Chicago here I come…
January 22, 2009
Four words you don’t want to hear from your Producer in January: “We are shooting in Chicago!” I just checked the weather forecast. Tomorrow it is going to be 14 degrees. Ummm…time for a flu shot.
The film I am casting has a very large cast and a very small budget. The original plan was to shot in L.A. and casting is almost complete, except for a few supporting roles and all of the day players. I have never cast a film in Chicago and I am so looking forward to the opportunity of going there to do this, but 14 degrees?!
In truth, this works out best for the film. The location for the film is Chicago, so the director gets to shoot in the town he wrote the script for, and the financing implications and tax incentives are conducive to making the shift from L.A to Chicago. Also, many of the actors we hired live in New York. Therefore, the cost of a plane ticket from NYC to Chicago is a little bit cheaper then coast to coast. And some of the actors are in television shows that shoot in NYC and we will now be able to shoot on the weekends in Chicago while still being able to get the actor back to NYC in time to shoot their series.
Did I mention it’s cold in Chicago?
For me, it’s a challenge. I don’t know the talent pool in Chicago, so this will mean a lot of pre-reads and getting up to speed on talent representation in the area. My director is from Chicago so that will help as well. I am just excited to be working!
Look at the bright side: Last week it was -20 here…and that wasn’t with windchill. At least you are above the 0 degree line. Oh and if you need a really big tall dude in your flick, I work for peanuts.
Brother, that was five words.
Chicago has great steakhouses. (?)
p
Yes, technically, you are correct, it IS 4 words…what can I say, I was tired when I wrote the blog…GOD FORGIVE ME…will he? I think he will. Maybe he will make it warmer in Chicago for me. WHat happened to global warming? Where is it when you need it?
I am thinking of becoming a Vegan…
I was just teasing.
if you’re a Republican you’ll think that Global Warming is all in Al Gore’s head.
Did you know that some day the universe will die and none of this will matter?
God made cows to eat my friend…
Getting closer on my projects, btw. I’m trying to prove theindepenentproducer wrong by getting 100% financed. it’s weird out there - my budget is 3.5M but I have foreign money interested but they want to invest, at minimum, 15M with A-listers attached.
oh bother
Re: Teasing — I know :0)
Re: Republican — nope, not a Republican
Re: Cows — I am just THINKING about it…I still like a good steak!
Re: Investors — get them to agree on a list of actors to go out to, then get them to agree to release some pre-production funding (10k-50k) in order to secure a casting director. Start casting sessions, get them excited and involved in the process. The deeper investors become, the more likely your private equity investors will commit.
Thanks for reading!