Casting Revealed: A Guide for Film Directors Review

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(More customer reviews)Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Sam Worthington, all relatively unknowns, were cast as three of the principals in "Avatar". Although it was a foregone conclusion that the film would do well at the box office by virtue of James Cameron's track record, few predicted it would break the record of "Titanic" becoming the most commercially successful film in history. I attribute this financial ride to interstellar space directly to Cameron's focus on casting. Like any other filmmaker, Cameron had to struggle--in this case, with the studio--to get just the right actors to portray the story's human drama and character arcs. No amount of technical artistry and visual beauty could replace the story's human foundation. The principle applies universally--how a story of any scale is cast can and does make the difference between success (both artistic and commercial) and failure.
How to get the right actors into a story's roles is the subject of "CASTING REVEALED: A Guide for Film Directors" which reveals and benefits from Hester Schell's lifetime of experience in an impressive variety of jobs in the worlds of theatrical and on-camera production--acting, directing, producing, writing, teaching, coaching, and, of course, casting. "CASTING REVEALED: A Guide for Film Directors" provides crucial, must-have information for producers, directors, and casting directors on the process of casting for on-camera productions--with a focus on films. Walking the reader through each and every aspect of the casting process, Schell provides a cornucopia of tips and tricks to support the reader in doing a thoroughly professional job as efficiently as possible.
In the book's introductory pages Schell makes a strong, incontrovertible case for the vital role casting plays in the production of an excellent film. Media production is intrinsically multi-dimensional. Every facet must be approached with total commitment. Drop one facet--equipment, poor logistics, unqualified crew, etc., etc., etc.--and what could be a winning work of art fails to live up to its potential, or fails to live. Writing for both the experienced and novice filmmaker, Schell flashes a bright yellow warning light if we are cavalier about casting our projects. Given a tight focus on casting, a film's acting will do justice to the story. "Great acting is transformative," Schell writes, "it is the action, guts, and backbone of your story. When you have the right actor in the right role, your entire film will take off."
When asked why she wrote "CASTING REVEALED: A Guide for Film Directors," reflecting on her own experience as an actor, Hester spoke with great passion, "I wrote this book because directors really need help, they need guidance. Casting is a skill set that hasn't been put out there to the directing public because we [directors] put so much trust in casting directors for making decisions. Over the decades, as an actor, I know that I have been denied the opportunity to audition for a role that I thought I was right for because my agent didn't submit me because she or he didn't think I was right for the role; or, the casting director didn't pass me on to the call-back process. So, the middle-men and women in the industry are eliminating choices from the directors. I want to empower directors to really get in there, work with the actors, understand how the acting process works so that THEY can make better choices, and make sure that everybody in every role is 110% exactly what they want in every role."By virtue of her experience and accomplishments, Hester Schell simply cannot write a book about casting without including fundamental information about many other aspects of production--especially pre-production. Readers, therefore, benefit greatly from not only her highly detailed, comprehensive information about the casting process, but also critical information about other aspects of production. "CASTING REVEALED: A Guide for Film Directors" contains a few `special features'--a Glossary of Common Film Terms, a humorous "The Parts of Speech", and a Bibliography and Resources section.


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From union paperwork to posting effective audition announcements and insider know-how, to effectively launching the most important factor in pre-production: Casting. From step-by-step guidelines on running casting sessions, to tracking down agents who represent who you want to cast, this book is a complete guide to getting the best actors on board.

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