Press Releases

It is not difficult to see that IMTA alum Sunny Suljic’s acting career is taking off. The young actor is receiving kudos for his role starring opposite Hollywood heavyweights Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell in the critically acclaimed The Killing of a Sacred Deer that opens in limited release on Friday. Alicia Silversone, Barry Keoghan and Bill Camp also star in the film that has been screening at numerous international film festivals—including its debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival where it was nominated for the Palm d’Or, the highest prize at the festival, and won the award for Best Screenplay.

In The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Anna and Steven Murphy are a married couple with two lovely children. She's a dentist, he's a doctor, and the kids are well adjusted—in short, the seemingly perfect family. Into this family comes Martin, a young man who happens to be the son of a former patient of Farrell's—a patient who is now dead, presumably at the hands of Dr. Murphy. As Martin integrates himself further into the Murphy family’s lives he makes a demand: the Murphy's must decide which of their kids is going to die and if they can't decide, the entire family will perish. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is an adaptation of the Greek myth of Agamemnon in which he kills a deer sacred to the goddess Artemis and is instructed to kill his daughter Iphigenia to appease her.

The convention was held aboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas August 8 through August 12. Since our official partnership in Shanghai this past April, 94 regional contests were hosted in ten major cities all over China, having attracted over 20,000 young contestants. One-hundred talents from different cities made their way into the final competition after a series of preliminary rounds.

The finalists were requested to compete in competitions that included jeans, swimwear, runway, fashion print, TV commercials, singing and dancing. The winners were awarded a scholarship to attend the IMTA LA 2018. Mr. Joey Hunter, of IMTA, was invited to be the chief judge of the final contest.

Each year as the fall television season begins, it is gratifying to take a look at the IMTA alumni who extend their résumés with work on “television.” With advances in technology, nowadays “television” or “TV” encompasses more than just the flat screen on the family room wall; it includes smartphones, tablets and PCs. “TV” can be viewed anywhere, anytime on any mobile device. And it is no longer only networks and cable channels producing programming and movies, but streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have their own line-up of original shows and films. Amazon and YouTube offer original programming and serve as hosts for channels such as PixL and Reelz. YouTube and Vimeo serve as platforms for independent filmmakers and writers to release original series and movies. All of these outlets provide unlimited possibilities for IMTA alumni to appear on “the small screen.”

Below are just a few of the IMTA alumni working on network, cable or web series, appearing on returning or new series in regular or recurring roles, announced guest-starring appearances, and lead or supporting roles in TV movies and mini-series. Our apologies for any names missing. IMTA is equally proud of all of the alumni working in the entertainment industry and we try to keep track of as many as we can. Please let us know of castings, guest appearances and other successes of IMTA alums.

IMTA alum Amy Acker stars in the new FOX series “The Gifted,” premiering October 2. The action-adventure family drama from Marvel tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive. Acker also guest stars on the Alan Tudyk/Nathan Fillion comedy “Con Man” which is currently re-airing on the SyFy channel.

“They call it the autism spectrum for a reason because it is a wide spectrum of behaviors and abilities…I think this film does a lot to open people’s eyes to the reality of what it’s like to raise a kid like Po.” – Christopher Gorham

IMTA alum Christopher Gorham’s 20 year career has included many memorable characters on some of television’s most popular shows, such as “Ugly Betty’s” boyfriend Henry Grubstick and “Covert Affairs’” blind CIA handler Auggie Anderson. He has had starring roles on “Jake 2.0,” “Harper’s Island” and “Medical Investigation,” and many featured appearances on series such as “The Magicians,” “Two Broke Girls” and “Once Upon a Time” among many others. Gorham has also branched out into the other side of the camera, directing several episodes of “Covert Affairs,” the short Gamechangers comedies, and the recently released We Love You, Sally Carmichael! But in the independent feature A Boy Called Po, Gorham takes on a role unlike most of his previous work; a role that it is both deeply personal and relatable to his own life.

“This business is so unstable, and you never really know where you’re going to be … My child is the most important person to me, and her upbringing is paramount to my work right now.” – Katie Holmes

IMTA alum Katie Holmes is having a very good year career wise. As she has added to the complexity of her résumé with directing and producing projects (All We Had, Touched with Fire) that have enhanced her star-power in Hollywood, her acting roles reflect a variety and depth sure to please her fans.

In the Steven Soderbergh-directed caper comedy Logan Lucky, brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan set out to reverse a family curse by executing an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Holmes is in the role of Jimmy’s ex-wife, who plans to take their daughter and, with her new husband, move far away from Jimmy—triggering the Logan brothers’ robbery plan as a means to fund a lawyer to keep his daughter near. In a statement oddly reflective of Jimmy’s motivation for the robbery, Holmes recently said about herself in an interview with People magazine, “I think the most important thing in my life is giving my child the childhood I want her to have. That comes first. That dictates where I work and when I work because it’s my main job right now.” In addition to Holmes, the film also stars Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Seth McFarlane, Sebastian Stan, Hilary Swank and Riley Keough.

“Whenever I’m not working I like to capitalize on that time by spending it with the people I love, traveling, working on music. Being able to just step back and enjoy all the things life has to offer.” – Joseph David-Jones

A police raid in 1967 resulted in one of the largest citizen uprisings in United States' history, with riots that lasted five days, an event that brought into focus the systemic racism that was present during those times in urban Detroit. The telling of that period comes to the screen in the feature Detroit, directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow. Detroit stars John Boyega, Kaitlyn Dever, Anthony Mackie, John Krasinski, and IMTA alum Joseph David-Jones.

“Detroit tells the story of one of the most horrifying events that took place during the 1967 Rebellion in Detroit,” said David-Jones. “An incident which took place at the Algiers Motel changed the lives of everyone unfortunate enough to be involved in it. In the film, I play Morris, a Musician who winds up getting caught in all the chaos of the rebellious activity happening around him. Morris finds himself being affected in more ways than one by the events that took place on those tragic days.”

“I think that she believes that when she commits that crime and she's in prison, now she's almost safe… There's a relief. It's easier to be here than it is to live in the real world.” – Jessica Biel

On a beautiful summer day at the beach, a young mother—who appears to be living the perfect life with her loving husband and son—suddenly and inexplicably stabs a man to death. The shocking scene kicks off the USA Network’s limited summer series “The Sinner,” starring IMTA alum Jessica Biel. The subsequent investigation into what happened, and why an ordinary person would do something so out of the ordinary, are the heart of the series that is adapted from Petra Hammesfahr’s book of the same name.

“When I read the book, every step of the way for me was a shock,” said Biel. “I feel like nothing can shock me anymore. There’s nothing too weird, nothing too dark. We’ve all seen it all in a sense, the way we’re exposed and have access to everything. But every time there was a surprise in the book, it was a genuine surprise for me. It just felt incredibly rare to find a piece of material where you didn’t expect every twist and turn along the way. That felt incredibly rare. I wanted to play (Cora) and be a little nuts.”

“It’s the craziest set I’ve ever been on…because there were just so many toys. He [Director Michael Bay] had helicopters, and drones and these giant – like two or three cranes going at once with the Porsche Cayenne flying around…” – Josh Duhamel

Josh Duhamel’s Colonel William Lennox has outlasted all of the other human characters who were introduced in Michael Bay’s 2007 Transformers. Though Lennox was absent from the fourth entry in the movie mega-franchise, he returns in Transformers: The Last Knight and finds himself in the uncomfortable position of treating his former allies like criminals. As a member of an anti-Transformer taskforce called the TRF, Lennox is charged with rounding up Autobots and Decepticons alike, as well as hunting down one of the Autobots’ greatest allies.

It isn’t long, however, before Lennox finds himself caught up in a situation that’s much bigger than humans vs. Transformers. From secret societies to an evil Optimus Prime and a decrepit Cybertron threatening the destruction of Earth, The Last Knight brings all hands on deck to stave off complete disaster – and Lennox is there for the ride.

After winning the Grand Jury Prize—the highest honor at last month’s Sundance International Film Festival—and critical acclaim, the comedy-revenge-thriller I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore begins streaming on Netflix today. It is the story of Ruth, a nursing assistant who—quite simply—is tired of people being jerks. When she comes home one day to find that her house has been broken into—with the thieves stealing her laptop, her grandmother’s silver set, and her depression and anxiety medications—and the police are less than helpful, Ruth decides to take matters into her own hands. She enlists the help of Tony—who is actually one of the jerks in her neighborhood—to help her track down the offenders. Unfortunately, they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of desperate criminals

IMTA alum Elijah Wood co-stars in I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore as Tony, alongside Melanie Lunskey as Ruth. Jane Levy, Christine Woods, David Yow, Devon Graye, Robert Longstreet and Lee Eddy also star in actor Macon Blair’s feature writing/directorial debut.

“I’m working on directing now. I’ve been acting since I was little and now I’ve ventured into the whole directing world. It’s exciting! It’s a lot of work, but it’s exciting.” – Mika Boorem

Nearly every year there are new horror films released in October to ensure you can have a very scary Halloween. This year is no exception with the premiere of Minutes Past Midnight, the first release of a promised series of anthology feature films. In Minutes Past Midnight, as midnight falls, all manner of terror invades the Earth. Demons, cannibals, killers, ghosts and monsters swarm the world in these tales of the supernatural, the fantastic, and the just plain horrific.

Minutes Past Midnight is nine short horror films curated from Toronto’s long-running, very popular, monthly short film festival known as Little Terrors which promises “Two full hours of the craziest, goriest, most-disturbing and off-the-wall short films the genre has to offer” and warns “We are not responsible for your mental state upon leaving the theatre.”

“Brimming with authenticity and humor, First Girl I Loved offers a delightful, contemporary perspective on the jitters of new romance and the age-old heartbreak of love.” – SlashFilm.com

Shortly after IMTA alum Brianna Hildebrand completed filming her scene-stealing, breakout role as Negasonic Teenage Warhead for the hit Deadpool, she quietly filmed a role in a small independent movie titled First Girl I Loved alongside fellow alum Mateo Arias. And while Deadpool catapulted Hildebrand’s star into the X-Men universe, it was the premiere of First Girl I Loved at last January’s Sundance Film Festival—nearly a month prior to Deadpool’s release—that made audiences and Hollywood take notice of Hildebrand, particularly when the film was the winner of the Festival’s Best of NEXT Audience Award. Arias, already an established actor, has appeared in several films and TV shows, including starring for four seasons on Disney’s “Kickin’ It” as the quirky, loveable Jerry Martinez.

In First Girl I Loved, an awkward love triangle forms when Anne (Dylan Gelula) realizes she is in love with Sasha (Hildebrand), the most popular girl at her high school. She confesses this to her friend Clifton (Arias), who has a thing for her. He becomes jealous and, predictably, it gets awkward.

“They might seem different, but there are similarities,” Hildebrand said about her roles in her first films. “In Deadpool, Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a goth mutant with a very tough exterior, but deep down she feels misunderstood, so she’s built this hard, apathetic outer shell. In First Girl I Loved, my character is not yet sure who she is. Both teenage girls are struggling with their identities and figuring out what they want.”

“Movies are really hard to make. You put a lot of work into them, and you want people to see them. If anything, I’m just very grateful I’m getting to work on these big movies that everyone can go see.” – Haley Bennett

Fresh on the heels of the release of The Magnificent Seven comes the next feature film on IMTA alum Haley Bennet’s list of 2016 releases. In The Girl on the Train, Rachel Watson (played by Emily Blunt) takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her now ex-husband (Justin Theroux), who still lives there, with his new wife (Rebecca Ferguson) and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down – Megan and Scott Hipwell (Bennett and Luke Evans). She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing.

“I’m really excited about it. It’s a story about an ordinary father and his daughter, and they’re bound together in extraordinary circumstances nobody knows about but them. Through the season you’ll see them reconcile and work together over this 20-year time period to stop a horrible event that was triggered by their reconnection. At the heart of it, it’s a show about second chances. It’s a cool story and it’s got a lot of layers to it. I couldn’t be more proud of it, the way it turned out.” –Riley Smith

The CW’s new series “Frequency” is a re-imagining of the 2000 sci-fi thriller of the same name in which a police detective in 2016 discovers that she is able to speak via a ham radio with her estranged father, a supposedly corrupt NYPD Officer who went deep undercover and died in 1996. The two work together to change the history of tragic events, deal with the consequences of attempting to alter the present, and take advantage of the opportunity to heal their complicated relationship. The series stars IMTA alum Riley Smith, Peyton List, Mekhi Phifer, Anthony Ruivivar, Lenny Jacobson, Devin Kelley and Daniel Bonjour.

With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of a thieving and corrupt industrialist, the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money in Sony Pictures' remake of The Magnificent Seven. Based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic The Seven Samurai, the action-packed Western was directed by Antoine Fuqua.

IMTA alum Haley Bennett is the female lead in the male-dominated cast of The Magnificent Seven, acting alongside Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Matthew Bomer and Peter Sarsgaard. “On this film, everyone was so respectful; they treated me as an equal,” Bennett told Interview Magazine. “I think they recognized my commitment. I wasn't going to shy away. I was expected to do everything the men did, at the same level. I didn't give myself any breaks. I didn't make the excuse that I'm a woman. If anything, that's what drove me to do better, to be stronger, to ride faster, stand taller.”

IMTA Alumni models rocked the runways for the designers debuting their Spring/ Summer 2017 looks!

Olivia Jansing walked for Alexander Wang (pictured left). Olivia competed at IMTA in New York in 2015 with Social New York. She was a finalist for Female Model of the Year and among the top Most Sought Female Models. She has walked for many top designers and Vogue named her one of modeling’s fastest rising stars.

Mariah Strongin walked for Banana Republic (pictured right) and Sherri Hill. Mariah competed at IMTA with IMD International of Medford, Oregon. Mariah was IMTA 2008 New York Female Junior Model of the Year, Female Junior Actor of the Year and Most Sought Female Model with 135 callbacks! Mariah was also recently featured by Maxim Magazine as “a classic beauty that kills it in high-fashion editorials and exotic beachside shoots in equal measure, Mariah Strongin is a model to watch.”

It has been nearly 20 years since The Blair Witch Project was released and became one of the highest grossing, low-budget independent films in history, earning over $240 million worldwide on an estimated final budget of $60,000. The film was an account based on “found footage” of three film students — Heather, Michael and Josua — making a film about a local urban legend, the Blair Witch. The students disappeared in Maryland’s Black Hills Forest and were never seen again.

Blair Witch, originally titled The Woods as a marketing ploy by Lionsgate Entertainment to keep the film secret, is a direct sequel to The Blair Witch Project. Now a new group of film students, one of them James, the brother of Heather, venture into the same forest to try and uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of James’ sister and her companions. At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods. But as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence. Slowly, the group begins to realize the legend is all too real and more sinister than they could have imagined. The film stars James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Valorie Curry, Corbin Reid, and IMTA alum Wes Robinson who plays Lane, one of the local guides and the techie who uploaded the “found footage” to YouTube, setting the story in motion.