| Hi my name is J. Nathan Simmons. I was born in Edmond Ok. But I didn’t stay there long. My father was in the oil field so my mother, sister and I traveled to different places in the world including Columbia, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other places. I came back to Oklahoma and I attended school in Sayre, Oklahoma. A small town so I learned the value of small town with a handful of friends which I still keep in contact with today and we are still good friends. I had a great time there. I then moved after graduation to Oklahoma City where I attended school for Robotics and Electronics. In 1987 I then moved to Tucson, Arizona where I went to school again for Audio/Visual and Scriptwriting. I was interested in the film industry so I started to see what projects I could get in the area. After this I decided to go to Los Angeles California I attempted to find a job in the industry there but I remained a month and decided I need more training I was not ready yet so I returned to Tucson until I decided to go back to school. Then in 1989 I moved to Dallas, Texas and attended Video Technical Institute and received a degree in Video Electronics. I worked on a few feature films there including Robocop, Born on the 4th, and I volunteered my services to The Special Olympics of Texas as a videographer and editor for my graduation project. Also while I was there I worked on a project called " Christmas Eve" for Irving Community Television Network. While living in Dallas I did some volunteer work for KD studios an acting school I was doing lighting and sound for there graduation show, also I ran audio and video for Dallas and Fort Worth street festivals with a company called Peak Street Sight and Sound. After graduation I remained in Dallas for 3 months then I moved to El Paso, TX where I worked at a NBC television station as an engineer. I worked on film projects when I could. I worked in my first project in New Mexico on a film called "Paper Hearts " as a runner picking up and delivering film and personnel to the airport. I have driven around Kris Kristofferson , James Brolen , Sally Kirkland, Pam Gidley, and Rene Estevez. That was a fun project I learned a lot and then the bug had set in. I stayed in El Paso for a little while then I went to Tucson, Arizona and worked on a film called " Tombstone" while there I also helped out the crew on "Geronimo". Working on a dude ranch called the Triangle T Guest Ranch I took people on trail rides during the day and worked the film projects at night. After I left Tucson I went back to Ruidoso New Mexico and attempted to run my own business DIAL-A-TECH / JNS VIDEO PRODUCTIONS. In this job I taught computers to individuals on the one on one basis. I enjoyed this I was having fun in New Mexico I was teaching computers, installing new hardware and software. I learned a lot about how to deal with the public. All the time I was in New Mexico I tried out for film projects but I still didn’t have enough training so I decided to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico and I decided one way or the other I was getting in. While in Albuquerque I was learning locksmithing, pottery and telephone repair. One of my funniest experiences was working on a TV series with Robert Urich I worked on 5 episodes met a lot of cool people. When the series was over I decided to try for more projects but New Mexico at the time didn’t have much to offer so I moved to Santa Fe, NM where I worked in a casino called Cities of Gold as a slot technician. I enjoyed the job is was more technical than what I had figured it would be. After that I had an idea I was going to visit a former roommate in Biloxi, MS. I decided to go down to the gulf coast. I pretty much abandoned the industry in which I love and took a job at a hotel as a maintenance tech. It was an ok job but the people I worked with made it great I stayed here about 9 months then I decided to go to Florida. While in Biloxi I had made arrangements for interviews there and I had always wanted to see Florida I ended up in Kissimmee outside Orlando. I was training to be a photolab assistant and videographer in a company there. While there I talked to Universal Studios, Walt Disney World, and the TV stations there. Then I decided to move back to New Mexico to pursue my dreams again. Checking out the local film projects and talking to the studios again.While here I have worked on two projects since I have returned Wild Wild West with Kevin Kline and Will Smith and Kenneth Branagh. They were all cool but Will Smith was the most friendly he would go out to the Background actors as I was in this and talk to them and shake there hands which I thought was extreme cool. I wanted to meet Kevin Kline but I guess I will somewhere down the road. Also I worked on Gunfighters of the Old West a series for Discovery Channel I was shot by Tom Horne I am looking forward to the release of these. They are supposed to be released in 1999 arround May. Starting a new project soon called All the Pretty Horses with Billy Bob Thorton and Matt Damon this should be fun. Just finished All The Pretty Horses it was a great shoot, Matt Damon is very friendly and Henry Thomas is too great guys that haven't let fame and fortune go to their heads. I found Billy Bob Thorton great to work with too he is a real down to earth guy I would like to work with him again in future projects. Another great film I had the priviliage of working on. Just finished a movie called Lockdown with Mike Butters, Master P, De`Aundre Bonds, Andrew Divoff, David(Shark)Fralick it was a good shoot it had its ups and downs but all the actors and crew were down-to-earth and made it fun for all. It should be released arround the middle part of 2000 Jan or Feb.Also another filmed in Dixon started up in Dec , while I was working on two other films that started in Novemeber one is called "A Cry for Help" in Santa Fe and the other is called "A Brothers Silence" also in Santa Fe. All great shoots put a find end to 2000. "Tortilla Heaven" wrapped a week before Christmas.Which starred Jose Zuniga (Alive), Lupe Oliverez (Selena), Del Zamora (Robocop), Irene Bedard (Smoke Signals, voice of Pocahantas), Miguel Sandoval (Clear & Present Danger), a great cast and crew a great joy to work on this project. "A Brother's Silence" & "A Cry for Help" will continue into Jan. 2000.I started a new website in January called NewMexicoActors.com that helps to promote Actors/extras etc. to improve the film industry in this area. I am really enthused about this project. In May NMADC is doing well so we brought on a new site called CreativeNewMexico.com to further enhance creativity in New Mexico. More films on the way still continuing "A Cry for Help" after a 6 months of doing very little. We to the premier of "A Brother's Silence" last month I am glad I worked on that one. You can see my current resume on NewMexicoActors.com or IMDB.com. Here it is 2006 and I am still doing what I set out to do many years ago. I still strive to make my dreams come true by taking some courses at the local community college and running my own business Dial-A-Tech / JNS Video and Multimedia Productions. My hobbies through life have been Filmmaking, Scriptwriting Special FX, Lighting, Sound, Videography, Electronics, Computer (installation, maintenance, software, hardware), 3DAnimation and graphics, Writing stories, poems, and ideas. I also like horseback riding, camping, hiking, anything outdoors, tennis and racquetball. So this is a sample of my life want to be a part of it, ask me questions, hang out with me, etc... :) |
