First round casting is complete and the part of "Ezra" ( the female lead) has been given to actress Karly Shea.  I'll be shooting a video blog entry this week and it will include clips from her reading.  The other auditions were a mixed bag and I have not cast any of other roles listed as of today they are all still available.  If you were not able to make the original casting call and are interested in auditioning, join the open source films meetup group know TODAY and when you're approved e-mail me your availability.  I'll be actively scouting talent this week and individually auditioning select actors and actresses.  See our original casting anouncement for more info on roles available.

The Open Source Films meetup group is growing and there are some very exciting new members.  One of the challenges with a collaborative open source movie is organizing the production team and creating an  efficient work flow.  Remember you have an opportunity to join us - have you ever wanted to contribute to an original movie?  If yes, then you're invited to join the team.

The beginnings of our production team have already collaborative on what will be our first public release - a prequel  teaser trailer that takes place before the main storyline.  For those of you knew to the project we've already shot and edited and did the special effects.  We're just waiting on the finishing audio touches from a UK sound design team.   This trailer will give you all an idea of the look and style of the Jathia's Wager universe - although the finished film will be even better.  I anticipate this trailer will reach a million views in just a few months (before  Jathia's Wager is even finished).

When casting is complete I'll post initial rehearsal dates on the meetup calendar.   We'll be shooting this fast in order to cut down production  time and hopefully catapult this quickly into a web series and  perhaps a feature film, - remember the press we've already  received is incredible considering it's a short film still in  production (AMC TV, Zdnet, Wikpedia, Film Fests).

To prepare for shooting we'll have 2 rehearsals which will each last 1 day.  So the total commitment for each actor / actress will be 4 days (2, 1 day  rehearsals and 2 days of shooting) for this project.  Future projects should have some funding and the actors / actresses and crew that continues on with us will be paid for their contributions.

I've scheduled an online conference call with my entire team (production, talent, creative).  To join in on the conference call you have to join our meetup group and be approved as a member of the team.  Current agenda for the conference call is:

• Review Calendar and future production schedule
• Introduce creative contribution opportunities (including the Wiki) to production crew and actors / actresses'
• Break down of rehearsals and shooting schedule
• Discuss production work flow and production opportunities
• General brainstorming session and overview of entire project direction
• Question and Answer session for all new members