A Filmmaker Prepares

For the past two weeks now I've been busy trying to get a project for school off the ground. Every quarter at school as part of my requirements we are required to do a different film project. Last quarter (my 2nd) was a documentary. This quarter it is a PSA (Public Service Announcement). Since the first week of classes we have been pitching ideas, writing scripts, writing storyboards, etc. The thing that makes this different from the previous projects is that my professor, Prof. MacGillivray, insisted that we hire actors instead of using our fellow classmates to act in our pieces. Well I knew that this day had to come eventually but I never knew how much of a headache it could be.

I'm not new to the idea of auditioning actors. Years ago I worked on a cable access show called "Sounds Of The City" and had to help in the casting stages for the talent. It was weird since I had spent so much time in my life actually auditioning for people. Now the tables are turned. But the difference is that I have a different sensibility about it since I've been in the shoes of the struggling actor. On the show I was the Director and Senior Writer. So I'm no stranger to directing either. It's just this time I'm being graded for this project. So hopefully everything will go off well.

This week I placed casting notices on craigslist and mandy.com in hopes of getting actors to audition for my PSA. There are only 5 roles I'm casting but you'd be surprise the responses. To begin with there are 4 non-speaking roles and 1 speaking role. There are 2 couples, one straight the other gay. I purposely have been looking for trained actors who I know can handle these roles. But you'd be surprised the amount of male actors who are dead set against playing a gay role. It's not as if they are being asked to make out with a guy either! The majority of the males who replied said that they would rather play the boyfriend of the girl or the spokesman.

What is it with young actors looking for work, who are afraid to play gay roles? It certainly didn't hurt Philip Seymour Hoffman because he won an Oscar last year for playing the VERY gay, Truman Capote in the film "Capote". I know Mr. Hoffman is straight because I've seen him pushing his baby in a stroller in the West Village. He's an ACTOR. It hasn't hurt Heath Ledger [pictured above with Jake Gyllenhaal] either. He gave probably one of the best performances of his career as "Ennis Del Mar" in the film "Brokeback Mountain". He's straight too. Seen him with baby and wife, Michelle Williams walking around town here in Brooklyn too.

I think young actors who respect their craft and have real talent really shouldn't have any hangups about roles that they are approaching. Especially if they are at the beginning of their careers. If they do, then maybe they just aren't cut out for acting as a career. I know I've played my fair share of straight men in the past. I recently saw an independent film that I thought was brilliant. It was called "Brother To Brother" and was directed by a brotha by the name of Rodney Evans. The actor who played the lead was Anthony Mackie who I thought was just wonderful. Mackie has gone on to much success in films and on stage and playing gay hasn't hurt his career one bit. He's an ACTOR!

Also in the film was Daniel Sunjata [pictured, left] who played the gay writer Langston Hughes. I saw him years ago on Broadway playing a gay baseball player in the drama, "Take Me Out". Now he plays on the FX show "Rescue Me" as a very straight, womanizing New York City Firefighter. He is just a great Actor.

So in a few hours from now I will have actors come in to my audition and I hope I won't have a heck of a time trying to cast two males to play a gay couple. Besides it's a role in a student film. If only I could hire Anthony Mackie and Daniel Sunjata for my student film. Oh well!