I keep hearing about all of the filming going on in Michigan. In fact, I’ve been hired to cast two feature films in 2009 that will shoot there! The filmmaker incentives are that good. Well, because filmmakers are flooding Michigan with work, there’s a shift happening in some industry pro’s careers. Janet Pound is one such industry pro. Here she describes her road to becoming a casting director.
Be Open
Christmas afternoon I sprang from my nap to see what was the matter and realized I needed to get going on writing this article. What is my point of view? What information could I impart that might be helpful? I could always reiterate the obvious. Tell actors to watch their Ps and Cues (couldn’t help myself). Make sure you have proper photos (resume securely attached and the same size as the headshot), be prepared (have lines memorized and be ready to read for other parts), professionalism (don’t fight in the lobby), show personality (highlight what makes you unique without crossing over to being annoying), be prompt (show up early, sign in, be ready)… yada yada yada. The cue part goes without saying. Actually, I woke up thinking about something my Irish grandfather used to say to me when I was young. You can’t most always sometimes tell what you least expect the most. As a kid, I never understood it but now I think I do.
I live in Michigan — the Mitten state known for motors, manufacturing, music, Motown, eMineM (okay, that’s a stretch), Mackinac Island, and Madonna. Now, Michigan has more M words to add to its resume: movie making. And it happened overnight. LA was waiting to see if our tax incentive would take hold. If it passed, they would come. And it did pass it and they did come. And we needed to get our ducks in a row pronto. One of the areas in need was casting. I had many people encouraging me to become a casting director.
Sure, I had experience. Back in the day, I used to cast all the variety shows we performed in my garage. I’d audition my sisters and neighbor kids. My younger sister would sing opera in my mom’s peach taffeta prom dress but only knew one word: Figaro. The twins sang “Bicycle Built for Two” on the jerry-rigged bike their dad had put together and I cast myself to perform a flamenco dance in the gravel driveway. Unfortunately my dance steps caused the gravel to fly up and hit my brother in the audience. Honestly, I never in my wildest dreams — and I can have some freaky dreams — did I ever see me working as a casting director, let alone in one hour going from Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino set to Drew Barrymore’s preproduction meeting for Whip It. I least expected that the most. Although I did have a tarot card reader tell me six months earlier at a Halloween party that I was going to be changing jobs and it would be in the same field I was already working in and that I’d be signing contracts and money wouldn’t be so tight. When the tax incentive took hold I had been working as a talent agent. Becoming a casting director really wasn’t much of a stretch because in Michigan talent agents often worked as casting directors.
My first casting was for a Lifetime movie. I knew I’d have no problems finding the right actors for the roles. Thanks to many great theatre programs, we have a nice talent pool. But there were new things to learn, language like “day out of days,” “one-liners,” and “skins.” Before I became a casting director, before I was a talent agent, I was a SAG actress and worked in industrial films and commercials. So I know the business from many angles and luckily knew who to go to when in need. Because there’s no Casting for Dummies book, I called Donna Belajac (a casting director from Pittsburgh).
Years ago, I had auditioned for her to do a drugstore commercial. She became my “go-to” person when I was in need of answers. She was a godsend and one of the reasons I feel so lucky to be a part of this exciting business. I’ve been incredibly touched by the kindness people have shown me while starting this new venture. In turn, I try to remember to do the same. This summer, after many frantic days of auditions, I called an actor to apologize for possibly having been rude. She laughed out loud and said she just moved back from LA and getting a call like that from a casting director would never happen. You can’t most always tell what you least expect.
At the same time all of these changes were happening, Kathy Mooney, my agent from years ago, gave me a call. She suggested we work together. We left our jobs as talent agents and Pound & Mooney Casting was born. She had more casting experience than anyone in Detroit and I’m a playwright and very connected to the theatre community. Our backgrounds would make for a great partnership. In some ways we’re day and night. We’ve been called the ex-hippie and prom queen and can bicker like an old married couple but we truly respect each other and are constantly making each other laugh. I knew we were meant to be together when we ran out of gas coming home from the set of High School. Both of us were scared to death. I could barely get the car to the side of the highway. It was rush hour and cars were zipping by going 80. While waiting for the police, we tried to distract ourselves by telling stories. And lo and behold, we found out our childhood dreams were the same: to be ventriloquists!
Kathy discovered her dream while at UAW camp (I know, doesn’t it just conjure up images of a bunch of kids in mechanic uniforms tightening lug nuts?) and I was 12 trying to find something to do for a talent show. The irony is that we both love to talk, no closed mouths here. For the betterment of our auditions, we’re trying to hold our tongues but it’s not easy. We’ve known most of these actors for decades. I used to audition with them and act with them and Kathy used to book them. Many of them are our friends. We go to see them in improv shows and stage plays. We’ve gone to their weddings and baby showers and are thrilled to be able to give them chances to be in feature films with the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Adrienne Brody, and Drew Barrymore. Who would have thought I’d be the conduit to other people’s dreams? Can’t most always sometimes tell.
Some interesting casting experiences:
- We needed to audition toothless transvestite hookers. Kathy knew just were to go. (Don’t ask.) The first person auditioning came in and actually took his front teeth out.
- We auditioned a Shaman priest who did a spirit calling exercise in our audition room. Right after his audition, I had to scream and swear while reading against the gang banger role. I kept wondering what kind of confused energy must be in that room.
- I called to tell the macho football player he got the role in Whip It. I asked him if he was jogging because he sounded winded. He said, “No, I’m just sitting on the couch crying.”
- Getting a call from the LA producer of High School and Demoted and finding out we both graduated from Southfield Lathrup High School.
- Helping Madge Levinson, an actress from Toledo, hit the peak of her career at 84. She was cast as Sigourney Weaver’s mother in Prayers for Bobby and had three other principal roles back to back.
- Ellen Chenoweth came to Detroit to interview local casting directors for Gran Torino. My maiden name was Torreano and my nickname in high school was Torino. A good omen. During our interview, my partner mentioned she was a Buddhist. Ellen said her best friend and fellow casting director, Ellen Lewis, was also a Buddhist. I mentioned my brother John (a New York artist) was friends with Ellen Lewis. Ellen Chenoweth said, “I know your brother!” She then called Ellen Lewis on her cell and said, “I’m in Detroit sitting with John Torreano’s sister.”
Well, I never became a ventriloquist. Though I think some of my words of advice come through the actors mouths when auditioning. I never acted in a feature film, but seeing my best friend being directed by Drew Barrymore in a film I cast was every bit as rewarding. I never expected to see my name in the credits of a Clint Eastwood movie. And I never expected to see my name misspelled in the credits of a Clint Eastwood movie.
Be open. You never know what new experiences this incredible business has to offer. Who knows, maybe some day I’ll be casting one of my own movies or maybe even my musical Car Stars… because you can’t most always sometimes tell what you lest expect the most.
I love it! Such a cool journey and it really does look like Janet and her partner are having fun every day. I find it so exciting to track the progress of a casting director who has come over from another career area within the industry (mainly, I find it exciting because that’s exactly what I did). It’s also cool because it underscores what I love to tell fellow hyphenates about how this industry works: You can always try another job on for size! Showbiz loves a creative, passionate person, no matter when in life she begins her latest career choice. Congrats, Janet! Wishing you loads more fun to come!
About Janet Pound
Janet Pound started in the business over 25 years ago doing print modeling, industrial films, commercials, voiceovers, and traveling for ten years with the auto shows. She’s a vested member of SAG and AFTRA. Pound went from being in front of the camera to working behind it. For eight years, she worked as a talent agent for two agencies in the Detroit area. In May 2008, she became a casting director. She partnered with Kathy Mooney and Pound & Mooney Casting was born. Since Michigan’s tax incentive, Pound & Mooney Casting has done the principal local casting for Gran Torino, Whip It, Prayers for Bobby, Butterfly Revelation, the HBO pilot Hung, Demoted, and High School. They’ve had the pleasure of working with such directors as Clint Eastwood, Drew Barrymore, and Alexander Payne. In addition, Janet is a published/produced playwright having had productions in New York, Chicago, Palm Springs, and Detroit. She’s been married for 37 years and has three grown children, showing that sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too.
This contribution originally ran at Bonnie Gillespie’s online column on January 1, 2009.