Reunion's Big Bad!

This post originally appeared at Reunion's current Kickstarter page as an update.

In yesterday's update you learned that it was a bit of a challenge to cast our male lead, our "Good Guy" part. One of the problems we were having was that we just weren't getting many actors auditioning for that role. Everyone, we learned, wants to play The Bad Buy, the man in the mask.

But there can be only one.

And we ended up with the very best -- Jesse Lee Keeter.

Jesse Lee Keeter between scenes. Photo © 2011 Jeremy David Bell

Jesse was on our radar from the start, first arriving to read at our December 2010 auditions. He came in for multiple callbacks -- not because we weren't sure about him, but because the part that he ultimately grabbed and made his own was so crucial to the success of the movie. We wanted to make sure we had seen all of our options, but in the end, there was only one option -- and all of us in the final casting session knew it. It was to be Keeter for Caswell.

Jesse Lee Keeter in Reunion.

His performance is amazing. While Reunion is, at its heart, a slasher film, it's a slasher film with a twist -- these characters are not being picked off by a random whacko. They are being picked off by a whacko they have a history with. That allowed Jesse to play scenes where he and the other characters (especially Brian Sutherland's character, Jason Lasby) delved into their shared past. It was an opportunity for Jesse give his character a depth not typically seen in a horror movie killer and that's exactly what he did with the part of Caswell.

On set Jesse had his own room upstairs where he could prepare between scenes away from the other actors, actors he would soon be brutalizing with an intensity that still scares my wife. Once the camera rolled he was riveting to watch. Recommended viewing, if your heart can take it!

Getting into character. Photo © 2011 Adam Smith (www.theadamsmith.com)

You'll soon be seeing Jesse as the lead in Glitch, an upcoming web series produced by Reunion's Brian Sutherland. Jesse also produces, and acts in, a web series with his friends Ahren Buhmann and Gabe Congdon. They work under the &@ (And At) moniker and can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/And-At/152705784762354?sk=info. 

We are just $410 away from reaching our Kickstarter goal. We've got four days left to hit that goal or we get nothing. Visit via the link below, check out our rewards along the right side of the page, and consider donating. Then pass our link along! Thanks!

Be seeing you...

The Brian Sutherland

This post originally appeared at Reunion's current Kickstarter page as an update.

Ah, it was a long search for our leading man. After holding our first round of auditions in December of 2010 we had limited leads on our lead. A second round of auditions still left us wanting.

And then, a fortuitous turn of events -- Reunion's producer, Matt Ralston, met one Brian Sutherland. Matt was producing a Washington State Lottery spot starring Brian (watch it at the bottom of this post). The spot required Brian to stand under a rain machine on a cold Washington day and Matt had been impressed with Brian's ability to take it like a man. He suggested we bring BSuth™ in for an audition. Brian strutted in like a peacock to read opposite Alison Monda, who had already been cast as our leading lady. He knocked it out of the park. We knew the minute he left the room he was our guy (but don't tell him that).

Brian Sutherland pretends to think. © 2011 Adam Smith (www.theadamsmith.com

Brian, known mostly for his comedic chops, gave a great performance as Jason Lasby. It was a challenging part to play -- his character spends a large chunk of time locked away in a dark room with no one else to interact with. That made for a couple of very long shooting days. And then, just to mix it up, we brought in Jesse Lee Keeter for an afternoon to wail on Brian's back with a (fake, but also, strangely, very real) baseball bat. Brian took his beating like a champ and we will forever be indebted to him for it.

Brian in his normal chilly weather attire. © 2011 Jeremy David Bell

You can see Brian in all kinds of upcoming projects, including the next episode of NBC's Grimm (I believe it's currently scheduled for March 2nd). In addition to producing the web series Glitch, starring Reunion's Jesse Lee Keeter and Tessa Marie Archer, Brian is working on the upcoming feature film Hands of Thunder (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hands-of-Thunder/113434262074614), about the world's greatest Swedish handclapping band of all time. Be sure to check out the trailer for Hands of Thunder.

Thanks for all of your hard work on Reunion, Brian. You the man. For reals.

Help us unleash Brian on the world -- donate to our Kickstarter campaign and earn rewards. Just over five days left, only $580 to go -- or we get nothing.

Another Alison Monda Monday!

This post originally appeared at Reunion's current Kickstarter page as an update.

Meet our leading lady, Alison Monda...

In October of 2010 I posted a "We will be casting soon..." notice, kind of of an attempt to make actors (and anyone else -- we also scored the amazing guys at Bandersnatch Studios from that post) aware of our project.

However, we really didn't plan to begin meeting people for auditions until December. But that didn't stop Alison Monda from emailing and asking for an early audition (her busy schedule -- she does A LOT of plays -- made December a problematic audition time for her). She was persistent. So I sent her script sides and had her videotape the scenes and email them back to me. She had jumped through the first hoop. After seeing those scenes (some of them in nothing but bra and panties -- the scene was post-husband and wife lovemaking) and getting to know Alison through our email exchanges (she was a big horror -- and High Tension specifically -- fan) we decided to bring her in for an early audition. This was all done with the stipulation that, no matter how much we might like her, we were still going to proceed with our previously scheduled audition process.

Which we did. And we ended up seeing a lot of talented actresses, but Alison's talent and persistence won out and she was cast as Rachelle Lasby, our female lead.

© 2011 Adam Smith (www.theadamsmith.com)

On set Alison was a swirl of activity. She's tall, impossible to miss, and has a bit of a potty mouth. Which is to say she was great fun to have on set and she gave a great performance. Her part is very physical and she threw herself into all of it with wild abandon. The scratches on her back, the bruises on her knees, and the goosebumps from running around barefoot in nothing but a cocktail dress in late October all proved it. And not one word of complaint through all of it. She was, and is, amazing.

Alison Monda between takes. © 2011 Adam Smith

And for all you other actors out there, let Alison be a lessen to you: your talent will get you roles, but only if you demand to be seen. Persistence does pay off!


Thank you, Alison, for all of your hard work and great quotes of the day. Let's do it all again!


With one week to go in our search for sound design funds we're 77% of the way to our $3,500 goal. Click the link below, take a look at our rewards, and consider donating as little as $1, $5, or more.

Reunion Post-production Kickstarter Update

With a little over one week to go in our current Kickstarter campaign we're 73% funded. At this point we have 52 backers who have pledged a total of $2,570 toward our $3,500 goal. We need to reach that goal by Monday, March 19th, at 10:41AM (PST) or we get nothing.

We can do this!

With just $930 to go before we reach our goal we just need forty more donors to kick in $25 each and we'll have surged past the $3,500 mark. At that $25 level you'll receive a digital copy of the finished movie, an original call sheet from the shoot, and an autographed script page.

We've also lowered the level you need to donate at to receive a personalized video death threat from our killer to $125. That's pretty sweet -- you donate $125 to a little Seattle-based horror film and receive a video death threat for your troubles!

If you've already donated, or would like to help out but are unable to donate, please help us get the word out by spreading our link like a virus on Facebook, Twitter, your blog: http://kck.st/ztGjDW

Keep your eyes peeled at this blog for "reruns" of actor posts that originally appeared as Kickstarter updates.

Be seeing you...