Shoot Scheduling

Steve Maddox (1st AD), Jim Carleton (Exec. Producer), Joe O'Brien (Director), Stephen Campbell (Director of Photography), Phil Glasser (Producer), Dirk Higgdon (Unit Production Manager), Shawn McFall (Production Designer)

A good portion of the morning today was spent going over the shoot schedule. From this first pass at the schedule with various departments, the schedule will be fine tuned over the next few days. To view more photos, please visit our flickr account.

Jim Carleton, Joe O'Brien, Stephen Campbell

Auditions

In a small conference room, a series of young actresses sit in an uncomfortable hard-backed chair. With some back story and direction -- you're tied to a tree. Gagged. We need to see what you can bring to it – each actress must express the terror of that situation.

Director Joe O'Brien and Location and Extras Casting Director Tanya Sullivan are watching eyes. The film opens focused on the eyes of the character being cast today, and they want to make sure they choose an actress whose eyes can tell the story. “We have to care about her instantly,” O'Brian says.

They have seen many actresses for the role and the pair are looking for honesty and believability. If they can't see it in the audition room, believability won't magically appear on the set.

They're also looking for a commitment; an actress who connects with the material. Of one actress' audition, Sullivan said, “When she walked in she was so pretty. The first thing I noticed when she started to read was that she wasn't afraid not to look pretty. She never dropped her fear.”

A Lakeland resident, Sullivan is returning to the field after a sabbatical. For ten years she worked with a partner traveling around the country casting films. She auditioned Reese Witherspoon for her first film, The Man in the Moon.

•

After each audition, O'Brian scribbled notes and set the actress' photo on the table. He won't make his decision today. There are more actresses to be seen, and he may bring in some back for a second audition.

Storyboards

Before the writer's vision is made into film, an artist creates a series of images of the expected shots -- effectively creating an illustrated version of the film. On Endure, Writer, Director, Co-Producer Joe O'Brien works with renown Florida artist Christopher Still to create the storyboards.

A mural and fine artist, Still created a series of large murals for the Florida House of Representatives. Still uses photographs, models, and his keen sense of perspective to produce images based on O'Brien's vision. "As long as he clearly knows what he wants, I can give it to him," said Stills.

Still is able to create realistic paintings while manipulating perspective. That talent comes into play as he creates the storyboards with O'Brien. Recognizing that a character's point-of-view might not give O'Brien what the scene needs, Still is able to create a perspective that satisfies the director, "Nobody in the theater knows what it really looks like." He points out that his changed perspective will appear more real to the audience than the character's true point-of-view.

Budget Meeting

Rob, Gary, and Phil going over the budget.

As the start of principal photography gets closer, tightening and locking the budget becomes all the more critical. Rob, Gary (Production Accountant), Phil and Dirk (not seen in the photo) spent most of today fine tuning the budget.

Local Location Scouting

Stephen Campbell (Director of Photography) and Joe check out an angle for an exterior shot.

Shawn McFall (Production Designer), Stephen and Joe check out a possible location for Daphne's apartment.

Today started our first full day of soft pre-production. Phil Glasser (Producer) is now in town and working closely with Rob on finalizing talent negotiations and other details. Dirk is working on closing key crew personnel. We spent a good portion of the day with Stephen Campbell (Director of Photography) and Shawn McFall (Production Designer) looking at locations. You can view more photos from today at our flickr account.

Shari Rhodes Spends Week Casting Local Talent

Jim, Dirk, Laura, Rob, Joe, Shari and Tanya.

Joe and Shari go over some head shots, during casting calls.

Casting Director Shari Rhodes has spend the week at the Endure Pictures production offices casting local Central Florida talent for the feature project. With a handful of talent coming from LA, a good portion of the films talent will come from the Central Florida area. Producer Jim Carleton says, "There is no shortage of excellent talent located right here in Central Florida. Early on, one our goals for the project was to utilize the local talent pool readily available to us."

With her many years of casting project such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Urban Cowboy, Mississippi Burning, The Man in the Moon, Passenger 57, Mulholland Falls, and The Patriot, Shari brings a great deal of casting experience to the Endure project. Director Joe O'Brien says, "We are fortunate to have gotten this project into Shari's hands. She has believed in our project from the beginning and has been a sincere advocate for us. Shari has been awesome to work with."

Lakeland Filmmakers Snag Judd Nelson

By Gary White

THE LEDGER

The three Lakeland men behind the planned independent movie "Endure" are all in their 40s, meaning they were in target audience for the mid-1980s films "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire."

They remember John Bender, the shaggy-haired high school hoodlum from "The Breakfast Club," and Alec Newbary, the philandering post-collegian from "St. Elmo's Fire." Judd Nelson, one of a group of young actors of the era labeled "the brat pack," played those roles.

Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that when the three Lakelanders began mulling possible lead actors for their first feature film, their thoughts turned to Nelson, among other candidates.

Last week, with the arrival of Nelson's signature on an e-mailed contract, "Endure" took a massive leap toward becoming reality. Rob Tritton of Endure Pictures said Nelson has committed to playing the lead in the small-budget thriller. The Ledger has been following the filmmakers' venture in an ongoing series since 2007.

Having secured their lead actor, the filmmakers - producer Tritton, writer-director-producer Joe O'Brien and editor-producer Jim Carleton - have set a start date of April 20 for shooting, with a budget of about $1 million. The schedule calls for two weeks of shooting in Lakeland followed by a week in rural Polk County.

Nelson has agreed to portray Emory Lloyd, a small-town detective who leads a race to save a young woman bound to a tree somewhere in a vast wooded area. The script opens with a car crash that kills the kidnapper and reveals a photo of the woman.

"We're fortunate to get him; we're jazzed," O'Brien said. "He's got a pretty big following, and what's great about him, too, is I think his personality fits the role. It just seems to lend itself to this kind of pensive character that is our lead here. I think he's going to really excel at the part, and I'm just looking forward to working with him."

Nelson is scheduled to arrive in Lakeland the weekend before filming begins. Tritton said he expects to hire established Hollywood actors for another three or four roles, with the remaining parts going to Florida actors.

Nelson, 49, may be best known for his "brat pack" roles, but as O'Brien noted, he studied under the revered acting instructor Stella Adler. He had a recurring role on the Brooke Shields TV comedy "Suddenly Susan" in the 1990s, and he remains a busy actor, even if his roles are less prominent than they once were.

The three Lakeland men have been trying to turn O'Brien's script into a movie for about two years. They raised money from investors, and Tritton said those funds, combined with an expected rebate from the state of Florida, should cover the budget.

Last year, Endure Pictures forged a deal with a production company and announced plans to shoot the movie in Tennessee with an expanded budget. The filmmakers eventually returned to the original plan of shooting in Polk County, though Tritton said Endure Pictures retains a partnership with the Tennessee company.

The filmmakers hope to have a finished version ready for submission to the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

O'Brien co-wrote and co-directed the award-winning 2003 short film "Blackwater Elegy," shot in Lakeland and starring former "Northern Exposure" actors Barry Corbin and John Cullum. Based on that experience, O'Brien said he expects Nelson to add depth to the written version of Emory Lloyd.

"What's great about working with actors of his caliber is ... you can write something on paper and create a script, and you kind of build an image of the picture in your head, but when they get hold of it, it just really turns it into something much better than you could have imagined," O'Brien said.

Endure Pictures Inks Deal with Judd Nelson

Endure Pictures has finalized negotiations with Judd Nelson for the lead role of Emory Lloyd in its feature project entitled Endure. Producers of
the project are excited to have landed Judd for the lead character. “He will bring a great wealth of experience and depth to the character – We are fortunate to have him.”, says director Joe O’Brien. Judd is best know for his work in The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, and New Jack City.

Endure is a crime thriller in which the main character Emory Lloyd must risk everything to identify and find a missing woman before it’s too late. Central Florida will serve as the backdrop for this fast-paced highly emotional film. With a principal photography start date of April 20, the project is being produced by NFocus Pictures in partnership with producer Philip Glasser and Hi-Def Entertainment out of Franklin, TN.

Judd Nelson was born and raised in Portland, Maine; the first of three children to (attorney) Leonard & (retired 5-term State Representative) Merle Nelson. After graduating from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, Judd attended Haverford/Bryn Mawr Colleges in Pennsylvania where he studied philosophy. He also began acting in college theatrical productions, and performing in "summer stock." Ultimately, Judd decided to leave college for NYC to study under the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler. After two years with Ms. Adler at her conservatory, Judd made his motion-picture debut in the film Fandango, and has been working in film, television, and theatre ever since.