Central casting goes interactive
June 4, 1997
Web posted at: 9:13 p.m. EDT (0113 GMT)
From Correspondent Dennis Michael
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- As anyone who has tried to break into show business knows, the road to stardom is paved with paper. But soon actors and acting roles may be linked in cyberspace.
Head shots, resumes and the telephone are the central facts of central casting, as it is now.
"It`s mostly a phone business, and consequently it`s a paper and phone business," said agent Vivian Hollander.
"We make submissions to casting directors based on breakdowns that come out on paper, and we send photos to wherever they`re casting out of, various casting houses. And from that, we call to get interviews or casting directors call us to get interviews."
It`s a process that can take days. But now Hollander can do the process in minutes. She`s a new user of "CastNet," one of several computer network systems that may take the paper out of casting.
Much of the movie and television business already uses the leading edge of computer technology, but those benefits are just catching up to some other segments of show business.
"It`s very much like the shoemaker`s son who doesn`t wear shoes," said Harvey Kibel of CastNet.
"We have great applications of technology in the entertainment industry from the point of view of films and TV and all that. And now what`s happening is that we`re developing the technology to help the industry communicate with each other."
Actors pay to put their information on "CastNet." Their fees enable them to upload photos and resumes into the system.
Agents can use the system to find out casting director needs, and this becomes a new avenue of communication between those who need actors and those who represent them.
With electronic access, picking out performers with special talents is easy.
"I plug in people who know tai chi, because that was a very specific thing we wanted to look for for the commercial, and I hit search, and all the Asian actresses who know tai chi came up," said casting director Billy Da Mota C.S.A. "In fact in the system, there`s only one, but one was enough."
The piles of resume paper still exist in casting offices and agencies around Hollywood, but systems such as CastNet may well make the paper waste as obsolete as silent film.
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