By
Forrest Lindsay
Nashville, Tenn. – “Star Wars VII”
producers came to Nashville on Nov. 24 for a casting call to help fill two
major roles in the film.
The event took place at the Sheraton at
623 Union Street from noon to 5 p.m. A representative from Lucasfilm said that
the studio was looking for a young man between the ages of 19 and 24 and a
young woman between the ages 17 to 18. The company said that the actress must
be beautiful, smart, and athletic, and could be of any ethnicity. The actor
must be handsome, smart, and athletic.
The casting call included a
meet-and-greet with the film’s casting director, Maryellen Aviano, whose recent
credits include “Man of Steel” and “Inception.”
“We got here pretty early, waited out
in the cold, and the survivors were herded in like cattle,” said Jack Watts, a
man who hitch-hiked from Chattanooga to Nashville for the audition. “There was
a guy from Lucasfilm there, and a guy representing casting efforts for J.J.
Abrams. There were a lot of people, at least 800 to 1,000 in the ballroom
alone.”
Auditioners were required to wait
in a line that began at the side entrance of the Sheraton and stretched through
the War Memorial Plaza. They eventually entered the ballroom and sat down to
wait to meet the producers.
“The opportunity to be in one of
these films is a life-long dream,” Watts said. “They started taking people in
for pre-processing an hour earlier because the group was so much larger than
what they expected.”
One of the representatives of the
casting call said that she felt “optimistic” that they were most likely to find
the two actors from Nashville because of its enthusiasm and being the final
stop on the tour.
Producers asked auditioners to create and send in videos of themselves
to http://www.opencastingcall2013.com,
which they will hand-select from to show to the film’s casting director, J.J.
Abrams.
Brandon Vess, a friend of Watts and an
auditioner for the film, said that there is a “miniscule” chance that he could
get a part in the film depending on his video submission.
Watts said J.J. Abrams will bring an
“edge” back to “Star Wars” that has been sorely lacking.
Vess said that he believes Nashville
will be more “versatile” in the future if it continues to do this.
The casting call was part of a nationwide
search that included stops in Chicago, St. Louis, and Austin, Texas.
“Star Wars VII” will be the first “Star
Wars” movie since Disney bought the rights to the film. Shooting is set to
begin in spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios in London. The Film’s projected
release date is Dec. 18, 2015.
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