casting by

an interesting documentary about the role of casting directors on tv and in film.  the documentary takes a look at the life and career of many different casting directors, focusing on marion dougherty, a pioneer in the field of casting.  there are many celebrities who show up to talk a bit about how important marion and other casting directors were to their careers.  some, like jon voight, talk about how his entire career is due to marion's work and fighting for him to fill the role that made him famous in 'midnight cowboy'.  there are many interesting stories and examples of her work, including directors who admit that they would have been sunk without the help of great casting directors.  it follows marion's fight to get recognition for the job of casting.  what started out as an unrecognized position eventually lead to there being an actual on screen credit for the work.  the film goes so far as to make the case for having the oscars recognize the role of casting director as a category worthy of an award.  the different views and insights given by those who do this mysterious job of picking actors that would be great for a role and great together is something that is rarely thought of and certainly under appreciated.