In the interest of transparency, I hereby reveal that the casting of Carmen Elena Mitchell as the prophet of Heartsgaard took place at the beginning of last week. Because I'd already asked a number of women to audition for the part over the weekend, I sat mum on my decision. My hope was that some of those women would be right for other parts. Basically, I didn't want to dissuade them from showing up.
Because we have such similar sensibilities and so many friends in common, Carmen very graciously invited me to her birthday party last Friday. (Happy birthday, Carmen!) Her friends and I go on wonderfully, had animated debates about everything from South African politics to goopy Japanese exploitation cinema... and then Carmen introduces me to her producing partner and fellow actor, Reena Dutt.
Have you ever had one of those conversations where you keep deciding that someone has just revealed the deepest depths of their inner coolness, only to see them draw back the curtain on still more unbelievable cool - and to see that happen again, again, again and again over the course of a night of conversation?
Do you know why I named my company 8 Sided Films? Of course not. Nobody does, except apparently Reena. She picked up on it right away.
So, fine. Here's a woman who speaks Tenny. Does that make her a good actor?
Nope. What makes her a good actor is her extreme dedication to her craft. Like a few others in our ensemble, she's trained herself in a psychotically diverse array of performance styles. While I don't know her performance background that deeply, she moves like a circus girl. Circus!
So she appreciates performance and craft on a deep, genetic level. Her sense of play is exquisite and refined. Through our entire conversation, she was simultaneously goofing off and dead serious. At her heart, Rena is a storyteller. While the industry at large shoehorns her into "Indian girl" roles like the obedient daughter and the medical intern, she's out there looking for any opportunity to release the amazingly layered characters inside her.
That's how we started talking business. If you're going to break the mold, be ready to buy it.
Turns out, Reena is one of the chief fundraisers in the LA theater scene. Her community of actors is precious enough to her that she's gone and financed countless LA theater productions, in addition to her day job, her performance work, and her own projects. That same drive set me on the road to learn the business of film and build the very company Reena is now a welcome part of.
All this is before we started talking about her deep love of innovative, honest genre cinema. Her eyes lit up every time I mentioned an 8 Sided project, and explained what was in store for the actors. Here's an actor trigger-ready to get dipped in green slime... but only if it takes her someplace she hasn't been before. This woman is an explorer of the human condition, I come to discover.
While I don't know Reena that well, I do know she's a pioneer, a caretaker, and a storyteller of the highest caliber. Of course Carmen and I get along. Her best friend and I might as well have been grown in the same freaky laboratory.
One thing I've learned in this life is that meeting someone you can trust isn't a common, everyday thing. When those moments happen, be ready for them.
Is it any wonder that Reena came into the audition ready to play and explore, when other women were giving us finely polished caricatures? Surprised that she's just as excited by the business model as she is by the story? Consider that she's skilled and dedicated enough to make the most of both. Rather than get distracted, she understands just how powerful a creative tool business can be - and vice versa.
When Heartsgaard demanded that we make our 8 Sided family a little larger, I imagined a best-case scenario where we pulled talent from the fringes of our creative community. Never in a million years did I suppose that another creative family, just as strong and tight-knit as ours, was waiting for us to find them. That we'd need their experience producing theater, and that we'd have the film savvy they were hungry for? That someone like Reena could have all the qualities I admire most in a collaborator, and that her need for the roles I'm writing could be as great as my need to cast them? It's just too perfect.
Hollywood, are you listening? If I were you, I'd pick up the phone right now. I'd be begging Reena Dutt to lead your quirky female-driven television comedy, or headline and co-produce your risky, innovative indie genre film.
Why now?
If you don't start giving her the good stuff right now, you'll be vying for her attention after she's starred in, produced, and possibly directed a handful of very successful, very gratifying projects of her own. With her family and friends, no less.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Welcome to the 8 Sided Forum, Reena Dutt.
http://www.reenadutt.com/
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