Hand-plucked from an open casting call in Dallas, the 15-year-old has the hit-making machine that catapulted Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Zac Efron to stardom behind her.

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There is no open casting for actors in Saudi Arabia and it is hard to find either women or girls to appear on film because it is regarded negatively by conservatives in the country.

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While I think the industry is pretty open on casting, it's not that open on making serious movies in general, and serious African-American movies are probably even harder to get financed.

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In fact, just last month the network announced it would be holding open casting calls on the site for its other musical hit, Glee.

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Vodianova was determined to make a better life for herself, and in 1999, when she was 17, a boyfriend suggested she attend an open casting call.

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