FILM INTENSIVE with Ellen Parks, CSA, Casting Director, Ellen Parks Casting

Friday, August 24, 2012, 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT

Not only is Ellen one of NYC's foremost casting directors, she is also a gifted teacher! With over 25 years of casting in film and television and being an on-set coach, Ellen brings a detailed and creative approach to the actors process AND invaluable insight about the industry. Currently, she is working on two films with Steven Shainberg, The Big Shoe and The Nakeds, as well as several other independent features which are in the developmental phase: Lost Boy, Nemesis, Offender, Funny Bunny, and Dickhead. For this one night intensive, Ellen will select sides based on your picture and resume which you will be emailed and prepare in advance. Ellen will start off with an informative Q & A followed by your presentation of the scene with a reader ON-CAMERA in a group. Be prepared to take feedback and adjustments. Currently, Ellen is interested in meeting talent of all types and ethnicities 18+ for current and future projects. This is a wonderful opportunity to be coached by an expert in film! Ellen Parks, C.S.A. has twenty-five years of professional casting experience, including both television and film, and ranging from low budget projects to network and studio films. She has done casting for Martin Scorsese, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell, Joel and Ethan Coen, George Romero and David Letterman, in addition to working with numerous emerging talents like Debra Granik and Michael Sucsy. Ellen's work is represented by high-profile ensemble casts (Grey Gardens, Flirting With Disaster), as well as for the introduction of new, lesser known and re-emerging talent (Sideways, Secretary, Down to the Bone, Spanking The Monkey, Manny & Lo, SongCatcher) giving actors Philip Seymour, Sam Rockwell, Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, and Bryce Dallas Howard their first important roles. Actors from her casts have garnered more than twenty five acting awards and nominations. Ellen won a 2005 Artios Casting Award for Sideways, a 2004 Artios Casting Award for Secretary and an Artios nomination for Flirting With Disaster. In 2009 she was nominated for an Emmy and won an Artios Award for Grey Gardens. Last spring she cast the occult thriller, Beginning of the End: Last Exorcism II. ***Scenes will be recorded on-camera. Within the week following your class, you will receive an email notification that video clips are available to view and download.*** Please upload your headshot and create a resume in your online account upon registration PLEASE NOTE: Once scenes have been distributed by Ellen, if you LATE cancel you will NOT be replaced!

Ellen Parks

Ellen Parks has spent more than 30 years in professional film casting, including work with Martin Scorsese, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell, Joel and Ethan Coen, George Romero and David Letterman, as well as many first-time filmmakers.

Ellen has cast high-profile actors like Meryl Streep, Robert Downey Jr., Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin, Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, and Kristen Stewart. She also introduced new talent, giving MacCaulay Culkin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Vera Farmiga, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and 2018 Oscar winners Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney and Richard Jenkins their first important roles. Actors from her casts have received dozens of acting awards and nominations and Ellen has won multiple casting awards for her work. For years Ellen has taught audition technique and coached acting privately and on film sets in the United States, Europe and Asia. In 2013 she became a founding member and mentor of Stowe Story Labs, a development program for screenwriters and directors. The same year she joined the faculty of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she teaches Acting for Film and Television at Stonestreet Studios.

She continues to be a Casting Consultant for independent films.