The Art of Saying No

Casting for Locked just finished yesterday and I am more than pleased by the turnout. Seven actors showed up, and they were all terrific. I admit I got some goosebumps hearing my words spoken by pros. Each of them brought different approaches to the characters, and it was tough coming up with a decision over who to play who, because there were at least two people competing for a role. I'd like to credit my group's savvy in this one though, they all seem to have good instincts when it comes to casting, or the filmmaking process in general. I feel like we're all on the same page creatively, and I sense the excitement in them. Which only gets me pumped up as well. I think we're on the right track.

The crap part about being the producer/ director is that I'm the one who's got to give the actors we didn't pick a call and let them know we didn't choose them. What the hell do you say to someone who just gave a really impressive performance that he/she wasn't what we were looking for? I can honestly say I could write a film right now and cast all the actors I didn't pick and make them act in that, and make a good film. I suppose I'm being overtly sensitive towards this because I've done my share of auditions once, and I know what it's like.

So now we've got a cast (the leads at least), a crew, and every location pegged down except for the LOCKSMITH SHOP. I should be getting nervous about this, but I trust Henry. We've got less than two weeks to shoot, and on my part, I've yet to finish my storyboard.

In fact, why am I wasting time writing here when I should be drawing? Later...