Unreliable cast!!

It's not just you!

I believe every filmmaker has this problem more than once when working on a project! I know I have! I've found you just have to get dedicated actors for your cast. Also when preparing your cast let the actors know way ahead of time so they can be ready to go when the time comes! Good luck!
 
Bitching about actors can be good to blow off steam but again it's not really beneficial to hate on them or find ways to control, manipluate or beat them. They are our most precious resource. The best way to overcome any and all problems with actors is to just give them what they want. Happy actors make for smooth filming!

Repeat this line in front of a mirror..

"Actors are not my enemies but my friends. Together we make entertainment, film art and professional community."
 
Sasa said:
Bitching about actors can be good to blow off steam but again it's not really beneficial to hate on them or find ways to control, manipluate or beat them. They are our most precious resource. The best way to overcome any and all problems with actors is to just give them what they want. Happy actors make for smooth filming!

Repeat this line in front of a mirror..

"Actors are not my enemies but my friends. Together we make entertainment, film art and professional community."
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Tell that to Francis Ford Coppola. Brando was ****ing crazy.
 
In our budget range, we don't get the cream of the crop. Even stunt coordinators and DPs can disrupt a production with their attitudes and bad attendance. I had a DP play hookie on the last shooting day on of my lead actresses was in NY and had to catch a flight that night.

After he showed a really bad attitude on a make up shooting day where the lead actress could not come back, that was his last shooting day.

I found a better DP who is much more of a team player.

There are a large number of actors who will be nothing more than hobbyists. Filter them out. Studio actors, graduate actors from top acting schools, and some union actors are a much better breed.

I had two actors disrupt my last film. The rest of the cast knew they held back the production and hurt their camera time on a tight shooting schedule. So, they were happy to see the trouble makers terminated.
 
AcespadexXx said:
Yeah very true ego gets in the way. Not sure if that's my problem here. like I said I live in gods waiting room (Naples Florida) just a bunch of old people waiting to die. so it is some slim pickins, but I can see where you guys are coming from.
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Sounds like it's time to start writing films with old people in them, yeah? I mean, if they're retired you know they've got a lot of time on their hands.

Not to mention that the absence of teenagers and twenty-somethings in your films will seriously up the production value.
 
In London we don't really have that problem. I just shot a short involving people and animals and even the animals turned up on time.

Bit embarassing when I turned up late to one of the shoots but otherwise, have had very few issues with main cast members. Extras are a pain in the butt to source because no-one wants to be an extra but I'm working on shorts without crowd scenes.

My girlfriend kicked my butt when we did a casting because there were so many pretty young actresses turning up that she thought I was on some kind of power trip. Especially when the really flirty ones started schmoozing up to the director (me).
 
Perhaps acting attracts a lazy and uncommitted types. Happens less once thy have a track record or “The Skin of Our Teeth” in production. Like a lot of rounds of casting to weed out some unreliable. Get them to “spend” effort beforehand.
 
I'm in that same boat but in time it has gotten better. Make quality work and impress your audience. Make it and they will come is not a myth. If you're known for making great shorts or features, people will be more apt to be involved. We're coming out with a new short this week and this cast has been the largest and easiest to enlist because they've seen the progression. Find people who share a common passion for entertainment because nothing is harder than having to motivate a group of actors/crew to work on your dream. Write shorts that call for as few actors as possible and learn tricks to keep your crew to a minimum. My team is composed of 2 people and we've dealt with these same dificulties. But alas we continue to create! I'm not tooting my own horn; I know we're far from pro, but we have come a long way since shooting on gopros and editing on iMovie. Haha. Here's a link to our channel if you're curious of our work YouTube.com/abhorrentfilms

Don't be discouraged. If you want something, don't let anything get in the way. Keep moving forward!
 
ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
Tell that to Francis Ford Coppola. Brando was ****ing crazy.
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Thankfully every actor was not as crazy as he was during that shoot...

gorillaonabike said:
In London we don't really have that problem. I just shot a short involving people and animals and even the animals turned up on time.

Bit embarassing when I turned up late to one of the shoots but otherwise, have had very few issues with main cast members. Extras are a pain in the butt to source because no-one wants to be an extra but I'm working on shorts without crowd scenes.

My girlfriend kicked my butt when we did a casting because there were so many pretty young actresses turning up that she thought I was on some kind of power trip. Especially when the really flirty ones started schmoozing up to the director (me).
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Funny!!!
 
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If you're casting friends and family, I think you can treat it like party invitations -- expect about 50% of the invites to show up.

I find that money helps people show up. I've had a 100% success rate with that. :)
 
My DP was the highest paid member of the crew and he played hookie.

My highest paid actress had tardy problems, until I pulled her aside to discuss her attendance.

You've been lucky.

A high school friend who was hired for stunts and acting for $300 a day was paid $3,000 in advance vanished after the first day, because she could not get along with another performer.

New hires have to be screened carefully.
 
Never pay in advance.
If someone (actor, dp, whatever) or the agent requires a financial assurance of payment, arrange to put the money in an escrow account, to be released after the work is done.
 
To clarify what a studio actor meant when the actor said we get hobbyists for our productions means what we get as the character and talent for help working for $100 a day is not on the same level of professionalism and integrity as talent that a studio or independent producer gets who pays anywhere from $1,000 to $1,000,000 a day. I guess from some comments, that was not obvious.
 
I feel your pain too, and am not able to find many actors. At least you got five, which is more than me right now!

As far as doing 10 shots, don't have that many shots unless a scene shoot absolutely needs it. I have a scene between 3 people I storyboarded and I only have three shots, one per person. I know it's kind of cheap but I am prepared for a short shoot day, since most location owners, want you in and out. So maybe for your case, the less shots, the better.
 
Work with who you have, to the original poster and build around them. As I said, look for graduates of top acting schools such as NYU School of Film and Television, The Actors' Studio, and HB Studios.

Back to false entitlement. I've shown some indie non-union actors demo reels of professional Hollywood actors and stunt players and they are so blind, they think they are as good as Hollywood actors and should be making their pay. Be careful of them. When they are that blind, they end up going nowhere and they are very likely to play hookie in your productions, thinking they are god's gift to the world. They don't understand they have to earn their way up the ladder.
 
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