DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
CASTING BY
August 5, 2013  | By David Bianculli

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

What a fine, fun documentary! Based on Marion Doughtery’s story as one of the Hollywood casting directors who established her craft as a credit-worthy profession, Casting By also includes the stories and reflections of other casting directors, including Lynn Stalmaster and Juliet Taylor, to paint of picture of this backstage art. It’s nice to hear from so many stars, from Al Pacino to Jon Voight, still grateful for the casting directors who championed them from the beginning – and to see those stars, too, in super-early roles. Christopher Walken on Naked City! Warren Beatty, at age 22, trying to channel Marlon Brando. Dougherty started in casting on TV’s seminal Golden Age drama anthology, Kraft Television Theatre, and cast the actors in more than 500 shows without ever receiving an on-air credit herself. Her first movie was The World of Henry Orient, and she also cast Midnight Cowboy, TV’s All in the Family and a masterpiece of movie casting, The Sting. The casting-agent narrative makes this a solid documentary. The wealth of clips makes it a delightful one.

 
 
 
 
 
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