Announcing The CAST of Halloween Party

It is with great pleasure, we announce the amazing cast of HALLOWEEN PARTY. Please welcome the following: Elle Newlands as STUDFINDER, Jonathan Levit as the HOMELESS GUY, Chris Pentzell as DR. BEN DOVER, Christine Blackburn as the TREE DRYAD, David Banks as the WEREWOLF, Skyler Cooper as the VICAR, Jennifer Popagain as the TART, Karyss Gonzalez as the STRIPPER, Daniel Schweiger as the ZOMBIE, Danny Pardo as the PIRATE and Andrea Leithe as the WENCH!

Each brings a special quality to the picture, but together they make magic. These are just a taste. The ensemble supporting actors are just as amazing, so be sure to keep up with us and see who is cast in the coming days.

Playing the Casting Game

The reason I love this work...is because it never really feels like "work". Every phase is fun, and when you work with people like my casting director, Debra McCarthy, you really form a bond. We've become more like sisters.

Creating character breakdowns, pouring through hundreds and hundreds of submissions looking for just the right talented actor for the role, and being challenged to look at something other than my first thought, are just a few reasons Debra and I work together so often. Most of our work is done late night because we're total night owls. This particular project has been fun because we're not trying to work with "name" actors. We're just looking for the best of the character/improv actors that are out there.

The cast is coming together very nicely! We start pre-reads end of next week, and will probably have call backs by June 10th. If all goes as planned, our movie will be CAST by June 15th! We are seeing at least 20-25 people average for the 10 leads for our ensemble comedy, and will likely cast the remaining supporting roles from among the rest of the talented bunch.

You'll see some familiar faces from previous projects of mine because we've been graced to work with some great talent on the verge of mega-stardom :) It's only a matter of time in this business, and most of us have flipped the sand hourglass a few times!

Looking forward to meeting our full cast soon!

Refining the Script with a Reading

My good friend and our Art Director for the film, Mark McQuown, came up with the idea of doing a table read for the screenplay. Between he, Debra McCarthy, our casting director and myself and producer, Mark Cardone, we arranged it at the Complex in Hollywood.

Mark cast several of his students from the American Music and Dramatic Academy, Debra brought in several professional actors she thought would be great in the roles, and I brought a few of my actor friends from previous projects. About 25 actors read over 50 roles and Ashley McCarthy narrated.

For Laree' and I, it was a great experience to hear our words come to life and see what scenes really worked and which could use some refining. I created a critique form that really helped us narrow down and focus on the best characters, weak characters, emotional moments, confusing area etc.

We found some of our sub characters were hilarious and will probably beef them up a bit more and some characters could be combined or taken out. Our lead characters were the strongest and most developed and really had heart for this audience. One thing that stood out the most was the amount of laughter throughout, which is great for a comedy!

At the end of the day, wrapping everything up at The Ruby theater, we found our film is reminiscent of AFTER HOURS, AMERICAN PIE and HANGOVER. Now we are off to a quick week of rewriting and tightening so we can move into casting!

Thank you to all of you that made this possible and for those of our friends who came to the reading for the first time to give us a fresh perspective. All of your input has been very helpful and is much appreciated!

You Are My Sunshine...

I have had the phenomenal good luck to meet a highly creative and generous soul, Laree' Griffith. This occurred at a screenwriters conference I was a guest speaker at for Sherwood Oaks Experimental College, and Laree' was one of the writers in attendance. She pitched me one of her projects, and after I requested it, asked if she could send it later when she felt it was really polished. I was busy promoting our last film, THE WEDDING VIDEO, so that was fine with me.

Then Laree' introduced me to one of her other talents; a virtual marketing assistant through her company, Ambient Muse Production Services. She offered her services to me for our previous film at no charge and began promoting our movie. I was so impressed, I asked if she wanted to do some production work with us and she came for a marketing photo shoot. I soon learned she has a short film she wants to produce and she said all of this was giving her insight into what she needed to do.

Then we started the HALLOWEEN PARTY. She offered to do the social marketing ,and if you haven't been on our Facebook or Twitter page, you have no idea what this gal can do. She keeps it fresh and creative everyday with new postings, interesting quotes, fun contests, updates on the film, story discussions and so much more! I was stunned sitting down with her for a brief meeting when she showed me some tools she uses and saw how effective she was.

Shortly after that, Laree' asked if I would read her short script and I agreed whole heartedly. It was well written, comedic and a joy to read. I asked if she wanted to do some additional writing for our extras in the new film and she was ecstatic. After all, that is one of the things she wanted to do originally for me.

After that, and then tackling a scene that she was very creative with and another that she worked well within the guidelines I gave her, I asked her to help co-write a few characters and she took it on with pleasure and a very unique voice. It has been my absolute luck and pleasure to find such a talented artist and friend. Thanks for all you do Laree'! You are my sunshine... really :)

Casting with Debra McCarthy

Absolutely the best part of this project is working with some of my favorite people ever! Not only are they amazing at what they do, but they are also good friends of mine. Debra is a perfect example!

We met doing a project called PERFECT several years back and from that point, she's been my casting director on each of my projects (LOOK@ME, THE WEDDING VIDEO, LAST CALL AT MURRAY'S). Besides Debra's unique talent of reaching cast and pitching projects, she is quite the cheerleader. Her enthusiasm for what ever she works on is contagious and she often gets involved in other facets of the project.

We've worked together as producers, we've worked on product placement, and she was a production coordinator for me. My favorite part of the casting process though, is the visualization of the character and Debra's endless search for the right actor. Often times we think the same way but then she challenges me to think outside the box, creating even more exciting and memorable characters.

Our actual casting for HALLOWEEN PARTY will start in late April and stretch into May. She has a challenging job this time, finding some of the best improv actors possible. This is a unique story with a lot of flexibility for the actor to stamp it with their own vision. I'm looking forward to the cast Debra and I put together!

If you're an actor and are interested in reading for any roles we have, definitely make sure you're in touch with Debra McCarthy! We look forward to meeting you and seeing what you can bring to this party!

The Memorable Character

The dilemma that others keep bringing up, is whether or not the audience will be able to follow our lead characters because there are so many roles in this film. On the page, it's tough. We move from room to room through a multi-level location with its own personality, meeting our ensemble cast of ten as well as approximately ten more secondary characters. Surround them with about fifty extras in their own costumes and this is the problem.

The answer: On screen, each will jump out at the audience. The movie goer will remember them, not only for their own story but because the costumes of our leads give insight into their character or story. For instance, our girl looking for Mr. Right is a "Stud Finder". Apropos. Our homeless guy REALLY IS homeless and Stud Finder falls for him even with all her rules.

Aside from the calculated costume design, the actors that are going to be cast will also embody and give a distinct voice to each of our leads. I will be working with the best improv actors we can get and together we will give each character that much more a unique voice.

Although there are many party attendees with their own one liners, the real story takes place in dialogue and action of our main characters and I'm confident audiences will be captivated by their story.

Additional Writing

Collaboration is the thing I love most about film. This has to be my most collaborative project yet! Mark and I dreamt it up, shared it with others and listened to what was working and not , and then brought in Betsy. She's a pro. One of my favorite writers and great with character and structure. We've tightened the story keeping in mind, the entire focus of this project is NOT the script.

I know that's hard to believe. I've always been taught, the best films start with great scripts. There's A LOT of truth to that. But this is experimental. and it has been from the beginning. This particular project is more like a co-op. Lots of people are going to stamp it with their own ownership. It's designed primarily as an "Improv" tool. It's your typical short shoot, one location, bring a bunch of great actors in a room and give them point A and point B and watch them get there. Sure they might need to check the navigation here and there, but this time it's all about the journey.

With that in mind and our road map, I'm also bringing on board Mark McQuown. He too, is one of my favorite people and happens to be a phenomenal writer as well as Art Director / Production Designer. We've worked together on a couple projects and I'm glad he's going to give this trip a few colorful destinations. Mark will script out several scenes along with me, to give the talent a bit more background.

Then in addition to Mark, one of my fabulous marketing interns, Laree' Griffith, who happens to be yet another amazing screenwriter, will take a stab at writing some scenes for our extras back ground material. Laree' will be in casting with us, she'll be on set and she's the voice of most of our on-line socializing. She came up with a GREAT idea today involving a pair of "Red Shoes". Look for more details on that soon!

So with our journey under way, I'm steering this boat of creativity to the next destination. If you're going to travel, you may as well do it with a "Runaway".

The Writers

Betsy Morris and I met, when I optioned she and co-writer Brian Beatty's script, LAST CALL AT MURRAY'S. Although the project ultimately didn't get made, we forged a friendship and I read several more of her screenplays. When it came time to pull this story together and give it heart, Betsy was first in my mind. Fortunately for our schedules, she was available and the rest is history.

Now we're embarking on a new journey, creating more of a skeleton for a group of great improv actors to sink their teeth in to. Here's a little more about the story:

At her best friend’s urging, Erin, a single girl, attends her friend’s Halloween party—hoping, as always, to find her perfect mate. But when she arrives, she discovers nearly everyone else there is part of a couple, OR she’s already dated them. But the worst part? The host has invited her old boyfriend in hopes of reuniting them.

As Erin spends the night avoiding her ex and the few other undesirable guys in attendance, she interacts with a colorful assortment of party goes—each with their own issues. Most interesting is a nice looking guy dressed up as a homeless man. Chatting to him, for the first time in a long time, Erin feels a spark of potential.

As the night goes on and more facades are broken down, the single girl discovers that everything she thought about each of the couples isn’t quite true. The happiest couple, after enough drinks, quickly break down to the point of near death. The worst couple there, bickers to no end but as the party winds down, are just as solid as ever. A lesbian couple turns out to be the most well adjusted people at the party and apparently the only ones the hosts’ surly teenage daughter can stand.

But the biggest shock is that the educated, gentle homeless man, actually IS homeless…he wandered in with a secret agenda and when his identity is revealed, the party goers mob against him. Erin finds herself standing up for him, in front of all these so-called friends. In a move based in hope more than love, she chooses to leave the party with him.

The Story & Its Creators

Every story has a moment that inspires it, as does our newest comedy, HALLOWEEN PARTY. Mark Cardone, my muse and extraordinary producing partner, and I host our own party every year. We have plenty of moments of inspiration to draw from, trust me!

After many brainstorming sessions and story conceptualization, we decided we would produce this picture through Runaway Productions and I would make it my feature writing and directorial debut.

We added our good friend and producer, Sandy Robinson to our team as the story started to take shape. One thing led to another and we brought on board, Betsy Morris (TEN INCH HERO) to co-write with me.

As it turns out, our story has morphed into a great little project with a real statement to make. Its characters are unique, fun and revealing in more ways than one. There are those that come pretending to be something they're not ,and those that come pretending to be who they actually are.

It's the story of a girl looking for love on the most deceptive night of the year, but ultimately it's a breakdown of the masks we wear and labels we put on people.