Main actor arrested

Hello everyone!

My name is Nick Alonzo and I am a self taught young filmmaker living in Chicago, Illinois. I directed, wrote, and financed two short films in the last two years and I am now currently working on a full length film since July of this year.

Everything has been a very interesting and fun until the beginning of September.

The film was supposed to wrap up production at the end of September, but the main actor in my film (who's almost in every single scene) was arrested for robbery.

I won't get into too much detail but he's currently on house arrest and not going to jail. The only problem is that he was supposed to get off house arrest last week but the court decided to extend it until November.

You can imagine how frustrated/nervous/annoyed I am.

It's not that I'm mad because my film is at a halt but also because the main actor is a very good friend and I really wished he didn't do something so stupid.

So I have many options and alternatives:

1. I finish the film without him and just use all the footage I have right now. I could also add a lot of 'fill in shots' throughout the film, but if I do that, I would feel like I gave on this film.

2. I can wait until my friend gets off house arrest, but by the time in November, I'm afraid that it'll be too cold, other actors will be too busy, and of the amount of snow (there's a chance, it'll be a horrible winter this year, but Chicago is known for it's unpredictable weather).

3. This one will sound crazy, but it's worth a shot: My friend mentioned that the only way he could be off of house arrest for a certain amount of time is if he's working a job or in school. So that gave me idea to put an ad on Craigslist stating that I'm looking for an actor for a short film and will pay $150 after the shoot. We would then film everything left for the film during that week and I WILL ACTUALLY pay him $150.


So those are my main options. I wanted to post this to get some feedback and maybe other suggestions. This is my first time on this site and I thought it would be a perfect way to discuss this stuff with other independent filmmakers. I'm in a weird situation and I think it's very ironic that it had to happen a couple weeks before the wrap up date.

Thank you!
 
I presume he has a lawyer, yes? Even if it's a public defender? If you're seriously interested in option 3, I'd suggest discussing it with the lawyer. $150 may not be enough to qualify for "hiring" him. But if it is enough, I don't think you'd need to post the Craigslist add - you can simply hire him.

Otherwise I'd give option 2 a shot, as you can always work your way back to option 1 if 2 and 3 fail.

Good luck!
 
Perhaps his lawyer can make an application to vary the conditions, so he can go to your shoot. If you go with his lawyer that day, and you make an impassioned plea to the judge and district attorney, they may agree to vary.
 
In the ad, you should say "You have to look exactly like this guy" and post his mugshot. :D
Who knows, maybe you'll get a perfect look alike.

On a more serious note, if you find you can go the job route and do it, he has to actually be "working" there. As in, if he doesn't show up or disappears halfway through, you might have to testify against him at a probation hearing (under penalty of going to jail yourself if you lie). So be prepared that he might do something stupid again and you could be called to the carpet.

Also, make sure to save a screenshot of your ad.
 
Hey everyone! Sorry for responding so late but thank you for all of your guys' input.

In the end, everything worked out. My main actor was on house arrest for about two months and we were able to film everything that we had left including the ending.

I would like to add that a lot of crazier shit happened as well during the making of this film including my editor (who was working on the film for six months) who bailed a week before the film was supposed to be complete.

The film is finally completed to it's entirety and it was really an interesting project to do since it was my first time making a feature film and I didn't have a budget at all, didn't attend a film school or anything prior or during the making, and the fact that I'm a self taught filmmaker who absolutely didn't have any clue of how to make a film. But I learned a lot from this experience and I'm finally realizing that no matter what you do in terms of filmmaking, you have to be strong and get the job done, no matter what issues come up.

Thank you again!
 
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