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Film crew makes stop in Lethbridge in search of local talent

Click to play video: 'Film crew makes stop in Lethbridge in search of local talent'
Film crew makes stop in Lethbridge in search of local talent
WATCH ABOVE: About 100 people from the Lethbridge, Alta. area signed up for a shot at the big screen on Friday. As Kyle Benning explains, an Oscar winning production company is in search of Indigenous actors and stunt people – May 14, 2018

About 100 people signed up for a chance to have their faces shown on the silver screen as a small casting crew visited Lethbridge on Friday.

The team is looking for Indigenous actors and actresses to play in background roles as well as stunt performers for a trio of possible films in Alberta this year.

John Scott is part of the selection team, which is making a number of stops around the province to take photos of potential actors and to gauge interest as well as skills of people looking to be on the big screen.

“[This is] so we get quite a cross section of people to show the Hollywood producers that we do have the native talent here in Alberta,” he told Global News.
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“What we need is a lot of [horseback] riders … Native riders that can ride well bareback. I think we had about close to 80 of them in the film called The Revenant. And this is a similar deal that we’re trying to put together.”

WATCH: Meet Glenn Ennis, a.k.a. the bear from ‘The Revenant’

Click to play video: 'One on one with Vancouver stuntman Glenn Ennis'
One on one with Vancouver stuntman Glenn Ennis

It is unclear when the three film shoots will start or how many people will be employed for each project.

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“Generally speaking, on any given show, it can be … you know, hundreds. Bigger projects can range into thousands. But that’s of course the larger projects,” said background casting director Alyson Lockwood.

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One man who helped organize the event has had some success in the film industry.

Tim Bruised Head – who was a stuntman on The Revenant – says he and his brother have been able to travel to places like Ireland and Scotland being in this line of work.

“We’ve gone overseas to work and it has taken us places and gave us a lot of opportunities. And learning and just enjoying the industry,” he said.

Bruised Head noted giving Indigenous people a chance to be on screen could open up possibilities for anyone looking to start a different career or follow a life-long dream.

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