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-in production! - will be published and e-mailed soon
NEWS!!!
"Notes From The New World"
The fourth film in our Dostoyevsky-LA
Project - re-envisioning of
Dostoevsky's classic
novella transported to LA of 2008 (click
here for storyline and more!).
Casting Is Completed!
Initial
Posters :
 
Click at the pictures to see the bigger images!
CLICK TO
WATCH THE AUDITION'S CLIP !
(QuickTime edited by Rafael Velazquez)
***
Notes about "THE NOTES"
scroll down
for the most recent news and the pictures!
March 9th 2008
by Vitaly Sumin, Writer/Producer/Director:
Rich Crater who was casting director on "Shades of
Day" and myself met in Tino (a nice Italian restaurant in Valley
Village) and decided to go ahead with the auditions. Rich showed a
genuine enthusiasm for the project. Nowdays he owns a
small theater on Lankarshim Blvd - in Noho
Media District - so the auditions will take place there. It took us
almost 4 months to find the right actors for "Shades of Day". Let's hope
that this time the process will be shorter
***
From the e-mails by Rich Crater,
Casting Director:
March 15th
Dear Vitaly: OK....... Here are the
character descriptions for the breakdown on the 3 leads, I might even
add Bob (easy to describe) to the list before I submit it. . I'll
release them as SOON as you give me your input - I kept them a little
vague but evocative, to get the most submissions to choose from. I'll
also include a blurb about the story (taken from your treatment) and a
tiny bit of background about the production...
STEVEN: (Lead) - Male, Mid-20's
---Thoughtful, volatile, talented and attractive. An actor who
throws himself into the role of the great Russian writer
Dostoevsky (for whom he may bear an eerie resemblance) .... he
drinks heavily and has nightmarish dreams of the past. Political, easily
agitated, becomes embroiled in relationships with two women AND a
mystery.
IRINA: (Lead) Very Beautiful
Female, mid to late 20's --- An actress turned prostitute, she
radiates a cold calm - but can jump from emotion to emotion without
skipping a beat. Manipulative. Has the look of a cover girl - but has
deep dark secrets. Irina is of Russian heritage with piercing eyes,
probably blonde, and sophisticated. Not easily embarrassed or
intimidated --- a professional aloofness which only later gives way to
tears of desperation and fear.
SONIA: (Lead) - Young Latino
Woman- 18 to 22 --- Speaks mostly Spanish. Understands very little
English (or DOES she?) A compelling face, poor and vulnerable - the
kind of girl you want to protect. Passionate. We are looking for a very
expressive actress - able to communicate through mime or even dance.
Sonia has a naive, sunny energy and purity, with a vivid imagination -
although she is in great danger. Is THAT why she is
spying on Steven?
March 19th
Dear V:Good news.... after only a
day's listing, I have nearly 500 submissions on the 3 roles. Some of
them look very promising. What I would LIKE to do is take a day or two
of PRE-screenings in the afternoons before I bring the more likely
callbacks in for you (which we can, of course do in the mornings). I'll
have everyone on tape, should you want to double check my evaluations -
it just might move faster and we can see more candidates.
***
March 24th
First prescreening!
By Colin Walsh, 2nd Assistant to Director:
Yesterday we auditioned people for the roles of Irina, Sonia and
Steven. Probably about 15 people in total, mostly for Irina. 3
read for Sonia, 3 read for Steven. I was in the lobby most of the
time greeting people and giving them the sides so I didn't get to
see the totality of most people's auditions, but from what I did see
it seemed like there were several good people that turned up. It
was very interesting to be on that side of auditions. I had never seen them
from that side before. The auditions lasted until 4. We are
planning another small audition session for Monday afternoon with
roughly the same amount of people coming. Also
at the auditions I met Lailah, Jules and Rich. They definitely seem
like good people.
***
Extracts from the long e-mail by
Lailah Moridzadeh, Assistant to Producer:
Well I got to the theatre and a couple people were waiting outside.
A sign up sheet was on the table. Inside, I met up with Jules,
Colin, and Rich. Rich was setting up a few things...
...So, I would like to see the
"theatrical" guy and the shorter guy again. As far as the girls, both
Latina girls would be great to see again, and I liked the girl with the
curly blonde hair, and perhaps I'd like to see the girl with the long
black dress for "Irina"... I think Rich Crater feels confident in these
girls and so do I. So we will invite them again.
...Rich said that in order to interview any actors for a "Behind The
Scenes" documentary we would need them to sign a release. He said
you would know what that is.
...Rich showed me the thick
amount of pictures from applicants that he listed as "1, 2, or 3." Wow,
Vitaly, you have many, many people that want to try out. We did have
some cancellations, but at least we saw good actors come through!
April 4tht
Second prescreening!
By Colin Walsh, 2nd Assistant to Director:
...There were a lot more people. I was again in the lobby handing
out sides and asking people to sign the release forms. This
time I was able to answer more people’s questions. So that's
cool. There were some good people today. It is fascinating to me
to see how differently people read each of the parts and see what
they do. Some of the most noticeable differences to me are in the Sonias. Some play her as young and kind of childish whereas others
play her as reserved and shy.
I also
met Tony today. He seems like a pretty good guy.
***
By Tony Woo, Cinematographer for "Behind The Scenes'"
documentary:
I had a very good time today shooting the
audition. Certainly the theater gave unique
atmosphere.
Interviews went well, although I need to check on the sound because
the waiting lounge was kind of loud
due to the outside traffic. I didn't shoot the interview with Rich
because I thought it needs a proper setup with well lit environment
and decent sound equips. So I figured we can do the interview with key
staff, Rich and Vitaly, on Monday after the audition. And the help is
coming on Monday !..
I have about 1 hour and 30 minutes
footage today. Overall, it went well.
April 16th
Third prescreening!
By Lailah Moridzadeh, Assistant to Producer:
Things
are progressing nicely, but we’re far from ready. We held more
auditions and invited a plethora of actors to...
click here for
more texts and pictures!
TO BE CONTINUED!
INITIAL GALLERY
Theater Hub
Audition
Rich Crater (right)
 
Lailah and Jules
Tony
Click at the pictures to see the bigger images!
“Shades of Day” is in a good company!
Our film is included by Gerald Pirog, professor of Rutgers University, New Jersey in his spring 2006 course “Dostoevsky and Cinema” along with the works by Bernardo Bertolucci, Martin Scorsese, Robert Bresson, Lucino Visconti, Paul Shrader, Akira Kurosawa...
!Check it
here
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