Coming to NYC’s Quad Cinema today, Friday, August 2 and to HBO as part of their Summer Docs series this Monday, August 5: CASTING BY
Tom Donahue’s tribute to the underappreciated role of the casting director made its debut last year at Toronto. It went on to screen at the New York Film Festival, Los Angeles, Sarasota, Montclair, Denver, Cleveland, Ashland, Provincetown, and RiverRun, among other events.
Little understood and often dismissed as an afterthought – perhaps because of its long primary association with women in the role – casting has never achieved the recognition that other duties behind the camera have enjoyed. As the last section of Donahue’s film points out, there is no Oscar for best casting, a contentious subject addressed here by both proponents of such an award – a parade of A-list stars who credit casting directors with their careers – and opponents – well, mostly only Directors Guild of America president Taylor Hackford, who argues, unconvincingly, that the director is ultimately the decision maker on the cast, negating the need for a separate award. The numerous examples provided in Donahue’s love letter to the art of casting put the lie to Hackford’s assertion, demonstrating how casting directors like Lynn Stalmaster and Marion Dougherty left an indelible mark on the films and television programs on which they worked. Indeed, Dougherty’s story is wisely used as the thread that pulls Donahue’s film together, saving it from simply being a nostalgic (albeit engaging) series of inside Hollywood anecdotes. Recognized as a pioneer in the craft, Dougherty developed her eye for talent in New York City, away from the Hollywood studio system and its tendency to typecast, helping to give scores of unlikely and now celebrated actors their shot to transition from stage to screen, while also mentoring future generations of women to take on the job. She’s the heart of the film, and her storied career may very well make viewers take special notice of the controversial “casting by” credit the next time they watch a film or television program.
what (not) to doc 