New York! New York!

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!