The Overlooked Job Of Casting Directors

The Overlooked Job

There 's nothing better than getting into your seat at a packed theater, settled in with your popcorn and snacks, and suddenly after just moments of the film you know it is going to blow you away. Many account the spectacular success in movies to the producers, directors, or actors, but how did they all find one another to make a spark on screen? A key player in making the connections and acting so amazing is the casting director, but many overlook this role. Essentially, casting is assigning a part in a movie, play, or other production, thus the casting director must find the perfect person for the job. What would be Forest Gump without Tom Hanks, or more recent parts such as Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss— we can 't image these roles played by anyone else. The casting directors picked them perfectly and knew what talent they would bring. Casting directors are crucial people when making a movie come to life and deserve more credit for their strenuous and imperative task.

First, it is necessary to know what steps casting directors must go through in the process of choosing a star and supporting actors for a movie or TV show to understand the importance of it. This lengthy process begins months before sessions with the director and producer begin. The first step that casting directors must take is to release what kind of person they are looking for to acting agencies; called breakdowns or a casting call. Casting directors must be very careful when releasing who they want because it may offend people, as the casting director for Straight Out of Compton and the Hobbit know, after being fired for coming off as discriminatory and racist. Future casting directors learn from their mistakes to avoid the degrading of wom...

... middle of paper ...

... rather the person they embody and take on as their character in that movie. Casting directors complete a thorough and extensive process in order to find the perfect actors and deliver the best to producers and directors, thus making the best film possible. Unfortunately, they are rarely given credit where credit is due. Although they are given some award opportunity from other organizations, hopefully in the near future the prestiges awards are available too. Casting directors deserve the praise for all the responsibility and pressure put on them that other roles of the movie making process get all time, when will it be their time? In essence, casting directors are pivotal for the industry 's success yet have the most overlooked job in the business, and it 's time for that to change, where they too can give their acceptance speech on stage with thousands watching.