It turns out that even bad weather isn’t enough to get everyone in the same place on the same weekend! We’ve opened up the Doodle Poll again:
The current plan is to split the shoot across two weekends, so please make sure that you update your entry in the poll. The more people we can get on a single weekend, the better it will be, of course!
Scheduling during the summer has turned out to be way more difficult than we had ever feared, between rooms becoming not available, clashes happening, and, most unpredictably of all, Ireland having it’s greatest summer in decades, which led to an unprecedented spike in holiday taking!
So, we’re now targeting late September, early October for shooting. The big fear, of course, is that we may lose some of our excellent cast, so I’ve created a Doodle Poll here:
http://doodle.com/ncwxfkgayvk4db3p
If you’re cast member, please sign up to that and let us know which weekend(s) suit you best.
As long as the weather doesn’t remain hot and sunny through October, I think we’ll have no problems finding a date!
With the casting almost complete, we’re now into the planning stage for the shoot. Many of the props are fairly standard things, but we do have a few unusual ones that will be less easy to get hold of.
First on the list are Bruni’s sweaters. As those who’ve read the script know, Bruni’s unusual taste in sweaters plays a key role in the movie, and she goes through five or six Aran sweaters of different colours during the movie. Enter the good people from Blarney Woollen Mills, who have very kindly offered to loan us a selection of their beautiful Aran sweaters and cardigans.
Thanks very much to Darren Smyth and Annette Kenneally for making this happen!
The enormity of the project is starting to dawn on us!
We’ve had a chance to review the table read and finalise most of the cast, and we’re very happy with who we’ve got, although there are still a couple of openings, specifically for Prof. Walter Morgan, who should be in the age range 45-55. Imagine a cross between Walter Bishop, from Fringe, and Einstein, and you’ll have a sense of what we’re looking for.
The script has been revised and preproduction will be starting in a few weeks. For those in the cast, you can expect the final version by end of the first week of June.
Click on the character name for a sample reading for the casting call.
The casting call took place in the University of Limerick on April 10th, 6PM-9PM. Click here for more details.
A private detective who is about to go out of business. Mac is a sloppy, laid back ex-cop who just isn’t cut out for running a business, and who’s life has gone off the rails since the death of his sister, Colleen, in mysterious circumstances, five years ago. He has become obsessed with proving that her then employer, Edward Grant, was responsible for her death, and this obsession led directly to him being dropped from the police force.
Carl “Irish” Williams (mid thirties)
Mac’s ex-partner and best friend, Irish was married to Mac’s sister, Colleen, for five years, before she died in a helicopter crash while working Edward Grant. Although convinced that Colleen was collateral damage when Edward murdered his first wife, Penelope, Irish has never been able to prove it. Unflappable, precise and always perfectly put together, Irish has never quite recovered from Colleen’s death.
Intelligent, successful and arrogant, Edward is a billionaire who has become obsessed with Transhumanism — augmenting the human mind with technology. Determined to control everything and everyone, Edward’s ruthlessness on both a personal and a professional level has left a trail shattered lives in his wake.
Warm and down to earth, Alice turns everyone’s world upside down when she disrupts one of Edward’s press conferences to announce that she is not Alice Grant, but someone who’s mind has been transferred into her body — a man named Jack Bradley.
Dr. Brunhilde “Bruni” Miller (early forties)
A modern take on the femme fatale, Bruni is a psychiatrist who arranges for Mac and Irish to work on the case — to find Jack Bradley. Enthusiastic and engaging, with a truly bizarre taste in sweaters, Bruni soon turns out to know more than she first lets on.
Ezekiel Fisher (late twenties – mid forties)
Edward’s thuggish but trusted head of security, Fisher despises all those who dare to disrespect his beloved employer. Fiercely loyal, he is determined to prevent any disruptions or embarrassment to Edward, and he ruthlessly protects his interests while pursuing his own investigation into Jack Bradley.
Maid to the Grants, Lisa is torn between loyalty to her employers and giving Mac and Irish an insight into the some of the more disturbing aspects of the Grants’ lives.
Prof. Walter Morgan (mid fifties)
One time partner of Edward and the wild, creative force behind Project Red Queen, Walter dissolved their partnership when he felt that Edward was crossing ethical lines, only to find himself jailed for financial irregularities. More mad scientist than financial wizard, there has to be some connection between Walter’s brand of crazed genius, Jack Bradley and Project Red Queen.
George Allman (late twenties – mid forties)
Paranoid investigative reporter who is investigating Project Red Queen, George sees conspiracies at every turn, and, when his life is threatened after he turns his attention to Edward, he becomes convinced that Project Red Queen is central to the Jack Bradley investigation.
Officer Dave Hanson (late twenties – mid forties)
Enthusiastic, fun loving but serious rural cop who takes a personal interest in Jack Bradley, who he knows as
…the worst god-damned salmon fisherman in the state!
Nadine (late forties)
World-weary and wry administrator of Haven House shelter for women, Nadine is convinced that Project Red Queen is nothing more than a smokescreen to cover up assault against Alice.
Captain Ross (late forties – late fifties)
Cantankerous but caring boss of Irish, Ross understands their need to investigate, but tries to ensure that Mac and Irish don’t inadvertently cross a line.
Susan Green (late twenties – early forties)
Another victim of mind transfer, Susan also claims to be Jack Bradley!
Minor Roles
Jacob
Aggressive drunk who tries to break into Haven House.
Holly
Friendly receptionist working for Bruni.
Dixon
Sarcastic doctor who briefly tends to Mac.
Thomas
Earnest and serious-minded reporter.
Tara
Timid maid working for the Grants.
Seventeen actors, four crew, lots of pizza, an insane amount of coke and frightening number of cigarettes added up to a great table read!
It was the first time we had a chance to hear the entire script read out loud by real actors, but also the first time we got to see everyone interact with each other, so Leon couldn’t resist swapping people around to to see how they’d deliver different characters. It was very impressive how quickly people adjusted, particularly given that they weren’t as familiar with those lines.
The next step will be to review the video and finalise casting, which will hopefully be done over the next two weeks. We’ll be back in contact with everyone by May 8th at the latest.
Special thanks to Mike Coughlan, who narrated the script, and had probably the most intense job of the night, and also to Nick Sazenski, our cameraman on the night, who’s punishment for doing such a great job will be to be asked back for the full shoot!
The next big step in any production is the table read, and ours is scheduled for Wednesday 24th, in CSG27 (the same room where we had auditions) in the Computer Science building in UL.
Logistically, this is a huge operation, as we have upwards of twelve people reading, with several people reading for a couple of characters, and with at least two people traveling from Dublin for it.
However, it will be our first opportunity to hear the entire script read aloud by proper actors, so it’s also a hugely exciting time!
To find us, you can get directions from here, and there is plenty of parking close by. We’ll try to start at 5PM, and expect to be finished by 7-7.30PM at the latest.
To give everyone a taste of the sort of extravagant high life that you can expect with The Red Queen Hypothesis, pizza and coke will be provided!
We’re just recovering from auditions. For us, the writers, it was the first time we’d seen anything like this up close, so it was very helpful to have our director, Leon, and casting director, Katy Mullins, running the show for us.
First off, two thumbs up to everyone who turned up, especially those who had to wait. We started at about 5.30PM and eventually got out at 10PM. Two thumbs down to our favourite Indian restaurant, which was closed by the time we got back into town, starving!
I’ve heard many times that the best way to get a feel for your script is to hear other people read it, and the auditions were a fantastic experience for us. Seeing the various actors giving their version of our characters was amazing, as was seeing Leon in full director mode; we’ve already got a bunch of minor edits to make from notes we made during the readings.
So, during casting, someone else has to read the other character lines. This fell to Katy (an experienced actress) and me (completely inexperienced but who should know the script backwards at this point), and it left me with a new level of respect for actors. We did one scene five times on the trot, and both Katy and the actor had their lines perfect each time, while I got progressively worse, to the extent that I managed to get virtually every one wrong on the fifth time.
Fortunately, by the sixth, I was starting to recover, but it’s an important reminder of why we’re doing this; writers write the words, but actors and directors make them fly.
We’ve cast most, but not all of parts, so if you’re interested in getting involved, please contact me and we might be able to arrange something. And this time we will get the Indian food before the auditions!
Here is an Audition Form for tonight. If you don’t have access to a printer, don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of them with us!
It’s almost time for the auditions!
We’ll be holding them from 6PM-9PM on April 10th in Room CSG27 of the Computer Science Building in the University of Limerick.
You can find directions to get to UL here, and the building is well signposted all over campus. There is a car park right in front that is open to the public after 5PM.
A few people have asked if it would be possible to have theirs earlier that day. We’ll do our best to accomodate you, as it will come down to availability, both of rooms and people, but contact us through here on Facebook.
We’ve also updated the Crew page to include some extra roles. If you’re interested in taking one of those or joining in on one, please let us know!
The Red Queen Hypothesis 