Revolutionary movie set to film in NC

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A major historic trail that winds through Wilkes County might just get a shot in the arm if a major motion picture gets filmed in the area next year as planned.

The movie has a working title of “Revolutionary!” and is, not surprisingly, about the Battle of Kings Mountain near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, and how that battle changed the course of the Revolutionary War in the South.

The plan right now is to film the movie entirely in North Carolina, centered at Hart Square Village, which has the country’s largest collection of historic log structures. The village is just south of Hickory in Catawba County.


The Charlotte Observer reported last week that the $7 million movie will be produced by John Oliver and Stacy Anderson, both Tar Heel State residents, and written by Patrick A. Davis, a New York Times bestselling author. They’re hoping for a theatrical release in late 2020.

The chosen actor-director is Nick Searcy, who was born in Cullowhee, educated at UNC-Chapel Hill and a longtime resident of Wilmington, where he landed acting roles that made him a familiar face as a character actor. Recently, Searcy was part of the ensemble in “The Shape of Water,” winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2018.

The movie will tell the story of the Overmountain Men, a ragtag group of militia soldiers who surprisingly overwhelmed British-loyalist forces at Kings Mountain on Oct. 7, 1780. That patriot victory sparked a string of conquests that ultimately led to American independence from Britain.


https://www.journalpatriot.com/opin...cle_eecd712e-1557-11ea-bc81-1f7194057a65.html


https://hartsquare.com/the-village/
 
They will probably do an extra call for soldiers for the battle scenes. That would be fun to do!
 
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Awesome! What would be revolutionary is to have a decent movie with an original plot come out.
 
They will probably do an extra call for soldiers for the battle scenes. That would be fun to do!
CFF should reach out to casting and let ‘em know there’s a bunch folks here that know which end of a gun to hold.
 
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This would be cool for a variety of reasons
a-revenue for our state
b-cool content
 
I'm guessing this is basically an indie film. 7Mil is on the low end for a production., I think the average for theater movies is about 20mil.

Don't care through, still neat, I'll be going to see it, and if there's any way I can be an extra, I'm in.
 
Good luck with the extra thing. To have your face on camera, you need a SAG card. To be part of the crowd, you must provide a professional head shot (PHOTO) with your application. I won't go into detail but, I have been around a couple of movies filmed in NC and I have a nephew who is a struggling actor in LA.
 
I can't believe I've never heard of the Hart Square Village, it's only just up the road a piece.

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I have a SAG Card... or did... or some Union thing I had to sign for my hands to be used in a Product Shoot.... I can't remember... I auditioned for a commercial shot in my hometown that was a huge brand name... and out of the 400 extras... I didn't get a part! There was only 420 people in the town!
 
Since there seems to be a fair amount of interest:

Unless things have changed, SAG card isn't absolutely necessary, even on a SAG shoot, but it does make it more difficult to get speaking roles (still not impossible due to Taft-Hartley). I got my membership after being bumped from Extra to Featured on Jingle All The Way. (then they cut my part out in post). Face on screen doesn't matter, I did that a lot, speaking is what makes the jump. But you're not going to get a speaking role without an agent.


A lot will depend on details of the production. As mentioned, $7mil is indie. What agreement are they working under? The standard agreement requires a minimum of X (don't know the current number) SAG extras, then any others can be non-union. (Just looked it up, Low-Budget is $2.5mil, so this would be standard agreement, means less flexibility.)

If they have an open casting call or open cattle call (for extras), a professional head shot is ideal, but a good close up portrait can work too. Watch for listings on The Southern Casting Call and Backstage

If you're interested in being an extra in general (any movie or just this), NC Film Commission has various lists of local agencies. You would want to sign up with one of them. A legitimate agency might charge a nominal fee (in the 90's it was $20) for a photo but nothing more. Whatever you do, do not pay for casting - anyone charging more than a small fee for a photo is a scam. Those radio ads you hear? Also scams. The real agencies have no need to advertise.

Battle scenes are a completely different thing, especially for historical movies. The producers will often engage local historical reenactment groups, who can provide people, wardrobe, and props. The most likely source for any battle scenes in this will be local Revolutionary reenactors, and I can guarantee you that the Film Commission will put the producers in touch.

Anyone gets more news, keep us posted!
 
@random gave some good info, I would add that for a period piece the casting people will especially be looking for extras with character looks, no visible tattoos, earrings, piercings etc. They may want you to cut your hair, beard or mustache. Odds are extremely good that you will be out of focus or missing from the final cut, so don't get your hopes up on that or start looking for your name in the credits, they do not credit extras. I know some people who have been paid as extras who never even made it out of extras holding ( where they keep you when not using you on-set for a scene).

The problem with being a SAG member around here is it prevents you from working on non-Union projects- which means you miss out on 95% of the stuff being filmed in NC. Perhaps more of the stuff being shot in Atlanta would be union, but even at that, actual SAG extra work at SAG rates is scarce. Most likely count on $64 for 8 hours -if you even get paid at all.

The producers will often engage local historical reenactment groups, who can provide people, wardrobe, and props. The most likely source for any battle scenes in this will be local Revolutionary reenactors, and I can guarantee you that the Film Commission will put the producers in touch.

Totally agree- the independent film wet dream is to not source the people wardrobe and props for period stuff. They'll do that for the Principal actors, but not for extras.
 
@random gave some good info, I would add that for a period piece the casting people will especially be looking for extras with character looks, no visible tattoos, earrings, piercings etc. They may want you to cut your hair, beard or mustache. Odds are extremely good that you will be out of focus or missing from the final cut, so don't get your hopes up on that or start looking for your name in the credits, they do not credit extras. I know some people who have been paid as extras who never even made it out of extras holding ( where they keep you when not using you on-set for a scene).

Good points. I spent a year as an extra, generic looks, average height, short hair - that gets you a lot of work. I was usually a soldier or cop, sometimes a businessman. During that year I worked on more movies that I can remember. Spent far more time in holding than on-set (bring some cards if you end up on one). I've never seen my face on screen, but I think I saw the back of my head once.
 
I got to wondering about this so I sent the writer of the article an email asking if he had an update. His response was-

"Best I can gather, funding never happened, thus filming was either postponed or cancelled. "American Pictures," Searcy's startup film company, doesn't even have a website anymore, so I don't think that portends well for the future of the Revolutionary War movie."

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That's a shame.

I see a lot of movies crowdsourcing funding, and being successful, putting contributors names in the credits.

I know a guy in Chapel Hill who is a retired B-level actor, the stories he tells about how movies and TV shows get made are fascinating. Also makes me wonder who on earth would want to work in that biz.
 
Good luck with the extra thing. To have your face on camera, you need a SAG card. To be part of the crowd, you must provide a professional head shot (PHOTO) with your application. I won't go into detail but, I have been around a couple of movies filmed in NC and I have a nephew who is a struggling actor in LA.
My wife was an extra in several shows and movies in L.A. and was not a SAG member. She had no lines. She said that pretending to talk with other extras in the background of a shot without speaking out loud was difficult!
 
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