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Auditions Are Over All But Two Key Roles Filled |
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The purpose of this email is to keep you, the cast and crew of our film, Morning Prayer Over Chesapeake, informed as to all the goings-on with this project. Many of you have written and I’ve responded. As such, much of what’s in this first edition will seem redundant to some of you. So on with the news Casting – Auditions for MPOC were announced in April and the first round occurred in June at the beautiful movie complex at Arundel Mills. We may just hold the world premier of our film there. A second and final round of casting was held on August 19, 2004. This second round yielded the final cast for all female lead and supporting roles. Announcements are specified on page two of this newsletter. First let me congratulate Melissa Powell and Stephanie Nevin who walked in and delivered blazing performances. Both stepped into character with renderings that were not only worthy of audition, but if their screen-tests were the actual shooting, would’ve been a cut and print. Both Melissa and Stephanie possess that rarest of qualities that when ‘in character’, it becomes nearly impossible to see them act because their acting was so realistic that the believability quotient was nearly perfect. Melissa and Stephanie will star as Megan and Adriana respectively. Adam Cooley auditioned for a minor walk-on role and delivered such intensity and sensitivity that he was cast on the spot for the co-starring role of Bruce. Trina Lloyd, who appeared in Drumline, and Shoni Baker were also cast on the spot for the roles of Mrs. Simpson and Stephanie. Trina’s performance was so good that her role will be expanded to take advantage of her remarkable ability. Likewise, Shoni Baker nailed her audition with a cold reading and a completely believable stance as the State Trooper who facilitates Megan’s eventual success. I won’t bore you by mentioning everyone in this column, but the cast list and cast picture show the range of talent. Dr. David Berkenbilt and Greg Coale turned in role winning performances. Helenmary Ball, Peggy Dorsey and Katie Murphy were equally wowing in the key supporting female roles. Mandy Sugrue, Melissa Brzostek, Crystal Cupp, Wendy Donigian and Sylvia Louwers were brilliant in their critical roles that convey the complexity of the story with deliberate sensitivity. Their acting delivers the message leaving the ‘preachy’ dialogue to a minimum. Mike Hines, Gino Crump, Kelly Delikat & Neal Moorhouse will also be a great icing to the cake that is our movie. You were all great! Nedra McClyde still appears in the cast picture. She was to be our Paula but with the delays, she had to return to NY's Actor's Studio for the fall semester. Be blessed Nedra! Kristine Kelly's audition was a last minute suggestion
by Phil Martin. We let her read and she was unbelievable. As such, we’ve
reprised the third role which will perform as Megan’s confidant and
close friend. Mick Simon, Matthew Miller and Andrew Dockham
haven't auditioned yet but are highly recommended and I'm hoping they
will round out the critical male leads. I'm also auditioning latecomer
Elizabeth Wubishet for the AMANDA role, Dennison's ex-sister in law.
Arrangements are being made as you read this. Shooting Schedule(s) - MPOC was originally planned for shooting in late 2004 but as I’ve explained to all of you, "certain" encumbrances delayed our casting process which blasted our pre-approved locations permissions. As such, I was reluctant to reset those permits until I was sure I had the ‘entire’ cast on board. As of this writing, the only major roles not cast are for MORRIE & CHRIS. Yes, we’ve had some close actors, but Melissa Powell, Stephanie Nevin, and Kristine Kelly’s performances were so strong that only a superstar of a male actor in both the 'Morrie' and 'Chris’ roles will allow this movie to work. I’m still interviewing and if any of you know of any actors with the chops to slide into these two roles, feel free to forward headshots, resumes, and/or contact data. So back to the shooting schedule; once I have the full starring cast set in stone, I will again, negotiate with our location owners and secure a schedule that will work for us and not be an inconvenience for them. Honestly, we may be able to start shooting by mid-fall but realistically, it could be Spring 2005 before we actually get down to business. I’ve mentioned this to many of you already and have encouraged you to do what you ‘must’ do during the interim. I’ve also deliberately written the movie so that the full ensemble is not in scene but a few times. This will allow me to work with small groups of you at specific locations in short snatches of time that will be convenient for everyone. I gotta tell you folks, this movie will be made in the editing suite and will be a delight to all of you as you see the full film edited and cut together with perfect continuity. Special Thanks to Bill Garza of Egyptian 24 Theaters at Arundel Mills. Bill was wonderful about opening his facility and his staff made our audition schedules flow effortlessly. Thanks Bill! |
Of Interest To All Of Us – Did you know that the recently released film, Open Water, was shot entirely with the exact camera you auditioned in front of? Did you know that the writer/director utilized the exact method I’ve shared with all of you to get distribution? He made the film for $130,000; entered it into a few key film festivals. The juries loved it and as a festival winner, Open Water was eventually purchased by Lion’s Gate Film and the rest is history. You can read the full story here. Wouldn’t it be great if others who are right now, aspiring to make an independent film, one day read about our efforts as we knock down the doors of the entertainment industry. Very cool prospect indeed! Jason Brown - UPDATE: June 05; In early May, Jason resigned from our film to pursue an opportunity in Edinburgh. We are searching for his replacement. His departure has postponed shooting till Spring 2005. Many of you already know incredible musician Jason Brown from other productions you've been involved with. Jason was one of the first to get involved with this film. He and his wife read the script and have never looked back. The first time I heard Jason play piano, it was the most mesmerizing compendium of delicious tunes as I had ever heard. I approached, we talked and together, he and I are creating a musical score that will match the film and you will be performing a story to match his score. Thanks Jason. Watch here in subsequent issues of MPOC News to learn where you can hear Jason's music. Danielle Dominique - One of my best friends from California, Danielle will help with costumes and continuity. Additionally, Danielle will be rendering many of the storyboards for our movie. Danielle was the illustrator for my current book, Cynthia's Dream as well as my upcoming book, The Mustard Seed. Check out her art here. Thanks Dannie-Girl. Crew News – Many of you don’t know my crew. All of them are long time friends who’ve been part of the dream for at least five years. Dawn Wenzler is my right hand. I call her Miss Personality. She’s incredible and multitasking in the extreme. Logistics would be nearly impossible without her help. Dawn is my production assistant and script supervisor. Stephen Graf is in a word; brilliant! He’s my Director of Photography. His instinct for what the camera should catch is uncanny. Get to know Steven; he’s the one that will make you look good. When I call for a close-up, he’s the one that angles for your best side and his unspoken cues to me help me decide if the take was a print or a scrap. Mike Atwell and I go back almost ten years. Our common link is that we both love movies and he and I would talk for hours about movies, movies, and more movies. We stepped up our involvement when he helped me with my film review column, Movies, The Reel Deal (archive here). Mike Atwell is my sound engineer and is responsible for capturing your voices in crystal clarity. He is also responsible for controlling ambient noise on the sets and location. We don’t shoot until Mike gives the okay. Mike also assists Stephen on the ‘B’ roll camera and stedicam. Lisa Hazen is my camera assistant. She pulls focus, marks the slate, and directs all activity between cameras, sound and the director. I call Lisa the set’s traffic cop. We all think we’re the boss but in reality, it’s Lisa that ‘flows’ the set. These four direct an army of film school students and trainees who perform gaffer, folley, best boy and grip duties. Then there’s me, Mike Way. I wrote MPOC in 1999 and have nursed it to this point of pre-production. MPOC almost became a studio film several times but snafus inevitably occurred and I decided to do the film myself. My background is wide, weird and varied. Suffice it to say that I’ve done it all. Next Steps – Our next move is to organize a cast party for you which my wife, Jamie, and Dawn will be organizing. I want the party to be as close to the principal photography begin date as possible. I think it will help us to gel as a cast. As I’ve stated to all of you on many occasions, no egos are allowed on the set. All of you were selected because you are kind and caring individuals who strive for the best for the best’s sake. The warmth I’ve felt from all of you lead me to believe that God will bless our efforts and prosper us all because we’re all honorable, decent and loyal. I’ll put out a new issue of MPOC News every six-to-seven weeks. Mike Way
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