January 6, 2013

CELEBRITY CASTING DIRECTOR | PRODUCER - This week our guest is Valerie McCaffrey. Valerie has held the titles of Casting Executive at Universal Studios and Vice President of Feature Film Casting for New Line | Fine Line Films. She has cast over 80 films and has overseen several hundreds in her studio career. Some films she cast include: "Babe" earning James Cromwell an Oscar Nomination. She also cast Edward Norton and Eddie Furlong in New Line Cinema’s "American History X" earning Edward Norton an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and the critically acclaimed film "Hard Candy" which put Ellen Page in her first American film. Recently, Valerie produced a film called "Lost And Found In Armenia" with Jamie Kennedy and Angela Sarafyan; an award-winning cancer documentary “Tumor, It’s in the System” in which she co-directed and co-produced; as well as producing an award-winning film directed entitled "Neo Ned" starring Jeremy Renner and Gabrielle Union. She continues to cast scores of films and is also producing many films. Her current film is "Pure Life" starring Vera Farmiga and Elle Fanning which is in the process of shooting in Los Angeles. Valerie has an upcoming film called "TAD"about Abraham Lincoln's younger son who had a learning disability. INTERVIEW QUESTIONS INCLUDE: What are some of the common misconceptions actors have about casting directors or auditions in general? How can an actor get an audition with a top casting director if they don't have agent representation? When a casting director asks “what have you been up to lately” and I haven't booked anything in awhile, what do you say? WEBSITE: imdb.com