So we got the auditioners squared away, busy working with each other or regular cast members. Then Lou Nogueira of The Dojo, Wolcott, Ct, showed them a three-move routine, which they practiced with cast members, while I and the cast kept our collective eyes on them to decide who would take which open role...
The camera for this episode was held by Jeremy Salig, and the music is by Dr. Bronko Von Johnstein. The Sprawl fight clothes Lou and I are wearing was provided by the Sprawl Fight Shorts company
Showing posts with label casting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label casting. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Week 7 - Meet the Cast video
Here is the second part of the Week 7 video, in which Captain Zorikh talks with the cast and gets to know them better. There is footage from various rehearsals, the movie itself, and other sources to illustrate what the various cast members are talking about.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Week 11 Report
On Week # 11, everything came out in the wash.
The cast member who had problems with two other cast members had written himself into an agreement that prevented him from working with those cast members, and since I would lose four other cast members if I lost those two, and losing those particular cast members would disrupt the storylines that I had been building and fight routines that had been established, I decided that I would lot get rid of those two members. So he dropped out, and one other cast member went with him. The first of those two cast members who left was not so difficult to replace. In fact, I had pretty much already replaced him. He had been absent a lot lately, and Lou Nogueira had stepped in and been present on those days that he was out. Even when he was in, he had deferred to Lou a lot. The other cast member was tougher, as she was part of the "Romeo & Juliette" sub-plot I was writing in. But Nicole Giunta joined the cast in time for Week #11 and took over that role.
I also put out some casting notices and got a surprising level of response. I got experience competition grapplers and MMA fighters, Jerry Mendez had referred a few of his grappling and MMA friends, and I even got contacted by the former Israeli Pro Wrestling champion and the agent of Brimstone, a well-known indie pro wrestler.
I had invited these people to come to a particular "underground wrestling party" in Manhattan as well as the rest of the cast, and got a great turnout! the cast members were able to get a sense of the scene that I was coming from with this movie, and I was able to see these potential new cast members in action.
So on Saturday I had 6 potential new cast members lined up (including Nicole). Lou and I put them through some paces with the cast, and then I conferred with the cast as to who would get which role. In the end we were able to use each and every one of them to fill a hole in the cast.
Specifically, we needed to cast a new Tybalt. Stephen showed in his wrestling the kind of desperate fury that I thought such a character would have. We needed a new trainer for the "Legit" team. Bret showed the legit credibility such a role required. We needed three referees and someone to fill a hole in the "Legit" team. WE had the auditioners improv refereeing three different matches (this also gave three pairs of wrestlers the opportunity to practice their routines under performance conditions). After this we were able to select a head referee. Looking at the cast, I decided that the other referees would be supplied by the two teams, and that they would start off the tag team match.
Together with Willis, Oscar, and Yusif, the three of us some days earlier had set all the matches for the tournament and the tag-team match that we were to shoot on the 25th. I told everyone in the cast what those final matchups were and the order in which their fights would go, and set them to working on their routines.
When that work was done, we gathered up the mats, the "Underground" team, the cameraman, and the PA's, and headed up to Tagine, where we shot the "Underground Fight Party" scene. The three preliminary fights there (Vincent vs. GA, Bundy vs. Kamikaze, and Sandra vs. Lee) were all well prepared, with only my match with Yousif someone improvised (I have found myself so busy doing everything else it takes to make a movie that I have had precious little time to actually work on my own fights. Note to self: don;t let that happen in the future). Lou proved invaluable, giving us good grappling advice. He also was able to do his trick whereby he caught an orange thrown at him while blindfolded. Jeremy Salig manned the camera, and Debra PA'd with great dexterity and sensitivity.
Tomorrow we shoot the scenes where Captain Zorikh first comes to train with the "Legit" team.
The cast member who had problems with two other cast members had written himself into an agreement that prevented him from working with those cast members, and since I would lose four other cast members if I lost those two, and losing those particular cast members would disrupt the storylines that I had been building and fight routines that had been established, I decided that I would lot get rid of those two members. So he dropped out, and one other cast member went with him. The first of those two cast members who left was not so difficult to replace. In fact, I had pretty much already replaced him. He had been absent a lot lately, and Lou Nogueira had stepped in and been present on those days that he was out. Even when he was in, he had deferred to Lou a lot. The other cast member was tougher, as she was part of the "Romeo & Juliette" sub-plot I was writing in. But Nicole Giunta joined the cast in time for Week #11 and took over that role.
I also put out some casting notices and got a surprising level of response. I got experience competition grapplers and MMA fighters, Jerry Mendez had referred a few of his grappling and MMA friends, and I even got contacted by the former Israeli Pro Wrestling champion and the agent of Brimstone, a well-known indie pro wrestler.
I had invited these people to come to a particular "underground wrestling party" in Manhattan as well as the rest of the cast, and got a great turnout! the cast members were able to get a sense of the scene that I was coming from with this movie, and I was able to see these potential new cast members in action.
So on Saturday I had 6 potential new cast members lined up (including Nicole). Lou and I put them through some paces with the cast, and then I conferred with the cast as to who would get which role. In the end we were able to use each and every one of them to fill a hole in the cast.
Specifically, we needed to cast a new Tybalt. Stephen showed in his wrestling the kind of desperate fury that I thought such a character would have. We needed a new trainer for the "Legit" team. Bret showed the legit credibility such a role required. We needed three referees and someone to fill a hole in the "Legit" team. WE had the auditioners improv refereeing three different matches (this also gave three pairs of wrestlers the opportunity to practice their routines under performance conditions). After this we were able to select a head referee. Looking at the cast, I decided that the other referees would be supplied by the two teams, and that they would start off the tag team match.
Together with Willis, Oscar, and Yusif, the three of us some days earlier had set all the matches for the tournament and the tag-team match that we were to shoot on the 25th. I told everyone in the cast what those final matchups were and the order in which their fights would go, and set them to working on their routines.
When that work was done, we gathered up the mats, the "Underground" team, the cameraman, and the PA's, and headed up to Tagine, where we shot the "Underground Fight Party" scene. The three preliminary fights there (Vincent vs. GA, Bundy vs. Kamikaze, and Sandra vs. Lee) were all well prepared, with only my match with Yousif someone improvised (I have found myself so busy doing everything else it takes to make a movie that I have had precious little time to actually work on my own fights. Note to self: don;t let that happen in the future). Lou proved invaluable, giving us good grappling advice. He also was able to do his trick whereby he caught an orange thrown at him while blindfolded. Jeremy Salig manned the camera, and Debra PA'd with great dexterity and sensitivity.
Tomorrow we shoot the scenes where Captain Zorikh first comes to train with the "Legit" team.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Brimstone supports "Redemption"
Last week I posted a casting call to fill a few openings in the cast that the course of attrition and a few minor dramas over an 11 week rehearsal process had left. Also, I needed to cast a few referees.
The response to this was astounding. Where were all these people three months ago when I started? I got calls from real hardcore MMA guys, ten year competition veterans, high-ranking martial artists, and an Israeli pro wrestling champion. I also got a call from Brimstone, an indie pro wrestler of some renown who offered to do a celebrity cameo.
We shot the cameo on Sunday, It was the scene where Captain Zorikh gets the contact information for the legit martial arts team that he will join. It was shot outside Otto's Shrunken Head with Frank Wood. Brimstone was also kind enough to shoot the following promo:
Cool, huh?
The response to this was astounding. Where were all these people three months ago when I started? I got calls from real hardcore MMA guys, ten year competition veterans, high-ranking martial artists, and an Israeli pro wrestling champion. I also got a call from Brimstone, an indie pro wrestler of some renown who offered to do a celebrity cameo.
We shot the cameo on Sunday, It was the scene where Captain Zorikh gets the contact information for the legit martial arts team that he will join. It was shot outside Otto's Shrunken Head with Frank Wood. Brimstone was also kind enough to shoot the following promo:
Cool, huh?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Week 9 Report
Several of the cast members who had been absent the past two weeks returned, but several key members did not. Tony, who had been with us the first two weeks, returned, and brought with him Manuela, a new addition to the cast.
We worked on routines through the entire rehearsal. We figured out how Kat would spin and throw Yousif. Kirkland and Dan fount the completion of their match. GA and Vince figured out how they would do a move I had wanted GE at do since I saw his "Osirus" videos: a flying triangle. Bundy and I worked on our routine, which will have some spectacular stuff in it. And Sam and Lou continued to provide good advice and training.
A few key people were not there, though. I am starting to get concerned about the attrition rate among the cast. I expected a few people to drop out for various reasons. One woman dropped out early because she was concerned about injury. Another dropped out because she was concerned that too many people would think this was a fetish video and she had to think about her career. Another woman dropped out because she thought the "darkness" in this movie would affect her. And yet another female cast member had a pretty horrible family tragedy strike. And now a few cast members are saying the don't want to work with each other. I am certainly going to have to get to the bottom of this.
Hopefully I won't have to have another casting call. I love this cast. Their unique personality and chemistry has informed and inspired my vision for this movie so much, I can't imagine what I would do if I had to replace too many of them.
We worked on routines through the entire rehearsal. We figured out how Kat would spin and throw Yousif. Kirkland and Dan fount the completion of their match. GA and Vince figured out how they would do a move I had wanted GE at do since I saw his "Osirus" videos: a flying triangle. Bundy and I worked on our routine, which will have some spectacular stuff in it. And Sam and Lou continued to provide good advice and training.
A few key people were not there, though. I am starting to get concerned about the attrition rate among the cast. I expected a few people to drop out for various reasons. One woman dropped out early because she was concerned about injury. Another dropped out because she was concerned that too many people would think this was a fetish video and she had to think about her career. Another woman dropped out because she thought the "darkness" in this movie would affect her. And yet another female cast member had a pretty horrible family tragedy strike. And now a few cast members are saying the don't want to work with each other. I am certainly going to have to get to the bottom of this.
Hopefully I won't have to have another casting call. I love this cast. Their unique personality and chemistry has informed and inspired my vision for this movie so much, I can't imagine what I would do if I had to replace too many of them.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Videos from Week 6, talk and improvs
Here is the talk I gave to the cast when I handed out the story breakdown. I explained the story and why it is important to have a believable Adversary for the Hero.
So I divided up the cast into two teams and gave them instruction that would lead them to enact a composite scene combining several elements of the story.
Here was the first team to preform their improv, made up mostly of pro wrestlers with Lee Boria as the Adversary, Jonathan Rodriguez standing in for Captain Zorikh, and GA West as the Mentor-to-be.
And then the second team went on, made up mostly of Sammy's team of mixed martial artists and the kung fu class I had recruited on Week 2. Elizabeth Vergara plays the Adversary, Douglas Ahammer stands in for Captain Zorikh, and Sam plays the Mentor-to-be.
These performances allowed me to see new aspects of the story that I had not considered, and showed me what aspects do not work. It was also instrumental in helping me cast the role of the adversary, and decide that the final tournament would be a match between two teams, not three.
So I divided up the cast into two teams and gave them instruction that would lead them to enact a composite scene combining several elements of the story.
Here was the first team to preform their improv, made up mostly of pro wrestlers with Lee Boria as the Adversary, Jonathan Rodriguez standing in for Captain Zorikh, and GA West as the Mentor-to-be.
And then the second team went on, made up mostly of Sammy's team of mixed martial artists and the kung fu class I had recruited on Week 2. Elizabeth Vergara plays the Adversary, Douglas Ahammer stands in for Captain Zorikh, and Sam plays the Mentor-to-be.
These performances allowed me to see new aspects of the story that I had not considered, and showed me what aspects do not work. It was also instrumental in helping me cast the role of the adversary, and decide that the final tournament would be a match between two teams, not three.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Week #4 - Captain Zorikh Runs the Gauntlet
After three weeks of making everyone else do work, I let the cast have a crack at me...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Wrokshop/rehearsal report, Week #4
We had a great workshop today. We worked on falls and takedowns, and then we did more cooperative choreography work.
We had a bunch of new wrestlers from New Era Wrestling join us,a nd they proved to be very good, able to pick up techniques fast and having some great physical skills of their own. The beginners in the cast made great strides and show real potential. There were a couple of folks from the auditions we were not too sure of to start with, but they have all shown marked improvement
At the end of the rehearsal, thanked everyone for all the hard work they had done for the past four weeks. I had the cast applaud themselves, and I was actually surprised by the length and passion of the applause. I really think that they are beliving in this project. Then I pointed out that they had been working hard but I hadn;t done much but watch them. Then I aske dwho was wondering when I would get into the action, and who wanted a piece of the Captain.
Then I ran a gauntlet, wrestling each and every member of the cast for 30 seconds or to submission or tag out. It was good to finally get some action after spending 4 weeks simply watching everybody (as a director must do). I realized after that that I need some more moves in my vocabulary, more physical strength, and better conditioning.
But it felt great to do it, and the entire cast was into it. At the end everybody was cheering and chanting my name. I shouted "Who wants to be in my movie!" and everybody enthusiastically replied in the affirmative. It is moment like these that truly make me believe that this can be done.
Also this week, I had a new person hold the camera, A. Afendi. I will be posting his footage soon.
After the workshop, I met with Sammy, Lee, and Willis Cruz, Jr. We discussed how pleased we were with how things were going, and we proposed a few potential matches for the movie. As soon as they are confirmed, I will be posting them here.
We had a bunch of new wrestlers from New Era Wrestling join us,a nd they proved to be very good, able to pick up techniques fast and having some great physical skills of their own. The beginners in the cast made great strides and show real potential. There were a couple of folks from the auditions we were not too sure of to start with, but they have all shown marked improvement
At the end of the rehearsal, thanked everyone for all the hard work they had done for the past four weeks. I had the cast applaud themselves, and I was actually surprised by the length and passion of the applause. I really think that they are beliving in this project. Then I pointed out that they had been working hard but I hadn;t done much but watch them. Then I aske dwho was wondering when I would get into the action, and who wanted a piece of the Captain.
Then I ran a gauntlet, wrestling each and every member of the cast for 30 seconds or to submission or tag out. It was good to finally get some action after spending 4 weeks simply watching everybody (as a director must do). I realized after that that I need some more moves in my vocabulary, more physical strength, and better conditioning.
But it felt great to do it, and the entire cast was into it. At the end everybody was cheering and chanting my name. I shouted "Who wants to be in my movie!" and everybody enthusiastically replied in the affirmative. It is moment like these that truly make me believe that this can be done.
Also this week, I had a new person hold the camera, A. Afendi. I will be posting his footage soon.
After the workshop, I met with Sammy, Lee, and Willis Cruz, Jr. We discussed how pleased we were with how things were going, and we proposed a few potential matches for the movie. As soon as they are confirmed, I will be posting them here.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Video from week #2
Here are myself, Sammy Vergara, Edwin Echevarria, and Lee Boria talking about casting and other things regarding "The Redemption of Captain Zorikh."
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Workshop Report #3
We did things a little differently yeasterday. In the instructional period, we focused oin positions and transitions, escaping side mount, escaping mouont, sweep from butterfly guard, armbar from guard. Instead of free rolling, we hjad the auditioners work cooperatively, building mini-routines through trading move for move, counter for counter. Then when we hat the tag-match, we divided the group into two teams to see how well they would work together. It also hel;ped me see particular matchups that I had been curious about. Also my friend Phil Fiuymano of NY Rocks TV held the camera, so I could pay more attention to what was going on, and take a more critical eye at the participants.
I am proud to say that the people who concerned us last week all showed the improvement we needed, and everyone else that we were comfortable with gave us what we wanted.
After sending out the invites, I will post the official cast list. Video will be up soon.
I am proud to say that the people who concerned us last week all showed the improvement we needed, and everyone else that we were comfortable with gave us what we wanted.
After sending out the invites, I will post the official cast list. Video will be up soon.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
2nd Worskhop Report
As anticipated, there was some attrition from the previous week.
However, we also got four new female auditioners and a whole bunch of new guys (in addition to the two returning females, and half-dozen returning males), most of whom had been in a kung fu class earlier. I found them changing in the bathroom and asked them if they would be interested in trying out for the movie, and most of them said yes. I think we may have a few keepers in the bunch.
Ron Gastelu of http://www.steelwars.com was kind enough to donate his time to shoot the video for this week's training, to add to what I shot. I should be able to edit it and post it up soon.
We learned some basics (guard, passing guard, mount, arm bar, rear naked choke, and triangle) and then went into some free rolling. We finished with a Royal Rumble Tag Match.
I am beginning to see some of the auditioners as specific characters. This is good, because it will give greater depth to the story, and greater potential for the audience to identify with it.
This Saturday is the last "open" workshop. After that, potential new cast membmers will be allowed in on a case-by-case basis. One thing that is disappointing me is the lack of trained female grapplers showing up. All the women so far have had some form of martial arts training, and several of them are showing great energy and dedication to learning the techniques, but I want to have a couple more cast members with more experience on the mat and in tournaments.
However, we also got four new female auditioners and a whole bunch of new guys (in addition to the two returning females, and half-dozen returning males), most of whom had been in a kung fu class earlier. I found them changing in the bathroom and asked them if they would be interested in trying out for the movie, and most of them said yes. I think we may have a few keepers in the bunch.
Ron Gastelu of http://www.steelwars.com was kind enough to donate his time to shoot the video for this week's training, to add to what I shot. I should be able to edit it and post it up soon.
We learned some basics (guard, passing guard, mount, arm bar, rear naked choke, and triangle) and then went into some free rolling. We finished with a Royal Rumble Tag Match.
I am beginning to see some of the auditioners as specific characters. This is good, because it will give greater depth to the story, and greater potential for the audience to identify with it.
This Saturday is the last "open" workshop. After that, potential new cast membmers will be allowed in on a case-by-case basis. One thing that is disappointing me is the lack of trained female grapplers showing up. All the women so far have had some form of martial arts training, and several of them are showing great energy and dedication to learning the techniques, but I want to have a couple more cast members with more experience on the mat and in tournaments.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Report from United Filmakers & Actors meetup
Just got back from a "meetup Group" of United Filmakers & Actors, to find that my phone service was out, so I couldn't post a report.so here it is now.
I was on FIRE that night. When it came time to give my pitch, I had the audience laughing and cheering. Afterward, folks came at me from all sides saying that they were interested in getting involved in this project. I wish I had recorded the evening, because it felt really good.
We will see how many of these contacts pan out. About a half-dozen people said they would come to this Saturday's audition/workshop, including fur or five women and a couple of skilled and experienced martial artists. This would be great for the production. I also talked with two music people, a location scout, a couple of producers, and a guy who says he wants to cast me as the lead in a comedy feature he has written.
It's all very exciting!
I was on FIRE that night. When it came time to give my pitch, I had the audience laughing and cheering. Afterward, folks came at me from all sides saying that they were interested in getting involved in this project. I wish I had recorded the evening, because it felt really good.
We will see how many of these contacts pan out. About a half-dozen people said they would come to this Saturday's audition/workshop, including fur or five women and a couple of skilled and experienced martial artists. This would be great for the production. I also talked with two music people, a location scout, a couple of producers, and a guy who says he wants to cast me as the lead in a comedy feature he has written.
It's all very exciting!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
First workshop report
It was a very productive first day. After Yours Truly gave a short speech outlining the background and objectives of the project, Sammy Vergara let a brief training session in some basics of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We then did some free rolling and had a tag-in royal round.
Attendees present were:
Samuel Vergara
Edwin Echevarria
Anthony Batchelor
Willis Cruz, Jr.
Kirkland Campbell
Lady MacDeath
Natasha Missick
Vallen Pilgrim
Eric Ramey
Yousif Sarya
Katrina Segers
G.A. West
Devin Zhang
It was a small but spirited group, having fought through the snow to get there. Afterwards I conferred with Sammy, Edwin, and Lady MacDeath regarding the attendees and casting. I am confident that I will be able to find a role for each of them in the tournament scene.
Interestingly, all the men had at least some form of wrestling or grappling background, be it BJJ, collegiate, or pro, but only one of the women had done grappling before, though all had done some form of martial arts or combat sport. We still need more women, though. If this film is to have a scene at a non-gender-divided grappling tournament, we need a more equitable ballance of males and females.
Attendees present were:
Samuel Vergara
Edwin Echevarria
Anthony Batchelor
Willis Cruz, Jr.
Kirkland Campbell
Lady MacDeath
Natasha Missick
Vallen Pilgrim
Eric Ramey
Yousif Sarya
Katrina Segers
G.A. West
Devin Zhang
It was a small but spirited group, having fought through the snow to get there. Afterwards I conferred with Sammy, Edwin, and Lady MacDeath regarding the attendees and casting. I am confident that I will be able to find a role for each of them in the tournament scene.
Interestingly, all the men had at least some form of wrestling or grappling background, be it BJJ, collegiate, or pro, but only one of the women had done grappling before, though all had done some form of martial arts or combat sport. We still need more women, though. If this film is to have a scene at a non-gender-divided grappling tournament, we need a more equitable ballance of males and females.
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