If you were to say the word "casting" to my father, he'd assume you were talking about fishing. In my universe, casting is all about auditioning and selecting actors for roles. However, both connotations are important to the respective task at hand. For instance...
If you don't cast your fishing line correctly, nobody eats.
If you don't cast your fishing line correctly, nobody eats.
Similarly, if you don't cast your film correctly, nobody eats.
Well, no... that's not true. Of course we still get to eat.
But if you do make a bad casting decision, it's possible the food might be harder to digest on set... and sometimes on a low budget film production, the quality of catering needs all the help it can get.
"Casting is 90% of directing" - Elia Kazan
Casting is integral to the success of any production and it can be a very stressful exercise as a result. Looking back, the only real disagreement I had throughout the entire production with Jason Crane (my co-producer and good friend) came during the casting process.
Ever see a movie where the romantic leads have zero chemistry? It's a complete deathblow to a film even if the miscast actors are talented and deliver fine performances.
I recently read an interview with Alexander Payne (director of The Descendants) where he admitted to turning down George Clooney for a lead role in his earlier hit Sideways.
Despite persistent lobbying from distributors and the lure of a bigger opening weekend at the box office, Payne held his ground and chose to cast lesser-known actor Thomas Haden Church as a better fit for the tone of the material.
Thomas Haden Church (Left) and Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004, Fox Searchlight)
Now I like George Clooney as much as the next guy, but having seen Sideways, can you imagine him in that movie and in that role? I'm not saying the Cloonster wouldn't have played his part well, but the feel of the film would be much different.
It's possible due to Clooney's mega-celebrity status that he could've been too heavy a counterweight for Paul Giamatti's lead character within the conceptual framework of Sideways. Certainly it appears that theory contributed to Alexander Payne's reasoning.
Regardless, I give props to Payne as it takes some big cajones to turn a star like that down in a creative industry driven by commercial incentive. Honestly, if it was me, I don't know if I could have done the same... perhaps the thought of hanging with Clooney and his entourage of hot Italian chicks in Lake Como didn't appeal to Alexander Payne at the time? That dude must be disciplined.
Meanwhile, a million miles away from Hollywood and Lake Como...
If there's one aspect of casting that low budget productions battle with, it can be consistency of acting ability and performance across the ensemble cast.
Sometimes the lead roles are performed ably by fresh, interesting talent but it only takes one clunky, wooden turn from an actor in a supporting role to compromise the illusion of reality and the audience's perception of production quality.
Look, sometimes it's just more convenient to cast your Uncle Bob because he's the right age, and he'll do it for free... plus, he'll let you shoot in his garage.
You may laugh at that type of logic but it is perfectly understandable and one of the many potential perils of working to a low budget. In saying that, it's absolutely brilliant if your Uncle Bob turns out to be Robert De Niro.
In all seriousness, casting decisions can often be a process of elimination - resulting mostly from scheduling conflicts with other film and television productions. You may find the perfect actor but it's possible they'll already be committed elsewhere. In that moment, your heart sinks as you know it's back to the drawing board to wade through countless more head shots.
Furthermore, an actor's agent might not feel the role fits the 'strategy' they have mapped out for their client's career - which I've discovered is actually a very polite way for them to say the following:
(a) You don't have a decent enough track record.
(b) We think your script is shit.
(c) The role doesn't pay enough.
(d) All of the above.
However, casting is not always the precarious minefield that I'm inferring. Sometimes when things seem most dire, an act of generosity or a piece of good fortune comes your way. At the risk of sounding woolly (oh god no!), everything does happen for a reason.
One of the aspects of production that I'm most happy with regarding Finding Honk is the quality of the ensemble cast I was able gather for my low budget debut feature...
To be continued... watch this space for Part Two
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