Somewhere in Poho County is the small town of Stillwater, just across the bay from the big city. In the big city, radio talk show therapist Sonny Blake has the 8 pm to Midnight slot.
The thought of finally getting to put one of my earliest (and most favorite) scripts on the screen has me feeling a little giddy these days. ROSEWOOD LANE inches ever closer to preproduction and it happily will be the first horror film from yours truly in eight years!
I am in conversations with my favorite Creeper Jonathan Breck to do a cameo (though you might not notice him without his wings and fangs) and the cast already includes two of my favorite actors, Gina Philips and Ray Wise.
And the search is on for an actor to play the very scary paperboy in the script, around which the story revolves. I would prefer an unknown, or at least someone we haven't seen a lot before, so we have no preconceived notions about the actor.
And it's easier to believe that he is Derek Barber, a typical, boy-next-door kind of kid, with a very deadly secret.It will be the hardest part of casting, since the boy seems charming, awkward and harmless on the outside, but is quite dark and damaged on the inside. Great fun for young actor who can walk that wonderfully thin line.
The character of paperboy Derek Barber suffers from an eye discoloration called anaridia -- it's where the pupil doesn't fully develop, so it stays as dark as the iris. The result is eyes that are dark as pitch.
Finding the right guy to play this kid, is kind of like trying to find the right shark for JAWS, or the right guy to fly around and eat people. It has to be a careful and original choice.
I had a similar challenge back in 1994 looking for the very special boy to play POWDER. And from previous blogs you know that search was quite extensive and included some of the hottest young talent working back in the mid nineties.Here the challenge becomes the same: looking for someone very special with the versatility to appear harmless and sweet on the outside -- and terrifying when no one is watching. He also has to look young enough not to have a car yet. (In the script he is sixteen or seventeen).
This time we are casting not for POWDER, a boy of love, light and hope, but for another kind of boy. A very different kind of boy. A line from the script describes him perfectly:
"He's a trick of the light. Something dark that doesn’t always look like one. Until you look into those eyes. Those reptile eyes, that look like two big holes where the person outta be."
A very quick and small presentation teaser was put together for it, and you will find it below. If you're going to watch it, I would recommend you download it and play it for best picture and sound:
http://depositfiles.com/files/n18fmlg8m
It is also posted on YouTube as well, but quality and sound are always questionable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YzDCyGy_0w
Be well everyone, and for God's sake stay off Rosewood Lane or at least avoid the paperboy at all costs.
Victor
