FOX takes a cue from features in the way they cast pilots

From hollywoodreporter.com:

Fox is changing the way it selects actors for pilots.

The network is phasing out traditional in-person network tests, in which finalists for each role audition for network executives who choose a winner.

Taking a page from the feature world, where screen tests are prevalent in casting a role, Fox is opting for taped network tests. After passing live tests for the producing studios, actors’ performances are being filmed and sent to the network for judging.

The network’s three greenlighted projects so far this season — Greg Garcia’s comedy pilot “Keep Hope Alive,” the untitled Mark Brazill comedy pilot and the Matt Nix series “Jack and Dan” — are being cast that way.

To accommodate the change, 20th Century Fox TV, which does a lot of business with Fox, has equipped a special screen-testing suite.

Fox casting head Marcia Shulman said the network has experimented with network tests on tape for the past couple of years.

“The network spends months and months developing a show, and then we have this network test where three actors wait nervously in the hallway, staring at each other and talking on the phone with their agents whether or not to sign the contract,” she said. “Sometimes we can’t cast the right lead for a show because they had a bad moment. Casting is more than 50% of the success of a show, so after spending all that money, why have we been going through that crazy process for so long?”

Read more

Pilots Currently Shooting (or about to be)

The shows highlighted in RED are new to the list.

UNNATURAL HISTORY
COVERT AFFAIRS
COPPER
THE DEEP END
THE SAINT
PREPPED
LOVE THAT GIRL
A GAME OF THRONES
THE STATION
UNTITLED BUGLIARI & MCLAUGHLIN PROJECT
PAIR OF KINGS
TERRIERS
FANCY
UNTITLED ALIEN INVASION PILOT
THE LEAGUE
ABC FAMILY PILOT SEASON STARTING
SHOWTIME PILOT SEASON STARTING
THE ASSOCIATES
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
COMMUNITY
COUGAR TOWN
DAY ONE
DEEP END
HUMAN TARGET
FLASH FORWARD
THE MIDDLE
MODERN FAMILY
MERCY
NCIS: LOS ANGELES
PARENTHOOD
V
VAMPIRE DIAIRES

Pilot's dominated by Aussies, Irish and Brits! Oh, My!

They couldn’t do it during the American Revolution but they are doing it now. The British are definitely coming… and Australians and Irish.

A whopping 60 non-Americans have been cast in pilots this year. Far surpassing any other year.

Why?

“They’re talented actors,” 20th TV’s head of casting Sharon Klein said.

Oh, ok. That explains everything.

From Reuters:

Foreign players have been gaining ground gradually during the past few years, since the runaway success of Brit Hugh Laurie on Fox’s “House.” The trend exploded this year with almost 60 non-Americans cast in broadcast pilots and another dozen in cable pilots, the vast majority of them on the drama side. They could join the U.K.’s Tim Roth and James Purefoy, who topline the new drama series “Lie to Me” on Fox and “The Philanthropist” on NBC, respectively.

Most television executives can’t pinpoint one major reason for the influx of non-U.S. actors into U.S. primetime — or at least into pilots.

Also factoring in are the rigors of pilot season, where 70-plus pilots were chasing actors at the same time, often depleting the existing talent pool. The dearth is strongest for leads — fresh faces in their late 20s to early 30s who can carry a show.

The chances of discovering untapped but experienced talent in that age range are far greater abroad then they are in the U.S.

Playing a role this year is the studios’ decision to film more pilots than ever before outside the country, mostly in Canada. That makes the process of hiring non-American actors much easier because they won’t need work visas, which has been a hurdle for U.S.-based pilots.

Pilots flying out of LA despite tax plan

Pilot season is in full swing and most likely, none of the filming is going on anywhere near you.

Despite the new tax plan, pilots are shooting every but here.

From Variety:

Of the 39 hourlong pilots and presentations that have been ordered by the Big Four and CW, at least 20 are skedded to shoot outside California’s borders.

This year, Providence, R.I.; Baltimore; Boston; Atlanta; Chicago; Richmond, Va.; and Pittsburgh are among the unusual locales where broadcast net pilots are being produced, and all are in states that offer production tax-incentive carrots. Twentieth Century Fox TV has traveled as far as Prague for its “Da Vinci Code”-esque thriller “Masterwork” for Fox, though that decision was made as much for storyline purposes as anything else.

New Jersey, which recently greenlit its own incentives, has benefited from Albany’s paralysis, landing the NBC/Universal Media Studios drama pilot “Mercy” and CBS/CBS Paramount’s 9/11-themed drama “Back” (portions of which are also shot in Toronto).

Biz insiders with an interest in keeping production in California say they’re frustrated by the notion in Sacramento that a tax incentive program is a giveaway to Hollywood. Studies of programs in other states have shown that film incentives more than pay for themselves in generating tax revenues that wouldn’t otherwise exist, plus they drive spending in local businesses not directly tied to showbiz.

“What really happened is the doors opened a crack in California (with the incentive program). If they want it to have real impact, they need to open the door a lot wider,” said Audley. “The (state) legislature needs to recognize that production has just gone from this state. What’s left will be gone unless they do something to help preserve it. We are in grave danger of losing the business.”

This is so far from ridicilious! Even when this state tries to give out tax breaks they still manage to screw it up.

Who is right? Handel or Finke?

A couple weeks ago, Nikki Finke (Deadline Hollywood Daily) reported that the figures of AFTRA dominating pilot season were totally wrong.

Today, Jonathan Handel (Digital Media Law) reports that, in fact, AFTRA has dominated pilot season by almost 94% (maybe 87% depending how its calculated).

Who to believe?

From what I have seen, it’s almost totally been AFTRA. I can only recall a couple SAG pilots that are casting. I thought that what DHD was reporting was way off but who am I to disagree with Nikki Finke. She’s is seriously the best out there. Her post was written in early March and the facts have almost certainly changed.

Here’s the links:
Nikki Finke’s DHD
Jonathan Handel

SAG/AMPTP talks break down. AFTRA getting dominant

So, its come to this? All the crap that has been going on the past couple of months and now its come to the AMPTP walking out on the negotiation’s?

Click here and here and here for some great reporting on the SAG situation.

And with all this nonsense, SAG has lost so much ground. Most of the pilots are AFTRA this year and as referenced in this article, it looks like AFTRA may become a bigger player than anyone anticipated.

It had long been inconceivable to do high-end dramas on anything but film, but some of the biggest drama pilots this season are being shot on 24p digital video under AFTRA.

Both of Jerry Bruckheimer‘s current pilots — his detective show for ABC and “Miami Trauma” for CBS — and David E. Kelley’s new comedy-drama series, “Legally Mad” for NBC, are under AFTRA, as are ABC’s sci-fi thriller “Flash Forward” and Romeo-and-Juliet drama “Empire State”; Fox’s comic-book adaptation “Human Target,” directed by feature helmer Simon West; and “The Da Vinci Code”-style action adventure “Masterwork.”

High-profile single-camera comedies, once a SAG domain, also are moving. NBC’s Amy Poehler comedy “Parks and Recreation” and Fox’s remake of “Absolutely Fabulous” are shot digitally and affiliated with AFTRA this year.

Deciding which actors union to go with is up to the pilot’s producers and director. Once a show is past the pilot stage, the union affiliation carries over to the series.

The speed of the shift from SAG to AFTRA parallels the stages of SAG’s labor dispute with the studios during the past year.

After starting off with several AFTRA pilots last spring, the process accelerated during the summer, with a larger portion of the midseason pilots shot under AFTRA.

The trend moved into high gear in November when talks between SAG and the studios broke off and SAG announced that it would proceed with a strike-authorization vote.

Warner Bros. Television and 20th TV issued almost identical statements, saying that “in response to the uncertainties created by a potential SAG strike,” they were considering shooting their spring pilots as digital productions under AFTRA agreements.

Fox & CBS order pilots

Fox is about to green-light dramas “Maggie Hill” and “Human Target.”

“Maggie Hill” is about a female heart surgeon who is suffering from schizophrenia.

“Human Target,” is based on the DC Comics book and revolves around a mysterious security expert who goes undercover to protect clients in danger. I wonder if he’ll still have that cool costume.

Over at CBS, they ordered a single-camera comedy “Tick Tock,” about a single mom in her 30s who decides to focus all her energy on finding love.