![Central Casting Los Angeles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Central_Casting_Los_Angeles.jpg)
Central Casting is an American
casting
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...
company with offices in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
that specializes in the casting of
extras,
body double
In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
s, and
stand-in
A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup.
Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production.
Stand-ins a ...
s.
In popular usage the term "central casting" has come to denote an unspecified source of
stereotypical
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
types for film or television, as in a character being "straight out of central casting".
History
Los Angeles
When the entertainment industry started to take off in the early 1920s, thousands of people flocked to Hollywood with hopes of becoming the next big star. These hopefuls were called "
extras" because they were the extra people who filled out scenes. The main way to find work at this time was to wait outside the gates of studios, hoping to be hired on the spot. With little regulation on hiring film extras, many people were exploited while looking for work.
In an effort to fix the employment issues and exploitation that plagued the industry,
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays Sr. (; November 5, 1879 – March 7, 1954) was an American Republican politician.
As chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1918–1921, Hays managed the successful 1920 presidential campaign of Warren G. Ha ...
commissioned several studies of the employment conditions in Hollywood, including one from
Mary van Kleeck
Mary Abby van Kleeck (June 26, 1883June 8, 1972) was an American social scientist of the 20th century. She was a notable figure in the American labor movement as well as a proponent of scientific management and a planned economy.
An American of ...
, a prominent sociologist with the
Russell Sage Foundation
The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rail ...
. After reviewing the results of the studies, Hays adopted a suggestion of van Kleeck's and created the Central Casting Corporation in 1925 as a way to regulate the hiring of extras in Hollywood. Central Casting was formally established on December 4, 1925 as the Central Casting Bureau by Hays and the
Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
(MPPDA).
Hays had four main goals for Central Casting: to do away with the high fees extras were charged by private employment agencies, to ensure extras were paid legally, to discourage the influx of people flocking to Hollywood to seek employment as extras, and to provide steady employment to qualified extras.
To carry out his vision, Hays hired Fred Beetson as president and on January 25, 1926, Central Casting officially opened its office in the
Hollywood & Western Building in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
.
For the estimated 30,000 aspiring extras in Hollywood, Central Casting became the only source of extra work. In the first six months of operation, the agency registered more than 18,000 extras and made 113,873 placements. Many Hollywood legends started their careers with Central Casting, including
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
,
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
, and
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
.
In 1944, the agency introduced a second phone line, GArfield 3621 for men and GArfield 3711 for women.
Though registration decreased due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the switchboard often received up to 4,000 calls an hour from extras looking for work.
In 1976, the Motion Picture Association of America (the former MPPDA) sold Central Casting to Production Payment, Inc., a subsidiary of Talent & Residuals, making the agency privately owned for the first time.
When the agency’s parent company International Digitronics Corporation merged with Draney Information Services Corporation in 1991, Central Casting merged with Richmar Casting to become part of the newly formed Entertainment Partners. During this process, Central Casting overhauled their digital casting system, making it easier for casting directors to search through their 15,000 registered extras. Around this time, extras begin to refer to themselves as background actors.
New York
In April 2006, Central Casting New York opened in Manhattan, the first Central Casting office to open outside of Los Angeles. Some early projects cast by the New York office included ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'', ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'', and ''
Spider-Man 3
''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in Raimi's ...
.''
In April 2018, the office moved to its new location on the 10th floor of 5
Pennsylvania Plaza
Pennsylvania Plaza (Penn Plaza) is the office, entertainment, and hotel complex occupying and near the site of Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by 31st Street to the south, Eighth Avenue to the west, 34th ...
.
Louisiana
After casting thousands of background actors for ''
Jurassic World
''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...
'', Central Casting Louisiana opened an office in
Benson Tower in New Orleans on September 23, 2014.
The office's first television casting project was ''
The Astronauts Wives Club.''
Georgia
In 2016, Central Casting Georgia opened in Atlanta after the on-location background casting for ''
American Made''.
References
External links
* {{Official website
Celebrity Alumni
__FORCETOC__
Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
Film organizations in the United States
1925 establishments in California
Business services companies established in 1925
Casting companies