Anna Mastro | |
---|---|
Born | USA |
Occupation(s) | Film, commercial, music video director, and television director, producer, writer |
Years active | 2002–present |
Anna Mastro is an American film director, music video director and television producer.
A native of Seattle, Washington, Mastro graduated from the University of Washington at the age of nineteen. She became a protege to director McG, working as his assistant on the Wonderland Sound and Vision productions Fastlane , Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and The O.C. . [1]
As a television producer, she worked on the reality series Pussycat Dolls Present . [1]
As a music video director, she directed videos for the artists Train, Leona Lewis, Alex Band, Carbon Leaf, Kristen Kelly, Victoria Justice and The Pussycat Dolls. [1] In 2008, she directed the short film Matter starring Amanda Righetti. In 2011, she directed the short film Bench Seat starring Cassie Scerbo and written by Neil LaBute. [2] The film earned a Short Grand Prix nomination at the Warsaw International Film Festival. [3]
Amanda Lee Williford, known by her stage name Willa Ford, is an American television personality, film actress, dancer, model, and former singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, Willa Was Here, in 2001. Ford also has appeared in movies such as Friday the 13th (2009), hosted several reality television shows, posed for Playboy and competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.
PCD is the debut studio album by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, released on September 12, 2005, by A&M Records. In 1995, the Pussycat Dolls were created as a burlesque troupe by choreographer Robin Antin. After attracting media attention, Antin struck a joint venture with Interscope Records to develop the Pussycat Dolls into a brand, with Jimmy Iovine assigning the project to Ron Fair. As one of the executive producers Fair produced the majority of the album and collaborated with producers like Kwamé, Polow da Don and Rich Harrison. The music style of PCD was described as pop/R&B and urban dance-pop. Lyrically the album incorporates sexual innuendo and explores the themes of feminism and romance. It features guest vocals from rappers Busta Rhymes, Timbaland and will.i.am.
Ashley Allyn Roberts is an American singer, dancer, and media personality. She is a former member of the pop group The Pussycat Dolls, who sold over 55 million records worldwide, becoming one of the world's best-selling female groups of all time. Roberts also had a brief career as a solo singer when she released the album Butterfly Effect (2014).
Melody Thornton is an American singer and television personality. After graduating high school, Thornton became one of the main vocalists of the pop girl group the Pussycat Dolls and released the albums PCD (2005) and Doll Domination (2008) becoming one of the world's best-selling girl groups. As part of the group, she has received a Grammy Award nomination.
"Buttons" is a song recorded by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls from their debut studio album PCD (2005). It was written by Sean Garrett, Jamal Jones, Jason Perry and group member Nicole Scherzinger, and produced by the former two alongside Ron Fair. It is a hip hop-influenced pop and R&B track featuring synthesizers and a Middle Eastern rhythm, with the group pleading a reluctant man to help them undress whilst adopting a submissive stance. A remix version featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg was released as the album's fourth single on April 11, 2006, by A&M Records and Interscope Records.
Robin Antin is an American dancer and choreographer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with international hits, a Las Vegas nightclub venue and floor show, various merchandise, and a reality television series. Since then, she has gone on to create other girl groups, including G.R.L., Girlicious and Paradiso Girls.
Jessica Lynn Sutta is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and former actress. She is a former member of the pop group the Pussycat Dolls. As a solo artist, Sutta shelved her first attempt with a debut album, Sutta Pop (2012), but went on to release two studio albums Feline Resurrection (2016) and I Say Yes (2017) and reached four number ones on US Dance Club Songs, becoming the only former Pussycat Dolls' member to reach the top of an American chart.
"Wait a Minute" is a song recorded by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls for their debut studio album PCD (2005). It features a guest appearance from Timbaland, who served as the song's sole producer and co-wrote it with Keri Hilson and Craig Longmiles. Lyrically, the song showcases the artists flirting and committing to a playful give and take, highlighting the differences between the two sexes. In the United States, A&M Records and Interscope Records released the song to contemporary hit radio on October 16, 2006, as the fifth single of the album in the US and the sixth and final in international territories. An accompanying music video was directed by Marc Webb features the Pussycat Dolls performing choreography on a subway car and city streets. It was nominated for a MuchMusic Video Award and a MOBO Award.
Pussycat Dolls Present is an American reality television series that premiered on March 6, 2007 on The CW, and took place over the course of eight weeks. It was a joint venture between Ken Mok's 10 by 10 Entertainment, Pussycat LLC, Wonderland Sound and Vision, and Warner Horizon Television.
Nicole Scherzinger is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the R&B-pop group and dance ensemble Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With only two albums and over 55 million records sold worldwide, The Pussycat Dolls became one of the world's best-selling female groups.
Kenny Wormald is an American dancer, reality television star and actor. He played Ren McCormack in the 2011 remake of 1984's Footloose. Wormald was a regular on the MTV reality television series Dancelife in 2007.
The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a neo-burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the troupe mainstream as a pop group. Antin negotiated a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records in 2003 turning the group into a music franchise comprising Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt. Their debut single, "Sway", was featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 film Shall We Dance?.
"Whatever U Like" is the debut solo single by American singer Nicole Scherzinger, featuring rapper T.I. and Sean Garrett. The trio, along with Polow da Don, composed the song for Scherzinger's planned debut studio album Her Name Is Nicole. "Whatever U Like" was released on July 28, 2007 on Interscope Records.
"When I Grow Up" is a song by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls from their second studio album Doll Domination (2008). It was released by Interscope Records on May 27, 2008, as the lead single from the album. It was first written for Britney Spears, but was rejected. It was then considered and recorded for Nicole Scherzinger's planned solo project, Her Name Is Nicole, but after its cancellation and Scherzinger's return to the group, she felt that the song was better suited for the group. "When I Grow Up" was written by Theron Thomas, Timothy Thomas, and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who also produced the song. It is an uptempo electropop and R&B song, sampling the 1966 song, "He's Always There" by British rock band The Yardbirds. "When I Grow Up" speaks about the desire to be famous, and was described as being "autobiographical" by Scherzinger.
Kherington Taylor Payne is an American dancer, actress, choreographer, television personality and singer who came to prominence as a Top 10 Finalist in Season 4 of the hit reality-dance show So You Think You Can Dance and in a role in the 2009 reinvention of the movie Fame. She has been a principal dancer for Katy Perry, and was a lead cast member on E! reality docu-drama The Dance Scene. Payne was also briefly a member of the third line-up of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls. She was a choreographer on the YouTube show Dance Showdown.
"Jai Ho! " is a song by Indian composer A. R. Rahman and American girl group The Pussycat Dolls, recorded for the re-release of the group's second studio album Doll Domination (2008) and their EP Doll Domination – The Mini Collection (2009). It was released on February 23, 2009, by Interscope Records as the fourth single from the album and is an English remake of the original Hindi song "Jai Ho" which is taken from the soundtrack to the hit film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The remake was conceived by record executives Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair who tasked the Dolls' lead singer Nicole Scherzinger with creating a pop record that did not deviate from the original melody. Iovine and Fair also asked a number of other writers to create interpretations of the song, including Brick & Lace, The Writing Camp and Ester Dean. The final English version of "Jai Ho" was dubbed "Jai Ho! " and is sometimes also referred to as the "RF Mix" or "Ron Fair" Remix.
Girlicious was an American girl group originally formed by Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls, from The CW reality TV show Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious. The group was originally signed to Geffen Records and composed of members Nichole Cordova, Tiffanie Anderson, Chrystina Sayers and Natalie Mejia. Their self-titled debut album was released in Canada in August 2008 and reached number two on the Canadian Albums Chart. After Anderson left the group in June 2009, Girlicious signed with Universal Music Canada and released their second studio album, Rebuilt, in November 2010. Mejia and Sayers departed the group in February 2011. Nichole Cordova later announced the end of Girlicious, and her joining a new girl group called Girls United.
Kristin Hanggi is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter; and theater director best known for the 2009 Broadway musical Rock of Ages. The jukebox musical received five Tony Award nominations, including a nomination for Best Direction of a Musical. She has also directed two national tours, and West End, Australia, Toronto, and Las Vegas productions.
Melissa Smith, known professionally as Melissa Molinaro, is a Canadian-American pop singer, actress, dancer, choreographer, and model. She is perhaps best known for her reality TV appearances on Making the Band 3 and Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll. She co-starred in Dolph Lundgren's action film, Command Performance, and had a major role in Honey 2. She adopted her mother's maiden name Molinaro as her professional name in 2010. Melissa has received notable attention from her appearance in Old Navy's "Super C-U-T-E" commercial in 2011 and for the video for "Dance Floor", the first single from Melissa's debut album "The Love/Dance Project".
Simone Sherise Battle was an American singer, dancer and actress. Beginning her career after appearing in the American series Zoey 101 and Everybody Hates Chris, she also starred in several music videos and in the film We the Party (2012) alongside Snoop Dogg. Battle garnered attention after auditioning for the American version of The X Factor in 2011, and was eliminated at the first live show.