Post Pilot thoughts

We wrapped the Adam Carolla pilot on Friday.  It was really a fun project, from start to finish... however we did make a casting change since my last post.  The pilot was written with a very specific sidekick for Carolla.  Adam has a buddy named Oswaldo Castillo who has been his construction partner and friend for many years.  Ozzie was also in Adam's movie "The Hammer".  But when we went to cast the role, we were given the task of finding an actor with experience to play the part.  This was not an easy task - as Ozzie is a 45 year old, chubby fella from Nicaragua who speaks with a heavy accent.  We didn't want the character to feel like a cartoon - it had to be authentic.  So we cast a wonderful NY actor Victor Cruz, but replaced him because he felt too young for the role.  So, Oswaldo Castillo was called in and did a great job.  While he isn't a trained actor, he has a certain look and quality to him that is authentic and lovable.

Adam Carolla is a really funny guy.  I knew he was smart, and funny from the radio - but he has strong acting instincts as well.  A very nice group of producers on this project.  When you work with nice people, I think you work harder and better.  We'll know about a pickup sometime in May.  Fingers crossed.

Adam Carolla pilot

We finished the bulk of the casting for our NBC pilot - The Untitled Adam Carolla Project - yesterday. I'm really happy with the cast. We had a "pre- table read" the other day with most of the series regulars and it was REALLY funny. Our official table read is on Monday. We've added a couple of great people to the cast: Victor Cruz is playing the role of Rogelio. We cast Victor out of New York... he's a little younger than we originally envisioned the role, but he is really funny and will be a great sidekick for Carolla. I'm also excited about Amy Landecker. Amy may not be a familiar face yet, but she has a very memorable scene in the Coen Brother's latest film "A Serious Man" as the sexy and sultry neighbor. Amy is playing Carolla's ex-wife. One of the great things about Amy is that she is a fresh face for TV viewers. You often will see the same people playing roles over and over on television and when you get to a certain age category, it's just hard to find strong, quality actors who haven't been overexposed. Amy has been in New York and has been doing lots of stage work, so while she's done the NY TV shows, she hasn't done a lot of high visibility television in the past.

The producers on this project have been GREAT to work with. I've enjoyed this collaboration immensely. It's really nice to work with people who want to hear our opinion and who respect my experience. We laughed a lot and worked hard and have a really good result. So, we start shooting this next week. Then we wait. The networks announce their fall schedules in the 2nd week of May. Let's hope this one gets on the air!

AreUaStar has been busy Casting

It's been a great 2010 already.  The AreUaStar Casting Directors are working on a new pilot for NBC that stars Adam Carolla.  We've just cast the fabulous Megan Hilty (direct from Broadway), Ashley Williams and a young wonderful actress Shanley Caswell.

Our Lifetime movie "Pregancy Pact" was Lifetime's highest rated movie in the past 6 years.  We are all very happy with those results -and the reviews about the cast were all really stellar.

After a kind of slow 2009, we are excited to be off to a fast start.  Pilot season is in full swing and it finally feels like a real pilot season again.  It's the first one in years.  There are a ton of pilots casting right now - usually the comedies don't start until mid to late February, but this year, it seems like they are all being greenlit early.  So stay tuned for more casting news to come.