How to up your self-tapes according to casting director Kerry Barden 🎥

🎬 Welcome to The Reelarc Rundown 🎬

🔸 How Palm Royale casting directors Kerry Barden & Paul Schnee think you can up your self-tape game
🔸 Smaller budget movies that came out on top in 2023
🔸 Shonda Rhimes can’t keep track of every iconic line she’s written

All that and more on this week’s Rundown ⤵️

Industry News

Self Tape Suggestions Straight from Casting Directors

CDs Kerry Barden & Paul Schnee gave insights on their work for Apple TV’s new series Palm Royale and advice for auditioning actors as well-

On the biggest casting challenge for Palm-
KB: Casting the group of women in the bookstore was very important to get right. Their scenes were all with Laura (Dern) so we needed dynamic actors. It’s always challenging to cast lesser-known actors who will be going toe-to-toe with somebody like Laura, who’s an Academy Award winner, or going toe-to-toe with Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney, who are genius comic actors.

PS: One misstep can stand out, so it can be challenging to cast a show where everyone is distinct and memorable and funny and interesting, but also doesn’t take you out of the show.

On tips for self-tape auditions-
PS: In the very early day of self taping, a lot of actors were trying to stand out or make it look like they just stepped in right into the movie. Like putting themselves in the location of the scene, getting in a car, going to a bus stop, or maybe putting on a suit and micing themselves…it’s not necessary. I mean, if you’re good, you’re good. Going to a location is not going to make you better.

KB: Have a reader that knows how to respond to the scene because then there is more of a connection for the actor.

Primetime Stats

CBS must feel real comfortable on that podium having come out on top in viewership numbers for the past 16 seasons. The network averages 5.59 million nightly viewers which is almost 600,000 more than runner-up NBC. CBS currently has 8 of the 10 most watched shows (excluding sports) including the rookie procedural Tracker at number one.

CBS is even edging out Netflix. For 2024 Q1, they reported 456 billion minutes of viewing time compared to Netflix’s 350.1 billion minutes.

The Little Engines that Could

Deadline’s annual Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament is back to crown 2023’s winner and some of the top contenders may surprise you. Smaller movies like Anyone But You and Evil Dead Rise made consistently strong profits for their studios. Lower budget lines and a move away from streaming (and back to the box office) were big benefits. This is great news for the industry as it continues to encourage studios to take chances on a wider variety of stories and genres.

Box Office Numbers

1. Challengers - 15M - Amazon MGM Studios

2. Unsung Hero - 7.7M - Lionsgate

3. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - 7.2M (181.7M total) - Warner Bros.

4. Civil War - 7M (56.2M total) - A24

5. Abigail - 5.2M (18.7M total) - Universal

Behind the Screens

Prime’s newest hit is the much-anticipated series Fallout based on the popular video game franchise. The eight episode action-comedy-horror series set in a post-apocalyptic USA currently sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fallout was created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet (writer: Fallout, Captain Marvel, Tomb Raider) and Graham Wagner (producer & writer: Fallout, Silicon Valley, Portlandia, Baskets, The Office).

The show’s New York casting team includes:
Rebecca Dealy (Emily in Paris, Midsommar, Hereditary; upcoming projects: The Watchers, Lurker, How to Die Alone)
Maddalena Zuppetta (Yellowstone, Wednesday, Westworld; upcoming projects: English Teacher, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera)
Laura Feldman (The Tomorrow War, Ponyboi, Cherry; upcoming projects: Maxxxine, The Last Day of John Allen Chau)
Kim Krakauer (The Equalizer, The Expanse, White Collar; upcoming projects: The Equalizer)

Dealy is half of Chrystie Street Casting along with Jessica Kelly. They cast projects out of both NY & LA. Watch her conversation with SAG-AFTRA on her work for Ramy last year-

Reelarc Casting Board

NYC
female, 24-30, any ethnicity
female, 35-30, Hispanic/Latino
male, 57-65, any ethnicity

LA
male, 30-40, any ethnicity
male, 45-55, any ethnicity
male, 30-45, any ethnicity

Quiz Time

Tony nominations came out this week and theatre’s biggest night will include some Hollywood stars. Jessica Lange, Rachael McAdams, and Sarah Paulson all scored noms for Best Leading Actress in a Play while William Jackson Harper, Liev Schreiber, and Jeremy Strong are nominees for Best Actor in a Play.

Can you put the following tv and movie actors in order by the number of their Tony nominations?

Trends on your FYP

Did you know Shonda Rhimes hasn’t just created some of the most iconic television shows of the past two decades, she’s also written a lot of their most iconic lines? So many, she can’t keep them all straight. Check out her being quizzed by Variety-

What We’re Watching This Weekend

🎥 For your blockbuster fix - The Fall Guy is in theaters now

🎥 For a star-studded new series from David E. Kelly - A Man in Full  on Netflix

🎥 For a best-selling book adaptation - limited series The Tattooist of Auschwitz now streaming on Peacock

🎥 For the laughs - Hacks season 3 on Max

🎥 For the Anne Hathaway fans - The Idea of You now on Prime

Quiz Answers: A2, B5, C1, D4, E3
(P.S.- Have a story or industry info you think should be featured on the Rundown? Let us know - [email protected]!)