Just got finished with a long week in NYC. It wasn't as long as Joseph's week, that's for sure, but it was a lot of work. Met with so many people it's a blur--product placement, PR, film marketing, actor, etc, etc--and still, no Tucker. The good news is that I got to eat at Gordon Ramsay's new place and Union Square Cafe. So that was nice.
Had a long casting session today, and it was only mildly productive overall. Judging from the small sample I saw, NYC actors are, as a group, less polished, less attractive, and less confident than LA actors. It's like because they don't audition as much, they are more nervous about the movies that cast in NYC, but at the same time, they are a bit snooty about it because they all think they're "real" actors, and they overplay the roles. Most of them, I had to tell them to relax and have fun.
BTW--guess who did the very best reading today for the Tucker role? BILL DAWES!!
I already knew he was a solid actor, but I have to give the guy serious props--he came in confident and prepared and really did a good job. He was in the top 5 of everyone who has read, LA or NYC, in terms of the execution. I have seen enough actors now where I feel confident in being able to tell the difference between the ones who have "it" on some level and those who don't, and he does. Granted, he does know me in real life, so he had an edge, but still--I know a lot of people will dismiss this because he's my friend, but I think if anything, that makes me harder on him. He's a really good actor and--no bullshit--if he had the right role, he could be a legit star.
But I don't think he's going to get the role, and the shitty part is that it's not his fault at all--the camera just doesn't love him for the Tucker character. After his audition I looked at his reading on film, and it didn't come off the way it did just a minute before in the room. This has happened before..
Part of what we are looking for is a certain way that an actor pops on screen. They have to have not only likability, but also a sort of childlike joy about them, something that makes you love them no matter what they do. Being able to do that in real life is hard enough, but having that come off on camera is really fucking hard. It's just part of their DNA, and just like you can't coach height in basketball, I don't think it's something that an actor can learn.
We are going to go back to LA now, show Bill's tape to Bob to see if he sees something we don't, and take another look at the three or four guys who had that "pop" was are looking for in some way or another. It looks like we are just going to have to find the guy who is closest to the target and then figure out a way to get him the rest of the way.
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