Hollywood Calling

Not for me. For you lot.

Film's casting call wants that 'inbred' look By David M. Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, February 26, 2008

A movie about to be filmed in Pittsburgh is casting Gothic characters -- including an albino-like girl and deformed people -- to depict West Virginia mountain people.

"'Regular-looking" children need not apply.

That's the gist of an open casting call for paid extras for "Shelter," a horror film starring Julianne Moore that will begin shooting in Pittsburgh in March.

The casting call scheduled for Sunday invites "men and women of all races, 18 or older," to try out as extras, according to the announcement from Downtown-based Donna Belajac Casting. But the extras wanted for the West Virginia scenes evoke images of "Deliverance" and "The Hills Have Eyes."

"It's the way it was described in the script," Belajac said Monday. "Some of these 'holler' people -- because they are insular and clannish, and they don't leave their area -- there is literally inbreeding, and the people there often have a different kind of look. That's what we're trying to get."

Belajac said the announcement was not meant to stereotype people from West Virginia. But state officials and a history professor called it "unfortunate" that such unfair views of people are being repeated.

...

The announcement -- which was sent out in a news release and posted on the casting company's Web site -- asked for people with the following attributes:

"Extraordinarily tall or short. Unusual body shapes, even physical abnormalities as long as there is normal mobility. Unusual facial features, especially eyes."

The announcement requests "a 9-12-year-old Caucasian girl with an other-worldly look to her."

"Could be an albino or something along those lines -- she's someone who is visually different and therefore has a closer contact to the gods and to magic. 'Regular-looking' children should not attend this open call.'"

Albino? Odd-looking? Painfully thin? That "inbred" look?

Guess they're casting around their star.

No, I'm sure she's a sweet girl.

For a Ginger.

But I'm sure some of you could make some meth-money on this gig. Let's be honest, every single one of us is a deformed, head-stunted inbred hillbilly cannibal.

posted by Ace at 05:55 PM

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