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Career Advantages to Film Festivals

IMG_2740Sublime and Beautiful stars Laura Kirk, Anastasia Baranova and me in the middle!

By Marci Liroff

I just got back from the Slamdance Film Festival, where my film, “The Sublime and Beautiful,” made its world premiere. Aside from coming down with a wicked case of bronchitis, it was an amazing week in Park City, Utah. I got to see many new films and meet the filmmakers; as a casting director and producer, I always have my eyes peeled for great filmmakers on the rise and actors I’ve never seen before. It’s such a great marketplace to discover new talent.

I had the pleasure of seeing a little gem of a movie called “Three Night Stand,” starring Sam Huntington, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Meaghan Rath, and shot in Montreal. I’d known of Sam from his work on the film “Detroit Rock City” and, of course, playing Jimmy Olsen in “Superman Returns.” Emmanuelle you’ll remember from “Entourage.” New to me was Meaghan Rath, who is beautiful, smart, funny, and quirky—such a great combination in an actor.

Being a filmmaker with a film at a festival is one thing, but I was curious what it’s like for an actor. I had a chance to talk to Meaghan after Slamdance, me from my sickbed (!) and Meaghan on the set of her Syfy series “Being Human.” I asked her, “From the actor’s point of view, what can one do to ‘work it’ to your advantage? Did you take any extra steps, like hire a publicist?” She replied, “I think Slamdance is a whole other ball game when it comes to festivals. For the film, we did hire a publicist. We wanted to take full advantage of all the potential press. The best thing you can do for your film at that point is exposure. You want people to see the poster, see the actors, and hear the title.”

She continued, “As an actor, I’d been working with my own publicist for almost four years when I started doing my show, ‘Being Human.’ For the festival, my personal publicist is able to work with the film’s publicist to secure press opportunities where I can promote the film, as well as myself, and the other projects I have going on.”

I asked if she thought Slamdance differed from other festivals in terms of what an actor should be doing to network and interact with filmmakers. Meaghan responded, “In regard to networking, I have to be honest—I’m not a big networker. But I think the energy and general feeling of Slamdance is one of support. So I made an effort to go to the parties and meet the other filmmakers, see their movies, and participate in the festival as much as I could.” And indeed she did, because I saw her everywhere I went!

For me, the parties are not necessarily my scene. However, there are so many other ways you can take advantage of a film festival. I spent my time seeing as many of the films that were competing in our category as I could, along with going to several of the panels. Stay tuned for part two, in which I explore some of the panels at the Slamdance and Sundance film festivals, along with my thoughts on indie filmmaking!

Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

Please share your comments/stories on being at a film festival.

We’d love to hear your experiences

Glad you’re here – Marci

 

HOW PREPARATION HELPS KEEP YOU ON YOUR TOES

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By Marci Liroff

The new year brings new revelations. You’re training, studying, and constantly doing research and reading articles like mine. You’re trying to follow everything to the letter. Then an audition comes along and blows everything you thought you knew out the window.

If you’ve been reading my blogs, and articles in Backstage, you’ll remember that I encourage you to not only be off-book but to treat the script with respect. Use it as your bible and don’t change the dialogue unless you’re asked. That said, I rarely work with a director or producer who says it’s OK to actually change the dialogue.

Last year, I had the singular opportunity to cast and produce a very low-budget feature film with writer-director-producer-star Blake Robbins, entitled “The Sublime and Beautiful,” which was selected as one of 10 films competing in the narrative features category at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City. It is an emotional story about a family torn apart by a drunk driver, and all the scenes were very raw.

During our auditions, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Blake tell the actors to “throw out the script. You know your character. You know what she’d say. Just follow the template and let it flow.” How rare to find a writer who’s confident enough to say that! As Blake was the star and was in every scene, he read with all the actors. He was not only their scene partner but their guide. Can you imagine being given such an opportunity? You’d be surprised at how many actors adopted a “deer in headlights” look on their faces. Most of them held onto the text they’d rehearsed like a life raft, and couldn’t fully make the leap into their character.

When I teach and coach actors, I tell them that every room they walk into (and what the people in that room ask of them) will be different—every single time. This is why your research and prep is crucial. When you do a thorough character breakdown (not just what you’ve gleaned from the breakdown), you’ll know everything from what your character had for breakfast to all the hopes and dreams she has for her children. Doing this not only lets you easily slip into the skin of your character, it helps you learn the dialogue so you can “throw it away” (so to speak) and just immerse yourself in the scene when you audition.

The actors who were able to let go and give in to the emotions were so fascinating to watch. The scene came alive because they were truly in it. The director was also interested in the “space between” the lines. He was happy to have a lot of silence and pauses. This made many of the actors who were auditioning extremely uncomfortable because they felt they weren’t doing anything. Yet the simple act of listening and feeling is so compelling.

This exercise taught me so much. It showed me how much you need to be on your toes, but also to do the proper preparation and trust that you will be enough.

Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

Please share your comments/stories on being given new direction in an audition or on set and how you handled it – or not!

We’d love to hear your experiences

Glad you’re here – Marci

WHY TABLE READS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS AUDITIONS

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By Marci Liroff

I’ve seen actors win big at the table read, and I’ve also seen them get fired. It can be an exhilarating and dangerous place.

A table read is when actors sit around tables in a large room (or sometimes your living room!) and read through the script aloud. Each person plays a different role, and sometimes they play several roles. We have table reads for a few different reasons. When we’re trying to get the project off the ground, we invite investors and put together our favorite actors to help sell the material. Sometimes the writers and the creative team need the screenplay read so that they can hear how it plays. They often invite other writers so that they can discuss it after and do a “punch-up” for dialogue or for comedy. When I’m casting a feature film or television project, we invite the newly cast actors to a table read for the creative team, along with the studio and network executives. These readings can be very scary for the actor—even if she’s already been cast.

Years ago we had an all-star table read with the main actors, a superstar producer, the president of the studio, and all the executives, along with our director and writer. The hot young love interest of our lead female actor arrived wearing a baseball cap slung low over his eyes. I knew that he was somewhat new to this experience, so I suggested that he take off his cap when we did the reading so that we could see his face. Our director also told him to take off his cap and spoke to each actor to make sure they acted at “performance” level during the read-through. Our producer had some of the best weekly read-throughs on his series, so we knew his expectations would be huge.

Sure enough, our guy didn’t heed our advice, kept his hat on, and mumbled through the script at half-volume. Not only could you not hear him, he was basically just reading the lines—no intention or character choices. I think fear gripped him. Sadly, I knew he’d be replaced by the end of the day and started going through my mental Rolodex for choices to cast instead. As I suspected, the producer and director came up to me afterward and asked me with whom we’d replace him.

Another actor I asked to help us out at a table read made disparaging comments about the material in front of the writers, studio executives, and producers. She was not asked back and will most likely never be hired there again.

On another film, we weren’t fully cast but we staged a table read to hear if the material was working, using all the actors we had cast thus far. It was voiceover for animation, and one role was particularly difficult to cast. I knew we weren’t going to persuade the actor I wanted to audition for the part; I couldn’t get the studio to just make him a straight offer. I convinced the actor and his agent to take a leap of faith and help us out with our table read—knowing that if everyone liked him he would probably end up getting the part. Sure enough, he was brilliant and they offered him the role.

So many things can be tricky on a film. You always want to serve the material and be your very best. You never know.

Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

Please share your comments/stories on table reads. We’d love to hear your experiences

Glad you’re here – Marci

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