When Aaron Sorkin, Steven Soderbergh, Scott Cooper and Denis Villeneuve are looking to cast their films, they turn to casting director Francine Maisler. This year alone, Maisler has worked on “Sinners,” “The Lost Bus,” “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” and the upcoming “Ella McCay.”
Maisler reveals she’s working around the clock on multiple projects. That includes Tom Ford’s much anticipated third movie.
“He’s in London and he’s my first call at 6:30 in the morning,” she tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “We work around the clock because it’s him. We collaborate on every single thing.”
Variety reached out to Ford’s rep, Simon Halls, who says, “The project is still in early development stages.”
Maisler teases, “It’s going to be this epic, incredible movie that you’re going to love.” Maisler is also hard at work on Sorkin’s latest. “My life is pretty full,” she says.
This year, now that the Academy is finally recognizing casting directors for their work — with the launch of a casting category — there’s a world where Maisler could snag more than one nomination.
“I personally am not somebody who seeks likes the attention, it’s not why I do it behind the scenes,” Maisler says.
The Television Academy, BAFTA and the Casting Society have recognized the craft for years, which means the Oscars are finally playing catchup. “I do think that being recognized by the Academy with this award for casting directors, with this award for casting directors, is long overdue,” Maisler says. “The contribution casting directors make is an integral part of a film.”
Maisler spoke to the Awards Circuit Podcast about her prolific career; listen below!
“Sinners” reunites Maisler with Ryan Coogler, following their collaboration on “Creed.” She recalls getting a call from him in 2023: “He said, ‘Hey, you know, I’m thinking of doing this little, tiny movie, low budget, and would you want to do it?’”
She didn’t have a script at that point, as is often the case, but the criteria were to search for a young man who could sing and play the blues.
Every casting process is different, and this one was far-reaching. Aside from putting out calls and talking to people, Maisler says, “We were talking to blues clubs in Atlanta, anywhere we could think of schools, everything, and we welcomed any tape.”
Thousands of auditions came her way, but she remembers seeing Miles. “One day we see this young man in this dark room playing the guitar, and this voice comes out of him,” Maisler says. “We decide to fly him to L.A. and he came in the room with Michael, Ryan, and he sang. We all looked at our each other, and I’m not a very religious person, but I just said, ‘Man, if there’s somebody up there, he’s channeling something through this kid, because it moved all of us.’”
Since the film’s release, Caton has garnered recognition, including Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch and Young Hollywood. Does she feel proud of her discoveries? “I don’t say, ‘I discovered somebody.’ I go, ‘Oh, thank goodness he was able to fulfill what Ryan wanted.’”
This year also saw Maisler reunite with Cooper for “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.” The film follows Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen, making his very personal 1982 album “Nebraska.”
For the role of young Bruce Springsteen, Matthew Anthony Pellicano had never acted before — but his audition tape struck her. “He definitely warranted a call back. But Scott also said, ‘I want to see him again, and I want him to not use words to show, to convey what he’s feeling inside,’” she says.
Maisler and Cooper were looking for someone who could convey emotions, and Pellicano was given prompts rather than line. “That’s when Scott knew,” Maisler says. “When you see Springsteen, you see that boy’s face and without words, it’s just incredible.”
Also on this episode, “Train Dreams” director Clint Bentley discusses the themes and challenges of making the period drama, working with Joel Edgerton, William H. Macy and the rest of the cast in developing their characters, and the music, cinematography and visual style.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
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