Tag Archives: movie

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Film Friday – The Lone Ranger

Usually, on Film Fridays, I’ll post my thoughts on movies that I’ve seen. Although I’ve seen A-lister Brad Pitt’s movie World War Z recently (and absolutely loved it!!!!), I’ve noticed that there has been a lot of unfavorable talk about another A-lister’s movie. That A-lister is Johnny Depp and the movie is The Lone Ranger.

I probably wasn’t going to make an effort to see it any way. I’m not a Western fan for one. I do so love Johnny Depp and if this movie is as bad as everyone seems to think, I’d rather just fondly remember him from the last time he had on eye shadow as Jack Sparrow. I will also remember him as a white male playing a white male instead of a white male playing a Native American/American Indian and try not to let the fact that he did boil my blood. A little of how I feel about that can be found here in my movie review for The Big Wedding. And though I’m not a fan of this movie, I am in love with the name “Armie Hammer.” If there was not such a company as Arm & Hammer, I probably wouldn’t as much but whatever.

Soooooo, I said all of that to say, here’s an article from Casting Frontier entitled The Endangered Lone Ranger. Lol. Enjoy!

 

The Endangered Lone Ranger

It’s clear to see just how strongly Disney believed in the potential of adapting the classic radio and TV show of The Lone Ranger into a box office hit. They stuffed every super-charged resource they had into the action-packed western including a $225 million budget, a tried-and-true Hollywood A-list actor, the ever-bankable Johnny Depp as Tonto, and they procured the proven Pirates of the Caribbean producer and director, Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski–in hopes of recreating the kind of magical success seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Sounds like the definitive recipe for success; kind of like adding butter, sugar, cream, and flour to a dessert recipe…it’s bound to taste good. How could it not?

Read more

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Film Friday – Star Trek: Into Darkness

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First things first today. I’d like to give a shameless plug shout out to World Golf Village’s IMAX theater. It is because of them that I will never watch a 3D movie at a regular theater again if they are showing the same movie. There is nothing like being a part of the movie versus just watching it. I jumped several times last night while watching Star Trek: Into Darkness.

My second shout out goes to the team that put together the wonderful trailer. I absolutely hate when a trailer ruins the movie for me by not leaving anything up to the imagination or by not giving enough information. Now that I’ve seen the movie I can say that this trailer was perfect. I went in thinking one thing (me and my highly analytical brain) and witnessed something I definitely did not expect. Bravo, ladies and gentlemen.

For those of you who are Trekkies and/or saw the first film and loved it, you won’t be disappointed. J.J. Abrams stayed true to the Star Trek franchise and all of the characters involved. Albeit there is more action than in the last film or the franchise as a whole but this is the year 2013. We are at a certain point in our technological advancement that we can create and see scenes that weren’t possible before.

I feel like there isn’t much more that I can add to this post. I love Star Trek so I’m a little bias in my opinion of it. Plus, my Film Friday posts are more so about the characters instead of the film itself. If you saw the first film, you pretty much know what to expect as far as the characters are involved. You’ll enjoy some new visually stimulating, adrenaline pumping scenes and that’s it. If you didn’t see the first film, then shame on you.

In this world, you’re either a Trekkie, a Star Wars fan, or neither. I’d venture to say that I am both. Thanks to my mother I grew up on Star Trek (not the oldest versions with William Shatner but Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager) and thanks to my father I grew up on Star Wars as well (bring back the Ewoks!). So, now that I’ve seen what J.J. Abrams can do for Star Trek, I can’t wait to see what he does with Star Wars. I’m watching you Mr. Abrams. I can’t wait to work with you one day and I am watching you. 🙂

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Film Friday – The Great Gatsby

I’m a firm believer in following in the order in which things are supposed to go. I like reading books and then later watching them come alive on the big screen. I was deprived of this great experience in life yesterday. You see, unlike practically everyone else I know, I was not required to read The Great Gatsby when I went to school. But ohhhh how I wish I did! Now I must suffer in silence like most book lovers when things that they loved about their book didn’t make it to the movie. Or will I? LOL I actually have no idea since I haven’t read the book. But it is officially on my list of books to read (which actually includes about 5 that come to mind off the top of my head).

Now this post will be a little bias. I was in love with the anticipation of watching this movie ever since that first huge trailer blared across the movie screen of other movies I’ve watched recently. I really don’t know where to begin. I guess I’ll do a sort of “compliment sandwich.” I watched it in 3D (which I highly recommend) and I absolutely loved the way that the movie was shot. I’m not sure of the correct term but it was absolutely wonderful. I really felt like a part of the movie and that I was flying through the streets with the characters in the car or even just floating across the bay by myself. I love that magical feeling when I’m watching a movie.

So let’s get down to individual actors. I’ll start with Tobey Maguire. Based on what I’ve seen in the past with his acting, although I am not a fan, this role suited him. There were some things lacking and a few times I looked for him to give me something more with his eyes but I was left with nothing. I’m familiar with the concept of having a blank look on your face because the audience will automatically wonder what you’re feeling and sort of paint whatever they think onto your face. I didn’t see that here. I didn’t see anything. In particular, I’m referring to his scenes where his character is talking with the doctor. Or maybe he was just supposed to look crazed and disheveled and not the least bit coherent and never changing any of those 3 “emotions.” I use the term emotion loosely. Maybe that was what he was going for.

Next is my darling Leonardo. Ohhhh Leonardo. I’ve watched you grow from a boy to a man on the movie screen it seems. Yet some awards still seem to elude you. Well, I hope that TGG can be the one to give it to you. Casting Leonardo in this was perfect. If you mix his performance/character from Django Unchained with his performance/character from Titanic, you’ve got THE perfect Gatsby. I’m almost jealous that both of those previous roles could mesh together soooo perfectly and almost make it easier for him in playing this role. The fact that this role came easy is all my opinion of course and that sort of goes without saying but I just wanted to bring that up.

Joel Edgerton is THE man. The passion that he brings to all of his characters is what the dreams of actors are made of. I am honestly to the point where anything he is in I will go and see and I highly doubt that I will ever be disappointed.

Jason Clarke is another actor on my watch list. I’ve seen him play grimy characters before. In this movie, the only thing grimy about him was his job (if you choose to see mechanics/grease monkeys that way.) But it was refreshing and completely believable to watch him play a halfwit who dearly loved his wife. Out of all of the characters, I truly felt for him the most often.

I’m not someone who keeps a large DVD collection at home. I have the tendency to not want to see a movie when I can so vividly remember how it ended. So most of the movies in my collection are solely for “research purposes” instead of entertainment. But The Great Gatsby will definitely be coming home with me as soon as it’s released! I can’t wait to see it again. 🙂

So, if you saw it, what did you think?

 

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Film Friday – The Big Wedding

So, last night I finally found myself at the movies. Although since my last Film Friday post I’ve seen Oz: The Great and Powerful (twice), Safe Haven, and Oblivion, I haven’t really been inspired to write about them. They were enjoyable movies so don’t get me wrong. I have a soft spot for anything The Wizard of Oz related and I loved the plot twists in both Safe Haven and Oblivion. But after watching the pretty funny movie The Big Wedding, I find myself wanting to talk about that.

On to a little background story first. If it hadn’t been for my mother, I wouldn’t have gone to see it yesterday. She went to the movies to see Oblivion and I checked to see which time she chose to go (purely for selfish reasons – wanted to make sure she was out of the movie on time to pick me up from work) and I happened to see that they were playing The Big Wedding at Regal The Avenues 20 at 9:20 p.m. For someone who doesn’t go to the movies often, I certainly live in the perfect part of town to do so. Regal The Avenues 20 is 5 minutes away from me while Cinemark Tinseltown is about 10 minutes away. The only deciding factor as to which theater I go to is Regal’s delicious berry tea latte. Anyway, I’ll work on being a better moviegoer later.

I dragged along my 29-year-old bestie Derrick and he assured me that the movie theater would be filled with middle-aged to older people. I hadn’t even given any thought to the type of crowd this movie would attract. How could ANYONE pass up a movie with Robert DeNiro, Susan Sarandon, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Topher Grace, Amanda Seyfried, and Robin Williams??? He was wrong though. It was only about 6 other people there. I really hope that this movie garners more supporters than that over the weekend.

I’m not adept at talking about what I liked in a movie without making it a spoiler alert yet. But I’ll try my best for those of you that have this movie on your list to see.

The story is about a divorced couple that has gone their separate ways but must come together for the wedding of their youngest son: adopted Alejandro. In fact, the actual movie plot is, “A former married couple (De Niro and Keaton) must pretend they are still together to impress their adopted son’s (Barnes) biological mother (Rae) when she comes into town for his wedding.” It sounds sort of cliche and to be honest it was. You already know that if a couple is divorced in a movie, it’s for a good reason and that reason will more than likely be the undoing of the entire story. Plot and story aside, there were a few snappy one-liners and comebacks and phrases that should make you either laugh or cringe or both.

So what did I enjoy about it so much that I decided to blog about it over the other movies that I’ve seen? For me, it wasn’t about the story but the individual characters as usual. Diane Keaton was her usual slightly awkward for her age self. But she seemed like the coolest parent to have. Katherine Heigl was a bit high-strung (which she always plays well) but at the end you find out why and it’s a very valid reason. It was nice to see Robin Williams. I feel like it’s been such a long time since I last did. His usual funniness was toned down a little bit for his role as the father of the Catholic Church. Topher Grace’s character reminds me of the one he played in That 70’s Show. I’m a little perturbed at the fact that they didn’t get an actual Hispanic male to play the role of the adopted son. Instead, they cast Ben Barnes. I have nothing personal against him and his acting. But, it always bothers me to see a non-minority person play the role of a minority person and all they had to do was get a serious skin tan. The only exception to this would be the movie Cloud Atlas. Amanda Seyfried didn’t really have a memorable role but her name is hot right now thanks to Les Miserables so that should get some people out to see this film. Susan Sarandon wasn’t very memorable to me either but I’m sure someone in the audience will be able to see themselves in her. Sometimes, that’s all it’s about: being able to personally connect with a character so that you are emotionally attached to whatever happens to them in the film. Maybe I’m partial but I always love Robert DeNiro in any role he plays. The relationship between Katherine Heigl and Robert DeNiro sort of hit home for me. Daughter/father relationships in any capacity really tend to strike a chord. If you’ve ever felt betrayed by your father and find yourself fighting between always showing him disdain yet wanting to show that you love him, then it’ll hit home for you too. It also gave me thoughts on how to handle my personal situation.

All in all, the movie was raunchy, colorful, and full of intermittent laughs. The actual story wasn’t memorable and heart-warming but it’ll do for only an hour and a half of your time. Yet, if I could define this movie in one word it would honestly be love. It comes in all shapes and forms and sizes. At times, you don’t even realize that you’re experiencing it because it may not be in a form that you’re used to. But I do believe that every single version of love is portrayed in this movie. Every…single…one. O_O

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Extras/Background Actors Castings

“It’s just another Manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday ‘cuz that’s my fun day. My I-don’t-have-to-run day. It’s just another Manic Monday.” – The Bangles

It’s been awhile since I made a Manic Monday post. Okay. Let’s be serious for a minute. I’ve only made one a.k.a. I’ve failed you miserably. 😦

So, today, my post is all about various casting directors who I follow on FB that ALWAYS have extras castings posts. Hopefully, the information will be useful to you! Just be sure to visit their websites and input yourself in their databases.

FrontRunner Casting

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Extras Casting Atlanta

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Hylton Casting

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Catrett Locke Casting

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Tammy Smith Casting

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Bill Marinella Casting

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Cherrix Casting Atlanta

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Central Casting

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And there you have it! 🙂 Have a delightful day and a wonderful week, everyone!

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Candace E. Crump – Actor Extraordinaire

For this Working Wednesday’s post, I’d like to highlight the lovely and ever working Ms. Candace Elaine Crump. 🙂 Congratulations on booking the part!!!

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She is a very talented actress and a dear friend of mine who will be playing the part of Erzulie in the family musical Once On This Island which will start on March 15th at ABET (Atlantic Beach Experimental Theatre – www.abettheatre.com). I’ll cover the who/what/when/where/how much in my “Throwdown” Thursday post.

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Cast of Once On This Island

About Candace

Candace Crump was born on December 12, 1984 in Buffalo, New York. She had a fascination with the arts at a young age but didn’t begin performing until her early teens. Her passion grew as she started taking acting classes at community centers, such as Studio Arena. Candace joined the drama club at school and got her first taste of onstage performance in middle school. After moving to Jacksonville, Florida, Candace continued to attend classes for acting and modeling. When she graduated from high school, Candace wanted to jumpstart her career in acting and began going on auditions in town. She got her debut role in the play Majigeen, as the young Anta Majigeen N’jaay, a 14-year-old Senegalese princess who was captured from her home and turned into a wife, mother and slave. Candace went on to perform in the stage productions Chalk, the Black Nativity, Decisions and For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enuff.

Actresses (L to R) - Breezy Sharp, Angelica Cruz, Candace E Crump on set of Miracle Seven

Actresses (L to R) – Breezy Sharp, Angelica Cruz, Candace E Crump on set of Miracle Seven

She was also the lead in the faith-based film Miracle Seven (www.miracle7movie.com). During the making of this movie I had the esteemed pleasure of meeting her. We got to know each other very well over that month of “weekend filming”. It is such an honor to know her. She has one of the kindest souls that I have ever met and it shines through everything she does and every character that she plays. I was able to watch her create magic on the stage when she played Nettie in The Color Purple which was brought to Jacksonville thanks to Stage Aurora (www.stageaurora.org). I can’t wait to watch her in this play and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for the rest of the world to behold!

Congratulations again, Candace!

To get in touch with Candace, send her a tweet at www.twitter.com/CandaceECrump.

As always, I hope that each of you are living out your dreams as well!

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Catrett Locke Casting New TLC Movie in Atlanta!

I grew up listening to TLC so I’m extremely excited that a movie will be made based on them! Catrett Locke Casting has the task of casting all of the extras. I follow them on Facebook. Below is a list of all of the people (and accompanying details) that they are seeking so far! For all submissions, please send 3 pictures (head and body), age, height, weight, and all contact info to TLCtheMovieATL@gmail.com. Break a leg!

  • Heavyset African-American female, ages 20-30, with cornrows. Submit age, height, weight, all contact info, and 3 pictures (up-to-date, in focus, lit well, higher than 300K resolution, not edited on Instagram) of only you.
  • Roller skaters, ages 18-25, African Americans and Caucasians. Must be at least 18. Works TODAY!
  • African American male dance choreographer with experience. Please put Choreographer in the subject box.
  • One guitar player, one drummer, one with strap on keyboard, one playing regular keyboard ALL WITH THEIR OWN INSTRUMENTS. African American males, ages 20-35. Submit 3 pictures and include one with your instrument. Put BAND in the subject box.

That’s all that I have for now. You can find more by following their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CLCastingCo.