LA Actors: Send Your Stuff!

Get your headshots or postcards ready!

Tracy Lilienfield Casting is casting the new pilot, Sh*t My Dad Says (CBS, 1/2)

Tracy Lilienfield Casting
5555 Melrose Ave.
Dreier Bldg.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Valko/Miller Casting is casting the pilot, Kindreds (NBC, 1 hour).

Valko/Miller Casting
3500 W. Olive Ave.
Suite 780
Burbank, CA 9150

Stordahl/Terry Casting is casting the pilot, Nomads (CW, 1 hour).

Stordahl /Terry Casting
121 West Lexington Drive
Suite 206
Glendale, CA 91203

And all labels are now updated (agents, casting directors & VO)!

The Casting Director labels are for what is currently casting (both New York & LA). Click here!

Christopher Walken on Christopher Walken

Here’s a pretty cool piece on Christopher Walken from the  New York Times.

The first bit he talks about his new show, Martin McDonagh’s play A Behanding in Spokane then it segues into him talking about his life, career and his acting. It’s after the jump!

Read more

Screenplay: “Shutter Island”

Want the screenplay for Shutter Island?

Sure you do!

Click here for the script

Thanks to scriptcollector

Synopsis: Two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress—like hospital for the criminally insane.

“Shutter Island”: Leonardo Dicaprio on his cast mates, character and Scorsese

Leonardo DiCaprio on:

…his cast mates and being specific when researching a character.

…his character

Read more

Screenplay: “Valentine’s Day”

Want the screenplay to Valentine’s Day?

Sure you do!

Click here for the script

Synopsis: Valentine’s Day follows the intertwining storylines of a group of Los Angelinos as they find their way through romance over the course of one Valentine’s Day.

Thanks to mypdfscripts

Benicio Del Toro talks about working in “The Wolfman” costume

Read more

Secret Handshake Entertainment’s Joe Gressis on Demo Reels: Why you need one, when you need one and more!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

If you’re looking to make a demo reel or have your current one updated, look no further than Joe Gressis at Secret Handshake Entertainment.

Joe has been editing for years and he is the go-to-guy for several big agencies when they want their actors to update their reels.

Why is Joe so great? Because he is also a producer (A Little Help starring Jenna Fischer and Chris O’Donnell will be released soon) and looks at reels from that perspective.

And check below for some reels of well-known actors!

At what point should an actor get a reel?
Pretty quickly. As soon as they’ve got enough material to support it, basically, because so much of casting is now done online and with DVDs. They go through so many people that as soon as you have it the better.  As soon as you have the material to support. And sometimes, you want to make your own material just to have a reel because so much of it is now based on that before they even will bring you in or anything like that they’ll want to see that.

What do you think of the services that offer filming scenes for actors to put on their reels?
Well, some of them are pretty good.  But you definitely don’t want to skimp on that because if it looks made up, then it doesn’t really help that much.

You can tell?
Yeah, you definitely can tell.  But there are some places that have really good-looking scenes where it’s difficult to tell.  And it really does showcase the actor and it could be an indie film.  And it’s shot on some high-quality HD.  As long as it’s done well I think it’s very advantageous, actually.  Things have changed, at one point that was not true, but because HD cameras are so much better now and give such good image quality that yeah you can do it.

What’s the perfect length for a reel?
Rule of thumb would be 2-5 minutes, and most people will say keep it shorter.  Although, I will actually say that because of the way a lot of digital media works that the rule of the length of a reel is kind of changing because so many people now look at them online.  Vast majority is now online, and what I’ve seen, because I actually just produced a movie where I saw the casting director and director go through a bunch of reels.  I kind of see the behavior of people who are really actively involved in casting people, and so I really paid attention especially in regards to this side of the business.

Read more

Screenplay: “Dear John”

Want the screenplay to Dear John?

Sure you do! (Ok…. maybe not)

Click here for the script

Thanks to script collector

Synopsis: John Tyree (Channing Tatum), a young soldier home on leave, and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), the idealistic college student he falls in love with during her spring vacation. Over the next seven tumultuous years, the couple is separated by John’s increasingly dangerous deployments. While meeting only sporadically, they stay in touch by sending a continuous stream of love letters overseas—correspondence that eventually triggers fateful consequences.

An Evening With… Eric Stephen Souliere

Updated!

Eric Souliere works for one of the busiest casting offices around, UDK. If you can get in good with them, you’re already one up on everyone else.

Background:
He’s originally from Boston but went to college in NYC where he studied film.  He always wanted to be a casting director – since age 11! After graduation, he moved to LA. Three months after moving, he got an internship on a Steven Spielberg movie.  He then transistioned to being an assistant on films and after that, he went to work for UDK.

Information:
* He likes postcards. If you’re in something, absolutely send it to him.
* Pre-reads are not taped.
* Producer sessions are taped because there are always Producers not in the room that need to see them and because the Studio/Network need to watch them.
* Loves demos! If you have a demo-reel make sure its attached to your profile on Breakdown Services (Actors Access). He watches them all the time. “They are immensely helpful,” he says. “Sometimes if I don’t have time to pre-read, I’ll bring people in just based on the reels. They are very helpful.”
* For pre-reads, he will bring in anywhere from 15-30 people. For Producers: Co-stars he’ll bring in 6-7 people. Guest Stars, 8.
* Usually casts on average 3/4 Co-Stars and 5/6 Guest Stars.

Read more

81 Year Old Actress Makes Her Broadway Debut

While most 81 year old’s are sitting back and thinking about the accomplishments they’ve made in their lives, Alice Duffy isn’t resting on her laurels. She’s just made her Broadway debut at age 81(!) in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter.

This is a totally inspirational story. Never give up your dreams!

Next Page »