Casting Calls! Where Are All the Actors at?

We have a major problem.

Casting is not turning out well. Not at all.

After I placed the casting calls last Friday, I was quite optimistic. I thought that we would surely get a lot of quick responses and be able to film in time. I thought that our project would be interesting and challenging enough for actors to apply and explore that topic more deeply.

I've been completely mistaken.

Up until now, only one extra offered their help to come and film. And even though she seemed quite eager, she was most decidedly only taking the role as an extra. The rest of our cast is still missing.

At first, I thought that the issue lied in the late casting call and that people were reluctant to jump into a production that quickly. But when I realised that our second transgender filming group experienced similar issues, I thought that, maybe, this theme was either considered to sensitive for those affected (hence the lack of transmale actors) or too uninteresting for those who are not affected by gender identity struggles at all. Then I thought that the lack of payment (our production can only afford to pay travel expenses for the actors and extras) might be an issue in addition to that.

Either way, we ended up talking to our lecturer about the issue, and he used that opportunity to teach us more about casting, using the casting agency NE1 4Tv as an example.

Together, we compiled a list of actresses that would fit the brief. After that, we all participated in an experiment as casting directors. Pulling up a random list of actors and actresses, our lecturer asked us various questions on who would be cast as what kind of character.

The experiment effectfully demonstrated how important outward appearance and charisma can be in regard to casting options and casting issues. Most of the time, most people on our course chose the same actors for the same roles, barring slight differences in national taste and age. It became obvious to me how superficial film consumers are and thus, how superficial filmmakers need to be when casting for their productions. For casting against the grain can really put off the audience.

During our experiment, I quickly realised how perceived miscasts can put an entire production to shame, ranging from constant mistrust of the character's true intention within the story to questioning the entire genre of a film. Because if you distrust the lead character, or other characters for that matter, it can easily lead you astray as to the story's possible outcome and atmosphere, keeping you questioning the entire film and sabotaging the suspense of disbelief most filmmakers try to achieve.

So yeah, it is really important to cast well.

Having stated that, I sat down after the lesson and wrote a casting call to NE1 4TV, asking eleven different actresses whether they would be interested in our project.

Now the only thing we can really do is wait and see.