I currently have 3 films in pre-production, with a hope of shooting in 2011. Here’s a bit more about them:
“Callum Dodd”
This film centers around a young boxer growing up in poverty-stricken Leeds. His life takes a turn when he finds out that his old flame has had a child, his child, and not informed him.
Callum must then choose between mending his relationship with his ex, pursuing the only thing he’s good at in life, keeping his troublesome brother out of the hands of the local debt collectors, and
helping his mother through rehab.
“This Winter’s Walk”
This Winter’s Walk follows Jacob up to the snowy mountains in Sweden. Setting up camp at an isolated river bed and haunted by recurring flashbacks of the highs and lows of his recently ended relationship, Jacob sets out to do the one thing he needs – bury the body of his girlfriend. Out of the darkness, Jacob see a child wandering around. Returning her to her home, Jacob stumbles across a large house hidden by surrounding trees – a house he had never noticed before, despite this being a regular haunt of his. Upon meeting the owner of the house, and manipulative mistress, Jacob becomes seduced by her charm.
His burning jealousy and desire for the mistress results in Jacob uncovering a secret she is keeping from him and the world. A secret hidden in the house, a secret far bigger than the one Jacob is up there to hide.
“Number 5”
Number 5 is a romantic comedy, set in December in London. Steve, a struggling singer-song writer, is in need of a break. Steve has played all the bingo halls, all the smoky pubs and all
the weddings he can stand. Every day for the past 6 months he has sent a copy of his latest song to hot shot mega-producer Mr. Biggs in the hope that he will listen to it. His girlfriend, the owner of a popular night club, is cheating on him. His friends make fun of him behind his back. His mother is having an affair with the pool boy, his father, recently divorced, is being swindled by his new female employee. Things aren’t looking up for Steve. Until, one day he receives a fax. The narrative voice-over in the film tells us that Steve’s life ended here, and so Steve sets out to find out who in his life are the people worth keeping, and who were only with him for the ride.
So, based on the above, I have designed a workshop. In my experience, I have found that actors make a lot of mistakes in a casting session. I have also found that you can’t really determine an actor’s ability based on a ‘casting’, as you don’t really get the chance to know who they really are, and what they are really capable of. Topics I cover in the workshop include:
Warm up techniques
Improvisation
Monologues (finding the right one for you, perfecting it)
Breaking down a Scene
Castings
Method Acting
Taking Direction
Actors will also get the chance to work through pieces from the above scripts during the workshop. I will be recording you and showing the footage to my producer partner, Akinobu Ikeno, who is
based in New York, so actors need to be prepared.
The first workshop will held over 4 days, Monday 8th November – Thursday 11th November, from 6:30pm – 9:30pm.
There will be a second workshop held two weeks later. Both workshops will be held in East London, probably a place called ‘The Rag Factory’. I’m currently waiting on confirmation
of a second venue more central – Covent Garden, so venue tbc.
My aim here is to cast actors and actresses in our upcoming projects. But please note: I have held 5 workshops before, and only cast 9 actors in my films.
The price of the workshop is £90. This cost covers the room rental, equipment, Insurance, footage put onto a dvd (if you wish), as well as tea/coffee and biscuits.
Please do let me know if you are interested, or if you have any further queries my phone number is 07926 911 414
Many thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Shane Sweeney
About me:
I have been working professionally in the business for 15 years.
I have produced, written and starred in approximately 15 films in England, Ireland, Japan, South Africa and Los Angeles.
I was head hunted, whilst living in Ireland, by Chuck Binder (Hollywood super-exec producer and agent, “The Quick and the Dead” with Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Specialist” with Sylvester Stallone, “Diabolique” with Sharon Stone”, etc.)
I have had films accepted into festivals and won International Awards in London, Queens, New York, Los Angeles, Syracuse, Tampa.
I have a Feature Film being released on cinema in January (“Travellers”), and a dvd release in March. A second Feature Film of mine, “Till Sunset” is currently in negotiation-war with 3 distribution companies.
I have trained at The University of Wits, South Africa; Los Angeles City College, LA; New York Film Academy, London.
I have two production companies, ‘Escaping Productions’ it’s sister company, ‘ASyouarefilms’.
my website and showreel can be seen at www.shanesweeney.co.uk
Casting Location: London, UK
Contact email: shanes_ween@hotmail.com