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The Casting Agency/Casting Director Discrepancy |
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Written by SAA Team
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Tuesday, 11 April 2006 |
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The following article was submitted to the SAA by a Hong Kongnese, Canadian based Casting Director working on productions here in China:
I'd like to correct a term, commonly misused even by actors, explained in the article 'The difference between Casting Agents, Talent Agents and Managers.' Casting directors are not casting agents. An agent usually implies receipt of a commission; and we, the casting directors, are paid by the production company or the studio. For your information, the following is an excerpt taken from the Casting Society of America website. http://www.castingsociety.com/about/whowearent
Who We Aren't
Don't Call Us "Casting Agents."
Casting Directors are not "Casting Agents." In fact that term is altogether incorrect, although it is frequently used in the media. "Talent Agents" are licensed by the states in which they operate and their job is to procur employment for their clients. Most mainstream Talent Agents are also franchised by the Actors trade unions, and are paid a percentage of their clients earnings, typically 10%. Casting Directors are Studio or Production Company employees and their job is to find and hire talent -- in a sense, human resource departments for actors. Casting Directors are not paid a commission like Talent Agents are, nor are they licensed or franchised by SAG, AFTRA or Actors Equity.
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