What Are We Doing?

What are we doing right now? Aren't we supposed to be in production of a feature?
Well this is what happened. I was talking to our sales rep about the casting -- we're looking for someone who plays a tween/teen girl for the picture and he's all "Natalie Portman in Léon".
Oh great. So we need someone who plays young, and has that preternaturally sharp facial architecture of an older woman.

Chloe Grace Moretz

By and large those things are mutually exclusive. What makes a "girl" is rounded facial features (and a typically high voice). It's fairly rare to have a girl be able to look both young and old at the same time. Which makes sense.
My preference would be to have a woman who can play a tweenager. Those exist in greater numbers. I think to get what my distributor wants would require us to actually cast a young person.
Do you have any idea how complicated the employment laws become when you're working with someone under the age of (I think) 16? And what with the Jackie Coogan laws (which only apply to the entertainment field) it's a bit of a nightmare.
Anyway, I'm off to look for a girl to fight some dragons with a crossbow...