‘500 Days’ :: How The Lead Actors Got Cast In The Film
The Director And Writer Of ‘500 Days Of Summer’…
…Did Q+A’s after the film screenings, and I went to two screenings of this movie. So I got to sit in on two different informative sessions.
They shared inside information, on how the actors were chosen.
At the LA Film Fest, film leads Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel were present, and shared the dais; and the time.
But, at the second screening, just the Director, Marc Webb; and, one of the two Screenwriters, Scott Neustadter, were onstage.
So, anything they said wasn’t because the stars were there, no actor-stroking was going on.
Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel Weren’t On The List, At Casting Time.
The studio, Fox Searchlight, was acting Hollywood-traditional…at the start of the casting process. They shared with the Director and Writers which actors should be in contention:
–A list of bankable, credited, recognizable names of actors for both the male and female romantic leads.
The male lead actor is a central role, maybe the central role in this movie.
Logically, they wanted a star. Someone with a track record of acting, and box office mojo. Which means in Producer terms, a ROI–Return-on-investment. Bankability. Using Box Office Name Actors means tickets can be counted on to be sold by the name of that bankable star, alone. A “name” opens a movie with big ticket sales, and can be counted on to bring in a continued audience, perhaps, even when a movie isn’t so great.
[Although...this Hollywood-hard-fast-rule, about being able to rely on A-list actors is suddenly-soft-and-not-performing-up-to-usual-prowess, as of this summer--See the post following this one.]
The Writer Quipped: Thankfully, Julia Roberts Wasn’t Available!
He wasn’t really dissing Julia Roberts; when you see the ‘500 Days’ you will see why the casting of Zooey Deschanel, in the lead role, as the love interest, is so very spot-on…ideal…perfect.
Really, there couldn’t be anyone who could do such a job of playing “Summer”. (That’s the character’s name.)
It wouldn’t have been this movie, with different actors.
It Was Joseph Gordon-Levitt Who Was Cast First.
And for a very good reason.
A very definable reason.
A reason that set him apart from all the actors on The List, and all the other actors that came in to audition.
“He Asked Intelligent Questions.”
He set himself apart from the other actors, by doing some thinking.
By asking questions. Acting questions, script questions.
The right kind of questions.
You Know When You Go On An Audition, And You Are Asked “Any Questions?”
Gordon-Levitt said, right off, “Why are you doing this movie? What is the goal of the script?”
In other words, what is the point that, all involved, should be going for, thematically.
Especially, the actor.
The lead actor. Who, in this script, carries the entire movie on his back.
So he’d better know which direction to take it, so that his performance tells the story. So that his performance could give the message of the movie, in the most accurate and efficient way possible.
Does his initial querying seem confrontive?
Maybe to some. Maybe it isn’t nicey-nicey.
To the Director, Writer, and Producers, it sounded right.
…Intelligent, artistic, smart, and in sync with their own sensibility and way of working; way of approaching this script.
What happened in the auditions with the other actors?
Webb and Neustadter said that some actors just read-the-sides; just did whatever they individually did, as far as choices.
And some said some really dumb stuff. (I hope it was just nerves or because they weren’t prepared as they should be.)
The director revealed that some actors, at the audition, suggested that the writers change the ending of the movie. That it ’should’ turn out the opposite way than they had written it, in the script.
–Uh.–
(WORD::Most likely the writer has already thought about every possible other thought. It’s not an actor’s place to come in and be an expert of ’story’…And please note: The director and writer didn’t say that those actors, with their ending-changes, looked “dumb”… They didn’t have to.)
Gordon-Levitt’s Control Of His Acting-Instrument Is Just Beauty.
He holds this movie in his hand like he’s King Kong and the beats of the film are Faye Wray, dancing in his palm.
It surprised me because of the skill and apparent ease in which he handled every acting challenge, every change, every necessary vulnerability.
It also surprised me because, well– he’s a guy. Look, acting is always hard because we live in a culture where feelings are supposed to be masked, as habit, as maturity, and because we think of it as ’sanity’. So to be facile and expressive with feelings and emotions is part of a big mountain an actor needs to wrestle.
For male actors, facility with emotional expression can be even more difficult. (We all know how males are supposed to be, about expressing themselves, about emotionality.)
Shall I mention that he was a kid actor? That often means acting with lots of “indicating”, and cute-making. Child actors can grow up without a gage for authenticity.
This actor didn’t seem to have anything b-u-t organic instincts.
Zooey Deschanel Was Suggested For The Female Lead Actor, By Gordon-Levitt…
After he was cast.
Adding, with just a tinge of logical Hollywood-rationality; that although he thought she would be the best artistic casting, she probably wouldn’t be an acceptable business choice…
Since he was already the non-box-office lead, and so if two non-box-office-mojo leads are cast in the two main acting roles, would that weaken the film’s chance of success?
Luckily, the director and screenwriters prioritized the artistic, and they agreed with his suggestion. They read Zooey Deschanel, and they cast her.
Fully aware of his reservations; and the usual logic.
Remarkably, so did Fox Searchlight…
[Everyone in the audience, at this point of the Q+A, murmured praise and Hollywood incredulity.]
500 Days is a romantic movie that is traditional, and original; at the same time.
…It’s probably going to be to be a big summer hit. And I think it’s precisely because of the original thinking, and unique creation. It’s also an wonderfully honest film.
[Unusually, they all went with 'trust'. Wow.]
Overall, it’s a solid, and impishly hip, finished package.
And, the casting, the acting, the people that populate this story…just superb.
500 Days of Summer opens this Friday in many cities. Click here to find your area on the film release schedule.
Click here to get to the Fox Searchlight webpage for the movie.
Do I recommend this film?
Um hm.
Follow me on Twitter, you can find me there as __dana__. (Two underscores, both sides of my name.)
Share to your Facebook page, if you can. That way, we can reach more actors…
Thanks!
;~Dana
