The International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) is a professional organization of modeling and talent training centers from around the world, who meet biannually for talent and modeling conventions in both

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Founded in 1987, IMTA conventions are week-long displays of modeling, acting, singing and dancing competitions where unsigned talent and models compete in hopes of being discovered by one of the nearly four-hundred fashion and

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sport ...

s, personal managers, casting directors, network representatives and music producers in attendance.

History

After its first meeting in New York City in the summer of 1987, IMTA’s early conventions found actor

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Wood ...

and model

Joel West Joel West (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and model. Biography His mother, Jan Gipple, is a veterinary technician. She and his father, Rob West, divorced in 1989. He was discovered by a photographer at a "Dairy Queen" and he has worked ...

. Since then, actors and actresses such as

Aaron Paul Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...

, Katie Holmes,

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a ...

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...

Jessica Biel Jessica Claire Timberlake (née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and model. She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Biel be ...

Jeremy Sumpter Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter (born February 5, 1989) is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 live action film ''Peter Pan'', Jacob in the 2014 disaster film '' Into the Storm'', and the recurring role of J. D. ...

Seann William Scott Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both '' Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has al ...

Brandon Routh Brandon James Routh (; born October 9, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Superman in the 2006 film ''Superman Returns'', which garnered him international fame. In 2011, he played the titular character of the film '' Dylan Dog: Dead of Ni ...

Sofia Vassilieva Sofia Vladimirovna Vassilieva (born October 22, 1992) is an American actress. Notable roles include portraying the children's book character Eloise in '' Eloise at the Plaza'' and '' Eloise at Christmastime'', Ariel DuBois in the Emmy-winning ...

Alyson Stoner Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her film roles include ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Her television roles i ...

Josh Duhamel Joshua David Duhamel (; born November 14, 1972) is an American actor and former fashion model. After various modeling work, he made his acting debut as Leo du Pres on the ABC daytime soap opera '' All My Children'' and later starred as Danny M ...

, and

Ashley Greene Ashley Michele Greene Khoury (born February 21, 1987) is an American actress. She is known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's ''Twilight'' novels. Early life Greene was born on February 21, 1987, in Jack ...

have competed and gotten their start at the week-long convention, as well as models

Jessica White Jessica White (born June 21, 1984) is an American fashion model, actress and television personality. She is best known for being a Victoria's Secret runway model, Maybelline spokesperson and working for CoverGirl, as well as her appearances in ...

and

Tyson Ballou Tyson Brett Ballou (born November 14, 1976) is an American male model. He has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns and editorials for major fashion brands and publications. Career Born in Garland, Texas, Ballou began modeling at the age o ...

Conventions

Held in January and July in Los Angeles and New York City, respectively, IMTA conventions are week-long events where thousands of models and talent compete and attend different acting and modeling competitions, runway shows and seminars in front of entertainment industry insiders and agents. At the end of the week, contestants are called back by the agents and managers to discuss possible future representation.

Legitimacy

Questions have been raised regarding the legitimacy of IMTA and its conventions. A 2009 report on the program ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...

'' found that almost every person who applied to attend an IMTA convention was accepted, with prices for attendance as high as $9,000 per person. Representatives from

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

and the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

questioned these fees and other aspects of the IMTA process.Modeling school's steep price
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References

{{reflist *https://web.archive.org/web/20090307223914/http://www.beseeninhollywood.com/2009/01/international-modeling-and-talent-association-convention-2009-imta/ *http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100113/LIFE/1130324/-1/caucusright/Johnston-native-lands-Project-Runway-modeling-gig

External links

IMTAIMTA blog
Modeling agencies

History

Conventions

Legitimacy

See also

References

External links