LIMS, a Santa Clarita school that trains veterans in the television and film industry, recently enlisted Hollywood heavyweight Joe Mantegna to help get the message out.

The school’s founder, Jimmy Lifton, knows Mantegna through his years of working in the industry, experience that he’s now looking to use to give back to support veterans.

The Lifton Institute of Media arts and Sciences offers about a three-month course at no cost, which trains veterans in a variety of tv and film crew positions.

“Does this sound familiar? You’re assigned objectives, and you don’t stop until they’re done. If something breaks, you don’t cry about it, you figure it out. You work as a team and have each other’s backs,” Mantegna says, while a LIMS-produced military scene plays out in the background. “Familiar, right? Well, it should be. This is you. These are your skills. This has been your life.”

The video draws the parallels that demonstrate how those who are able to handle the intense, fast-paced situations associated with military are more than prepared to handle the deadline- and team-oriented work around a tv or movie set.

The results speak for themselves, as Lifton’s job-placement rate stays around 80 percent to 90 percent of graduates.

Cameras, rigging, lighting, set construction, logistics, visual effects and any other line production job imaginable has a training program through LIMS, said Mantegna, who’s a staunch supporter of the program and our armed forces, Lifton said.

Click here for the LIMS website.

“He wanted to make sure he lent his support to LIMS,” Lifton said, “because he’s as convinced as we are that veterans and military people are ideal for the crews for the television and film industry. He’s a staunch supporter of veterans and our program, which trains the veterans.”

In addition to the training, the nonprofit LIMS programs are also seeking support for the veterans who are undergoing the training, as veterans are generally unable to work while they undergo the training, which involves 60-hour work weeks, Lifton said.

That’s how the Adopt-a-Vet program began, in which people can donate to provide veterans help with some help while they finish training.

“We don’t charge the veterans,” Lifton said, “so this program supports them with living expenses for the three months while they’re training.”

More information about the LIMS program can be found on the school’s site.

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