Hello all, a quick post to inform you all that we are still looking through the audition reels. Like mentioned in my precious post, we received a lot of talented actors and want to give each of them careful consideration; we want to be certain of who we chose to step into the shoes of our survivors, grin. Audition call backs have been postponed by a couple of weeks due to the restructuring of our shoot plan and scheduling. The pilot is still moving forward and I will post the details soon; once they are clear.

An eventful week’s gone by; so let me catch you up!

The following Thursday; Sabrina, Nestor and I met with Sandra Rojas. She, having produced 3 other short films, was interested in our project “Last Days”. Sabrina had approached her a little while back with the script of the 6^th episode (all that was completed at the time) in hopes to get her to help us produce the pilot. Sandra read the pilot with us and then we discussed options for funding. By the end of the meeting, I felt reassured to have someone on board as a producer who knew that aspect of the business! We, all three, were impressed with her knowledge and suggestions as to where to begin- but first- a budget needs to be made. Sandra will be looking over the pilot and draw up a budget for us to formulate around. So I’ll be posting that once we’ve looked it over!

Though only having gone on one location scouting, Sabrina has been on a few more. The one I went on was a fun ride. Nestor drove Sabrina and I to Riverview. Riverview is an old semi-abandoned Asylum with large fenced-in grounds that have several little clusters of buildings; some of which are boarded shut and very atmospheric! On rolling into the grounds, there is a notice right outside the entrance that warns against taking pictures without permission. So, no pictures were taken other than mental ones, grin, but we definitely saw a lot of potential and it got my imagination going too; writing ideas for later.

Another site was a block stretch of small residential bungalows all boarded up for demolition. You can so see clusters of Infected standing about with a group of survivors holed up in one of the homes; trying desperately to figure out a way around them. Unfortunately, it’s due for demolition weeks before we can set up a shoot date, but again, got the juices going.

As I mentioned before, last Sunday was the beginning of our casting auditions for the pilot of the series. The replies have been pouring in! We started the day at 9:30am and went through the day to 6pm. We had no pause of auditions with little no-shows! Of the talent we saw that day, it would have made a boring blooper’s reel, grin, because everyone brought their “A” game; including a separate couple who even went so far as to come in costume! A few of our auditioners surprised us with alternate possibilities for some of the characters and that turned out to be an interesting avenue of discussion. Sandeep, our Casting Director, has been busy all week managing the heavy incoming flow of resumes to fill up our casting weekend starting this Saturday February 11^th, 2012. Tomorrow, we start the day at 8:45am! We will be auditioning at 400 W Hastings at a VFS building, so head on by in case you missed the casting call; Sandeep will be greeting the actors near the entrance, maybe she will be able to slip you in! Signing off, J

Hey all, glad to report, things are moving forward very positively! The casting call has been out since late Sunday and the amount of resumes we are receiving has raised with each day. It’s exciting to see so much interest towards the series! Keep sending your resumes! Six of the episodes, including the pilot, have a completely different cast! Speaking of casting; Sabrina, Nestor and I met with Sandeep Hundal yesterday for the position of Casting Director. Having done the job twice, I knew what she was applying to take on, but she came off confident and professional, and thankfully likable as well, grin. Having cast directed before on shorts, she has a few new tricks of her own that locked in our unanimous agreement to add her to the team! It’s official, Sandeep Hundal is the casting director of “Last Days” The Pilot!  

Another eventful evening tomorrow, for we will be meeting with a potential Producer. A new piece to the “puzzle” is slipping into place almost every second day, fingers crossed the trend continues!  I’ll post after the meeting with details.

Finally, today we had intended to go location scouting, but it got postponed to tomorrow. So a little trip to Riverview will be one of our first investigations for the sweet spots to film. Boarded-up homes or buildings, deserted roads, closed-down service stations, alley ways and just about anything that can look the part. Will be posting pics soon of our findings!

On a last note, we plan on putting up a website for “A Mad Thought” with links to our Last Days webpage and blog. A few voices will be joining mine as well. Post soon!