What do you do when Actors Can't Make

Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC

Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC

What do you do when actors can't make their recall? They have other obligations, their agents direct them to go to other auditions and callback, or book them with other productions?

Do you give their roles to another actor?
 
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Thanks for the input. With some roles the picks were very thin. We may have to hold weekend auditions after this where only two actresses were right from a casting web site and they both got pulled by agents. I'll have to try other casting sites for more prospects and cast on weekends. I took a week of vaction to cast this week. We got some really good talent for other roles.

All together, there will be two roles to fill after this week. We are promising very tall Amazons with fighting skills for the cyborgs, and we will have to deliver. We have 4 roles cast out of 6. Everything else is either cast or wiil be by Friday.

Casting will take longer than planned.
 
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Did you have a shooting day ´locked in´when auditioning?

I would have the actors acknowledge they´re available for said days and if cast will fully honor the shoot.

Of course they may still want to wriggle BUT to have something in B&W might put said ´commitment´to your production in the guilt-trip mode = might honor.

Of course those individuals with any semblance of intigrity will honor whatever - and are the actors whom you want to work with and will remember once you move up the ladder.
All the best, Jim.
 
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Jamster said:
Did you have a shooting day ´locked in´when auditioning?

I would have the actors acknowledge they´re available for said days and if cast will fully honor the shoot.

Of course they may still want to wriggle BUT to have something in B&W might put said ´commitment´to your production in the guilt-trip mode = might honor.

Of course those individuals with any semblance of intigrity will honor whatever - and are the actors whom you want to work with and will remember once you move up the ladder.
All the best, Jim.
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We have two weeks locked down for rehearsals and shooting. I let one actress go yesterday when she thought we would change the weeks just for her.

We may be shooting a 30 minute short, but there are lots of action and special effects scenes with tons of coverage shots.
 
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Papertwinproductions said:
Time is Money.

If an Actor is a "No-show" for a second audition after previously agreeing to do so, then the part's gone.
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I try to be flexable with the actors to rearrange schedules within reason. But, if they can't meet me half way, I have to let them go.

We're working on doing weekend auditions after this, since most of us work during the week. I took a week of vacation to audiiton this week.

I have an actress I auditioned for another role I am now auditioning for the role of one no show. She is coming in tomorrow for the new role. She is good with the acting end of it and so-so with the stunts. We are getting some very talented stunt people this week with decades of experience in martial arts and stage fighting. And, it shows when they audition.
 
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One martial arts gand master who auditioned yesterday does not think a one week of boot camp will be enough for the cast to be ready with the stunts. But, that's more than most Independent productions offer. The grand master told me Uma had 6 months of stunt training for KILL BILL. That's why I'm trying to pull in as many masters and grand masters as possible to shorten the learning curve. I've seen enough behind the scenes docs to know Hollywood rehearses actors for stunts for months before they shoot.
 
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Thanks. The insurancee companies will try to milk our shoot for all they can. As long as we can keep the budget low enough, the city will give us an insurance waiver and have police officers supervise the stunts. That happened a couple of years ago. So, we are using rubber, latex, and plastic weapons painted to look real because the police approve those weapons. I know this from the previous production. The police will check all weapons and observe the stunts.
 
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Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC said:
That's why I'm trying to pull in as many masters and grand masters as possible to shorten the learning curve.
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Um..

I only say this to possibly save you some money and some headache; throwing more martial arts teachers at the situation will not do anything to speed the training process. Physical training takes time, martial arts are all about muscle memory, taking the intellectualization of the move out of the process and letting the body flow. You can't learn that in a week. There's not enough time to train your body's autonomous systems so the motion becomes automatic reflex rather than intellectual action.

Do the best you can in the time you have to train them for specific sequences, but throwing as many teachers as you can at the process could be counter productive.

Unless you're casting them as the bad guys or something - that's a good call. Since don't have some of the other luxuries, having some experienced extras in your stunt scenes should help you out.
 
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Right now, we lost a lead actress because she needs full time work, so she's chasing after the money.

I am looking to recast. I am limiting the role to people with stage fighting, martial arts, and wrestling backgrounds. The actress I have for the main villain is an amazing talent with her experience in acting, stage fighting, hand to hand combat, weapons, and physical roles. I need to get a lead lady on a similar level to make the action look good. Too many rookies are applying with no stage fighting or martial arts training fresh out of acting school.
 
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Thanks Gonzo.

I'm trying as many casting sites as I can to fill the open roles. The Summer Storm role should be filled with 10 people coming to audition for the part. I'm down to one for the Angela Bruno role because whoever gets that role has to look like a natural born war machine. And, be at least 5'10 barefoot to fit in with the other cyborg cast members who are already at least that height or taller.
 
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No, I can't afford to pay. Speaking about pay, I'm taking a $200 a month pay cut, forcing me to look for a second job just to cover my monthly bills.



Also, none of the actresses on this level have anything in their credits that made money. That means they are in no position to ask for pay. Until they star in something that has made money as a hit movie, no distributor will invest in them and neither should the filmmakers. And, that's the stuff I've seen and heard production managers and producers throw in the face of the talent's agents and managers.



We need the cast for 2 straight weeks from June 6 to June 17.

Until we have that hit in our credits, filmmakers and actors have to sacrifice.
 
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On the bright side, I have a recent graduate from NYU coming in to audition for one of the lead roles. NYU has the best acting school on the east coast with the school dean Filmmaker Spike Lee. A good percentage of their graduates go on to work for Hollywood.
 
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If they're genuine about not being able to attend then they'll make some sort of offer to either send a video or to find some time to visit you. If they do then they're probably the right sort of people for you to be auditioning, if they don't try and facilitate you and expect you to work around them then they probably wouldn't have had the right mentality in the first place...
 
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Nick, I agree.

I did ask one of them if they could send me an auditioning video. A few days later she backed out, saying she is spreading herself too thin.

I have a professional acrobat with theatre and circus experience as well as a whole page of acting credits and she is a purple belt in Martial arts. For stunts, she looks Hollywood pro level in her reel. So, I have good people coming in to audition.
 
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