Welcome back my reader's for the fourth installment of the film making series. I trust everyone had a good Christmas. Great!
Now, let's begin
The fourth ingredient to your movie is the casting, IE, the actors and actress's you want in the movie. Now, like I wrote in the first film making blog topic, you may not always get the actors and actress's you like, or would like to have. There could be a number of reasons. I'll cover two of those reasons for you:
One: The asking price of the actor.
In some films, possibly just about every film that they make an actor male or female can earn up to twenty million dollars. Thats if they are real good and a sought after performer. The studio that has purchased your script will tell you on the spot that the budget for your movie would not be a big one.
Two: The actor or actress may just turn it down flat.
There is, if I may say this a 'ten page rule' meaning if the actor or actress you have in mind does not find the script interesting within the first 10 pages, they may not continue reading it.
As I already stated, do not be afraid to name drop. There is no harm in that.
Casting, in a nutshell works like this: you have you actor in mind, the studio calls his or her agent and tells them about the project. They read the script. If they like it than negotiation's start.
Casting covers every thing: Principal character's even down to extras who may not have a speaking part at all but are crucial to the film.
I recently saw a documentary on television about a producer/director from the 1950's and '60's. In the film ( I might discuss documentary's in this series later) people who knew the director, named William Castle was making a film in the mid 1960's and wanted a famous actress at the time named Joan Crawford. ( The film was called "Strait- Jacket")According to the documentary, Crawford demanded far too much from Castle up to the point that if things didn't go her way, she would walk.
Hopefully you will not get that with your's and I wont get that with mine.
Let's say for instance you get at least one actor you have had in mind, another form of casting is called auditions, where an actor would get your script and after they read it, they make up their minds on what part they might want to do.
The auditions can be a tough one.
If you recall a previous blog I wrote over the summer entitled 'acting techniques' I made reference to an actor I know. He has told me on more than one occasion that he has auditioned for parts either in movies or in television. Some he has got, other he has not. From what he has told me, he is not worried about it. If he didn't get one role, there would be more just around the corner. Good way to look at it, I think.
Tomorrow, the big one. The actual production of your film.
David
