page_title: Brainstorm (2000 film)
section_title: Casting and cast preparation
hierarchical_section_title: Brainstorm (2000 film) / Production / Casting and cast preparation
caption_attribution_description: Português: O ator brasileiro Rodrigo Santoro.
context_page_description: Brainstorm is a 2000 drama film directed by Laís Bodanzky based on the autobiographical book Canto dos Malditos by Austregésilo Carrano Bueno. The film was made through a partnership between Brazilian and Italian studios and starred Rodrigo Santoro, Othon Bastos and Cassia Kiss. The film tells the story of Neto, a young man who is admitted to a psychiatric hospital after his father discovers he is a user of marijuana. There, Neto is subjected to abuse. In addition to abuse by psychiatric hospitals, the film deals with the issues of drugs and relationships between fathers and sons.
  Bodanzky read Carrano's book in 1996 and, impressed by the theme, assigned Luiz Bolognesi to adapt it into a film and transpose its setting from the 1970s to the 1990s. In addition to keeping the film in the present, Bodanzky chose to make it a documentary-style film to create greater impact on the viewer. Bolognesi began writing in 1997 with the freedom to make changes to the original story. The film was shot in early 2000 in São Paulo, and was edited and finalized in Italy.
  Brainstorm had its premiere at the Rio Film Festival in October 2000.
context_section_description: Santoro was recommended by Paulo Autran, who acted along with him in the TV series Hilda Furacão. After seeing Santoro's acting, he was Bodanzky's first choice for Neto's role; "I never even thought of another person. ... When I saw him, I was impressed with his giving of himself to the role/character. I knew that Neto was him." Santoro read the book and was "shocked," which led him to contact Carrano; after talking to the author, he was convinced to take the role. He found the story "very moving, but kind of over the top," and was worried about overacting and making the character "fake." To prepare himself for the role, he talked with interns and watched productions on the subject, among them the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Miloš Forman.
  Sérgio Penna, a theatrical director and a theater guest professor at University of São Paulo, coordinated the cast preparation. His primary aim was to deconstruct the "superficial figure, stereotyped and crystallized by prejudice" image about psychiatric hospitals and the people who live there. The idea was to create another vision that would contain the first, but focus on "more humane and deep aspects." Former psychiatric institution patients from the theatrical groups Pazzo a Pazzo and Teatral Ueinzz, both directed by Penna, appeared as guests. They, however, did not play characters that were interned but supporting characters who remained outside of the hospital.
caption: Bodanzky's first choice for the main role,[20] Santoro debuted in film with Brainstorm.[5]
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