Tamela D'Amico

Birthday: 21 August 1979, Long Island, New York, USA

Birth Name: TammiLynn Marie D'Amico

Height: 174 cm

Tamela D'Amico is an American jazz singer, actress, and filmmaker who started her own production company, La Strega Entertainment, to create vehicles for the many facets of her career.Tamela recorded her debut album Got A Little Story, executive-produced by actor-producer Peter Krause (Parenthood, Six Feet Under, The Catch) and produced by 6 time Grammy Award winner Jimmy Hoyson, and arranged by Multi Grammy nominee Chris Walden at Capitol Records Studios under the La Strega Entertainment banner. The album has been picked up by LML Records/Allegro distribution and went into worldwide release and is available wherever fine music is sold. She can be heard on over 140 national radio and cable outlets in various jazz based/Adult Standard & Contemporary markets as well as many International radio and internet streaming markets. She was named Clear Channel's Best New Jazz Vocalist, the relaunched MySpace's Rising Star, and is in constant rotation on The Penthouse Radio Network, Martini in the Morning, and MUSIC CHOICE's Singer and Swingers channel via satellite, cable, & Internet. This year Tamela executive produced an album for 2013 Grammy Winner Billy Vera (known for the hit "At This Moment") entitled BILLY VERA: BIG BAND JAZZ (released on Varese Sarabande/Universal). She also duets with Mr. Vera on the album on the song "I'll Never Be Free," which has been a radio favorite. They have been touring together ever since. Currently, in the music arena, she is prepping a follow up to her debut album which she will be recording in April at Capitol Records in Los Angeles.D'Amico is also known as one of the top 24 finalists on the FOX reality show On the Lot produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. She garnered attention from the show's producers with her heartwarming entry film entitled Volare, starring Federico Castelluccio (The Sopranos), which led her to a first-look deal with Dreamworks. D'Amico produced and directed the web television series Sex Ed:The Series starring Joanna Cassidy (Bladerunner) which garnered much TV press and accolades and boasts over 140 Million views on YouTube. The show received nominations for both a Streamy Award and a Webby Award and TV Guide listed it in the top 10 of notable television shows worth watching. She has gone on to create other several TV web serials and has many feature film projects in development through the La Strega banner. Two recent projects that she directed and co-directed, respectively, have recently gone viral on the net, "WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN" (30 years after Blade Runner, actress Joanna Cassidy resurrects her character Zhora to do the reptile dance that Ridley Scott never got to film for the movie.) and The Modern Fundamentalist - Kim Davis Parody starring Broadway chanteuse Rena Strober.As an actress , Tamela recurs on the hit Disney Channel show Best Friends Whenever, as nemesis Janet Smythe. She has just returned to the United States after filming the Indian drama One Little Finger. She can also be seen in the recently released feature film WALT BEFORE MICKEY with Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) about the life of Walt Disney and is currently filming the independent film QUINN as well as just finished the independent film 3 People I've Never Heard Of. She stars in the award winning web series Englishman in L.A. with actors Cameron Moir (Non Stop), Eddie Jemison (HUNG, Oceans 11, 12,13) and Ashley Fink (Glee) for which she was just awarded "Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Web Series" by LA WEB FEST. The series is moving into the second season in 2016! Tamela can be heard singing the Bond-esque theme song "Love and the Gun" in both English and Italian in the recently released feature film Rob the Mob (Millennium Films/Lakeshore Records) directed by Raymond De Felitta (City Island) now streaming on NETFLIX.Among her other talents, Tamela is the face of Alison Raffaele Cosmetic's LIVE BEAUTIFUL! campaign, representing the porcelain face for the makeup line, as well as Mellow World Handbags. Show less «

I have several that change daily, but always fall back to "It's A Wonderful Life" when asked. It is ...Show more »

I have several that change daily, but always fall back to "It's A Wonderful Life" when asked. It is a long term favorite of mine that I watch every year around this time with my family. Directors like Frank Capra, Giuseppe Tornatore, Steven Spielberg, and Chris Columbus are inspirations. True storytellers; Championing the little man and really diving in to tell his story. I love that. They are consistently uplifting. I love the frame tale of Capra's work, playing with time, and the darkness and lightness of character. I am an audio visual type of director and thinker for that matter. I think in pictures but each is very rhythmic. Music is a huge element of each shot that I kind of plan to the beat of music of my head from Pre to Post. I learned subtext from Capra. Presentation and perspective are so important to all things in life. I am extremely detailed oriented as far as planning goes. Colors and placement of objects mean something in every frame of my film. Each character will have an arc no matter how big of a player they are, so this may come out in story or simply through something as general as a prop. I like to play with the yin and yang of characters and how they portray themselves. Lights and darks (of personality, of clothing, or rooms that they are moving into from the start of the film to the end of the film, elements that come out in clothing coupled with lighting choices, playing the opposite against a moral, Etc.) I love extremes. My favorite films are "It's A Wonderful Life," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and "Life Is Beautiful." I think you can tell a lot of things about me as a person from that. As a filmmaker, you can tell that story is very important to me, as well as character. Genre is of no consequence; it is how you tell the story that matters. I love experiencing new films and directing, no matter what genre. Period. - Her response to "What is your favorite movie?" Show less «

A lot of Hollywood is politics and timing. Accolades are great, but mean very little in the long ter...Show more »

A lot of Hollywood is politics and timing. Accolades are great, but mean very little in the long term big picture. If your work stands the test of time, people take notice and that is what is more special, not how many awards it has won. I adored Little Miss Sunshine and can only hope that stories like that which are considered Independent come through to the studios quicker. Show less «

I believe that the world has changed over the last ten years. You see more women in the workforce in...Show more »

I believe that the world has changed over the last ten years. You see more women in the workforce in powerful positions and that will only carry over to every position in the Industry of filmmaking. Why this change and acceptance of women as leaders? I think it is because of single parent families. We accept females as leaders more and more, and men are championing them more and more as time moves forward due to the divorce rate and mothers having to raise families on their own. Sons see their mother's fight and have a bit more compassion towards women. They have begun to champion them. I believe that is the kernel of where this may come from. Women have a history in filmmaking that hasn't been told to the masses. I urge everyone to research the first women filmmakers and you will see that they too wore many hats. The fight is more difficult for women, sure thing. But, it is changing. Women need to ban together. I try to champion every girl or woman I meet. We can be one tree with millions of branches." - Her response to the question regarding female directors and "What do you think of the Celluloid Ceiling? Show less «

So, what's your story?

You have to have big guts to withstand the pressures and the blockages in this industry, as there ar...Show more »

You have to have big guts to withstand the pressures and the blockages in this industry, as there are many, and even more so if you are a woman. We each have our own path. If I can champion someone else on their journey, I am so happy to do it. I am only competitive with myself, meaning I push myself harder and critique myself harder than anyone else. We all have our stories to tell. Show less «

Believe me when I tell you that I have prepared my whole life for this. At the end of the day, no ma...Show more »

Believe me when I tell you that I have prepared my whole life for this. At the end of the day, no matter who you are, all you have is your family and friends. I know who I am, and I know who they are. We take care of each other. I am a very outgoing person and understand the scale of exposure and am willing to go for it if it is going to help make a change in where women can go in this industry. I am extremely vulnerable and equally strong at the same time. I like having that duality as an artist and it is no secret. I love this industry and at a certain point, you can't take the camera home with you. I am not worried. I believe that this show will be classier than American Idol and will really be about true artists and filmmakers, not sensational TV and hopefuls. In filmmaking, you have to work as a team or you are nothing." - Her response to "Are you concerned about losing your anonymity if you make it "On The Lot? Show less «

Tamela D'Amico

Tamela D'Amico's FILMOGRAPHY

Tamela D'Amico'S roles

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