Actors Wanted For Feature Film

No-one is criticising you simply on the basis that (from what your last comment indicates) the project is unpaid. The lack of film-work in Perth, and in general, means that many professional actors will make allowances for a new independent producer that they wouldn't for an established company - eg by agreeing to work on profit-share or by owning a fraction of a percentage of the project. The thing is that these arrangements require a fair degree of thought and planning, and any experienced actor will want to know EXACTLY what the arrangements are (and probably pass them through equity to make sure you're not getting ripped off). There's a simple reason why many actors won't agree to work on a project on a vague undefined promise - because if the producer actually intends to follow through with that promise there is no reason why they can't stipulate in the form of a contract exactly what the agreement is and how it will be implemented.

References to 'commitment' and 'furthering one's career as an artist' don't help either:
- firstly, it always confuses me why a producer feels they have the right to call actors 'uncommitted' if they won't work for free - if you're going to ask actors for 'commitment' then you need to show commitment to your job as a producer, which includes raising funds for payment of actors (just like you raise funds for cameras and film).
- secondly, there is no reason to have faith in the artistic ability of a production company if they can't even manage to provide open information about a project, raise sufficient funds and make their proposed arrangements with actors clear and transparent. Frankly if a producer isn't capable of managing these preliminaries they certainly aren't going to be capable of making and selling a quality film.
- thirdly, even if you have the best intentions in the world (and frankly in your email to me you sounded genuinely naive and eager rather than intentionally dodgy) that doesn't provide great faith that the film is going to end up finished. In my experience these kind of projects have a habit of never being completed. Not being willing to either pay actors or enter into an open and accountable profit-share system usually indicates inexperience and naivety in the film industry. There is no 'black-and-gold-budget-brand' market in film. Whether its a low-budget indie flick or a major studio product, the buyers are going to want quality - they will want to know that you are using professional actors and crew and that the film has sound production qualities. Recruiting inexperienced actors with vague dreams of stardom, rather than through open professional dealings, will make you come across to buyers as a 2-bit amateur. [I hesistate in using the word amateur here, because there are many actors on this site who specialise in amateur community theatre who are both very good and very experienced - AND consequently would not consider giving their time to a project where the money might go into private profits rather towards more community theatre projects].
- fourthly, and this is controversial I admit - film is a director's art-form. Actors are utterly reliant on having a quality director, as many of the factors which will influence the perceived quality of the actor's performance are out of the actor's hands. A 'committed' actor will therefore want to find out as much as they can about who they are working with and what they are working on before signing up.
- fifthly I remember that Adam Elliot quote too. Many great films HAVE been made in 'backyard' studios. And in almost all of them the lack of a studio budget has been made up for by their use of quality actors and crew. 'Backyard-studio' doesn't require 'backyard-dealings' with actors. I don't recall Mr Elliot ever saying that he was kept in the dark as to what the payment or production arrangements were for the film. If anything one should be able to expect GREATER transparency from a 'backyard-studio' producer because of easier communication between the producer and actors/crew.

I don't mean this as a series of insults, by any means. I honestly hope that your film gets made, and I have no reason to accuse you of anything sinister. But a lot of aspiring producers and directors learn about these things the hard way and then many of them burn out before they get a chance to run a project in the open professional manner that they should have ran their first project. That may be partially because they don't realise that just because an actor isn't a famous star it doesn't mean that they aren't an experienced professional. Many aspiring film producers are totally ignorant of the fact that Perth has quite a number of fully-professional actors (like Craig Williams) and many more who pick up the odd piece of professional work here and there, and that your film won't be the first feature film they've worked on. The corollary of that is that if you offer a fair and open deal to your actors you might be pleasantly surprised by the quality and experience of the actors you can attract.



Serge Sharrinovsky wrote:
>
> From what I remember from the last spaa fringe conference. I
> recall Adam Elliot standing up with his academy award in his
> hand, saying how he spent a great deal of time in his
> backyard studio creating Harvey Krumpet. And I think he even
> went to say that even up to the time that he won his award he
> was still getting support from Centrelink.



Thou fawning rump-fed dewberry!