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August 27, 2008

This is from Nikki Finke’s blog, she was discussing the Screen Actors Guild’s warning to “agents, managers, casting agents, and producers regarding restrictions on campaign contributions.” Apparently there must be some concern by SAG that new candidates are getting outside help, which is, according to them, illegal.

Any-who, not really pertaining to the actual blog, my colleague Laura Adler, who does terrific work, made a comment pertaining to the use of the term “casting agent.” She wrote: “Casting agents??? Seriously? We at the CSA have come to expect this gross misuse of terminology from the media, but coming from those within our industry? It is beyond aggravating!

Casting DIRECTORS. We are called Casting DIRECTORS. There is no such thing as a casting agent. There are agents who rep the talent and there are casting DIRECTORS who cast their clients. Period. Why is this so difficult for people to comprehend?

Please people. I don’t need the aggravation. Please try and call us by our correct title, ok? Thanks.”

There was a response to Laura’s entry from an anonymous actor (I kept it in it’s original form):

“laura, you need to get a grip. even the term “casting director” is a misnomer. In all fairness, the only thing “casting directors” direct is their assistants to get them another cup of coffee. It’s well known that casting “directors” don’t have the power to say “yes” to anything. Only the power to say “no.” It’s the director and producers who cast the film after the “casting director” has set up the appointments. You may be aggravated about “casting directors” being called “casting agents”, but most actors have been aggravated about “casting directors” being called “casting directors” for YEARS. but they set up appointments really, really well.”

Ok, well, without bitching (I promised not to bitch to a friend of mine, in my next blog) I will now refer you to an interview I gave to the “movie whore” (love the name) in his blog about what I do and what casting is all about: (http://themoviewhore.com/2008/07/matt-lessall-the-casting-director-is-in/)

I hope that the above link to my interview helps you understand that we are more then just appointment makers. Believe me if that was all I did (which, truthfully, it is a big part of the job) producers would not need our services. When I was recently hired to do “Labor Pains,” the producer had never used a casting director before. Many of the films she worked on had smaller casts. I know, at the end of the day, she was satisfied (she told me so), but also she felt that having a teammate in the trenches of casting, freed her to concentrate on other departments needs. Casting Directors have to be thought of as department heads on a film. Just like you have the 1^st AD, Locations, Wardrobe, Set Design, etc… All of these jobs are vitally important to a successful film. On “Rocket Science,” I was in the trenches, in Baltimore, in the production office and I saw clearly for the first time, how important it was to integrate and communicate between department heads. Casting informs many if not most of the decisions coming down the pipeline; it informs budget, wardrobe sizes, locations, travel time, craft services, drivers, etc… If there is no cast there is no film…period.

So to the actor (I am assuming that the person responding to Laura was an actor) who wrote that we just set up appointments, I hope you read this and think differently of what we do.

First and foremost, Casting Directors love actors. We are their advocates. But in the real world, we work for “the man” our boss; the producer, and we have to bridge the gap between the producers needs, the directors wishes and the actors’ talents. I would call that, in itself, a huge job, one that is learned and nuanced over several year of internships, becoming an assistant, an associate and finally, A CASTING DIRECTOR.

August 22, 2008

I am back in Los Angeles. I am a few days late on my blog entry, but it has been such a busy week for me.

In NYC I saw over 200 actors in 4 pre-read sessions and I brought over 60 actors for 4 roles to the director who I had for only two days. That’s around 15 choices per role, plus I threw in some actors I wanted the director to see for smaller roles. Now I wait for the director to make choices. But are they making choices? Nope. They want more. More options, more auditions, more lists. I have had over 20 sessions for this film. The budget of the film is under $700,000 dollars and they have seen the best talent in town. But they want more. What the producer and director don’t seem to understand is (and by the way, why don’t they read my lists?) there is no more! If they want to up the budget, yes there would be more choices, but for their SAG modified-low-budget film, the choices don’t stretch too far and if I told you some of the amazing, talented, name-y actors who came in for this film, you would be pleasantly surprised and shocked that they didn’t offer the roles out right away.

But still they want more. I get this from the producer: “Matt, maybe, there is an actor out there like (insert actor who makes over ten million per film) who wants to try something different. I mean all I know him from is from his action films.” I am thinking to myself, is this guy serious? His ego is so gigantically huge as to expect (actor who makes over ten million per film) to actually do his SAG MODIFIED LOW BUDGET FILM?!!! Of course when I say, “Stop wasting your time,” or “you are going down a path that will lead you to disappointment,” he doesn’t hear me. All he hears is that I am being negative. But I’m not. I know that for a fact, based on my professional experience having done 40 more films then you, Mr. Producer that I actually do know what I am doing!

But, I still check the availability of the actor (who makes over ten million dollars per picture) because that’s what he wants me to do. Guess what? He is available! Go ahead, make the offer…tick, tock…that is the sound of time wasting away any interest that actors may have had in your film, because they are auditioning for other films. Oh, didn’t you know? THERE ARE OTHER FILMS BEING MADE OUT THERE WHO ARE OFFERING MORE MONEY TO ACTORS, more money then SAG MODIFIED LOW BUDGET SCALE + 10%…so don’t cry to me when all of a sudden you’re a week out and you have no cast.

I’ll say it again: Actors respond to the script first. Then they look at the director, the producer, the budget, how much they are going to get paid, the amount of time they are going to have to be on set, the location, etc, etc…. Actors, agents and manager know what it means when they sign-up for a low budget film. The smaller the budget, the smaller the perks. Actors like perks, heck, I like perks. But on low-budget films there are no perks. The perk is the passion you have for the project. Actors, crew, myself, we have to respond to the material and the director, because that is all there is to respond to. We hope that the film turns out well, that the director knows what he is doing, that the editor can tell a story, that the sound guy wasn’t asleep on the 4th consecutive evening shoot on day 17 out of 21. We hope that the small independent film gets into a festival and we can all celebrate it, we hope that more then the people who buy tickets to the festival actually get to see the film. We hope.

I work on the films because I like the story and I am getting paid to do what I love to do, I just wish that the people in charge would listen to me without feeling threatened like I am taking their manhood away from them. You are still the big producer, I am just trying to report the truth, tell you the way it is, so that you can make the film with the best possible cast out there. I hope they listen.

Well, it’s Friday night and I will be 37 tomorrow. I am looking forward to the New Year. I have a lot of great scripts on my desk and I hope that many of them end up in festivals and on screen to be enjoyed by people other then my Mom and Dad. But if it’s just for them, then it is still worth it in the end.

So, happy birthday to me and go out and support your small independent films! A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into getting those films into theatres!

August 13, 2008

I am casting a film in New York. I really love being in NYC, the vibe is great and I get to see some old friends and family. I also am getting to read a lot of actors. Last week I pre-read over 200 actors (I was a machine), and this week I had the director and producer all day on Monday and Tuesday. I have to give myself a pat on the back for pulling it all together. I honestly had no idea how it was all going to work out, but it did and my director seemed really happy with the results. I, of course, went home Tuesday night, collapsed on the sofa and opened a bottle of wine.

So it is Wednesday and I am uploading and editing auditions all day. I have an assistant, but it is his first time ever working for a casting director. He is an actor and a friend of mine, and as I had no money to pay an assistant for this gig, when he offered to help out for the “work experience” of working for a casting director and seeing how the other side operates I was more then grateful for a helping hand. I think he is now a little damaged from the experience. The amount of calls in the first part of the week was overwhelming, and figuring out who all of the agents and managers are and how to schedule actors can be stressful, if not downright nerve-breaking. But I give him major “props” as he came through it and with a new appreciation of what we casting directors do all day.

I asked him to summarize his experience working for me and this is his direct quote:

“No comment.”

I hope we are still friends…

The great thing about having a New York actor as your assistant is that (in my case at least), he was very knowledgeable about actors and the theater scene. The funny thing about agents in New York is that they always say to me, “Now, Matthew, I want you to know that he is a great actor, but he works on the stage so if he is too big, it’s because he is from the stage.”

Note to agents: Ummm, not so much. A good actor is a good actor on the stage or on screen. There are a million examples to give, but I will give one: Dame Judi Dench, who, in whatever she does, on stage or on screen is magnificent. I just want the actor to know what they are saying and for me to believe them, that is what I am looking for: believability. Take me to a place where I can visualize you in the film and I will fight for you to get a role.

Overall, I was really happy with the actors I saw in New York. I was amazed at how many actors lived 3 or more hours outside of the city. Actors flew in from Toronto, Virginia, drove from Baltimore and Pennsylvania, one actor flew in from London.

I am looking forward to doing this again soon!

August 5, 2008

An actor comes into the audition room, we say hi, “Hi.”

I say, “Do you have a pic/res?” They say, “Yes, but it’s not stapled, I am so sorry!” I say, “Don’t worry about it, I have the technology,” and I show my stapler to the actor. The actor says, “I am so sorry, I tried to find a stapler!” I say, “Really, it’s not a problem.”

So, today, during the above conversation that gets repeated hundreds of times throughout the audition process, I stopped an actor and asked, “Why are you so sorry about the stapling of the resume? It seems like it is a big deal to you and by you I mean every actor before you up to this moment in time.” The pressure was on this one actor to answer the great staple mystery for all actors.

His response was, “ I guess we (actors) are just concerned that we look bad if we don’t have our pic/res stapled together for you.”

Hmmm…really? Because, it seems like this staple obsession that actors have goes beyond just having the picture stapled to the resume. To me it seems that actors may think that casting directors will view the actor or would have viewed the actor differently if the picture were actually stapled to the resume prior to entering the audition.

Attention actors: I only care if you are a good actor. I could give a crap if the pic/res is stapled together. Concentrate on what is important, like, your energy, lines, thought process, intensity, character development, back-story, creativity, etc, etc… Please don’t sweat the small stuff, it is getting in the way of your success.

July 30, 2008

This is an actual breakdown (please do not send me submissions as I am not the CD).

[JESUS] 30 to 33 years old, a rabbi in First Century Palestine, Jesus is an itinerant preacher whose teachings and parables win Him an enthusiastic group of followers. After performing miracles in public, His fame spreads, and He becomes targeted by the Pharisees, who regard Him as a blasphemer. Jesus gradually reveals the central truth of His existence: He is the literal Son Of God. Now regarded as a deadly nemesis by Caiaphas, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great acclaim, only to be betrayed by Judas and condemned for blasphemy and treason by the Sanhedrin. Sentenced to death by a reluctant Pilate, Jesus is crucified, only to return to life after three days in the tomb. Seen regularly by His disciples in the weeks following, Jesus ascends to Heaven in their presence, and His life inspires the spread of the Christian faith…LEAD

Sometimes, depending on the company I am casting for, the legal department reviews the breakdowns and makes sure that the company is not violating any employment laws when sending out a breakdown. So if the company is sensitive to this issue the breakdown could have started out like this:

“[JESUS] An actor (or actress) to play the role of a 30 to 33 year old, etc, etc…”

And ended like this:

“Please submit all genders, races, ethnicities, etc, etc…”

I think casting directors are very sensitive to race and gender issues because we are the first creative eyes to look at a script objectively and question if a role has to be a Caucasian male? With every script I cast, I am looking for opportunities to open up the director’s eyes to talent that he or she may not have thought of, I consider it part of my job.

So, if I were casting Jesus, I would have to say that I don’t know who I would cast, but I know one thing, I would love to see those casting lists!