Casting happened! In four hours, we saw 18 people for four roles and were completely overwhelmed at the talent on display in Sydney. We arrived at Metro Screen to find we'd been allocated the green screen/ studio as our casting studio- cue a mixture of excitement and mild annoyance that we didn't have just 30 minutes longer and our sound gear so we could quickly shoot some of our crowd funding campaign video ;) Here's what happened..
We saw 7 people for the role of Maddy, the ten year old main protaganist who goes to stay with her grandfather and must grapple with his gruffness along with the monsters in the woods nearby! There was such an array of talent here- luckily we've filmed the performances. Some of the cutest questions we were asked related to animals on the farm and whether we're the type of directors who yell or who give out sweets and chocolate ( the latter, obviously!).
We saw 3 people for the role of Morrigan, the slightly creepy old Irish woman who drives the supernatural development of the film. Suzanne was a little worried about this, as (being Irish) she can't stand listening to exaggerated Irish accents! All of the performances were fantastic though, with each actor bringing their own ambiguous-yet- slightly- threatening take on the scene provided. One in particular caused us to have shivers, so we may be getting back to that person very soon!
It was a quiet day for the role of Kate, Maddy's overworked mum, who appears in less scenes but remains an interesting character. We saw four great actors- this one will be a difficult decision!
Finally, our auditions for Tom were nicely spread out, with four actors arriving over the course of the afternoon. We had contacted an actor individually before these casting calls and will audition him next week, but he may be given a run for his money with these boys! All did a great Tom, a gruff man of the land whose character arc is the most clearly defined in the film. We're really looking forward to working with the actors we choose ( to be decided in the next few days!) and are both glad we've created four meaty characters for them to work with. We also were flattered ( and extremely grateful) to hear a number of compliments yesterday on our professionalism, both in the running of auditions and in our contracting process for cast and crew ( deferred payment contracts for anyone not earning full pay, plus food, wrap party ( sorry kids!), copies of the film, recommendations, etc. ) This has always been the impression we've wanted to give, as we strive towards creating an awesome team who can have lots of fun together and make a great short film! Onwards!
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/idlewrath or Twitter @IdleWrath for more frequent updates!
