Typecast

Typecast (a work in progress)

Act 1
John, Hollywood producer has hired Cal as the director for an action movie which is currently in pre-production. John has a number of films in various stages of production. John is talking on his cell phone as he approaches Cal on the lot.

Cal: Hey John.
John: Hey Cal. How goes the prep for the greatest, heist movie of all time?
Cal: Good. The script is in good shape and I have most of the tech people lined up. I’m gonna use the same cinematographer as on my last picture. But we need to start casting the major roles soon if we are to meet our production deadlines.
John: What do you need?
Cal: Well I want to be true to the material and true to life. To do that I need to find actors who can find the essence of their character. People who just feel right for the part. I like to cast according to type. I have some ideas.
John: Sounds good. I already have a good relationship with Julia Roberts and Matt Damon, so if we can work them in that would get us off to a good start.
Cal: Do you have some time right now to brainstorm a few ideas?
John: Absolutely, what do you have in mind.
Cal: Well, first we need to find our male lead.
John: Crucial. Gotta be a big box office draw.
Cal: Right. In the old days I would have thought of someone like Henry Fonda or Gregory Peck. Guys with stature. Today I think of … hmm, you know there aren't that many left in our cynical, post-modern world. Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, come to mind, maybe Mel Gibson, or George Clooney. These are the kinds of guys that naturally have a sense of presence and authority. They’re tall and the audience trusts them. It’s uncanny how that works. John: Yeah. I agree. They’re all the tall, leading man type. How about we contact Morgan and Denzel’s agent and send him the script. The same guy represents them both. Also I know it’s a long shot, but let’s try Harrison. I can’t afford George but how about we try Sean Connery as well. This is just the kind of story that might intrigue him and he’d be great box office. As far as Mel goes, I like him, but after his Jewish comments, he’s radio-active right now.
Cal: True. Okay. I’ll contact their agents this afternoon. Now who do we want in the love interest role? She has to be someone that will have great chemistry with these guys. Someone that will play off them nicely. In the old days Audrey Hepburn or Catherine Deneuve would have been just the ticket. These days I see someone like Natalie Portman, Anne Archer, or even Calista Flockhart . They make great babes in distress with a pinch of spunk thrown in. You just instinctively want to protect them and they work great with the leading men types. You know, as I think about it, there are a lot of actresses of this type around town. Like Anne Hathaway, Jill Hennessy, Katie Holmes, Kate Beckinsale, Audrey Tautou - although technically Audrey’s not actually in this town.
John: We’ll have to make sure the age difference works with some of these girls but let’s keep all our options open.
Cal: Yeah. Now, Calista would be interesting. She and Harrison are a couple so they might both be attracted to the project. I know Calista is in that TV series but perhaps she can work around it. I don’t think Jill would work out. People associate her with a little more toughness now from her TV series. She’s played down the soft, doe image of Law and Order.
John: You’re right about that.
Cal: Now for our no-nonsense cop we need a real martial type guy. I’m thinking of someone like Russell Crowe, Mickey Rourke or Gene Hackman.
John: Boy these guys are expensive. Any other choices?
Cal: Well to play the tough, aggressive type we could possibly go with Laurence Fishburn.
John: Yeah I can see that - but not if we have Morgan or Denzel in lead – too many black guys.
Cal: Right. Oh and what about Bruce Willis?
John: Yeah I like those guys. So feel out Mickey, Laurence and Bruce. Geez, this is gonna cost an arm and a leg.
Cal: It always does. Now we need the mastermind thief. I see a guy – hmm could be a girl I suppose, someone that’s slippery – someone like a Johhny Depp or a Sean Penn. No, not Sean Penn, too much baggage. Here’s a long shot, maybe Annette Bening?
John: Hmm. Annette Bening. Drop dead gorgeous. Can never hurt. She’s the type for this role. Especially after seeing her in “Grifters”. But I’m worried that she doesn’t have the chops. And Johnny’s too expensive for a supporting role. Anybody else? What about Matt Damon? I’m tight with him.
Cal: No that doesn’t work. He’s too four square – he’s more like the cop. I’ll audition him in with the other cops.
John: Okay. Perhaps for the mastermind we could go with a no–name. That’ll save some money. Cal: Okay, I can go that route. Oh, and there was that fantastic guy in the Argentine movie “Nine Queens”. Don’t know if he speaks English. I’ll check him out as well.
John: Okay. Now what about Julia? She always delivers. Can we get her in here someplace?
Cal: Yeah, Julia’s great, but fully booked these days. There are lots of gorgeous older women out there. And no parts for them. Should be no problem to find one.
John: You’re right.
Cal: Just one more to go, the friendly sidekick. We want a jovial guy like Rob Reiner or even Jim Broadbent.
John: Rob Reiner certainly looks the part and was great in Sleepless in Seattle. Not sure about Jim. Any other ideas?
Cal: This is a long shot. How about Rita Wilson. That would get us in tight with Tom Hanks and that’s gotta be a good thing.
John: Well the Tom angle sounds good…. Okay, explore it.
Cal: Sure. Well that’s a good day’s work.
John: A day’s work? Hardly. Get on your horse and contact those agents. They’ll have ideas as well. But be careful, they always have their own clients to push.
Cal: Right. See you John.
John: Call me on my cell if anything develops.
Cal: Will do. (smiling) Do you sleep with that cell taped to your ear John?
John: Get outta here genius.
Cal: Bye.

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Act 2

A University lecture hall.
Prof Andrews is lecturing to a group of about 20 students on typology.

Prof. Andrews: So in our last class we covered Sheldon’s typology. Does anyone want to summarize that for us?
Jane: I will. The Endomorph, physically, is plump, buxom, with a developed visceral structure and psychologically is relaxed, sociable, tolerant, comfort-loving, and peaceful.
The Mesomorph is muscular and is active, assertive, vigorous, and combative.
The Ectomorph is lean, delicate, with poor muscles and is quiet, fragile, restrained, non-assertive and sensitive
Prof. Andrews: Good. Deirdre can you give us any examples?
Deirdre: Well Falstaff is presented as an endomorph. All jocks look like mesomorphs to me. And as for ectomorphs I think of Audrey Hepburn.
Prof. Andrews: Not bad. What type do you think you are Deirdre and why?
Deirdre: Oh I guess I’m an endomorph. I’m basically like “live and let live”. But physically I’d sure love to be skinnier like an ectomorph.
Prof. Andrews: Okay. So Sheldon’s typology is one model. Today I’d like to talk about the traditional “humors” typology. It consists of 4 types. The choleric, the sanguine, the phlegmatic and the melancholy. I’m not going to go over the history of this ancient system. You should have read that in prep for this class.

(He moves to the blackboard.)
Here are the types:
1) The choleric type
Driven to get results, this type is aggressive and assertive in their approach to problems - people like Ross Perot, Margaret Thatcher, or Colin Powell, who are strategic in their thinking, have the end in mind when approaching a problem.
2) The sanguine type
Driven by the need to influence people, these expressive social-types are enthusiastic, approachable and at times impulsive. In negotiations, their goal is to move a person from one position to another. They are persuasive, friendly and effervescent. Their weakness is follow through and inconsistency.
3) The phlegmatic type
Calm and unemotional. They are very consistent, relaxed, and observant, making them good administrators and diplomats. Their strength is stability, and their weakness can be inflexibility and a resistance to change.
4) The melancholy type
Driven by the need to maintain standards, the melancholy often is cautious and tentative when responding to a problem. Many accountants fall into this category. They view things in regard to what is right or wrong. Strengths include organization and accuracy. Their weakness is in decision-making and delegation.

I’ll finish today’s class with a quick summary of another typology from a Russian philosopher and mystic named P.D. Ouspensky. It came originally from his teacher, a man named Gurdjieff and was formulated by a student of Ouspensky’s named Rodney Collin. Now this material is not in your book so you will have to take notes and it will be on the mid term.
This system includes 7 types which they named after the heavenly bodies. They are Lunar (associated with the moon), Venusian (Venus), Mercurial (Mercury), Saturnine (Saturn), Martial (Mars), Jovial (Jupiter) and Solar (the sun). Each type is differentiated along 2 axes. Active or passive. And positive or negative.
The Lunar is generally fairly delicate in structure and often obstinate. A passive, negative type.
The Venusian is fleshy and pear shaped. They are very passive and do not have a strong sense of self. A passive, positive type.
The Mercurial is generally smaller and loves attention. They are cute, but sometimes not completely above board. They make great con men. They are active, negative.
The Saturnine type is generally tall with a good intellectual ability. A real leader type. They are active, positive. Abraham Lincoln is often given as an example.
The Martial type is generally short and fiery, very aggressive and active. They often have red hair. Also a leader type but they lead quite differently than the more cerebral Saturn. They gravitate to roles like fireman, cop or soldier.
The Jovial type loves company and generally has many friends and social acquaintances. They are generally heavier. They are passive, positive.
And the Solar is a rare type that lights up a room when they enter it. They are admired and prized by all other types. They are active, positive. Marilyn Monroe is the common example.
See if you can find any material on the Gurdjieff/Ouspensky typology from any source and bring it to our next class.
Well that's it for today.

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