A Busy Week…

I am not in Chicago…yet. This week, the Producers & Directors are there. I am now casting two films that are shooting in Chicago: “Polish Bar” and “Audrey.” This happened because the production company of P-Bar decided to stay in Chicago and add on another SAG Modified Low-Budget film (“Audrey”) to their slate. Illinois has a very attractive tax incentive package and is very friendly to filmmakers, which is great, so while I am there I will be looking for actors for both films.

In the meantime, I am also trying to attach an actor to an Australian horror comedy (with Film Industry Blogger’s very own Brian Trenchard-Smith as Executive Producer). The film is very “loosely” financed – and will be looking for private equity investors so a recognizable name is key. We are out to Juliette Lewis, and I am hopeful, I think the role is right for her, but it is hard for actors to commit in these sorts of situations. If not her, I am already preparing for her to pass (“because, Actors pass”) and thinking about actors who may be interested in this script and willing to attach themselves without hard cash. The script is very good, so I am crossing my fingers on this one.

Last week I had to do additional casting for a film that shot last year in the Bahamas, “Way of the Dolphin.” The film had some additional scenes to shoot and they are doing it this week in Santa Clarita. I needed to find three actors. I did, they are all great, but there was a momentary drama with one of them. The costume designer sent an email to one of the actors introducing herself and asking the actor to bring some clothes with him. The actor responded in a harsh tone and explained that he didn’t have everything on her list and was nervous about what he was getting into and then suggested that the costume designer go shopping for the clothes.

Well, as you can imagine, drama then ensued. The costume designer forwarded the email to the Producer and Director saying that the actor was rude. I then got an email discussing the fact that maybe we should replace the actor. Now, I admit that the email was rude, but the actor is a good actor and it was only for one day, so I told everyone to calm down and that I would talk to the actor directly. When I did, he was as nice as could be and had no idea that his email would have pissed anyone off. So, I told everyone on the Production not to worry and all would be fine.

Well, I am glad to say, all was fine. In fact I received an email last night from the Producer thanking me for an excellent cast on such short notice.

It is nice when things work out.

Chicago here I come…

Four words you don’t want to hear from your Producer in January: “We are shooting in Chicago!”  I just checked the weather forecast. Tomorrow it is going to be 14 degrees. Ummm…time for a flu shot.

The film I am casting has a very large cast and a very small budget. The original plan was to shot in L.A. and casting is almost complete, except for a few supporting roles and all of the day players. I have never cast a film in Chicago and I am so looking forward to the opportunity of going there to do this, but 14 degrees?!

In truth, this works out best for the film. The location for the film is Chicago, so the director gets to shoot in the town he wrote the script for, and the financing implications and tax incentives are conducive to making the shift from L.A to Chicago. Also, many of the actors we hired live in New York. Therefore, the cost of a plane ticket from NYC to Chicago is a little bit cheaper then coast to coast. And some of the actors are in television shows that shoot in NYC and we will now be able to shoot on the weekends in Chicago while still being able to get the actor back to NYC in time to shoot their series.

Did I mention it’s cold in Chicago?

For me, it’s a challenge. I don’t know the talent pool in Chicago, so this will mean a lot of pre-reads and getting up to speed on talent representation in the area. My director is from Chicago so that will help as well. I am just excited to be working!

THIS ROLE REQUIRES NUDITY

I am casting a film that requires an actress to be topless. Nudity is always up to the individual actor – I get that. Clearly this was a big year for nudity; Kate Winslet in “The Reader” is more nude and sexual then called for, but she is fantastic in it and Marisa Tomei is topless with reckless abandonment. Her performance in “The Wrestler,” is Oscar worthy.

Now, I know that it takes a lot of trust to be naked in front of a crew and potentially millions of people, but I really don’t understand actors who - if particularly female - take the most provocative pictures for us casting directors and then in the same breath they won’t consider nudity. These are the same actors who go through breast augmentation: and for what? I would think that they would want to show off their new acquisitions!

Nudity can be a very revealing part of a characters development in a film and to not even read the script and assess the situation seems shortsighted to me. At least mull it over for 24 hours. But I guess in the end if it doesn’t feel right then – don’t do it. But it is acting, pretend, not porn…I mean Kate Winslet was on one side of the porn card in “The Reader” and just because the director is named Stephen Daldry and not Chi Chi La Rue seems a matter of semantics to me. Porn to me is almost medical, nudity or simulated sex (which is often too much for me personally to handle in a film) is required many times and actors who are free of inhibitions and insecurity tend to not be inhibited in their acting. I remember watching Eric Balfour and Lauren Lee Smith in “Lie With Me,” and thinking that they really blurred the lines of soft-porn with pornography but I was impressed that they took the risk to do the role or Kate Dickie and Tony Curran in “Red Road,” where I had to put the shields up over my eyes and was sure that I was seeing full on copulation (that was a condom right?) with a small intimate audience at Sundance.

My point is, that sex in film is all around us and roles for actors who are willing to take risks can give an actor a reputation as a “risk-taker” which can draw attention to them. It can sometimes be negative publicity, but you know what they say, “No publicity, is, NO PUBLICITY!”

Sadly, a colleague of mine passed away this week. Megann Ratzow a casting director based in Portland, Oregon passed away from cancer. She worked with me on “Mean Creek”, “Nearing Grace” and “Rocket Science.” The strange thing about my working with her is that I never got to meet her in person. We just talked on the phone and I knew our productions were in good hands with her working on the local casting. Her dedication and love for casting and actors is what those of us who had the opportunity to work with her will remember.

I guess this is a good time to remind myself that life is tenuous and fabulous I am, no matter how tough times are, lucky to have the opportunity to be doing what makes me happy.

The Euphoria of Casting

I love what I do. I say this all of the time. When I am in the “casting groove” I really can get carried away with the euphoria of putting together a cast. I have figured out that the way I get that euphoric feeling (similar to a “runners high” which I have yet to attain, I mean how many miles does one HAVE to jog?) is by having a Producer who truly understands the casting process, a Director who is creative and goes with the flow. I find that the best cast comes from a lot of digging, hard work, but most of all determination and a sense of camaraderie that, while I may (loosely) be the figure head, because I am the CD, the reality is that we all know what we are up against and that the best cast comes from the work that we all put into it.

I spoke to my Producer yesterday to find out what she thought of the cast of “After.Life.” I wasn’t concerned about the namey actors, I knew they were great, I wanted to know about the day players and how they did on set. Where they as good as I thought they were going to be and did they add to the creative process? The answer was a “Yes”, I am happy to report, with the exception of two: “Maybe we should have picked someone else for such and such role…” is par for the course and as my Grandma used to say, “You live and you learn,” meaning, at the end of the day your best effort will be better then most and if you were perfect then you would be God…I’m trying. I know some people in Hollywood think they are God, but that’s another story.

I am now back to work, it’s a new year with new work to find. I am not a fan of December. It tends to be a slow month for me and anything that I am working on is shooting up to December 15 and then nothing. I like the Holidays, but really, I want to get back to making films. First up is “Polish Bar,” which is shooting in L.A mid-to-late January. We have the main cast on board, now the question becomes scheduling and if the cast we want is going to be able to work around other conflicts like, television shows and films that are paying them big bucks. Our little film is low budget, so no paydays for anybody, which is always a challenge, but the cast so far is amazing, if it holds together. It will be amazing either way.

As the film is called “Polish Bar,” every Polish actor from here to the Mississippi is leaving messages on my phone. Which is great and annoying all at the same time. Great, because I need to know who is out there and annoying because if I don’t call back in under an hour, I get another call saying that they left a message but nobody called them back. They must not get a lot of returned calls in Poland. I always call back, but I do try to call with something to say or else I find myself always on the phone. I like order to my chaos.

I also am looking for Orthodox Jewish Men to be in the film to play, well, Orthodox Jewish Men. Shouldn’t be that hard and yes I know who Matisyahu is, so don’t call me to leave a message about him. :0)

I am also working on some shorts and consulting on a film that is shooting overseas. I expect a few features to start up soon as well. Sadly, I am not going to Sundance this year, and to be honest, I wasn’t really into going. I will wait for the films to come out on DVD (ouch!) and I will have to find somewhere else to ski this year. I am also video blogging on my Facebook page (Matthew Lessall Casting) so join and become a fan. I don’t VBLOG everyday, just when I have something to say.

Happy New Year!