I think it was Jim Henson, Kermit, or someone like that who said life's like a movie, you write your own ending , or something like that. Who are you surrounding yourself with? You can largely choose the cast of your own movie. Sure, some of the background players are chosen by independent casting agents and lord knows you can't choose the extras. And really, thank God for that. This show is what the industry calls a bum-number...a lot longer than the average ninety minute summer blockbuster. There are going to be a lot of bit players that will want a role in your big show and you can't manage all of them...you have people for that...you are the star of this show. You get right of first refusal of who gets 'co-starring' billing, 'also starring', 'featuring' and 'with'. These billings are usually going to indicate the amount of screen time you will spend with them over the course of this story. Choose quality players, you have a lot of time as the tale unfolds to decide who you have the best chemistry with, so don't rush. Nothing worse than being stuck on location in an uncomfortable place with people you can't work with. You will be working closely with your co-star on this flick and the living spaces will be close...you won't be able to hide your bad habits...do you trust them to accept that? You get to write your own drama but there will be plenty of naturally occurring drama off screen...every gig has that.
Most stories, great or not so great, have a limited cast of characters, from 'The Three Musketeers' to 'The Three Stooges'.
Who is co-starring in your screenplay?
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