Tampa Film Fan

Oscar-nominated director, film stars to appear this Friday

He’s directed some of America’s most iconic television shows—including Magnum, P.I., The A Team, Battlestar Galactica, The Dukes of Hazzard and Perry Mason—but now Oscar-nominated director/producer Ron Satlof is setting his sights on the big screen with Misconceptions, a feature film he co-wrote with Ira Pearlstein that began shooting this month at Eckerd College and various locations throughout Pinellas County.

The comedy, which will be filming through February 5, stars A.J. Cook (Final Destination 2, The Virgin Suicides, Criminal Minds), Orlando Jones (Drumline, MAD TV), David Sutcliffe (Under the Tuscan Sun, Gilmore Girls), David Moscow (Numb3rs, Riding in Cars With Boys) and Sarah Carter (D.O.A., Smallville). The cutting-edge plot features Cook as an Evangelical Christian who receives a divine calling to be a surrogate mother for a gay couple from Boston, with predictably outrageous results.

A 30-minute press conference will be held this Friday, January 11, at 11:30 a.m. in the lobby of Eckerd College’s Bininger Theater. Film stars A.J. Cook, Orlando Jones and David Moscow are scheduled to appear, as well as director Ron Satlof and co-author Ira Pearlstein.

Satlof, who brought the production to campus, is a member of the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC). Computer science professor Ed Gallizzi and theatre professor Jessica Greene will oversee more than 30 Eckerd College students who will earn college credit for assisting as crew members in wardrobe, sound, electric and many other professional aspects of the production.

The producers are also seeking 200 volunteer extras of all ages and genders for filming this Friday, January 11, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Bininger Theater. Contact Eleanor Wolf (727-252-3130; wolfed(at)eckerd.edu) for further details.

The production is supported by the St. Pete/Clearwater Film Commission, a department of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, the official destination marketing organization for Pinellas County. Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater is the official destination marketing organization for Pinellas County.

Seeking Extras for Feature Film

There’s a buzz about town as word gets out that Ron Satlof, well-known film producer and nominee for an academy award, begins casting local extras for his new feature film MISCONCEPTIONS. The independent film begins shooting in January 08 and Satlof, a St. Petersburg resident, wants everyone in on the fun. After getting support from the St. Petersburg/Clearwater film commission and local individuals and businesses, he now offers a chance for the general public to get their fifteen minutes as volunteer extras. Satlof states, “The pay is zero but the film is priceless and you’ll be up there on the silver screen for all the world to see.”

MISCONCEPTIONS is a comedy-drama involving a rural evangelical Christian woman who gets a directive from God to be a surrogate mother for a legally married Boston gay couple who are seeking a donor. Early in the pregnancy the more colorful partner appears on her doorstep attempting to micro-manage her pregnancy with hilarious results.

Volunteer extras need to be able to make a one day commitment for a weekday somewhere between January 3rd and February 4th. Next they should e-mail their name, address, phone, age and gender to wolfed(at)eckerd.edu. A 3 inch by 2 inch digital headshot of 100 resolution is requested but not mandatory. All are welcome.

Contact: Angela Masson (Cell: 813-763-4292 or e-mail swgcasting(at)yahoo.com)

Filming Dates: Saturday, November 10 and Sunday, November 11

My Space page: www.myspace.com/swgtampa

Here are the character descriptions:

Victim (woman, 30’s “soccer mom” type)
Sorting herself out after death in an apartment fire to make the biggest decision she will ever face.

Woman (late 50’s or 60’s “Ann Bancroft-ish”)
Sarcastic, witty, smokes and drinks incessantly. Torments and prods the victim toward her final decision.

Child (boy 8-11)
Neighborhood kid. Boy, bully who used to tease victim as a girl. She was afraid of him and hated him. Moved away after the sixth grade.

Julie (girl, late teens)
Girlfriend/acquaintance, hanger on in the group of girls. Plain looking, glasses, smart. Died a car crash a week before graduation.

Keeler, Love interest (leading man type)
Keeler and Victim dated/living together for five years, engaged for three. Died of a brain tumor four years before. Was having an affair for the last three years of their relationship, soon after their engagement.

Shooting will take place in Houston, Texas, starting the second week in September of 2007. We are casting for a variety of roles:

Elizabeth (age range 18-25) — Thin to medium build, athletic punk rocker chick who rides horses and fixes cars. Must be able to fight and do stunts. She’s a tomboyish female with a sexy side. She is the lead in the film.

Erica (age range 20-25) — Sexy girl who is a strong character. She is a lesbian so the actress must be willing to have a tasteful kiss scene with another girl.

Freddy (age range 20-25) — Average guy who drinks beer, must have a punk/Green Day look, no fo-hawks. Comedic value a plus.

Christine (age range 20-25) — Freddy’s girlfriend. Thin, attractive, long hair, stylish. Can scream loud.

Dude (age range 20-25) — A very laid back smoker. Average look, not special qualities.

Holly (age range 8-10) — Elizabeth’s little sister, cute and sarcastic. Small. Must have fantastic acting skills. She goes through a range of emotions. This is a lead character.

Amelia (age range 8-10) — Amelia is a supernatural being, a ghost. This will be a fun role for some great actress. This is a lead character.

If you are interested in feature or supporting roles, you must come to the casting call. It is very important we meet you in person. There are no speaking roles in the documentary - all scenes are reenactments of stories we have already told on film - but it is important we cast actors who look like the real life people.

If you are interested in being an extra, we’d like for you to come, but it is not imperative. Everyone interested in being an extra will be used in at least one scene, but in the historical reenactments we will only be using a limited number of extras per scene, so meeting you will help us cast you in the historical reenactments because we need to know your “look” fits in with the time period of the scene.

We will only need a few minutes of your time on July 7. With the four-hour window, we don’t expect a long backup of people, so hopefully you can pop in, speak with the director and casting director for a few minutes, and go on your way. There is onsite parking in the dirt lot.

The documentary covers the lives of Ybor City gangster Charlie Wall and Tampa legend Santo Trafficante, Jr. This casting call is for Charlie Wall’s scenes, which will be filmed August 4, 5, 11 and 12 – ALL IN LOCATIONS IN YBOR CITY.

The people in the reenactments are: Charlie Wall, Baby Joe Diez, Nick Sacglioni, Santo Trafficante, Palusa Diaz, AND NUMEROUS other Anglo, Sicilian, and Cuban gangsters and bystanders. WE WILL ALSO NEED A TON OF EXTRAS - Having your own wardrobe from the 1920s, 1930s, 40s or 50s is a MAJOR PLUS.

Character Descriptions:

Charlie Wall – Will be portrayed as a 60-year-old and a 77-year-old – tall, long face, white hair – CANNOT be Italian or Latin.

Baby Joe Diez – Spanish, under 5′10″ (shorter is better), VERY muscular and in good shape. MUST have driver’s license – late 30s to late 40s.

Joe Bedami – Italian in his 40s. Short hair and balding and overweight. Has a menacing stare yet pleasant demeanor.

Two Hitmen – this is the 1930s when Anglos (non-Italian whites) ran the crime syndicate. So anyone can fit the hitman persona – Italians, Irish, Cubans, Spaniards, etc.

Police officers and detectives

Bolita dealers – Should be non-Italian whites, Cubans or Spaniards. We need three to four bolita dealers who will reenact a 1920s bolita throwing game.

Tough Italian Guys At Bar – I think the character name says it all. We need a handful.

We will also be reenacting a modern day bolita charity game. Anyone who does not fit a feature or supporting role or fits into a scene taking place from the 1920s-50s can take part in this scene. It will be a good time.

We apologize for the lack of feature or supporting roles for women in Charlie Wall’s stories. BUT, we can only reenact stories we have been told. None of our storytellers mentioned women as intricate characters. BUT, we do need women for the scenes. When we film the Santo Trafficante, Jr. portion of the documentary, there are a number of feature and supporting roles for women.

None of these scenes will have the extras and bystanders simply standing around. These are all interactive scenes with gambling and drive-by shootings, etc. You will need to act.

Visit the following links for pictures of the featured characters (except Baby Joe – we have yet to find a picture of him):

http://aceatkins.com/extras/mafia.html - Bedami, Scaglioni (picture is 10 – 15 years older than we will portray him) and Trafficante.

http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/Photo%20Gallery/Images/Bolita.gif - Charlie Wall

There is no pay for these roles we are casting. But, our films have always shown multiple times in the major theaters in Tampa and ALWAYS show in and win awards in film fests around the world, including shows in LA, NY, Toronto, England, South Africa, NJ, and more.

Visit www.yborghosts.com for a trailer of our last Ybor City film, an award-winning short fictional film about the Ybor City mob.

Thank you,

Pete Guzzo and Paul Guzzo

Dates: August 4, 5, 11, and 12

1 Day Films is now casting lead and bit roles in upcoming reenactments for its documentary The Ghosts of Ybor . There are no lines in the reenactments, but the actors have to be able to pull off their characters’ demeanors. Looking like the characters (Charlie Wall and Santo Trafficante, Jr.) is not required, but is a plus.

The documentary covers the lives of Ybor City gangster Charlie Wall and Tampa mafioso Santo Trafficante, Jr. The above August dates are for the Charlie Wall portion of the documentary. Trafficante’s portion will be shot at some time in September.

The people in the reenactments are: Charlie Wall, Baby Joe Diez, Nick Sacglioni, Santo Trafficante, Palusa Diaz, AND NUMEROUS other Anglo, Sicilian, and Cuban gangsters and bystanders. WE WILL ALSO NEED A TON OF EXTRAS. Having your own wardrobe from the 1930s, 40s or 50s is a MAJOR PLUS.

Character Descriptions:

Charlie Wall – Will be portrayed as a 60-year old and a 77-year old. Tall, long face, white hair. CANNOT be Italian or Latin.

Baby Joe Diez – Spanish, under 5’10″ (shorter is better), VERY muscular and in good shape. MUST have driver’s license. Late 30s to late 40s.

Nick Scaglione – Italian in his early 40s with blue eyes and dark but graying hair and sheepish demeanor.

Joe Bedami – Italian in his 40s. Short hair and balding and overweight. Has a menacing stare yet pleasant demeanor.

Santo Trafficante – Italian, balding and has a kind face. Looks like an accountant.

Visit the following links for pictures of these characters (except Baby Joe – we have yet to find a picture of him):

http://aceatkins.com/extras/mafia.html - Bedami, Scaglioni (picture is 10–15 years older than we will portray him) and Trafficante.

http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/Photo%20Gallery/Images/Bolita.gif - Charlie Wall

REMEMBER, we are ALSO looking for a number of other supporting roles. PLEASE INCLUDE A HEADSHOT.

This is a nonpaying job – SORRY.