Episode 56: Booking Blockbusters
Welcome to the Vermilion podcast, a free audio library of business strategies,
creative inspiration and industry knowledge for actors, filmmakers, writers and anyone
looking to activate their creative potential. I'm Misha Calvert, a writer -director who
helps artists build the careers that they dream of. I really hope that this podcast
inspires you in some way. Thanks for tuning in.
This week we are going to cover a really cool topic, booking blockbusters. I just
taught a class on this in New York with casting director Brindette McBryn. Brindette
has done some huge shows, Mr. Mrs. Smith, What We Do in the Shadows,
Hustlers, transformers. I can't even think of all the things that she's done. A lot
of Apple TV shows. She's just starting a new Apple TV show on the casting team.
So working with her really solidified a lot of the things that were kind of my
sense of booking blockbusters and and just what I've seen over the years you know
working with actors that that have booked big -budget film and television. So I'm
gonna cover some things that hopefully will prepare you to book blockbusters yourself.
Have you heard the phrase that an audition begins when you walk in the room?
Well, if you are wanting to book blockbusters, the audition actually begins now.
It begins when you decide to become the kind of artist that really takes
responsibility for the entire process and can hold other people as a leader.
This is going to increase your confidence and this is going to make you have a
bigger gravitational pull on camera because blockbusters require a lot of confidence,
even if you're a smaller part, and they also require you to really hold more
people, to hold more responsibility, more power. Even if it's a small role in a
blockbuster, you're going to have fans. So you wanna make sure that you are kind of
conducting yourself in a way in life that merits that kind of public service,
really, with the trade -off of being a movie star and having a fan base of millions
of people is that you have a fan base of millions of people. So you really want
to become the kind of person that is worthy of that mantle. They're the most
coveted roles in the entertainment industry, you know, maybe you're watching this and
you're like, "Well, I don't want to do blockbusters. I just want to do indie."
Look, nothing wrong with that. I'm an indie filmmaker. But the fact is that most
people want those bigger budget roles.
And if you're not already there, you're probably not gonna get there by doing more
of what you're already doing and just drilling down more and more and more.
You're gonna need to do new things and to do them essentially in a different way
than you have been. Traits of a blockbuster actor.
Here's what I think of when I think of a blockbuster actor. I think of
authenticity, maturity,
confidence, responsibility, leadership, and visibility. And those aren't traits that
every actor portrays. But this brings me into star power and what does star power
actually mean? I wanna talk for a second about being an actor versus being a star.
Ask yourself, do you want to be an actor or do you wanna be a star? And some
people are gonna say actor, some people are gonna say star, some people are gonna
say both. So everyone's different, but actors are tasked with being believable under
imaginary circumstances. So that is the role of an actor. Movie stars are tasked
with being believable under imaginary circumstances, carrying a film on screen,
leadership on set and in public, and life in the public eye.
So it's a very different set of job responsibilities for being a movie star versus
just being an actor. This is the contract that you make with the public. In
exchange for fame and notoriety and box office, I will do all those things I just
listed.
In many ways, it's easier and more fun to be just an actor versus being a star.
And a big part of being a movie star is the willingness to take on the
responsibility of those added tasks. Now,
not everyone in a blockbuster is a star, obviously. There's all sorts of smaller
roles. I mean, think of Spider -Man and how many extras were used in that, right?
But the thing about blockbusters is because of the size and mythic proportions of
the storytelling a lot of the time, you have your lead roles and then You have a
bunch of smaller roles. Those smaller roles are typically gonna be archetypes. They're
there to tell more basic storytelling. So in an indie movie,
something like Uncut Gems, do you remember all the people on the street? They're so
kind of weird in New Yorkers and very idiosyncratic and individualized
versus People in you know like disaster movies or superhero movies.
There's more archetype involved. So it's like scared crowd or angry mob or a bunch
of gangsters or
Greedy politicians and even if they have speaking lines You'll see a lot of times
that the smaller roles fall into these tropes and these archetypes Because It's just
a different style of storytelling. It's more like mythic, you know, almost even
campfire storytelling versus indie films, which is a bit more nuanced and sometimes
more gritty, right? So think about this when you are doing those smaller parts,
those little one line, two lines for blockbusters, you're there to serve that more
archetypal storytelling most of the time, and that's okay. This isn't the time to
get all Philip Seymour Hoffman about it This is the time to just go in and be a
friggin gangster, right? Say you shouldn't get out or whatever the archetype is.
Oh my god a tidal wave. No, like that's fine You don't need to overthink It's
really not that deep This is a mistake that I see people making where they'll come
in for a couple of lines And they'll really eat up the scenery with it and try
and make it just a different size of role than it really is. That doesn't mean
don't have fun with it and don't be specific about it but understand what purpose
is this role serving in the in the bigger script. If you do want to be a star
and you're like um tired of these like small movies I want to be a lead role in
a bigger movie
and you feel that you're ready to ascend to that level of stardom. Think about the
role that the stars play in the sky. So the stars in the sky take a diplomatic
view of everything happening down on Earth. They are not getting so concerned with
the problems of mere mortals. They're just up there to be beautiful and to dazzle
and inspire and let their light be seen by everyone,
unapologetically, to light up the sky and be seen. They don't hide,
they're not afraid to be bright, and even if a cloud gets in the way, the stars
are doing the exact same thing. They're like, okay, it's a cloud, the cloud's gonna
pass. Maybe most importantly of all they see the big picture So this is how to be
a Star and this is how to prepare to be a star Don't get caught up in the
pettiness That is not star behavior be diplomatic be graceful see different sides of
things and Above all be visible Be visible don't be afraid to be seen stars got to
shine and I think You really notice this in people who have gone from initially
being an actor to then rising and being a star They are not afraid to be really
seen like like they allow the camera to really absorb them and absorb their thoughts
versus other actors who are more just actors, in my opinion, they have to do more
or they feel that they have to do more. They're more muscular about their approach
to craft and they're more like getting in there and really making every moment count
and really working versus stars who are Shining
Confident that the camera's gonna see It's just an interesting thing to think about
There is a scene that I played in the class with Catherine Keener and Daniel
Calugia from Get Out and it's a scene where she's hypnotizing him they're both very
fine actors, but he's a star and
she's so subtle and so nuanced and so smart about how she's you know going about
the whole scene but he you cannot take your eyes off him and with his big
beautiful eyes you're just like falling into his heart and his mind and it's that
gravity and that presence that Daniel Kalia has that that makes him a star and you
will see it in other stars as well. So in conclusion, if you want a shortcut to
star energy in one of your auditions, think of a moment or a time in your life
when you have been at your peak leadership or your peak confidence and it could be
like when you're I don't know teaching a kindergarten class or a summer camp or
camp, or maybe your whole family really looks up to you, or I don't know. Bring
that into your body and bring the memory in and embody that, and remember what it
was like to have everyone looking up to you and looking to you for guidance. That
is going to be the energy that you should start your audition with. And it will
make a difference becoming a star and Booking blockbusters,
even if you're in one of the smaller roles. It's part mindset, confidence,
right? And it's part experience, the confidence that comes from experience.
So continue to put yourself in non -film TV environments.
Get out into the world. Get that context that we were speaking about, like the
stars in the sky looking down. Do hard things. Do hard things.
See how people live and that experience is going to give you more confidence to be
able to arrive on set and be like, "I actually understand all of you. I understand.
I understand you're upset. I understand what you're going through. I can see more."
Booking blockbusters is about seeing more so that you can be seen more.
'Cause if you can see more when you're on set and when you're analyzing your script
and breaking it down and doing the scene with people, like, oh my gosh, so many
times I'm directing actors and I'll point out something really obvious to them about
a relationship dynamic or a plot point in the script. And they're like, oh wow, I
didn't see that before. Because you're only looking this far.
If you want to book bigger roles, you have to look at the whole thing, not just
what your character's part is, but what all the character's roles are playing 'cause
you want to take responsibility for the whole movie in your own way.
Yes, it's more work. That's the point. More work, more money, more fans,
more fame, more responsibility. It all goes together.
For now, I will leave you with the idea that if you want to book bigger budgets,
become the biggest version of yourself. I've really enjoyed this. I want to book
blockbusters as a director, so that's where I'm headed. And I have a lot to think
about after this episode. So thanks for joining me here in the studio. It's been
really, really, really fun to talk about this and I'll see you next week. Thank you
guys so much.
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