Book Review
Title: A Star Is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some Of Hollywood's Biggest Movies
Author: Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins

Publisher: Harcourt
Released: October 15^th 2007
Pages: 291
ISBN: 978-0-15-603365-7
$14.95 US/ $15.95 CDN

4 ½ Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey (Ontario Correspondent - Canada) 

Consider Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins the Fairy Godmothers of Hollywood. Probably two of the best casting directors the glitzy business has to offer, Janet and Jane have been casting films since the 1980s. Such blockbuster hits as The Outsiders, Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale (also cast the last three Bonds), A Perfect Storm, A Few Good Men, Misery, Ghost, When Harry Met Sally, Mystic Pizza, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and most recently The Holiday, have all been struck with the magical Fairy Godmother touch of this power-casting team. 

Janet and Jane take the reader on an intriguing and immensely interesting drive around the back lot of Hollywood stardom. Early on in the book both women express this similar sentiment "Casting is complicated, delicate and almost alchemical business. To be a good casting director, you need instinct, patience and the ability to remember hundreds of diverse faces, voices and performances." The book is divided up evenly into stories Jane tells and stories Janet tells. They never seem to cover the same material, even though their chapters are cohesive and they can even be telling one story between the two of them, but it is told in regard to different aspects.

The women share such pearls of wisdom as...  

Janet - "If you're a beginning actor, we advise you to check out your agent and your manager very carefully. Never go with anyone who wants money up front - they're supposed to make all of their salary out of the work they find for you.

Jane - "Kindness and courtesy are key ingredients in whatever success we've been fortunate enough to have. I don't understand why all casting directors don't work in the same spirit, but apparently there are some who don't." 

Janet - "Casting a movie requires a Zen-like balance between two polar opposite principles: know exactly what you want, and prepare to be surprised."

Both women dedicate an entire section as to why an actor shouldn't take not being cast for a role personal. In fact a multitude of reasons exist, and often it has to do with elements that are outside of the actors' power. Jane and Janet give detailed explanations as to what ‘star quality' is defined as. Why someone is more perfect for a role than someone else. Why the casting directors could think someone is perfect for the role, and the director not agree. Janet is right in asserting that Zen-like balance as a way of explaining their positions on the Hollywood Totem pole.

Jane and Janet are full of insider stories and explanations of the innermost workings of the casting industry; such as the ‘Names' and ‘Stars' hierarchy and how actors who are ‘names' like William H Macy and/or ‘stars' like George Clooney can get a film made on status, or acting reputation, or box office hits. Whether the film is an independent that requires a name actor or the next Oceans film that will require a star, are all very relevant to the acting hierarchy.   

Even working actors have their own system of getting cast as the book explains "performers familiar to industry insiders and film buffs....These are the best friends, the doctors, the gangsters, the cops - the bedrock of day-to-day moviemaking." A Star is Found is an invaluable book for actors and even directors. 

Jane also gives a great glimpse into the stress an actor/actress undergoes, the social pressures to be what people want them to be, and the scrutiny of having to look perfect when blown-up to full screen size. These stories and assertions by Janet and Jane are invaluable, as the stories are an interesting read for a film-goer, but this book is simply a ‘must read' for an actor wanting to enter into the industry. In fact, purchase a copy for the road trip to Hollywood! The book is also a wonderful reference tool for directors to get a different perspective on casting, and how that leading lady or gentleman has so painstakingly been chosen.

Aside from A Star Is Found being an excellent read, it is a wonderfully delightful book to read for average passer-bys. Great anecdotes about child actors such as Dakota Fanning, or the Savage kids, the Phoenix family, and the sad tale of Corey Felderman, are captured in a great chapter. You can hear how Brendan Fraser's timidity at being new to Hollywood almost lost him his opportunity at winning his career defining role in School Ties.  The stories are truly endless from these two Fairy Godmothers of Hollywood! How their days at Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios was the best time in the business they have had, and how they respect and love the Director whose name is synonymous with The Godfather.  

Well I know I won't get a quote on the back of this book jacket; it is a little hard to compete for that real estate when you have Ron Howard, and Chris Columbus quotes on how great these two women are! So trust me when I say this is a delightful book to read; and an informative book for anyone heading to the Hollywood Hills in search of stardom. As Janet says of her Friday Night Lights experience "Unlike the High School heroes we'd help cast, Jane and I weren't in it for the glory. If you do this kind of job at all, you do it for love." I couldn't say it better myself!