LIAR!!!

A few weeks ago an agent called me and asked me to consider her client for a lead role in a film I am casting. I really liked the actor and was excited at the prospect of him being in the film. I spoke to the director and producer about this actor and they were not enthusiastic about the idea. Not unusual, and not unexpected as there were other more name-y choices being pitched to us, but not a horrible “safety” (to use a college application term) choice.

A few weeks had passed since the initial discussion I had with the agent and the agent called me back to see if there was any interest. After further emails with the director and producer, it became clear that an offer was going to go out to a younger choice then the agent’s client. The agent asked me specifically if the producer or director liked his client, so I asked my team. The director said that he was not a fan and the producer was not really interested.

I called the agent the following day to say that it looks like they are going to a younger actor and I told him who that actor was. He then said to me that he now thinks that the producer is a liar. I asked the agent, “Why do you say that?” He said that he called the producer the day before and pitched his client. The producer told him to send over a reel and he would see what he thinks. The agent felt that the producer was lying to him because the producer knew while he was talking to him that he was going to make an offer to the younger actor.

So, I ask you? Do you think the producer is lying to the agent? I don’t see it that way. I can see that the agent was frustrated that the producer didn’t give him all of the information, but a liar? A producer has to keep all of their options open while casting. To cut off the potential of an actor before an actual offer goes out to another actor and risk putting a negative feeling in the project to a representative of an actor could sabotage any chance of an actor getting into a film. Therefore what the producer was doing was ethical to me because all he was asking for was reel, in order to keep the potential of the actor’s availability and interest. Once an offer goes out then that information can be disseminated, because effectively everyone in the industry finds out about offers anyway. But until an offer is out it is my job and the producer’s job is to keep all casting balls in the air.

I was kind of shocked that the agent called him a liar to me. I tried to put the situation into perspective, but the agent would hear nothing of it. Calling someone a liar should be saved for serious situations. It is not a nice allegation.

Not five minutes after calling me to tell me my producer is a liar, the agent called me back and pitched another client. This is an odd business…