Panelists (from l) Peter Orphanos, Louis Lombardi, Kevin Ladson, and Joe Zolfo pose for a picture with Commissioner Katherine Oliver (center) at a panel on careers in entertainment held at the 2007 Staten Island Film Festival

July 1, 2007 - On Friday, June 22nd, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting presented “Careers in Entertainment Production: Paths to Opportunity,” a panel discussion in partnership with the Staten Island Film Festival, at the St. George Theatre. Industry insiders participated as panelists and spoke to both New Yorkers and festival attendees about their experiences working in New York City’s entertainment production industry.

The panel is part of an ongoing initiative to educate New Yorkers about the various jobs which exist behind the scenes in film, television and commercial production.

Panelists for the event included:

Kevin Ladson, Prop Master (I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, “30 ROCK”, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND)

Joe Zolfo, Producer/Production Manager (I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, THE GIRL IN THE PARK, THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY, “NEW AMSTERDAM” )

Peter Orphanos, Producer (DOUGHBOYS)

Louis Lombardi, Actor/Writer/Producer/Director (“24”, “THE SOPRANOS”, DOUGHBOYS)

The panel was part of the 5 day-long Staten Island Film Festival (June 20 – 24). Conceived by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC), the Staten Island Film Festival (SIFF) held its first 4-day festival in 2006. The SIFF was founded to help foster an artistic atmosphere on Staten Island and in turn draw visitors from New York’s other four boroughs and New Jersey. Festival-goers would be introduced to what Staten Island has to offer.

SIFF succeeded in its first year by introducing independent and international films to a broad and diverse audience; it endeavors to develop and expand for many years to come. As the festival grows, so does the community that supports it, in the form of sponsors, partners, staff, board members, volunteers and attendees.

Panelist Louis Lombardi, best known for his role as Edgar Stiles on the Emmy Award winning “24”, debuted a film at the festival that he wrote, directed, produced, edited and stars in, Dough Boys. Dough Boys is a drama that serves up the story of Lou and Frank, two Bronx brothers running the family bakery. Faced with Lou’s gambling problem the shop is about to be taken from them by the neighborhood gangster, in which his brother has no idea. Dough Boys shot on location in the Bronx during the summer of 2006.

During the panel, Lombardi advised that for young people interested in starting off in the business, they should try an outside of the box approach. Lombardi decided “when [I] was 13 or 14 that, instead of taking acting classes, I would get gigs in student films for NYU students. I got a chance to see how everything works on set, from directing and producing to acting.”

Ladson took a different approach. Always having a love for cinema, Ladson looked for open opportunities wherever available. When loading and unloading for the show, "Pee Wee’s Playhouse", Ladson told production managers that he was willing to work for free in exchange for an opportunity in the business. “I remember one of my first days there,” recalled Ladson. “I saw some of the show and I thought aloud in the elevator, ‘Man this guy really stinks.’ Little did I know Paul Reubens was in the elevator.” Ladson got a chance to work with Reubens again in an episode of television’s "30 Rock" this year. “I reminded him of that story,” explained Ladson. “We all had a good laugh.”

Zolfo, a producer/production manager with close to 16 years of experience in New York’s entertainment production community, spoke about his past experiences in the field. He gave advice on how young people can best determine what role they want to have in the industry. “If you know you want to work in the business, but you don’t know exactly where,” explained Zolfo, “become a PA. Look at what everyone else is doing. Figure out what you think the coolest thing people are doing on set is, and make that your goal.”

Peter Orphanos focused less on traditional jobs in entertainment, and more on opportunities in the digital entertainment production community. Orphanos, who created his own new media production company, Orphmedia LLC, recognized the relative ease with which one can make a film compared to 15 years ago. “You can have an office with a computer, a video camera and not much else,” explained Orphanos, “and create a film with all of the editing software out there.” Orphanos is a co-producer with Lomardi on Dough Boys.

“Our local entertainment production industry employs 100,000 New Yorkers and contributes $5 billion to our economy on an annual basis,” said Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. “As we attract new production business to the City and create new jobs through the ‘Made in NY’ incentive program, we are working to ensure that a diverse group of New Yorkers has access to these positions, through programs such as this panel, and our Production Assistant Training Program - a series of free, full-time, month-long training programs developed with Brooklyn Workforce Innovations. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/film." 

 
Lombardi and Orphanos speak about their Bronx-shot production, Dough Boys and finding success in New York City.