Mayhem Pictures in association with Walt Disney Pictures are set to begin filming the biopic feature film "McFarland" in February, 2012. After an open casting call last December, 2011 in Bakersfield failed to discover the film's stars and supporting roles, auditions will take place in Los Angeles. The studio and production company are open to new talent for the starring roles, which will go to teen and young Latino males.
Casting director Sheila Jaffe, who is brought in often by producer Mark Ciardi, is casting "McFarland". Jaffe has been nominated for eight Primetime Emmy Awards, one for which she won for "The Sopranos", as well a four-time Casting Society of America Artios Award winner. Sheila Jaffe is based in New York, but sets up casting out of the Mayhem Pictures production office when casting their films.
The film "McFarland" tells the true story of Jim "Blanco" White, a high school track and field coach who inspired his team to greatness on and off the field. Gary Smith of Sports Illustrated wrote, "No one can figure it out, how the runners with the shortest legs and the grimmest lives began winning everything once Blanco took over the program in 1980. Jim and his wife Cheryl invested endless time and love in the youth. They did much more than was required of them so the boys could receive what they otherwise would not. They were always there for them, pushing them on and always taking them on trips, to movies in a town with a theater, and on fishing trips. (continued below)
Jim White's students all were from families who were from Mexican farm worker families, and faced tremendous challenges in their personal and academic lives. McFarland, population 8,011 in 1990, is something closer to a village transplanted from south of the border. Nine in 10 residents are of Mexican descent. One-third come from the village Huanusco, in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico.
Details on how talent can submit for acting roles can be found on the following casting post:
Walt Disney Pictures "McFarland" Auditions and Casting Calls
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