5:00-6:15 p.m. -- Ground Floor Theatre
With Dexter adding five Latino characters this season and features like Dark Knight casting Latinas as co-stars, and while opportunities for Latinos explode in Spanish- and English-language commercials, what should you know about access to the jobs and representation for Latino actors? What are the networks and studios looking for? Who is casting up-and-coming Latino faces in daytime, reality, series and films? And who is representing talent from the largest and swiftest growing minority in the business? Hear how agents, managers, casting directors, networks, and studios tap Latino talent. Moderated by Kathryn Galan, Executive Director, NALIP.
Speakers include:
-- Ron Taylor, VP for Diversity at Fox Broadcasting
-- Rosalinda Morales, casting director
-- Ivan de Paz, personal manager
-- Carlos Carreras, talent agent
-- Blanca Valdez, casting director
-- Moises Velez, Head of development and programming at Telemundo/Mun2
SPEAKER BIOS
Ron Taylor, VP Diversity, Fox Entertainment
Ron Taylor is Vice President, Diversity Development for Fox Entertainment. Ron has worked as a network and studio development executive, as well as a TV series writer. He was VP, Development and Current Programming at Columbia-TriStar where he developed series for cable TV, including Strong Medicine on Lifetime and Street Time on Showtime.
Ron was one of the first executives hired at UPN and was instrumental in creating that network from 1994-97. Ron has also been a development executive at Warner Bros and Disney, and a writer of episodes for such series as Renegade, Forever Knight, Covington Cross and The Sentinel. He wrote the short film "Brothers of the Borderland," which is presented daily at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He began his television programming career at ABC-TV in the 1970's. In his current position, Ron spearheads efforts to guide more diverse writers, directors and actors into jobs on series broadcast on FBC, and/or on shows produced by 20th Century Fox TV and to support Fox content that features diversity in the media marketplace.
Rosalinda Morales, Casting Director
Rosalinda Morales' recent feature casting credits are La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon) (U.S. Casting), Ladrón Que Roba a Ladrón and Por Vida (For Life), a cautionary urban story with a diverse cast starring Danny Glover, Elizabeth Peña, Snoop Dogg and Kate del Castillo. Rosalinda is currently in pre-production on the independent feature films Flights of Fancy (El Lujo de Soñar) and 700 Hill. She began her career in the entertainment industry over 25 years ago as a casting associate moving on to become a talent agent, where she developed up and coming talent in the areas of television, film, theater and commercials.
Ivan de Paz, Manager
Iván de Paz is the President/CEO of de Paz Management. Mr. De Paz was the Executive Vice President of Talent Management at Arenas Entertainment where he was responsible for the development and representation of the company's actors and literary clients for all film, television and theater projects. In 1993, joined The Gage Group, one of the entertainment industry's most prestigious talent agencies where he established himself as one of the few truly bilingual and bicultural talent agents in Hollywood.
Carlos Carreras
As head of Latin talent at UTA, Carlos Carreras leads the agency's representation in the Latino/Spanish-language domestic and international marketplaces. He represents clients ranging from actors and recording artists (Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Smits, Wilmer Valderrama, Carmen Electra, Rubén Blades, and Melonie Diaz, to name a few) to leading producers and production companies that are creating content for Latino and Spanish-language audiences worldwide.
Additionally, Carreras also provides strategic services to international companies navigating Hollywood and represents American Latino clients to international Spanish-language productions. The Hollywood Reporter selected Carreras as one of 2007's "The Latin Power 50." Additionally, he was named one of "The Most Influential and Powerful Latinos in Hollywood" of 2007 by the Imagen Foundation and was honored at the 2007 Imagen Awards. Carreras also lends his time and energy to organizations such as the National Alliance of Latin Independent Producers and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
A native New Yorker, Carreras understands talent. He tread the boards in Broadway revivals of Jesus Christ Superstar and West Side Story, locked up a German recording contract, cast TV shows as well as handling live audiences before becoming a top agent.
Blanca Valdez
Blanca Valdez is the head of Blanca Valdez Casting Inc., located in Hollywood. Approximately 55 percent of the commercial projects that Valdez and her team are involved with are "accent-specific" Spanish language, with the balance being primarily general-market English. Her company also works regularly for international clients from South America, Asia, and Europe. Valdez has also been credited as a producer of numerous independent projects ranging from shorts and animation to full-length, live-action feature films. She has worked in the production of Spanish-language soap operas for Univision and Telemundo and has been involved with connecting producers with international celebrities. Valdez began her career in entertainment as a professional dancer. She later worked for Motown Records promoting artists such as Jose Feliciano; at KSCI Channel 18 as a producer and in public relations; and at Telemundo as on-air talent and as a producer. While at Univision, she produced and managed celebrity performers including Thalia, Menudo, and Chayanne.
Moises Velez
Moises Velez is a Peabody-winning producer and head of development and current programming for NBC/Telemundo-owned Latino bilingual youth channel Mun2, responsible for bringing new reality, multiplatform, music, and nontraditional programming to Mun2's air. He also serves as supervising producer for the network's documentary news series revolving around the most important issues relevant to Latino youth, resulting in the network's first Peabody Award in 2006. Projects on air include The Chicas Project, Holamun2.com:El Show, and The Mun2 Hook Up. Upcoming programming includes the 2009 acting reality series The Callback.
Prior to joining Mun2, he produced a series of music- and brand-oriented projects for such companies as Warner Bros., Universal, and Nike. His producing credits include music videos for Sony, Geffen, Univision, Universal, and Warner Bros. Projects include Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio, Marco Antonio Solis, and Blink 182. Velez also was MTV senior analyst for West Coast development and new series programming, handling business-management duties for pilots of shows such as Jackass and Sifl and Ollie and reporting for such series as The Blame Game and Biorhythm. He has served as program manager for the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles, and he has participated and lectured in digital film symposiums for film festivals including those in Spain, Mexico, and Venezuela. He was recently elected to the board of directors of the International Documentary Association.
Kathryn F. Galan (Moderator)
Kathryn F. Galan has been an independent producer (French Kiss, Squanto, Daybreak), new-media consultant, and studio executive. She was head of production for Atlantic Entertainment Group and a production vp at Walt Disney Studio's Hollywood Pictures, then ran Meg Ryan's Prufrock Pictures and her own consultancy firm, EKR Strategies. In addition, she arranged for more than $60 million in international co-financing. She is a graduate of Amherst College and did initial media studies in video art at SUNY Buffalo, then M.A. studies in film history and criticism at UCLA, specializing in world cinema.
She has been the executive director of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers for six years, establishing it as the pre-eminent national Latino media organization by taking it from an NCLR special project with a steering committee to an autonomous and substantial advocacy and professional development organization. She has overseen the growth of its membership fivefold, plus created and programmed six respected national signature programs.
She has been responsible for the organization's staffing and day-to-day management, millions in corporate and foundation fundraising, publicity strategies and branding, regional programs and chapter development, and design of the www.nalip.org website and eNewsletter Latinos in the Industry.