Audition Strategies: an Actor’s Workshop from a Producer’s Perspective”, workshop held February 6 in New York, focuses on the philosophy that an actors presentational technique during the audition process is just as, if not more, important as their acting skills. Actors will go through each step of the audition process and learn fast, simple and effective ways to build a portfolio, confidence, and the chance to get the part. The art of independent film and mountain culture are at the core of the Mountain Film Festival taking place in Mammoth Lakes through February 26. This festival accepts films of all genres and especially encourages films with an emphasis on mountain culture, action sports, and environmental issues. On February 8, and in fact every Monday night, long-running showbiz duo Billy Shepard and Judi Jourdan host the Gotta Sing! Search for A Star Open Mic! in Manhattan’s Hells Kitchen Theatre District, just around the corner from the David Letterman show. Participants in the show are also considered for an appearance on the couple’s cable TV program, “How to Succeed in Show Business by Really Trying”, shown on Time Warner Cable every Tuesday. From February 8-9, documentary producers and filmmakers from the East Midlands and beyond are invited to take part in a documentary pitching and marketplace held in Nottingham, offering complete preparation for getting a factual project funded internationally, including at Doc/Fests Marketplace 2010 as well as other international markets. A Film Finance Summit in Santa Monica will cover the primary sources of financing content in the credit crunch for television and film — debt, equity, presales and soft money. An evening workshop led by entertainment attorney David Steinberg is on February 8 of the conference which runs through February 10.

At the Paley Center in Beverly Hills, BMI’s VP of New Media and Strategic Development, Richard Conlon, moderates a February 10 roundtable discussion, Content and Cash, examining content verticals: music, film, TV, games, cross-platform deal making and development, and leading into a two hour post-event reception featuring live performing talent. At the “Almost Famous Film Festival,” registered teams attend a pre-challenge party with food, drinks, social mixer, on February 12, where they will receive a theme, A Line of Dialogue and a Prop, and then have exactly 48 hours to write a script, find locations, gather their actors and actresses, shoot and edit their 1-5 minute film, and then turn it in before the 48 hour deadline. The Sixth Annual Orlando Latin American Film & Heritage Festival is a curated film and cultural celebration of award-winning films and documentaries, in addition to meet the film maker events, hands-on educational sessions and exhibits with artists, inspiring poetry and performances by musicians and dancers, all happening February 12-14 in Orlando. This year’s Berlinale Talent Campus, a summit for up-and-coming filmmakers taking place February 13-18 in Berlin, has a stated theme of “Cinema Needs Talent: Looking for the Right People.” Every year a selection of Berlinale Talent Campus events are recorded and uploaded and archived to the Talent Campus website. Attendants at this year’s 2010 Hollywood Post Alliance Tech Retreat, in Rancho Mirage, from February 16-19, can explore display technologies, video consumer marketplace, rights management, audio, games, psychophysics, digital projection technology, asset management, and other resources suited to businesses and individuals that provide expertise, support, tools and infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content. The Folk Alliance Music Conference is an annual event that draws together music industry professionals from throughout the world to share ideas, network, and celebrate traditional music and dance. It all occurs February 17-21 in Memphis along with special events, such as the Folk Music & Business Awards, Lifetime Achievement Awards, networking receptions, official Performance Alley and private showcase performances, and much more.

The Urban Individualists, an artists collective curated by Helene Ruiz, hosts a February 19 reception in Pompano Beach to open the exhibition “Rhythm and Color”, a multimedia exhibition of works influenced, in their conception, by the rhythms found in music, the natural world, the built environment, and in human interactions. Live poetry/spoken word, special live performances, and refreshments are incorporated into the evenings celebration, which is free and open to the public. Non-profit educational organization, Country Radio Broadcasters, presents this year’s CRS 2010: Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, February 24-26. This year’s 2010 Durango Songwriter’s Expo / Santa Barbara Wine Country, combines and blends song writing and music business with wine culture, and as is the custom for Durango Songwriter’s Expo, registration will be limited to just 200 attendees. The 41st NAACP Image Awards will be February 26 in Los Angeles, and will be carried live by the Fox Network, but will be preceded by scheduled events in the days before the main evening’s ceremonies, like the 41st NAACP Image Awards’ Celebrity Golf Challenge on February 25. A newly added feature to this year’s Australian International Documentary Conference, February 26 in Adelaide, is the Trailer Park Pitch as an extension to the recently launched online market Trailer Park, permitting AIDC delegates to submit a trailer for their documentary project for a chance to have it remade with high-quality footage from Thought Equity Motions library, which matches selected documentary makers project ideas with national and international executive producers, broadcasters and distributors attending AIDC 2010. Washington Area Music Awards host the 24th Annual WAMMIES, February 28 in Falls Church, to celebrate career achievements by D.C. area musicians, concert promoters, lawyers, recording engineers, managers, graphic artists, and related businesses. After the official ceremonies and receptions, the after party follows at Bangkok Blues in Falls Church.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Daily Motion, as well as on The Actor’s Checklist podcast blog. Follow the posting of the news summary on Twitter. This month on the video news summary you will again see a dynamic array of artists in performance of film, music and documentary. These videos are now available on the Free Home Video Showcase which now serves as an archive for all past video presentations but without the audio news narration. Google Friends is available on The Actor’s Checklist allowing you to sign in with your Google ID and enjoy an interactive and social networking experience with other visitors to the site.The Actor’s Checklist is proud announce the return of the Digital Media & Podcast Blog to view and/or download to your iPhone the ten or five minute video or audio podcast presentation.

Golf….You’re thinking Tiger Woods, groomed courses and televised tournaments, the swing of the club, the sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup and the sweet smell of freshly mowed greens. However, economists think of something different- they think of 62 billion dollars!

This figure was calculated by GOLF 20/20, a project focusing on the golf-industry and its growth and run by the World Golf Foundation.

Sixty-two billion dollars is not how much it costs these economists to play golf, but is instead the figure representing the total worth of the golf industry (as of 2000). This staggering figure sums up golf facility operations, investments in courses, supplies, media, tournaments and charities as well as hospitality, tourism and real estate.

GOLF 20/20 was conducted by an independent research SRI International and was presented by Peter Ryan at the annual GOLF 20/20 conference, appropriately held in St. Augustine, Florida. The World Golf Foundation sponsors GOLF 20/20 in order to help grow the sport, and 2002 marked the first release of an estimate of the overall value of the industry. This estimate will help predict the growth of the game in years to come.

So far, past estimates have been overtaken by actual growth. In the past fifteen years the golf industry has grown so rapidly that it outran inflation and blew away estimates made in the 1980s. According to this growth, it is estimated that the industry will hold 55 million participants by 2020. Compared to other industries such as sound recording and the amusement, gambling and recreation industry, the golf industry is around $10 billion ahead.

A large amount of the golf industry depending on charitable golf tournaments, of which there were over 140,000 each year in the United States as of 2002. In total, around 15 million golfers participated in these events in 2002 grossing over $2.9 million for charity. Professional golf tournaments alone generate between $75 and $100 million, leading to an estimated total of $3,225,000,000, not including contributions made by corporations within the golf industry.

The 2002 Golf economy report (also generated by GOLF 20/20) suggests about 36 million people participated in the golf industry in that year and over 15,000 regulation courses exist for these millions of participants.

Within the golf industry, two different industries are cited by the 2002 study. First are the “core” industries of golf courses, golf wear, golf equipment, and anything else directly created for the sole use of the golf industry. The second industry includes media while real estate, tourism and travel, making up the “enabled” industry relying on golf for a large amount of business.

The core industries within golf generate the bulk of its value at $38.8 billion, while the enabled industries generate the remaining $23.4 billion.

In 2002 the total expense of golf supplies, equipment, apparel and books or magazine ended at $6 billion with the apparel market alone generation $1 billion. This marks an 11 percent growth in the golf apparel market since 1984.

Major golf tournaments grosses $871 million in 2000, as generated by fees, broadcast rights costs, corporate sponsors and spectator tickets and merchandise sales. Individual golfer endorsement earnings together were worth $225 million, also contributing greatly to the golf economy.
Finally, the real estate industry has generated $264 billion in new home construction on golf courses. The 1.5 million homes constructed in 2002 to make this total increase in value due to their location on or near a golf course.

All in all, the golf industry provides much more than an enjoyable game. This industry significantly contributes to the world economy through direct and indirect means and provides for wonderful entertainment to millions. GOLF 20/20 will continue to track the golf industry and look forward to rapid growth in the coming future.

Recent trends in public interest towards sports has catalyzed new career opportunities in the sports industry, and this trend will also predictably grow. This trend can be thought of as a sign of our times. Families, teams, and individuals are on the move with different motives: some are in for the competition; others seek interaction with like-minded travelers, while others are lured as spectators. This trend may be due to the proliferation of sport supplies in the market which has helped greatly in sports development, and it has brought about the demand for a new team of professionals that will cater solely to the needs both of sports as an industry and as a novel area of tourism.

Tourism-wise, the sports industry have opened an opportunity for hospitality practitioners that are adept with the latest trends in sports that will be of interest to travelers. While practicing their profession as hospitality managers, these professionals suddenly found it that their being abreast with the latest in sports trends have put them in a position that enables them to better interact with their sports-minded clientele.

On the other hand, as an adjunct to the professional training of athletes, the need for professional writers of sporting books have also emerged. These writers of sporting books must be highly knowledgeable in a sense that they should not only have the skills expected of a writer but they should also possess a comprehensive command of their subject, thereby ensuring that they can can serve the industry better.

The sprouts industry also opened a door for technology experts who can engineer the production of sport supplies that will meet not only the physical need of an athlete but will also consider other aspects of a particular sport in a holistic manner. For instance, ergonomic engineers are highly in demand for the design of athletic support systems that will ensure the overall functionality of sports paraphernalia before its final production. Without the expertise of these professionals, the quality of sports supplies will suffer, and as a whole, it may also affect the quality of an athlete’s experience. Such a scenario may demoralize professional athletes and will be detrimental to the sports industry. The same is also true with amateur athletes.

The industry is also being pushed to a steady rate of growth by multimedia practitioners. Before the advent of multimedia technologies, training of athletes and sports amateurs depended solely on face to face sessions with a trainer or instructor, and also on the best sports books that can be had. Thanks to technology, even a minimal session with an instructor or trainer will suffice for an athlete or a sport amateur. The presence of videos makes up for time that an instructor or trainer is not around.