Dianne Crittenden, casting director on the original Star Wars who also worked on Pretty Woman, Spider-Man 2 and dozens of other films during a 40-year career, died March 19 at her home in Pacific Palisades. She was 82.
Her friend and colleague Ilene Starger confirmed her passing to Deadline.
Born on August 6, 1941, in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, NY, Crittenden got her start in the entertainment industry working with Howard Zieff, a photographer and director. They worked on advertising campaigns, TV commercials and films.
Her first project as casting director was Terrence Malick’s 1973 drama Badlands, starring Martin Sheen-Sissy Spacek, on which Bruce Springsteen based his song “Nebraska” a decade later. Crittenden worked on a few other films and TV shows, including the Emmy-winning 1976 Sally Field miniseries Sybil, before land the casting-director role of a lifetime — a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
After working with George Lucas on the iconic Star Wars,...
Her friend and colleague Ilene Starger confirmed her passing to Deadline.
Born on August 6, 1941, in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, NY, Crittenden got her start in the entertainment industry working with Howard Zieff, a photographer and director. They worked on advertising campaigns, TV commercials and films.
Her first project as casting director was Terrence Malick’s 1973 drama Badlands, starring Martin Sheen-Sissy Spacek, on which Bruce Springsteen based his song “Nebraska” a decade later. Crittenden worked on a few other films and TV shows, including the Emmy-winning 1976 Sally Field miniseries Sybil, before land the casting-director role of a lifetime — a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
After working with George Lucas on the iconic Star Wars,...
- 3/22/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Dianne Crittenden, the casting director whose impressive résumé included the first Star Wars film, The In-Laws and the Terrence Malick features Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, has died. She was 82.
Crittenden died Wednesday at her home in Pacific Palisades after a battle with several cancers, fellow casting director Ilene Starger told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Dianne was my mentor, we’ve known each other for 44 years,” Starger said. “She was also my dear friend, more like an older sister, really. So generous, kind, brilliant, funny. A people magnet. Her knowledge of and insight into actors was extraordinary.”
A former head of casting at Warner Bros., Crittenden collaborated with Martin Ritt on Murphy’s Romance (1985) and Stanley & Iris (1990); with Roger Donaldson on Thirteen Days (2000) and The World’s Fastest Indian (2005); and with Peter Weir on Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986) and Green Card (1990).
Crittenden was born in Queens on Aug.
Crittenden died Wednesday at her home in Pacific Palisades after a battle with several cancers, fellow casting director Ilene Starger told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Dianne was my mentor, we’ve known each other for 44 years,” Starger said. “She was also my dear friend, more like an older sister, really. So generous, kind, brilliant, funny. A people magnet. Her knowledge of and insight into actors was extraordinary.”
A former head of casting at Warner Bros., Crittenden collaborated with Martin Ritt on Murphy’s Romance (1985) and Stanley & Iris (1990); with Roger Donaldson on Thirteen Days (2000) and The World’s Fastest Indian (2005); and with Peter Weir on Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986) and Green Card (1990).
Crittenden was born in Queens on Aug.
- 3/21/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dianne Crittenden, casting director on some of the most notable features of the 1970s and ’80s including “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” “Days of Heaven” and “Pretty Woman,” died March 19. She was 82.
She died Wednesday in Pacific Palisades, Calif., according to her friend and mentee Ilene Starger.
Crittenden would go on to have a prolific career in casting lasting over 40 years. Crittenden’s credits include “The Thin Red Line,” “On Golden Pond,” “Witness,” “Badlands,” “Oh! God,” “Howard the Duck,” “Wise Guys” and “Spiderman 2.” She was nominated for a CSA Artios award for “Witness.” She worked with some of the industry’s most prominent directors, such as Ridley Scott, Peter Bogdanovich, Wes Craven, George Romero and Brian De Palma.
In a 2010 featurette included in the Criterion Collection release, Crittenden spoke about her experiences working with Terrence Malick, or “Terry” as she calls him, on his WWII drama “The Thin Red Line.
She died Wednesday in Pacific Palisades, Calif., according to her friend and mentee Ilene Starger.
Crittenden would go on to have a prolific career in casting lasting over 40 years. Crittenden’s credits include “The Thin Red Line,” “On Golden Pond,” “Witness,” “Badlands,” “Oh! God,” “Howard the Duck,” “Wise Guys” and “Spiderman 2.” She was nominated for a CSA Artios award for “Witness.” She worked with some of the industry’s most prominent directors, such as Ridley Scott, Peter Bogdanovich, Wes Craven, George Romero and Brian De Palma.
In a 2010 featurette included in the Criterion Collection release, Crittenden spoke about her experiences working with Terrence Malick, or “Terry” as she calls him, on his WWII drama “The Thin Red Line.
- 3/21/2024
- by Jack Dunn
- Variety Film + TV
Coming off one of its most contentious years in history, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has sent out its list of candidates for its Board of Governors elections late this month.
The Board of Governors directs the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health, and assures the fulfillment of its mission.
Governors attend 6-8 board meetings annually (in person or by video conference when out of town). Each Governor also serves on one board oversight committee and their branch’s executive committee, and they are expected to represent their branch at numerous Academy events through the year.
Governors have fiduciary responsibilities imposed by state law to serve the Academy’s best interests, by acting with responsibility and care when approving annual goals presented by management, as well as major policies concerning governance.
CEO Dawn Hudson oversees a staff of more than 300 who conduct the Academy’s day-to-day business.
The Board of Governors directs the Academy’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health, and assures the fulfillment of its mission.
Governors attend 6-8 board meetings annually (in person or by video conference when out of town). Each Governor also serves on one board oversight committee and their branch’s executive committee, and they are expected to represent their branch at numerous Academy events through the year.
Governors have fiduciary responsibilities imposed by state law to serve the Academy’s best interests, by acting with responsibility and care when approving annual goals presented by management, as well as major policies concerning governance.
CEO Dawn Hudson oversees a staff of more than 300 who conduct the Academy’s day-to-day business.
- 5/10/2019
- by Michael Cieply and Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
At this point, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ governors election looks more like a round-up than a race; more than 180 members have declared their interest in filling 17 contested spots on the 54-member Board of Governors.
Voting in the run-off round starts on Monday and ends May 18. That will narrow the present field to a maximum of four nominees per branch in the final round, which follows.
For now, there are on average about 11 candidates in the running for each slot. In the casting directors and costume design branches, only three members have declared for each slot. But not so in the actors branch, where 17 members — including Brie Larson, Jacki Weaver and Meg Ryan — are vying for the spot being vacated by termed-out Tom Hanks; or the producers, executives, and public relations branches, all of which have a bumper crop of candidates. Marvin Levy, currently a governor in the public relations branch,...
Voting in the run-off round starts on Monday and ends May 18. That will narrow the present field to a maximum of four nominees per branch in the final round, which follows.
For now, there are on average about 11 candidates in the running for each slot. In the casting directors and costume design branches, only three members have declared for each slot. But not so in the actors branch, where 17 members — including Brie Larson, Jacki Weaver and Meg Ryan — are vying for the spot being vacated by termed-out Tom Hanks; or the producers, executives, and public relations branches, all of which have a bumper crop of candidates. Marvin Levy, currently a governor in the public relations branch,...
- 5/11/2018
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Backstage has just released its Actorfest NY schedule, with classes being taught by top casting directors in television, film, theater, commercials and voiceover. Actorfest NY is being held on November 17, 2012. These workshops are selling out quickly, so book your ticket today. Workshop attendees will also receive a complementary meet-and-greet pass, offering a brief one-on-one opportunity to meet with a top casting director. Workshops include: The CD and You with Judy Henderson, Emmy-winning Casting Director of Showtime's "Homeland." Film Casting with Paul Schnee of Barden/Schnee Casting, Casting Director for “Pitch Perfect” and “The Help.” Stage versus Screen Auditioning with Ilene Starger, Casting Director for “Music & Lyrics” and “Night at the Museum”; Surviving as a New York Actor: Alaine Alldaffer, the casting director for Playwrights Horizons on the art of being an actor in New York and how to maintain your love of the work while overcoming the challenges. Click here...
- 10/25/2012
- backstage.com
Nearly five decades after a musical adaptation of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was one of the biggest flops in theater history—even with a book by Edward Albee and starring Mary Tyler Moore—Holly Golightly is headed back to Broadway in 2013. Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg (“Take Me Out,” “The Violet Hour”) has written a new adaptation of Truman Capote’s 1958 novella. Sean Mathias, who directed a different stage version of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” starring Anna Friel in London in 2009, is directing. Rehearsals begin in late January; performances are expected to begin in February at a Shubert theater to be announced.Casting directors Ilene Starger and Zoe E. Rotter are holding auditions for the play in October in New York. “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke has been cast in the lead role, made famous on film by Audrey Hepburn, but all other roles are available at this time.
- 10/15/2012
- backstage.com
Warner Bros. Pictures' Mystic River and Paramount Pictures' School of Rock were the top winners in the film category at the Casting Society of America's 20th annual Artios Awards, held in simultaneous events in Beverly Hills and New York. Phyllis Huffman and Carolyn Pickman were recognized Tuesday for feature film (drama) casting for River, while Ilene Starger was honored for feature film casting (comedy) for Rock. Ferne Cassel and Kimberly Mullen walked away with the award for independent feature film casting for their work on Monster. In television, Gary M. Zuckerbrod won dramatic episodic casting for CBS' Without a Trace, while the dramatic pilot casting nod went to John Papsidera and Wendy O'Brien for HBO's Carnivale.
- 10/14/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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