Grossman & Jack settles into new offices

GROSSMAN & JACK TALENT, the popular agency owned by veteran agents Mickey Grossman and Linda Jack, are now settled into their more comfortably configured new offices at 33 W. Grand.

The company moved over the July 4th weekend, after 17-years at 230 E. Ohio to 5,000 sq. ft. offices accommodates the talent agency (Grossman for on-camera and Jack for voiceovers), G&J Models, lifestyle models for print, and Agency Galetea for fashion and runway.

The number of agents is now nine, with the addition of on-camera agent Jess Jones and director of runway Ryan Beshel. Jones is a former freelance casting agent (Claire Simon, O’Connor, TPR) and most recently was an agent with Lily’s Talent Agency. A sidenote: Jones scouted and discovered the first season winner of Bravo’s “Top Design” show.

Beshel comes from the fashion industry in PR, promotions and brand marketing and personal assistant to image and wardrobe consultant Barbara Glass.

100 GOLFERS have signed up to participate as foursomes in the 15th annual Hummel golf, outing, Monday, Aug. 9 at the Wilmette Golf Club. “That’s a good turnout,” notes Pete DeBenny, one of the organizers of the event whose proceeds go into the non-profit Chicago Post Production Benefit Fund.

Incidentally, one of the foursomes will be the Red Car team, which includes managing director Craig Duncan. At the most recent industry event, he shot an amazing 68. Which is virtually par for Duncan who got through school on a golf scholarship.

Hummel tickets are an all-inclusive $175 and golfers get their money’s worth with an all-day open bar, lunch and dinner and terrific raffle prizes, such as flat screen televisions, iPods and sporting event tickets. A cocktails and dinner ticket is $75.

Noon registration, shotgun starts at 1 p.m. at the Wilmette Golf Club, Lake Ave and Harms Road; cocktails, 5:30 p.m., dinner and raffle, 6:30. Still time to reserve reserve a spot. See

LAWRENCE DAUFENBACH scored a first for his rental house. It’s the first in Chicago to offer for rent the Element Technic Quasar steroscopic 3D rig. First project: Kevin Cooper’s family comedy, “Shakey,” that starts shooting this mont.

BUSY VINCE VAUGHN and his sister, Victoria Vaughn, will produce “Old St. Louis,” a screenplay written by David O. Russell who will direct, through Universal Studios. The story is tailor-made for Vaughn. It’s about a traveling salesman (Vaughn) who’s been an absentee father and how his life changes when his daughter becomes part of his life.

Ron Howard movie update: The title of the Vince Vaughn movie shooting here has been changed still again, to “The Dilemma,” from “Your Cheating Heart.”

CHANGING TIMES. Two promotions at One at Optimus: Joe Tipre is now a producer and Sarah Slevin, an associate producer. Filmworkers has promoted assistant Tyler Roth to colorist. The NU grad been with the facility for two years

TRIO VIDEO is looking forward to taking delivery this fall of a 48-ft. Tempo truck as the latest addition to its all HD mobile fleet. Tempo, carrying all the latest technology, will have a full-size production control room and the firepower of Trio’s larger trucks. Among its music event clients, Trio provides tech support crew and equipment for Chicago’s Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.

NEW SPONSOR for Facet’s 27th Chicago’s International Film Festival Oct. 22-31 is Chicago’s PBS outlet, Ch. 11. Which makes sense, in a way, since the stations carries a staggering 12 hours a day of children’s programming.

While Ch. 11 calls this these daily 12 hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. a “special commitment to children’s content,” I, if I may express a personal opinion here, find that a terrible waste of valuable PBS time.

Surely station management could find general programming to fill some of those hours currently devoted to kids. Better still — it might air locally-made programming, as the station was acclaimed for doing in the past. To make that happen, all a filmmaker has to do is bring a sponsor along.

RISING MUSIC STAR JESSICA RAE — the musically talented daughter of proud Roy Skillicorn of Backyard — appears with recording artist Billy Childers Friday at the Birds Nest, 2500 N. Southport. Sounds like a good place to head for after the Optimus block party.

HIGHLAND PARK NATIVE Brian Friedman brings his lucky star to Macy’s Glamorama fashion show Aug. 13 at the Chicago Theatre. Dancers will groove to his choreography in Material Girl fashions designed by Madonna and her daughter Lourdes.

Friedman has directed Britney Spears, Beyonce and VH1 Divas, been nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards, and judged “So You Think You Can Dance.” Glamorama benefits the local Ronald McDonald House Charities.

FILMMAKER ESAI MORALES of “Immigrant Nation” will be part of a panel that includes actor Edward James Olmos, following the Aug. 24 screening of his doc at the L.A. International Latino Film Festival. Morales is a producer at WYCC/Ch. 20.

CONTEST WINNERS of the 2010 Chicago Screenwriters Network will be announced Aug. 8 at CSN’s regular second Sunday-of-the-month meeting at the Lincoln Restaurant.

The grand prize winner of $1,000 will be selected from among the winners of the four genres of action, comedy, drama and horror. Script submission to Hollywood production companies, agents and managers are other prizes.