In this episode, we’re speaking with New Mexico’s own Catharine ("Cat") E. Jones — an award-winning director, SAG-AFTRA actor, writer and teaching artist — about finding fulfillment in the film industry while balancing family and other career endeavors.

 

As an actor, Cat’s had roles in Better Call Saul; Midnight, Texas; The Night Shift; Longmire and many other series and films. Her recurring role on The Night Shift spanned three seasons and 19 episodes.

 

Cat's directing career began with her debut film, Pinky Promise, winning Best Director honors at the International Different Faces Different Voices Film Festival for the Flicks4Chicks contest in 2016. In 2017, Cat was awarded first place at the Chimaera Project’s In (H)er (D)irection Film Competition, whose advisory board includes Octavia Spencer and Angelica Houston. Cat's latest film, Hatchlings, won Best Horror at the Peephole Film Fest in Guadalajara, Mexico 2019 and Worldwide Women's Film Festival 2020 and is distributed through First Focus International. 

 

Off set, Cat teaches performing arts to middle schoolers.

Milton & James bring a new mini series to Cinemascope called "Meet Your Film Faculty", where they sit down with faculty members of the Santa Fe Community College film program. Today's episode features Johnathan Mugford, an established post-production film editor & drone operator, & Scott Milder, a writer, director and producer whose main focus lies in the horror genre.  

In this episode, Dr. James Wysong and Milton Reiss sit down with the Stagecoach Foundation's Dr. Elizabeth Kianu Stahmer and Brandon Behringer and discuss how the foundation serves as a pathway into the film and television industry. The Stagecoach Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit and was founded by George R.R. Martin and David Weininger to attract productions to New Mexico and create opportunities for New Mexicans to get into the industry. They now provide free training to New Mexicans both in front of and behind the camera.

Learn more at www.stagecoachfdn.org.

In this episode, we discuss four life lessons provided by top industry professionals who were guests on Cinema Scope in 2022. They were discussing their work with actors, but their insights are applicable to everyone. The guests for these episodes include a casting director with a PhD, a director who recently worked with actor Tom Skerritt in his first-ever leading role, a SAG-AFTRA actor and Academy member, and a former Hollywood talent manager who moderates a Facebook group of nearly 90 thousand actors.

 

You can check out the guests’ full episodes here:

• Casting Director, Actor, Teacher & Producer Dr. Nike Imoru: https://cinemascope.libsyn.com/march-18-2022-with-nike-omoru-phd-csa
• Hollywood Winners Circle Founder & Former Hollywood Talent Manger Wendy Alane Wright: https://cinemascope.libsyn.com/cinema-scope-for-january-14-2021-with-wendy-alane-wright
• SAG-AFTRA Actor, Teacher & Coach Devielle Johnson: https://cinemascope.libsyn.com/cinemascope-april-22-2022-with-sag-aftra-actor-teacher-coach-devielle-johnson
• Filmmaker and Director SJ Chiro: https://cinemascope.libsyn.com/cinema-scope-for-january-21-2022-with-filmmaker-and-director-sj-chino

Industry executive, filmmaker and educator Christopher Lockhart is back on Cinema Scope! His February 2022 episode on how to successfully pitch films and series was one of Cinema Scope's most listened-to episodes ever. He's back to discuss his highly valuable (and completely free) group, The Inside Pitch, which is really "multiple master classes" for nearly 14,000 screenwriters and filmmakers to learn the art of pitching. Chris has 30-plus years of industry experience. He’s read over 60,000 screenplays in his career. As Story Editor at William Morris Endeavor (WME), the world's largest diversified talent agency, he curates film and TV projects for A-list actors such as Denzel Washington. He is a member of the Writers Guild, the Producers Guild and the Television Academy. You can listen to his February 2022 episode here: https://cinemascope.libsyn.com/cinema-scope-for-february-4-2022-with-filmmaker-christopher-lockhart.

In this episode, SAG-AFTRA actor, director, producer and Breakthrough Reels Founder and Lead Editor Chris Bylsma discusses what actors and directors can do to dramatically improve their reels and clips, as well as actions that actors can take on set to become go-to actors for directors and producers.

 

Chris is known for his roles as "Sean Leibold” in El Camino, "Charlie Bowdre" in Vincent D'Onofrio's The Kid and "Pastor Garrett Moore" in Godless.

In this episode, SAG-AFTRA actor, Academy member, teacher and coach Devielle Johnson discusses his insights on resilience in this tough industry—as an actor, and specifically as an African-American actor.

A professional actor for 17-plus years, Devielle splits his time between multiple markets. He’s booked numerous film and television roles, from a recurring role on FOX’s Lucifer to roles in Smallville, Grimm, Bates Motel and other episodics, to roles in films such as Interrogation. He trains with Margie Haber Studio in L.A. and is professionally trained in Meisner from Playhouse West and The Acting School. He’s represented in the L.A., Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and New Mexico markets.

In this episode, producer, Cannes Producers Network Fellow and South by Southwest (SXSW) Mentor Roy Wol discusses his acclaimed production company, mentorship, innovative fundraising strategies, European vs. US film markets, and distribution's key role in telling globally important stories that bridge audiences.  

Roy's most recent features are breaking ground:

The Garden Left Behind won at SXSW and is considered by Rotten Tomatoes to be one of the best LGBTQ films ever made, and Americanish was the first-ever Muslim-American rom-com directed by an American-Muslim Hijabi woman.

In this episode, filmmaker Wes Hurley joins host Genevieve Trainor to discuss his life's story and how film helped him escape his harrowing existence in Russia.

Potato Dreams of America is Wes's autobiographical coming-of-age dark comedy about a young, closeted Russian boy in the disintegrating USSR who, terrified of others finding out he's gay, escapes to the U.S. with his mother — a Russian prison doctor who becomes a mail-order bride.

Dr. James Wysong, Dean of Arts and Design at SFCC, and Milton Reiss, Co-Chair of the Film Department at SFCC, discuss their love of the science fiction genre. They share the surprising links between classic films like Metropolis and the pop culture of today. Stay tuned for part II of this fascinating conversation!

In the second half of the show, Milton and James share details on local training opportunities within the NM film community.

In this episode, British-Nigerian casting director, actor, teacher, and producer Dr. Nike Imoru shares her thoughts with artists who may be struggling to find their place in the industry and in our creative world. Based in the Pacific Northwest U.S., she's helping to transform the industry and opportunities for fellow filmmakers and actors around the globe.

Orlando Skidmore is a Native American filmmaker and cinematographer in New Mexico. He owns the production company Mesa Mountain Film.

Groundbreaking researcher and best-selling author Dr. Christian Busch spent the past 10 years figuring out a science-based approach to creating good luck. He says we’re looking at luck incorrectly. Connect the Dots: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck is the culmination of his decade of research on serendipity, including his study of people who work in film.

In this episode, we dive into how you can change your trajectory for the better by accelerating your good luck.

This week on Cinemascope, Milton and James discuss how different social issues are depicted by directors in their movies.  Plus, more about the importance of teaching on-set safety in film schools.

Agam Darshi is an actor, producer, writer and director known for the film Funny Boy by Deepa Mehta, and many TV shows including DMZ, Sanctuary and The Good Doctor. She makes her feature film debut as a director with the film Donkeyhead, available on Netflix, in which she also stars. 

Christopher Lockhart is Story Editor at WME and has over 30 years experience in the industry, curating scripts for celebrities including Denzel Washington. More information on his website www.christopherlockhart.com. His Facebook Group, The Inside Pitch, is a valuable place for screenwriters to learn the art of pitching. 

We introduce Cinemascope's two new co-hosts, Dr. James Wysong, Dean of Arts and Design at SFCC, and Milton Riess, Co-Chair of the Film Department at SFCC.  They will be joining the Cinemascope team the last Friday of every month.  Today they discuss Dr. Wysong's background and SFCC's Film Department.  Also, they announce the joint effort between Santa Fe County, SFCC's Film Department, and Stagecoach Foundation and the upcoming Production Assistant training program.  For details see: https://www.protecsantafe.com/

In this episode, filmmaker and director SJ Chiro chats about directing Tom Skerritt and Mira Sorvino in her latest film, East of the Mountains, and her thoughts on how actors and filmmakers can move their careers forward.

 

East of the Mountains is 88-year-old Tom Skerritt's first-ever leading role, for which he received Oscar buzz.

 

The film landed on the DGA member-based Best DirectHer list as one of 2021's top 10 feature films directed by women. It was also nominated for "Motion Picture Drama" at the 2022 International Press Academy's 26th Annual Satellite Awards.

A former Hollywood talent manager, Wendy is an expert on the business of acting and has dedicated her days to helping actors succeed in the industry. In the process, she created The Hollywood Winners Circle, a course which includes guidance from a community of professionals who offer advice and help actors learn about the business of acting. This is especially useful for new actors to learn about the industry.

Visit https://hollywoodwinnerscircle.com for more information.

Rain (Náhkȯxho'óxeóó'ėstse/Bear Stands Last) is the executive director of the Global Indigenous Council, co-founder of Guardians of Our Ancestors’ Legacy, and author of the Piikani Nation Treaty.  He and Nazneen discuss his film making career and Indigenous People's issues regarding missing and murdered Indigenous women, ecology, and treaties.

Nazneen talks with Sam Quinn, Taos filmmaker, and his project Stay Calm; and Ryan Lacen, Charlene Bencomo, and Melissa Barrera about Bold Futures, and All The World Is Sleeping.

Guests Aeryn Lee and Gentry Lee discuss their film "Permafrost."

Guest David Crank, production designer, "The News of the World." 

Christine McHugh and Teresa Jones

Stephen Burhoe

NM Film Foundation Exec Director Dirk Norris

Actor/Film Historian Aaron Leventman

Santa Fe Film Office, Exec Director

Hollywood Film/TV actor David Frankham with Actor/Composer/Author Jonathan David Dixon