Actress Speaks Up Against Absurd Hollywood Casting Conventions
Posted on March 27, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Cheers to the understandably anonymous “Miss L,” an actress in Hollywood, for her Tumblr posting real-life casting information that shows how limited and misogynistic Hollywood casting is. Casting Call Woe shows actual casting call notices, most of which require actresses to be hot (no matter what the character). Here’s an example: “We need women comfortable dressing in revealing clothes, for the scenery.” And “She might not be the most beautiful woman in the room, like only a 7 on the typical hotness scale.”
A touch of almost Beckett-ian irony in this one: “Single mom desperate to pay her bills. Salary: no pay.”
And these: “Her scene will include being screamed at by a clown and being gagged briefly.” “Involves some leather clothing to attract YouTube fans.”
Of course it is fair to expect that performers will be attractive. But Miss L is absolutely right to call out these demeaning casting notices and I hope the existence of this Tumblr will mean there will be fewer of them.
People go to movies for various reasons, action, drama, humor, violence, you name it. It’s reasonable to expect that some go to movies for a little vicarious sex, hence the prevalence of attractive women in little or no clothing. Movies are expensive to make, and the bottom line is profit. Often the producers are simply trying to appeal to as many demographic groups as possible. It would seem that the best way to rise above this sort of thing, if one is an actress, is to first be incredibly good at the craft and then be very selective about which movies one chooses to appear in since the industry is unlikely to change its tactics.