The recent writers strike put a damper on the industry but since its resolution, productions have resumed, putting many cast and crew providers back to working on the daunting task of providing the missing piece of the production puzzle: the cast and crew.

Los Angeles and New York are known for having some of the largest suppliers of background talent, such as Central Casting. With over 80 years of providing the entertainment industry with background talent with offices in both Los Angeles and New York, they provide a much-needed link between production companies’ needs and individuals looking to break into the business. Central Casting touts the largest and most diverse database of background talent with highly-trained professional casting directors and in-house payroll processing to help fill in the blanks for pretty much all projects.

But when it comes to child actors, companies such as Children in Film, Inc. specialize in providing Labor Law information since 2000.  Strict rules and regulations to comply with can make these types of companies become very handy. While not a casting company, they do offer theatrical support services to productions employing children, provide permits to minors, and act in the best interest of parents and children.

Casa LTD, which has been around for 20-plus years and acts as the parent company to Children in Film, Inc., supports studio teachers, who are required to be on the set (as are welfare workers in the state of California) when a minor is employed in entertainment.

Heather Broeker, director of marketing for Children in Film, Inc. can attest to this. “I can’t count the number of times a production has been ‘saved’ by a phone call to our Permit Service Department.  If a child doesn’t have a permit, he/she can’t legally work on set,” Broeker continues, “but if your production is in a jam, Permit Services Director Trisha Noble figures out how to get a permit to you fast.” 

President of Children in Film, Inc. Toni Casala adds, “After years of answering questions about the employment of minors in entertainment, we designed www.ChildrenInFilm.com with the express goal of educating and connecting the community as a whole.  Our mission is to provide a healthy, positive view inside child actor employment and to empower parents and industry pros alike ─ with the tools and information needed to succeed.”

With the recent influx of tax incentives popping up in almost every state in America, so are casting companies. Louisiana, for example, ranks as one of the top on location production hubs for the third year in a row now ─ as mentioned in this issue’s third annual feature, the Top 10 Places to Shoot in the U.S. ─ and has numerous companies fighting to provide talent for the drastically increased productions in the Pelican state.  

Massachusetts is right behind them with people working very hard to bring more productions to the state, such as CrewStar senior VP of marketing and sales and head of the Massachusetts Production Coalition, Joe Maiella. His company provides payroll services and assists with employment matters for companies doing business in Massachusetts.

The woman-owned Maslow Media Group, established 1989, is an entertainment-recruiting firm that provides production staffing, worldwide crewing, payroll services, and media management for corporations and government that experienced significant growth in 2007. They also provide services and manage contracts representing the entire spectrum of multimedia, video production, and audiovisual services.