Feature Film Casting: Lights, Camera, Cast Me!

2:00 pm-3:30 pm – Fashion Theater
Every actor wants to work in film but just how hard is it to get considered for studio films? Do CDs still do generals? Can an unknown get seen without an agent? What do they want to see on an actor's resume or is it all about the headshot? Must an actor have a reel? Find out the answers to these and many other questions in this insightful discussion with top casting directors. Moderated by Jenelle Riley, Film Editor, Back Stage.

Speakers:

-- Victoria Burrows, Casting Director ("King Kong," "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn")
-- Rachel Tenner, Casting Director (Coen Brothers' "True Grit" and "A Serious Man")
-- Pam Dixon, Casting Director ("Green Lantern")
-- Kerry Barden, Casting Director ("Winter's Bone," "The Visitor")
-- Richard Hicks, Casting Director, Firefly Casting ("Lars and the Real Girl," "Hairspray")

SPEAKER BIOS

Victoria Burrows, Casting Director, Burrows/Boland Casting
A partner of Burrows/Boland Casting since 2000, Victoria Burrows has been a casting director for approximately 30 years and has worked on major motion pictures such as "A Christmas Carol," "The Lovely Bones," "Tin Tin," the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "King Kong," "The Frighteners," "Cast Away," "Contact," "Monster House," "The Polar Express," "The Muse," "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World," "Death Race," "Resident Evil: Extinction," "Hostage," "Max Keeble's Big Move," and "Thomas Kinkade's Home for Christmas," to name a few, working with top directors such as Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, Paul W.S. Anderson, and Albert Brooks.

She has also cast notable television programs, including the series "Tales From the Crypt," "21 Jump Street," "The A Team," "MacGyver," "Diagnosis Murder," "Strong Medicine," "Walker: Texas Ranger," and "Martial Law," as well as many miniseries and MOWs. Victoria also stepped in front of the camera as a judge on Joel Silver's NBC reality series "The Next Action Star" and for one acting stint in "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World." Her other love is dog rescue; her group StarPawsRescue.com has saved and placed more than 250 dogs in the past nine years.

Rachel Tenner, Casting Director, Rachel Tenner Casting
Rachel Tenner has worked in the film industry since 1994, when she began working as a casting director in Chicago for Jane Brody Casting. There she had the opportunity to work on the Coen brothers' movies "The Hudsucker Proxy" and "Fargo."

In 1996, she began Tenner Paskal Casting with her partner Mickie Paskal. Together they worked on such films as "The Negotiator," "What Women Want," "Road to Perdition," and Robert Altman's "The Company."

In 2002, Rachel moved to Los Angeles. There she worked with Ellen Chenoweth on many Coen brothers movies, such as "Intolerable Cruelty," "The Ladykillers," "No Country for Old Men," "Burn After Reading," and their latest two films, "A Serious Man" and the upcoming "True Grit." She also worked on George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Leatherheads."

As a producer, Rachel produced the feature "Kwik Stop," written and directed by Michael Gilio. The film earned the director a Spirit Award nomination and has played numerous festivals throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. Rachel is a graduate of New York University and a member of the Casting Society of America.

Pam Dixon, Casting Director, Pam Dixon Casting
After graduating from the University of Southern California, Pam Dixon was hired by CBS Television. After a few months, she became assistant to the head of casting. Six months later, she left CBS Television to become vice president of casting for ABC Television. A year later, she was promoted to senior vice president of casting for the ABC Television Network. She oversaw the casting for all series, miniseries, television movies, and daytime soaps.

Pam left ABC Television to become a production vice president for Paramount Pictures under Michael Eisner. After several years as a motion picture and television executive, Pam decided to open her own casting company. For the last several years, she has been an independent feature casting director. During this time, she has cast numerous features: "Zorro," "City Slickers," "The Waterdance," "The Craft," "Angels in the Outfield," "Tremors," "Dick," "The Moderns," "Goldeneye," "Music Box," "Baby Boom," "Cookie's Fortune," "Gosford Park," and "A Prairie Home Companion."

Recently, Pam completed casting on "Barney's Version," starring Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman, and "The Ward," directed by John Carpenter. She is currently casting "Green Lantern" for Warner Bros. She has been fortunate to work with many talented directors, such as Robert Altman, Alan Rudolph, Martin Campbell, Barry Levinson, and Paul Schrader.

Pam teaches at UCLA in the entertainment studies department and lectures at the Los Angeles Film School, Harvard University, and high schools throughout California. She is on the board of trustees of Valley Presbyterian Hospital and has served for 10 years on the board of the Wildwood School in Culver City, Calif. She is an active member of the Motion Picture Academy. Pam is president of the Casting Society of America. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Kerry Barden, Casting Director
Kerry Barden has been casting for 18 years. He has cast over 200 films, television shows, and plays and has offices in both New York and Los Angeles. Some of his film credits include "Boys Don't Cry," "Good Will Hunting," "Shakespeare in Love," "American Psycho," "I Shot Andy Warhol," "The Cider House Rules," "Unfaithful," "Monster's Ball," "Pineapple Express," "The Visitor," and the upcoming "Conviction," "Winter's Bone," "What's Wrong With Virginia," "Every Day," and "Win Win."

He is currently casting "The Help" with director Tate Taylor, "Machine Gun Preacher" with Marc Forster, "Conan" with Marcus Nispel, and "The Fields" with Ami Mann. He was nominated for Emmy Awards for "Sex and the City" and "The Bronx Is Burning." He has also produced four films, including the award-winning "Conversations With Other Women," starring Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart. He is excited to be a part of Actorfest this year.

Richard Hicks, Casting Director, Firefly Casting
Richard Hicks has been a casting director for 12 years and a partner in Firefly Casting (with David Rubin) since 2006. Beginning his career as an actor, Richard worked extensively in theater—including three years as a company member at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis—and is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Richard is a four-time Emmy nominee (for the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and the HBO films "Recount" and "Temple Grandin"). He was twice the winner of the Casting Society of America's Artios Award for outstanding casting.

His film credits include "Lars and the Real Girl"; "Yes Man"; "Hairspray"; two films with Christopher Guest, "For Your Consideration" and "A Mighty Wind"; "Igby Goes Down"; Ken Loach's "Bread & Roses"; "Shall We Dance"; and "Permanent Midnight." Television credits include "Temple Grandin," "The Memory Keeper's Daughter," "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" for Anthony Minghella, "Further Tales of the City," three seasons casting "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and numerous pilots.

Upcoming films include "On the Road" (Walter Salles, director), "Real Steel" (Shawn Levy, director), "Gravity" (Alfonso Cuarón, director), "The Smurfs Movie," and "Blue Valentine." Richard is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and has served as the president of the Casting Society of America (2004–06).