Come be a producer of this exciting adventure. By tossing in a bit of cash, your name can be on the screen, and we can see Cassandra's Castle come to life!
Ultimately our goal to do the first few episodes is $30K but we can film a good concept trailer with $6,000 and be on our way to introducing the project where it matters. Cassandra's Castle went to Film Com last year and made an impression but we lacked video. With your involvement we can shoot the footage we need.
The response to the story has been overwhelming.
"Don't
expect more than 15 or so actors to come to the audition," whispered William Michael Paul, the director. But when the day came, we had a over 60 actors and actresses sign up and 44 people audition for parts in this young adult fantasy
story!
Cassandra's Castle is Book V of the Ian's Realm Saga, leaving the franchise wide open for sequels, prequels, games and more.
The Series
Deception Peak, Dragon Shield, Rubies and Robbers, Diary of a Conjurer and Cassandra's Castle are five books in the Ian's Realm Saga that are completed . The first two are published.
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THE STORY
Cassandra's Castle has been adapted from the fifth book in the Ian's Realm Saga, a YA adventure fantasy series of a young man and his father who travel through a portal to another world via their computer. Once Ian's adventure with the dragon is over, he returns to his home in Seattle and settles into a quiet life with his wife, Abbi, and their only daughter Cassandra. As a little girl, Cassie would listen to her father's bedtime stories about the magical world he visited and secretly wish to someday share his experiences.
Cassandra's Castle opens with Cassie now a teenager taking photos of her friends for a term project. An image of a soldier in the same woods they are in appears and she immediately guesses she's tapped into her father's alternate world.
With much protest from her friends, she takes a selfie and is transported through the portal and into the Realm. She is amazed at the beauty of the land, the lush meadow, the grand castle sparkling in the afternoon sun in the distance, the turquoise sea behind it, and the quaint little adobe town that surrounds the moat. But when she tries to approach, she stumbles, instead, into a dying forest owned by an outrageous and somewhat grumpy wizard, Silvio. This silver-haired old coot is surrounded by his odd little subjects the Xylonites who she learns are descendents of Xylon, a computer character her father had made years ago and who came to life in the Realm.
The
deviant characters inform Cassie that because she is the heir to their long lost
King of Alcove Forest, Ian Wilson, she is a princess.
A handsome band of cavalry soldiers appear, the captain introduces himself as Valerio, and offers to help Cassie find her way back home if she would have dinner with him. Cassie is enchanted by his good looks and consents to go with him to his encampment, all against Silvio's protests.
It is in Valerio's camp that Cassie is persuaded to join forces against Alisubbo's supposed tyrannical ruler King Chavez.
Cassie's
romantic illusions lead her deeper into the rebellion than good sense would dictate, and she finds
out all too late, despite Silvio's warnings, that she has been used as a pawn. With hands stained in blood, she tries to return home, but even that works against her conscience.
Cassie's father, a veteran of
portal travel gives her courage as she sets out to convince Martim, the heir, that he has an army to help him reclaim the throne.
OUR STAFF
Vicki Baltmiskis and Alaina Brooke-Simcoe in design
and costumes, John Estes Director of Photography, Dianne Gardner author and
producer, Jennifer Angelucci-Medina casting director and producer, William
Michael Paul, Director and who plays the part of the Wizard Silvio. Tylor Jones
is our newest cinematographer.
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We are thrilled to have Sammy Applegate on board, a
composer who works with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and is also a freelance
film score composer!
Karolyn ZuZu Grimes, best known for her part in the
film It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, and whose
interview you'll find on this page, came to our auditions and not only tried
out for a part (which of course she got!) but has endorsed Cassandra's Castle.
Please do watch the interview video!
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OUR WORK
Our seamstresses are hard at work gathering historical
data, studying the character's personalities, producing concept art for the
wizard, designing period clothing, making mock ups, and scheduling fittings.
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Ever since last summer, our actors have been training
with Kitsap Fencing Center's coach and choreographer Tom Martin, the man who
helped write the duel in the book. Not only are there fights to choreograph,
but Tom is adamant about having the actors for our main characters know
footwork, form, and moves. Add to that each actor is studying their characters
personalities, their motives, and their weapon, in relation to their style of
fighting.
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We've scouted out some of our locations and are narrowing
them down. We're thrilled that members of our team have offered the use of
their property. One location in the woods is currently being manicured by its
owner to specifications for a shot in our first episode! Not to mention
scouting out the horses we have available, the carriage, and the terrain best
suited for our needs.
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THE SCREENPLAY a semi finalist out of 2400 entries at the Creative Screenwriters competition in Marina del Rey.
The original idea was to do a feature film, so Crystal
Lin Smithwick and Dianne Gardner collaborated and wrote a screenplay based on the novel
Cassandra's Castle written by producer Dianne Gardner.
The screenplay was entered into the Creative
Screenwriter's competition in Marina del Rey last year and came in as a semi
finalist out of 2400 entries. The original screenplay is now being broken down
into episodes for the first season, expanding on the characters and adding new
ones to enrich the story. Storyboards have been created and will continue to be
sketched out as we progress.
What we need.The ultimate goal to begin filming is $30,200 with FX, choice locations and costumes. However we can break the production into sections for half of that.
Art Perks available are offered by Dianne Lynn Gardner, author and illustrator.
