Casting By places the spotlight on one of filmmaking's unsung heroes - the casting director - and takes us on a journey through 50 years of Hollywood history from an entirely new perspective. Pioneers like Marion Dougherty and Lynn Stalmaster were iconoclasts whose exquisite taste and gut instincts helped to put the final nail in the coffin of the old studio system and usher in the 'New Hollywood' with movies like Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Bonnie and Clyde. In the process they launching the careers of James Dean, Robert Duvall, Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Glenn Close, John Travolta, Jeff Bridges, Bette Midler and countless other iconic actors. In this illuminating documentary, directors and actors including Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro, Diane Lane, Jon Voight, Bette Midler and John Travolta share stories and memories from their early careers, all interwoven with rarely seen clips as well as scenes from classics like The Sting, Goodfellas, Annie Hall, The Great Escape and West Side Story. CRITIC'S PICK! Delightful! - The Village Voice Jam-packed with evocative film clips, archival footage and interviews with a who's who of actors and filmmakers, CASTING BY makes a compelling case for a Hollywood-gone-by when gut instincts, risk-taking and a dark-horse mentality could trump corporate meddling and box office slavishness. Hearing how bold, creative casting choices propelled the success of such landmark pictures as 'The Graduate,' 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' proves a vivid reminder of the hand-in-glove importance of right actor/right role - and the indispensability of those casting mavens who helped make movie history. Good stuff!- Los Angeles Times Donahue's access is nothing short of awesome - it begins to feel as if there's nobody he can't get on camera - as is his capacity for pulling together archival material. Distinguished by remarkable film clips, particularly some from TV's first golden age, and a formidable talking-heads roster, 'Casting By' recounts in lively fashion the development of this little-understood craft. - Variety Outstanding! -Leonard Maltin