As well as spending the bulk of his week watching movies, The Right Hook’s movie buff Philip Molloy also found time to catch up on his reading and has given a glowing recommendation to listeners during last night’s Movie slot:
A Star Is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood’s Biggest Movies by two of Hollywood’s most experienced casting directors has been out for two years, but I’ve only read it now. It is by Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins, who have cast Casino Royale, Harry Potter, Transformers, Apollo 13, Jurassic Park, The American President, The Perfect Storm and dozens of other well known features. They are good on the acting hierarchy in the US film industry in particular and how to identify what is right for a particular type of part. It seems incredible now but they explain how Demi Moore won the female lead in Ghost over Julia Roberts (she looked to young), how they considered Colin Farrell, Orlando Bloom, Heath Ledger and Karl Urban for James Bond- Ewan McGregor even did a screen test- when Daniel Craig got it, they talk about how they turned down Kevin Spacey and George Clooney for the role of a snooty boyfriend in Curly Sue and gave it to an actor called John Getz (in fact they passed on Clooney several times – he also lost on a part in Apollo 13). For anyone who is interested in acting, or what the film industry looks for in actors this is a very informative read.
