Bill called this morning to let me know that Coree, the first actress to read the script, declined to audition for the lead female role because of the nudity required. Perhaps I haven't mentioned it, but... there's a lot of nudity in this film. It's about a honeymoon, and scenes of the characters having sex, or trying to, comprise a goodly portion of the script. From the beginning, I knew that some actors would be fazed by the nudity, but I figured that this wouldn't be an insurmountable problem: the parts are large and emotionally challenging, the treatment of sex is fairly serious, the nudity never comes anywhere near being erotic. I hope I figured correctly. It will be an ominous sign if the next two or three actors who read the script have the same reaction.
I did a really bush league thing today. Richard Thompson, my favorite musician, is playing a gig in NYC on April 29, and as soon as the word came down I rushed out and bought a ticket. I knew that I was supposed to be auditioning that day, but somehow I deceived myself that the audition time was during work hours, whereas in fact the auditions and the concert overlap.... I think I'll be able to manage to do both things (especially if no actors want to audition), but this is a terrible precedent. Filmmakers are supposed to be single-minded about their productions and sacrifice every other aspect of their lives! Right? My deep dark secret is that a part of me would rather go see Richard Thompson than do useful movie things. But this part of me must be ruthlessly suppressed....
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