No Business Like Show Business
Casting Director Barbara DiPrima Opens Talent Office In Banner Elk

Show business veteran Barbara DiPrima is working on bringing Hollywood jus! a little bit closer to the High Country. An industry insider for the past quarter century, she will open her new business, DiPrima Casting inside the Great Train Robbery on Tyne castle Hwy in Banner Elk Later next month.

The new casting agency will make it easier for film, television and print ad hopefuls to show producers and directors what they have to offer. Formerly the writer for the syndicated-column Miami Scene with Barbara DiPrima, the show biz talent scout has forged a successful career of matching people with their perfect roles

I first came-up here in the early I970s," said DiPrima. "I've been in the casting business since I978. I had done some acting, modeling and dancing myself. A good friend of mine was my agent and one time when I needed a job, she said 'How would you like to be a casting director?' I said, 'Well, that sounds like a good idea. What do I have to do?' So she got me started."

DiPrima's move into casting came at an opportune time. She was working as a casting director in Florida in I979 when the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was on strike. Because Florida was a right-to-work state, many film and commercial productions relocated from New York and California to the Sunshine State during ' the SAG strike.

"It just put us on the map," said DiPrima. "I was doing four jobs a day, seven days a week. They came down in droves and at the beginning I only had, one competitor. So it was a great time to start."

Because DiPrima has always loved living in the High Country when not working in Florida , she has had the idea of opening a talent and casting agency in the area for some time. She has made friends with the directors and actors of the Blowing Rock Theatre Company, Lees-McRae Theatre and Appalachian State's Department of Theatre and Dance so she is well aware of the amount talent residing in the High Country.

"There are a lot of good looking people and talented actors that I run into every day," said DiPrima. Sometimes just having the right look for a role isn't enough, as DiPrima has learned on a number of occasions. One of her jobs recently required looking for a new pitchman for a series of Miller Lite beer advertisements.

"They wanted a retro, 70s looking guy with lamb-chop sideburns,” said DiPrima.. "I was casting in Miami and I said to my client that I would go up to the mountains of North Carolina because there are a lot of college kids there that look like that. They loved the idea so they said go find him."

DiPrima held a casting call at the Boone Mall to try and find the new icon for the Miller Lite ads. Because actors in beer ads have to legally be at least 25 years of age, however, the pool of college guys old enough to play the part at the casting call did not yield any results. "They had the look but they weren't old enough," said DiPrima.

"So I went scouting around town. Finally I went down by the motorcycle shop. We drove by and walking out and getting into his pickup truck with his dad and uncle was this kid named Freddy. He was so perfect. He had long reddish hair and a mustache with lamb-chop sideburns. He was skinny and good looking."

DiPrima stopped Freddy on the street and asked if he was 25 years old and was interested in being in a Miller Lite commercial. She had him fill out a form and took his picture and told him that if he were chosen, he would be flying to Los Angeles in a week for a photo shoot. So far, so good.

'The clients actually went nuts over him," said DiPrima. "They said, 'This is the perfect guy. Hire him.”

"They were so excited when they saw Freddy's pictures, they didn't call me, they called Freddy directly and spooked the poor guy. They sent him a storyboard and told him that his character was named Dick. He said, 'I don't want to be called no Dick. My name's Freddy.' They sent him $I, 000 and plane tickets. He was in seat I3-F. He said, 'I'm superstitious. I'm going to get “blowed” up if you put me in seat I3-F.

"The clients were dying. Freddy was chosen to be the Miller Lite guy out of over I, 000 hopefuls. They sent me to find him and all I had was a P.O. Box." After DiPrima tracked down the elusive Freddy, she set about trying to convince him to be the Miller Lite icon. Freddy, however, had different plans and a list of reasons why he couldn't go to California for the photo shoot.

"First of all, he had pneumonia," said DiPrima. "Then he had something else. That, it was because he was afraid to fly and he was really superstitious and he didn't need the money. The clients were going to send a limousine down to pick, him up and I was going to fly with him to L.A. He could take his mom, dad, brother, whoever he wanted. Anything to get this kid there!

"It was going to be a national campaign—-billboards, television, radio and magazines. It was all over the place. He was going to make well over a quarter-million dollars on a national campaign like that."

At other times, DiPrima has found High Country talent that is more than willing to put there day jobs on hold when the limelight beckons. Boone chiropractor Brad Batchelor has done some movie acting and told DiPrima, a patient of his, to be on the lookout for any roles that would fit his profile. Later, when DiPrima was on the set of the movie version of Miami Vice, she showed Balchelor's photo to the casting director of the film and asked him if there were any parts that would suit him.” He said, 'Oh, I need him tomorrow,' recalled DiPrirna. “Tell him to be on the set at 6 a.m. ” I said, "Well, Ill see if he can do it. Brad said okay, put some of his appointments on hold, booked a flight and I got him a room on South Beach close to where they were shooting on the docks. He got there for a 6 a.m. call time and ended up working three days on the set. He met Jamie Foxx, (director) Michael Mann and Colin Farrell. Brad played this older rich guy with a young beautiful blonde model. He had a great time," Miami Vice is set for a wide theatrical release in 2006.

"Those are the kinds of things that I'm coming across," said DiPrima. "There is just such a wealth of talent up here. If I'm doing casting up here, it saves them the drive down to Charlotte or Wilmington for auditions. Clients know I'm up here and I can digitally send them pictures and resumes."

The sheer variety of casting jobs that DiPrima performs seems daunting but is actually what keeps her excited about her occupation. She has worked on feature films, television projects, print ads, radio ads and TV commercials. She has worked with producers that are looking for models with perfect hands or feet ("women's feet should be no bigger than size five-and-a-half and the index toe cannot be longer than the big toe").

"I do more TV commercials than feature films because they pay more and it's a faster turnaround," said DiPrima. "The job is cast and you're done. A movie ties you up for six to nine weeks and you lose your commercial business if you're tied up with movies constantly.

"In movies extras get paid around $75 for the day. But in a commercial, if you're recognizable, you're a principal and you get paid principal rate, even if you don't have a speaking part.

"If the commercial goes national—if it is played coast to coast— each time the commercial plays in a market, the actor gets a residual (payment). And the bigger the market, the more money they get for that residual. And it can play five times a day if it's a big campaign. We shot a Seats job for eyeglasses and that thing is still running four years later."

Currently, DiPrima has a number of projects in the works including two movies (one tilled The Blue, the other unnamed), and several commercial jobs. She is also working with the current Miss Russia to help jumpstart her career in modeling. She stated that she is always on the lookout for beautiful people who could find work in Miami 's bustling print ad and catalog industry as photo shoot models.

"They do a lot of print work in Miami ," said DiPrima. "All the Europeans come in and they do all the catalog work down there. They recruit girls from all over the world. For print work, it doesn't matter if the girl speaks English or not, she just has to be tall and gorgeous. I'm hoping to find some stars up here and bring them down there so they can work with other agencies."

But it is not only the tall and gorgeous types who end up making money as models. The range of characters needed for print ads and catalog work ranges from babies to old people.

"You've got lifestyle models," said DiPrima. "Those are your average nice looking, healthy and wholesome clean cut types who are in good shape. Then you have an odd assortment of character types that are used in commercials."

Barbara DiPrima's will be interviewing talent at the Great Train Robbery Emporium starting the first week in November 2005.

Send resumes and headshots to:

DiPrima Talent
Great Train Robbery Emporium
2120 Tynecastel Highway
Banner Elk , NC 28604
 

 
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Last modified: November 07, 2009