Casting questions for New Moon

Here's an FAQ from Lana Veenker of Casting Scoop Blog.

Breathe, Twihards, Breathe: A few answers to your questions

Since we have been flooded with emails, here are a few words relating to any future casting of the Twilight series:

Auditions

Until production gets underway and filming locations are confirmed, no auditions will be taking place anywhere, as the casting and extras casting directors haven’t even been hired. Open casting calls, if there are any, will be announced in the cities where they are taking place. Be patient, grasshoppers!

By the way, there’s no need to send headshots and resumes to the production company; they’re not doing the casting and your materials will end up in the trash. Let the casting directors sort through the thousands of submissions; that’s not the production company’s job.

Sequels

In “New Moon” and any other sequels, it is extremely likely that the actors who are playing the leads in the first film will be coming back to play their respective roles in the sequels. Don’t bother sending the casting directors letters saying “I missed the opportunity to play Alice in ‘Twilight,’ but could I audition for that role in ‘New Moon’?” Not going to happen! ☺

Lead Roles

Except in rare and publicized cases, lead roles in big movies are typically destined for established, name actors. Producers have to cast people who are already famous in the leading parts, to raise money and to reassure their investors that people will show up at the box office. That’s just the business. They are also typically required to hire actors who are members of one or more of the acting unions (such as the Screen Actors Guild). If you don’t have a track record, you need to start building one by getting some training, auditioning for smaller projects and adding credits to your resume.

Location

99% of the time, producers will not pay to travel an actor to play a role (unless he or she is famous; see above). So, to be considered at all for a role, you should either look for films casting in your area or move to a city where films are being cast, in order to be a local.

Even if you’re willing to pay to come out for a few days to work on a film, no one wants to take the risk on an out-of-town actor. (What if you miss your flight? What if the shoot keeps getting delayed and you have to replace your plane ticket five times? What if we change the schedule and we need you RIGHT NOW for a wardrobe fitting…and you’re 1000 miles away? What if we fly you all the way out here and it turns out you’re not right for the role or you’re crazy or irresponsible?)

Yikes! Too much stress in an already stressful business. It’s safer to hire actors we know and love, and who live within the vicinity of the shoot. There is no shortage of willing and available talent in our own backyard. Our job is to reduce the risk of problems for our producers, not increase it. So get to know your local casting directors and start there.

Extra Work

This is one thing you can do without acting experience, but keep in mind that you can only work as an extra in the region where you live. If there’s a movie you want to be in and it’s shooting halfway across the world, you need to either move there or have a place to stay for a few weeks (and even then, there's no guarantee you'll definitely be needed). Also, for those who have been contacting us from overseas, you need to be able to legally work in the country where the film is shooting. The production company won’t hire you without a valid work permit or proof of citizenship. Unfortunately, those are the breaks!

Hope this helps. We'll post more answers to your burning questions here, so be sure to bookmark us or add us to your RSS feeds (see links at the top of the right sidebar).

Good luck!

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