Gary Watson of DentsuBos, Toronto, served as creative director, writer and director of this cinema commercial which shows person after person shrugging off a friend with statements like you’re imagining things, all you need is a girls’ night out, nothing a few beers won’t fix, you’re making a big deal out of nothing, and get over it. All this is shot from the POV of the unseen person whose feelings are being dismissed.
A supered, sobering question then appears on screen: “Is it any wonder why 2 out of 3 people living with mental illness suffer in silence?”
A parting supered message then reads, “Defeat denial. Help defeat mental illness,” accompanied by the logo for Toronto’s Centre For Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
“I think we’ve all said things like this without even thinking about the signal we might be sending,” noted Watson who directed the spot via Holiday Films, Toronto. “It’s almost like saying, I don’t really want to hear about it or deal with it. And for someone living with a mental illness, that’s just another reason not to speak up or get help.”
Meet Honorary Oscar Recipient Juliet Taylor, Casting Director With A Filmography Spanning 40+ Years
Juliet Taylor does not give herself credit for Meryl Streep.
In her over 40 years as top casting director behind so many classics, "Annie Hall," "Heartburn" and "Sleepless in Seattle" to name just a few, she did, technically give Streep her first film role. She gave many stars their big breaks. But Streep, she said, was always going to happen — the young stage actor was the talk of the town in New York as soon as she came on the scene. Taylor was simply the lucky one who happened to be casting for "Julia," which didn't conflict with a play.
Modesty is not antithetical to being a great casting director, though, a profession of observation, negotiation and nuance that operates mostly out of the public eye. It's why Taylor's a little nervous about Sunday, when she'll be presented with an honorary Oscar at the film academy's annual Governors Awards in a room full of Hollywood greats.
Recognition is long overdue for Taylor and her peers. Earlier this year, the film academy announced that it would add a new competitive Oscar for casting directors starting with films released in 2025.
"There's so much people don't know about casting actors," Taylor said. "One thing is we negotiate all the contracts and we cast a movie within a budget."
Casting wasn't always the art that it is today. In the studio system, it was more of cattle call, an organizational rather than creative job. But Taylor began her career in 1968 at time of change, mentored by one of the pioneers behind the movement: Marion Dougherty, who scouted talent in off-Broadway plays and turned casting into a more selective, humane process. It was also a profession led by a lot of women. Dougherty used to joke that it's because they didn't get paid much.
The first movie... Read More