A film version of a soon-to-be-published novel by Clinton resident and Sampson Independent publisher Sherry Matthews is kicking into high gear next week with an open casting call set for Tuesday, Aug. 4 so producers and directors can cast the roles in the movie, based on the 1984 murder of music minister Dan Arnold.
All interested actors and actresses are encouraged to participate in the casting call, being held at the Sampson Community College Activities Center from 3 until 8 p.m. Aug. 4. Those who take part in the call are asked to bring a resume and a head shot and be prepared to read a side.
All inquires about the call are asked to email casting director Pam Hyatt at [email protected].
The film, currently with the working title “Scorned,” is being shot principally in Clinton and will involve many local and area residents as part of the cast and crew. The film is being produced by Mitchell Maxwell, Lou Aronica and The Story Plant Media out of New York City and directed by Tom Avitabile, who has written several novels and earned a creative Emmy for some of his past directorial work.
Clinton’s Gloria Edwards and Matthews will be local co-producers on the film.
“Movies are a collaboration, a bringing together of an amalgamation of talents and vital inspired energies,” Maxwell said. “That has been happening on this project since I first came to Clinton in mid-March.”
The group’s plan includes using as many local residents in the film and as part of the crew as they can. “This is truly a unique project, in that the author is local, we are filming it locally and we are going to use as many folks from the Clinton and Sampson County area as possible,” Maxwell noted.
“We have met some amazing people in Clinton already, and we expect to meet and be involved with many more.”
Matthews inked a book deal with The Story Plant back in February, one that provides for the simultaneous release of her book, provisionally titled “Hymn of Commitment,” and the film, whose screenplay she and Edwards have collaborated on with Avitabile and Maxwell. Edwards has also been tapped as the local music director for the movie.
“Through a series of random events, I came to know Sherry, and I was introduced to her fascinating novel — one that proves life is, indeed, stranger than fiction. Sherry’s novel is timeless and fresh as paint, one I know people will be clamoring to read.”