"Edge of Darkness" Casting Call

Lori and I both hit the open casting call this afternoon for "Edge of Darkness". A cop thriller starring Mel Gibson as well as Robert DeNiro - that was new news given to us at the call. We first arrived at 2pm and saw very long lines outside the Boston Casting offices, which was a bit of a concern as we had to get back home to meet friends and head off to the Springsteen show tonight. Then as we parked and left the car, it started POURING. Like as hard as rain can fall. So we took some cover to wait it out and luckily it passed in about 10 minutes. I saw of lot of my fellow "Dreads" whom I met working on "The Surrogates" earlier this summer and spoke with three of them. That was really cool, to already feel like part of the local acting community. But I didn't notice anyone from my acting class there which was a bit of a surprise.
The Boston Casting staff handled the crowd and weather just great - they took people inside in large bunches, gave everyone an introductory talk including info about the movie and what to leave with them. They saved a lot of time by skipping the standard practice of taking a photo of everyone too, so we were actually on our way home in an hour.
The movie is being shot around Boston and Northampton Ma, starting August 18 and running through December. It is being directed by Martin Campbell who directed the James Bond reboot 'Casino Royale' and the script is from the Oscar winning writer of 'The Departed' and local guy William Monahan. We heard GREAT things about Campbell - like he selects every extra himself, likes to keep extras close to set and be part of the production, he often plucks people out of crowds and gives them a line or two and will even mingle about the actors asking "Who are you today?". They also will be needing about 3,000 extras through course of the film so everyone who showed up will be getting used.
Now we're off to Springsteen!