Bernard Telsey

Movies

The Idea of You
Casting
While chaperoning her teenage daughter's trip to Coachella, Solène, a 40-year-old single mother, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.
Mean Girls
Casting
New student Cady Heron is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called ‘The Plastics,’ ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George and her minions Gretchen and Karen. However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels, she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis and Damian, she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.
The Color Purple
Casting
A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Theater Camp
Casting
After the indomitable and beloved founder of a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, the eccentric staff must band together with her clueless "crypto-bro" son to keep the thespian paradise afloat.
Annie Live!
Casting
Annie, the beloved seven-time Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, comes to life like never before in a live musical event starring Harry Connick, Jr., Nicole Scherzinger, Tituss Burgess, Megan Hilty and Taraji P. Henson, with newcomer Celina Smith in the title role of Annie. The iconic musical follows smart and spirited little orphan Annie, whose whole life changes when larger-than-life billionaire Daddy Warbucks takes her away from an orphanage run by the mean Miss Hannigan. One of Broadway's all-time biggest hits, the stage production features such popular songs as "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life," which are adored by generations of audiences around the world.
tick, tick... BOOM!
Casting
On the cusp of his 30th birthday, Jonathon Larson, a promising young theater composer, navigates love, friendship, and the pressures of life as an artist in New York City.
Diana: The Musical
Casting
A princess is thrust onto the world stage. The tabloid media is captivated by her beauty and vulnerability. The globe's most celebrated monarchy is disrupted. This is the story of the most princess woman of the modern age as she struggles to endure a spotlight brighter than any the world had ever known.
Dear Evan Hansen
Casting
Evan Hansen, a high schooler with social anxiety, unintentionally gets caught up in a lie after the family of a classmate who committed suicide mistakes one of Hansen’s letters for their son’s suicide note.
Of Mice and Men
Casting
Two migrant ranch workers, best friends, move from place to place, seeking work and the promise of the American dream. George dreams of owning land and being his own boss. Lennie, his partner, a giant and physically strong man with cognitive disability, simply dreams of playing with rabbits. Having encountered problems at their last job, George and Lennie are forced to flee to a new farm for work until Lennie’s strength gets them into trouble.
Respect
Casting
The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.
In the Heights
Casting
The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.
iGilbert
Casting
Gilbert is a lonely man who sees the world through the prism of his phone's screen. When a chance at a real relationship enters his life, can he truly relate to a woman and find love?
Hamilton
Casting
Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.
The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!
Casting
SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face catastrophe—until a most unexpected hero rises to take center stage.
The Kitchen
Casting
The mobster husbands of three 1978 Hell's Kitchen housewives are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia's matters into their own hands — proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition… literally.
Rent
Casting Director
The story of several friends in New York City facing financial poverty, homophobia, AIDS, and, of course, rent.
Mary Poppins Returns
Casting
Mary Poppins returns to the Banks family and helps them evade grave dangers by taking them on magical, musical adventures.
Ben Is Back
Casting
19-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns home to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve morning. Ben's mother, Holly, is relieved and welcoming but wary of her son staying clean. Over a turbulent 24 hours, new truths are revealed, and a mother's undying love for her son is tested as she does everything in her power to keep him safe.
The Greatest Showman
Casting
The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
A Christmas Story Live!
Casting
A live broadcast of the Broadway hit "A Christmas Story: The Musical" in which Ralphie wishes for nothing more than a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas.
Noël Coward's Present Laughter
Casting
A self-obsessed actor in the midst of a mid-life crisis juggles a fawning ingenue, a crazed playwright, his ex-wife, and the personal lives of his friends. Originally broadcast as an episode of the PBS series "Great Performances" (season 45, episode 4).
Newsies
Casting
The rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged 'newsies,' who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. When publishing titans raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike and take a stand for what's right.
Allegiance
Casting
Inspired by the true-life experience of its star George Takei, Allegiance follows one family's extraordinary journey in this untold American story following the events of Pearl Harbor. Their loyalty was questioned, their freedom taken away, but their spirit could never be broken.
Hairspray Live!
Casting
A teenage girl living in Baltimore in the early 1960s dreams of appearing on a popular TV dance show.
Miss Sloane
Casting
An ambitious lobbyist faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
Rupture
Casting
A single mom tries to break free from a mysterious organization that has abducted her.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Casting
In 2002, cable news producer Kim Barker decides to shake up her routine by taking a daring new assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dislodged from her comfortable American lifestyle, Barker finds herself in the middle of an out-of-control war zone. Luckily, she meets Tanya Vanderpoel, a fellow journalist who takes the shell-shocked reporter under her wing. Amid the militants, warlords and nighttime partying, Barker discovers the key to becoming a successful correspondent.
Grease Live
Casting
After enjoying a holiday romance, high school students Danny and Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High, where she must contend with cynical Rizzo and the Pink Ladies.
The Wiz Live!
Casting
Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Wiz was a massive Broadway hit which spawned a dismal feature film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Executive Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have assembled a Tony-winning creative team, the imaginative Cirque du Soleil Theatrical and a diverse cast of showstoppers designed to create an eye-popping new take on the musical unlike anything ever seen.
The Intern
Casting
70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.
Focus
Casting
Nicky, an accomplished con artist, gets romantically involved with his disciple Jess but later ends their relationship. Years later, she returns as a femme fatale to spoil his plans.
A Most Violent Year
Casting
A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
Into the Woods
Casting
In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.
Peter Pan Live!
Casting
Following in the footsteps of the phenomenally successful The Sound of Music LIVE! - which drew over 18 million viewers - comes this musical masterpiece that tells the beloved story of Peter Pan, the mischievous little boy who ran away to Neverland. Get ready for show-stopping stars, stunning costumes, extravagant sets and delightful music that will have everyone in your home singing along. From Executive Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron comes a soaring holiday event guaranteed to take viewers on a magical and musical journey to the second star to the right.
The Last Five Years
Casting
In New York, a struggling actress and a successful writer sing about their failed marriage from two perspectives.
Song One
Casting Director
Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring musician, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives.
The Sound of Music Live!
Casting
The Sound of Music Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical The Sound of Music, starring country singer Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York. Meron felt that if the telecast were successful, the concept could become "another kind of entertainment that can exist on TV." By her request, Underwood's casting as Maria was personally endorsed by Julie Andrews, who starred in the 1965 film.
Friends with Kids
Casting
In the wake of their friends' marriages and eventual offspring, longtime pals Julie and Jason decide to have a child together without becoming a couple. By becoming "time-share" parents, they reason, they can experience the joys of parenthood without significantly curbing their personal freedom. However, when Julie and Jason both become involved with others, they discover that they secretly harbor romantic feelings for each other.
Joyful Noise
Casting
G.G. Sparrow faces off with her choir's newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill, over the group's direction as they head into a national competition.
Margin Call
Casting
A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.
The Other Woman
Casting
Emilia, a law-school graduate, falls in love with her married boss, Jack. After Emilia marries Jack, her happiness turns unexpectedly to grief following the death of her infant daughter. Devastated, Emilia nonetheless carries on, attempting to forge a connection with her stepson William and to resist the interference of Jack's jealous ex-wife.
Howl
Casting
It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.
Jonah Hex
Casting
Gunslinger Jonah Hex is appointed by President Ulysses Grant to track down terrorist Quentin Turnbull, a former Confederate officer determined on unleashing hell on earth. Jonah not only secures freedom by accepting this task, he also gets revenge on the man who slayed his wife and child.
I Love You Phillip Morris
Casting
Steve Russell is a small-town cop. Bored with his bland lifestyle, Russell turns to fraud as a means of shaking things up. Before long, Russell's criminal antics have landed him behind bars, where he encounters the charismatic Phillip Morris. Smitten, Russell devotes his entire life to being with Morris regardless of the consequences.
Rachel Getting Married
Casting
A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
Sex and the City
Casting
A New York writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her.
Legally Blonde: The Musical
Casting
Tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner, but discovers how her knowledge of the law can help others. A musical based on the novel and the film of the same name.
Across the Universe
Casting
When young dockworker Jude leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in the United States, he is swept up by the waves of change that are re-shaping the nation. Jude falls in love with Lucy, who joins the growing anti-war movement. As the body count in Vietnam rises, political tensions at home spiral out of control and the star-crossed lovers find themselves in a psychedelic world gone mad.
Then She Found Me
Casting
A New York schoolteacher hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother, an eccentric talk show host, materializes and turns her life upside down as she begins a courtship with the father of one of her students.
Rent
Casting
This rock opera tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in late 1980s East Village, New York, USA. The film centers around Mark and Roger, two roommates. While a tragedy has made Roger numb to new experiences, Mark begins capturing their world through his attempts to make a personal movie. In the year that follows, they and their friends deal with love, loss, and working together.
Keane
Casting
A mentally ill man searches New York for his missing eight year old daughter. He recreates her steps each day hoping for some clue to her disappearance, until he meets and befriend a woman with a daughter the same age. Could she help him with the missing piece of the puzzle?
Finding Forrester
Casting
Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Casting
Young adults become fascinated by the events of the three missing filmmakers in Maryland, so they decide to go into the same woods and find out what really happened.
Death of a Salesman
Casting
An aging salesman is fired from his job after a long career in it. Broken, without much to look forward to, he tries reconnecting with his wife and kids who he had always put down as he dedicated himself to work.
The Bone Collector
Casting
Rookie cop, Amelia Donaghy reluctantly teams with Lincoln Rhyme – formerly the department's top homicide detective but now paralyzed as a result of a spinal injury – to catch a grisly serial killer dubbed 'The Bone Collector'. The murderer's special signature is to leave tantalizing clues based on the grim remains of his crimes.
A Modern Affair
Casting
A Modern Affair is an independent feature directed by Vern Oakley and produced by Tribe Pictures. Starring Stanley Tucci and Lisa Eichhorn, the film's plot reverses the conventions of romantic comedies: instead of man meet woman - fall in love, marry and have baby, in this film the woman gets pregnant, then meets the father, then falls in love. Grace Rhodes (Lisa Eichhorn) is a lonely, successful executive whose biological clock is loudly ticking.
Independence Day
Local Casting
On July 2, a giant alien mothership enters orbit around Earth and deploys several dozen saucer-shaped 'destroyer' spacecraft that quickly lay waste to major cities around the planet. On July 3, the United States conducts a coordinated counterattack that fails. On July 4, a plan is devised to gain access to the interior of the alien mothership in space, in order to plant a nuclear missile.
Dead Presidents
Protester #1
On the streets they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist -- a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency!
It Is Now Our Time: Peter Sellars’ The Merchant of Venice
Casting
A BBC documentary about a pre-rehearsal workshop held in New York prior to the Goodman Theater’s 1994 production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by Peter Sellars in Chicago.