Peter Bart: Hollywood Is Partying And Awards Are Flowing, But A Dicey Jobs Outlook Cues Actor Angst
“I despise auditions,” Marlon Brando barked as he launched into the audition for his role in The Godfather. It was his idea, I reminded him, so he himself had caused his actors angst, not the studio. (It was, of course, a great audition.)
Actors’ angst was much in evidence yet again last weekend at the SAG Awards. Brilliant performances were being honored, formidable talent was on display, and Barbra Streisand clearly owned the room.
But the evening had a problematic subtext: The anticipated turnaround in job opportunities hadn’t happened across Hollywood. The epoch of “peak TV” seems to be drifting away, with words like “contraction” echoing in the trade.
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To be sure, none of this inhibited SAG honorees from thanking their casting directors for their good picks and even endorsing the Academy’s decision to create a new entity: a casting branch.
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SAG-AFTRA’s 160,000 members also must face the reality, however, that the job market is tightening, not expanding. Hollywood has been partying through award season, but box office trackers report a 17% decline from last year, and the Wall Street Journal sums it up with “high hopes but slow start.”
Still, a wide array of projects are underway, with actors, like Brando, eagerly auditioning for roles.
“Casting directors are now playing an essential role,” the Academy reminds us in announcing the new branch. While applauding its creation — BAFTA did it two years ago — a few members speculated whether casting decisions might even be subjected to the same review process as other branches. Was an Irish actor correct casting as Oppenheimer, a Jewish physicist, second-guessers wondered, or an Australian actress as all-American Barbie?
The honoree of this past weekend’s special SAG Award, Streisand, has triggered historic casting struggles herself. She supposedly wasn’t pretty enough for the movie version of Funny Girl and was the wrong gender for Yentl. Streisand won her battles – theatrically.
Several major casting choices were provocative this year: Joaquin Phoenix was too old to play Napoleon, said the second-guessers. Was Adam Driver sufficiently Italian to capture Ferrari?
Still, smart ensemble casting decisions – and myriad auditions — were key to the success of such hit TV series as The Bear or Succession, but even they triggered serious debates.
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In film, storied directors have earned praise for off-character casting, like Mike Nichols gambling on Dustin Hoffman for The Graduate. In the Nichols era, however, it was common practice for filmmakers to hold face-to-face interviews with casting candidates, even on subordinate roles.
“Casting has become a virtual exercise now,” complains one actor who has won and lost major roles. “Face-to-face sessions are history.”
“Actors are often selected based on their social media followings more than acting panache,” observes Gary Marks, a veteran acting coach who himself faces challenges in casting his new movie No Small Thing, which he wrote and will direct.
Its story chronicles the life and career of Muggsy Bogues, the famed 5-foot-3 NBA star. Actors of that stature who also are skilled at basketball are in short supply, and Marks is looking for an enterprising casting director to help his quest.
In the case of Brando, the star’s self-initiated taped audition succeeded in winning him the Godfather role, of course. Having survived a succession of box office bombs and assorted scandals, Brando was determined to win the part even though the studio was looking for a younger star. The novel suddenly had become a worldwide hit.
Breaking his anti-audition rule, Brando thus designed his own audition scene, even down to the makeup, with Coppola providing guidance — he had favored Brando from the start. Indeed, only Coppola, with a tiny crew, was invited to witness the impromptu shoot.
Charles Bluhdorn, then-CEO of Paramount’s parent company, initially refused to see Brando’s audition tape, declaring, “CEO’s don’t watch auditions.”
When he finally saw the tape, Bluhdorn abruptly changed his mind. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d convinced him to audition?” he shouted at Coppola.
The director decided not to confide that it was Brando’s idea.