Category Archives: Hollywood Salon

Hollywood Salon: Always the Second Monday of the month at the historic Culver Hotel, Culver City, Los Angeles. The Hollywood Salon is an educational program of events featuring guest lecturers working in film, television, entertainment and the arts, sponsored by the Nebraska Coast Connection.

Monday, August 12th, 2019

Hollywood Salon

Our Special Guest: TERRENCE STONE, Voiceover Artist & Director

Our upcoming Salon invites you to hear from someone who has over 100 Hollywood credits to their name in a multitude of capacities, and who is still going strong. By definition, Terrence Stone is the epitome of a working Angeleno Artist!

Terrence Stone is an Irish-American Voice Artist, Voice Director, Loop Group Director, and a Film/TV actor. He has created hundreds of voice roles in film, TV, anime, computer games, and documentaries. Known best for playing the Innkeeper in the game Hearthstone from Blizzard Entertainment, he also has four MPSE nominations.

Currently living in the Los Angeles area, Terrence is a Voice Director with Dreamworks for WHERE’S WALDO and is also working on a new animated series for Marvel. Prior to this, he was Voice Director for the SPY KIDS animated series currently streaming on Netflix.
Most recently, he directed the well-received Nintendo Switch game Octopath Traveler, and has just completed the live action films, A PARIS ROMANCE for Hallmark, and JARHEAD 4 for UFO Productions.

You can occasionally catch Terry with on-screen Film and TV roles, and he also coordinates/directs Loop Groups for Films and TV, as well as voice replacement, and sound-alikes. He has also been a Stuntman, casting director, Talent Agent/Manager, and still does voice and acting coaching.

See you Monday, August 12th!

Also, be sure to check out our incredible upcoming Salons, all summer long…

AUGUST: Terrence Stone, Voice Director and Actor, with recent credits including SPY KIDS and WHERE’S WALDO
SEPTEMBER DOUBLE HEADER: Jamie Vesay, Location Scout for UP IN THE AIR, DOWNSIZING, & NEBRASKA, and David Rabinowitz, Oscar-Winning Screenwriter for BLACKKKLANSMAN

You Saw Her First at the Hollywood Salon

Rachel Roth has been an avid 3-year NCC member and volunteer. She shared a proof-of-concept trailer for her project BAIT AND SWITCH at the NCC SalonFest in January, which is now becoming a comic book! Fellow NCCer Corinne Schipull is creating artwork with Erica Ostrowski coloring.

An Indiegogo has launched in order to pay the artists for their hard work, cover pitch and promotion costs, and get the first issue off the ground. Please donate and share! For more info, check out our Facebook post about BAIT AND SWITCH!

Monday, July 8th, 2019

Hollywood Salon

Welcomes AUDREY MOORE, Actress and Podcast Host of AUDREY HELPS ACTORS

Becoming a working actor in Los Angeles takes time, talent, and a whole lot of perseverance. Through firsthand experience, our July Salon guest Audrey Moore has not only solved much of the LA acting Rubik’s cube, but openly shares her findings so creatives can lift each other up with their wins!

Audrey Moore is a working actress in Los Angeles. Originally from New Mexico, Audrey trained and performed in Boston, London, and NYC before making LA her home. Her most notable acting credits include a series regular role on Netflix’s GODLESS, recurring on season 2-4 of AMC’s BETTER CALL SAUL, and several other guest and recurring roles on THE OA, FEUD!, CASTLE ROCK and many more!

Audrey is also host of the very popular podcast, AUDREY HELPS ACTORS, where she talks with working class actors about the nitty gritty stuff that falls somewhere in between getting your first headshots and winning awards.Meet Audrey who is looking forward to sharing her knowledge & expertise with YOU.

See you on Monday, JULY 8th!

Also, be sure to check out our incredible upcoming Salons, all summer long…

Monday, May 13th, 2019

Hollywood Salon

Our Special Guest: ALEXIS DVORAK, 2nd Assistant Director, Directors Guild of America

Our May 13th guest has an incredible opportunity to share with the NCC! Alexis Dvorak is a 2nd Assistant Director and member of the Director’s Guild of America – and she is looking for Production Assistants to add to her roster. As a Nebraskan, she is looking forward to receiving the resumes of hard-working individuals like YOU that she can call on for projects RIGHT NOW! Bring your resume and come meet her at our next Salon!

Alexis was raised in Laurel, NE, a small farming community in the Northeast corner of the state. She attended Laurel-Concord Public High School and graduated Wayne State College in 2008 with a degree in Broadcasting and Advertising, and again in 2011 with a Master in Business Administration.

Upon graduation, she worked for the Norfolk Daily News as their first Staff Videographer and Graphic Artist. In 2012 she was hired as a Costume Production Assistant on set of NEBRASKA under designer Wendy Chuck.

In January of 2014, she left her Nebraska roots and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film/television. She was a production assistant on shows such as GLEE, FURIOUS 7, BABY DADDY, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, and HART OF DIXIE.

She was accepted into the highly competitive Directors Guild-Producer Assistant Director Training Program (ADTP) 2015 class, and over two years, was under the ADTP’s tutelage on shows such as AMERICAN CRIME STORY, BONES, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, KINGDOM, and SUPERSTORE.

In December of 2017, she graduated from the ADTP and became a member of the Directors Guild of America as a 2nd Assistant Director. Since then she has worked on a variety of shows such as 9-1-1, CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, KIDDING, DIRTY JOHN, STRANGE ANGEL, SAVING ALEX, and currently, TACOMA F.D. on TruTV.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet a working AD with a burgeoning career. Find out all about the DGA Assistant Director’s Training from someone who’s been through it. You may even land a position as a PA…at the Salon on Monday, May 13th. See you there!

Our next Salon guests have been making quite the name for themselves in edit bays around Hollywood, one after getting her start editing while still in Nebraska, the other in Santa Barbara. They are the first husband/wife editing duo we’ve ever hosted at a Salon! Come meet them and hear all about their careers on Monday, April 8th.

Josie Azzam grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska and attended UNL’s Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. While at UNL, she worked on PBS-TV documentaries at NET Television. She moved to Los Angeles to attend USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she earned an MFA in Film Production with an emphasis in Editing in 2012.

She began her career as an assistant editor on ANNIE, GOOSEBUMPS, and HOW TO BE SINGLE. She also was Assistant Editor on Disney/Marvel’s BLACK PANTHER in 2017. As an editor, Josie has worked on a variety of projects including LEIMERT PARK, a web-series selected for Sundance 2018’s indie episodic program and SUMMER ’03, in competition at SXSW 2018.

Evan Schrodek grew up in Santa Barbara, California and has been working as an Editor in Los Angeles since 2006. He received his MFA in film and television production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where he concentrated in Editing. He met Josie at USC, and they married in 2017.

Working primarily in feature films and dramatic scripted television, Evan’s credits include THE WALKING DEAD for AMC, FREQUENCY for the CW and AT ALL COSTS, a feature length high school basketball documentary. His first dramatic feature the Netflix Original film BURNING SANDS was selected for US Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet TWO highly respected editors as their careers are igniting. It’s an Editors-Twofer…at the Salon on Monday, April 8th. See you there!

Salons are a great way to network, catch up with old friends and new ones, and have a taste of home in Hollywood.

Nebraska Coast Connection presents
The Hollywood Salon…
Where Glamorous Nebraska Meets Down-Home Hollywood.

Salons are always
on the 2nd Monday of every month
7:30pm to 10:30pm
The Culver Hotel, Culver City, California.

ARE YOU WITH THE NCC ON FACEBOOK?
Check it out and become a “Fan” here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nebraska-Coast-Connection/61348913197?ref=mf

Be Prepared. There’s so much luck that goes into landing any acting gig. But our Salon guest Monday will help you be as prepared as you possibly can be, and maybe a little bit more.Crystal Carson has been one of the top acting coaches in LA for 25 years, and is the creator of “The Actor’s Mind” visualization method, “ReActing by Heart” emotional connection exercise and “Auditioning by Heart” audition technique for film and television. She grew up in Nebraska and majored in theatre at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.Crystal’s many clients in television, film, and stage learn from her the secrets to become masterful actors who book jobs. She began as a sought after teacher at the Margie Haber Studios for 12 years. Crystal now conducts workshops in Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Atlanta, Orlando, Omaha, NYC, and Vietnam.

ACTORS…Don’t miss this opportunity to meet and work with a top level coach! Crystal will be working scenes with a few lucky actors in person at the Salon.

DIRECTORS…Learn how to improve your game by watching Crystal’s actor communication.

Do YOU work with actors? Crystal will share her incredible insight into an actor’s process.

As an actor Crystal is best known for playing Julia Barrett for over five years on General Hospital. There she was voted “Best New Female” by Soap Opera Digest and put on their cover as one of “Television’s Most Beautiful Women”. In 2017 she received a “Best Ensemble” nomination for her lead role in the web-series 5150.

Crystal is one of very few elite acting coaches who has devoted her primary career to perfecting the coaching of professional actors. She understands the need for vulnerability, truth and the “flaws that come with being human” to live in every character in order to reach audiences in a deep and sometimes magical way. Her outstanding reputation is testimony to her remarkable expertise and unique ability to inspire others to rise to their potential.

Crystal’s coaching clients include some of the top actors working today: Jennifer Beals, David Boreanaz, Brian White, Rachel Nichols, Paula Abdul, Brenda Strong, Melissa Joan Hart, Catherine Bach, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, and she is recommended by Russell Crowe.

Hope you can make it to the Salon Monday night March 11^th– it’s going to be a valuable evening that just might jumpstart your career.

Salons are a great way to network, catch up with old friends and new ones, and have a taste of home in Hollywood.

Nebraska Coast Connection presents
The Hollywood Salon…
Where Glamorous Nebraska Meets Down-Home Hollywood.

Salons are always
on the 2nd Monday of every month
7:30pm to 10:30pm
The Culver Hotel, Culver City, California.

It’s a bold new world for media geeks: video games, streaming, podcasts, subscription programming, immersive alternate reality gaming, webseries, interactive content. It ain’t a boring three channel world anymore. And our next Salon guest is on the front lines of the future of media.

Omaha native Ryan Copple has worked over ten years in digital media with positions ranging from creative development, physical production and business management. He has produced over 200 hours of online content in the geek and gaming arena, including hits like Wil Wheaton’s TableTop, the breakout success Dungeons & Dragons show Critical Role, Microsoft’s live action adaptation of the popular Halo franchise Halo: Forward Unto Dawn, Con Man and a myriad of other scripted and non-scripted projects that have resulted in several Emmy nominations and other awards.

Ryan’s career began producing the hit digital series Riese: Kingdom Falling which was distributed worldwide on SyFy and NBC Universal. Following the series, Ryan developed an award-winning immersive alternate reality game to accompany the series, a prequel novel published by Simon & Schuster, and a tie-in iPhone game. After the success of this digital series, Ryan went on to write and produce titles for Anchor Bay, BBC America, E One, Muse Entertainment, Content Media and more.

Ryan also oversaw content development and business strategy for Geek & Sundry. Born from YouTube‘s funding, Ryan produced some of the webs biggest geek properties, working with talent like Wil Wheaton, Bryan Singer, Joss Whedon and more. He also launched one of the most subscribed Twitch channels for Geek & Sundry, offering 30 hours of live geek & gaming programming a week, including the multi-platform hit Critical Role, a live D&D stream that has spawned a successful merchandise, apparel and subscription business. Ryan also helped launch an international celebration of tabletop gaming called “International TableTop Day.”

In the studio world, Ryan developed and launched the subscription platform Alpha for Legendary Entertainment, the first live paywalled subscription service, that offered both premium and live geek programming. Ryan went on to oversee programming and content strategy for Lionsgate‘s subscription video division for the Comic-Con HQ Channel, where he worked with some of the top names in comedy and genre like Mark Hamill, Alan Tudyk, and Nathan Fillion.

Currently Ryan is producing Escape the Night for YouTube Red, an immersive escape room style series. Additionally, he is premiering a sci-fi improv comedy podcast entitled Voyage to the Stars as well as penning a new series for IFC called Due Process.

Don’t miss the Salon on Monday, February 11th — your chance to get a glimpse into the future of entertainment and gaming and interactive from one of the pioneering young creators.

Salons are a great way to network, catch up with old friends and new ones, and have a taste of home in Hollywood.

Nebraska Coast Connection presents
The Hollywood Salon…
Where Glamorous Nebraska Meets Down-Home Hollywood.

Salons are always
on the 2nd Monday of every month
7:30pm to 10:30pm
The Culver Hotel, Culver City, California.

ARE YOU WITH THE NCC ON FACEBOOK?
Check it out and become a “Fan” here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nebraska-Coast-Connection/61348913197?ref=mf

MONDAY will be the first Salon of 2019. And it’s the one where YOU get to show us what you got…

Yep, it’s the return of SALONFEST: THE THREE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL, our ever-popular NCC mini-film festival! This is where we will show three minutes of anything you want to showcase. Up on the Big Screen.

Salons are a great way to network, catch up with old friends and new ones, and have a taste of home in Hollywood.There’s a ton of talented folks in the NCC, and many of you have created some amazing work in the past year. This is our chance to see what you’ve been up to.

Cue up your latest short, or your reel, or anything you helped to create, and we’ll show three minutes of it at the January Salon. You’ll get a minute to tell us about it, before or after. (Got something longer? Barter with others to share your time…) For format, we can screen from DVDs, thumbdrives or internet streams.

It will be an eclectic and fast-paced evening…no telling what surprises we will be seeing. Webisodes. New acting reels. Kickstarter promos. All kinds of latest masterpieces. Whatever you want to share with the group — this is your chance to show off.

If you know what you’ll be sharing, give us a heads up on our Facebook page — then we can update everyone here what to expect in the next email blast. Or just show up Monday and surprise us.

Come to share or come to see what your friends have been creating. It’s a great way to get to know all the talent in this group, and to participate by showing us what you got, in a safe and friendly environment. SALONFEST is always one of the most fun Salons of the year.

See you Monday, January 14th, 2019!

Nebraska Coast Connection presents
The Hollywood Salon…
Where Glamorous Nebraska Meets Down-Home Hollywood.

Salons are always
on the 2nd Monday of every month
7:30pm to 10:30pm
The Culver Hotel, Culver City, California.

SALON DETAILS, DIRECTIONS and much more on our website: www.nebraskacoast.com

ARE YOU WITH THE NCC ON FACEBOOK?
Check it out and become a “Fan” here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nebraska-Coast-Connection/61348913197?ref=mf

TOMORROW NIGHT! Many special guests are coming, including NE Film Officer Laurie Richards, Johnny Carson Foundation executives, celebrities and some of your favorite Salon guests…all mingling with YOU. Santa will be available for fun holiday photos. Ciabatta Bar is cooking up delicious appetizers and holiday drinks. You’ll have a chance to win the biggest raffle prizes of the year. And each guest will leave with a very special limited edition FREE gift, only available at this party! Don’t wait — get your tickets now! (We’ll sell you tickets at the door, but it’ll cost you a little more). Lots of NCCers and our sponsors have worked hard to create a great holiday party for you…at the lowest price possible…now all we need is YOU!

You are cordially invited to attend a very exciting December Salon:Celebrating 26 Years of NCC Holiday Gatherings!
Special Guest Megan Elliott,
Director of the New Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts

Screening of The Healing of Harman,
A New Carson School Film ShortPLUS Filmmaker Q&A

Holiday Reception at adjacent Ciabatta Bar,Photo Booth with Santa, Special Limited Edition Gift, Husker Raffle Prizes

Tomorrow night is almost here! Dress up in your holiday best and join us for the biggest Salon of the year on Monday, December 10th. We will be at Arena Cinelounge in Hollywood for a screening of a very special short film, many special Nebraska guests, and a festive holiday reception.

You’ll get to meet Megan Elliott, Founding Director of the Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. This brand new program is the first of its kind anywhere in the country, and will be accepting the first students in the fall of 2019 at UNL. She will share all the news about this innovative center, funded by a generous grant from the Johnny Carson Foundation. Megan was previously the manager of leadership and community connections at the University of Technology Sydney Australia and former director and CEO of digital media think-tank X Media Lab.

We will be screening a 20 minute film The Healing of Harman, funded by the Carson Foundation, created in part by UNL students & faculty and in collaboration with Hollywood professionals. This film was submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for Oscarconsideration in the Shorts category and YOU can be one of the first to see it on the big screen. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers, cast, and crew, including Oscar-nominated Director Seth Pinsker, and Emmy-winning Executive Producer and Co-Writer Julie Uribe.

THE HEALING OF HARMAN is a short film about hope, faith and forgiveness. A Kurdish refugee (Stephen Hailo) who works in the heartland (Lincoln, Nebraska) as an interpreter, meets a mysterious man (Mourad Zaoui) that asks for help with life and death consequences. World-weary beyond his years, and recovering from a painful past, Harman Doski is a refugee from war-torn Iraq. Building a new life for himself in the midwest and trying to live the “American Dream,” he finds himself thrust into a confrontation that challenges his deepest moral roots and forces him to make choices that could change his life forever.

Holiday reception. Photos with Santa. Schmoozing with all your Nebraska Coast friends. A very special FREE limited edition gift for all. You just might win a great Christmas raffle prize, too!
We can’t wait to see you….and party with you…
on Monday night, December 10th at Arena Cinelounge!

Tickets just $20, get yours by noon on Monday, December 10th.
Admission at the door will cost $30, so buy your tickets here if you can.
Plan to arrive by 7:30. The screening will begin promptly at 8pm.
Please enter in the rear lobby through the parking garage, not from Sunset.
Parking on site is $5, or there’s lots of parking on the street.

Arena Cinelounge
6464 Sunset Blvd
in Hollywood

Nebraska Coast Connection presents The Hollywood Salon…
Where Glamorous Nebraska Meets Down-Home Hollywood.

SAVE THE DATES…make plans to join us for the next two big Salons…see below for details!

Five years ago, the Salon hosted our old friend Filmmaker JON BOKENKAMP as he embarked on a brand new television series that he created for NBC. That show has been a big hit and now he’s back to tell us all about the joys and pitfalls of working on a major network television series.

Yep, the NBC-TV show THE BLACKLIST all started in the brain of Kearney, Nebraska native Jon Bokenkamp. It is well into its fifth season, and continues to bring in 5 to 6 million viewers each week for its thrills, chills and secrets.

It stars James Spader as Raymond “Red” Reddington, a high-profile criminal who voluntarily surrenders to the FBI after eluding capture for decades. He tells the FBI that he has a list of the most dangerous criminals in the world that he has compiled over the years and is willing to inform on them in exchange for immunity. However, he mysteriously insists on working exclusively with a rookie FBI agent Elizabeth Keen, played by Megan Boone.

After growing up in Kearney, and a degree from USC, Jon first directed and starred in a documentary about drive-in theaters, AFTER SUNSET. His feature directing break came with BAD SEED (aka PRESTON TYLK), starring Luke Wilson, then writing gigs for features TAKING LIVES with Angelina Jolie, and two starring Halle Berry, PERFECT STRANGER and THE CALL.

Jon is the ultimate Nebraska Coaster, as his wife and kids live back in Kearney and he splits his time between Nebraska and Hollywood. In 2012, he realized a longtime dream when he reopened the shuttered World Theatre in Kearney as an art house and very successful alternative screening venue for Central Nebraska.

What does it take to create and then run a major network show? What is the typical day of a showrunner? What are the pressures of keeping a show fresh in its fifth season? How does one commute to Hollywood from Nebraska? These are just a few of the questions you’ll be able to ask Jon at the November 12th Salon. It’s taken us five years to get this busy writer/producer back to a Salon — don’t miss it!

ALSO…Coming Soon to the DECEMBER 10th Salon & HOLIDAY PARTY…

The NCC will welcome Megan Elliott, Director of the brand new JOHNNY CARSON CENTER FOR EMERGING MEDIA at UNL. She’ll be sharing news from the new program (due to begin admitting students in 2019), and also be presenting the latest Carson short film that was made in part by students and faculty at UNL and submitted for Oscar consideration. THE HEALING OF HARMON will screen for us, along with the writer, the director and many of the actors and crew.

December’s Salon, as always, will also be our glamorous and
festive Holiday Party — one of the biggest Salons of the year.
Stay tuned for more information…and SAVE THE DATE!

AND…Brigitte’s Documentary is Coming Back to Los Angeles for you…

At the October Salon, we met Brigitte Timmerman and saw excerpts of her film UmoNhoN Iye The Omaha Speaking about saving the language of the Omaha Native American tribes. Now you can see the whole film here in LA at the RED NATION FILM FESTIVAL on NOVEMBER 15th at 6pm. Hope to have many NCCers in attendance. Details here.

BIG RAFFLE NEWS FOR TONIGHT’s SALON…
One of our Champions has just donated two $15 Target gift cards to the raffle tonight — so in addition to cool Husker swag, camaraderie and networking, you might just come away with $$ in your pocket! Feeling lucky? See you tonight!!
C’mon Huskers in Hollywoodland…get out of your funk. There’s more to life than that one particular sport, you know. Your Nebraska Coast Family will help you remember you have an exciting career in one of the coolest places to live, AND you have a big bunch of lovely & talented Nebraskans for your friends. We’ll be at the Culver for the Salon tonight…hope you will be too.

OK, Nebraskans…especially those from Omaha: do you know where the word “OMAHA” comes from? It’s from the Native American tribe, the Omaha. Omaha means “to go against the current” and the tribe was given this name because they went upriver and migrated to what became the Nebraska Territory. Our guest at the October Salon is a Nebraska filmmaker who has made an important film about the Omaha tribe, and how their ancient language is quickly dying out.

Brigitte Timmerman is Vice President of the Nebraska Film Association. She advocates for a positive film environment in the state of Nebraska. She was also a member of Chicago Filmmakers Coop where she was instructed and influenced by many talented award-winning filmmakers.

Her latest feature length documentary UmoNhoN Iye The Omaha Speaking is about the handful of fluent speakers that remain of the tribe and educators’ dedicated efforts to revive their language. Academy Award winning editor Scott Conrad (ROCKY) recognized the importance of this project and worked closely with Brigitte to bring the film to life. Native American actor and activist Tatanka Means (THE SON, TIGER EYES) narrates with a native voice in keeping with the integrity of the film.

So far UmoNhoN Iye has been the official selection in the Red Nation Film Festival, American Indian Film Festival and this weekend at The Awareness Film Festival. Brigitte’s recent short documentary “Sandhills Cowboy” is about a working cowboy and poet who runs a ranch in Cody, Nebraska. She is one of five children from a cattle ranching family. She currently lives in Omaha.

We’ll show excerpts from the film and you’ll have the chance to hear from Brigitte how she found this incredible story and made the documentary by gaining the trust of many native elders (many of whom have passed since the film began). Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet her and see some of her special film.

About the film UmoNhoN Iye The Omaha Speaking:
“Our Language is Sacred, no one can take it from us.”– Omaha Elder. Only a handful of Native American fluent speakers remain of the Omaha Tribe. Fluent speaking elders reflect on growing up speaking their native language, the efforts that was taken from the government to phase it out and why it is so important to preserve it. Hopefulness is expressed by the elders and a dedicated group of educators in their attempts to keep their language alive.

Salons are a great way to network, catch up with old friends and new ones, and have a taste of home in Hollywood.