Merry Christmastime: Film Shooting in Denver Seeks Mob of Extras

Despite the state's efforts to beef up its movie industry, it's still unusual to see a crew actually filming on location in Denver. And it's even rarer that one of those productions announces it's holding open auditions for scores of extras -- all ages and types, no experience necessary --...

By Alan Prendergast

October 30, 2014

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Despite the state's efforts to beef up its movie industry, it's still unusual to see a crew actually filming on location in Denver. And it's even rarer that one of those productions announces it's holding open auditions for scores of extras -- all ages and types, no experience necessary -- to join in the glitz and glamour, the stale coffee and endless takes.

Well, get ready, local thespians, because Christmas comes early this year. Make that Christmastime, a homey, holiday-oriented family feature, directed by Michael Landon Jr., that's shooting around town right now and has sent out a casting call for a hundred-plus extras, with auditions scheduled this Saturday.

As we reported earlier this week, the project has taken over a house in Park Hill, with equipment trucks and props, including a City of Boulder police car (the script is set in Boulder), parked around the neighborhood. Now comes word that the production needs some warm bodies for a couple of heavily populated crowd scenes.

Auditions are being held on Saturday, November 1, at two locations: AEC Studios, 2828 Speer Boulevard, Suite 140, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and then in Boulder at 3213 Walnut Street, from 2:30 until 6:00 p.m. "This amazing movie needs Colorado's support and has opportunities for plenty of extras," according to a blurb from casting director Brian McCulley.

And will the extras get to party with the fabulously famous? That depends on whether you consider the film's stars -- Christian Kane (Leverage, Secondhand Lions), Marley Shelton (Sin City) and Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters, duh) -- fabulous enough to stand out in the crowd.

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Alan Prendergast is a former staff writer at Westword and is now a senior contributor. He writes about various topics but primarily focuses on news. He’s contributed to Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Outside, USA Today, Men's Journal and other publications and is the author of two nonfiction books, Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime and The Poison Tree: A True Story of Family Violence and Revenge. He’s earned numerous accolades for his work including the Eugene Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award and two national feature writing awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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