Larry Garrison - Breaking into Acting For Dummies

Sometimes, big stars and directors may invest their own money into a project to ensure that the project gets made and to earn a bigger share of the profits. Kevin Costner invested his money to get Dances with Wolves completed, and George Lucas put in his own money to finish Star Wars.

Although studios have millions of dollars in resources, they can’t finance every possible project. Instead, they must selectively choose which projects they think will succeed and pass on those projects that they think won’t make money. (Of course, every studio has passed on projects that turned out to be blockbuster hits, which only goes to show you that nobody can predict who or what will hit it big tomorrow. Just ask the people at Universal Studios who thought Star Wars wasn’t worth financing.)

When a studio commits to starting a project, that project is said to be green-lighted.

After a studio has created a project, the next step is marketing and distributing. The premiere of every film involves advertising in magazines, on television, and in previews shown before currently running films. After a film is released, the studio may also pay for the principle actors to publicize the film on television and radio talk shows.

If a studio thinks that a film is really bad, it’ll try to cut its losses by eliminating most of the marketing budget. So if you ever appear in a really awful film, take heart that at least you got paid, got some experience, and did your best in your role. Then worry about going out and getting your next role that will hopefully put you in a blockbuster hit the next time around.

Through their marketing and financial power, studios can ensure that a film appears in as many theaters and Internet streaming sites as possible. Without the backing of a major studio, a film may appear in a few cities or in the smaller (and less profitable) independent theaters (although in rare cases, positive word of mouth can boost a film from the independent theater circuit to the wider mainstream theater market).

During the initial release of a film, the studios earn the majority of the ticket sales. The longer a film plays (which, in show business terms, means that the film has legs ), the more the theater gradually earns from ticket sales. If a film is doing poorly, distribution centers will yank that film to make room for a new film or for an existing film that’s doing well.

Besides marketing and distributing a project to theaters, studios may also market and distribute films to television and cable networks, foreign markets, and the home entertainment market.

If a film or TV show has any tie-ins (such as books, action figures, or video games), the studio may negotiate the licensing fees for these as well. In some cases, a film may make more money through foreign or television network distribution than they do during the initial run in theaters.

Casting directors may work directly for a single production company, or they may freelance and work for several production companies on a temporary basis. Casting directors do the following:

Audition actors

Choose several potential actors for each role

Casting directors use breakdown services that describe the roles that will be cast for their project. On occasion, they may have an open casting call, but for all intents and purposes, they’ll make their suggestions for talent that may fit the role. That’s where you can use websites like L.A. Casting to present your resume, photos, and clips to place yourself in front of the casting directors with the help of your agent representation or without an agent. Chapter 7addresses this in greater detail.

They set aside time to audition actors for all the different roles. Auditioning roles for a commercial may take a day or more, while auditioning roles for a major TV show, film, or play can take several days to several weeks.

After viewing an endless parade of actors either personally or through video for each particular role, casting directors call back a handful of actors for a second look. They have the power to choose the actors they want to callback, but they don’t necessarily have the power to pick any one particular actor. Other people, such as the producer or director, make the final decisions about which actor is chosen for the role. In the case of TV commercials, a representative from the advertising agency may make the decision.

After one actor has been chosen for a particular role, the remaining roles are often filled based on how similar an actor looks compared to the actor already chosen. For example, if a TV commercial has already cast a tall redhead for the role of the mother, the actor chosen to play her son will likely look like he could actually be her son and isn’t likely to have a completely different hair color and ethnic background.

Because many casting directors freelance, you’re likely to run into the same casting director over and over again, so be cordial. In the world of show business, people tend to have long memories. So if you treat someone with disrespect, don’t be surprised if, sometime in the future, they treat you with disrespect in return.

In the world of acting, the actors are the commodity, and the agents are the sales people. An agent acts as a middleman between you and anyone who wants to hire you for your acting skills. (See Chapter 8for more details about finding and working with an agent.)

Agents can

Help you find an acting job

Negotiate your contracts (hopefully to get you as much money as possible)

Make sure that you get all the money owed to you, even if it comes from a rerun of a TV show you did 20 years ago

Even the best, most powerful agent in the world can’t get you an acting job. The best an agent can ever do is point you in the direction of the people who can hire you for an acting role. Don’t count on anyone but yourself to get your foot in the door and procure the acting role. No one will ever work harder for you than you.

Agents and managers can help an actor find a job. Some actors have both a manager and an agent because it’s worth the commission to get more work. Here we clarify the two:

Personal managers also offer career advice by mapping out a long-term plan to help the actor pick the types of roles that will (hopefully) increase the actor’s appeal.