Hundreds show for B'ville Hollywood film casting call

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Lines were long Saturday morning at Bartlesville High School where Chris Freihofer Casting hosted its first day of a weekend long casting call for a Hollywood film to be filmed in Bartlesville. By the time the weekend was over, more than 3,000 heeded the call for their chance to be discovered, according to the casting crew.

"We had a few over 3,000," Chris Freihofer, the casting director for Chris Freihofer Casting, told BartlesvilleLIVE on Monday. 1,540 attend on Saturday and 1465 on Sunday.

He said though the crew was busy all weekend, the experience was pleasant.

"The town was great," he said. "Everybody was very welcoming and there were no problems."

Freihofer said no more casting calls that he can announce are scheduled. He added that this last weekend's event and the Tulsa event the weekend before produced "a great mix of people."

"We are going to go through all this and see where we go from there."

Those who attended the casting calls who gain the interest of the casting crew will be contacted though the information they provided at the casting calls.

Bartlesville resident Lindsey Christian, 23, at around 1 p.m. walked out of the high school's fine arts center where the casting call was being held.

She said when she got into line an hour-and-a-half before, the line extended out of the building out onto the sidewalk. By the time she left, the lines only extended into the main hall way.

Christian told BartlesvilleLIVE she came to the casting call without any acting experience whatsoever, only having been a cheerleader and a tennis player in her days of school. But experience or not, she decided to take advantage of the fact that a casting call was being held in Bartlesville.

“I didn't know what to expect out of this,” she told BartlesvilleLIVE. “I just thought I couldn't pass up the opportunity if its in Bartlesville.”

Freihofer at around 1 p.m. was inside helping to collect sheets people filled out with contact and other information.

“The people of Bartlesville have been fantastic, really welcoming and great attitudes,” Freihofer said then, adding that the casting call so far has been very successful.

He said as of 1p.m., the casting crew had processed 900 applicants.

The group was on the lookout for speaking and non-speaking roles during the open casting call.

Those attending the casting call were told they may be called upon for a brief talk with a member of the casting team and may be called aside to participate in an on-camera interview. They were asked to provide the casting team with contact information and availability.

The casting call was open for people of all ethnicities, ages 5 and up, regardless of prior acting experience. However, all children attending the casting call were to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

According to the release, while the details of the project and its filmmakers are being kept confidential during the development process, Jill Simpson, director of the Oklahoma Film & Music Office, said the film project is “professional” and “legitimate” and “one of which I am confident we will all feel proud.”

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