It wasn’t the first time I attended a casting, only this time I was there with a directors hat on to see if I could spot potential Dan and Junes (the two main characters) for my short film. This was not a casting session specially organized for my short, this was a casting for workshops on a film school, but I got the offer to join in, and so I did.
Casting for me is a weird process. Dan and June only exist in my head and in a story on paper, but nobody else really knows what they look like. I have a fairly clear idea about what Dan should look like and how he should move and behave and speak, and the same thing for June. So I can immediately see if someone would fit the picture in my head or not. And no, Dan doesn’t look like George Clooney as some of the girls suggested yesterday.
It was again shocking to see that actors with a long track record and years of experience are coming to auditions for work where they only get their expenses paid. There were people having done loads of theatre, and there was even someone who had been in Dr. Who. It’s a tough tough world for most people in the film business.
It was also again amazing how quickly you can spot if an actor is just an actor, or if an actor is a great actor. There were a couple of really great ones, male, but unfortunately they were too young to be able to play Dan (who is in his mid fifties), I ended up without having a potential Dan.
There were a couple of women who were in June’s age range (beginning 50) though. I noted down their contact information and might invite them by the time we are going to do the real Dan and June audition.
I will make the final (really!) changes to my script tonight, send it to some important people, and will then setup a meeting with my newly appointed assistant producer to make some sort of plan.
The Cookie is staritng to take shape.
The Cookie is giving me more headaches, nervous breakdowns and stomach problems than any other cookie has ever done.
Maybe you should try space cake instead of a cookie…?
Somehow, I think it will be hard to cast Dan, when it’s fairly clear you have a *particular* actor in mind… :)
Well he would be great, but I haven’t lost my sense of reality, not for this project at least :)
Generally it is just a bit tougher to finder “older” actors because they tend to be more experienced and therefor harder to get for low budget short films. So this goes for both June and Dan.
I am convinced I will find suitable actors though.