Donna Morong Promoted to Vice President of Casting for Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group.

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 19, 1999--Donna Morong has been promoted to the position of vice president, casting, for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, it was announced Tuesday by David Vogel, president of Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, and Marcia Ross, senior vice president, casting.

In her new role, Morong will be directly involved in supervising the casting of motion pictures produced under the Walt Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures banners. She will report directly to Ross.

Commenting on the announcement, Ross said: "Donna is one of the best casting executives I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She is well respected by filmmakers, actors and agents alike, and has played an important role in casting some of our biggest hits over the past three years. She has great instincts for talent and continues to be a great asset to our team and to the studio."

Vogel added: "Casting is one of the most critical and creative components of the filmmaking process, and we are fortunate in having Marcia and Donna as our top executives. They have done a great job casting films for our various production banners."

For the past three years, Morong has served as director of casting for Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. She began her association with the studio in 1992 as manager of casting for the Disney and Touchstone banners.

Among the films for which she has helped to oversee the casting during her tenure at the studio are "Cool Runnings," "When a Man Loves a Woman," "Father of the Bride II," "Phenomenon," "Parent Trap," "Simon Birch" and the recent releases "A Civil Action" and "Rushmore."

In conjunction with Ross, Morong was responsible for casting "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" as well as the Walt Disney Home Video vidfilm "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves."

Immediately prior to joining Disney, Morong was a free-lance casting director and was responsible for casting such films as "Heart of Midnight" (directed by Matthew Chapman and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh), "Map of the Human Heart" (for which she cast Jason Scott Lee in his first major role) and "Cool as Ice," both in conjunction with Johanna Ray.

Additionally, she did the New York casting for the film "Collision Course" and served as a casting associate on the film "Five Corners" with Doug Aibel for director Tony Bill. As an independent casting director, she cast the off-Broadway production of "The Bald Soprano" for director Joe Chaiken and starring John Turturro.

Morong launched her professional career in New York as an assistant to director Barnet Kellman and worked with him on the Broadway production of "Breakfast With Les and Bess."

From 1982 to 1984, she served as an assistant and later as an associate with Simon and Kumin Casting. Her Broadway credits with them include shows for director Mike Nichols, playwright Neil Simon, John Guare, David Rabe, Athol Fugard, August Wilson and Tina Howe, among others.

Her other professional experience includes running an acting studio of her own, where she coached young talent. She also cast for regional theater, including several seasons for the Fulton Opera House and Vineyard Theater.

Morong graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan and went on to do her graduate work in the theater program at Rutgers University, where she studied under acting teacher Bill Esper. Among her professional affiliations, she is a member of CSA.