
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.