This is about as good of a decision as director Zack Snyder could make in an era where we cannot yet clone Margot Kidder, who represented one of the all-time great casting choices in film history. Amy Adams conveys strength and intelligence, but most of all she’s a woman and not a girl. This also telegraphs that the character of  Superman (who will be played by 27 year-old Henry Cavill) will be portrayed as SuperMAN and not a SuperBroodingMetrosexual as we saw in the dreadful “Superman Returns.”

I don’t know anything about her background, but at least Amy Adams looks like might have at one time not lived in the San Fernando Valley and experienced some life outside of a mall. She can also convey Lois Lane’s spunk without completely getting on my nerves. All in all, a very promising casting choice. Most of all, though, the choice shows the director’s confidence in his lead actor to hold his own. Adams is a star in her own right with real charisma.

Superman’s going to have his hands full.

The Los Angeles Times:

The 36-year-old star got the news on Sunday from director Zack Snyder, who phoned her from Paris, where he was promoting his just-opened film, “Sucker Punch.” There had been a crush of Hollywood interest in the lead female role in the Warner Bros. project but Snyder said that after meeting with Adams, she was the clear choice to take on a character that dates back to 1938 and has long represented the strong, professional woman who can hold her own against any man – even if he can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

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If you read the story below, it makes perfect sense that a casting manager would be fired for not following the instructions of the director, who on this case is no less than Academy Award-winner Peter Jackson. But the hoopla over the outrageous idea of a casting agent looking for a certain “type,” even a certain type of skin color, makes little sense.

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Will this be the beginning of the end of Hollywood’s openly discriminatory hiring practices?

A casting manager working on The Hobbit has been sacked over allegations a British actress was turned down for a role in the film because of her skin colour. …

A crew member also reportedly published a newspaper advert calling for extras with “light skin tones”.

A spokesperson for Peter Jackson insisted no such instructions had come from the director’s Wingnut production company, and a representative has now confirmed a casting agent has been fired over the scandal.

The rep says, “No such instructions were given, the crew member in question took it upon themselves to do that and it’s not something we instructed or condoned… The crew member in question has been dismissed… It’s something we take very seriously.”

There is no more of an openly discriminatory industry than show business. Casting offices and agents look for particular “types” every day. This is what they’re hired to do. Discriminatory hiring practices based on looks, age, gender, and race are the norm in Hollywood, not the exception. You can be too fat, too old, too blond, too dark, not pretty enough, not buff enough, or just plain “wrong” for reasons that have nothing to do with talent and that no one can or will explain. This town is buried in stories of people who knocked the audition out of the park but were told they weren’t the right “type.” Which means they were qualified for the job, they just didn’t physically appeal to the boss or bosses; director, producers or a combination of both. (more…)

I was head of the film and broadcast department for a talent agency in the Detroit Metro area. As a casting agent my job was to get the character breakdowns, hold auditions and cast roles for film, TV and radio. My staff and I cast Zebrahead, Hoffa, Renaissance Man to name a few and many award winning commercials. I left the casting biz to coach voice-over artists and produce their CD’s, along with doing free-lance talent coordination for ad-agencies, where I negotiate celebrity talent.

I recently read Apocalypse Near? Liberal Actresses Line Up to Star in ‘Atlas Shrugged’  by Pam Meister and wanted to offer the perspective of someone who has experience in casting. The post told of Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie having an interest in the role of Dagny Taggert. It was offered up, and several commenter’s mentioned that they feared Julia Roberts might change the script to reflect her liberal viewpoint. I don’t really think that should be a concern because many times certain actors are mentioned only to create buzz for a project, or to get their name out there, or both. I believe such is the case with Julia Roberts in this story. (more…)