Jennifer Venditti

Jennifer Venditti is an American casting director, filmmaker, and author.

Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota,^[1] Venditti began her career working primarily for fashion brands at W Magazine.^[1] In 1998, Venditti founded her own casting agency, JV8INC^[2], based in New York City. In 2022, she released her first book entitled Can I Ask You a Question?: The Art and Alchemy of Casting^[1] under A24, that won the American Institute of Graphic Arts 50 Books 50 Covers award the same year.^[3].

Career

Venditti began her career working primarily for fashion brands, casting advertising shoots for Versace and street scouting for Yohji Yamamoto.^[4] Shortly after, Venditti was asked by photographer Carter Smith to cast a fashion shoot for W Magazine.^[4] In a subsequent interview, Venditti reflected on the opportunity, calling it "basically the genesis of it all." She further explained, "Carter Smith knew how I looked at the world, and my frustration with fashion and their limited ideas of how they saw beauty. He said, 'Do you want to cast the way you see things?'" This opportunity marked the beginning of her career.^[4]

Venditti's directorial debut was with a documentary, Billy The Kid^[1] in 2007, which won five awards, including Best Documentary at South by Southwest (SXSW) festival,^[5]Best Documentary at Edinburgh International Film Festival,^[6] Best Documentary Feature at Los Angeles Film Festival,^[7] Most Popular Documentary at Melbourne International Film Festival,^[7] and Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film at Cinema Eye Honors^[8].

Venditti was the casting director for American Honey (2016), for which she actively scoured areas such as Walmart stores, dollar stores, and bars to cast individuals that would fit the roles of the mag crew youths.^[9]

Venditti gained fame for her casting work on the HBO teen drama series Euphoria (2019), receiving a nomination in 2022 for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series,^[10] and winning an award for Best Television Pilot and First Season - Drama at the 36th Artios Awards presented by the Casting Society of America.^[11] The show features a diverse cast including former Disney actors, a fashion model, an ex-convict, a porn star, and seasoned character actors.^[12] Initially, a local casting call yielded few results, prompting Venditti to expand her search to online platforms. This led to the discovery of individuals who have since landed significant roles in Hollywood. Venditti credits HBO and the creator of Euphoria, Sam Levinson, for embracing diverse backgrounds and incorporating actors' experiences into their characters.^[12]

In 2019, she cast crime thriller drama Uncut Gems, directed by the Safdie brothers.^[12] In an interview with Backstage (magazine), Venditti mentioned that the casting process is almost like a "documentary process" which requires reading years of research.^[13] When questioned about the process of street casting and the factors influencing whom to invite for auditions, Venditti remarked, "It’s subjective and it’s all instinct. That’s why it’s really hard to teach people how to do it—it’s not a science." She further elaborated, stating she looks for people with a "cinematic quality".^[13]

References