👀 Get noticed by commercial casting director Melissa O'Neil

🎬 Welcome to The Reelarc Rundown 🎬

🔸 The numbers don’t lie: the best box office bets center poc and women
🔸 Casting director Melissa O’Neil on what she’s always looking for in the audition room
🔸 Breaking down who’s who of Abbott Elementary

All that and more on this week’s Rundown ⤵️

Industry News

“Be yourself. Be your authentic self.”

At a recent Q&A, Mel & Liz Casting partner Melissa O’Neil said to actors in attendance- “There’s no, how can I be right? What makes me right? You make you right. You make it who I’m looking for.” In other words, lean into what makes you you.

O’Neil also wants to see authenticity- no matter the underlying circumstances of the role. “Be yourself. Be your authentic self…We want to get to the human being part. What are you bringing? What’s your personality? What are you bringing to life? I’m looking for you.”

She went even further in depth on the casting process for commercials and advised actors when they come in for an audition- “We’re asking you to play. We’re asking you to take a leap.”

What to add to your watch list

The Oscars may be over, but that only means Emmy season is around the bend. There are a plethora of new and returning shows to catch up on this Spring. Some of the projects we’re most excited for include-

• Netflix’s Ripley starring Andrew Scott that adapts the classic movie The Talented Mr. Ripley into a limited series

• Hulu’s Under the Bridge based on the harrowing true story (and non-fiction book of the same name) starring Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone

• FX’s spy thriller The Veil starring Elisabeth Moss

• Season 3 of HBO’s Hacks (fresh off its Audience Award win at this month’s SXSW) starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder

Diversity in demand

As the industry continues to recover from the pandemic and two historic strikes, people of color and women are driving the biggest box office success stories. The latest Hollywood Diversity Report confirms Ana-Christina Ramón’s (director of UCLA’s Entertainment & Media Research Initiative) statement- “We have repeatedly found that people want to see films that reflect the diversity that exists in their communities and in the world.”

Bright spots in the statistics include that for the first time, top films of 2023 that featured a cast diversity of over 50% outnumbered their less-diverse counterparts. In addition, film franchises that embraced poc representation (such as Creed III, Scream VI, and John Wick: Chapter 4) posted the highest earnings of their series to date.

The ode to women that is Barbie also has to be mentioned. As the number one film of the year, it made over 1.4 billion globally (not to mention who knows how much in merch sales). Ramón was emphatic- “This is a wake-up call for Hollywood. Studios need to invest in women and their stories. Women creators and moviegoers are integral to the industry’s growth.”

Box Office Numbers

1. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - 45 Mil - Sony

2. Dune: Part Two - 17.6 Mil (233.4 total) - Warner Brothers

3. Kung Fu Panda 4 - 16.5 Mil (132.9 total) - Universal

4. Immaculate - 5.3 Mil - Neon

5. Arthur the King - 4.3 Mil (14.5 total) - Lionsgate

Behind the Screens

Let’s dive deeper into everyone’s current favorite network ensemble comedy- Abbott Elementary.

Abbott Elementary is a single-cam sitcom shot mockumentary style- a genre popularized by The Office and Parks & Rec which utilizes individual talking heads (a la reality shows) interspersed within and between scenes. In addition, the camera can almost feel like its own character as the actors on screen can acknowledge it. (One of the best examples of this is Jim’s constant deadpans to camera in The Office.)

Main Series Director: Randall Einhorn (The Office, The Muppets, The Kids Are Alright)

Listen to Randall speak on his love for Abbott’s concept and working environment here.

Creator and Showrunner: Quinta Brunson (acting work on Miracle Workers, A Black Lady Sketch Show)

Listen to Quinta’s insights from set from this conversation at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Also check out Quinta’s “Actors on Actors” with Adam Scott.

Casting directors: Wendy O’Brien (The Lincoln Lawyer, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sons of Anarchy) and Chris Gehrt

Watch Wendy discuss casting new faces for Abbott and how she chose her favorite guest stars.

Reelarc Casting Board

NYC
female, 40-70, any ethnicity
male, 40-55, any ethnicity
male, 25-35, any ethnicity

LA
female, 35-50, any ethnicity
female, 26-34, any ethnicity
male, 20-25, any ethnicity

Quiz Time

March being peak awards season means it’s also Razzies time. Match the films below with the number of nominations they received for the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards. (Did you know last summer’s Ant-Man broke Marvel’s 16 year streak of zero Razzie noms? Yikes.)

Trends on your FYP

Anne Hathaway stopped by Vanity Fair to rewatch some of her most beloved roles and clips are going viral- for good reason. Watch the delightful trip down memory lane in its entirety-

What We’re Watching This Weekend

🎥 For your monster movie fix - Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens in theaters today

🎥 For an incredible “based on a true story” binge - all episodes of We Were the Lucky Ones now streaming on Hulu

🎥 For the best fight scenes - John Wick Chapters 1-3 on Peacock starting March 31st

🎥 For some Gen X/Millennial childhood nostalgia - Season 2 of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock now on Apple TV+

🎥 For the Owen Wilson/Bob Ross fans - Paint now on Hulu

Quiz Answers: 1A, 2C, 3D, 4E, 5B
(P.S.- Have a story or industry info you think should be featured on the Rundown? Let us know - [email protected] or book a client call today!)