In late 2000, Hershey set out to cast actresses for a fiction film that he had co-written and intended to direct. The plan was to incorporate some of the casting footage into the dramatic film. After reviewing more than 70 hours of audition tapes, which captured actresses from Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, and Los Angeles, a decision was made to shape this rich material into a film of its own. Creating a film about casting fulfilled an idea arising from Hershey’s first experience with auditioning at film school more than 20 years earlier.