Alfred Hitchcock said that “Seventy-five percent of directing is casting.” Hester Schell tells us why. We also discuss why there aren’t more blockbuster tragedy movies, how to get rejected by a film festival jury, and a creative writing project involving a tunnel!
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From her website:
Hester Schell is the author of “Casting Revealed: A Guide for Independent Filmmakers and Directors“, due in January 2011 from Michael Wiese Productions. She has taught film-acting at De Anza College, Notre Dame de Namur University, SF School of Digital Filmmaking and Film Arts Foundation. She is the creator of The Directors’ Retreat: Working with Actors, a weekend intensive for directors. Speaking engagements include Indie-Club, the Connecticut Screen Writers Association and the San Francisco Black Film Festival.
She will be directing a feature-length film based on an award-winning script, later this year in Massachusetts. The recent plays and screenplays she authored include: Colony Collapse, The Dark Room, Soul’s Messenger, and A Cup Of Coffee, written for the New England Russian Theatre Festival.
She has recently directed: Provincetown Playwrights Festival, New England Russian Theatre Festival. Shorts: Ju$T Under A Million (narrative comedy), which premiered at the Beverly Hills High Definition Film Festival and airing on cable in Austin, Dallas and Atlanta on the Hottv channel.; Blankets for Afghanistan (documentary) broadcast through Free Speech TV. Other film festivals include: Cannes, Cinequest, San Francisco International Film Festival, Rochester and Boston Film Festivals and others.
What a help and inspiration, Hester has pulled all her life experiences together and come up with this! Thank you for sharing your wisdom, your insights.
Thank you for this, which pulls together your life experiences, and passes your insights on to the rest of us. This is a gift. Thanks.
Great to hear a director talking about directing. How to interact with actors in a professional way. Civil, ethical and right action in a profession seen mostly from tabloids that are only about gossip. What a joy hearing Hester Schell guide all of us to see film making, theater and casting revealed as art in a professional way. Thanks