Casting Update

Hello, horror fans! With November fast approaching, we at Reunion headquarters are looking at the last (we hope!) month of our casting process. That being the case, it seemed like as good a time as any to update you all on how that process is being handled.

Because of our micro-budget status, we will be shooting Reunion on a shoestring. Which means we had to make a choice: SAG or no SAG. SAG is the Screen Actors Guild -- the union representing actors. We would have loved to been able to go the SAG route, but the minimums we would have been required to pay actors risked our entire budget.  So we decided to go the non-union route and cast a wide net, hoping to discover some excellent local talent that we hope to see turn into household names. And we do very much hope to be able to offer our actors some kind of financial reward for the efforts. The work they do is very hard (and often under appreciated by the average viewer). They allow themselves to go to places emotionally that most of us actively try to avoid -- and they do it on camera! For that we owe them our utmost respect, admiration, sandwiches, cookies, and some greenbacks. How many greenbacks we're able to provide will be in large part determined by how well our current efforts to raise funds go. I can promise lots of sandwiches and cookies though!

ABOUT OUR PROCESS

Our goal entering the casting phase of our pre-production was to see a lot of people. We have a relatively small cast (eight speaking parts, of which three should be considered co-leads). So, our feeling was that by seeing as much talent as possible we should be able to fill our relatively small cast with some great local (Seattle) talent. Most of our casting search has been conducted through Theatre Puget Sound (great site!).

At this point our operation is still small (and spread out -- Seattle, LA, and points in-between) so for our initial audition listing we have asked actors to submit videos for our consideration. These could fall into one of two categories:

1) Submit a video reading sides (script pages provided by us).

2) Submit a link to their reel (a short video featuring representative clips of an actor's onscreen work).

We are asking for videos so we can achieve our goal of seeing a lot of people, without becoming overwhelmed by hordes of hungry actors at in-person auditions. The last day we will accept video submissions is Friday, November 26th. Over the following weekend we will make our final assessments of the received submissions and on Monday (Nov. 29) or Tuesday (Nov. 30) we will contact those actors we'd like to see in person to schedule audition times for Saturday, December 4th. All actors reading that day will be reading for the leads. On Saturday, December 11th we will have callbacks. At that time actors may be asked to read for supporting roles.

It is our hope that we'll be able to begin announcing some casting decisions shortly thereafter. If things go really well (and we've already had A LOT of really talented people contact us) we may even be able to announce our whole cast. That said, if we feel we haven't found the right fit for a part, we will at that time extend our search until we have the right person in every role.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in auditioning, visit our Theatre Puget Sound listing for complete details:

http://tpsonline.org/auditions/auddb.php?Aud_ID=20684

Be seeing you...

Thanks for the party!

Last night (October 2, 2010) Gainsbourg, a little bar serving French cuisine in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood, hosted a Reunion fundraising party, donating $1 from select drink specials to the funding of our little blood bath to be.


We had a great turnout and want to thank all who attended for coming, and especially the fine folks at Gainsbourg for allowing us to invade their space and splash filthy (Hooker's Revenge, Arousal) trailers all over their lovely walls.


We had a blast. We think. We can't really remember anything that happened. So that must be a good thing...right?

Check back tomorrow for an update on our casting process, currently in full swing and set to conclude in early December.


Be seeing you...

Seattle Friends - Come and have a drink with us!

As we near the end of our first month of fundraising ($1600+ so far! - thanks everyone!), we've decided it's time to have a shindig. A hootenanny. A blowout. A slobberknocker. A damn good time.


If you live in the greater Seattle area come and join us for drinks next Tuesday at Gainsbourg in Greenwood. Check the poster for all the details:

Matt's bringing some exploitation trailers that are beyond ridiculous -- and ridiculously awesome! You must see them. If you're really lucky you'll even see the trailer for The Crippled Masters. It will repulse -- and inspire! -- you!


We'll be hanging out from 7PM until close and would love to see you there. All are welcome. Hang out, watch some trailers, talk about movies, learn a little about Reunion and, if you like what you hear, consider donating to our blood drive. 


Be seeing you...

What the hell is Kickstarter?!

Last week we launched our REUNION Kickstarter campaign and I blogged a little bit about it here. But because this is an entirely new era in crowd-sourced funding, I thought a follow-up post explaining a little bit more about Kickstarter was in order. You can also visit Kickstarter's main page and learn a lot there.

So what the hell is Kickstarter? In their own words, Kickstarter is "a new way to fund and follow creativity". It was created to allow people to fund creative projects of all kinds. Authors use it to fund books. Musicians raise money to record new CDs. Diaspora, a proposed Facebook alternative, most famously used it to raise over $200,000 toward the development of their new website. And filmmakers are using it to fund their dream projects. It has been featured in Wired, The New York Times, and on NPR.

How does it work? Project creators post their project. Kickstarter requires a monetary goal to be posted and a time frame within which that goal must be attained. It is an all-or-nothing proposition. In our case we are hoping to raise $10,000 in ninety days. If we receive pledges totaling at least $10,000 before the ninety days is up we will have made our goal. When a goal is met donors are charged at the end of the campaign. If a goal is not met no donors are charged a penny. The project is back to square one. This deadline based system encourages donors to act now and not wait (if they're excited about, and want to fund, a particular project). People seem to respond to deadlines. And the all-or-nothing element ensures that donors are only charged to support projects that have the most chance to succeed. 


So besides supporting the arts, what do donors get from the experience? For one thing they get to see a film, a book, a CD, an art project move through all of its various stages toward completion. 


They also get rewards! Project creators, in addition to setting monetary goals and time lines, also offer rewards to donors. These rewards are, ideally, unique to the specific project. In our case our lowest possible donation is only $15. Essentially you are pre-ordering a Special "Donor Only" Edition of the finished film on DVD. And you get a thank-you on our website (launching soon - the design work is almost done!). The more you give, the more you get (higher level donations also receive the rewards applicable to all lower level donations). If you want receive a thank-you in the credits -- that's one of the rewards! Want to be an Executive Producer? If you have $500 burning a hole in your pocket, you could be!

For filmmakers this is exciting because it allows us to invite more people into our process, a process that is collaborative to begin with. With camera costs being what they are now, it is more possible than ever to make great, original films outside of the Hollywood system. Our hope is that we will be able to get a lot of smaller donations -- pre-order the DVD and save a spot on the shelf for REUNION in your horror film collection.

We will also be offering referral rewards. If you refer other people to our Kickstarter page email us at reunionproducer@gmail.com with the subject heading "Kickstarter Referral". In the body of your email let us know who you have referred to our page and, if any of those people become donors, we will add up their total donations and give YOU the reward at that amount -- and we'll round up! If you can get enough people to give you could end up with a CHARACTER NAMED AFTER YOU in the movie! And you'll be invited to the set to watch that character meet a bloody end.

But first we have to raise the money to buy blood! Help us out, donate blood!

REUNION's Kickstarter page 
Kickstarter Frequently Asked Questions 

Be seeing you...

Fundraising AND Casting underway

FUNDRAISING


Fundraising is underway! We've launched Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns to try to scare up some scratch. Kickstarter is our primary vehicle right now. The Indiegogo campaign is meant to supplement the Kickstarter campaign and to make it easy for anyone who already supports projects at Indiegogo to find and donate to us, should they choose to do so.


We have some really cool rewards -- T-shirts, visits to the set, invitations to screenings and wrap parties, etc. Check them out and help us get off to a fast start. Once money starts coming in it's easier to attract more donors -- everyone likes to back a winner! 


This is our T-shirt design, created specifically for us by Chris Lytle:

If you've really got some bread to spread around, at the high end you could get a character named after you! And you'd be invited to the set to see that character meet his (or her!) maker! Now that's a good time.


Rewards are the same at both sites. As mentioned above, Indiegogo is meant to supplement Kickstarter and make it easy for anyone who already belongs to one site or the other to find and help fund us -- if they want to!


CASTING


Originally casting was not going to begin until December or even January, but because I've already received some (very) impressive audition videos, it's only fair to offer the same opportunity to everyone.


What's that mean for you? You can begin submitting digitally immediately!


The purpose of the videos you create at this point is for us to see your bountiful talent so we can decide who we'd like to see in person. No casting decisions will be made based on video submissions alone. At the end of this post you'll find the email address where you can request sides, submit small video files, or links to videos hosted elsewhere. Don't worry about the quality of your camera -- we're evaluating your talent, not the resolution it's being displayed in.


You are free to shoot whatever you'd like (like I mentioned above, sides will be provided if that's your preference), but remember this is a brutal, feature-length horror movie. See French films HAUTE TENSION and INSIDE for reference.


PARTS AVAILABLE:


Three female roles -- one lead, two supporting, all 26-28 years old.


HEIDI - LEAD. 26. Married to David, finishing up her Master's Degree in Special Education. Sexy and smart. Deadly, but she doesn't know that yet...


SARAH - SUPPORTING. 26. David's sister, Heidi's sister-in-law. Dating Adam. Sweet and caring. 


LUCY - SUPPORTING. 28. Married to Travis. Attractive, but she spends a little too long in front of the makeup mirror. Long red nails could do some damage in a pinch...


Five male roles -- two leads, three supporting. All 28 years old.


DAVID - LEAD. 28. Married to Heidi. He also works in education, on an administrative track. Destined to be a principal -- if his own school misdeeds don't catch up to him first. 


CASWELL - LEAD. 28. The bad guy. Something happened to him in high school and he cracked. But he's not over-the-top about it. He's slow and methodical. Has spent ten years preparing for one night...


ADAM - SUPPORTING. 28. Dating Sarah. Friends with David for most of his life. His waist bands are starting to expand -- just a little. Might have got up to no good in high school with David, Travis, and Brandon.


BRANDON - SUPPORTING. 28. Apparently single. In high school he was a gym rat, ripped. Now the heaviest thing he lifts on a day-to-day basis is a Twinkie. But could he tap into the old strength if it will save his life?


TRAVIS - SUPPORTING. 28. Married to Lucy. He's been a serious swimmer since high school and has the long body to prove it. 


Should you choose to read sides, the sides provided will be for Heidi and David. All submissions will be considered for all appropriate parts, but please state your role preference if you have one.


Send submissions and request sides at: reunionproducer@gmail.com


Be seeing you...