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Every talent “package” in the film industry is different — union, non-union, front end/back end, points, placement title, and so on. Being in the industry, I’ve seen many different talent packages. I’d like to share some insights based on a recent packaging we did for about 15 roles for an episodic — with big names, new names and talent in between.
First, it’s important to know that what works for each producer, financier, distributor, manager, casting director, talent, etc., can be different and generally varies.
Usually, I like to look at a whole talent profile, not just the Q value or availability of the talent. You can get some glimpses into that rationale from my earlier Rolling Stone Culture Council articles. Since I like teamwork and discovering hidden gems, I do research and dig until the package comes together. Here are some questions I ask whoever is hiring me to cast talent, be it the writer, director, producer or financier:
• What are the approximate filming dates? How many days on set will this talent be needed? Are filming days set up consecutively or spread out over time? If the latter, how much time?
• Where are you filming?
• What are your top three choices for each role, in the order you want me to make offers?
• Is this union or non-union?
• What’s the pay rate?
• Do you have verifiable funds in escrow?
Now on this one, people can be really good at creating documents and situations that appear real but in actuality are not, so be careful. (Yes, I have been bamboozled on this one as well.)
• What budget do you have for the casting director?
On this last question, people think I am asking this to know how much will I get paid, but really, I am asking this question to see how fair they are and if they have an understanding of the value a casting director brings to the table. If not, this will most likely flow over to other positions on the set and potentially make for an unpleasant experience. There is a lot of time spent on a set and stuff will happen regardless of how prepared or experienced you are. You want a team that has a clue and understands the value everyone brings to what they do.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
Then I ask myself:
• Is the script ready? Who wrote it? Who else is attached that has to stay attached?
• Do the people I am dealing with now have an understanding/chops in the business to actually do what they say they want to do?
In the episodic I was casting for, I believed in the persons involved and the vision they had even — though it was not my favorite story to tell. Their answers to all the questions above signaled to me that the series would get made and be good. So, we agreed.
For name talent, sometimes we make offers with a caveat of needing to meet the director or have an in-person with the opposite screen mate. When this happens, I do research:
• What roles have they done recently? What do they have coming up in the pipeline?
• Who reps them? Who else is in the stable (roster of clients) of their representative?
Then I make a chart of the viability of this talent wanting to do the role, as well as the availability and the possibility of packaging other talent from the same stable.
Now if that wasn’t enough, here is the fun part: How does the top-choice talent in each role work, act and gel with each other?
You will be surprised, but sometimes a cast does not seem believable enough, exciting enough or engaging enough. When that happens, I pull options from the other choices I added to my list to show the producer (or whoever is in charge) so they can compare. A cast is an ensemble, like a beautiful Renaissance masterpiece. Yes, makeup, wardrobe, backstory and character development are all integral to the finished product. But the chemistry between talent tells a story. Does that story match the story you are casting/making?
Ultimately, it is up to the person who makes the decision to book talent. I feel a casting director’s job is to get that person as much talent to choose from that tells that story.
