My gut says you've got a combination of scheduling issues combined with them trying to ensure the talent gets paid if you are so new that the thing falls apart and ends up wasting time.

I'm just guessing though.

RJSchwarz

When one gets so pissed off it isn't even funny, one gets a little
clouded in their assessment of the situation. I may be very wrong
here. You may have posted a very accurate, unemotional account
of what's going on. But it's difficult to offer any opinion without
knowing for sure.

There is a bit of an unwritten rule to never refuse work - and it's
very usual for talent to request a formal offer. Odd that the
casting director thinks this is unusual.

If the actor you want doesn't want to leave town that is their
choice. It's nothing against you personally. A producer doesn't
always get the talent they want within their permitters - budget/
time frame/location.

Make a formal, firm offer. If they reject it, move on to the second
choice. If they make further demands that make you mad and
frustrated, move on to the second choice.

Have you considered going to where this person lives and hiring
a studio? That way you get your three days and the actor doesn't
have to leave town.

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Thanks, guys. No, it was a very emotional posting, although I think I presented the facts pretty well. Thanks for the info about requesting a formal offer. I am so new to this that all I can do is rely on generic abilities to read people and my read of this CD is that perhaps she's a little new in some areas as well.

The deal was finalized June 8, which my CD says was fast for Hollywood. What do you guys think? May 22 to June 8 with a holiday weekend in there? Fast or slow?

It just took forever to get to the point where we could even *make* an offer. I don't know if it was schedule conflicts and busy-ness on the part of all, or what. Once the offer was made, it was only a matter of a business day or so until it was accepted.

I didn't take it personally that the talent didn't want to leave town. I really needed to do it here at home because *those* are the people I'm going to work with on a regular basis and build the relationships with -- not so much the Hollywood folks, though I'm certainly taking this opportunity to network as much as possible. (e.g., I'm hopefully meeting with his manager and with him Monday before heading home for the sessions).

Oh, and he did agree to three days. Apparently the usual is to travel in the day before the first work day, which I had explained to the CD was not what I had in mind (it's a one-hour flight, so I wanted to travel in and work the same day). Once it was clear about the number of days away from home, it seemed to be okay.

By the way, he (or his agent) requested black-car service, which my CD thought was kind of high maintenance. You guys get any requests like this?

If the CD didn't make a firm offer on day one then the time frame
is very typical. One to three business days from a firm offer is
about right. Holding out for months until a firm offer is made is
very typical.

Since you are so new to this you need to understand that managers
and agents get dozens (hundreds if their client is famous) of
"offers" a week. Those offers take a lot of time to verify. If an
inexperienced CD (or a CD unknown to the manager/agent) doesn't
make a firm offer right away, that offer will get put in the
"question mark" stack while the firm offers are explored. It
sounds to me like the CD you hired didn't make a firm offer right
away. One doesn't get to *make* a firm offer - one either makes
one or doesn't. A little bit of experience this CD now
understand. Hopefully.

First phone call the first thing mentioned should be money and
then dates. Then the negotiations start.

A travel day on each side of the work days is not only typical,
it's mandated in some contracts. So the agent is assuming the
producer knows this. So a three day job is (typically) a five day
contract. And car service is also very typical. Not high
maintenance at all. Many time car service is required on the
actors end also. So you're getting quite a deal.

The entertainment business is very different than any other
business. Things that are typical and ?understood? in this
business seem really strange in others. You casting director
seems to be a little out of the loop.

It's sounding more and more as though my frustration was unwarranted...

What I got from the CD was that we had a lot of going back and forth -- first to the manager, would she endorse it? Yes. Then to the agent, whom the CD found out was not his voiceover agent and it went back to the manager -- per him, would I do two days instead of three? Etc etc.

So it sounds like you're saying the CD should have written up an offer at my direction and just presented it at the start. Interesting. I saw what the offer looked like -- it was basically a freeform paragraph for each day indicating what would happen, who would do it, and how much would be paid. Is that usually what an offer looks like?

The deal memo, then, was a long page with lines for agent info, manager info, etc. as well as spots for my signature and his. The offer was added as exhibit A. Does that sound typical as well?

Ironically, the CD said his manager sounded somewhat new, but I've talked to her myself now and she seems very experienced. Hopefully I'm meeting with her tomorrow, since I'm here in town.

Would it be untoward to ask him what he and his manager thought of my CD? If she's less apt than I thought, perhaps I might want to go with someone else in the future. (Problem is I think there are only two agencies in town -- would be harder, I think, to work with an LA agency as well as more $$$).

As it happens, he's going to get picked up at the airport in a (black 🙂 Mercedes and driven around in a late-model Corvette. Will that be appreciated? Should I spoil him in some other way to say thank you?