Harrison Ford is Silly on Set
Alexis Allen, casting assistant for the ‘Ender’s Game’ film, has done a Reddit AMA, where she invited internet users to ask her anything. One ‘Ender’s Game’ fan asked her about what casting the ‘Ender’s Game’ movie was like. Allen responded that it was difficult finding home-schooled kids for the film, especially with only a few casting assistants on staff. She also teases that Harrison Ford liked to make the crew laugh during screen tests. Read below:
Q: I know you’re not allowed to get in to specifics.. but what was Ender’s Game like? Lots of extras? Did they get trained a lot?
A: I won’t give away any plot points or details- but it was a very arduous process. Because it filmed for months, with the same kids needed everyday, we had to find kids that were homeschooled, or willing to go into homeschooling. Then we had 2 months of prep to hold open calls and auditions, and then train the kids that were chosen to march and hold a gun properly. Luckily, we were filming at the same time and at the same place as GI Joe and Oblivion, so we had a lot of references for military techs who came and worked with us.We didn’t have a lot of extras, but the ones we had were needed almost everyday for the duration of filming, which meant they couldn’t be in school or have another job. They all has to be fitted for our wardrobe and get haircuts, and they all had to get Background checks I get NASA badges, since we filmed on the Michoud base. The minors all had to get work permits, which we had to do all of the paperwork for.Ill say the worst part about extras casting is that we usually only have 2 people in our department, and it’s often impossible to get approved to hire on more help (even at minimum wage). And then to see productions throw tens of thousands of dollars at locations and picture cars, it’s annoying, to say the least.Tl;dr lots of kids, had to be homeschooled and get basic boot camp training, shit tons of paperwork.
A: My favorite part of going to set was seeing the actors training on the wires to simulate a zero G environment. Also, in the screen tests to see how the costumes looked on camera, Harrison liked to make the crew laugh. He’d scratch his bum, pick his nose, pick out a wedgie. I loved the crew on that movie.
Follow Alexis Allen on Twitter, @AlexisRAllen. Thank you, dannydawg, for the tip! Also, we would like to thank Alexis Allen for entertaining the ‘Ender’s Game’ fandom by tweeting pictures of the casting sessions last year.
The ‘Ender’s Game’ film will be released in U.S. theaters on November 1, 2013.