Disney casting crew says 'yes' to 1,200 wannabes
THE waiting is over and the doors to tinseltown have shut
– but a whopping 3,000 Plymothians queued up for
-
Casting-search-widens
their piece of Hollywood.
The casting crew for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland – made up
of just eight staff – said ‘yes’ to a staggering 1,200
wannabes, giving potential Alice stars a one in five
chance of making it to the screen.
And around three dogs were also cast and will earn money
within their own right to appear in Tim Burton’s magical
remake.
Emily Lindon, aged 24, from Stonehouse said that once she
was inside she was asked if she had dogs and children.
She said: “One guy that was standing next to me had his
little dog and they photographed the dog separately.
“I put down the details of my two dogs too, but I don’t have
any children.”
Another lucky wannabe, Matt Pendle, aged 24, explained that
he made it into the second room which was set up with studio
lights, a white back drop and a photographer with a soft
box.
He said: “Some people just had pictures taken on a small
digital cameras and then left, but we were taken into the
second room, which seemed more professional.”
Once inside, wannabe extras had their chest, neck, head,
waist, backside and small of their back measured.
Casting Director Ilenka Jelowicki said the standard had been
amazing and they were more than happy with what they found in
Plymouth.
She said: “We are very, very pleased. It’s turned out better
than we thought.
Wannabes will now have to wait for two to three weeks to
hear whether they made it to the next stage: the filming,
to take place at undisclosed locations.
21 Comments
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by Hannah, Plymouth aka Aliceville
Monday, September 01 2008, 8:06AM
“To claify, on the Thursday they made two lines. One (nearest the road) of the callbacks from Wednesday) and their 'favourites' on the day. The second line (initially where everyone queued) were possibles but not definite, despite somebeing given a 'yes' early on. Some people in this line were told straight away no and asked to leave (politely, of course). Once chosen to go in the first line you were given a star, some red and some orange and went inside about 100 at a time. Then , you were split, inot extras and featured extras. the extras were photographed only and left, most with very little paperwork or explanation. The featured extras were asked to fill out more paperwork and then went through to the other room to have measurements taken. It goes without saying that you could be selected from either category as they will not need 250 'featured' extras but the chances of getting through would naturally be smaller.
Regards the choosing of people to, I saw a women with tattoos all over her upper body, I saw bobs, died hair, lots of people who appeared to be in the 40's, 50's and more.
At the end of the day, there was lots of people and good luck to you all. I had a fab time, met some really nice people and good luck if you made it. Please do tell...you lucky things!
This I can say despite being the first in the queue on Thursday arriving at midnight, being given a 'yues' at 10am and still not being moved into the line to be seen. It was my long 15 minutes and I had a blast. Its not often you get the chance to say you had a go at something like this so no regrets.
Good like all.”
by Zara, plymouth
Friday, August 08 2008, 6:20PM
“The article I read that advertised the auditions didn't say a passport was needed, i just took mine because people on here said you needed to. Like you said, once i was there no one did ask to see it. But my guess is it was probably just incase they needed a reliable source of i.d. ..maybe if someone looked too young for example????”
by Jamie, Plymouth
Friday, August 08 2008, 5:17PM
“Monica - Did it need to be said by me? :-S what did u mean by that,
Just the thing is many people I know, hadn¿t gone to the auditions due to Pass-ports being needed, and from following old pages on thisisplymouth site regards Alice in wonderland there¿s a thew more people who say its ridiculous, just my point is that it could have been once in life time chance and many people are in disappointment due to this”
by Monica, Plymouth
Friday, August 08 2008, 2:18PM
“Jamie Plymouth: In the scheme of things, this was`nt an overly important matter but maybe something did need to be said about it....but did it need to be said by you? What were you on about??!!”
by Rachel Lovell, Plymstock
Friday, August 08 2008, 1:53PM
“Myself and daughter Josie qued on Wednesday and luckily got in for photos with application forms. Ilenka told me there were no 'favorites' for different rooms it was merely that they had a tight schedule for time. I was there for my dear daughter Beki who sadly passed away in June ages 12 from Cystic Fibrosis. Beki was in local theatre shows, won awards a LAMDA etc Easter, also a performer with Italia Conti associate school. I know Beki's spirit shone down on us Wednesday and it would be lovely in Beki's memory if one of us gets through.”