Central Casting
Central Casting is a casting company located in Burbank, California, United States that specializes in the casting of extras, body doubles, and stand-ins.
History
Central Casting was established in 1925 initially as a wing of the major Hollywood movie studios, specifically the Association of Motion Picture Producers.[1] The company focused solely on casting extras, with members being required to register and to check on a daily basis whether work was available.[1] By 1929, Central Casting had 17,541 extras on its books.[1]
During the 1940s, Central Casting began dividing its extras into four categories - "atmosphere", "character", "dress" and "specialized".[1] By the 1970s they came to dominate the field of extras casting,[citation needed] although only 2,200 extras were registered with the service by 1976.[1] Later that year the company ceased to be a service for the studios and was acquired by Production Payments.[1]
In April 2006, Central Casting opened its New York division.
Slang
The name of this company has developed into a jargon term denoting a provider of generic or a stereotypical character type for film or television. The term has also been adopted outside of the film industry. For example, a person who happens to strongly match a particular stereotype could be said to be "straight out of central casting".
References
External links
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