That's one take on it, but ALL actors were "unknowns" at one point. :idea:

so it would be better for the film to have newbies, but better for the box office to have A-lists. yeah thats what i thought.... so when casting a film....perhaps one should maybe cast at least one or two A-lists not for the major parts, but for maybe a cameo, or a less than expected role.....hmmm....perhaps i should try it that-a-way. and really just centre on the newbie talent.... Thanx for that, Stephkaye

yeah, when i get my script through, im going to do just that, (or try to anyway). it makes the most sense to me... Stephkaye

Amen, Trey. When working with actors and guns, it's always the guy who's "been around guns longer than I have been alive" who make the biggest mistakes or are the most unsafe.

i was exaggerating in a way but i do notice this seems to be the case with many actors now days.

Guys, Come on! Starting another argument is absolutely unnecessary over this. I asked you to give me some ideas about this, not insult one another. So please, you're straying from the BIGGER picture. Meaningless dealings in agrumentative realtions is a bit superfluous really. Thank you for your suggestions, but i saw that this thread was newly posted on, and clicking into it, hoping for more ideas, I only come to find that you're all barking again? Ok, really. Thanks, but again - entirely superfluous..... Stephkaye

Hey guys, WPS here to add to the (spirited) conversation. Here's what I've found out. I've worked with some great actors, some famous, some complete unknowns. The bottom line is, without any name recognition, the likelihood of your short film or feature to draw as much attention as it possibly could diminishes. I'm not saying there aren't exceptions to this rule (Blair Witch anyone?) - but IF you have a chance to work with a "name" (and I'm not even talking about A-List - which, let's face it - is not readily available to most of us) - BY ALL MEANS WORK WITH THEM. First - if you're a newbie director (which I'm assuming most of us are) - you will LEARN from these amazing actors - much more than you've ever learned before. I had the pleasure to direct Ron Perlman in my new film - and my God did I ever learn a lot about directing. He's an amazing talent, a complete pro and classy guy - but he demanded of me to be as prepared as he was - and I thank him for it. Second - you only help yourself when it comes time to distribute your short or feature. You are wanting people other than your family to see the film you just made, right? That means you have to get others interested. Complete strangers even. And they're going to care more about stars or actors they've heard of before than complete unknowns - regardless of how good the unknowns are. A couple of years ago I directed my first film called "Ham & Cheese" - which was a complete labour of love shot in 14 days on DV. It would have been a great little movie to show my friends and family at Christmas and maybe the odd movie night at my cousin's. But we were fortunate enough to get Dave Foley and Scott Thompson involved - and because of that - we got festival exposure and a broadcast deal. As I like to think of it - they came for the Kids in the Hall and stayed for the rest of the exceptionally talented (but lesser-known) cast. And all my stars showed up keen, well-prepared and completely ready to challenge themselves with the work ahead of them. No one slacked off. Everyone had the same sense of adventure you have when you get a chance to make a movie. I consider myself lucky in that regard. To recap: when given a choice to work with a star or not work with a star - work with them, unless it's total and complete miscasting. But even then I would work with them. WPS

Cappy and I are right. You're 16. Tell us what actors you've worked with. What movie credits do you have? How can you possibly comment on Hollywood's work ethic?

Well, Guitarniac... STAY IN SCHOOL...get an education, then go to film school and make better films.

All bickering aside, I think it's important to understand that a lot of the time (especially when you're starting out) you won't have as much control over the casting process as you may like. If you're a director, coming in to work in TV, then everyone has already been cast and has probably worked together for quite a while (assuming it's not a pilot that you're shooting). If you're hired on to a feature it'll depend on what point you're hired on. It's a heck of a lot easier for a Producer to get a project off the ground with bankable talent attached...unfortunately there are very, very, very few directors who qualify as bankable talent (Spielberg, Allen, maybe Scorsese and Lee) so this will most likely come down to the cast. If you're going completely independent then you'll have control over the casting process. Keep in mind though that if you're serious about pursuing a distribution deal at some point that distributors are going to be looking for the same thing...bankable talent. Basically what I'm trying to say is the odds of your movie actually getting made and/or getting distributed go up significantly if you have some A List, bankable stars involved. A lot of the time the very creation of the project is dependent on that involvement.