Most recently, his work as fight director in the ASC’s Romeo and Juliet was a triumph of storytelling, and he was gracious enough to offer his expertise and insight to those interested in combat for film and stage, fight choreography and what it means to be an actor combatant.

What drew you to stage combat? Give us a brief history.

When I was like fifteen, my mother was volunteering at the Children’s Theatre of Maine and they had this partnership with this theatre called Acorn that specialized in Shakespeare and I started taking classes with them because I liked acting a lot. And one of their classes was this rudimentary stage combat class…and I learned a lot about myself, and a lot about acting and I sort of found the things that I enjoyed to do as a physical human being…This was a good way to exercise that I didn’t hate or didn’t hate myself doing. I started there and then I didn’t do it for years.

In my junior year of college, we had to take a stage combat class. Every one of my classmates was like “Ugh, this is so dumb.” I loved it. My teacher happened to be a certified teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors. I sort of apprenticed with this guy, his name is Jeff Jones. He still lives and works outside of Raleigh North Carolina. Through him, I got introduced to what it is to do this professionally.

Talk about being an actor combatant. What opportunities has it opened in your career?

Before I answer that directly, I’ll talk a little bit about why it is that I’ve decided to continue doing this. Because we live in a society now [where] a lot of our entertainment comes from the consumption and digestion of dramatized violence. This is something that I learned from a very dear friend of mine, Jake Guinn: it is very important that we take responsibility for the images of violence that we depict.

Because in a society like ours in Western society, which is simultaneously so divorced from and so intricately bound up in violence, in the news and the media, I think there’s a very real danger of treating violence as something that is fine, that is able to be, you know, trivialized. The violence in the real world is anything but that…and so, the work of an actor combatant and fight choreographer is to responsibly present violence in a way that serves the story and serves, perhaps the digestion and deconstruction of what we think of as entertaining violence. And look at the cost and result of that in a way that is palatable because it is through theatre or film, but is nevertheless treating it with the respect that it requires.

Now what that looks like in the day-to-day as a fight choreographer, as an actor who performs fighting is…sometimes you’ll be on a job and everyone in the room is like “well, we don’t need a fight choreographer”…and then it becomes your job to advocate for the presence of one. Because it can be, actually, really dangerous.

One of the worst injuries I’ve ever heard tell of happened in a stage combat class where they were using blunt swords…and these two young actors were doing their choreography very quickly…and their teacher was like “OK you guys need to slow down and continue to be aware of the danger of this” and they were like “Oh, it’s blunt, it’s not going to hurt us”…they were going fast and one actor slipped the tip of his blunt sword into the nostril of the other and pierced his brain.

He’s still alive. But that’s a really horrifying injury….and so, it’s important to remind every room that you’re in that there is a need for someone to run this safely. And when the time comes, if you should be so fortunate to be that person in the room, it becomes your responsibility to facilitate that safety and to do it in a way that remains thrilling and in service to the story and respectful of the stakes of the violence. And that’s a complicated puzzle that I really like to try and solve.

You recently choreographed fights for Romeo and Juliet. How did you use combat to support and support the story?

So, this is a thing that I see a lot…oftentimes I will see a period piece…where the action of the story is halted and space is given for this third party thing that is the sword fight, that has nothing to do with anything else, that is super flashy and fun–and that is done and we go back to the story. And I didn’t want to do that.

It comes down to the title of fight director. I think people often put a lot of emphasis on fighting and not a lot of emphasis on the director. To me, it is just as important for a fight director to read and digest and become intimately acquainted with the script and the story as a whole as it is for the director, or an actor in the piece. The violence–it is irresponsible to present violence that does not have any bearing on the story.

In Romeo and Juliet, a couple of things stuck out to me. There’s this big fight in the beginning…where all these teens fight in the street with swords and nobody gets hurt, and it gets broken up by the royalty, right? You’ve got a bunch of people with lethal weapons not hurting each other…ain’t none of them want to be fighting and hurting each other. There’s got to be an element of posturing in that…So there’s this idea that this fighting is about social status, until something shifts and it becomes something much more serious and sinister.

What are some general misconceptions about stage combat?

The biggest one I run into in the room…is that, and I don’t know why this is, because when you rehearse a play you take a lot of time to do a dance number…a lot of time to stage a scene, but when it comes to fight choreography many directors are like “OK, you have 15 minutes to do this whole extended sword fight.”

The amount of time that you’re given in the room to present something that needs to be really really sharp and well-rehearsed is very very small.

I would encourage folks in the industry who are not fighting professionals to liken the time that it takes to create an involved piece of fight choreography to the time it takes to choreograph a very involved, company-wide dance number.

Where would you like to see the industry grow when it comes to fighting chores?

I would like to see it move in a direction that is less I hate to say self-serving and self-showcasing–I would like to see it move…more into a space where it is cohesive with the storytelling of the piece…. In the theatre, there is a strong risk for it to become about an individual’s ego…The product inevitably suffers….We tell these stories to turn a lens of reflection on the human experience. And if that is not the aim…then what are we doing here?

What’s something you wish you had been told earlier in your combat career?

Everything is always a process…whatever it is you do there’s a point in your education, usually relatively early where you’re like… ‘I know everything about this, I’m so good at this.’ And usually, that’s where you stop.

You have to keep learning. The minute that you stop becoming a student…and start becoming someone who claims authority over it…that is the minute you become unsafe in the room. If you are unable to keep that learner’s spirit you’re going to hurt someone.

If [combat and choreo] is something that you’re interested in as an actor… it has opened many doors for me in my career as an actor. It’s a way into a certain niche of what we do. Because it does require a skillset.

To find out more about Benedetto Robinson, visit his Instagram or check out his website at benedettorobinson.com

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• What’s Casting: Frankincense & Myrrh, Tech Brand Campaign, Major Skincare Brand Commercial
• Cristiana Dell’Anna Shares How Martin Scorsese and Three Self Tapes Helped Her Land the Starring Role in ‘Cabrini’
• Success Story: How Stephen Pollak Uses Role Tracker to A/B Test His Casting Networks Wins

The post Fight Director Benedetto Robinson Gets into the Nitty Gritty of Fight Choreography, What it Means to Be an Actor Combatant first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Fight Director Benedetto Robinson Gets into the Nitty Gritty of Fight Choreography, What it Means to Be an Actor Combatant appeared first on Casting Networks.

These four common pitfalls can make your project look unprofessional and convince performers to dismiss your project, leading you to miss out on some great talent.

1. Asking for too much personal information

Never ask for social security numbers or birthdates. If a project notice asks for personally identifying information, it looks more like an identity theft scam than a legitimate casting call. For an added layer of security, project creators and talent have the ability to communicate directly through the Casting Networks platform, keeping both parties’ contacts protected.

2. Setting unusual payment terms

No legitimate casting notice will ever require an actor to pay to audition or pay to be involved in a project. Similarly, offering to pay performers upfront is a red flag that the project may not be legitimate since this looks like an attempt to obtain sensitive banking details.

3. Overhyping the role and project

Avoid telling actors that your project is a “great opportunity” or “great exposure” for them, and avoid using too many exclamation points. Anything that sounds too good to be true will send up a red flag for an actor.

4. Sending too much audition material

Many actors will turn down auditions for student films or low-low budget films if you send ten pages of sides for an initial audition on a tight deadline. Respect their time by keeping the length of the sides appropriate for your project’s size. Here’s some ways you can get more submissions for your projects.

Now that you know what not to do, check out our articles on casting call best practices and creating safe casting experiences to learn how you can make your next casting notice stand out – in a good way.

Ready to cast your next project? Post a casting call for free to get started today.

You may also like:

• Elizabeth Tan Discusses Her Role in Netflix’s ‘Irish Wish’ and the Importance of Telling the Character’s Story
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Getting an Industry Professional’s Eyes on Your Work
• ‘Reacher’ Star Maria Sten Talks LA, Vegas and Putting Her Spin on Frances Neagley

The post 4 Common Casting Call Mistakes for Project Creators To Avoid first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post 4 Common Casting Call Mistakes for Project Creators To Avoid appeared first on Casting Networks.

1. Set Your Ego Aside

It’s human nature to get defensive. Acting is subjective and personal. Criticism can be hard to take when you’ve just split open your chest cavity in front of all your colleagues and friends and your heart is fish-flopping all over the floor. The choices you made seemed right, and it can feel like a rejection of your skill to challenge them.

The first thing to remember when taking a note is that it’s not personal. Remember that theater and film are collaborative works. The note process is a vital part of communication between collaborative members. Your job is to set aside your personal feelings and try to do what is best for the project.

2. Listen

It may seem obvious, but many actors skip this step. It’s easy to let your mind race ahead to questions, comments or even arguments, and neglect to truly absorb the note being given. Clear your mind. You’ve just produced a lot of output, it’s now time to sponge up some input. Listen to the note.

3. Translate

Not every director speaks the same artistic language. Director’s notes are sometimes obscure, laden in emotional language or metaphor, or may seem more like opinions than actable directions. Take into account what you know of the director’s artistic communication styles, ask questions when you really need to and always move in the direction of actionable tactics.

4. Skip the Justifying

As tough as it is, no one wants to hear why you made the choice you did. Time is money, and you won’t be the only one getting notes. Unless you are confused about the note being given or see a problem with it, take the note gracefully and move on. If you need to talk it over, do so after general notes sessions or ask the director to discuss it at their convenience.

5. The Last Note Wins

Directors change their minds. They contradict themselves. You don’t need to point it out. Ask for clarification if you need it, but most of the time you can apply common sense and social skills to glean the director’s intention. If all else fails, remember the most recent note wins, even if the director is contradicting their previous sentiments.

6. Keep Things Positive

No one, and I repeat, no one, likes an actor who sulks over notes. Remember that this is your job, it’s a professional environment and while you don’t have to agree with the note, you do have to respect it. Just say “Thank you” and write it down.

7. Avoid “Over-noting”

This is a personal challenge I face. I’ve always prided myself on being able to take notes quickly and fully, but I have a tendency to overcommit at times. I’ll get so excited to try something new and want to please the director. Sometimes I get so worked up that I throw out previous choices and go to the extreme of the note.
Notes are far more often tweaks than they are sweeping changes. They are meant to layer on to previous work, not negate it. Learn to keep what was working previously, gently extract what wasn’t, and season it all with the new note.

Taking notes quickly and gracefully is a skill all actors must work on. No one has time for an in-depth discussion on-set. Adjusting to notes on the fly takes practice, confidence and trust. Trust your director to see something you don’t, and trust your own skill to make it genuine and believable.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• Coming Soon: Casting Networks Thrive
• How Laray Mayfield Became Director David Fincher’s Go-to Casting Director
• Predicting the 96th Academy Awards Winners: Best Supporting Actress Category

The post 7 Ways to Impress a Director first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post 7 Ways to Impress a Director appeared first on Casting Networks.

His son Mario first hit it big in Clint Eastwood’s 1986 hit film Heartbreak Ridge, found more success as an actor and turned that into his own filmmaking success, both in the studio system — with movies like New Jack City and Panther (written by his dad!) — and out. His son, Mandela, has followed in their footsteps, becoming a successful actor in his own right. Melvin died in 2021 at the age of 89, but his progeny are still making movies, often together. Mario wrote and directed the fun new western Outlaw Posse, in theaters March 1, in which both he and Mandela also star. The two of them sat down with us from Los Angeles.

This is not your first western. You’ve done this a few times before.

Mario: Not my first rodeo, no. (Laughs)

Where did the idea for this come from?

Mario: My big break was a film called Heartbreak Ridge with Clint Eastwood, and we talked about the history of the West. He’d done a series of Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, of course, and Gunsmoke and we talked about almost one out of three cowboys being black. You saw that dynamic in Unforgiven, you know, he put Morgan Freeman in there. Of the first 44 settlers of Los Angeles, I think 26 were Black. The name cowboy, they called Black men boys as a derogatory term.

When Hollywood started to glorify cowboys, you got white actors suddenly being cast as cowboys. Even as Native Americans, white guys would play those. In the early Westerns, if you saw an Asian person, they were sort of Hop Sing, the differential houseboy. Mexicans, it was like, the oily bandit that don’t need no stinking badges. The only good Indian was a dead Indian and women were pale and frail and needed rescuing. So people of color were sort of marginalized as depicted in the early West.

So you wanted to tell a Western story we weren’t used to?

Mario: Part of what I wanted to do was not take our country back, but take the history back of how diverse the West really was. Dr. King has a great line where he says, “We either learn to live together in harmony or perish together as brothers and sisters as fools.” We were all there, so we have to see that history to understand. This is the funner place to do it. Can we entertain and have a lot of fun in the West? Maybe give a little entertainment, too?

Mandela, your dad and your grandfather both have strong activist streaks in their work, and I’m curious about your experience growing up in that atmosphere.

Mandela: The social justice aspect of filmmaking went deep with the Van Peebles, for sure. Everything we have is based around the Blaxploitation era and the injustice involved with that, and Melvin eventually just saying, enough is enough, I want to tell my story. I think that’s great. I think that one of the beauties of working in media is through entertainment and the guise of storytelling, you can affect real-life change in the real world. I think, although this is set in the West, the issues we’re tackling and discussing are very much so still relevant today.

Mandela, did you ever have a moment where you told your dad, “I don’t want to go into the family business,” and your dad said, “No, like it or not, you’re in. Your grandfather did it, I did it, you’re doing it?”

Mario: (laughs)

Mandela: Quite the opposite. I was never a huge fan of being a student, but he was definitely pretty encouraging about going to college and having a Plan A. Really, for me, that was always going to be Plan B, having a backup plan that had nothing to do with the family business. But yeah, my calling was definitely on the creative side of things. Growing up watching this guy making a living and supporting all of us, getting to bring us along. We’ve been all over the place, and being a part of that lifestyle from a young age, I knew it’d be hard for me to have a regular job.

Mario, do you make him audition?

Mario: Yes and no. He’s been auditioning for years, he just didn’t know it. I’ve seen him grow significantly as an actor. He has a show called Reginald the Vampire that he’s on, and he’s really great in that. And then he was on the Taylor Sheridan show Mayor of Kingstown. I’ve seen him as an actor growing to now bring him in. Look, my dad gave me my first lines in a feature film ever, and I gave him his last lines in a feature film ever. That doesn’t happen every day. My daughter Morgana is an actress, too. I guess we’re like The Jacksons without the musical talent.

This is not the first time you guys have worked together. What’s that dynamic like not just father and son, but director and actor?

Mario: I think I’m actually more user-friendly than my dad was. [To Mandela] He was a little more mellow when you got to know him, but to get shit done in my dad’s time period, you had to go in there with more direct force. I’ve been able to navigate things a little more diplomatically, but that’s only because he made a hole so I could travel that path. But our dynamic is one of love. We have different colors that we tune into. If we disagree as father and son, we’ll still not disagree as filmmaker and actor. So there’s a lot of trust and understanding of each other and how we move as a team.

You two have a scene before the film’s climax, where Mario’s Chief has a moment with Decker, his son, basically telling him to live his life, and that he’s proud of him. It’s a powerful moment. And while I’ve seen that moment on film before, I don’t remember seeing it between an actual father and son on screen. What was that like, playing that scene together?

Mario: A lot of people who’ve had a troubled relationship with their fathers look at that scene, and it really hits them where they say, I wish I had gotten to have that. I had it with my dad where he got to say, look, I may not know everything, but I’m trying to give you what I believe you will be able to use and if I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But if I’m right 80% of the time, you can win 80% of the time and add to it. Don’t take my bad, take my good. Any good in me, take my good.

Mandela: I think what we’ve been lucky enough to do for a profession, this world of acting and playing make-believe, is very therapeutic. And whether it’s exactly issues we’ve had or not, you can bring feelings and emotions and even thoughts and agency from other aspects or other things you’ve lived through into the scene. I think it’s really beneficial that we’ve worked together before, and also spent so much time as father and son, playing father and son. It gives you a lot of ground to work with, and a lot of room to play with.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• 31 Exciting Activities for Every Day in March
• Keith David Discusses the Aura He Brings to His Roles, What He Learned From Gregory Hines
• How to Use Your Actor Mindset to Improve Your Finances

The post Mario and Mandela Van Peebles on Being a Dynamic Father and Son Duo in ‘Outlaw Posse’ first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Mario and Mandela Van Peebles on Being a Dynamic Father and Son Duo in ‘Outlaw Posse’ appeared first on Casting Networks.

When we caught up with the actress/filmmaker, we wanted to know more about the person behind all the creative work, which also extends to music. In this installment of Get to Know the Filmmaker, you can catch all the details about her new album (M)OTHER and learn how both Lawmen: Bass Reeves and the new Paramount+ documentary Becoming King got made.

This video interview has been edited and condensed.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• What Personal Habits or Routines Do You Believe Contribute to Your Success as an Actor?
• Success Story: How Mandysa Brock’s Casting Networks Discovery Led to Booking Gigs With Volvo, Disney and Snapchat
• Now Casting: ‘Criminal Minds,’ ‘CSI: Vegas,’ ‘Monster’ Season 2, Mindy Kaling Netflix Show

The post Executive Producer Jessica Oyelowo Shares How ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ and ‘Becoming King’ Got Made first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Executive Producer Jessica Oyelowo Shares How ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ and ‘Becoming King’ Got Made appeared first on Casting Networks.

The play itself draws its inspiration from Armand M. Nicholi’s renowned book, The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex and the Meaning of Life, effectively encapsulating the essence of the film’s storyline.

In a candid conversation with Casting Networks, Brown —who previously directed The Man Who Knew Infinity starring Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel— delves into the intricacies of casting his lead actors, collaborating with his trusted casting director and the unique experience of directing one of the greatest living actors in the industry today.

Your film is about two very famous figures in history. How do you begin to assemble actors to play historical figures Freud and C.S. Lewis?

I go with the best actor. Looks matter to a degree but I think it’s trying to find the right actor. Casting the role of Freud, there were a ton of actors we could have considered. You always have that one actor who is your dream casting. Very rarely has it been my experience that that dream comes true.

How did you get Anthony Hopkins for that role?

Anthony Hopkins is a very, very special person, actor, musician and painter. He’s just a genius. We tried to get him. He read the script but was in the midst of shooting The Father and politely passed. Then I did some more work on the script and came back to him about a year and a half later, maybe two years later. For whatever reason, he decided this time to engage. I felt like I won the lottery.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

What about Matthew Goode as C.S. Lewis?

I was looking at pictures of C.S. Lewis, which goes back to what you said about looks. C.S. Lewis looked so much different in his late thirties than he did as we know him historically later in life, which was a chubby bald man. But he drank, smoked many cigarettes and had a lot of trauma and PTSD. So, he aged rather poorly. I don’t mean to be offensive to somebody who’s long gone, but he didn’t age well.

In your film, this is C.S. Lewis before the effects of aging.

He was quite dashing and handsome when he was in his twenties and thirties and he actually looked a bit like Matthew. So that was in our favor. But again, it goes back to trying to find the best actor. Matthew’s somebody that I’ve been tracking and following. During the pandemic, I watched his vampire show with my wife, Discovery of Witches —every single episode of it.

That’s where he’s a vampire who teams up with a witch to fend off creatures?

It wasn’t my kind of show necessarily, but I was like, “This guy is so good.” I’d been watching him for years, but I felt like I lived with him through the pandemic. So I was like, “Can we please go to Matthew Goode?” Miracle of miracles, he said yes! I got an incredible twosome with Mathew and Anthony.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Who was your casting director to fill out the rest of the roles?

Reg Poerscout-Edgerton in London. I worked with Reg on My last film, The Man Who Knew Infinity. With Freud’s Last Session, we were looking for those kinds of actors that really could go deep with this. Like, casting Anna Freud. I watched [the TV series] Babylon Berlin and I had been saying, I wanted to work with Liv Lisa Fries. We had to balance the name game, which often happens on an independent film, but I got lucky and we got her in.

What’s your relationship like with your casting director?

The thing is about casting directors – and it’s really unfair for them in many ways — they’re doing the role of a producer. I see this on films I’m developing. They’re asked to go and perform miracles and deliver that A-list actor. There’s no money to offer them [during development]. It’s “Can you get that person and maybe we’ll pay you a pittance.” It’s not fair.

I really encourage the producers I work with to hire the casting director early. It’s important they are paid for their work because it’s a lot of work! As far as Reg and I go, I only want to do movies with him and [casting director] Lillie Jeffrey, his wife. She’s amazing.

When you work with Reg and Lillie, at what point do you bring them on?

I send them everything, ask them to read it and start coming up with their ideas of who they think would be in it. Not to think about the money-name game [imposed by financiers], even though it’s always in the back of their heads.

Most of my work is in the independent realm and foreign sales matter, but we think about it in terms of balance. Like, if we have this actor, then maybe we can have that actor. That’s how it worked with Liv on this film. It was like, we have Tony, so now we have the space to have Liv. It’s always a balancing act.

When do you personally start watching tapes, reading people, etc.?

Not until the movie’s really going. I would love to do it sooner. But, on a film I am developing now, one of the approaches I did was to meet with a ton of actors ahead of time. I did about 40 meetings. Sometimes that’ll happen if the casting directors are brought on properly and they’re paid and do their jobs. On Freud’s, it was all a bit later. We were really focused on casting the first five main roles. Then we were doing meetings and watching tapes.

Okay, so please dish on Sir Anthony Hopkins. What was it like to work with him? What’s his process or method?

He and I were engaged for months leading up to this film, working and talking every day. The amount of preparation he put in was astounding. I think people take (his talent) for granted. He’s an actor that prepares and wants you to be involved and have a vision. It’s not, ‘Hey Tony, go off and do this and then we’ll film it.’ I guess you could, but it’d be a very different movie.

He’s somebody that wants to engage with you. Other actors might not, so you let them do what they need to do. But I think Tony enjoys that interaction. He is so special. There are levels of special and then there is Hopkins. He is on another planet floating around.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• The Basics of Improv and Why Every Actor Should Try it
• Eva Hassmann Talks Working with Willie Nelson and Peter Bogdanovich on Her Directorial Debut ‘Willie and Me’
• What’s Casting: ‘Recess,’ Samsung, ‘Maven,’ ‘The Bluff’

The post ‘Freud’s Last Session’ Director Matt Brown Discusses Casting the Film, Sir Anthony Hopkins first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post ‘Freud’s Last Session’ Director Matt Brown Discusses Casting the Film, Sir Anthony Hopkins appeared first on Casting Networks.

More recently, it’s as a short-tempered rogue proprietor of the famed Continental in the John Wick series. Few have done that kind of character better than McShane. Now, he’s on-screen again in the new drama American Star, as Wilson, a British assassin on a final assignment in Fuerteventura, an island off the Spanish coast.

McShane joined from London, and director Gonzalo López-Gallego joined from Spain for a conversation about the film, which hit theaters and VOD on January 26th.

Ian, what drew you to the project in the first place?

Ian McShane: We worked together on another good movie that got lost in the distribution shuffle back in 2017, a movie called The Hollow Point, with Patrick Wilson, John Leguizamo and myself. It’s a terrific Western noir and we said, “Well, we’d like to work together again.” He came up with this idea and over the next few years, we’d talk about it.

With [screenwriter] Nacho [Faerna], the script developed along the way, became this rich thing that you see now. Then I did a movie called Jawbone, with a producer called Michael Elliot. Michael came in on it with me. I introduced him to Gonzalo and then we found ourselves in 2022 with a financial window to make the movie from a couple of investing angels.

Gonzalo López-Gallego: The way you explain it. It sounds like was super easy. But it took five years! (Laughs)

IM: Oh, it was not super easy. I said it took a few years, but what I was leading to was the fact that when we did make it with the Spanish producers and Mike and my company and you together, it was making the film you want to make, but nobody looking over your shoulder telling you whatever.

GLG: For me, it was a very, very long process. There were moments when we were not 100 percent sure that this movie would happen and it’s been seven years now since the first time I went to Fuerteventura with Nacho.

But we went through different production companies and it was impossible to raise the money here in Spain because we wanted to do it in English. Then, it’s difficult if you do it in English to get the subsidies or the TV and things like that.

There were some moments where we completely felt like this was not gonna happen. We always had Ian with us, but we struggled along the way, many, many times until he introduced us to Mike Elliot. And then things started to happen.

It wasn’t just the opportunity to go to Paradise to get paid to work for a few weeks.

IM: (Laughs) But it was a pleasure. I always sort of knew it would happen. After the pandemic, we had this great financial year and I found the only socialist hedge fund owner in England, Terry Smith, who said to us, “One thing I want to know. Is the ending humor or tragedy?” We said tragedy and he said “I’m in.”

It’s interesting. You both talk about the challenges of making a movie, and honestly, I often wonder how anything ever gets made at all, because everything is so complicated in this business.

GLG: Especially if you think about doing it this way. This movie, with this character, with this ending, with this pacing, everything. I don’t know. My experience in the States, working with the Weinsteins for Apollo 18, then I did The Hollow Point and Open Grave with Atlas Independent and everything, and I went back to Spain and I found myself confronting some really impossible situations. That somehow gave me the strength to think about what I wanted to do and American Star is a real turning point.

IM: All that angst, sometimes it’s very good for the soul because the script got better. I must say, it’s one of those subjects that just seemed to get better over time when we found each other’s ideas. If it was just a film about a hitman, it wouldn’t be anything. But in this film, the relationship he forms in this weird strange way with the girl and the mother gives the film a little heart. It’s not a formula. It’s a European noir. It’s got art in it.

There’s also a fair amount of introspection in the film, where Wilson is trying to find his place in the world. He finds that in the relationships, not just with the girl and her mother, but also with the little boy.

IM: I mean, it’s brought back time and again what he is, but he makes the fatal mistake of going there, thinking maybe this place suits him. Fuerteventura means violent, fierce wind and it really is a great place to be.

GLG: That was one of the main goals to achieve when we discovered Fuerteventura. You feel like it’s stuck in the ‘70s. A place where you can go to a restaurant and eat a really good meal and you actually hear Julio Iglesias singing. It felt like my summer holidays when I was a kid and we wanted to portray that. That kind of last holiday of summer.

We’ve talked about the various characters and one of the things about the movie that is so fascinating is how small the cast is. There’s only a handful of people in it and I’m especially interested in Oscar Coleman, who played the little boy. Ian, you two have real chemistry and I’m curious about how you cast him. Did you read with him?

IM: Well, you know, we talked about it. Obviously, Gonzalo cast the movie how he wanted. I mean, he’s the director. But he asked me and I said, “Well, he looks interesting. He’s a great-looking kid.”

Of course, we rehearsed, but then we semi-improvised. Both the big scenes with him, we filmed at specific times of the day. One was very early in the morning on the beach —the first scene— and then the other one was filmed in the Magic Hour. We had limited time, but it felt very relaxed and easy. He was a charming kid and watching it, it doesn’t seem forced. It seems natural.

GLG: What I liked from him when we did the casting and I think it’s one of the things Ian liked as well, is that he never looked like he was acting. When you see a kid acting, normally they pretend to act as a grownup, but he was acting like a kid.

Ian, you didn’t worry about the rule you don’t work with kids or animals?

IM: (Laughs) Kids or animals! W.C. Fields said that I remember. (Laughs) Not when you’ve got the rest of the movie without a kid. When you do a film on this, every character is so important, you want them to come in and do their best work.

It’s like when you’re in a series, like Lovejoy or Deadwood, when you have a guest star in a show like that, you want them to come in and be terrific. You want them to be comfortable and do their thing. That’s what Gonzalo was like with Fannie [Ardant] and with Nora [Arnezeder] and with Oscar and with Adam [Nagaitis]. They trusted him. So I came in there and we had two days of intensive stuff, so on the day, we didn’t waste any time.

You’ve worked together twice now. Have you started talking about number three?

GLG and IM: (In unison) Yes!

IM: (Laughs) I don’t know what it is, but maybe there will be a musical version of this!

(Both laugh)

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• ‘Bookie’ Star Andrea Anders On How Taking Risks Led to Her Acting Success
• Carmen Cuba Pulls Back the Curtain on Casting ‘Full Circle’
• Get to Know the Filmmaker: Andrew Barnsley Talks Season 2 of ‘Son of a Critch’

The post Ian McShane and Gonzalo López-Gallego Discuss How ‘American Star’ Came Together first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Ian McShane and Gonzalo López-Gallego Discuss How ‘American Star’ Came Together appeared first on Casting Networks.

We started at the beginning, kicking off the questions with a query about Barnsley’s “aha moment” when he chose filmmaking as his career path. Barnsley told us the answer was twofold. “So much of my career in production and filmmaking and television production has been in comedy,” he noted. “So, it was almost a decision to figure out how to bring comedy into my work life.”

The second part of his response includes a specific movie that “flipped the switch” when it came to pursuing a career in filmmaking. “It gave me a different perspective on my ambitions and opportunities I was seeking, in terms of growth professionally,” Barnsley told us.

You’ll have to watch the video to find out which film made such an impact on the trajectory of Barnsley’s career. But we will tell you one of his casting choices for a hypothetical series made about his life story. Along with two other actors Barnsley named, he mentioned Corey Stoll, which may or may not be the most spot-on self-casting in the history of Casting Networks asking that question.

From there, we had to get his take on season two of Son of a Critch. Barnsley executive produces the series based on Mark Critch’s award-winning memoir about coming of age in the ‘80s on an island in the North Atlantic. “We really are exploring new topics and new relationships in [the character] Mark’s life as he’s growing up in St. John’s, Newfoundland,” Barnsley said. “To me, the charm continues to be there — the heart continues to be there.”

Before the interview wrapped, we had a question for Barnsley about his role as president of the Toronto Film School (TFS). We wanted to know what he hoped students took away from their time at the university. As with all our questions, you’ll have to watch the video to get his full response. But we can tell you it included Barnsley’s desire for the way in which TFS graduates perceive industry work. “It’s a business of telling stories and sharing dreams, inspiring people,” Barnsley asserted.

You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of Get to Know the Filmmaker.

—

This video interview has been edited and condensed.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• What’s Casting: DSW, Tommie Copper Commercial, Lilly Pulitzer Campaign
• How 5 Hours a Day of Billiards Training Turned Lili Simmons into a Pool Shark in Tom Schulman’s ‘Double Down South’
• The Actor’s Closet: Items to Have On Hand for Self Tapes

The post Get to Know the Filmmaker: Andrew Barnsley Talks Season 2 of ‘Son of a Critch’ first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Get to Know the Filmmaker: Andrew Barnsley Talks Season 2 of ‘Son of a Critch’ appeared first on Casting Networks.

Salzberg went on to edit Shira Piven’s Welcome to Me, Paul Feig’s Other Space, Netflix’s Ibiza and the FOX series Welcome to Flatch.

Salzberg’s résumé also includes producing credits and reflects his multi-hyphenate abilities. But when he sat down with Casting Networks — via video call — we wanted to learn more about his latest screenwriting credit, The Performance, while getting a window into the person behind the impressive résumé.

Our questions began with asking Salzberg about the moment he realized that filmmaking was the right career path for him. The screenwriter mentioned growing up in Missouri and not traveling much as a kid. That changed when a trip to Chicago gave him a new outlook and inspiration.

“Being in downtown Chicago [for the first time] with just so many different people from all over the world really inspired me to want to tell their stories and tell stories about people and what it means to be human,” Salzberg said. “And that’s what got me going.”

We wanted to know Salzberg’s top casting choices for the lead role of a hypothetical movie about his life story (you’ll have to watch the video for his full response). One of the three thespians was Daniel Day-Lewis. “Just because, I want my life story to pull him out of retirement, for that to be the thing that does it,” Salzberg said.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Salzberg.

We then asked about the screenwriter’s latest project, which is his second collaboration with Shira Piven. The two co-wrote The Performance, adapting Arthur Miller’s short story of the same name for the screen. The film had its U.S. premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 7. Salzberg shared with us some insights into his new feature.

The Performance follows Harold May (Jeremy Piven), a Jewish American tap dancer in the 1930s whose troupe is on a European tour when a German attaché spots them and leads them into doing an exclusive performance for Adolf Hitler. “The story’s about the possibility — that all of us have — to do monstrous things,” Salzberg said of the high-stakes premise.

Before the interview wrapped, we asked the screenwriter about his process as well as how he gets past writer’s block. His response included such things as drinking coffee, watching old movies, traveling and keeping in mind an impending deadline.

You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of Get to Know the Filmmaker.

—

This video interview has been edited and condensed.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like:

• 5 Movie Performances That Belong in the Oscars Conversation
• Success Story: How Mark Willis Turned Vivid Visions into Reality By Booking ‘Black Panther’ On Casting Networks
• Now Casting: ‘Preparation for the Next Life,’ Physician’s Choice, Chevrolet

The post Get to Know the Filmmaker: Joshua Salzberg Talks ‘The Performance’ first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Get to Know the Filmmaker: Joshua Salzberg Talks ‘The Performance’ appeared first on Casting Networks.

The actor, known for Four Sheets to the Wind, Brick and his role as Young Victor Joseph in Smoke Signals, is also in the upcoming Marvel series Echo, which premieres on streaming January 9 on Disney+.

Buzzing with energy, the multi-hyphenate took time to discuss the challenges of Hey, Viktor!, how his team was able to snag Colin Mochrie for the film and what he’s working on at the moment.

From writing to acting to directing Hey, Viktor!, how challenging was it to take it from inception to reality?

The obstacle we had with our funding, because we made it up here in Canada, is 95% of our crew – not cast, crew – had to be Canadian. My buddy, Sam [Miller], he’s American, so that was our one American who you’re allowed to use.

I grew up in the States, so I have tons of filmmaker friends that I wanted to bring on board and I couldn’t. Then it wasn’t just that they had to be Canadian, but from Alberta. I was like, “Man, what if there’s people here that can’t do what I want them to do, if it’s not up to the level of quality that I want?”

Luckily, everything fell into place perfectly. Everyone was just very eager to be working, especially too, because of COVID stuff and it ended up working out. That was one obstacle.

Also, it wasn’t too hard for us [to film]. The house was my friend’s mom’s house, so she was cool with us filming there. The bar scenes, that’s a tiny little bar in this little small town just outside of where I live and they’re like, “Yeah, you can film here.” They probably pull in maybe two or 300 bucks a day, it’s like a tiny little dive bar, so we just rented it out for cheap and they said, “Can we use the name of the bar in here?” We’re like, “Sure.”

Same thing with the pawn shop. They’re like, “As long as we can use our name of the pawn shop in the movie.” It worked out. There weren’t too many crazy obstacles, to be honest. I had some awesome producers that dealt with stuff.

What was the writing process like?

Before I was ever a writer or classified myself as a writer, I’m a storyteller, so a lot of it was Sam and I just pumping out stories and jokes and, “What if this and what if that?”

Sam was formatting everything, structuring everything and making sure we were hitting the right points in the different acts. It was a lot of me just going off and then him writing everything down and us just going back and forth a few times.

When we got our script done, he came up here, we went up into the mountains in Banff, which was beautiful up here. Just stayed in a cabin with a few friends for a week, a week and a half. That was our first writing session. Then we had a couple more of those.

We never got to a point with the script where it was like, “This isn’t working,” or “I don’t know.” It was all for the jokes. Our next project that we’re working on is going to be a little bit different. It’s going to be very dark with humor sprinkled in. Not like Hey, Viktor!, where it’s just joke after joke after joke with a couple of serious bits in there. No, our next project is going to be a little bit different. Still very funny, but in a very dark, dark way.

Are you directing that one as well?

Yeah, I’m writing and directing that one. I’m going to act in it, but I’ll have a way smaller part. Acting-directing with, Hey, Viktor!, it was definitely a challenge. It was very hard.

Photo courtesy of Visit Films.

How long had you been kicking that idea around in your head, to do Hey, Viktor!?

The original seed was planted about 15 years ago as a joke, just with some buddies. I was living in Idaho with about five or six other filmmakers in a big house, so we would help each other on our projects and stuff like that.

If we went out to the bar one evening or to a restaurant, let’s say the service was crappy or whatever, my buddy Black Horse, who’s my executive producer, is like, “Just go there and tell them you’re Little Victor.” Like they would know who the heck that is.

We’d do it as a joke. “Don’t you who I am? I’m Little Victor.” Yelling and just being obnoxious as a joke. Then Black Horse and I talked about it. He’s like, “Let’s make that.” I was like, “Okay, cool.” I had pitched this originally as a short film just to have fun with my friends for a week, film some funny stuff and send it to some film festivals.

We pitched it in Toronto and we didn’t win the pitch, but a lot of the people in that section came up to us after and said, “This is an amazing idea and concept, it’s just not what we’re looking to fund, but you guys need to continue on this path. You guys have to make this a film or a series” and we’re like, “Huh?”

We went to the drawing board and wrote the script, then pitched it around to a few people. It was a little bit tricky because I was a first-time director.

I’ve acted in several projects, but [I’m a] first-time director. My buddy, Sam, has published several novels and books, but never a feature script. My producer, Joshua, has produced several plays in theater productions.

Finally, Tele Film said, “You know what? You guys are pretty serious, we can tell. We’ll fund you guys.”

We were like, “Whoa, we got it.” The idea of it came and went and then, when we decided to take it seriously, about five years ago, is when we started to get to work on it.

I feel like Colin Mochrie played into that a lot, too. From watching him on Whose Line for years, it just felt like this was in his wheelhouse. What was it like working with him?

He’s a really nice guy. When we were shuffling through potential Craig Broners, we reached out to some big actors and we got passes on a lot of them.

One of my producers was like, “Colin Mochrie’s Canadian, maybe we can try him.” We looked him up, got his email and he wrote us back within 20 minutes and said, “Sure, send me the script.” We sent him the script and he said, “This is funny. Yeah, sign me up.” Boom. Within a day, he was on board and we’re like, “We got Colin Mochrie.” He was a lot of fun to work with.

How did the rest of the cast come together?

I don’t keep in the best of touch with everyone from the movie Smoke Signals, but we still all know each other, and it was just literally… When Sam and I were writing it, he said, “Now, the tricky part, how are we going to get the rest of the cast involved?”

Within 20 minutes, I was like, “I’ll make phone calls. ‘Hey, Irene. Yeah, we’re doing a film. Do you want to check it out? Okay, sweet. All right.’ Irene’s in. ‘Hey, Gary. What’s up, Uncle? Yeah, we’re working on a film, do you want to be a part of it? Sweet.’ Yeah, got Gary.” It just kept happening like that.

As Hey, Viktor! is somewhat a spiritual successor to Smoke Signals, Indigenous representation is at the forefront. How important was that to you?

A big thing with content coming out that is [considered] “Indigenous content,” a lot of it’s not written or directed by First Nations or Indigenous people. I wanted to make sure that people know this is by us, for us.

The audience is very broad, but because we’re all First Nations actors except for Hannah [Cheesman]. That’s key. There’s a lot of shows coming out now… Dark Winds and Reservation Dogs… that’s written by us, for us.

It’s long overdue for that. It’s about damn time that we’re getting to make our projects without having, quote, unquote, “a white savior.” We’re able to write our stuff, direct our stuff and create it. That’s where you get the best of it, I believe.

Photo courtesy of Visit Films.

It goes back to authenticity. How important is that and how were you able to get that out of everyone?

There were a couple of times my producers who are – a few of them who are non-Indigenous – are going through the script, they’re like, “No, that wouldn’t happen.” I’m like, “Yes, yes it would.”

The rez that I come from is known to be pretty rank. It’s not shown in the best of light, usually. I’m like, “You guys need to get a crash course on the rez. It’s not all glorified, it’s not just ceremonies and peacekeepers and stuff like that. No, there’s some rank stuff going on.” It’s dysfunctional humor. That’s how I was raised.

Wherever the film went, whether it be the various festivals or elsewhere, it received a ton of praise. What did it feel like receiving that recognition from the universe in your directorial debut?

It was truly amazing. With a project like ours, because of the content and the vulgar language and the drug and alcohol use and all that stuff, I thought there would be one or two people that stood up and said, “How dare you?” Or, “Really? This is how you want to portray our people?”

We didn’t get anything like that and I was not shocked, so to say, more just like, “Yeah, see? We do know what the hell we’re doing. We knew that this would hit well with people. Who’s making comedies right now, Indigenous comedy?”

It was a breath of fresh air, and that’s what a lot of [folks thought]. The First Nations and Indigenous communities especially said, “Thank you for this. Smoke Signals, the original, made a lot of people cry. It’s sad.”

One person [from] a Q and A said, “Smoke Signals made me cry all the time when I was a kid and this, I was laughing my ass off, so thank you for the laughter.” It was awesome to get all the feedback that we got with just people loving it. Some bigger actors had given some reviews and video clips, “Just watched Hey, Viktor! Freaking hilarious.”

What else is next for you?

Currently, the Marvel series Echo, that I acted in, is coming out in January. I’ve just seen the very first commercial on TV for it. I’ve seen the trailers on social media and stuff like that, but the other night, I was watching a hockey game at the local pub here, and it was like, “This January, Echo,” and my girlfriend and I looked at each other like, “AH!”

[I’m] also working on writing my next project with Sam. That’s our next big thing. We have a deadline to get that script to try to get our funding, so we could shoot next winter because it’s a hockey film, so we need [the] cold.

Our funders from Hey, Viktor! said, “You guys made it. It’s doing very well, we got theatrical release up here in Canada’s distribution,” so Hey, Viktor! will be in theaters up here in Canada for March and April and then we have two years of streaming on Crave. After the success that it’s having with the festivals and distribution and all that, they said, “Let us know what your next project is, so we can jump on board possibly beforehand.”

The project we’re working on, the hockey film, and then just going to ride the wave of Echo when that comes out because that’s going to be something else.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

You may also like

• Why Monthly Money Dates Are Important for Your Acting Career
• Now Casting: Major R&B/Pop Artist’s Video, ‘The Equalizer,’ ‘Chinese School’
• ‘Reacher’ Star Domenick Lombardozzi on the Moment He Knew ‘The Wire’ Was Different

The post How Cody Lightning Captured Authenticity to Create the Indie Gem ‘Hey, Viktor!’ first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post How Cody Lightning Captured Authenticity to Create the Indie Gem ‘Hey, Viktor!’ appeared first on Casting Networks.