April 29, 2008

Ahhhhh...

Good LORD, I love my job.

imahappygirl.gif

It is so filled with mystery and adventure and "what ifs" and "what could bes" and tons of creative, amazing, brilliant, AWESOME people who inspire me at every turn.

(Makes the whackadoos and wannabes so much easier to ignore.)

Ahhhhhh....

Just love it. Another film. ANOTHER another film. Good LORD, I love my job!

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April 20, 2008

Everybody's Workin' ON the Weekend

Crazy. So I put out the revised breakdown for Another Harvest Moon at 5:43pm Friday.

I expected that the weekend would be filled submissions direct from actors, hoping to join the superstar cast already in place. Well, I've just logged on after 10 hours offline and another 28 agencies and management companies have submitted.

And WTF, places like Anonymous Content and Untitled Entertainment submitting at 10:30pm on the weekend? I love this! It's a new way of working! We're always ON! :)

That's just cool. Way cool. :)

(My post on the awesomeness that is the Cricket Feet Showcase is still to come. So busy. Of course. ;) Hee! Gotta write a little column, here, too. Yay! I love today!)

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April 18, 2008

A Big Week

So, the showcase was a HUGE success, and while I was in "the Burbank office" for the week, I got word that a film I cast last year got its funding restored and will be shooting in June!

Check out the breakdown for Another Harvest Moon right here. :) Yay! I'm so glad we're back!! (Meet the cast already in place.) Yay!

More updates to come. I'm swamped. :) Lovin' it!!

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March 17, 2008

I love it...

...when a plan comes together.

*giggle*

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March 6, 2008

Tribute to Mali Finn

I know it's old news that Mali Finn passed away last year, but I just learned about this online tribute to her and had to share it. For several reasons.

One, it's amazing. It'll really show you how much Mali loved her job and loved actors, even in just a few minutes of footage.

Two, I'm always shocked how quickly the black-and-white headshots became outdated as "the norm." Most of this footage is from The It Factor and in just six years, the "saturation" of color headshots, if you were ever looking at that many photos at once, would be overwhelming by comparison.

Three, one of Keith's first Hollywood auditions was for--yup, you guessed it--The It Factor and, in 2002 (in fact, in that exact episode used for footage in the above tribute), Keith said the memorable words, "I met a girl on the Internet and she told me to move to Hollywood so she could make me famous," which of course endeared him to Mali and got him on TV (which was the goal). He would go in again for Mali on quite a few projects before she retired a couple of years ago, and she was always very good to him. We would joke that he'll see that footage come up in a few years, like on E! True Hollywood Story or something hilarious like that.

Four, that laugh of hers. Wow. Unforgettable.

We miss you, Mali. I'm glad I got to see this tribute today. Very nice.

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March 5, 2008

It is a good day to be an indie film casting director.

So, I'm casting FIVE feature films right now. The two you know about, the one I'm exec producing, and the two that haven't been announced yet (which will take me into 2009).

Therefore, when the producer on one of these fine indie films (the $20M one--about as high-budget as you can get and still be an indie) sent me this article from The Hollywood Reporter, I danced a little jig.

SAG said Tuesday that it will offer guaranteed-completion contracts to indie companies that have projects in production past the June 30 actors contract expiration date.

"We are pleased to offer guaranteed completion contracts to independent producers who are such an important source of employment for actors," said Doug Allen, SAG's national executive director and chief negotiator. "These (contracts) will allow independent producers to continue their work and continue to generate job opportunities for our members even as AMPTP employers decide unilaterally whether or when to greenlight new theatrical productions."

The contracts would quash any threat of a work stoppage for those companies that qualify, enabling them to get the financing and completion bonds required to start filming. To qualify, the indie producers must not have any financing or distribution deals with AMPTP-represented studios or companies.

Business as usual, baby. And USUAL is very, very busy 'round here lately.

God, I love my job.

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February 6, 2008

Scratching the Surface: More Casting Announcements

Woo hoo!

Welcome to the (already amazing) cast of Scratching the Surface!

Mrs. Shifman (Talia Shire).

And Mr. Edelman (Dan Castellaneta).

(Very exciting) offer rolling out shortly on the role of Mrs. Westin. And we're going straight to callbacks on the role of MICK, coming up in a couple of weeks. Again, THANK YOU, awesome actors, for doing the YouTube Group uploads! (More on that in this week's column.)

Congratulations, everyone! I'm just so excited about this amazing film. Wish I could be there for the shoot. You KNOW it's gonna be FUN! :)

I so love my job!!! Hee!

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January 30, 2008

Lily Did It!

Yes! It's here! The webseries I cast last year has launched!

Go check it out! LilyDidIt.com Send me a vCard so I know how much you love it (and send one to Anna and Laurel and Milissa too). Hee! AWESOME!

It's like I'm more in love with my job every day. What a gift!

Congratulations, ladies!!!!!! XO

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January 26, 2008

Casting Announcements!

Well, all right! It's been a great week, as casting is concerned. :)

Clearly.

Here are some great casting announcements for Scratching the Surface (with MORE to come SOON, baby). Hee!

Meet Jake (Jeremy London).

And Amy (Laura Buckles).

Shelley (Vanessa Branch).

Maggie (Jackie Geary).

Steve (Tristan Wright).

Jennifer (Ryan Angel).

And Rachel (Kathy Gardiner).

Several new offers rolling out shortly. We'll be going straight to callbacks on the role of MICK for sure (and, OMG, how many great candidates do we have for this one? Oooooh! THANK YOU for the YouTube Group uploads! They're great) and I'm just thrilled with how much awesomeness is overflowing on this precious film! Congrats, all!

More updates to come. :)

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January 25, 2008

The Italian Job

By now, you've probably seen the breakdown for The Quest, the highest-budget indie feature film one could possibly cast without being affiliated with a major studio (and certainly the highest-budget indie feature film this chica has ever had her hands on thus far).

Well, in case this is news to you, The Quest is an amazing historical adventure shooting this summer in Rome. It's a script by Max Bartoli, Jeffrey Stackhouse, Sam Ingraffia, and Doug Burch; directed by Max Bartoli; produced by Brendan Davis and Blue Nelson for Tangible Entertainment and Max Bartoli for MaXaM Productions in association with executive producer AVT Shankardass for Victory Productions UK.

Phew!

In addition to the nine roles on the public breakdown, we're going for major star names on another half-dozen roles and, I know regular BonBlogs readers anticipate--by this point in the casting process on most breakdowns I put out there--a slew of numbers to pour over (or obsess over, depending on your style). Hee! Well... here's why I've had no time to even calculate the numbers, let alone post about them.

Turns out--brace yourself--it seems that when you cast a project that is ten times the budget of the biggest project you have ever cast previously, you actually *do* get ten times the traffic in terms of phones, emails, faxes, drop-bys, etc.

< Craig mode > "I know!" < / Craig mode >

So...

Um, I'm busy. And I'm also really thrilled with this gig. Not only is it a mind-blowingly COOL concept, outstanding script, and magical story told in stunning locations, the production team is dynamic, talented, brilliant--dare I say--visionary. And I'm honored to be on the team.

(Oh, and, OF COURSE, I'm thrilled to have to add to my "To Do List" that I need to renew my passport. Hee! I mean, a casting director must travel to Rome during shooting in order to "gather casting paperwork" or something, right?!? Hee!)

Ah... in the words of "Hannibal" Smith, "I love it when a plan comes together." ;) Amazingly, a random visit to the Improv to scout comics with fellow Atlantan Jonathan Walker Spencer one year ago would allow me to meet fellow gadget-lover and Atlantan Brendan Davis who would not only come to every single edition of the Cricket Feet Showcase but end up hiring me to do the coolest casting gig of my career thus far. That's cool-ass Hollywood, y'all. (And as Brendan loves to say, "We roll deep." Atlanta Posse, baby. Don't ignore it. It's the new Gay Mafia in Hollywood, yo.)

Oh!!! And speaking of the showcase and The Quest!! Brendan and his team scouted an actor at the November showcase who they adored so much, they CAST HER IN A ROLE in The Quest just based on her showcase performance! That's right... Anoush NeVart is playing the role of PINA and it was really cool to "announce" that bit of casting information right there on the breakdown. Enjoy the buzz, Anoush. Hee!

And, while I'm talking "showcase," I should mention that the breakdown for the April 2008 showcase is going out later today (yes, a little early; yes, before we've even interviewed potential directors--heck, we weren't anticipating over 100 resumé submissions on our "call for directors" from earlier this month--we have a lot of people we want to chat with). Hope you'll join us on the ride! :)

Back to The Quest! One little sad "thing" is how many (about a half-dozen, probably) of my coverage reps at "the bigs" (who were all assistants or sub-agents for the most part) are GONE due to strike cutbacks at their agencies. It's so weird. And sad. And I hope they will all come back when things are back in full-Hollywood-swing (or that they've already landed on their feet elsewhere and are happy for the new opportunity). *sigh*

Next casting-related post (hopefully) will include FIVE casting attachments for Scratching the Surface, the sweet, super-cute rom-com I'm casting right now as well. :) *beams* I'm really excited for the deals we're working out, but won't post about 'em 'til we're all set. You know how that goes.

Hee!

Life is good, y'all! Moto bello! (I think that means something good. I like the sound of it, either way.)

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January 17, 2008

Casting Numbers... Another Update

Just got home from a lovely evening of whispering at the SAG Foundation Casting Access Project. A couple of VERY talented actors tonight... and a head-scratcher or two (in terms of crossing the line with appropriate favor-asking). Always something baffling to balance out every something wonderful Hee! Life's like that.

So, right as I left for the night, an agent whose celeb client has an offer on Scratching the Surface called with a very enthusiastic reaction on the part of the actor, who has now read the script. I LOVE it when that happens! Stay tuned for an announcement soon. Hee!

Had to say no today to two casting gigs because it looks like a biggie is coming together, and that'll monopolize my time and energy in the best possible way for several months, here. Again, I say, "Stay tuned."

Deliciously fun production meeting for Blake Robbins Is Not Famous (the film I'm exec producing) last night before Tuesdays@9, then lots of paperwork today (egads, producing = paperwork). Tomorrow = shooting two test scenes for the Cricket Feet Showcase web-series. And, um, I'm supposed to send my head-honcho proofer home on her flight from visiting LA this weekend with a manuscript of SMFA3 and I haven't... um... put together anything close to "manuscript volume" to hand off. Eesh!

Okay, okay, so on to the casting numbers y'all love so much (avert your eyes, number-shy actors). Past editions here and here.

The breakdown for Scratching the Surface went out around 11am Monday. As of 11:30pm Wednesday (so, technically yesterday, but whatevz), here are the numbers.

Total submissions (on nine speaking roles): 10,738 (Amy = 1338, Jake = 1649, Maggie = 1291, Shelley = 1235, Mick = 1594, Mrs. Shifman = 420, Steve = 1868, Mr. Edelman = 893, Mrs. Westin = 451).

Number of agencies/management firms submitting (from California, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Washington, British Columbia, and Ontario): 478.

Number of actors self-submitting via Actors Access: 5157.

Number of "selects" (see previous entries on the way these numbers change, over the first week or so after the breakdown goes out--are ranked "1," "2," and "3" and those numbers now mean "name actors who can sell our film," "namey actors who we'd be happy to get, but who don't bring huge name value to our film," and "actors I can't wait to cast but who really aren't on anyone's radar more than a blip here or there, if at all"). And here's how many actors are "selects" anymore (not breaking it down into number of 1's, 2's, or 3's for y'all anymore): 1103 (Amy = 69, Jake = 101, Maggie = 71, Shelley = 175, Mick = 250, Mrs. Shifman = 128, Steve = 92, Mr. Edelman = 155, Mrs. Westin = 61).

Offers are out on three roles so far, with more offers to roll out next week. At this point, I'm not sure whether we'll actually hold sessions for this thing! (We may just go straight to callbacks, at this rate.) The combination of the number of name actors into this thing and the actors uploading their own audition videos at the Cricket Feet Casting group at YouTube is making straight offers--even on the supporting roles (for local hires especially) a reality. Is this the future of casting? Sure is cool, I can say that!

Oh, and as I sign off, let me just say that I have NEVER been so confused about my thoughts on an upcoming election. I almost always know exactly who I'm going to vote for WAY in advance of "the big day." And lately, I change my mind like EVERY day. I have NO idea who I'm going to vote for. Is that what "getting older" does to a person? Or is this field of candidates THAT dang confounding?

Thanks for the feedback on the Actors' Life interview, y'all. I really enjoyed doing it and I'm glad everyone is enjoying it too. :)

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January 10, 2008

More Geeky Casting Numbers

Phew! I'm exhausted. And with good reason.

The breakdown for Scratching the Surface went out around 11am Monday. As of 12:30am today, here are the numbers.

Total submissions (on nine speaking roles): 9907 (Amy = 1241, Jake = 1517, Maggie = 1119, Shelley = 1111, Mick = 1472, Mrs. Shifman = 384, Steve = 1735, Mr. Edelman = 840, Mrs. Westin = 408)

Number of agencies/management firms submitting (from California, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Washington, British Columbia, and Ontario, so far): 449

Number of actors self-submitting via Actors Access: 4723

Now, you've probably already read about how I score the "selects" in the first day or two of casting.

This morning, the numbers are assigned a different value structure:

1 = name actors (their names will help us sell the film, get distribution, inspire investors to come up with even more money)

2 = actors whose work I know (this includes actors who, in Hollywood, are definitely "name" actors and certainly people we would all love to work with, but whose names aren't so weighty that you needn't do a little, "You know... the guy from that show..." in order to explain who the actor is to someone in the real world. It also includes actors I've cast before, actors who've come to callbacks with me before, actors whose work I've always liked even if we've never met at an audition, etc.)

3 = actors who included demo reels with their submissions, so we have one last chance to see their work and decide whether we'd like to have them advance further. We may or may not ever get to watching all of these reels, sadly. This is the "next-to-be-cut" group of actors, unless something inspires us to keep 'em in the mix (we're also looking at actors' self-submitted YouTube footage at the Cricket Feet Casting group on that site).

And numbers, right now, go like this:

109 actors ranked 1
1919 actors ranked 2
1416 actors ranked 3

Looks like we'll make some offers this week (or early next week) to top contenders/name actors pitched for the roles of Mrs. Shifman and Mr. Edelman (seriously, folks, if you could see the "OMIGOD YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME" level of pitches for these two roles alone, you'd be agog). Then we'll decide on some next round offers and/or name actor meetings to arrange, choose sides and audition dates, and then start deciding who gets invited to those prereads.

Yippee! It's way fun to be a casting geek! Hee!

Thanks for enjoying the ride with me (and for those of you who don't, well, um... I hope that my post's titles serve as "spoiler warnings" to keep you from reading and getting depressed. It's just not depressing to me. It's my JOB, baby! I love it).

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January 8, 2008

Geeky Casting Numbers

You know how I loooooove my geeky casting numbers. :)

Breakdown for Scratching the Surface went out yesterday just after 11am. As of 4:30pm today, here are the numbers.

Total submissions (on nine speaking roles): 8799 (Amy = 1098, Jake = 1356, Maggie = 1058, Shelley = 1002, Mick = 1296, Mrs. Shifman = 332, Steve = 1542, Mr. Edelman = 755, Mrs. Westin = 360)

Number of agencies/management firms submitting (from California, New York, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Vancouver, and Ontario, so far): 419

Number of actors self-submitting via Actors Access: 4272

Now, in the first day(s) of marking "selects," I go through and score actors as follows:

1 = I know their work (so, that's anything from a "name" actor whose work we ALL know to an actor who included a demo reel so we can "know" their work in a click, and anything from actors I've cast before and can't wait to cast again alllll the way down to an actor on my "never, never, never" list, but at least I know their work, so they get a 1 for this first time through)

2 = I know them, but not their work OR I know and love their agent or manager, so they should be considered based on reputation alone

3 = Don't know 'em, don't know their work, but I like their look enough to not dismiss 'em just yet... but these are the folks who will, all at once, LEAVE the "selects" within the next few hours, unless one of the producers says, "Oh, I know her! She's great! Keep her in the mix."

And numbers, right now, go like this:

2380 actors ranked 1, 584 actors ranked 2, 4170 actors ranked 3.

Yup, so in another few hours, our number of "selects" will go from 7133 to under 3000. And then down to... well, eventually... one actor per role. ;)

Flyin' my geek flag proud! (Even with laryngitis, which is actually a nice way to not have to deal with too many phone calls.)

Thank you for submitting, everyone! I'm thrilled!! :)

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December 27, 2007

Yippee!

So, in addition to the two films I've been casting (and that I'm assured are both a GO for 2008, which means smaller role casting now that a few name actors are attached) and the film I'm both casting and exec producing (news on that one next week or so), I've just signed on to cast a $1M feature film shooting in Louisiana in late March.

It's a super-cute rom-com and I'm very excited about it. Breakdown should go out mid-next week.

Yippee!

PS--Brr! It's chillycold!

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December 10, 2007

SAG Foundation Events, Saturday & Monday

Just got contacted by the wonderful folks over at the SAG Foundation and I--along with my fellow Actors Access/Showfax columnist Mark Sikes--will be putting on a SAG Liferaft Seminar as a part of their PREP FOR PILOT SEASON series. We're going to focus on headshots and resumés, making sure actors are presenting themselves in their most marketable light.

If you're a member of SAG, you can sign up right now using the link below.

http://www.sagfoundation.org/cgi-bin/event.cgi?session_file=&site_category=liferaft&date=20071217y

This event will take place on Monday, December 17th from 1pm to 3pm at the James Cagney Room at SAG. Please bring your headshots and resumés and check in early to get your materials reviewed by us in front of the whole group. :)

Very excited to do another seminar with SAG Foundation (I'm also moderating a talk with the entire cast of HEROES on Saturday the 15th, and you can RSVP for that event here: http://www.sagfoundation.org/cgi-bin/event.cgi?session_file=&site_category=conversations&date=20071215 if you'd like).

Thanks, everyone, for your support of SAG Foundation activities.

See you soon,
-Bon.
Cricket Feet, Inc.

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November 27, 2007

Your Chance To See "Broken Windows"

Are you free Thursday night? Would you like to come see this movie I cast? (The Broken Windows' IMDB page is here.)

brokenwindowspostcard.jpg
(Click the image to watch the trailer.)

Please send an email to the amazing film's amazing writer/director Tony Hickman at tonhickman [at] hotmail [dot] com (spelling that email address out to keep the spam-bots away) and let him know the following:

1. Your name.
2. Number in your party.
3. How much you love the casting already. ;) Hee!

The screening is at 7pm on Thursday at AFI (Mark Goodson Screening Room) and space is limited, so you *must* RSVP.

Hope to schmooze with you fine people after the screening! Thanks in advance for your rockstar support.

LYMI,
-Bon.

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November 15, 2007

Look at this GORGEOUS movie I cast!

Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow.

brokenwindowspostcard.jpg
Click the image to watch the trailer.

Seriously. Wow.

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October 28, 2007

The Actors Voice, 10/29/07

Hi Everyone!

Here's how tomorrow's The Actors Voice starts out.

===========

Toughen Up

Seems to be going around. There's an outbreak of bad manners intersecting with a heightened level of sensitivity. And it has caused my inbox to become filled with emails from actors wondering why casting directors are such meanies.

Well, here's the short answer: Most of us aren't. Most of us are actually really decent people who treat professional actors professionally and unprofessional actors politely.

But even decent people who almost always behave professionally sometimes have bad days. Now, that doesn't give anyone the right to be flat-out mean to someone who's just doing his best, but not everyone plays by the same rules.

However, in at least a couple of the examples that actors have been emailing to me this week, the "bad behavior" isn't actually coming from casting directors. It's coming from folks who are bypassing the casting director and putting out breakdowns on their own. Sometimes it's a producer doing her own thing. Sometimes it's an actor trying to bring together a project for himself, searching for a supporting cast. And sometimes, yes, it is a casting director. And, at least from some of the examples you've sent my way, I'd have to agree: We're dealing with some meanies.

That said, the "fix" for this situations is easy: Toughen up. (Oh, and in case you think I mean it's the actor who needs to toughen up, let me assure you that this goes for these "casting people" too. Bear with me. This will make sense in a moment.)

===========

Continue reading this column in the morning, along with a Your Turn follow-up on last week's Your Turn--which was a follow-up on The Let-Down--at Showfax.com.

As always, THANK YOU for reading!

And!!

Be sure to visit The Actors Voice: POV on Thursday for the final POV in a four-part series from Prague-based CD, Nancy Bishop.

Woo hoo!

Cheers,
-Bon.
Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will.

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September 30, 2007

The Actors Voice, 10/1/07

Hi Everyone!

Here's how tomorrow's The Actors Voice starts out.

===========

A-List Playlist

One of my actor friends mentioned that my columns had been heavy on the analogies lately. Yeah, that's definitely true. We've had a little football, a little high school, and a little cereal. So, I pledged to make this week's column very straightforward. I was going to enter an analogy-free zone. I promised myself. And then, as I drove to a speaking engagement the other night, I came up with another flippin' actor analogy.

So I bounced it off a group of showcasers I was meeting with. Could I go against my plan to have an analogy-free column? Was this one worth it? Yes, they assured me. So, here it is. I'm going to write about the A-List Playlist. To get into the mindset where this will work, I ask that you hop in the car with me, as I drive to this speaking engagement. But first, you have to understand the lengths I will go to avoid crossing the 405. (Yes, I am a Westside snob. And it's not because I think the Westside is better than anywhere else; it's because I really, really, really love living and working by the beach and I find it to be a "day trip" any time I leave the 310.)

One of the ways I make the trip to Hollywood bearable is through listening to really outstanding music. But I don't always start out with the iPod. I will generally give the six radio stations on my car stereo's preset a shot... until I can't handle the unpredictable, random, occasionally interesting but eventually less pleasing musical options coming through. And that's exactly like casting. Eventually, we all go to our A-List Playlist.

===========

Continue reading this column in the morning, along with a Your Turn tribute to Eric Gelman at Showfax.com.

And!!

Be sure to visit The Actors Voice: POV for the second POV in a four-part series from Prague-based CD Nancy Bishop.

As always, THANK YOU for reading!

Woo hoo!

Cheers,
-Bon.
Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will.

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September 22, 2007

Perks of the Job

Okay, now this is way cool. Keith gets home and brings up the mail (from our "other" post office box, the one we only check like once a week). Inside? Among the headshots, postcards, and cool office supply catalogues?

tnsagstarwof.jpg

Click to enlarge slightly.

An invitation to the champagne breakfast celebrating the Screen Actors Guild's presentation of the Award of Excellence Star on the Walk of Fame.

*beams*

It would seem that these years of volunteering to talk to groups of actors at SAG is now paying off in some really cool ways. Last year, red carpet premiere and after party for Running with Scissors. This year, way cooler. Way. Walk of Fame, baby. Champagne breakfast before. Yeah. Totally cool.

I love my job.

Gotta go. The gym is calling! :)

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September 7, 2007

November Showcase CAST Announced!

Congratulations to our November 2007 Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase CAST!

Let's meet 'em, shall we?



Alex Collins



Alexandria Fierz



Amy Crofoot



Anna Campbell



Anoush Nevart



Beau Wilson



Christopher Haro



Constance Hsu



Courtney Andresen



Darren Meekin



Eitan Loewenstein



Eli Bildner



Ernest Monroe



Ethan Flower



Etta Devine



Gabriel Diani



Glenn Keogh



Jenna Ann West



Jennifer Boarini



Jeronimo Spinx



Jim Gleason



Katie Swain



Keith Johnson



Kimberly Crandall



Matthew J. Cates



Megan Hollingshead



Melissa Cipollone



Michael Proctor



Pamela Newlands



Paul Vroom



Reneé Spei



Sheila Daley



Shelley Delayne



Stephen Pollak



Tamika Simpkins



Tim Astor



Victor Fischbarg

Links to actors' official actor profiles (with resumés, demo reels, and all that good stuff) will be coming soon at the Cricket Feet Showcase website. Congratulations, everyone! And THANK YOU to all of the amazing actors who auditioned for our November showcase. We hope to work with you in the future!

LYMI,
-Bon.
(on behalf of Annie Wood, Eitan Loewenstein and the whole showcase team)
MySpace.com/CricketFeetShowcase

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September 3, 2007

The Actors Voice, 9/3/07

Hi Everyone!

Here's how today's The Actors Voice starts out.

===========

Creating Shorthand

I've recently been working quite a bit with a filmmaker I've known for just under three years. In showbiz, that's both a very short time and a lifetime. We've now worked as director (she) and casting director (me) on five projects (and another couple of projects on which we each had different jobs). Basically, at this point, she's my Ron Howard and I'm her Jane and Janet. And we're both really fine with the seed that relationship comparison plants.

During casting meetings on the most recent couple of projects we've done together, I noticed something really cool happening. Now, we always enjoy collaborating. We always have a blast working together (which is why we continue to do so). And now that we have this history of projects on which we've teamed up, we have created this sort of shorthand that we can use, when discussing options on our current projects.

"Y'know who she reminds me of?"
"Yes! I thought so too!"
"That was such a good call. She worked out great for the role, even though she was younger than we initially wanted to go."
"Wonder if we should go younger with this role too."
"We could. But only if we find the right actor."
"Yeah, because we learned the hard way that a non-pro can eat up way too much time on set and we don't have a lot of it, when working with minors."
"Right. So let's be open to going younger if someone with the right level of credits walks in and wows us."
"Like she did, when we first met her."
"Exactly."

And on we go with our day. And this sort of conversation continues to happen several times over about all sorts of different issues, people, and experiences we've shared. Further, when we're not even in the same city, we'll have email exchanges, phone conferences, and instant messages flying back and forth in which we use the shorthand we've created on previous jobs to get us moving along faster and more efficiently in our current ones.

That, in short, is why people who like to work together like to work together. Call it favoritism. Call it nepotism. Call it a closed network. What it is is an efficient, familiar, easier way of doing business when every second counts (and costs a bundle).

===========

Continue reading this column RIGHT NOW, along with a Your Turn filled with reactions to last week's Issues of Race piece at Showfax.com.

And!!

Be sure to visit The Actors Voice: POV for a POV from a casting director in another market... Portland. Yes, it's our first return visit from a POV contributor: Lana Veenker!

Woo hoo!

As always, THANK YOU for reading!

Cheers,
-Bon.
Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will.

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August 29, 2007

The Kitty Landers Show

Very excited. Today, we welcome Richard Moll to our cast!

Woo!

We also re-released the breakdown (with revisions) for two remaining roles. VERY excited!

(Thank you for all of the amazing vibes about my big meeting with Mr. Superagent yesterday. It went extraordinarily well. Friday I will know if it went "just" as well as I already know it went--which is simply mind-blowingly awesome--or if it went even BETTER than that. Stay tuned!)

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August 21, 2007

Casting Assignment List for 2007/2008 TV Season!

From the amazing Showfax Bob at Showfax.com:

Our CD assignments list for the 2007/2008 season is ready and will be released shortly but I put the file aside so you can get it now. :) It's free. (PDF file, requires Acrobat Reader.)

http://more.showfax.com/dox/cd2007-8.pdf

http://more.showfax.com/bbs2/viewtopic.php?t=3306

Yay! Thanks, Bob!!!!! :)

LYMI,
-Bon.
CricketFeet.com

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August 17, 2007

AWESOME Casting Day for LilyDidIt.com

Wow! Just wow.

Such an amazing day.

Regular readers of the BonBlogs know that I'm a big fan of the casting sessions. (Holy crap, do I LOVE seeing all of the potential options for our projects!! LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!)

But today was especially special.

See, we're looking for the LILY in LilyDidIt.com. This is THE FACE of our series. This is potentially way-damn-huge. And, due to stuff we can't talk about unless you've signed the non-disclosure agreement, the potential for hugeness is bigger than "just" finding a series regular for a pilot. We're not looking to invite someone into the world's homes each week... we're... well... doing something bigger than that.

And today was wonderful. WONDERFUL.

Yes, we had actors upload auditions to our YouTube channel. Yes, we reviewed those, plus headshots, resumés, and demo reels to get to this point. And now we have a really tough decision to make--and so many freakin' amazing candidates from which to choose.

Looks like we've gotten down to our "final three" and now we're gonna play on it for the weekend. (No, not sleep on it. Play on it. It's Anna's birthday and that means play. We'll decide after that. Hee!) And we're reaching out to our favorite dozen beyond that top three to see if they'll be interested in being "friends to Lily," which we'll certainly need, pending series pick-up.

Ooooooooh, I'm just so DANG excited. No matter what, this has been an amazing experience and I love love LOVE sessions because they remind me that actors are beautiful, wonderful, creative creatures with loads of brilliant instincts and passion for life... and they're dang funny too.

Just wow. Great day. GREAT.

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August 7, 2007

New Breakdowns (THREE!) Posted Today

This is a repost from the Cricket Feet mailing list. (Busy day... consolidating the efforts, you understand.)

===========

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for being a part of the Cricket Feet mailing list! REALLY appreciate the love!

Wanted to give y'all a heads up about three new breakdowns that were posted today at Actors Access (WOO HOO)!

LilyDidIt.com (PILOT for a web series--upload your audition footage to our YouTube channel NOW): Click for breakdown.

Cricket Feet Showcase (for the November showcase): Click for breakdown.

The Kitty Landers Show (PILOT for a children's TV series): Click for breakdown.

VERY excited!

Yes, Another Harvest Moon (feature film starring Ernest Borgnine, Doris Roberts, Anne Meara, Piper Laurie, Richard Schiff, and Amber Benson) is still casting: Click for breakdown (although it looks like we may move the shoot to Philly--will know for sure by 8/15 or so).

Oooh, just really happy with casting lately. OH, and THANK YOU for your recent feedback on my columns AND on our NEW LOGO (thanks Communicatrix) ... we are SO PROUD of the new baby! Celebrating our fifth anniversary as Cricket Feet, Inc. THANKS for joining us on this ride!!

Much love,
-Bon.
Bon on MySpace
BonBlogs...a work in progress

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August 3, 2007

Woo hoo! Good casting day!

So, before we left the house to attend the cast and crew screening of Mark Apicella's Salvation, Texas (which, by the way, is STUNNINGLY beautiful), I put together bids for two casting projects I've been asked to consider taking on (this is two of FOUR requests that have come in within the span of SEVEN DAYS--I kid you not).

sams_bid-lg.gif

So, I email out these two bids, thinking, "Man, I'd love to cast these projects. I'd LOVE to work with these people. I seriously dig this whole she-bang! (And what a cool job do I have? So dang cool.)" Then we leave and I talk about how I'm feeling at a transition point in my career, and it's all wonderful stuff and blah blah blah.

Come home, and there's two emails waiting. Both bids have been accepted and I have two new casting gigs starting up next week. YIPPEE!!! (And yes, I still have two more projects' bid requests to field... and Another Harvest Moon, of course... and the breakdown for the November edition of the Cricket Feet Showcase. And... this super cool project that I've not talked to many folks about because it's one of those things that would be so life-changing if it happens that I'm kind of playing my cards a little close to the vest until we see what happens... and... and... and....

So, life is good. I'm ecstatic. (Wait... can you end the sentence "I'm ecstatic" with a period? I mean, it pretty much requires an exclamation point, right?) So, okay... I'm ready to hire an agent. Or manager. Or attorney. I can't field all of these offers and read all of these scripts anymore. Quality problem, of course. But I think the "mom and pop shop" days are coming to an end. Wow! Gotta love the come-truing of dreams! VERY exciting!

Posted by bonnie at 10:15 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

August 2, 2007

"Another Harvest Moon" Casting News

So, I'm way behind in updating y'all about the attachments we've made for Another Harvest Moon. (I'm giddy. Seriously. Would you LOOK at this cast?!?)

Ernest Borgnine as FRANK
Doris Roberts as ALICE
Anne Meara as ELLA
Piper Laurie as JUNE
Richard Schiff as JEFFREY
Amber Benson as GRETCHEN

Um, hi. Can you say, "I'd like to thank the Academy," folks? Well... SOMEONE is gonna be saying that, about this film. Wow! Wow! Wow!

For those of you hankerin' to get to read on the minor roles we still have to cast, please note a couple of things: The film is now 85% likely shooting in Harrisburg, PA (in the hospital they used for Girl, Interrupted). That means we'll do a rerelease of the breakdown and seek ONLY actors who are willing to work as Pennsylvania LOCAL HIRES. Or... we'll simply cast those roles out of PA altogether (paging Mike Lemon).

So, I know the original breakdown said we'd start prereads in LA next week but, until the other 15% of the 85%-likely-to-shoot-in-PA thing either comes together or doesn't, we're not moving forward with those auditions. So, hang in there, wouldja? More announcements to come! Yippee! I'm all kinds of blissed out!

Posted by bonnie at 2:12 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 24, 2007

Casting Announcement!

Yippee!

As if today couldn't get any cooler.

Welcome Ernest Borgnine (*ahem* Oscar-winning Ernest Borgnine) in the starring role of FRANK in Another Harvest Moon.

tnernestborgnineasFRANK.jpg

Oooooh, I'm just so flippin' ecstatic!

I love today. *beams*

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June 25, 2007

First Casting Announcement

Whee! Very excited! We have attached our first two actors to Another Harvest Moon.

annemearaasELLA.jpg
Anne Meara as ELLA
amberbensonasGRETCHEN.jpg
Amber Benson as GRETCHEN

Congratulations and welcome, ladies. Very excited to have you on board!

Woo hoo! I love this job!

Posted by bonnie at 6:19 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

June 7, 2007

"Broken Windows" Blurb

Oooh, this is so cool! Love it!

unknown.jpg

From the piece at indieWIRE:

"Many times in films I feel that the women are there to show the men," [director Tony Hickman] says. "Like, if the man wasn't in the film the woman wouldn't have a role. I wanted to take some interesting characters, follow them, watch them, not really manufacture the drama just have them come from the characters," Hickman says about coming up with the stories.

Coooooool.

They plan to have it edited in time for the Sundance deadline. Man, I have a feeling I'm gonna be LOVING January 2008, babe. Woo!

Posted by bonnie at 6:05 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

June 2, 2007

Congratulations to our July 2007 Showcase cast!

I am so excited about our cast!!!!

Congratulations to...


Algerita Lewis


Alice Ensor


Allen Yates


Beau Wilson


Camille Bennett


Darin Toonder


David Storrs


Eitan Loewenstein


Emily Button


Ingrid Sanai Buron


J. Eddie Martinez


Joel McCrary


Josh Mann


Karla Droege


Keith Johnson


Kerie Edmead


Kristin Wiegand


Leah Fitzpatrick


Marisa Guterman


Matt Haslett


Matthew Cates


Melanie Merkosky


Michelle Luchese


Milissa Skoro


Pamela Heffler


Rachel Scheer


Regan Kirwin


Robin Gwynne


Shawn Lockie


Shelli Boone


Shirley Hughes


Shon Little


Topher Brattain


Tricia Manzardo


Vanessa Claire Smith


Volt Francisco

(Of course... as I'm sharing love and MySpace links, I should give shout-outs to our director Anna Christopher, rockstar intern-in-training Jennie Roberson, and ME... your cruise director... Bonnie Gillespie. Woo!)

(Links to other MySpace pages will come, when I learn them... heh; official "actor page" links will be up at the Cricket Feet Showcase website next week.)

THIS SHOWCASE IS GONNA ROCK!!!

Thank you, everyone, for your patience with me during this nearly impossible/certainly difficult decision-making process! I am thrilled with this new cast. Holy crap, just wait 'til you see these kids! Wow!

Posted by bonnie at 4:20 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 1, 2007

Casting Is Exhausting!

Let me be more specific. Casting for the showcase is exhausting!.

Y'know how--with every production of any kind--you have that one "hell day" that is just really "not right" (and once you have it, you're glad it's over with)? Well what I'm hoping was "hell day" for the Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase July edition was yesterday.

Partner in the hospital. Director late. Session runner late. Forty actors early. Blah blah blah.

(Honestly, as hell days go, it was low-end drama; but it's not the way I like to get started, just the same.)

At one point, actors were shivering out in the alleyway waiting to come in and audition (for some reason, Keith wouldn't let them go wait in the hallway inside), and I figured, "Well, it may be really cold on May 31st in Santa Monica, but at least it's not like March 31st in Chicago or something!" I'm all about the glass half-full, baby!

Anyway, even the worst day doing this kind of job beats the best day in other careers, I'm sure.

Point is, Anna and I met before the auditions and then for two hours after auditions (which ran an hour over--thank goodness for the Cricket Feet checkbook, baby) to go over our casting choices. And we met with Eitan on IM for a two-hour meeting today to fight for our favorite actors in pulling the final cast list together. MAN! It's exhausting!

Anna said, "It's not like when we cast Queen of Cactus Cove and I could look at actors and say, 'She's Billie. She's not. She's got a Billie quality. She might work.' This is a totally different casting process!" True. And it's awesome.

I'm now officially exhausted. Check back for the *real* blog entry in which I list all of these amazing actors' names, link to their sites, display thumbnails of their gorgeous faces, and congratulate them officially. It won't be long now.

Man... I didn't think I could be this excited, exhilarated, and exhausted all at once. Phew!

Posted by bonnie at 9:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 30, 2007

AHM numbers (slowing down now)

It's almost two weeks since the breakdown for Another Harvest Moon went out.

If you've been paying attention, you see that the bulk of the submissions come in early. (Oh, but they'll continue for months. I'm still getting electronic submissions on breakdowns released *years* ago. Yes... for films that have been cast, shot, edited, screened, and sold into the Netflix system.)

Here's where the numbers stand now:

Here's how the numbers break down, by character:

101--FRANK
54--ALICE
34--ELLA
35--JUNE
2797--PAUL
956--JEFFREY
920--VICKIE
382--JACK
3032--GRETCHEN
899--RITA
829--NURSE
159--REBECCA
459--DAUGHTER
4--THAT WILSON WOMAN
39--STELL
312--YOUNG MAN
95--RECORDED VOICE (VOICEOVER)

Break a leg, everyone! I hope that seeing these numbers is encouraging to you! It just proves that, every time you get an audition, you have made it past a buttload of people just to get into the room.

So, welcome into the room. Make the best of that shot!

Posted by bonnie at 1:12 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 24, 2007

Numbers: One Week After AHM Breakdown Went Out

Woo hoo! Here we are one week after the breakdown for Another Harvest Moon was released. It's been an intense and very gratifying week. :)

So far we have...

No more naked photos. Phew!

Here's how the numbers breakdown, by character:

96--FRANK
52--ALICE
34--ELLA
35--JUNE
2746--PAUL
942--JEFFREY
902--VICKIE
369--JACK
2980--GRETCHEN
881--RITA
820--NURSE
154--REBECCA
451--DAUGHTER
4--THAT WILSON WOMAN
39--STELL
311--YOUNG MAN
94--RECORDED VOICE (VOICEOVER)

We had one very persistent stage mother (I seriously forget, from project to project, some of what to expect) call several times every day because she wasn't sure that she "trusted Actors Access" to get her submission to us. Of course, if I had fielded the call, it would've included a smackdown along the lines of, "Do you think, if ten thousand people called--multiple times, daily--to be sure their submission made it, we'd ever actually get any CASTING done?" But instead, Keith took the call and very sweetly directed her to resources like my column, BizParentz.com, and PARF, encouraging her to get educated and trust the process.

(See, for as much as I am described as Oprah and Keith is described as Dr. Phil, when it comes to our temperament and dealing with the public, sometimes he is a big ol' softy and I'm a crusty bitch. Ah... so sweet.)

Um, so what else?

Oh! We rolled out appointments for the Cricket Feet Casting Actors Showcase July edition. Woo! Very excited about this next round (and also sad to officially close off the last round).

I've also taken on a Midwest Intern (introduce yourself if you'd like, I'm not going to out you 'less you wanna be outed) who will be answering emails for me. YES! I'm serious! It's gotten that crazy!

One last thing... does anyone know anything and everything about JoBeth Williams? Seems I'm the new host of the "Conversations with..." series over at SAG Foundation and I kinda need to bone up on her, seeing as we're doing that whole "Inside the Actor's Studio" thing next week. Woo! So excited!

Posted by bonnie at 10:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

May 21, 2007

Casting Numbers (Minor Update... Busy)

This is a quickie. I've spent most of the day working on showcase stuff (emailing with July auditioners and potential auditioners, screening potential scenes, scheduling issues) and I am really impressed with these actors' credits. Wow!

Anyway, before I dive back into it (and go for a walk, then return to prep the outstanding offer we're making to a NY-based name actor tomorrow), here are the casting numbers as of 10pm four days after the breakdown came out.

Like I said, it's a minor update. Sorry 'bout that. Tired. Busy. Still much to do. XO

Posted by bonnie at 10:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 20, 2007

AHM numbers...

Okay, before I dive into this week's column, I thought I'd share the numbers on Another Harvest Moon as of 1pm Sunday.

Bob Brody totally got it right in his POV about submitting early. I cannot tell you how fast my eyes glaze over when we get to the dozenth actor of the exact same type, look, vibe for a particular role. And by then, I'm just saying, "Nope. We already have you in the mix." Damn shame that sometimes submission timing is the only thing that might keep an actor off that first list, but it's just how it goes. If I already have that type "covered" in my YES stack, I simply don't need to cover it again.

Oh, and to answer your questions about the naked photos via email, the sender said it was so she could "show what's real" about her and her hubby (who "would love a small part as well"). As for herself, she was submitting for the role of VICKIE. She suggested that Charlton Heston should be cast as her father.

As for emails I'm enjoying, those are like this: "Hey, I actually worked with so-and-so on a film a few years back. If it's okay with you, I'm going to suggest that his manager read this script, because it's really good and I think he'd be a great FRANK. Of course, you know that I would also love to be considered for RITA, but that's only part of why I'm writing. Hee! Anyway, you'll see my submission in the mix. Let me know if it's cool to nudge the manager or if that might cause problems with what you've already got brewing. Always good to see your breakdowns. You choose such amazing projects."

Right on. Playing by the rules and looking to help out. All good stuff. And no attachments! Woo!

If you want to read a bit about my casting philosophy and the challenge of getting name actors onboard for low budget indies, check out page three of this thread (actually the whole thread is interesting).

All right... time to write the column so's that I can take some time off tonight and go to this really cool screening party thing that this hot Oscar-winning actor friend has goin' on. ;) (Assaf, do you ever get tired of being called an Oscar winner?)

Posted by bonnie at 1:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 18, 2007

Casting Numbers: 24 Hours Since Releasing the Breakdown

Okay, so 24 hours after I released the breakdown for Another Harvest Moon, the submission numbers are as follows:

I am now officially ready for a wee break. :)

bubbles.jpg
Click to pop 'em.

Phew! That was fun.

Now for a REAL break. ;)

More numbers to come, of course. I trust there are other geeks like me that enjoy this stuff. ;)

Posted by bonnie at 6:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 17, 2007

The Anatomy of a Breakdown

So, I released the breakdown for Another Harvest Moon just over five hours ago at Breakdown Services and Actors Access.

tnmoon.jpg

And we've already had 4398 submissions from 234 agencies and management companies, plus actors submitting directly via Actors Access.

(I'm not going to mention the agents' phone pitches--which are usually short and professional and therefore something I generally love--or the actors' sometimes wholly inappropriate self-pitches... via phone, via email to me, via email TO THE DIRECTOR--which tend to suck up our time and patient energy for actor-love.)

So, what happens when I hit the screen and see these submissions start pouring in?

I begin clicking on my favorite agents and managers. I open their submissions first. And I giggle with flat-out glee when I see electronic submissions from "the bigs" among my long-term favorite mom-and-pop shops. In fact, when I opened one of the biggest biggies tonight, I hopped up and down and squealed. "Keith! Oh my GAWD! They're finally opening my breakdowns over there! We have ARRIVED!"

Sorry to get all weird and school-girly about this, but there's something really amazing about having someone do coverage on you at an agency that previously wouldn't return your offer calls. It's just like... well... it's time. And apparently working your ass off, choosing exceptionally strong material, and surrounding yourself with the best people on the planet eventually leads to (funnily enough) more of the same.

*beams*

And I still really, really, re