Casting Call
If you plan to pitch a film to Hollywood movie studios, you'd better have some actors in mind to play the parts of the book's characters. This will help the studios envision the story on the big screen, having the characters in the book come alive. In this activity, you are going to be suggesting actors and actresses for the roles of characters in your book, and putting them together in a casting sheet to help you pitch the idea of turning your book into a feature film.
READY...
Think about your book and the characters it has. Try to imagine actors and actresses who you think would be right to portray the characters. Looking for actors and actresses who match the physical descriptions of the book's characters is a easy place to start, but remember that make-up and special effects can do a lot more today than it could in the past. Some things to take into consideration are:
Has the actor/actress played a role similar to the character before?
Can they demonstrate that they can "pull off" playing a serious dramatic role, a comedic part, etc.?
Do you think that for the main characters, does the actor have "star power", or do you think they can carry a film as the lead?
Would the actor/actress be believable when portraying the character?
Is there a memorable part of the book where you think a particular actor/actress would shine playing that scene?
Does the actor/actress look like or resemble the character from the book?
When you were reading the book, did you picture a certain actor or actress playing that part? Would others picture the same actor?
SET...
It's not enough to just give movie studio casting directors a list of names. You should also show them exactly who you had in mind; one of the worst things you can do in a movie pitch is to suggest an actor a lead role and no one knows who that is. When you have your list of actors and actresses, collect pictures of them. A great site to use is the Internet Movie Database, or www.imdb.com. It is also a good idea to include an explanation for your list of actors and actresses. The movie studio executives might not have read the book you are pitching, so including a brief biography of the characters in the books will help them to make the connection between the book's characters and the actors you chose. Remember: your job is to sell the idea of turning your book into a film, and the easier you make it for the movie studios to do, the better chance you'll have.
...GO!
When you think your casting sheet is finished, post it on your movie's website, along with a photo of each actor/actress, and a link to their imdb page. This will help casting directors pull up the filmography of the actors, so they can see if they've done anything in the past that would help to prepare them for the role you are suggesting. Once all of the roles have been cast, you can start developing some of the promotional materials for your film. The next lesson will have you make a movie poster, which you will include the names of the actors and actresses.
