Women with Cool Jobs
Women with Cool Jobs
VP of Casting at CBS Studios Finds Top-Tier Actors and Talent for TV Shows, with Lori Erickson
Lori Erickson is the Vice President of Casting at CBS Studios where she oversees the casting process for shows across several broadcast and streaming platforms. She currently oversees SWAT, MacGyver, NCIS, NCIS: LA, The Equalizer and Unicorn on CBS, Diary of a Future President on Disney+, and The Moodys on FOX. Plus, she is also working on some pilots.
Her responsibilities include:
- scouting for talent,
- hiring casting directors (each show has its own),
- guiding the process of securing top tier talent on time and on budget,
- and ensuring that the many stakeholders in the projects have their needs met.
She also created and launched a program called the CBS Leadership Pipeline Challenge, a nonprofit-focused short film competition that empowers early-career storytellers to step into creative leadership positions.
Contact Info:
Julie Berman - Host
www.womenwithcooljobs.com
@womencooljobs (Instagram)
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That's a huge misconception of casting directors that we can make or break a person, we can help get them in the door, we can help get them in audition. But at that point, it's up to everybody else, including the actor and their own performance. But we can't can't turn somebody into a star like it's just it's not. There's way too many people involved opinions and strong personalities. There's not a whole lot of power, but it's really cool to have a voice in the room.
Julie- Host:Hey, everybody, I'm Julie, and welcome to women with cool jobs. Each episode will feature women with unique trailblazing and innovative crews. We'll talk about how she got here, what life is like now, and actionable steps that you can take to go on a similar path, or one that's all your own. This podcast is about empowering you. It's about empowering you to dream big, and to be inspired. You'll hear from incredible women in a wide variety of fields, and hopefully some that you've never heard of before. Women who build robots and roadways, firefighters, C suite professional surrounded by men, social media, mavens, entrepreneurs, and more. I am so glad we get to go on this journey together. Hello, everybody, and welcome to women with cool jobs. Today is such a special occasion because we've recorded this as the first guest speaker for the membership for women was called jobs. And it was so fantastic. It was such an experiment to have people there live with me recording that was very fun, but also slightly nerve racking. Because usually I'm just doing it in a room by myself. And I don't have anyone listening to what I'm doing or what I'm asking. And you know, vice versa as far as listening to the guests and everything. But it was literally one of the coolest experiences that I've had in my life. And what made it so fantastic was I don't know, somehow it changed the energy. It was just so fun. It was like a little community and and I could tell everyone was really excited to be there with me. And I was excited to be there with them. And then we have such a cool guest. We had Laurie Erickson Come on. And she's the Vice President of casting CBS studios. And we learned all about the different facets of her job, how she got there. And you know what roles she does within her executive position. And it's a lot more than I ever thought. When I hear casting, I just think of the obvious. And that's, you know, finding talent, like finding really fantastic actors and actresses to be on these shows. And that was pretty much the extent of what I know. So the fact that she could really outline all of her responsibilities in such detail, and shed light on the fact that she's actually such an amazing people person. And on top of that she's super detail oriented. She's super clever in the fact that she's great at being around people and really beating the temperature of the room and figuring out where she is going to need to talk to different people and take the temperature of situations and really collaborate with people and figure out solutions so that all of the stakeholders involved are happy and that they have their needs met. And it's really a huge, huge organizational feat that she does with putting together all these puzzle pieces in the end, and then creating this incredible products, where you and I get to watch on television and enjoy the show. So it was so fun. It really made me think about things in a whole new way. And now I feel like when I watch TV shows, I'm going to have a slightly different perspective, when I'm looking at the actors and actresses who are involved and and knowing what goes into that whole process. So I'm so excited to have her as my first live speaker for the membership. And it was the coolest way to start off. 2021 Thank you so much as always for listening. Laurie, thank you so much for joining us today for this momentous occasion. Like you've got the neatest job and I could probably asked you questions for literally, I don't know, five hours. But you wouldn't want to be here for that long. But there's just like so many cool facets about your job and what You do so you are the Vice President of casting for CBS studios and you oversee the casting process for shows across several broadcast and streaming platforms. So major shows that even though I don't get to watch a lot of television, I have heard of things like SWAT, MacGyver NCIS, NCIS, LA, the equalizer and unicorn on CBS Diary of a future president on Disney plus the Moody's on Fox, and plus, you're also working on a whole bunch of pilots. And I mean, that's like a lot of shows just just to name them. And I know, that's literally scratching the surface of what you do. So first of all, welcome to women with full jobs. Laurie, thank you for being here.
Unknown:Thank you for having me. It's an honor.
Julie- Host:It's, it's my pleasure, completely. And the second thing, so to start off, because we've just really touched the surface, I got a chance to speak with you a few minutes before we you know, we started it, and I've gotten some background information from you, how would you describe your job,
Lori Erickson:I would describe my job as, okay, so it's, it's the liaison between a lot of different creative elements to try and secure the most perfect cast, the top tier talent and actors for our television shows at our studio on time. And within budget. That's my job. It involves a lot of negotiation, and a lot of making lists and watching auditions and articulating what I like and I don't like and finding out what other people like and don't like and trying to come up with somebody who makes everybody happy. That's That's the goal.
Julie- Host:Yeah. And you know what, when I was thinking about what you do, I was thinking that like, you're literally an organizer of people, and you're putting the most like fascinating amount of puzzle pieces together to make it fit yet with so many varied stakeholders involved. And so that's really what I want to focus on today. I think when I first found out about what you did, I had such a narrow view of vice president of casting, I was like, Oh, she could, she just goes out. And she finds really cool people to be on shows. And I feel like that's a facet. Like, that's one element of what you do. But that is a very small part of what you do. In general, like you do so much more than that. And there are so many more puzzle pieces that you work on it and when you put things together. So I would love to take a minute now that we know what you do now to just go back a little bit in time and talk about how you got here. And did you ever know that this position existed,
Lori Erickson:it was something you mentioned earlier about the purpose of this podcast being to put jobs on the radar of people who didn't even know they existed. That's exactly what happened to me. When I was in college, I was a theater major at this tiny private women's Arts College in Missouri called Stephens College. And we had a casting executive who was an alum of the program, talked to her class about what she did. And I was somebody up until that point, who loved my playwriting classes, my directing classes, acting classes, my stage management, I loved everything, you name it that has had to do with theater, I would mop the floor, I was happy to be there. And she came and talked about her job. And I was like, Oh my gosh, that's my favorite part is when they put the cast list up and the entire audition process, because I'd always analyze it in advance and try and predict that they were I'd come up with what I would have done and how I would have cast it. And I realized that that was a really fun part of the process for me, and I know there's a job around it. And she talks about her what she did. And she challenged us to watch auditions and then articulate why we thought somebody was best for the job. It's often a very subjective process. And I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. And shortly thereafter, somebody posted on the cork board in the green room poster for an apprenticeship at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. And I saw it and was like, that's my job. I'm going to get that. And I tried the first time around, I got an interview, and I didn't get it. And I thought, nope, it's so much off. So I moved to Chicago as soon as I graduated college and got an apprenticeship at a little boutique agency where the casting director of Steppenwolf used to work, and I figured I could learn as much as I can, and then revisit it and that she would recognize the name of the agency and interview me again. So I did that and I got it the second time around and I was there for a really cool period of time. We were getting August Osage County, act by Act, which was the coolest, and finding the actors for the original stage version of that and bunch of other projects. It was really a I fell in love with casting at that point. And from there, my boss said, you should really consider moving to Los Angeles if you want to make a living doing this. And I was like, but there's no theater in Los Angeles, when I go there and came out and visited with the director of August Osage County, and my boss, the casting director to find a role for August, and it was March in disgusting in Chicago and beautiful out here in Los Angeles. And I thought, oh, maybe I could do this. It's really pretty out here. So I moved out here didn't have a job for a while and finally got one as an assistant to a television packaging agent in at CAA a talent agency out here. And I just learned the ropes of television, I didn't even have a television in Chicago. So there was a lot to learn, and told everybody under the sun that I wanted to work in casting. And finally somebody heard about a job at CBS studios. And I interviewed and became an assistant to the head of our department. And I'm still here in March, it'll be 12 years later. So I've moved up through the ranks over Yeah.
Julie- Host:Do you mind telling us like a little bit about that progression? Sort of, you know, because you were an apprentice? And then what did you start us when you got to LA? What was that first position that you started out? And like, what were those responsibilities like that you had?
Lori Erickson:Sure, in casting, I was an assistant to the head of the department. So as a lot of scheduling a lot of answering heavy phones, making sure the actors tests when they come in, the top choices come in and audition, it used to be in person nowadays, it's most often on tape, but they would come in in person and audition for the studio execs live and then they would audition for the network execs live. And it was my responsibility to make sure that everything was seamless, when they came in, and the room and the recording and the technology and the scheduling, making sure that all of these busy executives were in the same right place at the right time. And that was really cool. Because as an assistant, you're a fly on the wall. And so you get to hear these conversations that are big decisions, and also see how different people have strong, very strong, very different opinions about the exact same scenario and how they negotiate it. And you get to see how they how they bumped their way through that process. And it's fascinating. And so I loved it. And I worked my bosses, Meg Lieberman, she is a legend in casting, she cast Wonder Years. What else does she do? Seinfeld's Band of Brothers, Oh,
Julie- Host:my gosh, she is a legend.
Lori Erickson:She's done so much. And she's won a ton of awards. And so she gratefully took me under her wing and answered all of my questions. And it still she was before COVID made us change it. She was supposed to be the flower girl at my wedding. Oh, my
Julie- Host:gosh,
Lori Erickson:he's been an incredible mentor changed my life. So
Julie- Host:that's amazing. And you know, I want to get back to sort of your progression. But I do want to take the time, because you mentioned mentor, and she sounds like such an amazing mentor to have. And I feel like as time goes on, and I do more of these interviews, that element of having a mentor, or having that key support person or few key support people help you find your way is just it's life changing. And so I would love to ask you, you know, did you find her as a mentor? And you got lucky or like, were you reaching out to her? What was that path like to find her as a mentor?
Lori Erickson:It started off as I was just her assistant, but she really did take me under her wing. And she's always been wonderful. Anybody who as has a question, she's very accessible when it comes to talking about her career and telling stories and her experiences and what she's learned along the way. And I'm very lucky in that respect. I'm a firm believer that in any career, having a strong mentor can make or break you being able to, in an honest, safe space, say, How can I do better? What What does this mean? and have somebody just tell you straight up what it means or if you have obstacles to be able to talk them through somebody through with somebody. It's invaluable? It's so important, and I've always I've created a program at CBS that helps develop new Junior members of the workforce. And I myself have always volunteered with mentorship programs, young storytellers, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the veterans mentorship program. I am a firm believer, I try to pay it forward as much as possible, but I'm a firm believer that that is a game changer when it comes to any career I'm sure.
Julie- Host:Yeah, well, and especially I think how you mentioned having that safe space to just ask questions that may seem naive, naive, or those questions that may seem like they're stupid at the time. But it's, it's like, you know, we all start at the beginning, you don't know what you don't know. And you have to have someone you know, to help answer those or to guide you to those right answers. And that's so critical. So that's amazing that you have such an incredible person that you work with, and who's been such an incredible mentor. And so I, I want to go back also in touch on because I know you're doing some really incredible things with with trying to provide a space for people growing and kind of learning how to do things in in your business. But I want to go back. So after your first job, what was the progression like and moving up now to where you are at the VP of casting,
Lori Erickson:I was an assistant for a few years and then was bumped up to coordinator when the coordinator left and I filled that position for I think about two years. And that's also very similar to the assistant position, you just tend to be the go to for a lot of other projects, you just get more put on your plate. And then I was promoted to manager, which was it was interesting, I had applied to a program inside of CBS that would have taken it was a two year program where you bop around through different departments and learn as much as you can, and then they you land in a manager position at the end of it. And I was applying for that. And it really highlighted to other people in the company that that's the track that I was looking for. And I ended up getting promoted to manager instead of doing that program. And, and so I stayed in casting, I was just a person is curious about everything. So I would have loved learning about development and, and every every business affairs legal, the departments are really fascinating. And they'll all be happy to let you pick your brain. So even though I didn't do that program, I still have definitely taken it upon myself to keep learning about the entire company as a whole. And so that that's when I made the bump to executive. And at that point, you stop answering the phones and scheduling things. And you start guiding the casting process, which was really eye from the outside looking in, I was like, Oh, I can do this. And it was a learning curve. It was it was hard to have people who saw you as an assistant, then come to you for help, because they just think you don't know what you're doing. And so getting people to see you in that light was one challenge, but then also not necessarily knowing what I was doing. And they say, you know, fake it till you make it. But you can't necessarily if it's a very specific process that you need to know. And that's, again, I having my boss as a mentor was incredibly helpful. And the other executives in my office were more than generous to answer my 800 million questions along the way. And I, I have always been a person who asked a lot of questions. So that didn't change that much when I got promoted. But they they helped me find my sea legs. And from there I it's more of a the job stays the same and they start throwing more complex projects at you. And you just get more on your plate as you move up through the ranks. So we have almost the summer, we had almost 60 projects that we were working on. We divvy them up between all of us executives. And they did have a lot, a lot of projects of all different genres on all different platforms at the same time.
Julie- Host:Yeah, and so so now for what you're doing with with your role as Vice President of casting, I wanted to get into that in more depth because I find the pieces and the elements of it so fascinating. So it seemed like there were four main areas that you really have responsibility over and that you're in charge of putting all those puzzle pieces together and making it fit. So the first one was scouting for talent. The second one was hiring casting directors. The third one was guiding the process of securing top tier talent on time and on budget. And the fourth one was meeting the needs of all your stakeholders. And so I would love to just take a little bit of time, and kind of go through each of those pieces one by one and for you to really get into some of that nitty gritty detail that we wouldn't know about because there are so many facets to your job. And I mean, I really was surprised by how much you know you do and like just your skill with dealing with the different components having to do with managing all of these people and and making sure the right people are in the right place at the right time for the right amount of money. That is like it sounds like such an incredible thing to organize. So the first one was scouting with talent. So I would love to hear a little bit about how you did that before pre pandemic because I know the process has probably changed And then now what that process is like for you,
Lori Erickson:that's my, I would say my favorite part of the job is I get paid to go see theatre. And that is my dream That is so cool. We also go see a lot of comedy, the BBC go to film festivals, theater festivals, we try if there's actors, there we go. Another really popular scouting event is in the spring, when colleges graduate their theater, from their theater programs that they graduate their students, they often do showcases, it's also called leagues, and they pre COVID would come to Los Angeles, they also go to New York, and sometimes some other places in between. and they do about a one hour showcase of their talent. So there'll be, you know, 25 students, each does a monologue and a scene or just one scene or two scenes, they're very short, very short and sweet. They move really quickly. And at the end, they all walk out and they say their names and you get a packet of their headshots and resumes and agents and managers are there, they'll call and try and represent them. And from a casting perspective, we do a lot of generals, we invite the actors to come in and meet with us on a more general basis, just kind of like a job interview where there's not a specific job yet, you just kind of get to know each other. And I love that because I love to meet new people. And you just ask them what their story is, what their goals are, what their fantasy is about their career. And once you get a good idea of who they are, then you can start considering them. You've seen you've seen some of their work as a student, you can start bringing them in for auditions. And it's a lot of tracking, you see, okay, they they have a little bit more to learn or if this wasn't the right part for them, they might be better for this role, and try and figure out how to help them if you think that they're super talented performer with a high ceiling. And And so yeah, there's a lot of nurturing of talent and advocating for folks we love most casting executives are happy to be a resource as new actors on the scene are trying to navigate finding representation or going out on auditions. There's there's just a lot of tracking, and you keep a lot of lists and a lot of notes and you make recommendations to a lot of people, they say, Hey, we're looking for somebody, we don't have a giant budget, it's gonna have to be a discovery of some kind. Do you have anybody recommend? There's a lot of communication between casting directors, between people in our industry that we're constantly sharing information and advocating for for talent. And where else do we go? Do we scout I do a lot of comedy shows. I mean, I got to play readings, I I'll show up to pretty much anything. Most of my friends out here in Los Angeles are actors in some capacity. And so there's no shortage of cool events that I get invited to go check check people out at.
Julie- Host:Yeah, that sounds amazing. So now are you doing like the virtual event version? like watching virtual shows? Or how do you how are you finding people in this climate, now,
Lori Erickson:I am in awe of how students and their professors looked at this situation, this obstacle of COVID as an opportunity. And what they've done is they've turned me to virtual, and it's really fascinating how they have adapted because it works. And especially being a casting executive in the television realm where it's on camera Anyway, when we're in a theater or watching live, they tend to have to perform a little bit larger because of the space that they're in. And so it's actually more helpful to see them on a camera, like see them on zoom, because I mean, technology aside, and those obstacles inside, it's, it's really cool to cut to the chase and see how they are on a camera, and then bring them in and audition to see how that and they've really adapted they a lot of the scenes that I've watched, they treat zoom as part of the scene. So if they just acknowledge that it's there, and then other others are really creative, where they will shake hands and offer their hand on one side, and then you'll see a hand on the other side be out to shake. It was like so is their person standing there on the other side to shake their hand. And I was like, wow, that's, that's tricky.
Julie- Host:Yeah, that is, that's creative, though. It's like using next level creativity for zoom purposes, right?
Lori Erickson:Yeah, like that's not gonna make a big shake a hand isn't gonna make or break a scene. But I was just impressed at how creative they they were. Yeah, another positive is more people are able to see it you when you're in a theater space, you know, out here tonight and I see theaters and there's usually they're usually not full and when it's on zoom and recorded, you can send it to people then and and more more eyes are on you. And they don't have to be available at the very time that you're performing on stage. They can watch after the fact if they weren't there's that benefit as well. I'm curious to see if if some will stay virtual or not.
Julie- Host:Yeah. That's Time will tell. Okay, but that that is really fascinating side of it. So many things that are different that we'll have to see what happens in in 2021 and beyond. Yeah. So well, thank you for covering that scouting that scouting process. It sounds super fun. The next one is hiring casting directors. So if you could explain a little bit about this, this element and how it works with your job,
Lori Erickson:this is one that's very nuanced, because a lot of producers and directors and writers have their casting directors that they work with all the time. And so sometimes they come into the project, by the time it gets to us, the project's been bought by our studio, usually, it's been sold to a network at that point. And the creative entities, if they already have somebody that they go to, then we'll call them and see if they're available and just hire them because they already have a shorthand there, they are comfortable with that relationship. But then in the same way that we're scouting for talent for actors, we're always looking for new upcoming casting directors, which are usually people who start as casting assistants and casting in casting associates. And then they go off on their own after they've learned the ropes and are ready to tackle that in their career. And so we're always trying to nurture new casting directors. And so sometimes if it's a new producer, or writer, or the their go to casting directors not available at that time, then we'll do sort of a matchmaking process where we'll look at the credits and the experience of the casting directors and what they love to do and what their strengths are and will try and personalities are will try and match it with casting or with the creative entities and they'll do a sermon interview process, and then they will pick and we'll negotiate the deal from there. So that's those are pretty that's pretty much the process for hiring casting directors. Okay.
Julie- Host:Yeah, it's like I just I feel like the more elements that we talked about, I'm imagining, like more people and more lists that, you know, you're you're keeping track of here, and
Lori Erickson:there are so many.
Julie- Host:Yeah, you must be a well organized person with all of this and like detail oriented, I'm imagining
Lori Erickson:I try.
Julie- Host:Yeah, I think you'd have to be. So the next one is guiding the process of securing top tier talent on time and on budget. So what Oh, go ahead.
Lori Erickson:Yeah. Everything that entire process.
Julie- Host:So what are the biggest, the biggest pieces of this that you're managing at your level, that especially people who would be listening might not know of when we're just thinking about, oh, she's, you know, she's gonna have this star on this new show coming out in November, you know, those those background pieces that are really the practical things,
Lori Erickson:sure, no two projects are the same. Sometimes they come on board, and the town's already attached, and you already have a star that was maybe their production company or their idea they were attached before it was sold. So in those cases, that puzzle piece is already in place, and you build around it. In other scenarios, we will start with a casting concept call where the studio, the network, all the creative entities and casting directors, and there's a lot of cooks at that point that at the studio in the network, there's development exact who are working on the script and developing the script, there's casting executives like us. And then there's if it's already ordered to series, as the current executives and current executives ensure through the duration of the series that the storylines, they look at the big picture. So there's the development executive, create the pilot, and the original project, the first episode, and then the current executive see it through to the end of the show, essentially. And, and so sometimes they're involved if it's already ordered to series, the current department. And there's a ton of different personalities all have their own, sometimes contradicting priorities. at the studio level, we deal more with the budgets. So there's, there's a lot of a lot of personalities. And so we'll all get on one call. And the creative entities will talk about their vision. And we'll talk about prototypes, which is in my dream world, I'd have Jessica Chastain as the lead, you know, if she wanted to do this project, so you could from a casting perspective, you can really kind of see how they envision the character and pull from that just as inspiration. And we'll start from there. And then the casting directors will post breakdowns, agents will submit their talent, they'll do a ton of auditions, we'll see hundreds of people, we'll get 1000s of submissions. And they'll be through that. If you just get called in for an audition and you've made it really far. Or if you're an actor, and they will pick their favorites. They'll show them to the producers, the director, the writers and they will pick their favorites. So there's an entire process that happens that I'm not privy to I oversee it in that I will follow along. I'll help brainstorm with them. I'll make suggestions. I'll do temperature checks about you know how how you know That person is as a overall career and what their their skill level is, if I have any insight, it's just a giant dialogue, a lot of different people, and I just will help in that in that point. And then when they have their top choices, they bring them to me. And at that point, we will negotiate deals for those actors. And we have their deals entirely done. We work with our business affairs department to do that, before they're even shown as choices to the studio and network. So we will negotiate the deal, and then they'll come in, they'll audition, or we'll show their tape in this day and age and at the studio level, then all the studio entities will discuss with the creative and disease, you know, we think these two people are the better choices for this role. Here's why there's a dialogue at that level that usually happens in a room or on a call. And then we take our top choices from there, and we'll strategize around that will take our chapters from there to the network. And then there's a whole other series of development exact and current execs and casting execs and the presidents of the studios and networks. And we'll have the conversation all over again. And it's fascinating to hear those conversations and and see how if you're an actor who gets a role, you are very lucky, you have had so many people sign off on you by the time you get that role. There's so many cooks, and everything is is discussed to a great deal.
Julie- Host:Yeah, I mean, that like what is the timeline like for all of that to happen, because that is a lot more going on behind the scenes than I think I ever imagined.
Lori Erickson:Normally, for a pilot, we have in an ideal world, we would have 10 weeks to do all okay. Normally, we don't have that much time, we'll have pilots picked up generally at the end of January, early February, and they shoot mid March, for the most part, some comedies will shoot in April. So moves really quickly. Sometimes we have four weeks, and we just have to go really quickly. And at that point, you really rely on your casting directors to have a quick understanding of the field and they're going to help prioritize who they bring in, because they just don't have time to see everybody under the sun. Although I'm sure they wish they could they just really have to prioritize at that point. It was very quickly that we don't sleep a whole lot.
Julie- Host:I was gonna say especially it my imagine during your busy seasons, like are you working very long hours during those times how we anchor your days, usually,
Lori Erickson:I don't really turn it off. My first few pilot seasons, I would wake up in the middle of the night and see a bunch of new emails and to start responding to them. And then I had to set boundaries and be like Laurie, this is not healthy. And but I also essentially wake up and start responding to emails, the moment that my eyes open, and it goes not COVID times right now it's an unusual, I don't know, I have no concept of time during World that we're in right now. But normal pilot season, I would be at the office until about 930 and then come home and keep responding to emails and
Unknown:calls.
Lori Erickson:It just kind of depends. I mean, I've been in the office before till 10 3011. The nice thing is our office is really close. We've all worked together for over a decade. And we we try and keep it fun. So yeah, we're all going through it together. And we were able to throw ideas vent talk out problems together. And so we're all we'll all be there at 930. Yeah, open a bottle of wine at a certain point. Let's keep working.
Julie- Host:That's awesome. Well, it sounds like you have such a cool culture there. And just a really neat group of creative people. And that is such a team and that you support all all of you know the different roles what everyone's doing together. So I can imagine that makes sting till 930 a lot more enjoyable. Also Timbo Yeah,
Lori Erickson:yeah. As soon as you have you have the start date for the show. And though the actors will be there, hopefully and then and then it's quiet and start doing showcases around that time too.
Julie- Host:Okay, so is it just it's like every, every few months, there's like a crazy rush where you have really long hours and then it settles down for a bit and then you go another few months and it's a crazy rush where you have long hours. Okay, so exactly cyclical.
Lori Erickson:And we have at the studio we have shows on multiple platforms, we're working a lot in the cable and streaming space that's year round. It's really just broadcast networks that do the pilot season model and I don't even know what that's gonna look like moving forward and after COVID or even this pilot season, but but they have year round casting going on now. It's there's a lot of recasting that happens in June and July. And then in July, August shows start going into series this writers rooms are open, they will will hire the casting directors back and they'll start casting the guests In the costars, and the roles that are peripheral to making the story happen that are not the series regulars.
Julie- Host:Okay, that's an amazing amount of components that go into just that element. So the last thing that you've mentioned is meeting the needs of all the stakeholders. So first of all, who are those stakeholders? And what are the needs that you have to meet?
Lori Erickson:Well, there's the network, they're the ones who make the final call, when they approve an actor, the actor has the role. So they have the final say, they are the ones who care about adspace. Or if they're streaming that cable subscribers and subscriber models, they tend to have to just be knocking out new content in order to keep people on their platform, in broadcasts, they have to be solid, they have to have eyes on the product and sell it the commercial space. So their priorities are a lot more audience centric. Everybody wants those same things do it's good for, it's good for every element to have a lot of eyes on your project. But that's that's where a lot of their priorities are, then at the studio, we deal with the budget. So we you know, if somebody wanted Jessica Chastain, we would say, you know, that would that that's above our budget, we can't actually afford her, let's find somebody who is within our budget who's just as talented and cool. And not to mention, she probably has other things that she's doing, and would not be wanting to do a television show. I mean, it'd be great, but, but it's unlikely. And, and so there's, the studio cares a lot about the budget. But then we're also working more hand in hand with the creative entities, because it's the studio that's developing the project. And it's really cool. Our development, departments care, we have comedy and drama, and we have, we have a cable streaming, and they it's really cool, every once in a while, we'll get to sit in on pitches, and they care so much about what this what the artist story is that they have to tell and what their perspective is. And then they'll honor that they'll find the network where it's the strongest place to sell that project, and to really stay true to what the creative roots are of it. And I think that's so cool. And, and so their priorities are the creative, and then also selling it. Because it's a business, right. And so there's that, and then the creative entities are creative entities, they had a vision when they wrote it, and you know, they want to sell it to they want to pay their bills, but then they tend to sometimes these things will contradict, you know, on every level, sometimes, you know, we won't be able to make a deal with an actor that we're negotiating with, because their agent wants something that we can't provide. And so that person is no longer in the mix. And then we have to call the creative entities and be like, sorry, it didn't work out, let's focus on these other people instead, and so forth. Sometimes, you know, the network will have an idea, and then we'll have to have that conversation with the creative entities, like what do you think about this person that the network really likes? Because that is have a lot of value to their audience, you know? So there's, there's just kind of a constant conversation happening and floating ideas, I do a lot of that, just to see what temperature check what do you think, you know, and it's from a casting perspective, it just involves a lot of flexibility and being able to adapt and really be able to quickly wrap your brain around what people envision and what they want and then trying to meet the needs of everybody and you know, there's always compromise but you know, casting directors are excel in that generally,
Julie- Host:I was gonna say I feel like your skill set must be definitely being detail oriented, being amazing with people but then also that negotiating the different needs of all those stakeholders, I mean, and and really being able to analyze very clearly like okay, well this group of creatives, they're so passionate about this, but yet this group they they're really worried about, you know, like we need to be on budget and this group is worried about being on time and how do we meld all these pieces together into a beautiful puzzle that then creates this fantastic show for the viewers to experience at home so I mean, and I'm sure we're we're probably just literally glazing the surface. of the the details that that go on. But it really is fascinating because I think that you know, had had I not met you my perspective and and sort of the scope of your job was a lot more narrow and hearing you explain it and also your background, how you how you got there and really you know, found that you were so passionate about it and then worked up the ranks is is just so cool. And I love I love the idea that also which I would love to go back to now and talk about your your project that you have done. I know you mentioned a project that were you were specifically creating Something in order to mentor and sort of create opportunities for people to come up and you know, to develop and launch their own projects. So you you called it was the CBS leadership pipeline challenge. So I would love for you to talk a little bit about that, and what it means to you why you helped create it.
Lori Erickson:Sure. I, as I mentioned earlier, I started as an assistant at CBS and I essentially created what I wish I had when I was developing a, you know, when you're an assistant, a lot of times it's, it's, you're doing a bunch of very perfunctory things that don't feel that creative, but most people moved out here to live in that creative space they want. They have creative voices, they have aspirations beyond answering phones, and they they have bigger dreams, and they're working in a studio filled with if you just think about all of the opportunities and minds. And if you just take inventory of all the assets that are around you, then it just seemed like it seemed like there was a space where we could be creating something for junior members of the workforce for early storytellers, early career storytellers to just learn and to be trusted with stories. And so I created a nonprofit focused short film competition that empowers those Junior employees and those early career storytellers to step up into leadership positions, they essentially go through several months of educational programming, learning how to build a team learning about how to make short films, learning how to pitch ideas, and then they're invited to pitch three to five minute short film ideas to three different local nonprofits. And the stories that they pitch have to center around the missions of the nonprofit, they're not music videos, they're not, they're not commercials, they're not PSA. They're narrative fiction stories. And so over that same educational period, they are invited to go visit the nonprofit see their headquarters, we toured the union rescue mission right before COVID hit, we really got to see what the community needs are in that scenario. And so we have 58 participants this first time around, they pitch their ideas, each nonprofit selected one idea. And then those individuals formed teams that have five, and they wrote their scripts, they're ready to go that COVID made it so that we've not been able to shoot our phones yet. But as soon as we do, they will be shot in a three week period, and judged by industry professionals, really cool showrunners and talent agents and managers, and they will be up on a CBS interactive platform for everybody to see. And they win money for that nonprofits and for themselves.
Julie- Host:Wow, that sounds amazing. And I love I love the sort of the loop that you created between, you know, the creativity element, but then also linking it back to the community. So it's like a win win for everybody. And I can't I want to see those when they do come out, y'all you'll have to update us. And you know, I could post something on my Instagram or whatever, just just in case people are interested. But yeah, it's that's such a neat way, I think to also create that that pipeline for people who who want that extra support, you know, and who want to be able to learn, and so to to enter, is this going to keep happening in the future? Do you think what will there be continuing years of this of this project?
Lori Erickson:That's the hope we have support. We have a lot of support internally. And there's been a lot of interest in taking the format and expanding it across all viacomcbs divisions. Okay, we're still trying to figure out how that's packaged and how it's just me and I'm doing it on top of my full time job. Wow, my assistant. And so we're trying to figure out how to actually do that. But it's, it's really exciting. We have a lot of interest in people who just really wanted to do it. This first time around. It was prototype, so it was just CBS and CBS studios, assistance and coordinators that were invited to participate. And then we also invited individuals who are nominated by outside groups that work towards equal representation in the media. So they were able to nominate creative early storytellers that we were also able to incorporate into our program. So hopefully that will also create access points for them to get jobs at CVS.
Julie- Host:Yeah.
Lori Erickson:So well, we'll hopefully expand it to create more opportunity across more spaces and maybe New York. I been talking to social responsibility internationally. There's a lot of there's a lot of room for it to grow.
Julie- Host:It sounds amazing. Well, I can't wait to see what happens and the results when they can actually film everything. So can't wait. Yeah, I can imagine that was a bummer for the people who pretend Just pay to be able to do that last element. Yeah, right. What can you What can you do gotta be we gotta be creative and find other solutions.
Lori Erickson:They've been so patient.
Julie- Host:Yeah. Well, thank you for explaining that. So a little bit to wrap up, I want to ask like, what is your absolute favorite favorite thing about being the VP of casting and like, What keeps you either waking up first thing in the morning and checking your emails, or going to sleep late, you know, like, What keeps you coming back every day.
Lori Erickson:I love storytelling, an actor's I married an actor. I love actors and supporting them, and in helping them to tell their stories. And so whenever there's a really important story, I worked on this project called unbelievable on Netflix. And it was it, it felt like I was a small part of something that made a difference in the world in a positive way. And even if you're just distracting people, by making them laugh, during times, that are really hard that I could just be a small part of that, you know, when the credits are rolling, I'm not in the credits, but the credits are rolling. You know, there's so many people that come together to make the story come to life. And just to be a part of that is, I mean, it's an honor, I pinch myself that I get to do this for a living. So
Julie- Host:yeah, that's, I think that's so cool. And I didn't know your husband was an actor as well. So that's, that's really cool,
Lori Erickson:is a news anchor, but he he's also an incredible actor. Oh, I
Julie- Host:did not know that. Very cool. I, and, you know, I have to say, especially in this time, I feel like, you know, whether you have kids or not, we've all watched an incredible amount of television, or, you know, streaming streaming video, or what have you. And, and but it has been helpful, you know, it's been nice to have those things that will, that will sort of whisk us away, you know, whether it's travel show, or, you know, teach us about cooking or, or whisk us away into some, you know, sort of fictional land where where we can just take a break, or learn about things that are really going on. And so, I, I love the creativity, that that your job and that everyone around you really brings to the table. And I think that was part of the reason I wanted to have you on and why I was so excited is because I think, you know, we we hear a lot about the importance of, you know, women in industries, typically, that are like, especially the science and the tech and the engineering. But I think that we also we want women everywhere in all the industries like in the creative arts and, and in film and in television. And, you know, it's like, we we want representation everywhere, like, on the moon, you know, and just wherever, wherever people are, like, we need to have women there. And so I love what you're doing, and in the creative elements of it. And I think that there's so much value to hearing about what you do, because because there are a lot, a lot of pieces that go into what you see on the screen that I never knew. And and I'm so appreciative that you could tell us and so I want to, I want to ask if you I guess like if you could pinpoint, like, one hardest or one most challenging element of your job? What what would that be? Like, you know, in the, you know, sort of the nitty gritty of like, you know, I know, for me when I was a teacher, like sometimes I would just get overwhelmed by the paperwork. I'm like, why is there so much paperwork? You know, I just want to teach people I just want to be, you know, near people and like, have those connections and, and why do I have to do this paperwork, so that that was a huge one for me. So like, is there is there one element that is just sort of a bummer?
Lori Erickson:Absolutely. When you go through the entire process that I described earlier, and everybody really loves a choice, or just I really don't have a choice. And and you just are so creatively excited by this. And you just feel like this person is going to be a game changer, they're gonna blow up, they're gonna tell the story in a way nobody else can. And then you take it to a network if they don't feel the same. When when, or just in general, that a lot of times people can say no, I can love somebody incentives, the producers and they can be like, yeah, I'm not feeling it. And you're like, ah, because you get really excited about about actors and you get you really want to champion them. And it's really disappointed if you go all the way through the process. You've negotiated the deals, everybody is behind an idea and then it's it's just that isn't gonna happen for that person in this role. And I feel the disappointment on behalf of the actor to it's just it's a real bummer. And but, you know, from a casting perspective, we now know that we love that person and we'll look out for other roles for them. That's that's a really disappointing part of the process.
Julie- Host:Yeah, I could imagine that. And I think before you would have said that, I would have thought that you had a bigger say, I think before I knew all the pieces of the process as in your position, I've been like, oh, it sounds like she has the final word. But as we've learned, there are so many components, I can imagine that would be a huge bummer. If you're like really cheering someone on.
Lori Erickson:That's a huge misconception of casting directors that we can make or break a person, we can help get them in the door, we can help get them in audition. But at that point, it's up to everybody else, including the actor and their own performance. But we can't can't turn somebody into a star. Like it's just it's not, there's way too many people involved and opinions and strong personalities. There's not a whole lot of power, but it's really cool to have a voice in the room to be able to speak up. And that's something that also has been a challenge in, you know, get gaining the courage to finally start saying my opinions to people and also having other people listen and want my opinions. I mean, that's, that's something you have to really develop through trust with your colleagues.
Julie- Host:Yeah. And with that element of confidence, like, do you think that that just took experience? or How did you get to that place where you really felt confident to say, your opinions or share your thoughts, and where other people were confident in listening to you as well.
Lori Erickson:I remember the first time anybody asked my opinion, I was a coordinator. And it was think for a CW project. And they were concerned that the person wasn't I think, I don't know that, that they wouldn't appeal to younger people. And I was the youngest person in the room. And so they turned to me. And they go, I don't know, what do you think Laurie? And I was like, because what I had been doing that whole time, when I was a fly on the wall was forming my own opinions, and just not, I wouldn't say them to Meg, my mentor, afterwards, I would just, you know, unleash my thoughts on her. And she just like, cool, cool. She always valued them, which is important. But in the room of people, I remember at that moment, I went home at the end of the day, it was like, they asked my opinion, and I don't even remember if the person got the job or not. But I was really, really excited to not just be kind of the person running the camera in the background. But you know, it's still to this day, you fill out a room and and it, you know, I've learned to speak up if something doesn't feel right, if I disagree. And to, you know, I've really honed it. I've also It comes with a familiarity of the people that you're working with. Yeah, it's it's an ongoing journey. I feel like, I'll never quite be there. I feel like I'm always growing in confidence. More and the learning shouldn't ever stop. And so, you know, and it's in that it is such a collaboration that I'm not, I'm not, I don't always take it upon myself to take up a lot of space with my opinions if other people have something to share, too, you know, and just no adding true individually. Yeah. I described that in a very long way.
Julie- Host:No, I fit it totally makes sense. I don't think it was long at all, I think you know, it is it also goes with your job that that you come to each situation and you're analyzing it. And you're looking at all the puzzle pieces together and figuring out like, Okay, well, when is it important for me to speak up? Or like, should I let them work on their own things together? Before I say some things that I mean, I think that really goes hand in hand with what I've heard about your job. So it makes complete sense.
Lori Erickson:Any good producer or writer, or showrunner or director, if they are good at their job, they will ask their casting directors specifically, not necessarily casting executive, but the casting director what they think because that is a resource that is incredible. And sometimes it's not tapped. And if you really trust your casting directors opinions, you'll get a lot of really good insight. And
Julie- Host:yeah, that makes total sense. So I want to touch on as we end this for people who are interested in your career or doing a similar career, what resources or places should they go to, you know, whether it's education wise, if there are associations related to your industry, or if there's like publications, where would you direct them to go?
Lori Erickson:It's interesting, because most people fall into casting in one way or another. They aren't like me who just wanted to do it and heard about it and wanted to do it immediately. A lot of people just end up in an assistant position and they're like, Oh, this is fun. But for those who are interested in doing it, there is a really cool program to the casting Society of America. And you can sign up for email blasts as well to learn about assistant positions through casting Society of America if you just go to their website, but there's they have created a learning education program to become It's a casting assistant, and they teach you everything you need to know. And they're it's part of an ongoing process right now they've, they've done one session of it, two sessions of it. And it's really cool how they've created this entire curriculum around learning, learning how to do the basics and how to get in an office and hold your own. And so that's one way of going about getting into it that didn't exist when I was starting out. And I also heard that there's a minor at Savannah College of Art and Design in casting, which is pretty incredible. I wish that was around when I was trying to figure it out. But those, those are the ways to really get in on it. Okay. Yeah.
Julie- Host:Thank you. And are there any common publications that you read? Or I mean, like, do you read things like people or, you know, how do you? Do you just watch a lot of television otherwise, or, you know, when you are sort of thinking about those, those questions, and and for that casting element in particular, like, can you kind of walk us through that and how you think about things or how you find people other than watching things that are sent for you, if someone wants to start out and just practice?
Lori Erickson:Sure, watching as much television and film as humanly possible. And theater is the best way to prepare and, and if you like an actor, write them down, look them up, see what their career looks like, what they're doing, take notes, start, start defining your own taste, everybody has different tastes, and one is not right, and one is not wrong, and they're just different. And so start to finding what makes you tick, and what sort of actors excite you and then follow them. And that's casting. That's it. So that's, that's something that anybody can do and, and follow along
Julie- Host:into you. When you're looking at at people for potential roles. Do you often ask yourself certain questions or or think about certain things, as you're considering them for a certain role,
Lori Erickson:I'm always thinking, always thinking about diversity and inclusion, I'm always thinking about whether or not that person's performance is authentic, if it feels grounded, and real, if they did their work, I'm always thinking about the bigger picture of what the puzzle other puzzle pieces look like, and how the chemistry might work. Sometimes you got to wait and see how how actually does in reality, but you know, I'm always thinking about the bigger picture and, and also servicing the needs of the network and the studio entities. And so there's a lot of there's a lot of different things that I'm considering when looking at an app.
Julie- Host:Yeah, well, thank you for sharing those. It's, it's neat to hear kind of what goes through your mind, as you, you know, as you think about people for different roles. So I want to finish off by saying, you know, thank you so much, Laurie, for being here on the podcast, and it's been a blast to listen to you. I'm so excited to start the year off with this and having you Yeah, and I, I want to say, you know, do you have any, any parting words for you know, for people who are interested in this job? Do you have any just like parting words, or like a parting gift that that you could leave for someone who's interested as far as how to proceed?
Unknown:Um,
Julie- Host:I think,
Lori Erickson:I think that it's important to consider it as a job if it's something that interests you. There's so many different jobs that I didn't even realize went into making a TV show. So no matter what your interests are, if you're a total television nerd, there's a place for you in the fold. You know, if you work hard and hustle, there's, you know, whether you're into makeup and hair, whether you're into craft services and cooking, like there's lights, sound building sets, like almost every skill set goes into making a television show. So if it's something that excites you, there's a lot of opportunity there.
Julie- Host:Awesome. Thank you. That was fantastic. So with that, thank you so much for being on the show. It was wonderful having you as a guest or having. Hey, everybody, thank you so much for listening to women with cool job. I'll be releasing a new episode every two weeks. So make sure you hit that subscribe button. And if you love the show, please give me a five star rating. Also, it would mean so much if you share this episode with someone you think would love it or would find it inspirational. And lastly, do you have ideas for future shows? Or do you know any Rockstar women with cool jobs? I would love to hear from you. You can email me at Julie at WomenwithCoolJobs calm or you can find me on Instagram at women cool jobs. Again, that's women full jobs. Thank you so much for listening and have an incredible day.