the theater program seem to keep coming to Kansas City to start their careers. She lives with two other Stephens grads in Hyde Park. Three other Stephens actors are in the next Unicorn Theatre show.

Greenberry, sporting an impeccable British accent, held her own quite nicely with some of Kansas City’s best veteran actors in “Murder by the Book,” a comic murder mystery at the Heartland. And comedy, she says, is what comes most naturally.

“It’s kind of like living my real life on stage and getting paid to do it,” she says. “In normal life, I’m so flamboyant and kind of crazy, it’s just easier for me to do, I guess.”

A moment later she thought better of her word choice.

“Not crazy,” she says. “Outgoing is a better way to say it. Very outgoing.”

Greenberry supplements her acting income by working as a hostess at a Country Club Plaza restaurant. Her next show will be “U-Bug-Me” at the Coterie in June. And then?

“After that, it’s anyone’s guess,” she says.

***
Click HERE to read the full article.

KCTV5 - More in the Morning

View Talent Unlimited actors in the latest KCTV5 station promos.

Shannon Knopke...



Michael Dragen...

Oklahoma Central Credit Union

View Talent Unlimited actors in the latest TV Commercials for Oklahoma Central Credit Union.

Jim Korinke and Roberta Eaton....

Jon Daugharthy...

Amy Kelly...

Wedding Bells

Talent Unlimited congratulates two of our finest! Michelle Bichelhaupt and Jon Daugharthy are getting married on Saturday!

Michelle is an actress and model with Talent Unlimited. She is also the Casting Director for Hallmark Cards. Jon is an actor and model with Talent Unlimited. They first met when Michelle was holding a Hallmark casting here at Talent Unlimited... And the rest is history.

We wish them a lifetime of happiness. Congrats!

Unreal Housewives of KC

Roll out the red carpet, episode two has arrived! Watch as Demi sparkles on her first day on campus while the other housewives get overheated in a typical Pilates session.



Go to http://www.unrealhousewivesofkc.com/ and enjoy!

Talent Unlimited Actor Michelle Davidson plays the aspiring pop star Alaina Kingsley. She also shares the title of producer and writer for the web series. Plus, pick up a copy of 435 South Magazine and toast your martini to the unReal Housewives of Kansas City on the cover.

Kevin Brief on Medium - TONIGHT!

Watch Talent Unlimited's own...
KEVIN BRIEF

Tonight! on NBC's MEDIUM!

Monday, April 13 at 9 pm central on NBC.

Kevin is guest-starring opposite Patricia Arquette in the episode.

18th & Vine Jazz Festival

Grant Smiley will perform in the 18th & Vine Student Jazz Festival


Saturday April 18th, 2009
8:00am to 4:00pm
(Grant will perform at 3:00 pm in the Gem Theatre)
In the American Jazz Museum at 18th and Vine
Admission is FREE

Click HERE for more information.

Sprint

Michelle Davidson for Sprint....