Where to find Actors?

Mike_Donis said:
I think that if they like the idea to your movie, and after meeting, they like *you*, that you won't have a problem. In my (albeit short) experience, many actors are in it for the project, to get to be a part of something they think will be fun.
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Ditto.
 
Thanks a lot Max. That is great.

Nowcasting.com called me and they told me some tips on how to the casting notice. The one thing they told me is that I have to know about Union stuff. I have no clue what that is. He also said that Union actors can't act in non-union movies or something like that. Can someone please tell me what it's about so I can understand and if there is any money involved? Thanks for your help guys!
 
They're saying you have to decide beforehand whether it's going to be a project that casts actors in unions (ie, the SAG, ACTRA, etc) - or whether it's going to be regular people who aren't in one of the unions. Actors in unions have a set amount they will require to be paid, and as you were told, generally aren't allowed to be in "non-union" projects, meaning the majority of the cast, or key members of the cast are not part of an actor's union.

It's there to protect the actors, to make sure that they get the right amount of money and that their projects have some form of credibility. There are other rules and regulations that go along with unions as well, and it changes depending on the union, so if you really need specifics I'd try contacting someone who represents one of them.

Most likely you'll be doing a non-union project - this means the actors can work for free. If that's the case, you'll need to state that it's a non-union project in your advertisement, so that union actors know not to submit themselves. Or, if they do submit themselves, they know what they're getting into (and that they would run into issues with their union).
 
So I don't have to be part of a union right? I can just stay as I am and be a non-union correct? Because I am getting a lot of non-union actor responses from mandy.com. It's so awesome.
 
You definitely don't have to be union - even if you were part of a director's union, as far as I know you wouldn't have to cast actors in an actor's union. To my knowledge they are completely separate, director's unions help out directors, and actor's unions help out actors.

Mandy.com definitely is a great resource - I'm working on a project this summer, and over half of the cast is people who applied through Mandy.
 
Did you ever get any actors that live far from you? Because a lot of the people submitting live pretty far. I live in PA. One of them lives in Michigan. The other in New York (which is not too too far away).
 
I've found crew before on Mandy.com as well.
Word of caution, don't ever let any of these people near your tapes. Nor should you let someone
else keep behind the scenes footage for editing unless you have members of the legal community
in your family. Fortunately, we prevailed and got our tapes back. Anyways, Good luck.
 
Questionman17 said:
So I don't have to be part of a union right? I can just stay as I am and be a non-union correct? Because I am getting a lot of non-union actor responses from mandy.com. It's so awesome.
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SAG members can work under waiver agreements that let the producer skip most of the heavy-duty obligations that usually come with a SAG shoot...it may even be possible to mix SAG and non-SAG people under some waiver deals, although the non-SAG people will probably have to be extras (no dialog).

It's based upon budget; the lower your budget the more SAG will lower the rates (to a point) to acommodate you.

But then you also run into some fairly strict limitations on call times, working hours, meal penalties, etc.

As the director, you don't have to be a member of the Directors' Guild, in order to work with SAG actors. Robert Rodriguez, and George Lucas, for reasons of their own, are not DGA members, and I don't notice it's hurt them any...
 
Questionman17 said:
Did you ever get any actors that live far from you? Because a lot of the people submitting live pretty far. I live in PA. One of them lives in Michigan. The other in New York (which is not too too far away).
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Whether you use an actor that live far away is based on the motivation of the actor and the strength of your project. Just be honest with everyone that you talk to that there is no money for travel or accomadations and let them make the decision.

As for the unions, no you do not have to be the signatory to a union contract to hire actors. That dosen't mean that union actors can't work for you though. If you are honest about being non-union upfront(in your casting notice) and in the written agreements you have with the actor, then you have no liability to the union. The union can only sanction the actor. I doubt that at the level you are producing you would cause much of a fuss if a union actor wanted to work with you. However, I would not hold my breath waiting to cast union actors.
 
When I posted on Mandy, I didn't get many actors from too too far away - some *had* lived far away, but the time we'll be shooting they'll be in town, so it won't be an issue.

And yes, if they think it's worth travelling, then they will. As long as you made it clear, and they know they'll be travelling (and who'll make the accommodations) then you shouldn't have a problem. But make sure that you're clear about it, otherwise you may be disappionted when they say they can no longer be a part of your production.
 
Rosestar said:
As for the unions, no you do not have to be the signatory to a union contract to hire actors. That dosen't mean that union actors can't work for you though. If you are honest about being non-union upfront(in your casting notice) and in the written agreements you have with the actor, then you have no liability to the union. The union can only sanction the actor. I doubt that at the level you are producing you would cause much of a fuss if a union actor wanted to work with you. However, I would not hold my breath waiting to cast union actors.
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SAG actors need to get a waiver from SAG in order to work non-union jobs. Otherwise they can get kicked out of the union. However, many SAG actors don't make that much from SAG jobs, so they have to take some non-union jobs. Often, they just work under a different name. Also, there's a technicality that will work in your/our favor here. SAG has jurisdiction over film projects, and AFTRA has jurisdiction over video projects. So technically it's okay for SAG actors to work on non union jobs if it's shot on video.

Also wanted to say that websites are a good source of finding actors, but often they are not very experienced. Your best bet, if you can do it, is to work with model/talent agencies. If they buy into your idea, they can steer a lot of talented people your way. One of them even let me use their facilities for auditioning once. But I knew one of the employees there pretty well. Keep in mind that these agencies make money from the fees paid to their talent, so they may not want to let them work for free. However, they usually always have some model/actors who are looking to build their resume and demo reels, and will work for free.
 
on my last film, while in pre, i duk taped a huge banner that read "Looking for actors, copy credit and meal" on a my cousins plane and convinced him to fly dangerously low to the ground. We got a few actors out of that.
 
Sad Max
I don't really remember much after our crash. Just that when I opened my eyes at the hospital, I saw a man who said that he pulled me out of the burning wreck, and insisted on becoming the D.P. on my movie. I told him that I already had a DP, my cousin. That's when I found out my cousin had checked out of the hospital and flew overseas to work on a new Ridley Scott thriller as an Ariel photographer. You see when we crashed on top of Eastrige mall, Ridley Scott's rep was shopping just a few feet away. Sucks doesn't it. Good news is my cousin is trying to get my onboard as a focus puller. So we'll be flying together soon again.
 
Hello; I would like some feedback on what I may be doing wrong regarding posting a Casting Notice at a large college in my town. I faxed the notice to the drama professor as requested.She then notified me that it was posted.
It has been a 1 1/2 weeks and not one reply.Do you think this is too short of a time for a reply or could no one be interested.I also thought that maybe someone tore it down.There are over 200 drama students in that class. Lastlly, do you think I should call her to find out if it is still posted? this is the only school that I tried so far.

Thank You
John
 
You can find actors almost anywhere. Churches, schools, theatre groups. I just recently posted for some through a film database someone here has been maintaining.

A great tool!

Chris
 
I've had a good bit of success with craigslist in my city, also recruiting on myspace and local radio is good depending on how large of a production you are doing. they will read the casting call announcement for free.
 
sojrn said:
With an all-out cattle call of mostly people with litte or no acting experience, be ready to search through a lot of hay stacks before you find those precious few needles.
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You win some, you lose some. Isn't that the way it generally works?
 
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