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Golden touch for casting lands at Globes

Sunday was a golden moment for a Lake Nebagamon woman, and everyone who knows her.

Debbie DeLisi attended the Golden Globe awards with best supporting actor nominee Barkhad Abdi, who played Muse, the leader of the Somali pirates in “Captain Phillips.”

At 8:39 p.m. that night DeLisi, whose maiden name is Kaszynski, shared her delight on Facebook for friends and family.

“Hard to post pics! Cell dying!! Dream Come True! The best date in the world!! Old friends, new friends, bonding, laughter & the great adventure that is this life!! THANK ALL OF U AT HOME …. UR w/me always!!”

Superiour Telegram

Posted on Jan 17, 2014, Read More Here

Coen brothers hold Minnesota casting call

The Coen brothers are shooting their current project INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS in New York, but don’t cha know, they need one car scene shot in Minnesota this weekend.

The film website IMDb describes the movie like this: “A singer-songwriter navigates New York’s folk music scene during the 1960s.”

Casting director Debbie DeLisi says they’re bringing the car here, but not the actors, and that’s why they need help from some locals:

Minnesota Public Radio

Posted on March 23, 2012, Read More Here

St. Scholastica grad is behind many faces in ‘True Grit’

DeLisi was scheduled to spend two weeks assisting Tenner in casting for “True Grit.” Two weeks turned into 10 months, while the duo scoured rodeos in places like Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma looking for a girl who could rope and ride horses. One day they saw 700 girls. They also viewed 10,000 videos.

They wanted someone able to play a girl who is logical, not ruled by emotions.

If she looked like she had ever kissed a boy, she was not a fit, DeLisi said. The part eventually went to Hailee Steinfeld, a relatively unknown now-14-year-old who is up for Best Supporting Actress.

“There were two casting people that spent, basically, 18 months going everywhere, just everywhere, seeing thousands of young girls in that age range, and they could have stayed in L.A.,” Ethan Coen told the Los Angeles Daily News.

“Hailee, to me, was anointed to play the part,” DeLisi said. “She not only had that other-worldly grit, she also had the acting chops.”

Once the principal parts were cast, DeLisi devoted the same kind of attention to finding extras. She deserves a lot of the credit for the way the movie looks, according to costume designer Mary Zophres, who is up for an Academy Award for her work outfitting the characters. Zophres described a scene in a courthouse, which is filled with extras, as looking like a painting.

“She has a knack for finding that kind of face,” Zophres said. “I don’t ever want to do a period movie without her.”

Duluth News Tribune

Posted on Feb 27, 2011, Read More Here

Extra Confessional: An Atypical Hail, Caesar! Blu-ray Review

Hail, Caesar! was a job for me, a paycheck that was greatly needed. It will also forever be an archive for the memories of my experiences, the wonderful people I did end up meeting and had the pleasure of being able to work with: Adam and Debbie DeLisi in casting, production assistants Hannah Hellekson and Jonathan Avila, costume designer Mary Zophres, and my fellow performers in the film within the film (including Lucas Rollo, who taught me to waltz once I discovered that was one of the tasks which came with the upgrade into a tuxedo, and Nichola Fynn, who was my gracious dance partner).

My prayer was answered once during the filming of Hail, Caesar! and a second time when I sat in the darkened theater watching the completed vision of the filmmakers I so admire. The Coen brothers may not be aware of who I am, but I am an actor. I am an actor, and one that is eternally grateful to have been given the opportunity to find my worth in service of their picture.
Rizay Reviews

Posted June 2016, Read More Here

The North Hollywood CineFest 2015: April 10-16

The North Hollywood CineFest premiere night this past Friday opened with the first of several short film collections at the local Llaemle NoHo 7, followed by a quick Q&A with attending filmmakers. Among these was Debbie DeLisi, co-director of The Re-Gift, who ended the session with a call to arms, of sorts. “We all gotta help each other, right?!” DeLisi asked of the over-sold theater of captivated audience members, and was answered by an enthusiastic round of applause and cheers. There were clearly more than a few aspiring artists amidst the crowd, and DeLisi’s passionate final words struck a sincere cord for many in attendance.

DeLisi’s call for aspiring actors and filmmakers alike to help each other is even more necessary with this information, because film is a collaborative medium. Even in creating our own content, we each need help breathing life into our vision, and this must be a fact well-known by DeLisi; while The Re-Gift is a labor of love, a passion project that she co-wrote, co-starred in, and co-directed, Debbie has also made a significant name for herself as a casting director.
DeLisi Creative is a specialized casting company headed up by Debbie DeLisi and Adam DeLisi, who are both shining examples of why the Academy Awards is desperately over-due for a category for casting. Most recently, they were responsible for helping Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu achieve his ambitious vision for Birdman by casting several difficult principal roles, not to mention over 3,000 background actors. They also recently had their fourth collaboration with Joel and Ethan Coen in the upcoming period ensemble comedy, Hail Caesar! Debbie got her start as an intern on the film Fargo, which proves even further that this industry is often built upon relationships, further adding to the significance of her final words at the North Hollywood CineFest.
Rizay Reviews

Posted on April 2015, Read More Here

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