Casting By (2012)

Director: Tom Donahue

Composer:Leigh Roberts

Starring: Marion Dougherty, Lynn Stalmaster, Woody Allen, Edward Asner, Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich, Jeff Bridges, Glenn Close, Ronny Cox, Mel Gibson, Robert De Niro, Richard Donner, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, etc., etc., etc.

More info: IMDb

Plot: The surprising, never-before-told tale of the indispensable yet unsung Casting Director - Iconoclasts whose keen eye, exquisite taste and gut instincts redefined Hollywood.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I've got to start by saying how much of a dick Taylor Hackford is.  I realize I probably just shot myself in the foot and made sure that I'll never work in Hollywood again but after watching this, let's face, this guy's an asshole. Did you know that there is no Academy Award category for casting which is the only title card role to not have a category?  Hackford loves that and his belittling of that job is obscene as it is stupid.  After sitting through this excellent 89 minute documentary you come away with an awful lot.  Marion Dougherty is a truly amazing woman.  A casting director can make or break a film. A good CD can make a director's job much easier and audiences more grateful (although they might not realize it.  Oh, and Taylor Hackford is an asshat.  This picture mainly profiles Dougherty but other CDs are interviewed as well as a Brinks truckload of great actors who got their start in pictures because of her and her uncanny ability to see something in actors what others might not and she stood by her decisions.  A lot of those people are in this picture to give testament and thanks for her role in their careers.  Make sure you stay through the credits.  Burt Young brought me to tears.  It's currently streaming on Netflix.