A new Machinima Web series pushes a cast of minority performers into the spotlight. “Chop Shop” follows the lives of members of two rival car theft gangs as they compete for turf in East Los Angeles. Director Elliott Lester said they wanted to cast performers who could add authenticity to the six-episode drama. In some cases, that meant casting extras and principal actors who were weeks out of prison. “They went from the prison yard to our yard,” said Lester, tongue in cheek. “What’s nice with a show like this is you get to make some discoveries. You’re not seeing the same old faces. Actors who are not in the mix on TV get a chance to step up,” he told reporters ahead of the launch of the show July 18. “This is a show that is hugely ethnically diverse, which is representative of Los Angeles. I would never...
- 7/18/2014
- backstage.com
Four Fox drama pilots including a project from J.J. Abrams and J.H. Wyman and “Gang Related,” a pilot written by the screenwriter of “Fast & Furious,” have casting directors attached, Backstage has learned. Abrams and Wyman’s “Inhuman,” which shoots in March, is set to be cast by April Webster and Sarah Isaacson of April Webster & Associates. The sci-fi drama is set in the near future when human police officers are paired with human-like androids. Meanwhile, Megan Branman and Dylan Brander of Branman/Brander Casting are working on “Gang Related,” a pilot from “Fast & Furious” screenwriter Chris Morgan. The plot centers on a gang member who infiltrates the San Francisco police department on behalf of a crime boss. “Boomerang,” a drama about a family of assassins contracted by the federal government to render their services for the good of the country, is set to be cast by John Frank Levey and Melanie Burgess.
- 2/11/2013
- backstage.com
Three new drama pilots, including one with Charlize Theron attached as a producer, now have casting directors. Backstage has learned Eric Dawson of Udk is set to cast “Hatfields & McCoys,” which is being billed as a modern re-imagining of the 19th-century feud. In the NBC pilot, the Hatfields are a white-collar family feuding with the blue-collar McCoys. It’s set to be directed by Michael Mayer, who directed the pilot of NBC’s “Smash,” and has Theron attached as a producer. “The List,” a Fox pilot about a U.S. marshal tasked with tracking down the killer, or killers, who are systematically murdering people in the witness protection program, is set to be cast by Jennifer Cooper. It’s set to shoot in March. Another pilot with a March shoot date, “The Advocates,” a CBS drama, is set to be cast by John Frank Levey and Melanie Burgess. It’s...
- 2/1/2013
- backstage.com
John Frank Levey and Melanie Burgess will cast the one-hour drama pilot "Bad Girls" for NBC, Back Stage has confirmed. John Wells, the showrunner for Showtime's "Shameless" and creator of "E.R.," is executive producer for this adaptation of the long-running British crime drama of the same name."The project follows the ins-and-outs of a group of unlikely women in a federal prison: a scandalous female warden, her new protégé and a host of inmates – some mothers, some friends—who struggle with loyalties to people on the inside and the outside," according to "The Hollywood Reporter." Shed Media and John Wells Productions are producing, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The pilot is scheduled to shoot in Los Angeles in March.Back Stage also confirmed that Levey and Burgess will cast the pilot for Wells' other project in development this season, "Prodigy Bully," a half-hour single-camera comedy for Fox, written by "Glee" co-star.
- 2/2/2012
- by help@backstage.com (Daniel Lehman)
- backstage.com
Lisa Soltau was living in Seattle when her friend Bonnie Gillespie sent her a book she had written called "Casting Qs," a compilation of interviews with casting directors. "I read it and I absolutely loved all the aspects of the job," says Soltau. "I loved the entertainment industry and movies and television. The process of casting sounded wonderful."She called one of the two casting offices in Seattle and ended up working as an intern there for about six months. But the CD told her she should move to New York or Los Angeles if she really wanted to pursue a career in casting. "I picked L.A. because I had lived there once for about three years and I thought it would be easier to acclimate there," Soltau says. "Plus I wanted to work on 'Six Feet Under,' which was airing at the time.
- 10/20/2010
- backstage.com
Over the years, John Frank Levey has amassed an impressive array of Emmy and Artios awards for his work on such groundbreaking shows as "ER" and "The West Wing." At this year's Artios ceremony, he was honored with the Hoyt Bowers Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the casting profession. Levey, whose credits also include "Smith," "The Evidence," and "Third Watch," recently cast the critically beloved cop drama "Southland," which NBC canceled before its second season even hit the air. Luckily, the series found a home on the cable channel TNT. "It's one of the casts I'm most proud of," says Levey. "I mean, I guess you're most in love with your most recent project, but I just think that cast is fantastic and I think that show has to have a continued and additional life, and I think it will do well on cable."Directing to CastingI had the...
- 11/12/2009
- backstage.com
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