People
Joseph Middleton
Production · follow into films and chains
Biography
Joseph Middleton is a casting director. He grew up in Georgia, beginning his career in film as a production assistant on Mississippi Burning (1988). His astute observation of miscast extras on set caught the eye of director Alan Parker, who encouraged him to explore casting. This led to a pivotal role with casting legend Shari Rhodes, where she worked as her associate on The Sandlot (1993), ultimately launching Middleton into a distinguished independent casting career. He rose to prominence with early casting credits on Go (1999) and American Pie (1999), establishing his flair for discovering the perfect actor for iconic roles. Over the next decade, he continued to craft casts for successful films such as Bring It On (2000), The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), Legally Blonde (2001), Old School (2003), In Good Company (2004), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and A Single Man (2009). His work earned him multiple Artios Award nominations from the Casting Society of America and a win in 2000 for American Pie (comedy). Middleton also served as Executive Vice President of Casting at Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television for nine years, blending creative casting with business acumen. After returning to independent work, he expanded his influence by speaking at educational and industry platforms like the New York Film Academy and SAG-AFTRA Foundation. In these forums, he champions discovering undiscovered talent and emphasises authenticity in auditions. Known for his intuitive eye, Middleton has described casting as seeking actors who don’t merely transform into characters but reveal themselves through the role—an approach he witnessed firsthand when Billy Porter auditioned for The Broken Hearts Club, redefining Middleton’s vision for the character.
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Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Love in the Ruins
From the Sex Pistols' collapse to the quiet ache of post-punk, a chain of films where rebellion and romance burn together, and the fallout is everything.
8 films
Death as Choreography: Eight Films of Inventive Demise
From cosmic indifference to moral punishment, these eight horror films treat death as a precise, theatrical art form. Each kill is a set piece, a statement, and...
8 films
When the Sequel Outshines the Original
From gritty crime epics to mind-bending sci-fi, these sequels didn't just continue stories, they redefined them. Here's a chain of films that prove the second (...
8 films
20 Home Video Releases Every Film Obsessive Should Own
There was a brief, glorious period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when buying a film on home video felt less like acquiring a product and more like being han...
20 films
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