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Sprinting Toward Hollywood: A Pro Athlete Turned Actress

 

As a child in Markham, Ontario, Charlotte Plummer was involved in countless extra-curricular activities: ballet, modern dance, piano, accordion, trombone, horseback riding, acting classes. She did well in all of them, but started aggressively pursuing sports in high school. By the end of her 9th grade year, she was already being offered scholarships for universities in the United States.

After finishing high school, she accepted a scholarship to New Orleans’ prestigious Tulane University, receiving her BA in Psychology, with a minor in Exercise and Sports Science. She was a conference athlete for the school, an NCAA qualifier, and won at the Penn Relays. She started as a 400-meter hurdler, and ended up as a runner in the 800-meter dash, making it to the Olympic trials for Canada.

Though she originally planned on going into sports psychology, Charlotte had worked with mentally disturbed adolescents during school, and decided to change her path. As she says, “I asked myself, ‘Do I want to work with pampered athletes, or people who really need help?’” She ended up working with individuals with brain injuries, mostly resulting from car accidents. She helped patients with rehabilitation, speech therapy, psychology, and fitness.

A series of injuries took Charlotte away from the world of competitive sports, but through her experience in track, she became an athletic model and did a lot of commercial work for Tennis Canada, Nike, and Pfizer. A chance meeting with a New York Film Academy representative led to another scholarship, and soon Charlotte would be pursuing her MFA in Acting for Film. “Doors have opened up, and I have to step into every door that is open to me,” says Charlotte.

She began her studies at the school’s New York City campus before finishing at the Universal Studios campus in Los Angeles. “I’m glad I did New York and L.A.,” says Charlotte. “New York is definitely more theater based. In L.A. you really get the business side. You learn a lot in production and writing.”

Just a few weeks before graduation, Charlotte participated in the Acting for Film showcase, produced by Valorie Hubbard. Scores of agents and managers came to see the showcase, and every student received callbacks the following week. Charlotte took 3 meetings, and is currently deciding which agent to sign with. She is also in rehearsals for an upcoming short film, and going on auditions. Of her education, Charlotte says, “You don’t realize while you’re in it how much you’ve learned. Now when I go on auditions I’m surprised at how prepared I am. Because there‘s so many teachers of so many backgrounds, you get so many perspectives.”

Charlotte looks forward to a career in film, but also hopes to continue with mentorship. “I feel like young people are so lost in this world and have no concept of dreams,” she says. “I’m pursuing my reality. I’ve lived so many dreams. I’m able to make them realities. I’m still striving.”

Add 2 More Awards For Gabby Egito

Gabriela Egito (“Gabby”) went two for two at the festivals this month. Her thesis film, Stuffed, shot during her one-year filmmaking course, won Best L.A. Short at the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival and Best Foreign Short at the Las Vegas Film Festival. These were the second of three prizes awarded to the thesis film, as it had previously won Best Drama Short at the Atlantic City Cinefest.

Gabby had also previously produced the film Synergy during New York Film Academy’s 8-week film workshop, which won an award and was selected to more than 10 international film festivals. In total, Gabby has received 4 awards as a writer, director, producer, and editor, since being enrolled in 2010. After winning the awards, Gabby sent a note to the school saying, “Thank you so much for supporting me and providing the wonderful hands-on training that lead me to make this happen.” We wish her all the best on her filmmaking endeavors and hope the awards keep piling up!

Read more about Gabby’s winning ways in her recent mention in the Hollywood Reporter.

Life After Animation School

It’s been five years since Scott Cullen graduated from New York Film Academy‘s Animation School, and he’s now working at a major animation and visual effects house in Los Angeles, Rythm and Hues. With some of the world’s top creative talents and best technologies, Rhythm & Hues delivers outstanding, award-winning visual effects and animation. Their projects include the upcoming 300 sequel, The Hunger Games, The Bourne Legacy, Snow White and the Huntsmen, and many more features and commercials.
Scott began his career working as a 3D generalist, which is a common stepping stone out of school. He was responsible for multiple stages of the  production “pipeline,” such as modeling, texturing, animating and lighting.
It is much easier to find work for a versatile artist, especially in the commercial industry. “Knowing all of the stages of the pipeline, such as rigging, modeling, and lighting, is always a huge plus. There are other programs out there in which you are limited to learning only animation. What makes NYFA a little different than studying at a traditional 4 year college, is that you are learning right up until you graduate. You really need to work hard after graduation, and put together your own work to show to companies who are looking to hire. It’s also a lot of learning in a short amount of time, so you really need to work hard.”
As a Camera Layout TD, Scott is currently in production on the films, Life of Pi and R.I.P.D. Scott works a typical 9 to 6 day, but unlike a lot of professionals in other industries, he’s never bitter about waking up for work. “I enjoy waking up everyday and not dreading going to work. It can be a little stressful at times, especially during tight deadlines, but it’s a good feeling to get paid for something you really enjoy doing.”

It’s Never Too Late To Pursue Acting

They say it’s never too late to start your dreams. At the age of 35, Silje Aas Meyer finally got the courage to follow her childhood dream to become an actor. She quit her job in childcare, got a job as a retail manager, and began auditioning. Her first acting role came about in the film, Den Hengte Mannen, which premiered at the International Film Festival in Bergen (BIFF). The film screened in Norwegian cinemas, and is now on DVD in stores across the country.

“It was a challenging character, with all the right ingredients. The fact that she was actually quite disturbed just made it more challenging. I loved how real and raw she was. At this stage, I had no experience beside my high school drama in 1993. I felt sick just standing in front of the camera, and my acting was terrible! Nevertheless, I told the director that if he took a chance with me I would deliver. He actually believed in me, and continued to do so for the next six months. Truthfully, he was in great doubt until I got back from NYFA.”

Silje Aas Meyer set out for New York Film Academy to hone her skills in the 4 week acting for film workshop. From the second she set foot on American soil, Silje decided to let go of any inhibitions and seize the moment. “While I did learn a lot of skills in different areas of acting, for me the most important bit of knowledge comes from knowing what it is that you can bring to the table that is unique. In the movie, my character is abusing her own child. As a mother and having worked with abused children, this was extremely challenging. For me to be able to dive into this character, I had to respect the person I was playing. I had to giver her life. I discovered places inside of me where I had felt that bitterness, and magnified that feeling. It was actually therapeutic to be allowed to feel and act out without really hurting others.

When Silje returned to Norway with her newly acquired knowledge and self confidence, her director claimed that a miracle happened to her at the New York Film Academy. “After NYFA he had no more doubts in my ability to deliver in the role. So you can imagine my gratitude towards the people helping me to discover what I always knew was inside of me. I do believe that everyone has to find their own way of learning to perform at his or her best. The way each of us learn is as unique as we are.”

Martin Scorsese Drops by the New York Film Academy

NYFA Provost Michael Young (left), Martin Scorsese (center), and NYFA Senior Director David Klein (right)

This Summer we had the privilege of teaching Oscar Winning Director, Martin Scorsese’s daughter. The Goodfellas director must’ve passed on his love for filmmaking, as his young daughter decided to attend New York Film Academy‘s Summer Camp to hone her inherited filmmaking skills. We were thrilled when her biggest supporter and fan, Martin Scorsese, showed up to the graduation screening at the New York Film Academy. Marty was very impressed with all of the young talent on hand, especially given the fact that each student had only one week to shoot and edit the film. Scorsese mentioned he will be filming his upcoming movie, The Wolf of Wall Street in New York City very soon. You can bet we’ll be attending a screening of his next film, once it’s in the theaters.

Winning in Casablanca

Jaouad Bouddehbine winning Best Fiction at the Casablanca International Student Film Festival
One year filmmaking graduate, Jaouad Bouddehbine, won Best Fiction at The Casablanca International Student Film Festival and was selected at Angelus Student Film Festival with his film, Stricken, which was his thesis film at New York Film Academy. The Moroccan native believes there is a wealth of untapped material which can shared through the medium of cinema. “Great stories can be told and shared worldwide. I would love to tell the world some of those stories.”
Currently, Jaouad is looking to shoot his next film in which he tends to cross genres. In fact, he has set the bar high with his hopes to revolutionize Moroccan cinema. But, first, he plans to continue his film education through NYFA’s MFA Filmmaking program. “NYFA was a great experience, especially in terms of writing, shooting, and editing short films in the United States.”

Click here, if you’re interested in learning filmmaking at New York Film Academy like Jaouad!

Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer on His Love of Film

Director/writer/producer Kurt Wimmer speaking to students at New York Film Academy.

 

“I live to see a good movie,” said director/writer/producer Kurt Wimmer. “When I sit down in a theater, I love it when the trailers come up. My heart starts pounding and I start tearing up.” As part of New York Film Academy’s ongoing guest speaker series, Wimmer spoke to an audience of students after a screening of his breakthrough hit film, Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale. He explained, “There’s things I want to say, and this movie is about that. It’s about the things I feel. I want you to feel that too.”

Though he had already found considerable success as the co-writer of Sphere, and adapting Michael Crichton’s Thomas Crowne Affair, Equilibrium was Kurt Wimmer’s first major directing credit. As he said, “I was dreading the moment when someone would say, ‘Will you direct?’ I spent the entire shoot waiting for someone to tap me on my shoulder and say, ‘What are you doing here?’” He credited his crew for their support throughout the process, saying, “There are invisible hands that help you.”

Wimmer was joined on stage by crew members, including stunt coordinator Mike Smith, editor William Yeh, producer Lucas Foster, and score producer Klaus Badelt who shared their experience working on the movie. Previous guest speaker Alan Siegel, Gerard Butler’s manager, was also in attendance. As Wimmer put it, “You meet people as you go along. Sometimes you have chemistry and sometimes you don’t. But you have to establish relationships and establish trust.”

Kurt Wimmer is known for his star vehicle movies, such as The Recruit with Colin Farrell, Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler, and Salt with Angelina Jolie. He announced that his next release, the remake of Total Recall, is scheduled for release next month. The film features a star-studded cast, including Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Ethan Hawke, and Bryan Cranston.

Stunt coordinator Mike Smith, event moderator Tova Laiter, editor William Yeh, director Kurt Wimmer, producer Lucas Foster, and score producer Klaus Badelt

Student Dylan Howard’s PBS Documentary ‘Sculpting Peace’

Current New York Film Academy 2 Year Filmmaking Student, Dylan Howard’s documentary Mimi Sammis: Sculpting Peace premiered on PBS as part of the ongoing series, Rhode Island Stories. Sculpting Peace documents the life and work of world-renowned Narragansett, Rhode Island, artist and peace activist, Anne Mimi Sammis. In her sculpture she embraces peace as well as the inherent goodness, love and acceptance that she believes exist in all humankind. Mimi’s art often echoes the UNs mission of peace and encourages us to believe it’s globally possible. The film follows her journey over the last three decades. The viewer joins Mimi on her search for inner peace through her work. With her work she comes to the eventual realization that all is one! As the film explains, she wishes to inspire peace and jubilation for everyone as they find there own path through the creative process. For Mimi everything begins with a desire to do, to create. With that true desire, she believes that one is capable of creating anything!

Mimi was Dylan’s babysitter growing up and the project came to be from his personal relationship with her. As a child, she would mentor him in spiritual philosophies and show him how to create realities with his thoughts. Something very vital in the nurturing stage of a young filmmaker’s mind. It took Dylan over a year to film the interviews and go through hours of archival footage from over three decades of Mimi’s life. Once the film was shot, Dylan and Mimi brought it to Rhode Island PBS, because Mimi already had a small TV show called, Painting with Mimi.  Dylan cut together a short trailer for what he had envisioned the film would look and feel like. The overall production was a give and take process with the producers from PBS. “When meeting with people like this it’s always best to be yourself, to truly represent what kind of investment you are. Speak about your ideas with passion. You have to care about the project before others will care. It’s also important to be a good listener, to take in feedback when it is due and to take in credit when it’s due. Be sure to carry yourself with confidence, for that is power.”
After some constructive criticism from the producers, the final edit was made and it was ready to be screened on PBS.  “It was a big moment for me to get something I made on TV, and it just proved to me that I could do this.” Currently, Dylan is working toward getting the film to air on National PBS, while submitting it to film festivals all over the country.
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