Tamara Krinsky

April 2012: Marvel's THE AVENGERS Red Carpet premiere show

Robert Downey Jr.
Chris Evans.
Scarlett Johansson.
Mark Ruffalo.
Joss Whedon.
Chris Hemsworth.
Jeremy Renner.

And of course, Samuel L. Jackson.

There's really nothing I can say that will do justice to the amazing experience I had co-hosting Marvel Live's Red Carpet show for THE AVENGERS premiere on April 11th. You'll just have to watch it yourself :) And of course, go see the movie in theaters when it opens in the U.S. on May 4th.

 

February 2012: CES, NATPE, "Ylse" and "The Eternity"

I hit the ground running in 2012, with January travel to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and the NATPE Conference in Miami. While at CES, I spoke on a panel for the WGAW produced by the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) about "Best Practices in Web Production," and attended the inaugural IAWTV Awards. It was a great celebration of all things web TV, with tons of fantastic content creators in attendance.

Usually, I head to the snow and Sundance in the latter half of January, so it was a nice change to fly south to Miami for NATPE. I represented the WGA on the Advisory Board for the Digital Luminary Awards, which recognized excellence in the digital sphere. Additionally, I was a judge for "Big Screen, Little Screen," where we critiqued sizzle reels and pitches for four different original web series. Thanks to Digitas' Paul Kontonis who organized the event and invited me to take part (and also tasked me with incorporating "DAWG!" into as many comments as possible, a la Randy Jackson). Other judges included David Tochterman (Innovative Artists), Terence Gray (NY Television Festival) and Dan Weinstein (Collective Digital Studio).

And speaking of fantastic content creators, actress/writer/producer Ruth Livier threw a fundraiser for her award-winning web series Ylse in February to raise the dough to shoot a third season. The charming, lighthearted series is about a Latina talk show host with aspirations of attaining Oprah-style success. During the fundraising event, Ruth moderated a panel about successful web series, and I was thrilled to support her by speaking on it, along with Mark Gantt (The Bannen Way) and Barrett Garese (Blip.tv).

On the performing side, I closed out February by shooting the short film The Eternity, directed by Damian Pelliccione and written by Tasha Lowe-Newsome. In this comedic riff on the afterlife, recent arrivals to Heaven must go through sensitivity training to correct the bad habits they picked up while on Earth. I play a stern Angel who gets just a bit turned on by the intake process. For a li'l teaser of the piece, check out John Keitel's The Making of The Eternity below.

Next stop: Austin,Texas for the 2012 SXSW Film + Interactive Conference!

December 2011: Play Readings, Nazi Wives and Consumer Electronics

One of the things I love about my theater company (The Antaeus Co) is the exposure I get to classical plays that I've only read or heard about. There's something about hearing a play aloud that allows you to understand and appreciate it in ways that are very different than when just reading it solo. In November we did a staged reading of CP Taylor's Good, in which a liberal German professor becomes involved with the Third Reich. It's an interesting exploration of how an everyday, seemingly moral citizen can succumb to darker forces. I played several different roles, including a crotchety nun and a glamorous Nazi commander's wife. The reading was directed by Allan Miller, and featured performances from Armin Shimerman, Arye Gross, and Bo Foxworth, among others.

In December, we did a reading of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH. The play is full of time shifts and archetypes, and hearing it read by wonderful actors like project initiator Blythe Auffarth, Ramon De Ocampo, Kurtwood Smith, Anna Mathias, Wyatt Fenner and John Sloan brought the play to life in unexpected ways.

The Fall was also a busy time for digital conferences, and if you're curious about the role of and opportunites for storytellers in the digital world, you can read the article I wrote about CES in LA: Writing the Future, an event I produced for the Writers Guild of America, West in cooperation with the Consumer Electronics Association. In addition to a spirited discussion about connecting the Internet to your television and what convergence really means for those producing their own content, audience members were also treated to technology demos from Roku, Blockbuster and LG's Smart TV. Special thanks to the WGA member Jane Espenson (Game of Thrones, Caprica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) for taking the time to speak and provide the writer's perspective.

Looking ahead, upcoming 2012 adventures include heading to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, where I'll be speaking on a panel for the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) and then later in the month to Miami for NATPE.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful holiday season and a rockin' New Year filled with all the things you desire...plus a few happy surprises to keep it interesting...

September 2011: Social Media Week and the Emmys

Just hosted a great panel at the Writers Guild of America, West for the Los Angeles edition of the international event Social Media Week. THE SOCIAL ADVANTAGE: EMPOWERING WRITERS looked in detail at the opportunities available online for writers to get their work out into the word and to brand themselves to further career opportunities. Speakers included Julie Plec (Writer/Producer, The Vampire Diaries, Kyle XY), Natalie Cupps (VP, Digital Marketing & Sales, LACED Agency), Joseph Matsushima (Co-Founder, Denizen), Dan Weinstein (Partner, Collective Digital Studio), Bernie Su (Compulsions, BlackBox TV) and Justin Halpern (How To Be A Gentleman, S*&t My Dad Says). Love when my job as moderator is made easy by having such great speakers...their combo of humor and candor made for an insightful, entertaining night.

Other fun recent adventures included attending the Creative Arts Emmys and Performer Reception, where I got to meet nominee Cat Deeley, one of my hosting idols. She was both super-nice and super-tall (and not to mention, super-hot). We talked about how much she genuinely loves what she does, something that you sense when you watch SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Her energetic enthusiasm for her show is just one of the elements that makes her one of the best hosts on television.

If you missed the live red carpet show I hosted for Marvel at the CAPTAIN AMERICA premiere, never fear! They've cut together a great highlights reel, which I've embedded here. Special thanks to wonderful make up artist Christina Fineo for dollin' me up, and as always, to Upstairs Film producer Michael Toubassi and his crew.

 

Summer 2011: Captain America, Oedipus and California Docs

Ah, summertime...it's all about the beach, the ice cream and kickass summer movies. Like Marvel's CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. I'll be hosting Marvel.com's red carpet coverage of the Hollywood premiere on Tuesday, July 19th - tune in to www.marvel.com for all the fun.

I'm also spending time this summer working on the Antaeus Company's ClassicsFest, where I'll be appearing onstage as "Ismene" in THE LEGEND OF OEDIPUS, by Kenneth Cavander, directed  by Casey Stangl. After all, it's not a satisfying summer unless it includes a li'l Greek tragedy...

If you fancy something a little closer to home, check out my article for the Spring issue of DOCUMENTARY magazine about the web documentary series CALIFORNIA IS A PLACE, one of a growing number of short, online non-fiction series. Directed by Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari and viewed over 2.5 million times, the project looks at some of the more unusual aspects of life in the Golden State, including the Gentleman's Fight Club, a profile of a Mariachi and the abandoned pools of foreclosed houses that have been taken over by skateboarders.    

January 2011: CES, Sundance, Scientific American and George Stoney

2011 kicked off with a bang! In January I headed to the Consumer Electronics Show and then to Sundance. I got to play with all sorts of fun gizmos and gadgets at CES, including Google TV and Sony's 3D TV offerings. While I'm not ready to purchase either, it was a blast to sample the goods. 

Part of my adventures at Sundance included covering the festival for the Scientific American Guest blog. Science and art intersected at the festival in documentaries like Project Nim and The Interrupters, which I cover in this piece; and in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Prize, which recognizes a film "that focuses on science or technology as a theme or depicts a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a hero." This year's honor went to Mike Cahill's Another Earth. Click here to read about my conversation with the Sloan Foundation's Doron Weber and get the lowdown on the winning film.

My profile on legendary documentarian/professor/public access pioneer George Stoney appeared in the Winter issue of DOCUMENTARY Magazine. The spirited "very happy collaborator," as he likes to be known, was a joy to interview.

Next up: covering the Spirit Awards for IFC and a trip to Austin in March for SXSW!

 

 

 

The Bambino, NATPE, ALL MY CHILDREN and Docs & Vets

As you've probably suspected, my updates have been sparse due to the final months of pregnancy and the birth of our little girl, Hazel Juliet Price, on August 12, 2010. We're elated and exhausted, and I'm trying to take advantage of every moment I have with her right now (as well as every moment of sleep I can actually get!).

I had assumed once I got into the final months of pregnancy, all on-camera work would get the kibosh. But I actually ended up shooting an episode of ALL MY CHILDREN during my final weeks which called for a pregnant character! So much fun, and many thanks to casting director Bob Lambert who decided to go for the real thing with a pregnant mama instead of just using a non-preggo actress and giving her a pregnancy pad. 

June and July were also busy with writing and speaking engagements. I appeared on the "Digital Programming 101" panel at NATPE's LATVFest with a bunch of great peeps, including Beth Le Manach (DECA), Erin McPherson (Yahoo!), and David Burch (TubeMogul). The panel was moderated by David Bloom (Words and Deeds), who led a lively conversation about how to distribute and monetize your original online video content. To watch the panel, check out the Stickam player on the LATVFest site and click on the Monday, 7/12/2010 session on the Menu. 

What happens when documentary film and veterans combine? You get a cool program run by Brave New Foundation called "Operation In Their Boots," the kickoff to a unique fellowship during which the vets will produce and direct their own nonfiction films with guidance from the Foundation. You can read about it here in the piece I wrote for DOCUMENTARY MAGAZINE's Summer 2010 issue.

'Iron Man 2' Premiere: Cheadle and Downey and Paltrow, Oh My!

It's never a bad day when you get to chat with Don Cheadle, Sam Jackson and Robert Downey, Jr., three of the coolest actors around. Not to mention Scarlett Johannsen and Gwyneth Paltrow (man, that Gwyneth is a TALL one!). The Iron Man 2 premiere was a blast - a big thanks to producer Michael Toubassi of Upstairs Films and Marvel.com for having me back!

Red Carpets & Documentary Mag's Spring Features

It's been a fun week or two for Red Carpets. A week and a half ago I attended the Streamy Awards, where BACK ON TOPPS - the web series I'm in -  was nominated for multiple awards. This past Thursday I worked with the lovely Michael Toubassi of Upstairs Films covering the premiere of the independent comedy SEX TAX. The film stars John Livingston as an IRS auditor who ends up taking over a brothel during the course of an audit. Totally appropriate that they opened the film on April 15th! Got to chat it up with fun peeps like Ron Livingston, there to support his brother, and Garry Marshall.

Now you may have noticed a li'l change in my physical appearance in the Streamy's pic...

Yep, that's right, it's a Bump! Me and the Husband are expecting our first in August. It's actually been a craaaazy couple of months due to emergency surgery in March for my appendix. Surgery is never fun, surgery while pregnant is completely trippy. Plus, I've never spent a night in the hospital before, much less been under general anesthesia. But luckily me & the kid-let are now both doing fine, and you can read all about the details of my hospital adventure on ScienceLush.com.

While the appendix incident cut down on creative adventures for a bit, luckily it didn't keep me from typing, so a few new fun things to read. I got to dive into how festivals are adapting for the web while researching and writing Festbook Pages: When Film Festivals Meet Web 2.0 for the Spring 2010 issue of Documentary Magazine. Also got to write about a cool transmedia project called High Rise that the National Film Board of Canada is doing. The latest offering from their Filmmaker-in-Residence program, the multi-year project uses a variety of traditional and new media outlets to look at the human experience of urban living. And as y'all know, I'm a web junkie, so for a round up of some recent cool doc projects streaming online, check out the latest installment of Non-Fiction 'Net on IDA's News on the Doc blog.

Sundance, Science, Spirits & Oscars

As I suspected, Sundance 2010 was a fantastic fest for docs! While it's always a strong program, this year the non-fiction offerings were unusually spectacular. Some of my faves included CATFISH, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and 12TH & DELAWARE. And of course, it was a blast connecting with friends old and new at events and parties. For all the  dirty details, check out my daily postings from the fest on the IDA's NEWS ON THE DOC blog.

Just prior to Sundance, I spent the weekend in North Carolina at Science Online 2010, an event which explored all things related to science and the web. Met some amazing people, learned some amazing things. For an overview of the event and my panel, Science & Entertainment, you can read my post on ScienceLush.com. I'll continue to post observations from the Conference thoughout the next several weeks. 

My next adventure: getting ready to cover the Oscars. I'm checking out the nominees I haven't seen yet (finally made it to AVATAR), and making my list of favorites. Much as I admire the scope and vision of the storytelling in AVATAR, I gotta admit, I'd love to see Bigelow take home the statue for "Best Director" for THE HURT LOCKER. Gotta support the ladies!! Plus, it's an incredible movie.  But no matter who wins, I'll have a good time...there's nothing like puttin' on a purty dress and going to the ball :)

Oh - one last thing - the IFC special on the 2010 Spirit Awards that I co-produced is now running on IFC throughout the month. The special celebrates the 25th anniversary fo the Awards with interviews from past winners such as Jason Reitman, Marc Forster and Laura San Giacomo, and current nominees including Jeff Bridges and Scott Cooper. You can find the schedule here.