June 12, 2012 by Mindy the Monkey
One of the coolest things my dad and I get to do is animal casting – finding just the right animals to appear in movies, television, print advertising and live theater. Casting the right animal for the right part is a very important job that takes a lot of thought and planning. Dad has been doing it for over 40 years, so he is really good at it. I have only been doing it with him for a few years, but I am pretty good at it too!
When a producer or director or talent agent or advertising agency needs an animal actor for their production, they call dad to talk about what kinds of animals they want and what they want the animals to do. Sometimes the jobs are very simple and don’t require much acting skill, so dad can book the job right away. But sometimes the jobs are very complicated and the animal actor has to perform a lot of different tricks, so the production company sends us a script to read. Once we have read the script, we know exactly what each animal has to do and then we figure out who to cast for each role.
It is a lot of fun to read a script for a movie or commercial or television show. It’s not at all like reading a book, because there are all sorts of stage and camera directions mixed in with the dialogue and the story. But you can definitely tell what the story is, and all the directions help you picture it in your mind really well.
This week dad and I are reading the script for a new horror movie about evil spirits and bears. It is really scary! Sometimes I even have to close my eyes and hide my face when we get to a really terrifying scene. I try not to let dad see me do that, though, because I want him to think that I am really brave, and not afraid of evil bears that might eat me. After all, as an animal casting director I need to be brave and strong and smart!
You can see lots of pictures of me and my animal actor friends working in different commercials, print ads and more by clicking here.
What are some of your favorite animal actors?
Category: Animal Casting Tags: animal, animal actor, animal casting director, anmial casting, casting director, commercial, live theater, movies, print ads, print advertising, production, television | Comments Off
June 7, 2012 by Mindy the Monkey
Hi everyone, I’m Mindy! I am a Capuchin monkey and I have a very special job as an animal ambassador. Here on my blog I will be telling you stories about what it is like to live, work and play with all kinds of different animals.
I’m so lucky that I get to travel all over the United States with my dad, Bill Hoffman of Animal Rentals, entertaining people and teaching them about wild, domestic and exotic animals. I have a lot of animal friends that travel with me and help me with our animal shows, and we always have a great time meeting new people and seeing how happy and excited they are to meet us.
Even though I am only six years old, I have already worked at many different events and met hundreds of wonderful people. I’ve been on television, worked at parties, fairs and festivals, performed on stage and at college shows, gotten all dressed up for corporate events and trade shows, and even danced as an organ grinder monkey. My dad is really funny and he makes people laugh a lot while he is teaching them about us and what it is like to live and work with exotic animals. I think my favorite part of being an animal ambassador is seeing the joy on people’s faces when they get to touch a monkey or a chinchilla or a snake for the very first time. It sure is a great job, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it!
I’m so glad that you found my blog and I hope you come back often to read about all the great adventures that my dad, my friends and I have working and playing together. And be sure to like my Facebook page, so that I can get to know you too!
Category: Animal Rentals Tags: animal, animal ambassador, animal shows, animals, capuchin monkey, chinchilla, college shows, corporate events, entertaining, events, exotic animals, fairs, festivals, monkey, organ grinder, organ grinder monkey, parties, snake, stage, television, trade shows | Comments Off