Reasons to Love New York
New York celebrates the citys timeless, peerless connection to movies.
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Howd she do it?
Through a combination of professional-level people-watching, gut, and luck.
Theater is a huge resource for New York casting directors.
I mean, Im much more of a theater buff than a movie buff.
I think that is one of the big resources for finding people, and new people particularly.
Remember the two Italian brother characters?
Ive always thought they were dated, hammy parts that didnt really come off that well.
But I saw Corey in the part and I thought, Whoa, this guy is for real.
He is just making this work.
Dont be afraid to stand in line at movie theaters.
One of the really fun and juicy things about casting in the 70s was that we used real people.
One of the first movies that I basically did on my own wasThe Panic in Needle Park.
We used real people, lots of real people in tiny parts, just for the color of it.
To locate it, to give you a sense of where it was taking place.
Wed see people standing in lines for the movie theater who looked funny, and wed pick them out.
Many of the people inBroadway Danny Rosewere real people that we found in social clubs in Little Italy.
I did so much of that.
Scout at public schools.
And they were very, very wary of the nature of the movie for a child.
The drama teacher would take us around.
All of our backups were kids we found at public schools.
Let Mike Nichols cry at auditions and be honest with Woody Allen.
Every director is so different.
He loved that process.
He would cry in auditions.
He was just so engaged by it, and some directors really arent.
So you were really the one making sure that he knew which actors had limitations.
You have to really be honest about what you feel an actors range is.
And call them all out on their cliches.
Thats another interesting thing about casting in New York.
Directors dont always know the community.
Its not like theyre a part of the scene.
But for us, its a tired image.
I think we need to take it one step to the left, or one step to the right.
And he was incredibly receptive.
Bet on the funny-looking kid.
I had Woody Allen meet him.
I said, This guy is so up your alley.
And Melanie Griffith.
We were like this little cottage industry.Working Girlwas the first time I really came up against the studio.
They were still very wary of Melanie Griffith.
She came in to read for it.
She arrived off the plane and we had to really straighten her out before she went into the reading.
Few cups of coffee, a good face wash. And then of course, she gave a great reading.
She made the movie.
It was kind of the perfect romantic comedy, really.
A great New York movie.
Know when Robert De Niro isnt working.
He would always venture to transform himself for every part.
Hed come in and go into the bathroom and come out looking like a different person.
It was very kind of Actors Studio.
And then it just became apparent that really wasnt going to work out.
Be an Anglophile.
Unmarried Womanwas an interesting casting situation.
Well, more of a show business dilemma, which was that nobody really used English actors back then.
And no American actor would take it.
That was really exciting and kind of a coup.
Do your cousin a favor.
I remember meeting, as a favor to my cousin, Oliver Platt.
He walks in the door, and I go, Oh, my God, are you kidding me?
This is hardly a favor to my cousin.
This is like the greatest.
Who is this guy?
No one knew him.
He just hadnt been in New York very long.
Cast Meryl out of Yale.
As soon as she graduated from Yale Drama School, it was like, Stand back.
She did two on-Broadway plays, and the whole town was talking.
I mean, she was so fantastic, and I was just lucky to have something for her.
Stay young.
I mean, I know Im not a neurosurgeon, but it is pressure.
Casting directors have to do all the financial stuff, too.
We have to bring the cast in on a budget.
You are constantly trying to just a director and make everything work.
And every project is their blood.
Its what they care about, and they want it so right.
And I think if you start to sort of cut corners, youre not really good at it anymore.
I feel show business in general, you shouldnt outstay your welcome.
Its a young persons business in a way.
