John "The Arrow" Fallon's directorial debut, THE SHELTER, is moving along at a very nice pace. The film has its DOP Bobby Holbrook and has already cast two lead roles (Michael Pare as "Thomas" and Gayle James as "Maryam"), and now it has secured another talented performer for a key role: Rachel Whittle, who will be playing "Annie."
Whittle has been building an impressive resume in the last couple of years, appearing in films like G.I. JOE RETALIATION, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER. Fallon has this to say about her casting:
We really wanted a blonde for the role of Annie in the name of the cast being diverse aesthetically. When Rachel, who is a brunette, came in to audition, she read for two roles. When she left, we didn’t really have her in mind for Annie, we were considering her for the other role. But on the day Donny and I were looking at the audition tapes, making decisions, Rachel sent us a private YouTube video. She had taken the initiative to go in Studio and re-do her audition. She was totally off book, used props and the intensity and credibility she brought to the role of Annie simply blew us the bleep away. After that video, we just looked at each other, mouth somewhat agape and right there we stopped looking for a blonde to play Annie. We just went with the better actress instead."
Good show, Rachel! Mr. Fallon isn't easily impressed! (Take it from me. 😉
THE SHELTER will have a crowd funding campain in the hopes of muscling its budget and goes into production in January 2014. We'll drop more info on the project as it comes in! (You should also keep tabs on the film's official Facebook page.)