Why is my cast list in alphabetical order all of a sudden?

  • 1
  • Question
  • Updated 5 years ago
  • Answered
Normally my cast list reads how it logically should...the stars of the movie/show at the top, followed by the supporting actors, followed by the mid-line cast, etc. However, the last two times I've logged in the cast list has been alphabetical...making the stars anywhere in the list - mid, bottom, etc. I like the normal cast list, just like you would see as the credits roll in a movie, because it shows the actors in order of (for lack of a better word), importance for easy reference. Having to search an alphabetized list is ridiculous and difficult especially if I don't know the character's name or there is no photo! Was there some update that changed the view? How do I get it back to normal? Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! =)
Photo of Tiana Senn

Tiana Senn

  • 2 Posts
  • 0 Reply Likes
  • Frustrated & Upset

Posted 5 years ago

  • 1
Photo of DavidAH_Ca

DavidAH_Ca, Champion

  • 3263 Posts
  • 2925 Reply Likes
It would help a lot if you included the Title of (and preferably also the link to) your project. There may be several possibilities, and since there are 3,545,164 Titles currently listed in IMDb, it is hard to guess which one you are referring to.

I tried to discover what Title you meant, but could not find a Tiana Senn listed in IMDb, so that route was also closed.
(Edited)
Photo of Tiana Senn

Tiana Senn

  • 2 Posts
  • 0 Reply Likes
What project? I am talking about when I view movies I look up on the database...imdb...I don't know what you are referring to when you say "project".
Photo of DavidAH_Ca

DavidAH_Ca, Champion

  • 3263 Posts
  • 2925 Reply Likes
The primary purpose of this particular forum is to help people who are trying to submit additions/corrections to the database, so when you said "my cast list" I assumed you were talking about the Cast List for a film (or other project) you had produced or directed, and the cast list on that film had changed order.

So what you actually meant was : when I view various titles, it most of them the stars are at the top, but in others they are alphabetical.

IMDb lists Cast in the sequence it is shown in the most complete on-screen listing. Normally this puts the stars first, but sometimes the production company lists the cast alphabetically and other times in order of appearance. For example the Harry Potter films list cast by order of appearance, which is why Emma Watson (Hermione) is listed way down in 25th place in the Cast list for
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) after a number of minor characters.

Also some Titles (in particular TV shows) don't have a single complete cast list. The stars are listed in the titles, the rest of the cast in the end credit roll, and in this case the combination is treated as a single split credit roll.

However, the Order must be entered, and until someone does that the cast is usually listed alphabetically. This is the most probable reason for an alphabetic list. Most of the data on IMDb has been supplied by Users who contribute data to improve the database, and, although producers are adding more and more data themselves, often this type of data needs to wait until the film is out on DVD so a contributor can audit the on-screen credits and add the Order numbers.