SCENE 4 HOW A
MOVIE GETS CAST
Let's start at the beginning. There are twenty-four
thousand scripts a year registered at the Writers Guild of
America West (WGAW) in
Los Angeles.
(That's just on the west coast. There's a Writers Guild East as
well.) And there are countless others that don't even get
registered, and of all these, very few are chosen, so be glad
you're an actor and not a script. But here's how a movie
usually gets made: Someone comes up with an idea. They
pay to have a script written or they write it themselves "on
spec," short for "on speculation," or you hope you get
paid. This script goes to a literary agent. The agent sends
it out to production companies, studios, and television
networks. They decide if they want buy and "develop" it (pay
for rewrites) and ultimately if they want to risk a whole lot of
money and make it into a movie. (Most of the scripts that are
bought and paid for never go into production.) But through
personal contacts and relationships, industry politics, good
writing, good selling and sometimes blind luck, a
script finally gets chosen, and a movie goes into production.
A studio has "green lighted" a "project," which means
they're going to make the script into a movie. They bring on a
director. They cast “A list” or well-known money making stars,
in the main rolls. These are the people who can “get a movie
made”. Then they hire a casting director for the remaining
rolls. The casting director reads through the script and
"breaks it down," identifying and describing the roles -- who
the character is, their age and ethnicity and how big a part
they have. These are considered supporting roles.
The Internet plays a major role in the casting of film and
television. For example, there are two main websites used
specifically by agents and casting directors to make this
process quick and efficient;
www.lacasting.com for LA, and
www.actorsaccess.com for NY, Chicago, Texas, Florida,
Hawaii, CO, and UT. Casting directors will post their
breakdowns on these websites; agents will receive this
information and submit pictures with resumes of their clients on
line. The casting director then deciphers through hundreds of
jpeg headshots, chooses the actors they want to audition, then
sends confirmation to the agent via email.
Breakdowns of Castings are available to legitimate casting
directors and Agents on a continuous daily basis and for a
substantially large monthly fee. These types of roles are
categorized as follows: Day Player – Television term for
someone that would only work for 1 day of shooting. Under
five – Someone that has less than 5 lines of dialog in a
script. Co-Star- Television term for someone that has
dialog and at least 2 days of work on the same episode, this
term is mainly used for sitcoms or evening shows, Guest Star-Television
term similar to Co-Star only it requires at least 8 days of work
on the same episode, Supporting Roles – Film term for
someone that is below a “Star level” with at least one line of
dialog, Unless you’re in NY or LA, which you aren’t, hence the
reason you purchased this book, these websites may not be
helpful to you. So I urge you to contact your local film
commission or frequently check their website which is listed in
the back of this book and find out what productions may be
shooting or filming in the area. All too often, people will
find out too late that a project has already been shot. Make
sure you visit these sites on a regular basis. It’s a good
idea to ask if they could tell you who is casting the project.
Submit a hardcopy headshot and resume to the casting director.
If you have an agent, you may want to touch base and mention
that you would really like to be submitted for a part on this
project. Breakdowns come out five days a week, Monday through
Friday, and they have every production that's being cast at that
time, so they're pretty thick.
Once the agents get the breakdowns, they have a meeting in
the morning. They sit down around the table and go through each
production -- television or motion picture -- and they see if
they have actors who might be right for the roles. Then they
submit their actors' headshots and resumes to the casting
directors. Keep in mind, in
Los Angeles
there are hundreds of agents with thousands of actors, and they
submit hundreds and thousands of pictures a day. Once the
casting directors get the submissions, they go through them. If
they have a personal relationship with a particular agent, they
probably give more consideration to that agent's clients. I
have been involved with a movie that got a big, thick envelope
of pictures and resumes from an agent. The casting director
looked at the name of the agency and dropped the package it in
the trashcan. She knew that agency did not handle very good
actors. So it is not an easy task to be seen. The agent is
all-important here in
L.A.,
and yours is to you.
The casting
director then goes blind studying hundreds of headshots. She
may receive fifty or sixty for each role. Of these, she may
bring in only five to ten actors, because audition time
is naturally limited. The casting director then calls the
agents, they set up appointments, and the actors come in and
read for the part. The director and the producer decide which
actor they want for the role and tell the casting director. The
casting director tells the agent that her client has the job.
The agent gets a "quote" -- or how much money the actor will be
paid. The going rate for established actors is generally well
known in the industry, though it can be flexible. For less
experienced actors, the quote will probably start at Screen
Actors Guild "scale" or minimum, which isn't bad.
SCENE 6 A DAY ON THE SET OR YOU GOT THE
JOB
Let's say you've gone through the audition, you got
callbacks-- one, two, three, however many it took -- your agent
has called you, you got the job. The movie company comes to
town and they're shooting. They have a "character breakdown,"
which tells them when you work or at least when you're
scheduled. Because of rain, natural disaster, a temperamental
actress or a director who takes too long to set up shots, they
may get behind. They may tell you you're going to work on the
twelfth -- you work on the sixteenth. That's okay. You're
working. You're lucky. You got the part. At the beginning and
at the end of each workday, they put out a "call sheet," which
gives the times, the characters, the scenes, and location of the
next day's shooting. On the back of the sheet there's a list of
the call times for the actors, crew, props, stunts, extras --
everything the production manager and his team need to know to
make sure everything and everyone is in place for the next day's
work.
Well, you're going to work. Your name is on the call
sheet. The 2nd A.D., the Second Assistant Director, who makes
out the sheet, or her assistant, the Third A.D. or a P.A. will
get a hold of your agent or reach you at home to tell you what
your call time is. That's when they want you there. I
recommend that you plan on being early your first day of work.
You may have trouble finding the location. Once you're there,
it may take you a few minutes to find out where you should be.
Be there early. It's always better than late.
When you get to the set, find someone who's got a walkie
talkie. This will be an A.D. or a production assistant. Tell
them what you're there for. You're an actor. You're playing
this part. They will then escort you to your dressing room,
which you're probably sharing with another actor with a small
part. But before costume and make-up, before lights, camera and
action, there's...
