Ashton Kutcher stars in The Guardian!

It's time for another major feature film release starring an IMTA alum! Ashton Kutcher's film The Guardian opens today nationwide! It looks like one of Ashton's best movies yet! He plays a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and learns the true meaning of heroism and sacrifice!

Ashton Kutcher competed at IMTA in 1997 and received so many callbacks that he won the honor of MOST SOUGHT AFTER MALE MODEL. Ashton didn't even go home to Iowa! He signed with a modeling agency and was strutting his stuff on the catwalks for men's fashion week three days after the IMTA Convention ended! On Award's night after receiving his award, Ashton was very honored and gracious and gave us a fantastic interview. "If you're a model, actor, singer or dancer, IMTA is the place to be! I'm on top of my world right now!" he said. And that was just the beginning. Ashton's great looks and personality made him a natural to crossover into acting and he auditioned for That 70's Show (which was called Teenage Wasteland at first!). He played the role of Kelso for eight seasons on the hit Fox series. He also starred in several hit feature films and has become an A-list Hollywood actor as well as a successful producer of hit tv shows!

Be sure and check out Ashton's new movie this weekend! The Guardian opens today!

Jessica White models for Target Ad!

Jessica White is featured in the latest issue of Vibe magazine in an advertisement for Target. Jessica began her modeling career in 1999 when she competed at IMTA and signed with a top modeling agency. She modeled for Gap, Chloe, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren's Polo, Covergirl and was featured in three Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (2003, 2004 & 2005 magazine and dvd) in addition to being a favorite model for editorial and runway. Her stunning looks and likeable personality make her an industry favorite!

Chelsea Johnson on her way to Barcelona!

Chelsea Johnson is on her way to Barcelona, Spain and on her way to the top of the international modeling scene! Chelsea competed at IMTA and signed with Fleming Models Spain. She will be there for two months. Chelsea has shot for The Bon Marche’ and Macy’s Catalogs.

Eva Longoria in Desperate Housewives Season Premiere!

IMTA alum Eva Longoria's hit show Desperate Housewives premieres tonight on ABC! This is the third season for the wildly popular show. Eva plays Gabrielle Solis in the emmy award-winning show.

This is from Eva's official bio on ABC's website:

"The youngest of four sisters who grew up on a ranch in Corpus Christi, Texas, Longoria attended Texas A&M-Kingsville, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. After graduating from college, she entered a talent contest that brought her to Los Angeles, where she was spotted and subsequently signed by a theatrical agent. After landing roles on The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital and co-starring on Beverly Hills, 90210, she auditioned for and won the role of Isabella on the popular series, The Young and the Restless. "

"I was in [beauty] pageants and I did a lot of music videos and things in Texas. [I did] a lot of modeling, a lot of print [modeling]. So, I've always been in front of a camera. When I came to L.A. with IMTA, which is the [International] Modeling and Talent Association, they do [a talent] search and that is how I found my agent. The first day they signed me I had four auditions. It was pretty fast and the fact that I've done this in three years [seems] fast," Eva said in an interview with Touchstone Television and CBS.com.
At the world-famous International Modeling and Talent Association Convention the best new faces in acting and modeling compete for, learn from and perform for the industry's best agents, managers and casting directors. Eva competed at IMTA in 1998 and she received 38 callbacks. She signed with Debra-Lynn Findon of Discovery Management.

Tune in as Eva plays Gabrielle tonight in the start of the third season!

Wayne Lopez on Grey's Anatomy and Subway Commercial!

Look for Wayne Lopez tonight on the series premiere of Grey's Anatomy on ABC! You may have also seen Wayne in Subway commercial with Joe Torre and Willie Randolf. The commercial is running in the Northeast market but you can see it here on Youtube!
Wayne wrote a great message about the project:

"To all you NY fans, Joe and Willie were great to work with. This is by far one of the most enjoyable projects in my career. I'm sure my Dad would have told them his ideal line up for both teams.

Thanks for watching,

Wayne Lopez"

Wayne is an excellent actor who won Talent of the Year when he competed at IMTA. He gave us an interview after he became a working actor and said,"The IMTA experience opened a lot of doors, I can't even say doors, doors are too small...avenues!"

Joesph Castanon and Mackenzie Hannigan in primetime series premiere!

The premiere of one of the most talked-about new shows airs tonight on CBS. The series opener for Jericho is a Fall television must-see event! Watch for IMTA alumni Joseph Castanon and Mackenzie Hannigan co-starring as part of the talented ensemble cast. Jericho is about a small town's reaction to nuclear war. As Marty Weiss of Martin Weiss Management (who manages both actors) says, "Bring the tissues and prepare to become hooked! Joseph who witnesses the nuclear blast from his rooftop and Mackenzie who brings series star Skeet Ulrich to his crashed school bus are sensational and heartbreaking in their individual roles."

Joseph competed at IMTA in 2004 where he met and signed with Martin Weiss Management and Abrams Artists Agency. Joseph has had numerous guest-starring roles and was submitted for emmy consideration for his work in Ghost Whisperer. Joseph played Adam Sandler's son in the hit film Click which came out this summer.

Mackenzie competed at IMTA in 2002 where he met and signed with Martin Weiss Management. He quickly landed the role of the Smart & Final spokeskid! He won a Young Artists Award for his performance! He has also guest-starred on many series! You'll hear Mackenzie as a voice talent in the animated feature film Happy Feet, which stars another IMTA alum, Elijah Wood!

Be sure and watch both of these amazing actors in Jericho on CBS tonight!

Tyson Ballou Models for Macy's

International model Tyson Ballou is in the Macy's Fall 2006 Red Envelope magazine campaign! This special national advertising campaign features other top models including Alek Wek and Trish Goff. Tyson fits in perfectly, looking especially hot in a layout for International Concepts.

Since competing at IMTA in 1996 (when he was 15) and signing with modeling agencies around the world, Tyson has modeled for all the top designers. He's appeared in the campaigns and on the runways for Jil Sander, DKNY, Hugo Boss, Byblos, Moschino, Armani, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis and BCBG. He's one of the hottest models in the industry!

Watch for Katie Holmes as the WB signs off

This afternoon, starting at 5pm, the pilots of Felicity, Dawson's Creek, Buffy and Angel will air as the WB signs off forever. The network is saluting its signature series. In 1998, Katie returned to IMTA to be a presenter on Award's night. She was gracious, sweet, beautiful AND best of all, she brought with her a ten-minute sneak preview of the original pilot of her upcoming fall series Dawson's Creek.* The ballroom went completely quiet as the audience was riveted by the editing, the gorgeous actors and the intriguing storylines. Katie was all smiles as she heard the applause from the crowd. The phenomenon that would be Dawson's Creek was about to begin!

In 1993 and 1995, Katie Holmes competed at IMTA. She won Junior Talent of the Year in 1995 and met the managers who started her career. Her talent, charm, natural sweetness and hard work have brought her to the A-list and the rest is Hollywood history!

*The famous opening scenes of the show in the original pilot were set to Alanis Morissette's One Hand in My Pocket before being replaced with Paula Cole's I Don't Want to Wait."

Agnes Bruckner in Haven!

The feature film Haven opens today in select cities this weekend and in twenty-one more cities next weekend! It stars Orlando Bloom and IMTA alum Agnes Bruckner. Haven was shot entirely on location in the Cayman Islands and was written, directed, and filmed by a native Caymanian Frank E. Flowers.

Agnes competed at IMTA in 1995 and won Child Model of the Year. Since then, she starred on The Bold and the Beautiful for two seasons, as well as on the hit series 24. She's in the feature films Murder by Numbers, The Glass House and Blue Car, for which she won numerous awards and critical acclaim!

Jerry Ferrara on HBO's Entourage!

Jerry Ferrara is starring as Turtle in the hit HBO Series Entourage! They are currently filming the fourth season! Jerry competed at IMTA in 2000 where he met a talent manager who encouraged him to move to L.A. Jerry got guest-spots on King of Queens, NYPD Blue and many other television shows and films before he got the career-making role of Turtle, the house manager who is always up for a good time on Entourage! Many celebrities are doing guest-spots on the series because it is such a hot show among the latest are Malcom McDowell, Leonard Nimo, Beverly D'Angelo and Seth Green.

Watch for more of Jerry this Fall on HBO!

Melody Woodin model for Women Management NY

Melody Woodin is a model for the very well-regarded international modeling agency Women Management (New York, Paris and Milan). Melody competed at IMTA in 2004 and won Model of the Year! Her versatile good looks and confident style make her a face to watch!

Ashton Kutcher on David Lettermen!

Watch CBS tonight to see Ashton Kutcher in his third appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman! He is starting a publicity blitz for his feature film, The Guardian, which opens Friday!

Ashton competed at the legendary New York, New York 1997 IMTA Convention which had an impressive roster of superstars!
Ashton Kutcher won Most Sought After Male Model, Josh Duhamel of NBC's Las Vegas won Male Model of the Year and Riley Smith won Junior Male Model of the Year! There was a television crew shooting a documentary for Model TV and it has great footage of all of them competing, interviewing at callbacks with agents and winning awards on awards night!

Eva Longoria on the cover of Entertainment Weekly!

The cover story on this week's Entertainment Weekly is about the upcoming third season of Desperate Housewives and they put Eva on the cover! Eva looks amazing! Eva competed in 1998 at the Los Angeles IMTA Convention. After receiving 38 callbacks, she decided to give acting a shot and look at her now! She signed with a manager she met at IMTA and shortly thereafter moved to L.A. After guest-spots on 90210 and General Hospital, she was cast as a series regular on The Young and the Restless. In 2004, she originated the role of Gabrielle Solis on the smash hit Desperate Housewives!

One of our best memories of Eva from her IMTA week is how she was so supportive and encouraging of her fellow IMTA competitors. She cheered and clapped for the others, applauding their success too! Eva is a talented actress who is gorgeous AND genuinely nice! Best wishes from IMTA for a great Season 3!

Americus Abesamis Teen Choice Awards!

Americus Abesamis, an IMTA alumni, appeared on the Teen Choice Awards 2006 as a pirate in the opening scene. Above is a pic from Star Magazine! Americus is on the far right next to Dane Cook. Americus competed at IMTA in 1999 and 2000. He is repped by Origin Talent for commercials, Chateau-Billings for Film/TV and managed by TalentInk LA/NY.

Americus played a pirate in the cast of the hit summer film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest! He was the Native Throne Guard next to Capt. Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp). There was also a special movie clip after the movie featuring Americus.

Katie Holmes on the cover of Vanity Fair with her baby!

Katie Holmes appears on the cover of Vanity Fair giving the first glimpse of her beautiful baby! Katie Couric gave the exclusive first look at the magazine with a feature story during her historic debut show as the first female face of network news on CBS' Evening News. Now the whole world gets to see the baby everyone has been talking about as the issue hits newstands today!

Katie competed at IMTA in 1993 and 1995. She met her first manager Al Onorato during an IMTA workshop. She went up to do her monologue (an excerpt from To Kill a Mockingbird) and Al gave her a suggestion. She started again and he was amazed at how well she could take direction and vary her subtle delivery. He kept an eye on her throughout her competitions and even arranged for her to shoot a screen test for a pilot during the IMTA week. In fact, her first screen test was shot by David Cardwell (DNA CREATIVE SERVICES) of the IMTA Video Crew! Katie was cast as Joey Potter in the beloved WB series Dawson's Creek. She is also an accomplished feature film actress starring in many critically acclaimed films and box office hits.

After Katie found fame on Dawson's Creek, she took the time to write IMTA a thank-you letter. She wrote, "On July 23, 1995 my life changed. This particular Sunday, evening, I found myself in the New York Hilton for the International Modeling and Talent Association convention. I was sitting in one of the ballrooms reciting a monologue in front of about 50 other contestants, as well as Al Onorato, David Guillod and Bobby Moresco, the men who were conducting this seminar on "Prepare to Compete". After I had finished, Al and Bobby offered some direction and had me alter it a little. I used my nervous anxiety to help me become more intense and, following my second performance, I felt elated. It was clear to me that something very special occurred in that ballroom that evening.

About six months later, If found myself in the Los Angeles office of Al Onorato, rehearsing an audition piece for the Ang Lee, film The Ice Storm. David, Al and Bobby had become my business managers following that memorable convention and encouraged me to audition in Los Angeles during the 6-week pilot season. Instead of viewing Hollywood on my T.V., I was there. Being in that untouchable world, experiencing the life of a beginning actress, was surreal. Suddenly this strange path of life seemed so normal. I love it."

To read the entire letter Katie sent, please visit an archived page from 1998! Katie is not only one of Hollywood's most beautiful and talented stars, but also one of the sweetest! It is great to see her glowing with happiness as she enjoys motherhood!

Agnes Bruckner in trailer for Haven!

The trailer for Agnes Bruckner's new film Haven is in theatres now! The cast includes Orlando Bloom and Bill Paxton. Agnes plays Pippa Ridley in the drama shot entirely on location in Grand Cayman. Written and directed by native Caymanian Frank E. Flowers, it's an edgy, suspenseful, gripping film set in an idyllic tropical paradise. It premieres in select theatres September 15th.

Agnes got her break when she competed at an IMTA Convention in the mid-nineties. Since then, she has had a varied and profuse career. She joined the The Bold and The Beautiful cast as Bridget Forrester in 1998. Among her many television and film roles, she delivered a powerful performance in the movie, Murder by Numbers, with Sandra Bullock. Her film, Blue Car was critically acclaimed.

Chuti Tiu premieres in Desire!

Desire premieres September 5th on MynetworkTV! The hour long drama produced by Fox will air nightly, Monday thru Friday. Find Desire on your local station here! Chuti plays Detective Rachel Lin in the exciting mini-series.

Chuti competed at IMTA in the nineties and won Talent of the Year!

Lauren Storm shooting feature film now!

Lauren Storm is on location in Utah shooting the feature film Together Again for the First Time now with Julia Duffy and Joseph Lawrence! It's a comedy/drama about a family gathering at Christmas. Lauren plays the lead role of Taylor in Flight 29 Down on Discovery Kids network.

Lauren Storm, who plays Taylor, competed at the New York 1999 IMTA Convention. Lauren describes her IMTA experience, saying, “I ended up getting a lot of response from theatrical agencies and was asked to relocate to LA for pilot season. I tried it out for 6 months and got my first job, so I stayed a little longer and booked again.” That was seven years ago, and she’s been working steadily ever since.