Why Oscar Will Go for the Underdog This Year
February, 22, 2011 12:34 pm | On #Awards, blogs, Heidi Levitt, oscars, underdogsThe air is thick with anticipation.
The campaigns for the Oscars are coming to a close and Twitter is a flutter with news of who's ahead minute to minute.
It is interesting that the two films most talked about for Best Picture, "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network" are representative of old and new, classic and irreverent.
The quiet yet strong speech-impaired King George and the socially awkward, but confidant Mark Zuckerberg are both anti-heroes who conquer and triumph.
Perhaps, we need to take this cue as a call to the underdog.
In fact, the indie films "Winter's Bone," " Blue Valentine" "the King's Speech" and "The Kids Are All Right" are underdogs themselves as they were developed and produced outside the studio system.
The lesson in all...
Read MoreOscars Encourage Actors to Dream Big
March, 03, 2010 3:57 pm | On #Heidi LevittThe race is on to Sunday, March 7.
As we get ready for the Academy Awards, the nominated are feeling on top of the world. Everyone is still a winner and the recognition is extraordinary.
Every actor started his or her journey with a wish to perform, to give voice and spirit to an extraordinary character.
As Meryl Streep so beautifully stated at the Golden Globes, it was not that she herself is extraordinary (who are you kidding, Meryl?) but, more important, that she's the vessel for extraordinary characters.
To be an extraordinary actor, it takes talent, tenacity and a little bit of magic.
In an ever-changing world overflowing with news and the paranormal updates of Twitter and Facebook, actors need to harness their talents and stay...
Read MoreFrom Big Screen to iPad, Filmmakers Must Adapt
February, 05, 2010 10:18 am | On #iPad, Jude Law, Netflix, RageLast week, my husband giggled with electric delight as he installed a 46-inch flat screen TV and sound system equipped with a sub-woofer. He declared that our family room was now our home theater and went straight to the computer to start ordering up the Netflix.
I am thinking to myself, ‘Who cares? I don't actually want a home theater. I want to go to the movies, the theater, the Wiltern … Why don't we build a proscenium stage in the living room and have the children put on plays?
Well, the point is, storytelling has moved from the family hearth to the page to the “screen,” and that screen takes every rectangular shape and size possible. I should know -- I just created an iPhone app for actors.
Storytelling and watching can take place anywhere and everywhere. So actors take note: Any screen is a good screen and...
Read MoreCasting Must Take Advantage of Technology
January, 25, 2010 12:37 pm | On #casting, Heidi LevittHere's the craziest thing about casting.
It's not that I've met so many incredible actors at the very beginning of their careers and been able to see how much they have grown professionally. It's not that actors simply don't remember to staple their headshots to their resumes. And it's certainly not that actors don't look anything like their photos.
It’s that actors don’t get that they need to be their own advocates.
The craziest thing about casting is how many amazingly talented people there are in this town who are still not working. Still not breaking through. Still not getting that all-important second look. And I have met many of them.
If they stick with it and use every available resource, then they can succeed
This is where technology comes into play. There are opportunities everywhere to be in web series that debut online....
Read MoreDescription
Heidi Levitt is a casting director whose credits include "Natural Born Killers," "The Joy Luck Club" and "Lakeview Terrace." At the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, she cast Mark Ruffalo’s directing debut, "Sympathy for Delicious" and Rodrigo Garcia’s "Mother and Child." She is the developer of an iPhone App called Actor Genie.
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