BY BELINDA BREMNER
As I write this (long
before you read it) Mother Nature is playing a particularly unfunny April
Fool’s prank on the metropolis. Somehow she twistedly thinks it clever
to dump buckets of wet sloppy snow on our benighted heads well over a
week into official spring. One asks oneself yet again, "Self, why
do we live in this ridiculous climate?" Well, the folks, yes. The
feeling of camaraderie, sure. The promise of spring? Perhaps.
But spring may bring work. Hurrah! According to the intrepid Ron Ver Kuilen at the Illinois Film Office, there is movement on the left coast and things are once again being green-lighted. That means scouting here, and that could mean lots of lovely work come summer. That HBO feature Normal, with Jessica Lange, looks promising. We’ll have more next issue. There’s movement on a sports based feature, The Ringer, for Artisan; and Bob Zemeckis is looking at Michigan, and perhaps Illinois, for his summer shooting of the children’s classic The Polar Express. Also making encouraging noises is "ER" director and executive producer Mimi Leder who has a project called Bouncers with the fabulous Morgan Freeman attached. He’s a native Chicagoan as well as a phenomenal artist and human being.
Looking back, the first half of 2001 (i.e. January to June) was one of our best six month periods in terms of dollars ever. Wouldn’t it be lovely if the second half of 2002 (i.e. June to January) could mirror that? We can be optimistic, sure, but we’d also better damn well get busy. Get those letters out but pronto. Contact mail-maven Dave Kappas at davidkappas@aol.com for help. Or call the Illinois Film Office for the names of your elected representatives and even boiler plate letters so that we can get passed the legislation which will make us competitive with Canada and get our industry back home! The folks in Washington need to hear how important this is to us. How we’d like to once again indulge in life’s little luxuries–like food, clothing, shelter, insurance...
Mark your calendars for July 12. that’s the opening of Road To Perdition. Dreamworks is opening it the same day they opened Saving Private Ryan and everyone there, we hear, is very high on this film.
The sad news on the film front is the report that Mark Ridge is closing his casting business. The end of an era. Alas.
Jane Alderman is doing a bit of commercial casting before the summer (we hope) rush of film. She’s at work on eight spots for the venerable David Cranfill.
Tenner Paskal is also warming up with commercials.
Claire Simon Casting is working on the ABC pilot "My Wonderful Life," the 20th Century/Dreamworks pilot "Fallout," and the "Ken Finkleman" project, as well as spots for Fifth Third Bank and Soft and Beautiful/TCB.
Over at Chicago Casting Center they are working on the WB pilot "Horrid Little Girls" as well as the untitled Schneider Calhoun project and a spot for Altoids.
Trap Door Casting and Beata Pilch facilitated the casting for Noel Olken’s feature Meditations on Trafficking. The following were cast: Krissy Shields, Erinn Strain, Beata Pilch, Wesley Walker, Andrew Krukowski, John Turk, Martin Marion, Mechelle Moe, Jana Anderson, Heidi Gottcent, Circus Szalewki, Fred Warner, Christian Anderson, Robert Teetsov, Karin McKie, Nicole Wiesner, Sara Oliva, Anna Yevelenko, Dan Flannery, Peter DeFaria, Ed Cray, Shelly Danielles, Gary Sugarman, Paul Cotier, Jerry Razowsky, Garrett Preiean and Jay Jones.
And our pals at Lily’s send word that there were commercial bookings for clients Jeanne Arrigo, Cesar Jamie, Bill Belongia, Amber Hickey, and Kisha Knazze. Jacob Jakovich booked an industrial. Lisa Stran, Stacy Parker and Eric Hunnicutt booked voice-overs while CJ Johnson and Scott Schuster had independent film bookings.
Peace.