Prominent Casting Director to Begin Casting for “Ethyrea” Early in 2013

Submissions of Headshots and Resumes Can Be Sent to Casting@EthyreaFilm.com

For two years now, Danica Fontaine and her team at Ethyrea Films, LLC have been putting together a monster, blockbuster, independent fantasy feature film expected to release in the late Spring of 2014. Despite a couple of failed early attempts, and six brain surgeries later, Danica’s team is now fully outfitted with the best that Hollywood has to offer and sports a staggering 77 million dollar budget. Despite the difficulties all productions of this magnitude face getting off the ground, Team Ethyrea has done nothing but grown in stature and magnitude. One of those team members happens to stand apart from the rest though. From the very beginning, nearly two years ago, prominent and noted Casting Director Robyn Owen came on board.  “She’s been a source of strength, faith and support during some very trying times for me, both personally and professionally,” says Danica Fontaine. “I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She’s an amazing woman whom I have come to be very close with.

The Los Angeles based Casting Director got her start in the garment side of entertainment, but made the decision to pursue her passion for the entertainment industry after providing all of the costumes for the Kirstie Alley/John Travolta film “Look Who’s Talking.” Her first job was interning for Academy-award winning director Mark Rydell (“On Golden Pond”) on an HBO production. The position landed her a paid position in casting within two weeks, assisting the well-known casting icon, Lynn Stalmaster. Owen also has many years’ experience in putting on acting workshops during which she takes the students through a series of exercises including cold readings, one-on-one instruction and portfolio analysis. In January 2007, her company, Robyn Owen Casting, launched an affiliation with Hollywood talent agent Geneva Bray, GVA Talent Agency, to offer workshops at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since then, Robyn Owen Casting provides casting services to productions, producers and directors interested in doing film and television production in the Los Angeles, bi-coastal and European markets. Owen utilizes her extensive knowledge of the Los Angeles/New York talent pool and her ongoing working knowledge of the European acting community to cast actors in roles for which they are ideally suited.

Fontaine adds, "Robyn is such an amazing woman! She specializes in finding that foreign value that really rounds out a production and brings in that special someone that makes the cast shine! Ethyrea's characters are so complex, and are in for the whole franchise, so she has quite the task ahead of her! She was the first piece of a giant picture, and now, it’s almost time to get ready to rock and roll."

Robyn Owen, a 15 year veteran of the Casting industry was responsible for the principle co-casting on the Leonardo DiCaprio film “Blood Diamond,” which earned DiCaprio a Golden Globe nomination. Owen also contributed to the casting of the latest film by famed Swedish director, Lasse Hallstrom, “Safe Haven,” for Relativity Media, scheduled for release Valentine’s weekend 2013. She is also well-known for her amazing work in the casting and producing of the film “Ironclad,” starring Academy Award nominated/Golden Globe winning actor Paul Giammati, James Purefoy, Derek Jacobi, Charles Dance and other notables. Another one of Robyn’s great successes was “Public Enemies,” starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award winning actress, Marion Cotillard; followed by “Astronaut Farmer” with Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen; “Lords of Dogtown,” with Heath Ledger; “Guess Who” with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac; “After the Sunset” with Selma Hayek and Pierce Brosnan; and many others. She doesn’t only do film though, having had a hand in such wonderful iconic TV series as “Scrubs,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “Felicity” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” just to name a few.

“Every project brings its own unique challenges. Trying to realize Danica Fontaine's and the Director's vision, presenting them with actors who find surprising and distinct ways of bringing the characters to life is always exhilarating and rewarding, says Owen. “As the talent unfolds, and as cameras are rolling on set, there is always that sense of sadness that my contribution to the film is complete, and I'm always hopeful, it is to the very best of my ability. In an ensemble film like Ethyrea, the actors must "gel" onscreen as a "collective being". The combination, or constellation, of talent trumps individual stars. It also guarantees a level of trust amongst the performers and crew. The actors must have great chemistry and no fear on the set. That is most important. In my 16 years of working in casting, I’ve watched countless auditions for roles in everything from blockbuster films to tiny indies, television pilots and series, and from show-stopping performances to jaw-dropping flubs, believe me, I’ve seen it all. But while the roles and the films change, the general principles that make for a great audition remain relatively consistent. So I’ve pulled from my first-hand experience and developed 10 keys to impressing casting directors and nailing auditions, no matter what the project is.”

“Casting announcements will be made after the Holidays, and are scheduled to begin sometime around mid-February of next year. With a lot of the cast and crew participating in Mysticon in February, that convention opens up some opportunities for some potential “unorthodox” East Coast casting calls for some of our other needs such as belly dancers, jugglers, fire breathers, and more, as well; we are giving some serious consideration to the idea of holding that particular “talent search and open casting call in conjunction with our appearance at Mysticon, especially now that the budget details are working themselves out,” says Fontaine.

More information on this would be forthcoming, and in the meantime, submissions of headshots and resumes can be sent to Casting@EthyreaFilm.com or by snail mail to: 4037 Phelan Rd A-201 Phelan, CA 92371. Any submissions sent elsewhere will not be considered and will be deleted. With Development almost complete, and Pre-production scheduled to begin after the Holidays, things are certainly going to be heating up for the Ethyrea Camp and Team. “We have the best of the best on board with us now. The finest Directors, stunt team, producers, even our distributors have been an amazing and integral part of pulling all this together. But Robyn, she’s special, and all the magic of Ethyrea…..well, it all starts with her,” adds Fontaine. To read Casting Director's Robyn Owen's tips and tricks to the audition process, or to learn more about the production itself visit Ethyrea.com and click on "Bonuses" for Robyn’s Casting Tips. For more information on Ethyrea, or the Order of Ethyrea Books, please visit www.Ethyrea.com or check out their publisher at OldLinePublishing.com.