'Piranha 3D' to cast extras
Residents should be aware of bogus casting calls

Lake Havasu City citizens will have the opportunity to be cast as extras in a big screen production that will begin filming on Lake Havasu in the near future; however, the film’s official Arizona casting crew warns the public of casting scams circulating the community.

Good Faith Casting LLC, owned by casting director Faith Hibbs-Clark, is the official authorized Arizona casting company tied to the production of “Piranha 3D.”

“This is a very professional production that includes a lot of people who have a lot of experience in the filmmaking industry. We don’t want anything to reflect poorly on Good Faith Casting or ‘Piranha 3D,’” said Chris Davis, casting associate for Good Faith Casting.

Davis and casting assistant Travis McAfee arrived in Lake Havasu City Sunday only to confront rumors of a casting scam already in full swing. “We just got here … we are not at that stage (casting) yet,” Davis said.

Davis and McAfee would like to squash rumors of the casting scams by alerting the public to a few red flags surrounding the scams.

“We have heard people are paying $40 for a head shot for casting, that is not true. We (Good Faith Casting) do not require anyone to pay to be cast,” Davis said. Casting photos are not required to be professional photos, unless it is an established actor who already happens to have a professional photo to submit, Davis explained.

Davis and McAfee have also heard rumors of movie extras rate of pay being in the range of $100-$400 a day, Davis said. “That just isn’t the case. The extras will be paid at the Arizona minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and time-and-a-half after eight hours. They will also be fed, there will be catering on location,” he said.

The Lake Havasu City casting office is set up primarily for casting extras. There is the possibility of a few one-liners to be cast from the Lake Havasu office. The one-liners or other featured extras are paid more, however, that is not determined until the casting process has been completed. If individuals are being told differently, that may be a red flag, Davis said.

The principle casting locations for the film’s speaking roles and lead roles are in New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix, according to Davis.

Other rumors include the casting of children from school campuses. Davis said there are few if any child parts being cast in “Piranha 3D,” therefore Good Faith Casting would not and is not casting children at local schools.

Good Faith Casting does have plans of listing the casting call on Craig’s List, but have not done so yet. The casting company will also soon be establishing pages on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, Davis said. They will also begin to circulate flyers regarding casting within a few days, he said.

Good Faith’s casting office is located at 209 English Village, near L.A. Styles. At this point, the office location does not have set hours and a drop-in visit may not be the best means of contact, Davis said.

Anyone interested in being cast as an extra in “Piranha 3D,” should e-mail a full body photo, close-up photo, and contact information to www.havasuextras@gmail.com.

The casting hotline associated with Good Faith Casting in Lake Havasu City is 928-575-6518, but at this time, e-mail submission is preferred.

You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.