"The Burden of Choice" Cast Rehearsal!

This weekend it was back to Ripley-Grier Studios for The Burden of Choice rehearsal. Because this script is so short, we were able to work through it multiple times, try different styles, and really hone in on the characters. I can't believe the shoot is a week and a half away already!

Meet the Cast of "The Burden of Choice"

A few posts back I introduced you guys to the incredibly talented Elisa Pupko, who is playing Piper in The Burden of Choice. Now I can finally announce the rest of the major players! Next to Elisa is Pooya Mohseni, who will be playing the character of Mae: a woman with a unique gift who helps people like Piper through her home business. Then on the second row is Jessica Zinder. Jessica will play Mae's younger sister Meredith who helps Mae run her business while caring for her young son. Last but not least is Tarion Taylor-Anderson, who will play Jacob: a regular to Mae's business who meets Piper in the waiting area.

In addition to these four will be a few other faces popping up, including a special appearance by Russ Camarda. Russ is a New York actor and director who I'm very excited to finally do a project with.

This is going to be a very fun and relatable story with characters unlike I've ever written before, so I'm eager to finally bring it to life. More to come!

Casting "The Burden of Choice"

This week we held a two day casting session at Ripley Grier Studios for The Burden of Choice. Auditions were held by myself as well as my casting director Enge, with help from some friends of WM Productions: my old friend Chris (who did a cameo in Purgatory Comics), my pal Shane who helped with the Purgatory Comics casting many moons ago, Lamis who did a lot of graphic work on Halina, and Lilly's husband Nick who is also an actor.

As always we met a lot of great actors and as always the choice will be tough. A new challenge here is having several key characters who are related in the script, putting restrictions on race and age that I'm not used to. Stay tuned for more casting announcements for The Burden of Choice!

Elisa Pupko to Learn "The Burden of Choice"

Casting for the upcoming short film The Burden of Choice is underway, and while some auditions aren't being held for another couple of weeks, we have snagged one of our leading ladies! I'm excited to report that Elisa Pupko will be participating in this production!

Elisa is a New York City actress originally from Seattle WA. In addition to acting she has worked on many professional and personal projects as a host, a model, and a singer. You can check out her web site and portfolio right here.

I met Elisa last year during an audition, and reached out to her because I thought this role would be a great fit. She'll be playing Piper, a smart and ambitious business woman who comes to a tough choice in her career and reaches out to our other lead for help.

While I only met Elisa last year, I've seen her much earlier in some of my favorite College Humor sketches. I'm going to post one below because this sketch still cracks me up.

Now Casting Via Actors Access

It almost feels like this project is moving faster than I can blog. Enge has officially kicked off casting for The Burden of Choice. As of now, casting is exclusively via ActorsAccess.com. That could change, should she decide to open casting up wider. I'll post here if that happens.

When we cast for Halina, I didn't bring Enge in as the official casting director until the jobs had already been posted. This time around, Enge's fully in charge - right down to actually picking the casting days and location. It sure gets a lot of the work off of my plate, so I have more time to wear my Spider-Man pajamas and jump from couch to couch shouting "Walloping Websnappers!" 

All this is to say: don't bother flooding my LinkedIn or e-mail. Enge's in charge.

First Full Cast Rehearsal!

I took a few group pictures from yesterday's cast rehearsal, but for some reason I love this one the most. Maybe because it looks like an album cover? What kind of album, I don't know. 

Nevertheless, yesterday was the first full cast rehearsal for Halina at Ripley-Grier Studios in New York City (the same place we held the auditions). The group killed it; I can tell I'm going to love working with this bunch.

Meet the Cast of Halina

 

 

I'm very proud to introduce you to this exceptional group of actors. This is the team that's going to bring the short film Halina to life: First is Lilly Wilton, who will be filling the role of Mischa, a young girl who takes a very unique job at the billion dollar Crane Mansion. Of course this job is to spend time with the mysterious robot-woman Halina, who is being played by Hannah Jane McMurray.

In the next row we have Patricia O'Neil, who's taking on the role of the no-nonsense head caretaker of Crane Mansion, Ms. Avery. Then you have Tyler McElroy, an ex-boyfriend Mischa just can't let go of. Last but not least we have William Otterson as the rich, powerful and secretive Thomas Crane.

It was a tough job for Enge and I to go through literally thousands of actors, but this talented group are the amazing fit we were looking for and I can't tell you how excited I am to work with all of them.

Casting Turn-Ons and Turn-Offs Part 2

Seven years ago, I wrote this post chronicling a few "turn-ons" and "turn-offs" in casting. For the Halina casting, I've received about 10 times the amount of submissions as Purgatory Comics. It's very exciting! But as the process moves forward, a few issues have popped up here and there. I compared notes with some other filmmakers - including DP Mike who's also casting a project - and they're seeing some of the same issues.

So now, seven years later, I bring you PART TWO of Casting Turn-Ons and Turn-Offs

 Turn-Offs

1.  Don't submit to things blindly; read the casting notice. You're an actor. And you want to get your face out there as much as possible, and it's time-consuming. I get it. But here's the thing: if you're just blindly submitting to projects, and then you decide it's not for you after my casting director reaches out to you, then you're part of the problem. Don't just submit to every project. Read them and pick the ones that are right for you. Don't submit to projects when it provides dates you can't make. Don't submit to projects you're not interested in. Don't waste everyone's time. On a similar note . . .

2.  Follow the submission directions. If I cast for non-union and I see that you're union, I'm immediately moving on. You might have a nice face, but I'm not changing my entire production for it. This goes hand-in-hand with the above point. The thing is, too many actors are taking these buckshots and not following directions. And guess what? I'm a director . . . if you can't follow my directions, why would I ever want to direct you?

 3. FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION DIRECTIONS. If I ask you to submit via a special e-mail address, then that's the only e-mail address I'm checking. Writing me through my LinkedIn, my blog, my Facebook, etc is not giving you a one-up. Actually it's irritating me. Go through the requested channels and you will be evaluated. 

4. Selfies are not headshots. When I see a "selfie" either mixed in with headshots, or as the only headshot, I immediately think "amateur." In fact, I'm not sure anything makes me think "amateur" faster. 

5. Broken Links. Make sure all those links you're supplying for your reels and web sites still work! 

6. You're not Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie. We have to work together, and work hard, and put up with some difficulties and sacrifices along the way. We have to be humble, cooperative and friendly. There's no room for divas at this level. There are no demands. And there's a lot of work. So be nice and leave your ego at home, because nobody knows who we are. I'll do the same and I swear we'll have fun and make awesome art.

Turn-Ons

1. A good video reel goes far. You look great in your headshot, but so does everybody else. At best, a headshot provides a super general idea of your "look," but it doesn't tell me much beyond that. Nothing beats a good video reel.

Yes, a reel shows off your acting chops, but it also shows a lot more: what you really look like, what you sound like, and how you interact with other actors. In this day and age, reels are easier and more important than ever. Here are some other quick tips on the subject.

• Keep it short. A few minutes is enough. I've got a LOT of reels to look at.
• Show up in the reel, right away. It may seem obvious, but I'm seeing reels that show other actors for maybe a minute before the submitting actor shows up. 
• TALK IN IT. I'm getting a lot of reels that are basically music video montages. Not the most helpful. I need to hear your voice.

2. Web sites are great! I love checking out actors' web sites when they're listed. Just make sure your site is easy to navigate and represents your talents, and it will be one of your most powerful tools.

3. Everything, up front. My casting application gets a lot of important information out of the way, including an actors' availability around the shoot. It's a chance for the actor to unload information like "I have a wedding to attend this day" or "I'll be out of town this week." It's a real good sign when an actor gives a strong sense of schedule, and then sticks to it. Yes, things pop up. Just do the best you can.

4. Take good direction. I don't expect people to just come in and nail a scene. I'm more interested in seeing their acting, and how they take my direction. That's why I usually do more than one script run-through at auditions. So when an actor is trying to use my direction (even if it's still not a perfect performance), points!

5. Have fun! Hey it's half the reason we're doing this.

Halina Casting Day 1

Halina casting kicked off today, and it was a lot of fun. We got to meet so many really talented people. It was also very exhausting, and I wouldn't have made it through without my amazing and extremely efficient team. It's hard to resist going into details but there are still two more days of casting ahead; one more in New York City and then one on Long Island. One down, two to go!

Casting Submission Period is Over!

Halina pulled in over 4,000 (!!!) actor submissions over the past few weeks, so Enge and I have our work cut out for us. Last Saturday we compared notes and pulled some prospects over the course of six hours, and now we're going through the remaining submissions and scheduling mid-October auditions.

Actors who happen upon this: you may be contacted by Enge over the next week or so with details on the audition. If so, there are just a few notes I want to throw out there:

1. This is going to be a really fun project to be a part of.
2. If you schedule an audition slot, show up. There are literally thousands of other people who could've had your slot - so go all in like the professional you are.
3. The "casting" e-mail address isn't going to be checked regularly anymore, so send questions you may have back to Enge, not the casting email. Submissions sent to that email address aren't going to be seen anymore.

I can't wait to meet you guys in a few weeks. So far I'm very excited with the lists we're making and I'm even more excited to see this script start to come to life.

Casting Director for Halina

With the unexpected tsunami of casting submissions, I'm proud to post that my dear friend Enge has agreed to be the official Casting Director for Halina. She's been helping for some time already, I'm just overwhelmed and haven't had a chance to announce it yet. So there.

Enge brings a lot of experience to this production; she received her second degree from film school and is currently living bi-coastal between Hollywood and New York. She's done production coordinating, casting, and directing both nationally and internationally. And now she's sorting through the thousands of submissions with a keen eye and a full understanding of the script. Exciting!

Actors: if you receive a call or e-mail from Enge in the future, it means you're invited to come audition for us. Please be friendly and help her coordinate the time slot that will work best for you. Casting is still in mid-Oct and we're still accepting submissions through this week.

Now Casting Halina

Warm Milk Productions Inc. is casting Halina, a sci-fi dramatic short film about a young woman hired by a reclusive billionaire to care for a mysterious and lifelike humanoid robot. 

If you or someone you know would be interested in appearing in our next production, send your pics, résumés, videos and other materials to casting at warmmilkpro dot com.

Casting is October 10-12 on Long Island. Rehearsals are in November and shooting begins early December. 

Pays $100 per day plus travel and meals are provided.

Available Roles:

Mischa (Lead): Female, 20-36, Any ethnicity, likable, sweet, somewhat awkward, subservient with her job.

Halina (Lead): Female, 20-46, Caucasian, tall, slender, incredibly beautiful. Holds very still and expressionless much of the time.

Ms. Avery (Supporting): Female, 50+, Any ethnicity, stern, intimidating, powerful presence.

Mr. Crane (Supporting): Male, 35-64, Caucasian, tall, handsome, intimidating.

Aaron (Supporting): Male, 24-36, Any ethnicity, average looking guy.

You will be contacted to receive a time-slot, location and script pages for your audition. There's some pay plus travel and meals. We cast in mid-October, we rehearse in November and we shoot in early December. Get those submissions moving!

You can also apply through our Backstage posting here. (edit: fixed link)

Mini-Casting Call

I recently mentioned a web mini-series I've been writing. Of course I'd like it to feature a lot of familiar faces, but I also posted a couple casting notices on craigslist, lifilm.org, and myspace. I'd really like to hook in both a guy and girl, preferably local, who might be able to do two specific very comedic characters the way I envision them. Plus I love meeting new people through these types of projects. So if you or someone you know might be interested, direct them to one of the ads!

If you're someone I've worked with before, and you're interested in helping, definietly let me know! In fact be persistent...I like seeing that people are excited to work with me again (helps the insecurity issues. Just kidding. Maybe). The point is, hopefully this rinky-dink project will bring in a lot of familiar faces and a handful of new ones. Stay tuned for new Purgatory Comics news this week.

Bree Olson to Appear in Film!!!

So here is some news that I've been sitting on for over two months and tonight I finally get to announce it. Adult film star Bree Olson is appearing in the movie! I'll go into how this all came to be in a later blog, but I wanted to simply announce Bree right now.

Bree Olson is a popular name and fast-raising star in adult film: she recently won the prestigious best new starlet award at the 2007 AVN ceremony. She was on the cover of the February 2008 Penthouse, and the Pet of the Month the following month. She's been on Howard Stern recently and last year she signed a contract with Adam and Eve (the largest distributor of adult novelties and movies). This is just the recent stuff...she's done much much more that would make this a really long blog. Best of all, Bree is sweet, funny, and professional, and she helped to make a hilarious new scene for the film.

Coming over the next few days: a recap of today's shoot with Bree and the new crew, a new "Side Panels" featuring some footage of Bree's DVD interview with us, and more goodies. Stay tuned!

Alex Sovronsky to Appear in Film (whatever it's called)!

This has me excited. An old college friend of mine, Alex Sovronsky, will be appearing briefly in the film when we shoot some pickup shots toward the end of the month. Here's why it's cool: Like Chris Wyant, Alex represents a bridge between two distinct eras of my life. Alex was in my experimental, ultra low-budget 2004 short film "Fly on the Wall," and he's done some voice-work for my old web series "Disorderly Conduct." But also, Alex is a friggin' great actor who's been on Broadway! Alex was in Cyrano with Kevin Kline recently. In fact, it was because of this play that Alex couldn't audition for my film last year, which I guess is a fair excuse. Anyway, glad to have your name in the credits, Alex. You're definitely one of those people I always hope to work with again one day.

Abe Vigoda to Appear in Film!

I've been hinting for awhile now that I'm adding a new scene to the film, and now I can finally give some details about it. I've been hush-hush because I couldn't announce anything until the contract was signed. But here is the big news! Abe Vigoda will be doing a scene in my movie! That's right, Fish himself will be appearing in one scene, playing Cola's grandfather Bill "Snappy" McGillycuddy. Although this scene is a late addition, it might be the funniest thing I've ever written. It also adds to the quotability of the movie with Snappy's catchphrase "I'm eatin' baby tonight!" Guess you'll have to see the scene to understand the joke. Welcome to the cast, Abe! We're scheduled to shoot in late April so hopefully he makes it until then.

Open letter to my cast

To my cast

We shot a lot of footage in a very small period of time, so we did a lot of cramming. Add to that all of the problems big and small that would arise (some being issues that you guys were never even made privy to), and you have one stressed director.

As I'm more than halfway done editing my rough cut though, I'm realizing that through the rush and craziness of the filming, I might have not done my best job expressing my appreciation of you guys. It's something I had planned to do for some kind of wrap party or film premiere or something, but I should do it now while it's sill somewhat fresh in my head (can you believe it's almost been a month already?).

You guys all fit your roles perfectly. If you'd watch this footage, you'd agree. You'd think I hired so type of big bucks casting agent to find you guys...that's how well you all fit your parts. The fact that I personally handpicked each and every one of you if one of my proudest achievements in this film.

But beyond the great acting job you all did, you did so much more. You guys traveled to Long Island. You waited around for hours some days before your turns in front of the cameras. You volunteered to drive other castmates back. You took cabs when I couldn't get to you. Above all...you guys never...ever complained. You made things so much less stressful on me and pleasant for everyone involved in the film. From the most sincere corner of my heart, I say thank you. Thank you so much for your patience, time, and commitment. You have my respect, and I hope I was a good enough director for you guys. I am in all of your debt, and I'll make you proud as I continue editing this.

-Your Lovable Director

Jennifer Stone joins the cast

Last weekend brought us one more major addition to the cast of our film, and that's the lovely Jennifer Stone. Jen's role is that of a superhero who will kick all asses, yours and mine. Angela (God / Xenu / Flying Spaghetti Monster bless her) will be helping to put a costume together for our hero. Jen's awesome and we're excited to have her on board. I should credit the photographer on Jen's photo here, who has a web site at www.frankmattoni.com.

In other news, I've finally gotten the insurance aspect taken care of. I didn't opt for the additional $125 terrorism coverage so let's all pray that Bin Laden leaves me and my film to our own devices.

First Full Cast Rehearsal!

Today was the first full cast rehearsal, which was in the same room that we did the auditions in the Marriott. I know it sounds a little ostentatious to gush, but this group is incredible. Not only did they each exceed my expectations, but they're also a real bunch of cool cats and definitely the kind of people you want in your corner during a project like this.

I'll have a short video clip up later this week, but here are some pictures for now. Click the images for a full size view.

This is either a pic of the three leads, or an album cover.


Look at those faces.


The full cast, together at last!


...aaaaand already acting goofy.

What a good looking bunch, eh? There you are folks...the people that are going to make "Bagged and Boarded" the "Citizen Kane" of our time.

Vinny Bove to be in film!

Vinny Bove was actually cast last week, but here at last is the official announcement. Vinny will play the role of Danny, the ex-boyfriend of Cola who is also a graphic designer. In real life, Vinny actually is a graphic designer (amongst other things)...in fact, he did the design for the comic book store "Purgatory Comics," and he's got a few other design projects on his plate for us. He's been invited to post here so I'll leave it to him to tell a little bit more about himself. This leaves one major casting announcement left to be made!