Hollywood calling: Sitka actors to audition for "Whales"

SITKA, ALASKA

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The film is loosely based on real-life events of 1988, when three gray whales became trapped in sea ice near the town of Pt. Barrow. John Krasinski, formerly one of the stars of the hit television series “The Office,” has signed to play the role of a reporter. Drew Barrymore, who is also reported to be one of the film’s producers, has been cast as Greenpeace activist.

Deborah Schildt, with Alaska Film Services, is one of two Alaskan casting directors for the film. She says there will be about thirty speaking roles for Alaskans, but there are a few roles in particular that the producers are looking for in the casting calls in Sitka, Juneau, Anchorage, Homer, Barrow, Kotzebue, and Nome:

“An Alaska Native elder man, in the 50 – 70 age range, and an Alaska Native boy in the 10 – 13 age range, who’s voice hasn’t cracked yet. We’re also in need of twins: male twins and female twins, non-Native, in the 9 – 11 category. They would never be on screen at the same time, but they do need to be identical.”

Schildt says about one-third of the Alaskan roles are for Natives, the other two-thirds non-Native. She says that they’re also looking for a number of people to play reporters and other members of the media, and that a number of real reporters and radio announcers have responded to the casting call in other communities.

Schildt admits that it would not be difficult to cast the entire film through the usual channels in Hollywood, and to find plenty of actors who could pass for Alaska Natives and other residents. But she says the film’s director, Ken Kwapis, is excited about working with the Native community, and he wants the project to have an authentic feel.

“I think that Hollywood is excited about seeing new faces. I think that it can be cost-effective, too. We’re going to be working outside in October – Alaskans won’t be very intimidated by that.”

Schildt says Alaskans also should not be intimidated by the casting call. Kwapis, who most recently directed “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” will not be watching, nor will any of the other hopefuls auditioning. Schildt says the process typically begins with an e-mail sent right to her at alaskafilmservices@gmail.com, followed by a reading at the Sheetka Kwan Community House between noon and 5 PM on Friday.

“If they can also include a current snapshot, in jpeg format, their age, their acting experience, then it will help us identify what role it might be appropriate for them to read for. And we’ll send them the lines that they’ll need to have close-to-memorized. They’ll do their lines in front of a video camera. There will be just the two of us in the room, so it won’t be this big scary thing – we’re just Alaskans who are doing the auditioning, so it’s not like they’re standing in front of a Hollywood director at that point. And then we upload these to a website in California where the director looks at the people we’ve auditioned.”

Schildt says they’ll arrange a callback and another reading for anyone Kwapis wants another look at.

Schildt credits the 2008 Alaska Film Incentives bill for improving the environment in Alaska for filmmaking. The law allows film companies to claim a thirty-percent tax credit on all their in-state expenditures over $100,000. There are additional incentives for the use of Alaska crews and locations.

Schildt and her casting co-director Grace Olrun are eager to have Alaskans fill as many roles as possible, and one of them may be you, or perhaps your tall neighbor with the perfect hair who reminds you of somebody famous?

“If you’ve got somebody listening in who’s always been told they look like Ronald Reagan, please get a hold of us!”