I’ve never traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but everything I know about Louisiana comes back to hospitality and good people. The film industry is really booming there lately and that means there are opportunities coming up for every actor within a tank of gas of Baton Rouge, Shreveport, or New Orleans. Casting director Brinkley Maginnis reached out to me when one of my breakdowns went out for a feature film casting in Los Angeles, but shooting in Louisiana. That film hasn’t moved forward yet (ya gotta love indie film), but Brinkley offered to write up a little something about the film business in her neck of the woods. Super cool!
Louisiana L.a.gniappe!
(A little something extra for those in L.A. coming to La.)
When it comes to Louisiana talent, one of my favorite stories I love to share is about the inaccurate notions many directors and producers have about our talent pool upon first arrival to “bayou land.”
For any given production that comes to Louisiana, whether it is a huge blockbuster, television show, or commercial, we provide them with the local principal actors and background artists they are seeking. At the end of the day, everyday, the directors and producers are always blown away with the EXTRAordinary talent little ol’ Louisiana has to offer!
If a director or producer has never been to Louisiana, or filmed a movie here before, they often have trepidation and anxiety in finding local talent that can measure up to the standard of acting of their Los Angeles talent. These movies are their babies, their pride and joy, stories that they have often worked on for years to get to this final stage of leaping off their script page to the silver screen! To know they are coming into complete foreign Cajun territory, if I were not from here myself, I might be a little worried at first glance, too! But put your worries to rest, I have a southern true tale to tell.
Upon arriving to film their movies in Louisiana, both director Renny Harlin and director Oliver Stone expressed their concerns to me regarding the level of acting our local talent possessed. Harlin came to Shreveport in 2007 to film Cleaner and Stone set up shop in Shreveport in 2008 to film W.
In my first meetings with them, similar stories occurred.
Both Harlin and Stone wanted to see headshots and resumes for the roles they had in mind that would be cast out of Louisiana. My partner and I brought files and files of actors’ headshots to show them, but stressed to them to please refrain from making any remarks until they saw the talent live and in person. They did just this, and after our first round of auditions, both Harlin and Stone had equal reactions.
With a shocked looked on his face, Renny Harlin sat back in his chair and said in his Finnish accent, “I saw 10 to 15 A-list actors in LA for some of these roles, and I think I just cast my entire movie here in this one session with you.” Similarly, Oliver Stone turned to me and said, “Where did you find some of this talent? They are terrific and actually have a ‘life’ besides focusing on acting 24-7.”
To say the least, to hear these words of praise about our local talent from two of the most honored professionals in the film industry was very humbling. Even more so, though, it was (and still is everyday) encouraging and motivating for me to continue to fight for my Louisiana talent and the incredible levels of often underestimated talent they possess! This wealth of hidden talent, deep down South, is why I wake up everyday excited to see which directors’ and producers’ socks we will knock off next… not to mention the “wealth” I will be keeping in their pocketbooks with our sweet tax incentives! Therefore, it is a win-win situation!
There is a reason movie crews can’t get enough of Louisiana once they set foot here and, therefore, always come back for more: it’s our Louisiana lagniappe (all the li’l somethin’ extras): southern charm, southern food, southern silver screen sales tax, and most importantly, southern stars!
So to all of you southern actors out there, I am here to say you have Oliver Stone’s and Renny Harlin’s stamp of approval: Keep up the good work and don’t give up!
Now for a li’l something extra about me. 😉 We are in the movie industry aren’t we?!?
As I mentioned above, when I am hired by the director and producer to come on as their local Louisiana casting director, I am hired to cast all of their local speaking roles and non speaking roles (or background). Not only do I cast, I also take the time to meet with my actors, one-on-one, to discuss their auditions, advise them on ways to do it better or differently the next time, and actually give them feedback!
For a long time, I just assumed that if an actor did a poor audition, hopefully, they would discuss it with their agent and their agent would coach them or point them in the right direction for proper training/polishing. I learned, though, this is not always the case, especially if the CD (out of mere “southern hospitality” and lack of time) tells the actor, “Thank you; that was good. Have a nice day.” Therefore, what good are we doing our local talent if they do not hear the truth from someone, especially the CD? So, I am now opening my door (you heard it, cell phone and all) to meet with any actor to help them better their craft, to give them that edge, and most importantly, to give them that Louisiana L.a.gniappe to help them book future parts!
These private casting consultations with actors will keep our local talent fresh, up to speed, and at the same competitive level as the Los Angeles and New York talent (which is moving into our state on a weekly basis)! At the end of they day, with our local talent being so well polished, it is a win-win situation for the producers because they view our quality of talent on the same playing field as their Hollywood talent, but here my friend, they will get lagniappe back in their pocketbooks!
I always have a smile on my face and it is because I love my job… and because I love my job so much, I am passionate about doing those little something extras to ensure my local talent has the resources, teachers, and agents to market themselves in the best light possible to any and every director that sets foot in our state: the new Hollywood South.
Very cool! I’m just dying to know how to pronounce lagniappe at this point! It’s so good to know that there’s “something extra” going on in minor markets like Baton Rouge. As our world shrinks due to online casting opportunities, and more and more films are shooting domestically — but not always in Los Angeles — due to tax incentives, knowing there are super talented actors to pick from in other markets is a very encouraging thing, indeed! Now, where’s my beignet?
About Brinkley Maginnis
Brinkley Anne Maginnis is a 31-year-old Baton Rouge native who got her BS in Family, Child, and Consumer Sciences from LSU. After a brief stint working in DC for the lobbying firm Adams and Reese, LLP, Brinkley returned to Baton Rouge in 2004 and got bitten by the Hollywood bug. Her first casting experience was on Dukes of Hazzard for Warner Bros. In 2007, Brinkley became the first (and youngest) female to start her own Louisiana-based casting company. She became the leading casting company for the entire state of Louisiana, casting for such notable directors as Oliver Stone, Renny Harlin, Harold Ramis, Callie Khouri, Alan Ball, and Mark McNair. When hired onto a project, she casts all local speaking and nonspeaking roles. Recently, she cast over 5000 extras for Secretariat for Disney in Lafayette, as well as doing local casting for season three of True Blood for HBO. Brinkley also offers private casting consultations for local actors to keep them fresh, up to speed, and on top of their game! They learn the dos, the don’ts, and the secret tricks that give them the edge that will set them apart from all other actors, keeping them competitive with LA and NY talent. She is passionate about taking those extra steps to ensure her local talent has resources, teachers, and agents to market themselves in the best light possible to any director that sets foot in the new Hollywood South.
This contribution originally ran at Bonnie Gillespie’s online column on July 15, 2010.