Filming a Table Read

[lbs101 User Find all posts View Profile Close lbs101]

I have a script that currently has some people interested, but forward progress has been very slow. Right now we are trying to find a producing partner who can take the lead on packaging or who has access to a director we can attach prior to going out to investors and financiers.

So we are planning on putting together a table read & filming it for promotional purposes. There is some concern from the casting director currently attached that we would run into legal / union issues depending on how that footage is shared or disseminated.

Does anyone have any experience with setting up a table read and the legal / union issues with filming it?

[JeffLowell Member Find all posts View Profile Close JeffLowell]

What does the producer say? If you set it up as an "ultra low budget production" or a new media low budget project, then you'd only have to pay the actors around 125 bucks a day. There are ways to negotiate an ever lower rate if you never plan to release it.

[lbs101 User Find all posts View Profile Close lbs101]

The producer isn't saying much other than he loves the idea. After doing a bit of research I don't see many examples of Table Reads online other than Behind The Scenes specials on established IP. At this point I think we are just going to film it and the put it behind a password protected Vimeo / YouTube link that we can share with potential investors.

[JeffLowell Member Find all posts View Profile Close JeffLowell]

Just my .02 - don't settle on actors. I've heard the same words read by different people, and while a star can make something good seem like genius, someone who's wrong for the part can make something genius sound like The Room.

[Rantanplan Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rantanplan]

I'm curious about this too, because I heard they were doing this with novels now as well (there's a word for it, but I forget what it is-- a cross between a book on tape and a radio play) in the hopes of giving Hollywood people a feel for what a movie adaptation might sound like -- I think it's just sound, the idea being that showing faces might prevent people from imagining stars in the roles. So maybe that's why there's not much content out there about that?

[blue439 User Find all posts View Profile Close blue439]

Why don't you put your question about filming table reads to the actors union?