Good news and bad news

I haven't posted in a while, as it's been slow in the casting world. We've got a few things about to start, so I'll share them once they've been greenlit. In the meantime, I'd like to shout out to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi who were married over the weekend. I've known Ellen for over 20 years. I met her after seeing her do standup at the Comedy Store on Melrose in Los Angeles in 1985. She had just moved down to L.A. from San Francisco and didn't know a lot of people. I thought she was the funniest person I'd ever seen, and I quickly recommended her for a pilot that I was working on (as a Casting Associate) for NBC. She was tested for the pilot, which she didn't get, but that was the beginning of a long friendship and working collaboration.

In 1992, I had finished law school (I went at night while I was casting "Married...with Children) and was going to leave casting to practice entertainment law. Ellen got a series and asked me to cast it. This turned out, as I've discussed before, to be a career highlight - casting "Ellen". So, my best wishes to Ellen and Portia.

Unfortunately, this week, news also came out about Christina Applegate's battle against cancer. Today I heard that she is cancer free after undergoing a double mastectomy. My thoughts are with Christina and her mom Nancy Priddy. I've know Christina since she was in her teens. She is a warm, caring, talented lady and I'm proud of her becoming a leader and role model in support of cancer awareness.

Actor of the week: Beatrice Rosen - Beatrice is a French born actress who you may have seen recently in "The Dark Night" playing the Russian ballerina that dates Bruce Wayne.