Hello. Andrew here. I’d just like to say that the wonderful world of auditioning actors has many ups and downs. As the projects get bigger, so do the extremes. Yesterday was a ‘down.’ We had two people show up over the course of four hours. Monday was a bit of an in-between day. The “Purgatory day,” if you will.

Today, on the other hand, has definitely been an ‘up.’ It’s only 2:30 and we’ve already auditioned more people than I can remember off the top of my head, many of them coming from actual, organized theater! Someone actually handed me a glossy head shot today! That’s the first time that’s ever happened!

People are coming out of the woodwork, and it proves to me one major theory: when you want to beg free services from people, summer is the best time. It also helps to notify people as far and wide as you can. I remember for Wholesale Souls I put up some flyers around Poudre and that was about it. I also got moved from my main venue into a biology classroom. Didn’t get anyone that day. Anyway, my point is that it’s a godsend if you can get a theater company to help you get the word out. In our case, we got two: the wonderful people at OpenStage and Bas Bleu (go see their plays!)

Anyway, this time we’ve definitely got an embarrassment of riches. Some amazing people have come in to perform and unfortunately we are definitely going to have some amazing actors playing some very small parts, because there are very few large roles in the script. Oh well. It makes for an amazing end product, I’ll bet.

So how is it that I can take time out of my busy schedule to blog this? It’s because the ups and downs of the auditioning process happen not only on a day-to-day basis, but also an hour-to-hour basis. Right now, it’s just me in here. Lonely and afraid. But Paul said he’d be by later, so that’s something to look forward to.

Andrew out!

Hi! I’m here with a bit of info on my next project, my recent graduation, and to tell you all that the movie is DONE!!! (sort of). Plus: Vynni does the Othello rap in LOW DEFINITION!

Among other things: I’m a high school graduate, Wholesale souls will be out on DVD in about a month, I’m working with Parker on a short called Terminal Philosophy, which we’ll be shooting in high-definition, and I love the sound of my own voice.

Mark your calendars, folks! We are seeking volunteer actors for the short film Terminal Philosophy. We will be holding auditions from 12:00 to 4:00 P.M. on Monday, June 26, Tuesday, June 27, and Wednesday, June 28. Auditions will be held in the PSD Channel 10 studio: room 132 of the Poudre School District Information Technology Center, 2413 Laporte Avenue, Building A, Fort Collins. Click here for a map. We have a lot of parts to fill (19 speaking roles) and none definitively cast, so please come and audition for us! Auditions will consist of a “cold” script reading and a short interview.

Terminal Philosophy: The Somber Tale of Leonard Noblac written and directed by Parker Cagle-Smith and Andrew Gingerich for Exploding Goldfish Films, is loosely based on Dante’s Divine Comedy. The film follows typical urbanite Leo Noblac on a zany, madcap, philosophical, and thought-provoking journey through the afterlife.

This will be Exploding Goldfish’s sixth film, and the first to be shot in high definition. Principal photography will last 30 days, starting in mid-July. Parker Cagle-Smith made his directorial debut in April with the short film RRRR, which took second place at the Poudre High School Film Festival. Andrew Gingerich was most recently the director of the feature-length film Wholesale Souls, Inc., which will be available on DVD later this summer.

For more information, e-mail andrew@exgfilms.com

ADDENDUM: Since posting this, I have discovered an interest on the part of some potential cast members to audition for specific parts. PLEASE NOTE that this is NOT a requirement and it will not hurt your chances of being cast if you do not do this; it is merely a way to express to us your interest in a specific part. Just let us know which part you’re interested in when you come in to audition and we may have you do a second reading for that character. To that end, here is a list summarizing the speaking roles in the film (please note that most of these parts are gender- and age-neutral and names can be changed accordingly; it is merely a question of who is best for the part):

Franklin A. Heller, Certified Public Accountant: OK, this isn’t actually a speaking role. But he IS the first character of the film, and he DOES get blown up by his briefcase.

Leonard Noblac: The main character. He’s a typical white-collar urbanite. Frankly, the writing is a little flat on this character, so we’ll be looking for an actor who can really bring the part alive through performance.

Beggar: Apparently deranged homeless beggar. He only has one line, but is a vital key player.

Saint Peter: He only appears in one scene, but he has some great comedic lines and is responsible for introducing us to heaven.

Soul Reaver: The “ring leader” of four eccentric cogs in the machinery of heaven. In charge of separating the immortal soul from the mortal body.

Vessel Supplementor: One of Soul Reaver’s cronies. Creates the new etheral ‘body’ that souls will inhabit once in the afterlife. May or may not have a Cockney accent.

Death Instiller: Also a coworker of Soul Reaver. Instills the force of death in the now empty mortal shell. Has many unpleasant things happen to him.

Life Divestor: Extracts the force of life from the mortal shell, another of the eccentric heaven-dwellers.

Girl: A seemingly kind, innocent heaven-dweller. Hint: She’s not as sane as she appears.

Chef Brian: A crazy chef in heaven.

Mr. Bee: Conducts guided tours of heaven. We only see his face on a television he always holds in front of his head.

Person: The lord of heaven. Presumably God. Somewhat passive-aggressive.

Fat Guy #3: Has no lines. Does not appear on screen. (You don’t want to be this guy).

Jesus: He’s Jesus. He’s also slightly mentally disturbed: perhaps schizophrenic.

Grim Reaper: He sits up in heaven and decides who lives and who dies. Kind of a creepy guy.

Friedrich Nietzsche: The deceased German philosopher. Must be able to dance, and sing in a German accent

Odin: Norse god, short-order cook. Curmudgeonly.

Ferryman: A singularly horrible individual.

Serpent King: He judges the souls who enter hell. He is not serpent-like, nor is he very kingly. But he does have a tail made of rope.

Vii: He acquaints new souls with the hell they will be inhabiting. Think the Valet from No Exit.

Satan: An EXTREMELY subdued person. A bit of a surrealist. Think Steven Wright on barbituates.

Doctor Plague: a horrible (in every sense of the word) doctor at Hell General Hospital.

So there you are. Let us know if there’s a specific part you’re interested in when you come in to read, and we’ll make note of it. Also, if you REALLY want to impress us, have a passage of the character you want to play memorized for the audition. I’m not posting the script online, but if you e-mail me at andrew@exgfilms.com I can set you up with a few pages to study.

Exploding Goldfish Films has gone high-def!

That’s right, this little beauty is the Sony HDR-HC1, and I’m already doing some shooting and editing tests with it! To give a quick example of the picture quality, click on the thumbnail below for an unaltered framegrab from some test footage I shot of Mikhail (“First Clown” from Wholesale Souls):

This is what we’ll be using to shoot Termial Philosophy. Parker just described holding the camera a being “like holding an atomic bomb” that fits in a shoebox. I’m inclined to agree.

I’ll leave it up to Parker to write a longer summary, but for now suffice it to say that the first draft script for Terminal Philosophy: The Somber Tale of Leonard Noblac is FINISHED! This draft is a beautiful 53 pages with what I can only call an absolutely inspired ending.

And, to lend us even further legitimacy than that large stack of 8.5×11-inch pages is the fact that we bit the bullet and registered the script with the Writers’ Guild of America (WGAw# 1138705!) in order to prevent plagiarism (I didn’t take this step with Wholesale Souls because I wasn’t sending the script anywhere outside of the cast and crew, whereas in this case we are sending it to a talent agent (maybe more on that later).

Now, on to casting!

I come to you today with many exciting things bouncing around in my head, not the least of which is the fact that I’m getting the Wholesale Souls DVD put together and am arranging to record a commentary track!

So, all you out there in internet-land, any of you who were involved in the filming (and, heck, any other loyal blog readers in the northern Colorado area) (if there are any) are invited to a final cut screening and DVD commentary track recording session! I don’t have a date yet because I want to hear from YOU ALL when you will be available for three hours or so in the late afternoon/evening in the three weeks from July 10-28. You can e-mail me, or you can just post a comment on this blog entry. Once I have all this information I can set a date that should work for most people.

Have a nice day!

Yep. That’s right. Done. Andrew and I will write Purgatory soon, and in the meantime I’ll work on Hell. I’ll leave you with this:

(click on the thumbnail to see a larger image)

It happened. I was there.

I planned to write my script during Speech. Instead I seem to be working on Speech during my script… if that makes any sense at all. Speech isn’t very… good… either. My ‘peers’ seem vapid, disinterested, and all around what is wrong with America. There is one kid who is actually intelligent, and he’s just as apathetic as I am. We’re friends now.

I am sick of commercials. “She’s obviously a scientist because she’s wearing a white coat with buttons and pockets and she’s wearing glasses. Never mind the fact that she’s practically half naked were it not for that lab coat and her high-heeled, black leather boots that go up past her knee. No she’s obviously a scientist. Ooooooooo shiny briefcase, there MUST be real, pertinent technology in there! Gilete, huh? Sounds technical. It must be good. Designed by scientists. Hot girl scientists. Must… buy….” GAH.

As for the script, I haven’t met my goal for myself. Fuck. Heaven better be done soon, or I’m going to start freakin’ out. Anyway, if you have any idea for content in Hell, I’ve got some, but not enough. Go for it, if you feel.

Sorry for the short, unfulfilling post, but I have a speech to write.

Yes. Me worry.

I bet you’re all wondering why didn’t post on Wednesday. This is because Qwest is evil. And vengeful. I’ll leave it at that.

Preface: I am assuming that you all know what I am writing. I will explain the story as fully as possible for those ignorants out there in my next post.

A note from Andrew: In the meantime, I’ll just say that Parker’s script is essentially an adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, and that it follows a character named Leo on his journey from Heaven down through Purgatory and Hell.

I am still working on the script (of course), but things are going as slowly as a nut that believes itself to be a hatching egg. That is very slow for those of you that do not speak poor metaphor. I have written almost all of Heaven, I just need to get some transitions between scenes written and down. Then it’s on to Purgatory! Hurrah! (P.S. Andrew, I have decided that I’m either going to do ‘your’ ending or both, depending on estimated running time at that point.) I am predicting that this will take me another two weeks or so to finish. I’ll probably work on it alot in Speech, which starts Monday. I need to organize a get together with primarily Andrew to discuss the film, but if others can contribute as well, they’d be more than welcome. Be warned though, I will claim any ideas that you offer and that I like as my own. *Insert evil laugh here*

A wonderful discussion about Jesus’s character in The Somber Tale of Leonard Noblac took place today at the Playwrighting/Fight/Screenwrighting Club. It has been determined that when Jesus was forced to take all of humanities sins upon himself and was condemned by the Father to die on the cross, it destroyed his mental state. He now has the mental age of nine or ten, and has some sort of dissociative disorder (right, Andrew?) (Andrew Sez: Close enough.) that causes him to have imaginary conversations with ‘the Father’. I hope that with both of these mental disorders, some empathy for his broken character will be created. I still need some explaination of his return from the dead though, and why he still seemed sane then. Did he seem sane then? TELL ME! His character is also split between Heaven and Hell, due to the fact that he died as both the son of God and as a mortal man with all the sins of the world on him. This provides for all sorts of fun. Heaven is infested with mental illness, steming from the creation of man by Satan. Yes, you read that right. I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to convey that on screen though. Problem.

Well, I’ve wasted enough of your life. I’ll leave you with this random quote supplied by our generous quote sponsor, Google:

“Talk low, talk slow, and don’t talk too much.”
What does it mean? I just don’t care!