'Killshot' aims for 100 local extras for film

The casting director for "Killshot" is looking for 100 local people to participate in the film as extras, a group she says must have interesting faces to help "create the fabric" of Cape Girardeau when the movie is shot here for five days next month.

"We're not necessarily looking for models," said casting director Joni Tackette. "We're looking for regular people."

Starting Tuesday, applications to be an extra in the movie will be available in two spots in Cape Girardeau, probably the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the public library. Applications will also be available for downloading at the Missouri Film Commission's Web site at www.mofilm.org.

Those who apply must submit a recent color picture of themselves as well as contact information, Tackette said from Baltimore, where she is working on the film "The Visiting," a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." That movie will star Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, who was recently tapped to play the new James Bond.

The applications should be mailed to the address on the form, she said. Tackette said the extras -- basically people in the background scenes of movies -- are needed to play townspeople, river workers and welders. One of the characters in "Killshot," based on Elmore Leonard's novel, gets a job at Cape Girardeau's Missouri Dry Dock while on the lam from two hitmen.

In addition to an interesting face, those interested in being an extra should be available to work during the week of Dec. 19-23, when the film staring Diane Lane, Thomas Jane and Johnny Knoxville will be shot here.

Tackette said extras likely will work one 12-hour day. For eight hours of work, they will be paid $55 and overtime for hours after that. They will also be provided lunch, she said.

Those picked as extras will be notified around Dec. 1, she said. Only extras who will be used will be contacted and no photos will be returned.

Extras don't have to be from Cape Girardeau, but Tackette said they should be from the Cape Girardeau area. She said roughly 75 of the 100 extras will be townspeople.

"They'll be in the background of the shot creating the fabric of Cape Girardeau," she said. "They're just as important as the setting. They're going to represent what people are like in Cape Girardeau."

Jerry Jones, the director of the Missouri Film Commission, said being an extra in a movie is one of the fun parts of a movie coming to a community.

"It's the best part of it, I think," Jones said. "How often do you get to be in a major motion picture with major stars in your own hometown? It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

But being an extra isn't the only way to participate. Jones will be in town today to meet with the Cape Filmmakers Cooperative about how they can participate as production assistants. On Friday he will be talking to video production students at Southeast Missouri State University.

Jones will take their resumes and talk to them about the kind of work is available. He said producers of the movie are looking for help from local residents who have some experience with film.

"It's not rocket science," he said. "They're not looking for writers or cinematographers. They're looking for hard-working, bright people who have some familiarity with filmmaking."

He said production assistant is an entry-level job which includes running errands and conveying messages.

"Filmmakers are always looking to save money," he said. "So they love to get help from people looking for experience in the community they're in."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137

What: Applications to appear as an extra in "Killshot."

When: Casting director is accepting applications Nov. 8; will give notifications by Dec. 1.

Where: Applications will be available at two public places to be determined, likely the public library and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Applications will also be available for download at www.mofilm.org.

Need to have: Color photo, available schedule Dec. 19-23.

Need to know: Photos will not be returned. Extras will be paid $55 for eight hours, plus overtime. At least one day, extras will work a 12-hour shift.