As promised - an exciting announcement: (Sit down carefully, swallow whatever is in your mouth, and cover any exposed electronics. I don't want to be blamed for any accidents you might cause.)
We had a new addition to the cast this past week... JAMES MORRISON will be playing the role of "William Marshall" in the film! James' character is responsible for mentoring the three main scientists that end up building the world's first time machine. He has been guiding them along since they were young teenagers... and knows something they don't... hmm!!?
Check out some video of the past 5 days of shooting:::
What an insane time we had working with James! Gus and I are big fans of James' work, most importantly (to us), his work as Lt. Col. T.C. McQueen on "Space: Above and Beyond". Also known (to the younger members of the cast) as Bill Buchanan from "24".
We shot five days straight with Mr. Morrison this week. We knocked out a lot of footage, and had a great time doing it. William Marshall, or "Bill", meets the three lead characters when they are young, and helps to foster their education and imagination in his class for gifted children at Miskatonic University.
The principal at Gus' Alma Mater, Coronado High School, kindly let us film in one of his science labs for the set of the special class room... the place where life takes a positive turn for Ryan, the lead character.
Our three leads have been paired with a younger acting doubles for flashbacks in the film. Young Ryan is played by D'Artagnan Driscoll, young Nate is played by Ryan Adelson, and young Caitlin is played by Kelcey Bligh. This week was also our first time working with these talented kids. They've all been great to work with and take their roles very seriously. Giving them direction and watching them make minor changes to their performance was a treat to watch. These kids are going to shock you. Another new addition to the cast is the role of Gail Winrich, Ryan's mother, portrayed in a lovely dark light by Debby Rosenthal.
On Friday we caravanned to ASU one more time to grab a scene with Dr. Lawrence Krauss - world-renowned theoretical physicist, author, and the man responsible for setting the Doomsday Clock (among other ridiculously impressive accolades). Dr. Krauss has been working hard to set up the Origins Project Science & Culture Festival at ASU, and we were thrilled when he agreed to take time out from that to have a cameo in our indie Sci-fi film. In between shots on set, he and James cracked jokes about quarks.
Two quarks walked into a bar... And one says...
"Hey, let's find something to penetrate!"
James has since flown back to LA where he is putting the final touches on his own film, "Showing Up", a documentary about actors and the audition process they go through. In the film, he speaks to actors from both ends of the scale: young performers who are new to the business - as well as A-listers like Sam Rockwell. Keep an eye on James' page for updates on the film.
After a couple days of rest, we'll be back to hitting the filming hard once more. We still have a large part of the film ahead of us, and we can't wait to get started again.
-Luke (D.P.)
