Hello 2009!

The Are U a Star team wishes all our friends, family and fans a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Even though we are closed for the holidays, we've been watching some auditions from our Arizona Casting Director on Maneater. Faith Hibbs-Clark from Good Faith Casting (clever name) has been busy at work putting people on tape. She's finding some good people down there to fill some of the many roles we are casting locally in the Phoenix area.

I look forward to a great and busy 2009 for Are U a Star and Billik/Wood Casting.

Actor of the Year: I have to go with Sean Penn for his terrific performance in "Milk". I really thought that he completely inhabited the character. Let's see how he does on Oscar night!

Actress of the Year: Cate Blanchett. Always radiant.

Casting until the last possible minute.....

As the agencies were closing all around us today, we were busy trying to get actors approved at the network and get offers out before the holidays. By about 1pm today, most of the agencies had closed their doors for 2008 and the only way to get a hold of them would be via cel phones. We are still open and seeing actors for "Maneater" early next week, but then we too will be shutting down for the holidays and re-opening on January 5th.

We've got the shooting schedule for "Maneater" and it looks like the actors will be heading to Arizona for rehearsal during the week of January 26th with a start date of February 2nd in the Phoenix area. I'm not sure how they are going to get Phoenix to look like Beverly Hills, but I am happy that I am not in charge of locations or set dressing!

On the Kent State front, we've got strong interest from Richard Dreyfuss in playing one of the main roles, so along with Brittany Snow, that film is shaping up to have an excellent cast!

I've been reading lots of actors this past week or so, and have met some fun and talented new people. "Pre-reads" as they are called are always fun, as we get to meet actors that we haven't seen before and hopefully discover a fresh face. I tend to find that the ratio of "callbacks" from pre-reads is small - probably one in every 15 or 20 actors may get a callback, but oftentimes the actor may not be right for the role he or she is reading for, but I will remember them for future projects. So, it's a worthwhile use of time.

Here's best holiday wishes to all from the AreUaStar.com team. Hope all your auditions go well and your dreams come true in 2009. Don't forget to check in with the AreUaStar.com site frequently, as we'll be adding new videos in the beginning of the year.

Actor of the week: Constance Zimmer. You may recognize her from her great turn on "Entourage" where she has a re-curring role as the newly appointed studio head who owes Ari a favor. One of my offices favorite actresses, we love her raspy voice and we love her energy.

Holiday Season at AreUaStar.com

Well, the holidays are upon us.... I find it very amusing that in Hollywood, Christmas vacation fever starts at the beginning of December. It's almost as though the whole town starts shutting down and people are unable to focus on getting things done. We, however, have a lot to accomplish before we shut down for the holiday. We've started have casting sessions for "Maneater" and are making offers on some of the roles. I'll have more to report once we've set some people.

Sarah Chalke has been in some of the auditions to read with the actors and she is fantastic! Not only is she a wonderful, real and funny actress - but she's a lovely person as well. I am enjoying working with the creative team which includes Director Timothy Busfield (who most people know as an actor from "Thirtysomething" and "West Wing"); writer Suzanne Martin (who was on "Frasier" for many years); Gigi Levangie Grazer (who wrote "The Starter Wife" book) and executive producer Stephanie Davis.

Looking forward to seeing the "Star-ving" webseries on Crackle.com. It begins in January. And the AreUaStar site is getting into the holiday spirit with a special on Gold Star packages. If you've been wondering if you have what it takes to make it in Hollywood, now is the time to find out! Gift certificates are available, too....

Check back next time and hopefully we'll be able to announce some of the star names who we've cast in "Maneater".

Sundance, here we come....

It's been an exciting and busy time since I last reported. We are full steam ahead on "Maneater" - the 4 hour miniseries for Lifetime. Sony is the producing studio, Sarah Chalke ("Scrubs") is set as the lead role Clarissa and Tim Busfield is directing. This will shoot in Arizona starting in early February. We are making offers on a number of the roles and casting many others. A number of the smaller roles will be cast in the Phoenix area.

We got great news that the short film that I cast and Executive Produced, "Boutonniere" will be premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. This is a great little film that I've talked about before starring Wendi McClendon-Covey ("Reno 911"), newcomer Sarah Swain and Zach Quinto ("Heroes"). I've never gone to Sundance before, so I'm looking forward to it.

Additionally, we heard that the film we cast earlier in the year, "Pedro" is an official selection at the Berlin Film Festival. I won't be going to that festival, but a number of the cast members are attending.

In the meantime, AreUaStar.com continues to generate lots of hits and many people are giving the gift of an AreUaStar evaluation for a holiday present. It's a very unique gift for that special person in your family or friend who dreams of stardom. Gift certificates are available now!