I am an aspiring writer/director who works for a major studio in LA – nothing too exciting, just an entry level position. But, the job allows me to run into people who might be able to help me along the way.

Just tonight, I struck up a conversation with a woman who just so happens to represent the writer of the TV show at which I was working. I said that I was a writer. She then handed me her card and said that she’d like to read my scripts. I can imagine that she probably hands out her card to many aspiring actors, but I figure since she did tell me to send her myself, I might as well. How should I go about that? What should I include in the letter that I attach to the script?

--Ryan

That sound you hear is the collective gasp of one thousand readers wishing they had your luck.

Pick your best script, the one that everyone likes. Write a short letter that says basically, “I really enjoyed meeting you yesterday at WHATEVER SHOW. I promised I’d send you my script, and I’m a man of my word. Attached is TITLE OF MY SCRIPT, a GENRE set in LOCATION that a lot of people seem to like. Here’s hoping you do, too.” And be sure to include your phone number or e-mail, both on the letter and the script (in case she loses the letter).

Hurry, man! Run! Don’t waste a day and risk her forgetting who you are.

Should directors have more or less influence in casting actors during preproduction?

--Edgar

I am surprised at this question because I thought it was common knowledge that the director’s active involvement in the casting process is not only expected, but crucial. In general terms, the director is the person who is expected to not only understand every aspect of the film both creatively and technically, but also is the person most singularly responsible for whether or not the film ultimately works. Given that, she/he must be actively involved in all the aspects that contribute to the final product, especially those which may be deemed of a “creative decision” nature.

Casting is a very creative process and placing the appropriate actors in the roles can make or break your movie. With a studio movie to which the company is signatory to the Directors Guild, a casting session would never take place without the presence of the director. (There are many very important Creative Rights protected under the DGA.) Producers and executives often invite themselves in, but the director is really the point person and the one to whom everyone should turn when an auditioning actor walks out of the room. The director is the person who is responsible for choosing the actors that are right, for choosing the ones who “fit together”, and ultimately for getting the performance from them.

You may be asking this question because of late, with the evolution of the independents, many projects come with actors already attached because of financing or because of some affiliation with the writer/production company, etc. If that be so, then you must decide whether not only the script and subject matter is right for you, but also if you feel you can make it work with that actor. At that point it is something of a package and the casting of a lead actor is a moot point. For example, Tom Arnold wrote my last movie, which was an independent, (The Kid and I) and he wrote the lead role for himself. After that, however, the casting director and I interviewed actors for the rest of the roles. Luckily we were able to get such names as Linda Hamilton, Joe Mantegna, Henry Winkler and Shannon Elizabeth. Some of the larger name actors are often hired without a meeting or reading, but when they are signing up for a “labor of love” and they have such wonderful bodies of work, they certainly should be hired sight unseen.

In Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas there are a bunch of scenes, like in the hotel room, where there are wide shots with a lot of variation in the lighting. A spot here will be dark, and somewhere else will be light, and often different shades of color. How do you light a large area with this kind of look? Are the lights all hung above the frame?

-Austin

Yes and No. If it is a set then of course the ceiling will not be there (unless it is in frame), so you have the opportunity to hang lights above the frame. Sometimes you can cheat by putting the lights in the shot and then removing them afterwards in CGI, but this costs a lot.

An important part of preparing for a shoot is to work with the designer is putting beams, wall returns and furniture for you to hide lights behind. There is the window too. Sometimes what appears to be a different color of light is in the art direction: and shade is created by a lack of light, but also by darker colors.

Fear and Loathing has a very stylized “look”, so you can be a lot more non-naturalistic with the lighting in those types of films. You can generally see lighting that is hung above by looking at the shadows cast on the actors as they move about the room: also if smoke or “atmos” is used, top lighting is not really possible without the beams showing up in the atmos.

John August's screenwriting credits include Go, Big Fish, Titan A.E. and both Charlie's Angels movies. His current projects include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tarzan, and Corpse Bride. He also maintains a screenwriting-oriented website at johnaugust.com.

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, John earned a degree in journalism from Drake University in Iowa, and an MFA in film production from the Peter Stark program at the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles.

Got a question about screenwriting? Send it to Ask a Writer.

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If you are considering working in the movie industry, Oliver Stapleton has written a brief guide available at www.cineman.co.uk.

Got a question about cinematography? Send it to Ask a Cinematographer.