Casting Call
The casting of Resurrection took almost four months to complete.
The call went out in early November 2006. Many individuals showed the courage
to come forth, but few were worthy. The flyer pictured below was posted at several
local colleges and over the internet in order to recruit the younger cast
members needed. By that time, most of the mature members had already been cast,
and their training had begun.
When the casting call hit the local colleges the race had
begun. rafe Kossak won the part of Siris in the first round of auditions. His
reading with the gentleman that would later portray Bane gave everyone goose
pimples, including Mr. Kossak. When that happened, I knew we had found
something explosive, and the search for Siris ended. Rafe helped the production
greatly in its infancy. By June 10, 2007 his portion of filming had been
completed and he was then off to
Many ladies tried out for the part of Virus but only one truly
fit the bill. Christina Johnson was brought to my attention via Rafe, and after
a bit coaxing by him she eventually agreed to audition. Christina’s audition
lasted for about an hour, and after some taping and a very pleasant
conversation, we shook hands and the deal was sealed. At the time, excluding
myself of course, no one knew how important and vital she would become.
Christina allowed me to tell the story that I had originally wrote. Without
her, it would have just been more of an action flick, and that was not my
intent. Having her on board allowed the full story to come forth. Most of the
filming with Christina was completely separate from the other cast members,
except where needed. Of course, the guys in the cast didn’t enjoy this…
everyone wanted to be there when Virus was around. Thankfully with Bane
present, no one got out of hand.
Tony Crockett was originally sought to play Commander Bane. But
during his initial reading, it became very apparent that his talents and
mannerisms were perfect indeed for the role of Kaan. Tony really sunk his teeth
into the part, and transformed the character into something very special. I put
a great load upon his shoulders when I asked him to play Kaan. The role called
for a great deal of dialogue, and to put even more pressure on him, Kaan and
the War Room scenes would set the stage of the production – for they would be
the first scenes shot – with more than 40 extras and a crew of just over ten.
Tony, like the true man he is, stepped up to the plate and got the job done
with more than fifty onlookers present. Tony’s performance set the pace and
tempo of what would follow… Fear, excitement, chaos, and mayhem, like war
itself.
-It was perfect-
Jeff Graska fit the part of Voko to a T. I met Jeff through a
mutual friend, Donato Cocuzza, and after spending some time with him shooting
pool and having a few beers, it became apparent that Jeff would be perfect for
the 40 year old smart ass sergeant. After a bit of time, I eventually
approached him with the idea. To my surprise, he accepted, and I was able to
land the smart ass I was looking for. Later during production, Jeff and I
collaborated and came up with an idea to shoot a spoof of a beer commercial.
Sergeant Voko took up the charge, and the ‘Regulator’ was born.
Jacob Victor had always been in my mind to play the role of
Captain Tiris. Jake had worked for me in the past, and expressed a desire to be
in a star wars movie. He said he had always wanted to be the bad guy and have a
whoop ass light saber battle. Little did he know that a few years later he
would finally turn his dream into realty. Jake is a very physical person, and
the role demanded such. Captain Tiris had to be in his mid twenties and
physically very fit. There had to be a good contrast between him and his arch
rival, Bane. Later during the production Jake suffered an injury, breaking his
left wrist. With little time lost, Jake was back at it, battling as before and
kicking ass. You’re a tough hombre Jake… much Kudos my friend.
The most difficult role to fill was that of Commander Bane. Since
there had been little published about him at the time, I had a wide window to
consider. There was brief mention of him and his rule in the novel The Phantom Menace, which hit the stands
shortly before the movie’s release back in 1999. There were also some comic
books that had been published after that. Then in 2000, I found a book that
contained about a page’s worth on Kaan, the Brotherhood, and another brief
mention of Bane – Star Wars the Essential
Chronology, published by Del Ray
Books. The text was written by Kevin J. Anderson and Daniel Wallace. With that
little bit of information I began to put to paper what would end up being Resurrection - The Path of Bane. So you
can see I have been working on this for quite some time ;)
Many were sought and considered for the role, but they never
worked out. Bane had to have a multitude of unique traits. He had to have a
presence that would emanate through his actions and his voice. I wanted the
audience to feel as if he could reach out from the screen at any moment and
choke the life right out of them. His presence had to be commanding and
dominating, and his gaze had to pierce the soul. Bane’s physical appearance
also had to be as close to perfection as possible. He needed to be left-handed
as well. Then to add even more difficulties, Bane needed to be around 40 years
old and possess a light saber style like none had ever seen. He also had to
possess a great and utter rage that would literally frighten the audience to death.
Where do you find someone like that?
Fortunately, there was one who would hopefully fit the bill. The
gentleman who portrays Bane has a multitude of talents – an expert with all
types of weapons, firearms, knives, swords, archery, and hand to hand combat.
We believe the audience is in for a wild ride.
During the unveiling of the ‘Sith’ eye contacts that he would
later don, a host of cast and crew were gathered, so we could view their reactions
and receive their input. Most could not look at him directly, and many
completely shied away from him. There were many comments uttered out loud;
“freaky”, “utter evil”, “scary”, and it gave more than a few goose pimples. The
gentleman’s own wife and children could not even stand to look at him. However,
the artistic advisor was never more pleased. We knew for certain then that the
effect we were seeking had been achieved.
Photos by
Marcos Vergil
Comments by
Rick Johnson