Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Casting Process

Well before the script neared completion we had an idea of the main roles for Zombie Undead. The three leads of Jay, Sarah and Steve were present throughout all drafts with each changing relatively little during script amendments. Therefore earlier in the year it was these three roles that we wanted to cast first. They would carry the film and casting needed to be spot on.

One way a low/no budget film can create a buzz is to cast a known name. However from the start this was something I didn’t want to do. The nature of how we were to film Zombie Undead meant that it was over a protracted period of time. We figured that this may be problematic with cost and availability of known actors. Also as as my first feature I wanted the film to stand on its own merits. For it to be shot and edited to the highest standard, to have the best makeup and sound, and to stand out for these reasons not the fact that we h
ave a known name in the cast. The budget restrictions also meant their fee could be spent elsewhere. But hey Brad if you're available then contact us via the email below.

Therefore we needed to cast ‘unknowns’ - hey it worked for Peter Jackson. Shooting People was the obvious choice ( www.shootingpeople.com ) so we registered and had a look around. Saw a couple of possible choices and placed an ad. We also used the local talent from around Leicester. Luckily we have within the DWE team Kris Tearse. Its almost as if the role of Jay was written for him – in fact it was as Kris is also the screenwriter.

Second to be cast was Barry Thomas as Steve. Barry appeared in my first short film Prime Cut and has an awesome screen presence. Everyone who watched that film loved his understated yet powerful performance. Barry’s a big guy and generally gets offered roles of the gangster/bouncer/heavy types so he jumped at the chance to play Steve the paramedic in Zombie Undead, a role that imbues the film with dark humour.

Well that’s bought you up to date on the casting front. Of the main three two down and one to go.

info@zombieundead.com

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