female confused about how women are treated by casting directors

The following is a letter written by one of my fellow cohorts who also worked on "Boardwalk Empire". The letter depicts the unfair treatment by casting and discrimination against Women in their late thirties working in this business:


A certain casting agency hired me for the new Martin Scorsesse project "Boardwalk Empire" for 3 days. They fitted me in a period costume, wanted my hair to be all one color,I had to be shorter than 5'5, and of white/European decent. They paid me SAG wages for the fitting, and I was under the impression I would be paid SAG wages for the days I was asked to work.

They then proceeded to pay me non-union for the day of work, and this was a long day (16 hours) and was a 500 dollar difference (bt. the Union & non-union actors). I complained to SAG, and they told me casting could do whatever they wanted, and that they had made a mistake and only kids would be waivered.

I thought that was ironic since I have a 5 year old, and am a single parent and need to pay a babysitter 10 dollars per hour when I work. This particular project centers around women in the work place, and women getting a respectable salary. I do not believe this is Martin Scorsese's fault, nor do I believe this is the production company's fault. But is the second time this casting agency has hired me for a particular look (white/European, short, all one hair color, 30's), given me SAG wages for the fitting and then not paid me SAG wages for a day of work.

Some of these casting directors seem to have lawless business practices. They seem to be prejudice against white women in their 30's. Certain people in the film industry have told me that white women in their 30's don't get waivers! Only pretty, young girls in their 20's.
I am an attractive reasonably young woman and would like to know what percentage of white women in their 30's are actually working on a daily basis on film and television projects in New York City like I do.

I am a member of Aftra. I understand that SAG does not have an open door policy like AFTRA does. I do not understand how women can continue to be discriminated against.
If anyone has any insight or complaints about casting agencies; or the random way waivers are given out please respond.

Julia S.East Village, New York City

Please feel free to comment in your support.

Back to One!

The Baster - New Jennifer Aniston comedy!

(from April 10,2009)

Thinking that I would have no work this past week as it was Passover and Easter, I really didn't expect to get any work. Lo and behold, things always happen when you don't expect it. Sure enough this was true this past week as I was booked on the new Jennifer Aniston move "The Baster" co-starring Jason Bateman.


The movie “The Baster" is a comedy with co-star Jason Bateman. Which is about you guessed it...one thousand ways to use a turkey baster! You can either baste a turkey or "baste" yourself!Thus a new movie synopsis is born!

It’s basically about an unmarried 40-year-old woman turns to a turkey baster in order to become pregnant. Seven years later, she reunites with her best friend, who has been living with a secret: he (Jason Bateman) replaced her preferred sperm sample with his own!

Shocking! As if this concept has never been done before on a Soap Opera. Still I have to admit, it's a cute premise with comedy potential. On to the night....

The night consisted of mostly line, lines, and more lines. The night started in a line to get checked in and to get the pay voucher. Then you have to get into another line to get checked by wardrobe. Then you wait…and you wait and wait some more in a holding are until a some PA comes in the room with a bullhorn and tells you have 5 minutes to get ready for lunch!

Mind you before we got summoned to Lunch, we totally rationed and hunted out for any drivel of crumbs, food, and chips we could find. I was not going to let myself starve on this movie as we did on the Angelina Movie, "SALT", with a walk-a-way lunch!

So instantly when we saw the food table stationed down the block of the Roosevelt hotel, we started "pilfering" as much food as we could. With the past experience and knowledge of working on a big budget film and getting NO food, any sight of food meant.. "Take NOW! ...Pilfer. PILFer.. PILFER!" Oy Vey. All of a sudden I am feeling mighty Jewish! LOL.

Being the fact the it was Easter /Passover week, I think we made the Lord proud of the food we did manage to take and distribute amongst our brethren background brothers.

Of course we started stuffing our faced with rolls, meats, cheeses, Oreo cookie packs and then we find out that JEN..OH Glorious Jen was to feed us non-union folk as good if not as well as the Sag-folk. Just to get fed was a huge "Hallelujah" and rejoice across the non-sag tables. If felt like the part in the "The Commandments' where Moses takes his staff and parts the sea apart so all the (non-union) slaves can get through to where there will be food and new dwellings.


The best line of all! That is of course if there is a good buffet lunch provided for both the Sag and non-Sag players. Luckily on this movie, we did have a decent catering service provide for all 300 extras! The food was really good and some of us were just SO happy in glee and thanked JEN, our "Moses" for the night! Thank-you Jen!

The worst line has got to be the “Sign-out” at the end of the night line. This line can be brutal as people get demanding and bitchy and an entire state of panic and anger ensues. What’s amazing about this line is that after being on a set for over 14 hours and it ‘s 6am in the morning and the director still wants all the extras to act fresh and active, people are ready to drop.

Though as soon “It’s a wrap” is called, a big mad mass of people regain their energy and will race, run, scream, push, trip and fight to get into that line to get checked out! It’s a swarm of insanity and tired reckless people with the same objective “GET IN THE LINE; SIGN OUT TO GET HOME AND CRASH!”

This is what happened on a set of this nature where you have at least 300 background extras. Why I am still doing this is simply because I need the money. Though I have to admit that the madness of it intrigues me. It’s like once you get through the lines, you have accomplished something great! Strange, but true.

Just like on the Jennifer Aniston movie, we were trapped in Grand Central subway shuttle train where they shot the scene. Clearly I was not in the scene. And not visible, though when I asked if I could leave the set to use the bathroom, it was a big NO!

So it was being trapped there all night ling until they wrapped. It was 14 hours of this craziness. Walking in and out of the subway train doors, over and over again, a thousand times.

Will I do it again. Of course. My favorite part is how people complain how horrible it is, yet they ALL come back…."Back to one!"



CA ;)

SALT- Angelina Jolie Feature Film ( 3-16-09)

Just when I thought I didn't get enough of "SALT" on Saturday, I got booked for Monday as well. The thing is that Central Casting was SO adamant in their posting that IF you worked on SALT at ALL on Saturday, YOU CAN NOT WORK IT DURING THE WEEK!!!! Well I guess things change, or they have NO idea what they are doing.

So I took the booking and had to cancel something else last minute just to do this. The call time wasn't bad which was announced on the voice messaging center as 7:15 am for my group. The other difference was that this time we were indoors and the entire day was taking place inside of the St. Bartholomew's church on 51st and Park.

Being inside plus you get to sit down, sounds like a treat; but not so much. We had to enter that church quietly and maintain the "Church mice" feel without a peep or we would be thrown out! So we got our positions and sat down in the pews.

The first 5 rows were filled with the dignitaries, military, and of course SAG people. The rest of us, Non-Saggers filled up the edge of the rows at the end or beginning of the rows, and the rest of the pews were filled sitting beside dummies! These Dummies got better treatment than we did!

I'm not even kidding! While I was sitting there, one of the hair and makeup people come by and walk by my row, and looks down the row examining. Then she leans over and I thought she was going to fix my "frizzy" hair. Instead she totally ignores me like I'm not even there and she fixes the Dummies hair and also give it a puff! I'm like "Wow, these must be SAG- dummies!

This dummy that I was sitting beside, was really life-like. Maybe I was hallucinating from lack of sleep, but I could swear that dummy touched me! Those dummies were creepy beyond belief. It was very "Twilight Zone". My friend Laurie was so tired that she even started making out with one of the dummies!

So while I am sitting there bored out of my mind, for hours on end you start talking to the dummy and I spent the rest of my time reading "Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth. In fact I could have read "War and Peace" and finished that novel from front to cover with how many hours we were trapped in there.

After hours of our butts aching from sitting in those church pews for hours, they advanced to the next scene which involved a choir. Let me tell you, this was the absolute best part of the entire day. The actual instruments were on playback, but the vocals were all live, and it was magical.

The song that this choir sang filled up every inch and crevice in that church and every sound was immaculate and Angelic. It made you feel sad, yet at peace. It was probably a version of some Requiem or "Mass of the dead". All sung in Latin, of course, gave you shivers up and down your spine.

It's amazing music can uplift a person. People who were nodding off and falling asleep, people who were counting the minutes to when we would wrap. Even that Woman that was making out with the dummy, halted.

All of a sudden were captured by the sweet "Arias" and dimension of sound that drew us in and woke up our senses. Everyone was touched by this. Some were so encapsulated by this and overwhelmed, that their eyes were welling up with tears and they had to leave the room. AH..the power of music.

Of course once the music ended, the background assumed their rightful positions which was of sleeping....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Back to one!

A.