Time to get your groom on…

Last night I was having dinner with some friends, one of whom is an actor. He is very good looking and has always worn color contacts, so his eyes kind of pop out at you. He is looking for a new manager and I got him a meeting with someone who I really like. I think they will be a good fit. Anyway, as the drinks were flowing and I was being asked all kinds of questions, I looked at my friend and said, “Look, before you go into meet the manager, I have to ask you about your eyes.” He looked at me inquisitively, “Are they contacts?” “Yes” was the answer and I proceeded to tell him that I thought it would be a good idea to go to his meeting “au natural.” He was confused, concerned and perplexed. The color contacts make us look at his eyes, but I get the feeling that the reason he is not booking as much work as he could be booking is that the eye color is so intense that it is distracting to his acting and his auditioning. If the Casting Director is distracted, that is not a good thing. I should be focusing on the acting not the eye color.

 

At another audition this week, an actor came in and did a very good job at his audition for the Director. After he left the audition room, I asked the Director what he thought. The Director thought he was good, but something was wrong. “It’s his hair,” I said, nonchalantly. When he was auditioning, he kept looking down at the page and on the top of his head was a shiny bald spot. His hairstyle was also not enhancing his acting; it was kind of covering up the imperfections. The actor is in his 20’s so, when auditioning for a leading action hero, the bald spot and bad hair style got in the way, it will subliminally make the Director (or me) feel like something is just not right.

 

Now, I kind of hate telling you all of this, because it make what I do seem sort of petty, but in reality, I deal in what looks right for a role on a giant screen in a movie theater. Actors have to be aware of how they look, it’s part of the deal: You get to be famous and successful and we get to scrutinize every ounce of your body. Of course there are a lot of exceptions, and what I am writing about has more to do with younger actors, but we all judge people every day for the way they look, and if someone is making you feel differently about them and or their performance because their look isn’t matching up to the characteristics and needs of the character, then this can sometime, more often then not be a problem for the actor in getting hired.

 

Distractions like colored contact lenses, bad hair, iffy skin issues, these can all affect the outcome of an audition.

Make Film not Drama…

I think the hardest part about writing a blog about what I do, and maybe this is because of who I am, in the genetic sense, is that when I write down my daily thoughts or weekly events, at the time they sound important or worth telling and then after a few days pass by I look at what I am about to publish and I think, “Oi, not worth it,” or “Gosh, who is going to care?” For example, I was going to write about the agent who bold-faced lied to me about an actor reading the script and passing on the material and then I found out by emailing the actor directly that they had never read the script, I was going to write about that, but after writing most of that (3 full pages!), I re-read it and thought to myself, “I don’t care anymore, move on Matthew.” Or, I was going to write about the fact that I have had no work and all of a sudden several projects came in at one time and now I find myself in a position not to not accept the jobs, because I need the money and none of them are paying what I need them to pay in order to do them all properly, but I still took the gigs because, well, I needed the money. I could tell you that, in retrospect, it sucks to have to do that, because, I can’t focus on what the production needs, by not paying for an assistant or an assistant and an associate, my time is spent going through emails and scheduling auditions and working so virtually, that the phone calls I need to make to discuss the projects with a live person get thrown to the back of the line and the phone calls to return get pushed back to the back of another line and that the phone sheet becomes my enemy and still somehow I have to remember six different films’ characters and make lists and check availabilities on my own because these producers have no idea how intense the work load that they are asking me to do, is…I could write about that…

 

I could also write about the big drama over Casting Workshops and how over the past several months, my good friends who run these workshops have been freaking out about the LA City Attorneys letter sent to Casting Directors and workshop owners warning them that they may be in violation of the Krekorkian Talent Scam Prevention Act. I could write about that, but after attending several of the meetings and hearing all parties concerns, I got board from the lack of knowledge as to what people (i.e. people who don’t do what I do for a living) do and how we do it and also the lack of understanding that it actually is possible that someone like myself is good at something else besides casting a film and can actually teach a class legitimately and does care about imparting knowledge on to actors but is also entitled to make a living, I could go on and on and on about that, but it just gets a little whiny.

 

I could write about my interns, all of who are in their early twenties. All, still in college, and all of whom are completely useless with computers, printers and the Internet. All of which makes me CRAZY! I don’t understand this, I don’t understand that a generation that has grown up with digital music, cell phones, the world wide web, virtual shopping, virtual worlds, that this generation can literally not plug in a computer to a printer or figure out how to download a printer’s driver onto their laptop, how, dear God up in the sky, how do they function on a daily basis? I could write about that, but then I just feel old and as I am not even 39 yet (a few more days, presents accepted), I could write about that, but I will swallow it and chalk it up to remembering that when I was 22 I was probably as much of an idiot as I think that they are and I probably was…

 

I could write about the office rent and phone bills and needing to put that damn poster up that has been leaning against my office wall, framed and all, since I moved into the office (2 years ago). I could write about needing to dust and vacuum the office and clean out the files, which I leave to Monika, because she loves to do it, I could remind myself that somewhere on my desk which looks like KATRINA hit it, I could remind myself to find that article on that rapper that everyone is talking about and how I tried to get him in a film two years ago but my producer thought he didn’t mean anything. I could write about the gazillions of times I have tried to get the obviously hot, hot actor to be to be the lead of a film and pay him peanuts because he would be happy to be in a film and then by the time the film was ready to be released, by that time, the producers would be kissing me, licking my body in joy and love because all of a sudden their 1.5 million dollar film had the new hot star of the moment, I could write about how this happens to me on a daily basis and still, somehow, I keep my cool when I hear back, “Matt, they just don’t mean anything…” I could write about that…

 

But I don’t want to write about any of this stuff. I want to tell you that I have been really lucky over the last few weeks and working my butt off to make it all work and that despite the state of the independent film world, I have faith that money will come back to it and that the business will find a way to continue to produce and distribute films and that the business will continue, because in truth, we need to find a way to keep things moving in a positive direction or else a lot of us in this industry will be doing something else. And since I have no other discernable skill set, I really need to keep my gig going.

 

So go out there and go to your local independent movie theater. Support independent film. Rent them on Netflix and demand them at Blockbuster! Support an industry that has a lot of talent, support us, because the less support we have, the fewer choices you will have in quality entertainment, quality writing, and quality acting. Support your local theater, school’s arts programs, volunteer, be a good person and remember, if you are in this business: IT IS NOT EVERYTHING, IT IS JUST PART OF WHO YOU ARE. Don’t freak out because you can’t book a client, don’t lie to me (or anybody) if you can’t deliver on something promised, just work towards making things happen. That is the only way we can continue to have an industry that thrives.

 

And with that rant, I will say, have a great rest of the summer. I will try to post something soon, but I have too much on my plate and too many places to visit (Aspen and the Grand Tetons here I come!). Be good…Act well: Cast thoughtfully! Actors still say “no,” it’s ok; you will get your film cast…

Dork, Dork, Goose…

I can be such a dork sometimes. First of all, my rule of not working over the weekends was broken this weekend when a director I am working with needed to see an actor on Saturday. As I do have a lot to catch up on, I was happy to go into the office at 10 and hold the audition at 11 and finish up around 2 and then go to the gym, etc, etc… Well, 11am happened and the director showed up with the producer, who flew in from Atlanta and the actor was not there. We called the actor and he was running late and would not be there until at least 1pm. The director asked if I minded hanging out and as I did have a lot to do, I said it wasn’t a problem and went back to my desk while they went out for a coffee. 1pm arrived and I gathered all of my belongings. My office is on the 5th floor of the building I am in and the audition room is on the 12th floor. So, in my hands I had a script, two copies of the 17 pages of sides and my small digital camera with an extra battery and extension chord. My hands were full as I opened my door and as the door slammed shut, I realized that I forgot my keys. I usually keep my key attached to a buckle on my jeans but this morning I forgot to do that, so I was out of luck and had no way to get back into my office or into the audition room. I went to the security guard in the main lobby and asked him if he had a master key to the offices, of course not…so, I went back up to the 12th floor to deliver my news that I was a total dumb ass and locked myself out of the offices. The actor auditioning, said no problem and tried to pick open the lock like a professional thief. It was funny at first and then weird and then awkward and then I was like, wow, he really may be a professional thief in his spare time! Well, needless to say, he did not get the audition room door open and not for a lack of trying. He was actually up for the challenge and excited about the possibility of busting on in. He went downstairs to the shop next door and borrowed a screwdriver. He really was a very determined young man. After a few minutes of almost breaking the door, I ordered him to stop and put everything back the way he found it as I am already probably going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble with the building manager for trying to get back into the room. It was all put back neatly and we had the small dilemma of where to hold the audition. We had no choice but to hold it in the hallway of the 5th floor of the building. Sure, the lighting sucked. Sure, the sound was a little echo-y and my dignity was way, way, way thrown out of the window, because aside from being totally embarrassed and humiliated at the fact that the producer flew in from Atlanta to see this one actor, aside from all of that, the actor did a really good job. I am pretty sure he will get the role. The funny/sad thing about all of this is that this is not the first time this has happened to me. Several years ago when I was casting Mean Creek, I locked myself out of my office, without my camera (on a Saturday) and I had several actors to audition; one of them being Josh Peck, who landed the role and always reminds me of the time he auditioned outside, under the landing, in the rain, with his Mother waiting in their car. Oh the glamour of Hollywood. So in the end, it may be a good omen to audition for me on a Saturday, especially if I lock myself out of my office. I just think the Universe is trying to tell me to stay home and chill out and not work: or at least not be such a dork…

Pick yourself up and dry yourself off, and start all over again…

I am going to be totally honest here: the last three months have sucked balls. I have been casting a feature film and putting together an amazing cast, when all of a sudden the money stopped coming in, meaning my paychecks were not regular and excuses from the Producer were being made left and right. Promises from the Producer, telling me to my face that I was going to get paid and not to worry and everything was fine. Ummm…still haven’t been paid. I have been told that the money will be there by the end of July. I’ll let you know how that turns out! I have been through this more times then I care to remember and I could kill myself, because I know all of the warning signs, but still, I pretend to myself to be as shocked as ever, which is probably a defense mechanism that keeps me from offing myself when stuff like this happens to me. Never once was I asked to stop working. Why can’t they just say at the time, “look this is going nowhere fast,” or “we started to early.” Are you still a Producer if you can’t actually produce…anything? If you are still working, shouldn’t you get paid?

Let me explain: When I get hired to cast a film, it is not the most important thing to be fully financed. But it is important to be able to pay me, because, I AM WORKING. Not for fun, not because I LOVE PUTTING ON A SHOW (a la Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney), no it’s because the Producer believes that in an appropriate amount of time, between auditions and making offers to actors that the money that will be available for production will actually be available for the production. Not a difficult concept to master. I get that casting and producing a film can be a chicken and egg thing. Agents, managers and actors fundamentally get that financing for indie films is partly an art, a mathematical equation, business finesse and there is always a risk when putting a film together. I have pretty much seen all variations of this, after all, I do work in independent film and it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, but in this one scenario it is vital to not be a big fat liar and to not pretend and it is not a time for ones giant ego to get in the way. Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy when dealing with agents, managers and talent. Letting them know where you are in the financing process is vital, because at no time will you ever be accused of misleading people. Actors, agents and managers must decide for themselves if they want to participate in the casting process. They decide if they like the script, the director, the writers, producers or the casting director and this directly effects how a film is put together. Without the power of a studio or distribution company behind you, indie film casting is ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS. To that end, part of why I get hired is because I am a relationship builder (and of course I have amazing taste in actors :0) ). I am the PR agent for the film, and when I don’t get paid, I have been used and that is not cool. If you make an agreement with someone, you should really stick to that agreement, you look like an idiot if you don’t and no matter how big your ego is, you are still a douche-bag if you don’t fulfill your obligations…just sayin…

So as my bank account was dwindling and my patience running out, I reached out to my casting community. I am really lucky to know some amazing casting directors who have been doing this a lot longer then I have. It is embarrassing to admit that you are down and out. There is a lot of fear that any perception that things are not okay can make matters worse. By admitting that times are tough and shitty, you are admitting defeat. Well, that was what I thought for a few days (maybe a week or two and a few Xanex to help along the way. JUST TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF-don’t judge!) and I let myself wallow in the world of my own self-pity, but then I got bored. I am a Casting Director, I need to cast, I need to work and I had to figure things out, quickly. So I reached out to my colleagues who have been doing this a lot longer then I have (I like to think of them in a mentor-ish way, as I truly respect so much of what they do and have accomplished). When I talked to them and shared my experiences with a few of them and then get a look back like “been there, done that,” I actually feel encouraged. Reaching out, I was able to get referrals from my colleagues who were busy on other projects. Emotionally, I was able to off-load some of the stress I had been taking on. It was very warming on the inside to feel that there were people who cared about what I was going through and it will never be lost on me that the way forward is to pay it back. So, because of the generosity of others and a bit of hustling on my own to stir up work, I am now busy, really busy, but good busy and this summer looks like it will be a successful one for me.

Also, I took the time to put together a reel of my work. I was approached by Speedreels, a company based in the building I have an office in, to put together a reel, much like an actor does. This reel can be like a calling card and a way to introduce Producers and Directors to the work I have done. Going through the material I cast, all sixty hours of it,  and reducing it to 3 minutes was cathartic and emotionally intense for me. I truly love some of the work I have done and been involved with and I hope that shows on the reel.

Go to: www.speedreels.com and enter my name (Matthew Lessall)

Or my website: www.lessallcasting.com

This month, I am looking forward to seeing the premier of a film I cast at the LA Film Festival. It is called, THE WHEELER BOYS and if you have a chance, go see it! Tickets are on sale now and the film stars, Alex Frost, Portia Doubleday, Bill Campbell and some amazing young talent not seen before. The script won a grant from a writing competition sponsored by Netflix and Film Independent and was shot on a very low budget, so it will be exciting to see how it turns out!

You have to believe in yourself to make anything happen. Working for yourself and not having a paycheck come in on a weekly basis because you (me) have chosen to be independent and self-employed, is challenging. But I know both sides (after all I have been doing this for over ten years) to this and I think in the end, I am happy where I am right now. I know I want more and maybe this will involve working with or for someone else and if that happens I want it to be happening because I will be moving forward and growing professionally, not because I am settling, because the option is safer for me.

My Grandfather was the man who gave me my independent streak. He was a very successful lawyer who, throughout his life relied on the kindness of others, treated others with respect, was a self-starter and created his own law firm and paid his community back many fold. He was strong, logical and the most thoughtful man I have ever known. He trusted the word and promises of others. To him a man (or woman’s) word was as good as a contract in writing. I think about him and his advice he would give me if I were ever in a situation like the one I was in over the past few months. I hope, in the end, he would approve of the way things have turned out and where I am going with my life…

I think he would…    

Hot town, summer in the city…

A Question from a student: Matthew Lessall-Although the internet was useless in finding the answers to my questions, it did help lead me to your contact information. It’s good to know that sometimes we do have to contact people when we need advice! In saying that, I was wondering if you’d be able to offer me some professional incite on summer acting training programs. Summary: my name is Hailey. I go to college in Kansas City, I’m an actor, blah blah blah. This summer, I’ve decided to broaden my horizons and find an acting intensive that would not only help me grow as an actor, but also would look good on the resume. The two summer programs I’ve been accepted to are South Coast Repertory’s Professional Actor Training program (in Costa Mesa, CA) and American Conservatory Theater’s Summer Training Congress (in San Fran, CA). I’ve weighed the pros and cons… but if I’m going to drop $3,000+ on a summer program, I want to make sure I’m picking the one that is most beneficial in the long term! Do you have any professional incite on either of these programs? What are their reputations like within the industry? What would look better on the ole’ resume? I know you are super busy, and contacting a college student in the Midwest is probably the smallest of your priorities; but if you have the time, I would really appreciate your professional opinion!  Look forward to hearing from you.Thank you!Hailey JonesHi Hailey,Thank you for your email. I am sure that there are pros and cons to both programs. If you are still going to be an undergraduate, it is clear from the two websites that A.C.T will give you credit towards your course work in college and that is not clear with South Coast Rep. So if this is important to you, I would get clarity on that issue. Also, it looks like South Coast Rep has a housing option whereas A.C.T can only advise you on places to rent/share/live, etc… So if this is important to you then again, it may be obvious which program you should attend. As neither of the websites is specific about the instructors, I think it may behoove you to call each program and ask them who the instructors are going to be as this may also help you decide which course to go on. In general, both programs seem like they work in similar ways but that South Coast pays additional attention to brining in professionals like Casting Directors to discuss the business of acting. I think that it is great that you are going to get some formal training and I am sure that you will learn a lot over 8 weeks. However, this is just a start, and as a “resume booster”, it is great to see that you did something to learn more about your craft, but ultimately you must expect that what I and many casting directors look for is consistency in your training. I hope this helps.Best, Matthew

I just want to control your mind…

Wow…I have been delinquent in my blogging. I think it is because I have been so busy casting the feature film “Vinyl” and concentrating on getting the actors we want into the film. It is like a huge juggling feat to try to get the actors you want, meet with the actors the agents want the director to meet with and still manage everyone’s expectations. Being a casting director is sometimes like being thrown into the middle of a giant shit-storm and having to sort through a ton of crap in order to finally get to the finished product. Hopefully on the way you haven’t burned any bridges or forgotten to email or call back too many people, or forgotten to pay the office rent and phones! With “Vinyl,” we are shooting in Canada and the U.S and many of the actors we are looking at are not only based in L.A but also the U.K and Australia. Casting is now truly a global profession. I have to be aware of actors coming out of other countries before they are getting into bigger studio films. It’s a cool way to be ahead of the curve in finding talent and it can be helpful at the end of the day when the producer needs to find a distributor, which can be a year or three years after filming ends. For example, when Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) was in L.A several years ago and meeting with casting directors, I was telling my producers on films I was working on, that he was defiantly going to be something. You could tell when he was in his first film, BOOTMEN, in 2000, that as the supporting role to Adam Garcia (who?), that Sam had something special. In the meeting with me, he was quiet and reserved but he had an intensity to him that kept me focused on him, which is a good sign of someone with the quality of becoming a future star. It would have been very smart to find him a cool indie to cast him in a year or two before he got “Avatar.” So that is what I am doing on “Vinyl” (hopefully), really trying to pinpoint who is being overlooked by Studios, who is capable of giving a great performance and seeing if they fit into one of the characters. It can be a very frustrating process. An actor I cast in a production before “Vinyl” was perfect for one of the roles in “Vinyl” and I got her a straight offer. The film I cast her in she was making scale and with “Vinyl” it would have been decent money, plus a little more high profile of a gig and a really cool character to play. But she didn’t respond to the script or want to meet with the director! How crazy is that? If you are an actor and you are given an opportunity to meet with a director, why not see what the gig is all about before passing on the job? Especially when the offer is coming from a casting director who already loves your work and wants to keep casting you. I was kind of upset about the whole thing, for like 5 seconds, and then had to move on; I will always be baffled by her choice not to meet with the director. But this business is about people not numbers and if you could control people, well, that would be awesome! 

Oh de Casting (and bloating)

Oh the dream of becoming a world class casting director slowly fades when it’s 5pm on a Friday and you want to tear your hair out (or what’s left of it) because, suddenly you get a phone call that the actor meetings you have scheduled for Saturday with the Director have to be pushed to Wednesday because the Director is flying to New York (and also, can I please schedule some meetings in NY - ummm it’s 5pm on a Friday) to meet with actors, which is great, but I thought that they were going on a Sunday, so now all of the calls that happened and email confirmations that went through had to be changed and explained and somehow (please God) re-arranged for Wednesday. While at the same time a friend of mine is just off the plane and looking to spend a great weekend with me in L.A and me being stressed out about work does not a great weekend make, so I have to compartmentalize: deal with the film and have fun with my friend. Not spin out about the appointments and have fun with my friend, which translates into eating at fabulous restaurants all weekend and being in denial that I am really stressed about the upcoming weeks meetings and auditions and actually have the actors I want to meet with the Director come in and read for him, for that actually to happen because, oh yeah, there are a bazillion Pilots casting at the same time and every one of the actors on my lists are going to be on Pilot casting lists which means unless an actor specifically does not want to do television, I am going to be doing a lot of re-arranging of my sessions and trying to figure out that one actor who doesn’t want to be in a Pilot but does want to be in a 3 million dollar budget indie-movie with no distribution and where the pay rate is probably well below their quote – GOOD TIMES!

Actually, it is all-good, and thinking about it now, it is rather fun. While at the time it may seem like a huge amount of work: the phone calls, the 70-100 emails per hour (not an exaggeration) the lists, setting up the sessions (4 actors every 15 minutes, because 20%-50% drop out for reschedules and pilot casting – it’s amazing how many actors wake up on the morning of their audition with a sore throat), uploading the auditions and editing them, it is all a good time. I do actually like doing it. It does cause me to stress eat, so going to the gym is even more important when I am busy, because nobody likes to look at “Fat Matt.” I haven’t managed to work out all week, so, a new plan, take care of me and everything will flow as it should be and yes I am talking about my mental health and my digestive system…

I like to move it, move it…

Happy New Year…

 

Anyway…

Back to work and just finished casting a wonderful film, “Touchback.” The cast is, if I do say so myself, wonderful and I could not be happier with how it all came together. I had very little time to put the cast together and we were under a lot of pressure to deliver a cast that could perform because the script was the winner of the Netflix Find Your Voice Competition and therefore as part of it’s prize, will screen at the LA Film Festival this year. So, not a lot of time, or money to do things but we did it and I have to say that the Director, Phil Flores and the Producer, Chase Kenney were wonderful to work with and get to know. It’s also nice to work on a film that is shooting in Los Angeles, because visiting the set and getting to know the cast a little better and see them in action is exciting for me. Go to IMDB to check our cast out…

 

A new year and a new gig. “Vinyl,” which has been on my desk and in various stages of financing is finally active. This weekend is all about me getting ahead of the names submitted and figuring out whom we want to make offers to. It’s nice to be working on a film that has a bigger budget and an ensemble piece. The film is shooting in Winnipeg and Los Angeles, but most of the casting will be done out of LA. I sent the breakdown to agents in NYC, Canada and London, just in case there is an idea that I let slip through the crack (what? Not me? I am perfect!). This job will keep me up at night, because I know how hard it is going to be to coordinate all of the information coming at me at once, but it will be worth it in the end, because the script is a lot of fun to flesh out and work on and the actors, agents and managers have been responding positively to the script, which is always a good sign.

 

I am also casting a short film for students at AFI that starts going in mid-March. The story is, shall we say unusual. It is a satire on a domestic drama, in which the son of a father has been raping the father for several years and everything starts to come to a head after the son gets married (to a woman). Needless to say, it’s “racy” but not surprisingly to myself, actors love the material and are interested in the project. I love working with new filmmakers as it gives me a chance to get to know emerging talent like directors, producers and actors.

 

It is very true that working gets you more work. Staying busy is very important to me; I don’t like not having something to work on. So for now (at least until April) I am busy. Now I just have to find my next gig…Take a look at my new website www.lessallcasting.com

To Joe Kiddle…

From time to time I get emails from students about what I do, so I thought I would publish this one…

 

Hi Matthew

 

My name is Joe Kiddle and I’m currently in my third year studying advertising at Uni. I’m currently doing an assignment that requires me to research the role of the casting director in film and commercial making.

 

I would be extremely grateful if you would be able to spare a few minutes of your time to answer a few questions for me.

 

 

How closely do you work alongside the director and producer? How much input do they have in the casting decisions and are there ever disagreements?  The producer is the person who is actually hiring me. From their production entity I will be getting paid, so the answer is – VERY CLOSELY. At the same time, the director on the film is responsible for the creative perspective of the film. Often the director is also the writer, so the script and the vision for the film have been living with him for a long time. When the director is also a producer and there is another producer that I answer to, because that is who has hired me, there can, sometimes, be disagreements about casting choices amongst them. However, my job is to mitigate and foresee the bumps in the road that casting can cause and try to make the process as smooth as possible. My job is to bring to the producer and director the best possible choices for casting. If I am doing my job correctly, the choices I would make are what they would go for. Ultimately, the choice of who gets hired is hashed out between the director and producer and if there are disagreements, I try to resolve them by suggesting that “we sleep on it and decide in the morning.” Most of the time, this works. When it doesn’t work, well, it’s not a good day in the office…

 

 

 

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How do you go about casting a role? Do you send out blind adverts or are specific invites made to actors you know inside the industry? Does this vary depending on the role? After reading a script, I make lists of ideas of who I would want to play the role. The lists are based on several factors and are also influenced by factors such as the budget of the film and who is available to play the roles. I then create a “breakdown” which has all of the information about the film and all of the roles written out and described in detail. The breakdown is then sent out to a service that distributes breakdowns to agents. In the U.K this is done through a company called Spotlight and in the U.S through Breakdown Services. Sometimes, I will contact agents directly and not put out a breakdown, this just depends on the project and it’s requirements. If I am looking for unrepresented actors (street casting) I will find ways of getting the word out, but this is an entirely different process and requires a lot of legwork to find what the director is looking for. I primarily start with represented actors and go from there…

 

 

 

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What factors do you look at when casting an actor for a lead role, and which factors do you feel are most important? I have to be able to visualize (with my eyes closed) the actor playing the role and seeing him on screen. I have to be able to hear the actor’s voice in my head when reading the script. That is how I know an actor is right for the role. Seems simple, but sometimes there are only a few actors I can visualize. Once I have gone through that list, I have to audition, watch reels and re-think how a role is going to be played. Going for the obvious actor can be boring. Find the actor who will make the role unique and I have done my job.

 

 

 

 

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Do you use auditions and interviews or only one? Does this depend on the role? Some actors get offered the role directly. Then if they like the script/role the meet with the director to see if their vision of the film matches their expectation of why they were attracted to the script in the first place. I tell first-time (and even experienced) directors that the actor is auditioning you at this meeting, not the other way around. Based on my availability lists per role, I will find out who is: available, offer only, to be auditioned, not available, passing, etc… Generally I am auditioning all roles, even ones with offers out, because you never know how it is all going to turn out in the end. Sometimes an actor will come in for one role and be right for something else. Auditions are an opportunity for an actor to meet with a casting director, director and producer. If you are a talented actor, we will know, even if the role is not right for the actor.

 

 

 

 

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What areas do you assess when agreeing a fee with an actor? Actors’ salaries are based on several factors: budget, who the director and producer are, script, etc…. I can find out what an actor made on previous films by calling casting directors from previous films they have worked on or business affairs heads at various production companies. This process is called “verifying quotes” and is usually done on a Studio film (Fox, WB, Universal, etc…). In the independent film world if I am casting a 5 million dollar budget film and want Rachel McAdams to play a role, there is probably very little chance that we will be able to pay her what she made on a film like “Sherlock Holmes.” I always advise my producer to offer what they can afford to offer. After doing this for several years I have a general idea of what actors make.

 

 

 

 

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How do you go about keeping up to date with new, upcoming acting talent? I go to the cinema, watch television, go to theatre, look at websites, etc…

 

 

 

 

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Once a cast is assembled, do you have any further roles in the film production? Nope.

 

 

 

 

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Look forward to hearing from you,

This Sh*t is hard to do…and that ain’t no LOI (the “o” is silent)

Here is a recent email I received from a producer:

“…In searching for money for this film we’re constantly coming up against the “who do you have attached” question. The whole Catch-22 thing. We have actors that want to be in the film, yet refuse to give us written a LOI, which is something I can’t understand, because a written LOI could be like an un-cashed check. So, we’re forced to seek out talent, prior to funding, with hopes of getting attachments. Asking a casting agent to take a script and get it into any actors hands is unfair when you can’t pay that agent. My question is are you finding this scenario happening more and more in the industry and do you feel that actors and their managers will come around, select scripts, and then go out to look for funding? Such a big question on a Sunday morning, I know…”

Below is my general answer to this question. But I also have to say, being someone who did not go to business school, that when you are starting to try to bring a film to fruition, you are going to need a plan. Often time that plan involves…money. This isn’t your high school drama club, this is the real world and while, yes there is always going to be an element of people out there who would do anything to help you with making a film because (gosh darn it) they are good people, the truth is be prepared to spend, because you will only get so far on favors in this town and the people you want to work with who are any good, will cost you…

1)    It’s about the script: If you are not getting the response you think you should be getting then quite possibly your script isn’t is amazing as you think it is. This does not mean that the script is bad, it may need another polish or even a re-write. This does not mean to say that it won’t get produced (go to AFM and see the barf that is produced there-not that your film is “barf”), but an un-financed script that is not getting good coverage or getting a luke-warm reception from actors, agents & representation means that you will have to find money to bring actors into the project.

2)    It’s about the producer: What is the track record of your producer? How many films has he/she made and to what success? What are your producer’s personal relationships within the industry and are those relationships getting you the meetings you need to get in order to have progress on finding talent for your film?

3)    It’s about the writer: Is this the first script that the writer has ever written? Does a top tier agent or manager represent the writer? Has the writer had any success prior to this script? Is there anything that the writer can bring to the table?

4)    It’s about the money: what is the budget of your film. Anything over 5 million dollars is going to raise red flags on first time director/producer/writer etc…the obvious questions will be: a) why this script (b) why this director (c) why this budget & (d) how are you financed? Can you answer these questions with confidence?

5)    It’s about the LOI: The letter of intent to release funds from an investor, bank, etc…is about as old a line as it gets. Talent representatives do not think that a film is real if you ask for an LOI and do not have a good script, producer, writer or realistic budget attached to your film. It smells like bullshit and will run from the project. They are not going to be willing to sit down in a company talent meeting and suggest a project that has no legs and be fired the next day because Bryan Lourd thinks that they are a schmuck in the first place for bringing it up. Understand the politics of large agencies and management companies and the pressure they are under to deliver projects to high grossing clients and you will begin to realize where you fit in the scheme of things.

6)    Agents and Managers will try to find financing if the talent they represent brings financing to the table. This assumes that the talent that is attracted to your script is one of those few names in the industry that brings money to the table. On a film I am on, an actor is not going to get anywhere close to the money they should (and deserve, in my opinion) for making the film, in consideration of the lack of funds for the actor, they will be getting a significant back-end, and the management company may invest a few thousand dollars in order to make the actors experience on the film “doable.” Actors in general, don’t need all of the creature comforts that a gazillion dollar studio film provides, but at the end of the day, one wants there to be no distractions for an actor. An actor needs to deliver on set and if there is a way to make this happen without any drama (usually $$$, which can translate into a nicer hotel room or rental car/driver/personal assistant for the actor) then it is worth it for the management company to come up with a solution as they are invested in the role for the actor and want that actor to succeed. This is part of what I do, I introduce scripts to representation and I seek out actors that are not only right for a role, but also should want the role because it is going to make a difference to them personally. Get the actor invested in the material and amazing things can happen for you.

6)  Actors say “no.” It is not personal. You are dealing in people. This is why it takes a loooooong time to put a film together and cast it well.

If you want talent in your film, make real pay-or-play offers backed by an investor that is willing to go there with you. If your financier is not willing to back a hard offer, put money in escrow & pay your casting director, then the chances of you getting the talent you need for an LOI for the releasing of the finances are…ZERO. Also, you will realize that your financier is full of shit. This is not a game, go play Hollywood with your friends and don’t waste the time, energy and reputation of people who can actually put a film together for you. If you want to make a film, make it at the budget level you can afford to make it at, with the cast you can afford to make it with. If the film is any good, it will sell at markets do the festival circuit and hopefully do business on DVD and you will be able to begin to think about making your next film.

To that end, this is why I am so friggin busy casting. I am working on more films below 5 million (and getting great casts for them) then ever before, because individual investors are willing to get into the world of filmmaking and the producers I work with are tapping into those people and telling them the what’s what. You get the actors by putting your money where your mouth is. By the way, that money can be SAG/Ultra-Low budget (100/day) or scale, it doesn’t matter, as long as you are making something and it is real, actors, agents and managers will be interested. Also donations are always gratefully accepted to the Matthew Lessall Casting Fund :0)…Daddy needs a holiday…

Lastly, I am not a “casting agent” the title is “casting director.” My ramblings/advice/experience is based on thousands of hours connecting producers, managers & actors to scripts that I work on. It is never easy and is always an uphill battle. I deal with egos, crazy people, narcissism that defies the mind, psychopathic personalities (and that’s just me) but I also work with the brightest, most fun, intelligent people on this planet. It’s a miracle anytime a film gets made and no matter how I feel personally about working with the producers, directors, writers, managers, agents and actors that I have worked with, I think all of them achieve more in producing one film then many people achieve in a lifetime. They all have that respect from me…making a film is that hard to do…

That’s my 2 cents…

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