Sides?

Azmyth

Azmyth

Veteran
In doing auditions. I've always tried to send sides that have the "tougher" scenes included because usually if they can pull those off, the rest is pie.. but I've got 2 leads for my new film that have a ton of dialog, and alot of the dialog near the end or the tougher scenes, is not really alot of dialog but straight acting/emotions. What would be the best way to audition actors for just their ability to show certain types of emotion? I don't want to cast someone who can nail the lines perfectly but cannot show the range of emotions I need for some of the later scenes that don't have as many lines to read.
 
You could always send sides for more than one scene. Then there's directing the auditions, which is always good in general for seeing how they take to it. Then there's callbacks, which can be done with different or expanded sides. Call back any actor who you think might be decent - don't be too limited at that point - and try them out on the tough bits. Even cold readings shouldn't be ruled out (although unlike many, I don't generally like to do that - on either side of the table). Take your time, be thorough, and you'll find the right actors.
 
"Then there's directing the auditions, which is always good in general for seeing how they take to it."

Outside of just basic acting ability, THE most important thing to look for in auditions. Can they take direction.
 
Well I thought about sending them some general sides to start with to weed out the initial crop. I usually choose based on look to start and then move from there. I can eliminate alot of people I know I can't use from that very first stage. I just want to see what they can do with some of the characters general lines before I start giving them the hard stuff. I'd rather them be familiar with the character before I start asking them to do the really emotional/intense stuff some of these characters require. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing there, and that I shouldn't be trying to get them to do that right off the bat. I know the last thing I want is to choose an actor who fits the bill but can't do some of the required acting. I guess thats what callbacks are for though.
 
Azmyth said:
I usually choose based on look to start and then move from there.
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A little unsolicited advice if I may: beware of the above. I'd recommend 'widening the net' initially to include actors who are (in some cases considerably) less than ideal look-wise. A great actor who looks unlike your 'vision' may outweigh the latter many times over with his/her skill. I often cite the case of Dustin Hoffman being cast in "Goodbye Columbus" (his career-making role) when the description called for a "tall athletic blond". Hoffma's anything but, but totally owned that role, arguably almost single-handedly making the film a hit. Great looking 'bad' actors will spoil a scene quickly and permanently, but a 'wrong -looking' great actor can, and often will, transcend it in a damn near heroic way. Food for thought...
 
No I totally agree with you.

I just believe that in MOST instances, the reverse is true. I never thought Heath Ledger would have made a great Joker either, and I was surprisingly shocked at his performance.

But, in my specific case. It has more to do with the story than the acting ability. I need them to have great acting ability, but there's some family and "gene" references in my film so they have to look a specific way in order for it to all make sense. In other words.. some of my characters are "ancestors" of other characters, so they'd have to look "alike" for the characters to work, but I totally agree with looking outside of the box.
 
The main point is IMO acting ability heavily trumps appearance, *especially* when budgets are low and thus the talent pool is shallower...
 
gonzo_entertainment said:
"Then there's directing the auditions, which is always good in general for seeing how they take to it."

Outside of just basic acting ability, THE most important thing to look for in auditions. Can they take direction.
Click to expand...

A few years ago in school, we had a guest speaker/director come in, and he always said he didn't know what to do in auditions (at least starting off) but he knew he wanted to see how actors could change in a scene (for any who don't know, it's relatively easy to nail a scene however YOU want to do it... it takes way more acting ability to nail the scene how someone ELSE wants you to do it, or to change it from how you've prepared it)

so anytime he had an audition, he would let the actor do the audition, then say "okay, great. Now... do it again, but different."

I always found that funny. I've used it myself a time or two when I just didn't know what to do with an audition.
 
Here's another related question. Actors asking for the entire script before they audition? Do you oblige this? I've given everyone 3-4 pages of the character they are reading for's sides. I also made it a point to give really detailed character breakdowns.

This one actor is the only one who has requested to see the entire script. He's emailed me twice about it now, and I just have a "bad" feeling about it. Noone else felt they needed to read the whole script to prepare for a 5 minute audition. I actually would rather see what they can do with the character by having to "guess" a bit vs. trying to make it JUST like I have it written. So I'm apprehensive about sending him the whole script when noone else out of about 40 submissions has requested it.
 
Highly likely that it's more about trying to see if it's a project worth auditioning for.
If you're worried about someone stealing your screenplay... don't be.
 
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