It’s true: social media has effectively penetrated nearly every aspect of our lives.
Personal life? Check.
Social life? Obviously. Check.
Professional life? Check.
Sites like LinkedIn create avenues for individuals to connect with other professionals and obtain an advantage over fellow applicants when it comes to finding a job. (As they say, it’s not what you know, but who you know.)
But as a former aspiring actress, the auditioning process seems to be a sacred and untouchable aspect of landing a performance role. You sit outside the auditioning room in uncomfortable chairs and survey your competition, rehearsing your lines and anxiously tapping your feet. You are called in, one-by-one, and meticulously analyzed on your appearance and performance. You leave. You wait.
No longer.
Benedict Cumberbatch recently made Mashable headlines by landing a role on the new Star Trek sequel. It wasn’t the fact that he was hired that garnered press, but the avenue through which he obtained the offer.
Cumberbatch, who was on vacation during the auditions, simply recorded a video of himself reading the script on his iPhone. He then sent the video to Director J. J. Abrams and was offered the part.
In ways, this should not be surprising, as new technology paves the way for “citizen filmmaking” as well as citizen journalism. But it does astonish me that a high-budget film would hire a newly-established actor without actually seeing them perform in person.
I suppose that this could be a positive development. Perhaps in the near future, entire movies will be cast and filmed without the majority of the actors even meeting in person.
Leave a Reply