Hollywood film looking for ‘character faces’ in Kootenays
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by Chris Shepherd in Arts |
The film crew for Jessica Biel's Kootenay film, The Tall Man, will hold casting calls starting next week. Photo source: Maggiejumps, Flickr, Creative Commons.
Want to appear in a big Hollywood production filmed right in the Kootenays? Then leave the makeup and sharp duds at home: It’ll be people with a “small-town look” that have the best chance of landing a small role in The Tall Man.
Carmen Kotyk is the casting director for the film, set to begin filming this fall and which stars Jessica Biel in the lead role.
Biel most recently starred in The A-Team.
Kotyk has roughly 20 speaking roles and 100 background parts to fill and she’s hoping to find the talent right here in the Kootenays. She doesn’t want to see people in fancy dress for the casting calls, however.
“If I see a young or not so young person coming in all dolled up, I won’t be interested,” Kotyk says. “It’s not the tone of the piece.”
The Tall Man is a thriller about a nurse (Biel) who arrives in a small town just as children start disappearing.
Kotyk says she’s looking for “character faces” for the movie.
“It means real faces,” says Kotyk. “Not fashion faces. Faces that look like they’ve been lived in.”
Kotyk is looking for people of all ages, ethnicities, and body types. From six months to 100 year old, as she puts it.
Nelson’s artistic reputation proceeds it and Kotyk says she is happy to hear about the community’s active theatre community.
“We [director Pascal Laugie and I] love theatre actors,” Kotyk says. “They’re trained and come with a bag of tools.”
The open casting calls (see below for specific times) are the first opportunity for Kotyk to sort through the Kootenay talent. She’ll take photos and talk with some of the acting hopefuls. Kotyk will arrange second auditions with people who make the first cut where they’ll be given some dialogue to memorize and a chance to perform in front of a camera.
The open casting calls will be held on:
- Sunday, Sept. 5, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the North Shore Hall, 675 Whitmore Rd.
- Monday, Sept. 6, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the North Shore Hall, 675 Whitmore Rd.
- Tuesday, Sept. 7, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Salmo Valley Youth and Community Centre, 206 7th St., Salmo.
Earlier reports that filming would happen in Nelson, Sandon and Salmo have turned out to be premature and officials with the film say they are still scouting locations for the movie.