USA – 2012 – 89 MIN – COLOUR - FEATURE - IN ENGLISH
A FILM BY TOM DONAHUE

FEATURING: MARTIN SCORSESE, WOODY ALLEN, CLINT EASTWOOD, GLENN CLOSE, ROBERT DUVALL, JEFF BRIDGES, AL PACINO, ROBERT DE NIRO, DIANE LANE, JON VOIGHT, BETTE MIDLER AND JOHN TRAVOLTA

Putting the spotlight on filmmaking’s unsung heroes – the casting director – CASTING BY takes us on a fast-paced journey through the last half century of Hollywood history from an entirely new perspective. Pioneers like Marion Dougherty and Lynn Stalmaster were iconoclasts whose exquisite taste and gut instincts helped to put the final nail in the coffin of the old studio system and usher in the New Hollywood. Afforded the unprecedented freedom and power of the new medium of television, they broke away from the traditional typecasting of Hollywood and brought actors like James Dean, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler, Robert Duvall, and Gene Hackman to the screen.

 

NNNN! "CASTING BY has a hidden agenda: it’s an activist documentary designed to lobby the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to consider an Oscar category for casting directors."
- NOW MAGAZINE

"Lovers of showbiz lore are sure to relish some of the juicy tales included here, like how Warren Beatty nearly botched his nascent screen career with a fake Brando accent and how Jon Voigt squeaked past Michael Sarazzin to win the part of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy."
- THE TORONTO STAR

"An elegy to a lost Hollywood era."
- THE GLOBE AND MAIL

"Changing the face of Hollywood, one index card at a time"
- THE NATIONAL POST

"...a humdinger of an afternoon matinee option!"
- EXCLAIM!

"...it makes you appreciate someone who, for several sad reasons, is in the shadow of the director, the editors, and the actors themselves. Casting By reads almost like a behind the scenes biography of someone who has clearly inspired and changed the lives of many — yet there are people who justify not including casting directors in the credits of their movie."
- TORONTO FILM SCENE

"It’s a solid doc that benefits greatly from the actors Dougherty helped make celebrities coming out to show their appreciation for her and her profession."
- DORK SHELF