From writer/comedian, Ben Paddon (PortsCenter, Boomer's Day Off), writer/actress, Mac Beauvais (Hit Girl, The Gloaming), and featuring director Justin Zagri (Severus Snape and the Marauders) comes a comedy of horrors about just how truly monstrous Hollywood can be.
Hollywood! Land of dreams, of opportunity and of...okay, we all know that’s BS.
This comedy follows a trio of actors who are getting regular paying work, but who feel trapped by the roles they keep getting cast in. Actors stuck in an endless parade of sci-fi shlock and horror films. And I guess maybe we should mention that they’re actually monsters.
Not actors in makeup, not computer-generated trickery, but real monsters. Like, for real real...this is Typecast.
We decided to take the struggling/disenfranchised actor trope and turn it on its head by imagining a world where all the creepy crawlies you’ve ever seen on the screen were played by actual monsters. If you need the elevator pitch (that’s Hollywood-speak for please compare your stuff to other people’s stuff), it’s a bit of Being Human meets Extras. And who wouldn’t enjoy a comedic story about monsters working in the industry but dreaming of something more?
Our leads consist of Tony, a bog monster, who dreams of playing the lead in a drama instead of generic beasts in lame sci-fi horror films; Abby, a werewolf, who wants to ditch her regular gig as a breakfast cereal mascot; and Leeroy, a zombie, who just wants people to take the living-impaired seriously, which would be easier if he didn’t have to keep gluing his ear back on. The series also features their savvy but ultimately unhelpful agent, Dennis, who wishes they would just stick to what they’re good at (and get him his percentage).
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We’ve written a first season arc consisting of 8 episodes, all aiming to be around 6-10 minutes in length, telling the story of these actors and their journey. We want to deliver the best quality possible, and that requires great locations, crew, catering and, of course, some truly monstrous makeup.
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We’ve crunched the numbers and come up with a budget that will allow us to make this thing look as great as possible without breaking the bank. Nobody here is looking to buy themselves a solid gold toilet - we just want to tell our story, make you laugh, and look good doing it.
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All of the money for this project is going to the project - crew, makeup, all of it. We're not keeping a penny.
We also understand that we are extremely ambitious and may not hit our 8-episode budget goal, but the great thing about IndieGoGo is that we can still use whatever is raised and turn it into as many episodes as possible. That means Typecast IS going to be a reality.
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If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably - hopefully! - also watched the Full Moon Flakes commercial up above. We managed to produce that proof-of-concept thanks to the generosity of others and what we were able to dig out from our own pockets. Our cast and crew believe so much in this project that they were willing to donate their time and talents so that we could give you a taste of what we can achieve and the quality we want to maintain for this series.
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We want it to look good, we want it to sound good, and we want our monsters to be in film-quality makeup. Without the funding we’re asking for, you’ll be looking at a werewolf with 99 cent store fangs and bog monster with a paper bag over his head instead of something or par with the below before-and-after.
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Tony concept art by Matt Olson
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Ben Paddon, Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Actor portraying Tony Surnaim: Too British for America and too American for Britain, Ben Paddon has decided, bafflingly, to use his powers for good. He brings his unnatural hybrid flair to projects such as PortsCenter, Jump Leads, Dalek Gary, and somehow managing to not die (1986-Present). Most likely to be typecast as: the British person.
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Mac Beauvais, Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Executive Producer/Actress portraying Abby Ormel: With an IMDb list as long as your arm (provided it's printed in 50-point font), Mac Beauvais is a true renaissance woman, or whenever it was that witches were burned at the stake. She’s acted in numerous projects including The Hit Girl and The Gloaming, is a cosplayer and model, and may or may not kill again. Most likely to be typecast as: the sarcastic one or a supernatural creepy crawly.
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Chris Dorman, Actor portraying Leeroy McDavre: Quite possibly from a yet unknown dimension, Chris Dorman has done a little bit of everything. His credits include 8.13, The Gloaming, Consumption, and WWE Slam City, where he’s played such varied roles as Man, Old Man, Dirty Man, Dead Man, Creepy Man, White Man, and Madman. Most likely to be typecast as: some sort of man.
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Brian Ward, Actor portraying Dennis Redknapp: Once punched in the face by a monkey, Brian Ward joins us as Dennis. When he’s not playing an asshole talent agent, he produces features for Blu-rays and DVDs, and has worked on documentaries for Hackers, Transformers, Max Headroom, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and more. He’s also directed award-winning shorts such as Rerouting, Almost Midnight and Soul Provider; making us wonder why he’s slumming with us. Most likely to be typecast as: the redhead.
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Justin Zagri, Director: Though reports remain unverified, director Justin Zagri may actually be a wizard. He’s put his stamp on the worlds of magic and comics as the writer/director of Severus Snape and the Marauders, The Greater Good, Riddle of the Mask, Truth of the Mask, and Kiss (though that last one might be a request instead of a film). Fun fact: received a Kung Fu black belt at 17, which is how he keeps his actors in line.
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Traycee King, Producer: Producer, actress, and thing that goes bump in the night, Traycee King has a love of all things horror. She loves horror so much that she’d probably marry it. Maybe that’s why her producer credits include 8.13, Insane Jane, and Sagas of Sundry: Dread. Fun fact: she’s so industrious that as a kid she upped the ante on local lemonade stands by also selling bubble gum and little green army men.
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Michael Spatola, Head of Makeup: Likely the cause of more than a few childhood nightmares, Michael Spatola joins us as our Head of Makeup. A two-time Emmy-nominated entertainment veteran, his credits span classics of the horror and sci-fi genres including Return of the Living Dead, Terminator 2, Tales from the Crypt and Iron Man 3. He’s also the author of the Monstrous Makeup Manuals 1, 2 and 3. Fun fact: he was once a professional magician, but we’re scared to see the rabbit he’d pull out of a hat.
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Aoife Baker, Wardrobe Designer: One neck bite away from being a vampire (she already has the sleep schedule), Aoife “Fe” Baker is a wardrobe expert. Having applied her skills to features like Summer Forever, Browse, Gone, Holidays, various music videos and commercials, she’s helping bring this series to life and unlife. Fun fact: her costume closet is a two car garage, which is basically a wardrobe TARDIS.
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Drew Krassowski, Composer: Nice enough to make you suspicious, Drew Krassowski is a writer and orchestrator of music. He’s worked on the music from Guardians of the Galaxy, Castle and Wildstar, as well as composing from scratch the music for The Fairies’ Child and Delete My Photos. He’s also responsible for the Full Moon Flakes earworm jingle. Fun fact: he loves Korean dramas so much he’s started learning the language, but so far can only say, “I’ll never tell you where I hid the diamonds, Julia!”
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Obviously we don't expect you to back this project without getting something in return. Everybody likes cool stuff, right? We have a number of awesome rewards such as exclusive behind the scenes content, script PDFs, a print-at-home cereal box, screen-used props, and a chance to join us on set and appear as a monster during filming. You can also leave your stamp as an Associate or Executive Producer. And for you tabletop gamers out there, you can have the chance to join Ben and Mac as they run a special monster-themed RPG for you via Skype.
We also owe special mention to our partners at Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs who have formulated an exclusive, unisex scent for us comprised of notes of sugar-soaked toasted oat cereal and chocolate marshmallows.
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This is truly a passion project for everyone involved, but none more so than for its co-creators Ben Paddon and Mac Beauvais (that’s us). In September 2014, our mothers both passed away about a week apart. Less than a month later, Ben’s father also passed away. These are people we had shared our excitement for this project with, and who had expressed anticipation for seeing the finished product. Sadly they won’t be here to see it made, but it’s important to us that we make something that they would’ve been proud of. This show is as much for them as it is for us. Life is short, and we intend to spend the time we have on this big blue marble creating entertainment for others. We need your help to do that.
Thanks for reading.
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