Five lead actors are cast!

Unfortunately I can't tell you about anyone but Eric Roberts (see below) because their "deals" are not finalized yet.

Agents try to get the best deals they can for their clients, while budgets can only be stretched so far. So it's a little dance they do, these two negotiators, keeping in mind whether the actor is very enthusiastic about the role.

The agent can go to the edge of the production company's budget while preventing the production company from saying, "We can't afford him/her," and going on to someone else if their actor really wants the gig. Or the agent can pass if the actor is not all that thrilled with the role or film to begin with.

Meanwhile, the production company tries to figure out how they can afford as much as possible for the actor in the deal, up to the point of sacrificing, say, *film* we need to shoot the story.

Our producer and attorney do the deals, keeping me up to date with how negotiations are going.

I need not to worry about the dealmaking because I'm too busy putting the film together in preproduction - where films are actually made.

We need our terrific actors to arrive and feel safe, knowing that everything's going smoothly at our end; that all the filmmaking elements are in place, leaving them free to perform more briliantly than ever before - trusting the director to skillfully lead their characters so they can relax and successfully tell their stories for appreciative audiences.

As soon as I can name names and show you their photos, I shall - it won't be long!

Meanwhile, I've also started casting local performers; they will blow you away with their performances. In a little more than a week I'll be seeing the majority of local talent to fill supporting roles.

I'm so proud of this project. What makes it so terrific for me is that everyone involves believes in the script. A script that many, many people still don't understand. But they most certainly will when they see it onscreen!