Today we’d like to introduce you to Zuzu Weingart

Hi Zuzu, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

From a very young age I knew I wanted to be an actress. I loved playing make believe and putting myself in someone else’s shoes and I never lost that love. I’m always trying to find a deeper understanding of people and diving into different roles really helps with that. But just as any actor can tell you, just because you desperately want something doesn’t mean the road will be easy. I did my stint in LA for a few years learning, taking classes, training, getting on set as much as I possibly could, but it wasn’t until I set aside that desperation for success and just started focusing on enjoying the journey, did I actually start finding true success.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Is the road ever smooth?! The profession of acting is full of uncertainty and filled to the brim with rejection. I’ll talk about one of my most favorite heartbreaks in this journey. I had a small speaking role in the film Butcher’s Crossing with Nicolas Cage. It was an incredible experience. It was my first significant role in a big film. I was floored. The cast and crew were so lovely and endearing. I did my one scene with Mr. Cage as my scene partner and I was on cloud nine. I told everyone I know about the film, about the experience, and I couldn’t wait for the premiere. Watching the film in the theater with my support people surrounding me, I couldn’t be more excited. My scene was approaching and I squeezed my husbands arm in anticipation – only to see the scene come and go without me in it. It was left on the cutting room floor. Talk about a heartbreak! My wonderful people still clapped when they saw my name in the credits, but man that was a disappointing night. Even if the world didn’t get to see it, I still hold the experience dear to my heart. From that film I got my SAG card, which opened up many more opportunities for me and I’m forever thankful. Now with any audition I get, or job I’m lucky enough to book, I take a moment to be thankful for the opportunity, then put it out of my mind. I’ve spent too much time dwelling on what could have been, or what I could have done differently, I have to make the conscious decisions to move on from it, otherwise you get stuck in an unhealthy cycle.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

Hi! I’m Zuzu, a Montana-based SAG/AFTRA actress, producer, and business owner. My husband and I own the production company 99 Productions in Hamilton, MT and produce independent feature films. Our most recent film is a post-apocalyptic comedy called Cuisine de la ‘Pocalypse and stars Kevin Sorbo, Natasha Leggero, Emilio Rivera and Kevin Jack. With the fun adventure and ridiculous premise, the film has a very 90’s blockbuster feel to it. It’s a really silly, fun film that we are excited to release. With 99 Productions, our goal is to bring back family movie nights. We want to create films that the whole family can enjoy and watch again and again.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?

I’m embarrassed to admit, I’m a very by-the-book kind of person. I love rules and I love following them. Give me solid direction and I will do the thing so good. Taking risks make me vary uncomfortable, but I know that they are necessary, especially in the film industry. One of the biggest professional risks I’ve taken was moving from Los Angeles to Montana. Everyone knows LA is where the film industry lives, but what about Montana? Montana is our home state and my husband and I made the decision to move home in 2019 to start our own production company(99 Productions) and raise our kids where we were raised. This was a huge professional risk for us. We didn’t know what the film industry was going to be like in Montana and the kind of opportunities we would have. It’s been hard work building up 99 Productions, but the opportunity we were met with has exceeded our highest expectations. You can’t grow if you don’t take the risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zuzuweingart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zuzuweingart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zuzuweingart
• Other: https://imdb.me/zuzuweingart

Image Credits

copyright 99 Productions LLC