Okay, first things first. We have set up our indiegogo campaign at http://www.indiegogo.com/Red-Scare. Watch the pitch video that we shot, and please give what you can. Give, and please share the link with friends and family, so that we can raise as much money as possible so that we can have the best movie possible. People have already started giving, and that is fantastic, but we need more help. We are giving as much as we can to the process, but that only goes so far. Help us make this movie, and be a part of it.
That's that. I am sure I will constantly remind anyone who may be reading this blog about donating in the future.
What I am here to tell you about today is casting. We had two great days of auditions last week, and we met with so many wonderful actors. Offers have gone out for many of the parts, and I am glad to say that they have been accepted. I am still waiting for a few pictures and bios, so some of the cast will be revealed in a future blog.
Casting was not easy. For some characters, the choice was relatively easy. For others, it was more difficult. For some, the choice kept me awake at night thinking who would be best. I went back and forth with Billy & Bobby who were in the audition room with me. In the end, I am extremely happy with our cast so far. They are all extremely talented, and I can't wait to work with them. There is one role that has yet to be cast yet, but we have narrowed our choices down to two amazing actresses. On the one hand, its great to have so much talent, but on the other it makes the choice so much more difficult. Its strange being on the other side of the audition process... I am used to being on the receiving end of a rejection letter. Sending them out is awful, because I know exactly how the person reading feels. They work hard, and hope for the project, and when it doesn't happen you're filled with why's and all other negative feelings. I hope I was able to break the news to those people who were not cast gently... To the people who received roles, I was very happy to contact them.
I present to you, the 2nd part of our "Meet the Cast" blogs. A 3rd and final blog from this series should be written by this time next week.
Mitchell Vargas (Miles McShaughnessey)
Mitchell Vargas is currently a junior at NJCU pursuing a B.A. in Media Arts. He made his acting debut last summer when Bergen Community College presented The 18th Annual Bergen County Young Playwrights Festival, which comprised of a series of one act plays. Since then, he’s had the good fortune of being cast in NJCU’s most recent productions of “Play On!” (Billy Carewe/Stephen Sellers) and “Love of a Pig” (Joe). Mitchell’s film experience includes the NYU student film “Slumberland” (Diego), directed by Jeffrey Anderson Bliss, along with some extra experience. “Red Scare” marks Mitchell’s feature film debut. He’d like to thank Sam, Billy, and Bobby for this wonderful opportunity. He’d also like to issue a very special thank you to his mother, his family and friends, his lovely girlfriend, Anadelia, and his mentor, Professor Anderson Johnson.
Brittany Myra Smith (Tootie Fruity Judy)
Brittany Myra Smith is a native of North Carolina, but originally from Florida. She studied
at Stella Alder Acting Studio in New York City and now lives in New Jersey.
She has worked in several theaters around the New York/ New Jersey area.
Past productions: The Haunting of Hill House, Assassins, Dracula, Cinderella,
The Real Problem, Woman of Manhattan and many more.
William Farley (Winston)
William Farley is a native of Bayonne, NJ. At some point in time, he may regret
telling Sam that he could choose a picture and write up a bio for him. Until that
time, William is happy to be portraying Winston in Red Scare. He appeared in at
least one Bayonne High School show as far as Sam can remember. He also happens
to be an excellent drummer. William appeared in the unfinished feature film Burnt (I think) and he came to set on the one day that Blaming George Romero got rained out. He is currently a Union Carpenter, but he is widely considered to have penned most (if not all) of the sonnets and plays of one William Shakespeare, but that has never been proven (or disproven). We can't accurately say that he is the secret offspring of Chris Farley, but we also cannot say that he isn't. He is a man shrouded in mystery. He also once caught a fish "this big."
Jorge Torres (Stevie)
Jorge graduated from NJCU in 2007 with a bachelors in psychology. He has
acted in various student and independent short films as well as his own
which can be viewed on youtube. Aside from acting , Jorge enjoys working
with students as a teacher and counselor. Red Scare is his first full length acting experience.
Ray Reynolds (President of the United States)
Ray was born in Jamaica, and lived in Richmond Hill, before moving to the
Queens Village at age 10. His parents were Clara and Cullen Reynolds.
He has one older sister. His maternal grandparents were from Scandinavia.
His paternal great grand parents came to America from Ireland in 1860,
but his roots have been traced to the Moors that migrated from Iberia
and North Africa. He received all of his education from public schools
and is proud of it. After playing Abraham Lincolm in fourth grade,
Ray took a hiatus from acting, returning to the stage in 2007 p
laying Tennessee Williams' Mr. Paradise, at the TheatreLab, on
W.78st.. His focus now is television and film. He is presently
working in several feature length films.
Tinea Abdallah (Carla)
After a quiet hiatus, Mrs. Abdallah is ready to get back on the horse. having kept up with theater and film, has never lost the creative edge. film credits include: Yelling at the Sky and Spiderman 3. I would like to thank Sam Platizky and his fantastic crew for this lovely opportunity, as well as friends and family. This is only the beginning of greatness.
Jeramie Argueta (Slim)
Born in Jersey, Jeramie was raised by his Dominican grandmother who spoke very little English. At a young age, his grandmother always watched Spanish novellas and Jeramie was an avid viewer. He was so engaged, he began acting out the scenes with his younger siblings and cousins. But it wasn’t until he was six when he was introduced to watching shows like Martin, Fresh Prince, The Wayan Bros., Mad TV, Friends and Saturday Night Live. It was in those moments when he realized it was his destiny to become an entertainer.As long as he can remember, he found himself mimicking the characters he watched but with little guidance and experience in this area, he knew he would have to pursue a career on his own. It wasn’t until he was 17 where he landed his first role as the Narrator in a high school parody of The Gift of the Magi by Charles Dickens. Jeramie’s performance was well received and gave him his first real taste of the business. He was hooked and since then, he has opened himself to the world in pursuit of his dream. Jeramie continues to hone his craft through college plays and standup comedy.
Cristian Nieves (Rough Randy)
Cristian started acting in Southview High School where he developed a passion
for the art. He is currently attending New Jersey City University, and is studying
media arts and acting. He has been in "Effect and Causes" theater production and
two short films. He continues to pursue a career in acting, as well as studying martial arts.
Jenna Kildosher (Mary Lou)
Jenna is the senior editor for the literary art magazine, Instigatorzine. She is
also a writer of mainly short stories and poetry. She is currently a senior
at New Jersey City University studying to gain her B.S. in Community Health.
Jenna has most recently appeared onstage for productions of Rent and
The Rocky Horror Show at the Bayonne Jewish Community Center.
She has also taken part in several student film and photography
projects at New Jersey City University. She is most excited and grateful
to be apart of the production Red Scare.
Juan Castro (Stephen)
This is Juan's first performance on film. He is new to acting having only performed in
one play in College, Love of a Pig, playing the part of several characters. He is a
Junior at NJCU currently pursing a B.A. in Spanish and is working to eventually
become a Spanish Teacher.
Wanda Madleigh (Olga)
Wanda was born in Poland, and raised in the US.
She studied theatre at New Jersey City University
where she
met many members of the cast of "Red Scare," and currently
studying English
Literature at Hunter College.
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