Biography of Azita Zendel

AZITA ZENDEL: Writer-Producer-Director, Author, Media Personality

Frequent on-air guest, Azita Zendel, is the author of HOLLYWOOD APPRENTICE: HOW TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD AND SURVIVE THE TOXIC BOSS SYNDROME.

She is also the director, producer and writer of CONTROLLED CHAOS, a hilarious movie that’s been winning film festival awards and rave reviews.

CONTROLLED CHAOS is based on Azita Zendel’s four years as Oliver Stone’s assistant, when he directed JFK, HEAVEN & EARTH, NATURAL BORN KILLERS and NIXON and produced THE JOY LUCK CLUB, PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, FREEWAY, ZEBRAHEAD, THE NEW AGE, SOUTH CENTRAL, KILLER: THE JOURNEY OF A MURDER, the Golden Globe winning INDICTMENT: THE MC MARTIN TRIAL, and the WILD PALMS TV series.

Azita Zendel has been featured in books, newspapers and magazines. She has also appeared as a guest expert on local or national TV and radio stations, with hosts of such varied opinion as National Public Radio’s Warren Olney or KABC’s Larry Elder.

Azita Zendel’s talking points are just as varied, and reflect her diverse background and experience. Azita Zendel has lectured for prestigious organizations like the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

She has also lectured for educational associations like The Media Workshops, a non-profit foundation that introduces young people to the workings of the entertainment industry and is supported by the major film studios and TV networks. Ms. Zendel’s educational seminars and consulting advice have helped High school and College students secure jobs in the film industry, and she has personally hired and trained over fifty assistants and interns.

Ms. Zendel was a reporter and a producer for KRSI Radio, an international radio station that serves a similar function to the Voice of America. KRSI tackles topics that are related to the Middle East, Islam and Iran, and get broadcast to avid interactive listeners all around the world via satellite and the internet.

Azita Zendel put herself through high school and college by working in medical offices and insurance companies, tutoring kids, and becoming a legal secretary for three years. Since she had taken ballet and singing lessons ever since she was six-years-old, she also sang, danced and acted in several high school plays and musicals and competed in the prestigious acting competition of the DTASC Drama Festival.

She attended the UCLA Undergraduate Film School, where she wrote, produced and directed the short film ASHES. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors with a degree in Communication Studies from UCLA, where she studied and researched the impact of gender roles and mass communication systems on society.

She temped for high-profile film production companies like Carolco, the producers of BASIC INSTINCT, and the TERMINATOR and RAMBO movies. She was offered an internship by the head of Oliver Stone's production company, and was quickly promoted to the position of Mr. Stone’s second assistant.

When she wrote a detailed critique of one of Mr. Stone's scripts, Mr. Stone incorporated her ideas in his script and placed several of her scenes in his movie intact. He also offered her a position as his executive assistant.

She worked with Oliver Stone during the four years that turned out to be the most prolific period of Oliver Stones bio filmography, when he wrote and directed four films and produced the following nine additional films:

Assistant to Oliver Stone: Writer, Director & Producer

• "JFK"
• "Heaven & Earth"
• "Natural Born Killers"
• "Nixon"

Assistant to Oliver Stone: Producer

• "The Joy Luck Club"
• "People vs. Larry Flynt"
• "Indictment: the Mc Martin Trial" (Golden Globe winner)
• "Freeway"
• "Zebrahead"
• "The New Age"
• "South Central"
• "Killer: A Journal of Murder"
• "Wild Palms" Miniseries/ABC

	Azita Zendel financed the production of her movie and the publication of her book on 26 credit cards and a prayer. She has distributed them through the company she has founded and resides in New York and Los Angeles.
Azita Zendel's picture courtesy of http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing...142&evntI=265