October 2023 | CASTING STORIES | THE ZINE

THE SPOOKY ISSUE

Casting Stories

TALK TO NIKKI! Nikki Barrett chats with Tiffany Little Canfield about “Talk To Me”

10 QUESTIONS WITH LIN SHAYE Learn more about the “Godmother of Horror”

TERRI TAYLOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CASTING STORIES EVERY ISSUE

IN THIS ISSUE

EDITORS' NOTE

3

CSA IN THE NEWS

4

10 QUESTIONS WITH: LIN SHAYE

6

7

TERRI TAYLOR | MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ONE ON ONE WITH NIKKI BARRETT TRICK OR TREAT

Lin Shaye

2

14 16

Eric Souliere Contributor, Member Spotlight

Editor's Note ☆ The team here at the Zine are so excited to share with you all our spookiest issue yet! “Florals? For Spring? can only mean ☆ “Horror! For October!” Sorry Miranda Priestly! We are very proud of our “groundbreaking” Casting Directors and ☆ Associates work on the the scariest films and series that have ☆ us all hiding under the covers.

Hello Casting friends,

We start off with our cover girl and an incredible in-depth convo with the Queen of Scream, Terri Taylor. Terri’s story of working through the ranks in Casting to running the formidable Casting for Blumhouse is worth its weight in gold!

☆

We have a Q & A with Lin Shaye (hey that rhymed) and it’s as fun and sassy as the lass herself. Lots of your votes for favorite Horror genre films and much much more!

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Thanks for taking a look and as always stay safe and DON’T LOOK UNDER THE BED!

Tiffany Little Canfield & Felicia Fasano co-VPs of COMMUNICATIONS

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☆

FELICIA FASANO Editor-in-Chief VP OF COMMUNICATIONS TIFFANY LITTLE CANFIELD Editor-in-Chief VP OF COMMUNICATIONS DESTINY LILLY PRESIDENT OF CASTING SOCIETY ERIC SOULIERE Contributor, Member Spotlight CASTING SOCIETY MEMBER PORTIA BLACK CASTING SOCIETY ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR ISABEL WYNNE CASTING SOCIETY ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR

LAURA ADLER CASTING SOCIETY ADMINISTRATOR

CASTING SOCIETY

in the news...

CASTING NETWORKS Casting Director Cami Patton on Bringing the PostApocalyptic World of ‘Silo’ to Life Casting Director Jeff Greenberg Talks New ‘Frasier,’ ‘Cheers,’ ‘Modern Family’

DANIELLE AUFIERO & AMBER HORN

RICH DELIA

Casting Director Rich Delia Talks ‘Ninja Turtles’, Finding Chemistry in Your Cast Get to Know the Casting Director: Michael Sanford Get to Know the Casting Directors: Tom McSweeney & Dave Newman

DEADLINE Kharmel Cochrane on Deadline Contenders Panel for Saltburn

RENE HAYNES

ELLEN LEWIS

Ellen Lewis and Rene Haynes on Deadline Contenders Panel for Killers of the Flower Moon

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Casting Society Announces TV, Theater Nominations for 2024 Artios Awards Danielle Aufiero and Amber Horn to be honored with the Media Access Award sponsored by Casting Society Joanna Merlin, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Actress and Sondheim Casting Director, Dies at 92

MICHAEL SANFORD

KHARMEL COCHRANE

VARIOUS SOURCES “Killers of the Flower Moon” Casting Directors Ellen Lewis and Rene Haynes on Their Historic Oklahoma Casting Call ‘The Holdovers’ Casting Director Gives Unexpected Tips for Success (Lisa Lobel) Risky Business Casting Director Nancy Klopper Reminisces About Casting The Classic Film For Its 40th Anniversary

CAMI PATTON

4

JEFF GREENBERG

WANT TO BE A PART OF THE CSA COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE? IT’S NOT THAT SCARY...

CONTACT

YOUR CSA ADMIN TEAM

10 10 QUESTIONS QUESTIONS

WITH WITH LIN LIN SHAYE SHAYE

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN ACTING? I probably "started acting" with my stuffed animals and my closet full of clothes when I was 4-5 years old! There were not any kids in my neighborhood at that time and I would play by myself in my room and make up stories with my "friends" and "outfits". "We" had a world and relationships all our own.

WHAT HORROR FILM ACTOR INSPIRED YOU? Bella Lugosi and Boris Karloff because transformative in the characters they played.

they

were

WHAT’S THE ONE THING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU OR WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOU? I have done yoga since I was in my late 20's and still try and do a little each day, especially when I am working. It truly establishes a baseline of focus and calm which has become even more and more crucial to me.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING IN A HORROR FILM? My favorite part of being in a horror film is honestly the same as my favorite part of being in any film! Finding the character and how the character fits into and elevates the story you are telling. Of course because it's a "horror film" you are given leeway to look for moments of the unexpected, and disquiet and angle towards elements that are perhaps more mysterious and/or creepy! When you unearth those elements you know you are contributing to the overall disquiet of the story.

IF YOU COULD ONLY DO ONE FOR THE REST OF TIME, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY: HORROR VS. COMEDY? I choose comedy…although horror can be pretty funny too!

IF YOU COULD BE A PART OF ANY PLAY OR MUSICAL IN ALL OF HISTORY... WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? I enjoy any and all plays, and the puzzle of finding how the character emerges, and how my work and character can change and enhance the story by my choices. I do not have one title in mind.

FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Clue (and yes Miss Scarlet!!).

WHAT’S A SUPERPOWER THAT YOU HAVE? I have no superpowers that I know of. I am still working on being "a good listener"...:)) BEST COMPLIMENT? I have been called "The Godmother of Horror" which is of course an honor, as it means I have connected with the wonderful horror fanbase and community!

WHAT’S THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? The best thing that happened to me this year was creating, producing the performing a one woman show TRIPPING ON LIFE which premiered first in LA and then Off-Broadway in NYC. It was my amazing manager Gina Rugolo who encouraged me to do it. Without her, it would not have happened...We all need that reminder of : "you can do it"....and we did! There is not enough space here to express what that journey meant to me, a journey I did not know I had in myself, or that I could ever express.....

AND....I have one last question...for all of us!!! "What is YOUR favorite word"? Mine is GRATITUDE....to all who have helped lead me to this point in my life and my career.

I have gratitude THAT I GET TO EXPRESS MYSELF AND TO BE HEARD AND HOPEFULLY I am a role model for others to dare, and have courage to find ways to "tell their own personal truth". We all can learn from each other! Thank you!

BEHIND THE SCREAMS: AN INTERVIEW WITH TERRI TAYLOR

BY ERIC SOULIERE

Terri: Hi. You're very nice to do this.

Eric: Felicia Fasano's a very dear friend, and she mentioned that you would be featured in the next CSA Zine. I mentioned [you were] my very first casting anything and she asked if I wanted to do it. I said if Terri's open to it, I would be honored.

TT: I thought it was a wonderful idea. And I'm happy to see you again. Do you remember those days back at Kennedy Marshall?

ES: Very clearly. It was my first [job]. You know, I'd wanted to get into casting since I was a kid. And that was my first. Your husband was my in. I met with Gregg and he's like, “What do you want to do?” And I said, “I want to work in casting, but I don't know how to get into it.”

And he was like,” well, you should meet my wife.” And that was that.

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TT: I grew up in New York State near Albany, I

TT (Cont’d): Not long after that. I met David

went to Syracuse. I was an Architecture and

Rubin, who hired me to be his casting assistant

Design major. And I did not give much thought to

and at that time Debbie Zane was his associate.

movies or television, in the sense of who's making this content. It wasn't who I was, I was

I will say both with David and Debbie, but

just a fan. I loved shows like Fantasy Island and

especially Debbie, I kind of fell madly in love.

The Love Boat and Dukes of Hazzard and, like

And that's where I grew up, working for Debbie

everybody I loved Poltergeist, E.T., and JAWS but

for eight years. I was her assistant for half and

I never thought about who made those movies.

her associate for half. I was doing Munich when I met you, and we rolled right into War of the

And I didn't think about who was in those movies

Worlds and we did that together as partners. I

until I probably had a deep crush on somebody. I

launched my independent career from there.

met Gregg Taylor at Syracuse, and he was a Radio, Television, Film major. And we moved to

ES: Working with Debbie, before you went on

LA together. That first year in LA, I watched him

your own, you were working with pretty major

do schlep work as a second assistant to a

players

producer. It wasn't glamorous, but it just seemed

Soderbergh. Starting in an office like that, and

fun and outside of anything I had ever imagined

working on such high-profile projects, what was

doing for a living.

that like for you?

Back then there was no internet. It was all about

TT: It was incredibly inspiring. I felt super lucky,

the

Hollywood

number one, to be observing Debbie on a daily

Reporter, and in the back of both they would list

basis and having her be my teacher. That was

movies that were shooting, and where they were

amazing. And the fact that she, at that point in

shooting. I circled the ones that were shooting

her career, having been independent for a

in LA and I sent my resume to several of them.

couple of years, was finding those opportunities

One was the movie Malice, directed by Harold

to work with these incredible filmmakers, these

Becker.

storytellers,

trades,

Sue

Daily

Variety,

Biesack,

The

Harold’s

assistant

on

like

Steven

these

Spielberg

icons.

I

and

was

Steven

incredibly

Malice, called because my resume stood out (it

grateful. But at the same time, I was like, I am

was a reverse blueprint). She said, “I don't have a

going to work so hard. My takeaway from the

job for you but your resume really stood out and

job, having learned from Debbie, was: if you care

if you want to come over to Culver Studios, I will

as much as the person that you're learning from

give you a tour of the set.”

and working for, the office is going to be so much more successful. Working with this level

This is why I 100% firmly believe in paying it

of filmmakers was the most inspiring, most

forward and trying to help people when you can.

rewarding experience of my life. I wanted to do

I think this is likely what led us to work together,

everything I possibly could to be an asset to the

Eric. I could not believe the kindness of this

process.

total stranger. That tour changed my life. Sue passed my resume on to Nancy Klopper and

So if it was, you know, Catch Me If You Can, with

Joanna Colbert. They hired me as their intern

Steven Spielberg, the most reputed filmmaker

and that was my very first job. The kindness

working, I wanted to not only do the best job I

actually blew my mind. I was like a sponge and I

could as a casting associate, I'm gonna read

was just taking it all in. I wanted to take on every

everything– not only the screenplay– I read the

opportunity that came my way.

book.

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“I 100% FIRMLY BELIEVE IN PAYING IT FORWARD AND TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE WHEN YOU CAN.”

TT (Cont’d): I had to do everything I could to be an asset to Debbie and the process, and I loved it. I

TT (Cont’d): So that was from 2010 to 2011. When I was there, I worked on Paranormal Activity 2.

loved it. I love that we got to work on such interesting projects. I felt so fortunate.

ES: I will never see it, that terrifies me to death.

ES: You kind of touched upon this, but is there

TT: You're a scaredy cat?

anything you can elaborate on as far as the transition from going from, you know, a high-level associate to partnering on projects with Debbie to

ES: Of found footage, that I can't do. Blair Witch

going completely on your own?

Project scarred me for life.

TT: It's scary to leave the nest, but I did feel

TT: I met Jason Blum. When I left Paramount, they asked me to cast Paranormal Activity 3. I

supported. One of the benefits of working with

wasn't sure that I wanted to do it. My lawyer,

somebody like Debbie was all of the amazing

David Fox, said to me, “You should do it. You

relationships that she had. Somehow I was lucky

should do the movie, because you want to be in

enough to kind of inherit relationships too, with,

business with Jason Blum.”

for example, Ellen Lewis, Ellen Chenoweth, Lora Kennedy, Leslee Feldman, and Vickie Thomas. If it weren't for Deb, I wouldn't have met all of those wonderfully talented casting directors. I felt like they were rooting for me. I felt they had my back.

Were jobs, you know, flowing in? No. There are days when you may believe you're never going to work again. I do feel like my time with Debbie prepared me and people started to trust me and rely on me in that role because Debbie empowered me, and delegated. But I learned to be patient. I learned to believe that another job would work out.

You’ve got to learn to be proactive for yourself and reach out and stay in touch.

ES: So now you're the Head of Casting at Blumhouse. So how did that come about?

TT: I spent a year as the Head of Casting at Paramount, it wasn't the right fit.

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Terri on set of the film Freaky (2019) with Kathryn Newton

TT (Cont’d): And I will never forget it. That was

ES: I want to talk about another specific film that

2011. I feel like I haven't stopped working with

you cast so brilliantly, which is Crazy Rich Asians

Jason since that very moment. So between 2011 to

which you won an Artios Award for. Most

2013, I did six movies independently for Jason,

deservingly. I mean, what an amazing cast and

Whiplash being one of them. And, then in 2013, I

film. And so I want to talk about that a little bit.

met with the team at Blumhouse, which was very

What was the process? What were the challenges

small at the time and started as the head of casting

for that film?

in January 2014. I’m going on 10 years, officially, in that position. We have a unique job because I'm

TT: Again, it's one of those life changing

head of casting, which is an executive position, and

experiences. So much of it has to do with Jon M.

my team are executives. But, what Jason built here

Chu, who I love and respect so much. I think he is

is a little bit of a repertory company. So, for us, we

a great human and he's clearly a great

cast all of Blumhouse’s movies in-house and mostly

storyteller/director. I had a pre-existing

oversee casting directors on the television side.

relationship with Jon, we did Step Up 2 together.

That's when we first met and I loved him from the

ES: I want to talk about Whiplash, because it was a

moment we got to start that process.

huge film– it won Oscars. But most importantly, it started as a short, right? How did you meet Damien

Kristy Carlson (at the time Warner Bros casting)

and what was the transition from casting the short

called me and said that Jon had mentioned me,

to going into the feature?

and was interested in consulting, putting our heads together to search for the three leads. I

TT: Couper Samuelson, who has been running film

think when I came on, they decided to pull the

for Jason Blum, called and said, “will you read the

trigger with Constance [Wu]. And then my search

script for me, and maybe meet the writer/director?

was going to be focused more on finding Henry

It’s one of the best scripts I've ever read. I love it so

Golding, and Gemma Chan, and so that's where it

much. We have this crazy idea that we're gonna let

started.

them do a proof of concept, short film based on the full length feature.” I read it. Amazing script. I met Damien at Huckleberry in Santa Monica and we talked about the 15 pages that he wanted to shoot.

And we talked about actors. We talked about Miles Teller immediately. I think that Jason Reitman had a relationship with JK Simmons. And, so I said, I'll help for free. We'll assemble a few actors and musicians.

I really loved Damien Chazelle. I think he's a real talent. I think he's a visionary. It was an amazing journey. We went, we made that short, and it got into Sundance 2013– it won the US short film competition. We went right into production on the feature film, and went back to Sundance a year later and it won.

TT (Cont‘d): The search was global. We had a team of casting professionals helping us across the globe: Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Vancouver. It was a very big team, and we would meet, have big casting calls every morning, whatever the timezone situation was. It took some major orchestration, and then it really snowballed into staying on that movie for 20 weeks. We were kind of like the operational center. I would watch tapes until three in the morning, because I still had my job here at Blumhouse. Jon is a really decisive filmmaker but having somebody to be a sounding board was really important to the process for him. My team at Blumhouse got to work on that with me, Sarah Domeier and Ally Conover. I was happy about that. And I was happy that Jason was cool with it. He too loves Jon Chu, and was happy to share us with CRA. ES: The cast is so brilliant and iconic and launched so many careers. And it's all that work and all of the timezone figuring out... everything it really, you know, came together so beautifully and perfectly.

Artios 2019 with CSA members J. McAlary, Sarah Domeier Lindo, and Ally Conover

ES (Cont‘d): You've been working with your team, Sarah Domeier Lindo, and Ally Conover for a while and I just wanted to touch on that a little bit. That's so important and so crucial for up and coming casting directors and I just wanted you to speak on that a little bit as far as your process and relationship with elevating your team.

Terri on set in the UK (June ‘23) of the upcoming film Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy with Blumhouse producer Bea Sequeira and co-casting director Ally Conover

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TT: Sarah has been with me since 2011. I hired her as my casting assistant on Paranormal Activity 3. Then, I hired Ally in 2013 to be the casting assistant on The Purge: Anarchy. We've been together for, you know, 10 plus years. They are both really amazing women and great at their jobs. I think I would like to go back to what I learned when I was with Debbie– investing in the work and investing in yourself. All I really asked of my team is if you care as much as I do about the work that we're doing, then I think we're going to be really successful. They've both continued to grow, thrive, and contribute in a way that I am beyond grateful for.

We're a six person team. We make a lot of movies, we cast a lot of things that tend to overlap.

“ALL I REALLY ASKED OF MY TEAM IS IF YOU CARE AS MUCH AS I DO ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, THEN I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE REALLY SUCCESSFUL.” TT (Cont’d): I think that we've built this rapport

TT (Cont’d): A performance that will be one of my favorite of all time of any actor that I have been fortunate enough to cast in a movie. We got lucky. We were able to do his audition in person and it was one of the best auditions I've ever been a part of. Betty Gabriel was probably one of the first actors that auditioned for that part– her picture was always on the wall– and the same for Marcus Henderson. Those two actors kind of became the barometer. I saw Jordan giving other actors direction, trying to

that they take ownership of the work they do. It's

capture some choices that either Betty or

proven to be the right recipe for us.

Marcus made to see if another actor could

ES: That's so nice. I want to talk about another very prominent film you're involved with: Get Out. Can you talk about that process and how it came to be?

TT: I didn't know what would happen with Get Out. I'm not sure that any of us could have predicted

actually deliver the same choice equally as interesting or profoundly as either one of those actors did.

ES: Amazing. Those are some of the films I wanted to highlight, but you've been responsible for casting so many other amazing films at

that. It was from the beginning, the most interesting endeavor to take on because we're like, oh, Jordan Peele. He's hilarious, he wrote a scary

Blumhouse. Are there any that stand out to you personally, that you wanted to highlight whether the process was especially different or

movie? He's a horror fan. When I first read the

challenging?

script I realized, this is amazing. I've never read anything like this before. What's his vision for this?

What's it going to be like? Is it funny? Is it a wink?

TT: Good question. I guess I'll just go back to my roots and say that the Paranormal Activity

It really took meeting Jordan for the first time to

movies had a really challenging casting process

understand his inspiration.

because we didn't work from a script, the casting process was all improvised. We would

He's like “my inspirations are Rosemary's Baby, The Shining” -- true, dark, horror films, with his special touch. At some point, he actually added a cover page to the screenplay, because there were a lot of questions about tone. The process with Jordan was so much fun and it was a once in a lifetime experience to be his partner in the audition space.

create characters and then have actors come in, get into their life story and talk to them like we're in the piece with them. Those were always the most exhausting, and the most challenging way to audition people.

ES: Is there anything that terrifies you so much

Eventually, it became where he was reading Daniel

in a film you've cast that you can't watch it or

Kaluuya's part and I was reading with him. It was

have to approach casting it differently?

just little mini stage plays every time we had an actor come into the room, and we were exploring

TT: Well, you can ask anybody that I sit next to

and mining, all the great performances that he

at a movie. I've read the script, I've read the

ultimately was able to put together in that movie.

lines with actors multiple times, I've been

Ultimately, we went back to two actors who

crawling on the floor with them, turning

auditioned very early on. What can I say about

invisible keys in their throat to stop them from

Daniel Kaluuya? I mean, it is a role of a lifetime.

speaking.

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TT (Con‘d):I will sit in a movie theater and watch the movie for the first time and I will jump every. single. time. I know what's coming, but I'm really thin-skinned when it comes to scary stuff. It's part of the fun, I guess everything makes me jump. Most recently, Insidious: Red Door, a movie that Patrick Wilson just directed is relentless. It's one jumpscare after the next and I was jumping all through the screening.

ES: The last question I want to ask is, what are you most excited about or looking forward to in the future of casting and where things may be going?

“I'M EXCITED ABOUT WHAT STORIES WE'RE ALL GOING TO GET TO TELL AS THE BUSINESS CONTINUES TO CHANGE.”

Oscars 2018 with Jordan Peele

TT: I'm excited about what stories we're all going to get to tell as the business continues to change. I just want to continue to meet really interesting actors. I love them and I love that we have a lot of different tools. We have all of these ways to meet new actors, self tapes, Zoom auditions, and in person. And with a combination of all those things, I just hope I get to keep meeting tons of cool actors, providing them with fun and interesting roles to play.

ES: Which you're so brilliant at. I speak not just as a colleague, but as a fan of your work that we're all excited to see what you do in the future. I interned for you almost 20 years ago, and this is not just because it was my first thing, but I'll never forget how you work and how you care. That was installed in me early and I will thank you every chance I get.

TT: Thank you, Eric. I'm so proud to have been your first experience in casting and that it was a positive experience that helped you on your path. Look at you now.

ES: And you! and it's just been so thrilling to watch your trajectory. And again, thank you for everything.

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By Tiffany Little Canfield Tiffany: Good morning, Nikki! I’m so excited to be reaching out to you because one of my favorite casts this year was in your film, Talk To Me. I’m so curious, how did you come onto this project?

Nikki: I had worked on a number of other projects with Causeway producers - Kristina Ceyton & Sam Jennings and they spoke to us about Danny and Michael Philippou & their film, Talk To Me and no doubt to them about us. I still remember the meeting because it was about three days before the country shut down with covid! It was just such an original script with a great energy TLC: Casting a group of teens is one of the biggest challenges - if anyone has ever visited a high school, since teenagers come in all shapes and sizes and often audiences will associate ’smaller’ and ‘younger’ when that isn’t necessarily the case. This cast was a standout to me in terms of feeling very realistic.

Curious how much the idea of ‘playing age’ came up in casting this ensemble?

NB: There is actually a diversity of ages in the film. From Otis Dhanji who I think was about 18 years old to Alex Jensen, Chris Alosio and Sophie in their 20s. I think the film didn’t try to define or explain age onscreen. It played into the energy, style and rhythms of teenagers and it felt authentic. It didn’t patronise or fetishise young people.

A lot of that is about Danny and Michael who have a very authentic connection to young people and an incredible energy themselves that carried into those scenes.

TLC: Did you have previous experience with most of this cast? Were there any discoveries?

NB: I had known or been watching a lot of people we ended up casting. Sophie Wilde (Mia) had come out of NIDA a few years before and was so extraordinary & cinematic , we’d been keen to find something to work on with her. We knew Zoe Terrakes (Hayley) and Chris Alosio (Joss) and I’d seen Alexandra Jensen (Jade) in something else and had cast Otis Dhanji(Daniel) back in Aquaman. I guess the discovery from our end was Joe Bird (Riley) who we didn’t know at all and who was extraordinary and heartbreaking in the film, with some really difficult scenes.

TLC: I’m Curious how much the subject matter affected the process. Some of the scenes are quite brutal and I’m curious if there was any special attention paid during the process?

NB: Well scripts never read as brutally on the page as they are once the visuals exist. In terms of casting you always try to be clear and sensitive in the way things are handled but to be honest almost no-one backed away from this film. There was an excitement around it and people were keen to be involved. Causeway have also made films with challenging subject matter before and are always so respectful. People trust working with them.

And Danny and Michael were so clear in their communication. They brought a sense of adventure to it.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE

2024 ARTIOS NOMINEES FOR

TELEVISION, THEATRE, COMMERCIALS, SHORT FILM & SHORT FORM SERIES

3

Trick or Treat

We asked our members to share their favorite Cult Classic, Horror, Thriller, or Suspense Project

Do

n’t

be

af r aid

of the

sp e r ir

o

e ns

s

COMPILED BY PORTIA BLACK + ISABEL WYNNE 16

KRISTI OKEN HOXIE

AMERICAN PSYCHO Christian Bale is just so mesmerizing to watch in it. He's incredible!

Casting By Suzanne Smith, Billy Hopkins and Kerry Barden

SYLVIA GREGORY

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON It was the first horror movie I ever saw, and I was delighted by the surprising humor in it. Plus, even at that age, I loved the cast!

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Casting By Debbie McWilliams

KATIE GRIFFIN

THE BLOB The Blob is a cult classic for horror enthusiasts and cinephiles alike.

This low

budget B film gave Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut their first leading roles.

There's so much fandom surrounding The Blob with drive-in showings around the country and a festival dedicated to it called Blobfest where fans can recreate the iconic theatre runout.

DONNA MORONG

BLUE VELVET I loved that the surfaces of life can seem so pristine until you look beyond them to the interiors. I loved all the performances but especially the very young Laura Dern, Isabella Rossellini and the inimitable Dennis Hopper!

Casting By Johanna Ray 18

ZACHARY SPIEGEL

CHUCKY A spin-off of Don Mancini's 80's cult classic, Child's Play (original casting by Sharon Bialy and Richard Pagano), I LOVE this series because it centers an interracial queer couple and their friends who stop at nothing to rid the evils of everyone's favorite killer doll. And both the death scenes and Jennifer Tilly are iconic.

Casting By Bonnie Zane

PAISLEY BAKER

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND There are no safe spaces in this film, including our own minds. Through a series of events, including the abduction of a mother's child from her home, ordinary people are left in a manic, desperate state and their only way to find peace is confronting their own terror.

Casting By Sally Dennison

DUSTIN PRESLEY

CLUE CLUE is the ultimate family friendly cult classic for spooky season. It’s truly my favorite movie of all time! In fact, I love the movie SO MUCH that my husband & I had a CLUE themed murder mystery wedding!!

🔎

Casting By Janet Hirshenson & Jane Jenkins

*Honorable Mention goes to The Worst Witch (1986)

LYNN BABER

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON HAVE YOU SEEN IT? Reminded me of JAWS the first time I saw it, which was this year. The Universal Monsters should win this category.

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JESSICA LYONS

DEATH BECOMES HER

It's just perfect.

Casting By Karen Rea

HAMZAH SAMAN

DIAL M FOR MURDER I love all of Alfred Hitchcock’s films. I share a birthday with Alfred Hitchcock and I think I’m very lucky for that.

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GAYLE KELLER

DON'T LOOK NOW Donald

Sutherland,

Julie

Christie,

Nicolas Roeg and Venice, based on a Daphne Du Maurier short story! A thrilling thriller mystery.

STEVEN TYLOR O’CONNOR

HOCUS POCUS Witches,

Musical

Numbers,

and

Thackery Binx! What more could you ask for?

Casting By Mary Gail Artz Barbara Cohen 22

BRENT HAGATA

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE Hill House was so spooky, so many hidden

details.

Great

cast

and

performances!

Casting By Anne McCarthy Kellie Roy

HUNTER McHUGH

JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH Roald Dahl's world speaks to me.

There's

something

about

feeling

comforted in an uncomfortable world.

23

Casting By Brian Chavanne

AMANDA LENKER DOYLE

PRACTICAL MAGIC "There are some things I know for certain: always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for

Casting By Cathy Sandrich Gelfond & Amanda Mackey

luck, and fall in love whenever you can."

LILIA TRAPANI

PSYCHO

It’s a classic!

24

Casting By Jere Henshaw

DEVON BRADY

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW It's certainly not a proper horror, but it's wonderfully camp, and the songs stand the test of time! Time Warp, for God's sake!

XAVIER RUBIANO

Casting By Joel Thurm

DYLAN JURY

SCREAM This franchise changed the game for horror and slasher films! Super meta, super fun and wild! Xavier Rubiano

Casting By Lisa Beach 25

CHERYL LOUDEN-KUBIN

SIGNS I love this film. It's a horror film with hope.

I use the line "Swing away Merrill" all the time.

Casting By Douglas Aibel

BECCA SCHALL

TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL I am not a big fan of scary movies, but make it a comedy and I'll bite! Plus, any film with Alan Tudyk in a leading role is probably gonna be a winner in my book.

Casting By Sean Milliken 26

STEPHANIE KLAPPER

WAIT UNTIL DARK WAIT

UNTIL

DARK

is

a

classic

horror/psychological thriller - Both Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin's performances are thrilling.

I love this film and Alfred Hitchock’s PSYCHO, and can manage to watch these films over and over again.

RANDI WELLS

WHEN A STRANGER CALLS I love a great horror film for the sheer adrenaline rush; but the adrenaline is pushed to the limit in WASC, when you realize that the plot is incredibly plausible.

'The call is coming from inside the house' is a line that gives me chills to this day.

27

Casting By Penny Perry

SHERRIE HENDERSON

WOLF CREEK It's so hard to pick just one. As CD's we have a varied palette which is our super power. The different things we love is what makes everything we cast so unique.

These films give the actors SO much to do psychologically as well as physically....it's so great to watch them in a situation that is scaring the living daylights out of you at home or in the theater.

Some of my other favorites are: Haute Tension, L' Interieur, Le Pacte Des Loups, The Audition, 2LDK, Candyman, Get Out and The Collector

28

Casting By Angela Heesom