The capital city of the U.S. state of New York will be the filming location for the HBO movie “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight”. New York’s top film and television extras casting company is accepting email submissions from people of all ages and types, including children, to appear in the film as general background performers. The shoot dates will be May 10th and 11th, 2012 in Albany and Schenectady, NY. These are fully paid positions, and no prior experience working as an extra is necessary.
The true story of “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” centers on the cultural icon’s battle with the United States government over his refusal to serve in the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali was arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges. He was stripped of his boxing title, and his boxing license was suspended. He was not imprisoned, but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was eventually successful in the Clay v. United States case.
Starring in “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” is Academy Award nominee Frank Langella as Chief Justice Warren Burger; Four-time Primetime Emmy nominee Danny Glover as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall; Golden Globe nominated Ed Begley Jr. as Justice Harry Blackmun; Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer as conservative Justice John Marshall Harlan II; Academy Award winner Barry Levinson as Justice Potter Stewart, who was opposed to the Vietnam War; and Benjamin Walker as Supreme Court clerk and Ali supporter, Kevin Kennedy.
Two-time Academy Award nominated British filmmaker Stephen Frears is directing from a screenplay written by BAFTA Award winner Shawn Slovo. Frears’ Oscar nods came from directing the Miramax films “The Queen” starring Helen Mirren, and “The Grifetrs” starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Annette Bening. Frears spent the bulk of his early career directing television programs for the BBC. Aside from his Oscar nominations, he has won over 38 entertainment industry awards.
HBO is partnering for the fifth time with London based Emmy Award winning indie production company Rainmark Films. Rainmark signed a content development deal with HBO that will continue their partnership for an unspecified period of time. The next HBO/Rainmark project is a major four-part series based on the military history book “The Guns of August,” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Barbara Tuchman. HBO has become very significant in the United Kingdom after BSkyB bought the exclusive rights to its TV catalogue for Sky Atlantic.
Albany Extras Casting Call Details
The extras casting director is seeking the following:
The movie is set in 1971, and the production is seeking locals to portray early 1970’s bus station travelers and neighborhood types. Filming will take place in Albany and Schenectady, NY on May 10th and 11th, 2012.
• People in the Albany, Schenectady and surrounding areas.
• Males and females.
• All ages and types.
• Children through seniors.
• Any ethnicity.
Anyone interested should email recent, clear snapshots, height, weight and clothing sizes, and contact information to:
Minors and foreign talent must be legally eligible to work in the state of New York and in the United States.
The New York Actors Resource Guide eBook includes the following information and documents for adults, minors, and foreign talent who would like to work as an actor or extra on film and television productions in New York and the United States:
• New York Child Performer Information Sheet
• New York Child Performer Permit Combined Application
• New York Child Performer Trust Accounts Information
• New York Verification of Satisfactory Academic Performance
• New York Child Performer Employer Certificate Combined Application
• USA Child Actor Work Permit Requirements – State Statues
• USA Immigration Work Permits and Visas
• USA Non-Immigrant Visa Application
In addition to the following New York Actors Resources:
• Audition Tips
• How To Make an Audition Video
• New York Casting Directors List
• New York Extras Casting Directors List
• New York Talent Agents List
• General Talent Agent Information
• New York Acting Classes List
• New York Headshot Photographers List
• Actors Unions
• Sample Actors Resume
• Sample Beginning Actors Resume
• Sample Cover Letters
• Entertainment Industry Terminology
• Miscellaneous New York Resources
• PDF Users Guides
The Actors Resource Guide eBooks are available here.
Principal Actor Casting
See the post titled Headshot and Resume Information regarding how to submit for acting roles.
Please submit photos and resumes by mail only.
No phone calls or personal drop-offs.
New York:
Kathleen Chopin Casting
12 W. 32nd Street
Suite 12
New York, NY 10001
Extras Casting
New York:
Grant Wilfley Casting
123 West 18 Street
8th Floor
New York, NY 10011
Production Companies:
Do NOT send photos and resumes to the production companies, as they will most likely end up being thrown away. They do not cast the films, rather they hire casting directors who sort through the thousands of submissions.
HBO Films
2500 Broadway
Suite 400
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Rainmark Films
6th Floor Eastgate House
16-19 Eastcastle Street
London W1W 8DA
UK
Producers:
Frank Doelger
Tracey Scoffield
Scott Ferguson
David Tanner
Director:
Stephen Frears
Starring:
Muhammad Ali – Himself (archive footage)
Frank Langella – Chief Justice Warren Burger
Christopher Plummer – John Marshall Harlan
Benjamin Walker – Kevin Kennedy
Barry Levinson – Potter Stewart
Danny Glover – Thurgood Marshall
Ed Begley Jr. – Justice Harry Blackmun
Story:
In 1967, Heavyweight Champion of the World Muhammad Ali refused to fight in Vietnam as a Conscientious Objector and was sent to prison, during which he appealed his case to the Warren Burger (Frank Langella) Supreme Court. As the Court struggles with other hot-button issues such as abortion and pornography, they also wrestle with how to view Ali’s appeal in light of the law’s view of the Conscientious Objector and the difference between a holy war and a political war.
