Tag Archive for: #castingdirector

RJ Cyler

RJ Cyler, Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 list!

RJ CylerCGTV reviews are on FIRE!  RJ Cyler one of the shiniest stars in our bunch is making global headlines as one of Forbes Magazine’s hottest young talents under 30 on their 30 under 30 list.  You can read the full article here:  http://www.forbes.com/profile/rj-cyler/

We are coming to many major US cities and International Cities across the globe in 2017.   if we are not coming to yours, you may want to consider traveling to a city nearby.  We will post which cities on our blog as they are announced.  Our grads are on Fire, check out RJ Cyler the newest winner of the Forbes, 30 under 30 distinction.  Other winners of this illustrious awards are people like Mark Zuckerberg, so RJ is in great company.
We found, trained and put RJ in front of all of our hollywood agents, managers and connections.  That training and those contacts got him exactly where he is today. He is now a critically acclaimed actor for his role in Me, Earl & The Dying Girl and is starring in the summer blockbuster Power Rangers 2017 as Blue Power Ranger.  In addition, Brad Pitt picked him up for War Machines, a Netflix Original.
If you think you have what it takes and you are serious about getting your chance to shine in front of exactly the right people, we are interested in you auditioning for one of our celebrity judges.  From the ages of 5-25, Hollywood is waiting for you.  All looks, all ethnicities, all body types, we are looking for every type. We love kids and more importantly, we love making kid’s dreams come true.
Adrian R’Mante, aka Esteban of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody is not only the owner of CGTV, he is the hands on acting coach, film scene director and mentor to each and every participant that comes through CGTV.  While he has a celebrity staff that have almost entirely come from Disney Shows, he makes sure each student gets his personal time as well.

RJ Cyler dreamed a big dream and is now living that same dream.

CGTV is a rigorous curriculum designed to help connect young talent like RJ Clyer with some of the top agents, casting directors, and managers in Hollywood. Workshops include improv, audition techniques, marketing tips and more, for film, theater, television, and commercial acting.  Students are guided by top celebrities from ABC, NBC, CBS, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows. For more information, please see our website, or call (818) 284-6689. “CGTV: We have people on TV and on Movies!”

CGTV

CGTV Grad Proves Persistence Pays!

CGTV

CGTV could brag for days and days about the successes our students have seen in TV and FILM because of the CGTV program. Instead, we urge you to review the success stories that we have created from grads and parents alike. Listen to what one mom has to say below.

We had been hearing about CGTV from an acquaintance for years.  Julian has been asking us to get him involved in acting since he was just five years old.  We did not act on it right away, we assumed it was a passing phase and waited for him to move on to his next idea.  But, he didn’t stop bugging me.  He was very persistent and continually asking me to please look into it.  I decided to sign up to receive emails.  My husband and I finally made the decision that we would help Julian pursue his dream.  The next day, CGTV sent out an email stating they were auditioning in LA.  We took this as a sign, and we signed him up.

 

I didn’t think he was nervous at all, but I was!  He was very excited but I had no idea how to prepare him so we did not prepare at all.  We told him to do his best and hope for the best, but expect the worst.  The last thing we wanted was for our son to get his hopes up only to be crushed by a Disney Star.  We decided that if this was what Julian truly wanted to do, that we would figure out a way to help him succeed.  We later found out that Julian was very nervous and that he had prepared on his own, practicing every chance he got.

When we arrived at the CGTV audition, Julian was very nervous when he saw that he would be auditioning for Hutch Dana, the Disney Star from Zeke & Luther.  Julian did great under pressure and told me that he felt good about his audition no matter how it went. I tried to stay positive for my son, but also tried to prepare him for the potential of not being selected.  Waiting was hard and definitely stressful.

Hutch thought Julian had real star potential and we got that callback.  We were so excited for Julian, we were astonished as parents and made a decision that we would invest in our son.  We have taught our children to follow their dreams and supporting them was never in question.  More importantly, Julian made a commitment to attend the program, do his best and really put his heart into it.  He was super grateful that we were willing to support him.

My favorite part of the program was watching Julian grow.  Every day, he changed, in a good way.  He was hungry for the notes given at the end of each scene and fought hard to improve every second, minute and hour of the day.  While Julian had been on stage for years as a dancer, this LIVE show at the ACME theater was new for him.  We wondered if the Hollywood Agents and Managers in the audience would see what Hutch saw in our Julian.  We desperately tried to prepare ourselves and Julian for if they did not.

Did we get a callback?  We got 4 callbacks the first time we did the All-Star Weekend and another 4 callbacks the second time we went back to CGTV.  Eight callbacks from agents and producers that would have never given us the time of day without the association to Adrian R’Mante and CGTV.  I was totally unprepared and blown away by the interest in my son.

 

Adrian and his cast of actor trainers helped Julian so much.  So many doors have opened for him and he has learned so much.  Truly, this is the fast track to Hollywood success, IF your child has a natural talent.  This program truly lived up to everything we expected and more!  Adrian truly is there for you…and I don’t know how he does it!!!  The experience is completely priceless. Julian’s life would not have been the same without his CGTV experience.

From the mom of Julian Cardenas

Lisa London

CGTV’s Celebrity Casting Director?

kn0ky4xmLisa London has been a Hollywood staple for 20+ years.   She have discovered and/or cast many actors long before they were famous; such as Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana, Jonah Hill in Grandma’s Boy, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee, and Kat Dennings in House Bunny, Selena Gomez in the Disney pilot of What’s Stevie Thinking, Jennifer Aniston in her first feature, Leprechaun, Mark Ruffalo in the CBS series, Due South, Adrian R. Mante and Megan Hilty, in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Yari Shahidi in The First Family.  Lisa London
 
Lisa London has a knack for picking needles out of haystacks and her casting history proves this in spades.  The exciting news is that she is a partner with CGTV and is always seeking new talent at our events.  Read more about Lisa and how to get involved below.  
 
Lisa and her partner Catherine Stroud own London Stroud Casting and have cast a number of highly successful TV shows such as Hit The Floor for VH1, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Hannah Montana pilot on the Disney Channel, Arliss on HBO, Roseanne on ABC, Supah Ninjas on Nickelodeon and Get A Life on Fox. 
 
A few of the movies they have cast for that you will recognize are House Bunny and Grandma’s Boy for Happy Madison Productions, Stepfather for Screen Gems and From The Rough which stars Oscar and Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winner, Taraji P. Henson (who is starring in the Fox Television “hit” series, Empire) and the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan plus an international cast including British actor, Tom Felton (from Harry Potter films). 
 
Recently they have stepped into the Indie film market with, In Search of Fellini starring Maria Bello, Mary Lynn Rajskub and the awesomely talented, Ksenia Solo (from the TV series, Orphan Black & the feature, Black Swan).
 
So, how can you get in front of Lisa?  There are a few ways, the first one is to be a part of CGTV’s “The Celebrity Experience” and perform LIVE onstage at the ACME theatre in Hollywood where Lisa sits in the audience with a notepad scouring for new talent. 
 
The second one is to attend Lisa’s workshop.  The next will be held on October 15th and 16th in Tampa Florida.  Price:  $175 for children and teens ages 6 to 13.  $250 for Teens to adults 14+.  Call 813-873-9440 to reserve your seat. 
 
Can’t make it to Lisa’s next workshop?  That’s ok, she wrote a book too!  Get her book here:  Visit www.fromstarttostardom.com.  The CGTV Reviews on her book are off the chart, in fact we have just published a success story of Zeah whom took action on Lisa’s book and turned it into success. 

Lisa London

CGTV Reviews are in!

CGTV’s Zeah Kaapana-Bates Sores Big!

CGTV Reviews are in!

Zeah Kaapana-Bates

CGTV hosts auditions in cities around the globe and the CGTV reviews coming in from our child and young adult actors are nothing short of amazing.  One of the cities we routinely visit is Honolulu, Hawaii.  This is exactly where we found one of the brightest stars to graduate CGTV and The Celebrity Experience.

 

Zeah’s aunt heard an audition for CGTV and The Celebrity Experience on the radio in Honolulu.  Her aunt sent her mother the recording and urged her to take her daughter to this audition.

Zeah was nervous and excited to meet and audition for one of her favorite Disney stars, Adrian R’Mante, Esteban, from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.  She says that Adrian made her instantly comfortable and she knew that she did her best and it was all she could do.  She wasn’t sure if she would get a call back, but she knew that she could not have done any better, so she was proud of her efforts.

 

When Zeah found out she was indeed called back to be a part of Adrian’s program, she was screaming and excited beyond belief.  Her parents were excited but they wanted to wait to see what it was all about before making a final decision.  They were excited to hear what Adrian had to say at the callback orientation.

 

As parents, they decided to invest in Adrian’s program because they believed in his mission and vision. Zeah’s parents knew that his program included a training curriculum that would support their daughters aspirations of becoming an actor. They could see that the training would also contribute to their daughters development as a life long learner, individual, and contributing member of our community and world.

 

We asked Zeah what her favorite part about CGTV’s acting program was.  She replied,

“I loved meeting and training with all the Celebrities, playing all the improv games, and I was really excited when we got to meet and talk to Debby Ryan who played Jessie!”.

When we asked Zeah’s parents what they loved best about CGTV they replied as follows, “As parents, we appreciated the experiences, skills, training, networking, and performance opportunities (Showcase, Universal Sound Studio Scene Recording with a Celebrity, LIVE performance and the ACME theatre in Hollywood) with TCE & CGTV. We greatly appreciated the parent workshops/Q&A sessions because it gave us great insights to the industry and the profession of acting. The professionals that Adrian invited to speak to us were well accomplished professionals who were honest and transparent with us. Lisa London, Joey Paul Jensen, and Philip Marcus came from different perspectives with a vast amount of experience.”

Zeah was pretty nervous about performing LIVE at the ACME theatre in front of the Hollywood agents and Hollywood managers, but with the help of Adrian, her scene partner and a week’s worth of intensive coaching, she nailed it.  Even mom could not spare a tear that evening.  She had never been so proud and she realized there were going to be many more successes to come in Zeah’s future.

 

Zeah received one callback from a Manager during The Celebrity Experience.  Then,  at CGTV, she received two callbacks from Agents and two callbacks from Managers.   Lisa London said that her performance showed that she is ready to book jobs!  Coming from the casting director that found Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Anniston and more, this was a huge nod that we were in the right place with the right people.

CGTV Reviews are in!

When asked what the #1 thing she learned from Adrian she replied, “eye contact”.

Zeah’s mom asked if she could add some final words to this story, and they are so beautiful we decided to include them.

“As a family, Adrian has done countless things for us. If I had to choose just ONE thing to highlight, the #1 thing that Adrian has done for us is to stay true to his word. From the first day we met, Adrian committed to our daughter and her aspirations of becoming a successful actor. He committed to being available and a part of our journey through each step, and he has DELIVERED beyond what we could’ve ever expected. Adrian is committed to being honest and transparent throughout each step and continues to provide us and our daughter with mentorship and guidance even after the program is complete. I would recommend them to anyone with serious Hollywood dreams.  It is a place where you will discover what it takes and if you HAVE what it takes.  This is definitely a JOURNEY that can be accomplished when ‘the family comes together to support the child actors pursuits’:  – Zeah’s Mom

Artist: Zeah Kaapana-Bates

CGTV Reviews are in!

CGTV Reviews are in!

CGTV Reviews are in

CGTV Reviews are in!CGTV Reviews are in!

 

When we heard about the CGTV auditions in our city, we were super excited and super nervous all at once. Jacob was very nervous. It was always a dream, but did he really have what it took to impress the Disney Celebrity judge? CGTV Reviews are in!

 

When we heard about the CGTV auditions in our city, we were super excited and super nervous all at once. Jacob was very nervous. It was always a dream, but did h

We told him that the most important thing was that he did his very best. We were honest with him about expectations and let him know there was a potential that he would not be selected. Of course, we were all relieved and thrilled when he got a very enthusiastic two thumbs up from his audition!

We were then offered a spot in the acting program at CGTV/The Celebrity Experience. At first, we were quite hesitant about the investment involved. First of all, we knew nothing of the program. We did not know if it was a credible, legitimate acting program so we decided to do our due diligence and research. After researching and reading many success stories, we decided that we would indeed make the investment into Jacob’s dream. From then on, we had zero expectations that at worst case, the program would increase his self-esteem. CGTV Reviews are in!

When we heard about the CGTV auditions in our city, we were super excited and super nervous all at once. Jacob was very nervous. It was always a dream, but did h

 
We NEVER imagined that Jacob would achieve the results that he did. After spending time training with many celebrity Disney stars on the art of auditioning and training for his scene for the ACME showcase, my son evolved into a TV and film ready actor. Jacob received 17 callbacks from agents and managers alike. He also received an award for the BEST monologue!
 
In addition to training with Adrian R’Mante and his cast of celebrity coaches, we had the good fortune of meeting Joey Paul Jensen at the awards banquet and have been receiving guidance/training from her ever since.  
We chose his agent and manager based on referrals. Neither of them were present during that event. I can definitely understand why some would try to say it is a scam… especially if their child did not receive any callbacks. To me, this is precisely why it is NOT a scam. In my opinion, if you are realistic with your child’s abilities and if you go in with no expectations except for the most amazing experience of a lifetime, then you will not be disappointed.  Some of you that expect agent call backs will not receive them and some of us whom had no expectations will receive the shock of a lifetime to find out that Hollywood wants YOUR kid.
 
Jacob met some pretty amazing people and made some great lifelong friendships (our entire family did). He met some awesome celebrities that were so gracious and kind! We have NO idea what the future holds for him but we do know this: Jacob has, quite possibly, already had the biggest audition of his lifetime and this NEVER would have been possible without CGTV and The Celebrity Experience!! He is extremely grateful and knows he is blessed to have this opportunity. Thank you!

CGTV Reviews are in!

 

Auditioning Tip 1

Auditioning Tip 1 making impression on casting director

Auditioning Tip 1

Auditioning Tip 1 from CGTV

Over the course of the next few months, we are going to be releasing tips that will help you at your audition with CGTV Hollywood and in the future with Hollywood casting directors and agents.   In acting, it is typical that your learning is commensurate with your earning.  So start studying.

Auditioning Tip 1

The casting director is going to have many people put in front of him/her that all basically look the same or very similar.  Sure your skills are something they look for, but more importantly, they are seeking great personalities that are easy to work with.  Think of your audition as a job interview.  You want to leave the best possible impression so that you will get a chance to a second interview to secure the job.  However, it is not a social club.  You don’t want to be over the top personal with the casting agents.  Be yourself, smile warmly and don’t be afraid to make eye contact.  If they enjoy being around you, that is a good indicator the director of the show, commercial or movie will also enjoy working with you.