Article / How to kill a film

How to kill a film in one phone call …

 

Phone rings …

ACTOR (THROUGH PHONE)

Hello?

CASTING DIRECTOR (INTO PHONE)

Hey girlfriend,  you got the part!

There, you just ruined an otherwise promising film. Why? How? Cronyism.

If you cast a role as a favor, or to a friend, or some other act of cronyism, you put the integrity of the whole into serious jeopardy. It happens ALL THE TIME. Here, tank my film!

Casting is so vital to a film’s success, and I cannot stress that enough.

There are a few ways of going about it, with the traditional manner being auditions. I am not wholly convinced auditions always work to a filmmaker’s advantage. Either those supervising the audition are overly smitten with one actor/actress, and put aside talent standards, or they simply don’t know how to do it right. They choose the wrong sides for the actor to read, or don’t take the time to help the actors relax before tossing them in front of the decision makers.

I am also of the correct opinion that the big Hollywood dogs royally screw up casting on a regular basis. The film “Man Inside” comes to mind, among others. Don’t get me started!

To cast a film, I always go by gut feeling. I look at a variety of head shots and, if available, a reel. Reels are a nice alternative to setting up and scheduling auditions. I can sit in my pajamas and sip latte, and watch the reels all day long. Most important, I can make a decision without all the activity and pheromones typical on audition sets.

If a candidate has any screen grabs available, look at those as well.

I’ve been told this is completely ludicrous. How can one possibly cast a film from some mountain-top cabin, and having never met the the actor? Well, first, harken back to my point that auditions fail as well, and I will even add they fail at a high rate, whether it be a big production house, or some kid with his or her first SD camera and a half-assed story. Auditions fail. To rely on them 100% to make a decision on casting is what I would consider ludicrous, right up there with cronyism.

All said, you need to have a gut feeling about the candidates. If the audition was considered a success, but a gnat keeps eating at the back of your head, then something is wrong. We all have dark sides, and you don’t want to find out you have just cast an axe murderer half way through filming.

Then there is the medley of psychoses that comes with any cast. In the not-too-distant past I chatted with a woman who insisted any intimacy portrayed on set would need to be accompanied by a trauma counselor. Okay, so fine. And who is going to pay for that counselor, and what amount of time will the rest of the production team need to wait after each on-set kiss?

What happens if you learn of this, or any other debilitating idiosyncrasy, only after you have spent some serious cash and burned up some footage?

Man, I can’t tell you enough. Take the time to cast. If you are doing a fairly big production, and make a magnaminous screw up choosing a main character, you will have a lot of trouble convincing anyone of the legitimacy of the film, and maybe even kill any shot at finding a distributor.

Remember this: audiences are evil, and they will look for and exploit any mistake they can find. They will then wave that mistake in your face for all eternity. Okay, so we’re human after all.  Finding a scene on a blooper channel is one thing, and usually deserved and done in good jest. Usually. But to have an entire film crash and burn over bad casting is unforgivable.

In no uncertain words, some actors have no business playing certain characters. It’s a match made in hell, and that’s exactly where they will lead the film.

Friends don’t let friends act.

more later …

Next on my bitch list is responsibility, that dreaded concept most seem to think is simply the long version of some four-letter word.

Whoever does the casting has a responisibility to the Investors who have put up some cash, and to the rest of the production who will either win or lose based on one major F-up

Casting is a huge, fat responsibility.  The appropriate age, looks, body type, voice, and mannerisms all need to be taken into account for each and every role, but especially for that one lead role that will carry the film, and put all other characters into subordinate perspective.

Can you imagine anyone other than Gregory Peck as Atticus? Could you possibly see Danny DeVito as Indiana Jones? Would it be appropriate for Dakota Fanning to play the lead in Pretty Woman?

You better be thinking ‘Of course not’ to the above, or get the hell out of film.

If you have a fairly large cast of twenty actors, and a crew of say fifteen, you now have thirty-five people all working together for a common goal, each with a responsibility to each other to see it through. Each has a responsibility to what is best for the film, not their own irrational objectives or fantastical self-worth (ego).

More soon …