The Chez Group: Biography

Biography:
The Chez Group and Shay Bentley-Griffin, CSA

Under the banner of The Chez Agency, Shay Bentley-Griffin began as a talent agent, launching the careers of many recognized actors from the southeast onto national screens in soaps, television series, and feature films. She went on to become the region’s preeminent casting director, persistently encouraging producers to consider filming in the southeast region and to use regional talent for supporting roles.

In her distinguished career, Bentley-Griffin has cast over 225 television and feature film projects, including eight seasons of In the Heat of the Night and the Peabody Award-winning I'll Fly Away. She has worked with such directors as Robert Altman (The Gingerbread Man), Clint Eastwood (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), Christopher Reeve (Brooke Ellison Story) Sam Raimi (The Gift), Wes Craven (Scream 2), Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes) and Edward Zwick (Glory). Bentley-Griffin also cast the feature films Remember the Titans (Bruckheimer Films/ Disney) Road Trip (Dreamworks SKG), Sweet Home Alabama (Disney), Drum Line (20th Century Fox), and The Fighting Temptations (Paramount). Additional credits include The Diary of a Mad Black Woman, its sequel Madea’s Family Reunion, and HBO’s Warm Springs, and the CBS mini-series Elvis. She recently reunited with long-time friends and former Georgia residents Ray McKinnon and Walton Goggins to cast Randy and the Mob. 2006 started off with three big projects: the ABC pilot Hollis and Rae, the Sony feature Stomp the Yard, and Warner Brothers’ big-budget We Are Marshall. She went on to cast Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls and his sitcom Meet the Browns.

In 1996, she received the Casting Society of America's highest honor for her work on John Frankenheimer's epic Andersonville (TNT), marking the first time the Crystal Obelisk was awarded to a casting director working outside of New York or Los Angeles. She was also the first regional casting director working outside of New York or Los Angeles ever to receive an Emmy nomination for her work on the HBO Original Miss Evers' Boys and received another Emmy nomination in 1999 for her work on the HBO Original A Lesson Before Dying. Recently Ms. Griffin received her third Emmy nomination for the 2005 Best Picture Emmy-winning HBO Film Warm Springs, a significant accomplishment for a casting director living outside New York or Los Angeles.

In recent years, Bentley-Griffin served the State of Georgia as Film Liaison. She is currently on the executive board of the Georgia Production Partnership, an organization of film industry leaders throughout the state who work to promote Georgia on a local and national basis. She presently serves as Vice Chair to the Governor’s Film and Entertainment Advisory Board. She is an advisor to the Women in Film/Atlanta and a member of WIF/Los Angeles. She maintains membership in both the Atlanta and National chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

Bentley-Griffin was presented Women in Film's Silver Dogwood Award in honor of her leadership and unwavering efforts on behalf of the Georgia film industry. She was presented a special award from the Screen Actors Guild for her "bold vision and outstanding contribution to the Georgia Film Industry." Bentley-Griffin was also honored with Georgia Production Partnership’s Reaching to the Stars award. She also served as Co-Chair for the 2001 Atlanta Image Film and Video Festival.

As a casting director, she is relentlessly searching for new talent, conducting workshops and seminars to educate up-and-coming actors about the industry. She is dedicated to creating a thriving, successful, independent film industry in Georgia, packaging talent for several Georgia based film companies and developing several projects for production.

Considered by her peers an icon in Georgia's film industry, Shay Bentley-Griffin exemplifies the determination, strength and integrity it takes to build a successful career in the industry outside of Los Angeles.