Audition is a short film directed by Sam Holdren, first released to festivals in 2007. The film is a tragic comedy about William Ashe, a grown man who still lives at home with mother and strongly believes in signs. On the whim of a sign, he travels to the big city to audition for a movie, and is promptly sidetracked by murder, mayhem, and mistaken identity, only proving that life may lead anywhere once you choose to see the signs.[1]
Audition
Film poster
Directed by
Sam Holdren
Written by
Joseph W. Ng Sam Holdren
Produced by
Lauren Kuznick
Starring
Todd A. Waters Natasha Lee Martin Mark Kochanowicz Lewis Korff Dylan Clements Scott Skversky Hannah Tsapatoris
What begins as a story about William Ashe, an obnoxious actor who has come to the city to audition for a movie, soon turns into a murder mystery without the main character ever realizing it. However, the mystery is a distraction from the real point of order, which is the fact that every sequence of the movie for William—including his trying to impress people in a hotel bar at the beginning, and also his interrogation by the police after a murder has occurred—is a constant audition. By the time his real audition rolls around near the end of the film—after the solution to the mystery has been revealed to everyone but William—he has spent the entire movie seeking approval that he never gets. Thus, the movie is a tragic comedy about a guy with hope and energy who is trying, but never quite seals the deal.
Background
The character of William Ashe was the result of several meetings in the summer of 2004 between co-writers Joseph W. Ng and Sam Holdren. Ng pitched a scenario where a main character's zany actions were not very believable to Holdren. However, when they began sifting through mutual friends in order to analyze what each person would do in the situation presented by Ng, they stumbled upon an actor friend out of Charleston, WV named Ashley Wilhelm, whose earnest and sometimes strong and spontaneous personality seemed a perfect inspiration for the character.[2]
The inspiration provided by Wilhelm allowed Ng and Holdren to adapt both his persona and elements of their own personalities into the character of William Ashe, a grown man still living at home with mother whose trip to the city to audition for a movie gets him caught up in a mystery without him actually realizing it. Throughout the film, the character bases his choices upon what he believes are signs, but it becomes increasingly obvious as the movie proceeds that the hovering presence of his mother, who we never see, is evident.
Todd Waters, who portrayed William Ashe, didn't actually know that the character was based in part on a real person until late in the filming. Holdren introduced Waters and Wilhelm in March 2005 while the film crew shot the final sequence in downtown Charleston, West Virginia. Wilhelm appears briefly at the end of the film as the last person to come into contact with the main character.[2]
Wilhelm, who still continues to act, recently won the prestigious South Eastern Theatre Conference's Best Play of 2008 Award with The Exonerated. Written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, the play is a true story of six wrongfully convicted people who spent years on death row and were exonerated through newly discovered DNA evidence, confessions and wire taps.
Wilhelm's part, Male Ensemble #1, consisted of 12 characters throughout the production that entailed multiple facets of the criminal justice system, to one of the accused and other various roles in The Exonerated.
Wilhelm immersed himself into the roles of each character and even worked as a Corrections Officer with the Division Of Juvenile Services during the one year running of The Exonerated. For Wilhelm's legal characters, he spent many hours at both the county and federal courthouses becoming acquaintances with Kanawha County Prosecutors, Judges and Police Officers to delve into the criminal justice system.
Wilhelm still continues to act and audition in NYC, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio and is scheduled to appear in a new feature-length film in 2009. Wilhelm still resides in South Charleston, West Virginia with his older brother who both help with the care of their mother, Bette.
Locations
Most of the movie was shot in different sections of Philadelphia, including: Holmesburg Prison; the Windsor Hotel and the Wyndham Hotel of Center City; Rittenhouse Square; Temple University; and the former Marmont Bar & Grill.[3] The ending sequence, however, was shot months later in Charleston, West Virginia in front of the historic Capitol Theatre, now known as the WV State University Capitol Center Theater Complex.[2]
Awards
Best Student Short Film & Best Regional Student Film - 2007 - Bluegrass Independent Film Festival[4] Award of Excellence - 2007 - West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival
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Audition is a short film directed by Sam Holdren first released to festivals in 2007 The film is a tragic comedy about William Ashe a grown man who still lives at home with mother and strongly believes in signs On the whim of a sign he travels to the big city to audition for a movie and is promptly sidetracked by murder mayhem and mistaken identity only proving that life may lead anywhere once you choose to see the signs 1 AuditionFilm posterDirected bySam HoldrenWritten byJoseph W NgSam HoldrenProduced byLauren KuznickStarringTodd A WatersNatasha Lee MartinMark KochanowiczLewis KorffDylan ClementsScott SkverskyHannah TsapatorisCinematographySeth MullikenEdited byPete KruvczukMusic byChristian MoehringRelease date2007 2007 Running time20 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Story 2 Background 3 Locations 4 Awards 5 Festival screenings 6 References 7 External linksStory EditWhat begins as a story about William Ashe an obnoxious actor who has come to the city to audition for a movie soon turns into a murder mystery without the main character ever realizing it However the mystery is a distraction from the real point of order which is the fact that every sequence of the movie for William including his trying to impress people in a hotel bar at the beginning and also his interrogation by the police after a murder has occurred is a constant audition By the time his real audition rolls around near the end of the film after the solution to the mystery has been revealed to everyone but William he has spent the entire movie seeking approval that he never gets Thus the movie is a tragic comedy about a guy with hope and energy who is trying but never quite seals the deal Background EditThe character of William Ashe was the result of several meetings in the summer of 2004 between co writers Joseph W Ng and Sam Holdren Ng pitched a scenario where a main character s zany actions were not very believable to Holdren However when they began sifting through mutual friends in order to analyze what each person would do in the situation presented by Ng they stumbled upon an actor friend out of Charleston WV named Ashley Wilhelm whose earnest and sometimes strong and spontaneous personality seemed a perfect inspiration for the character 2 The inspiration provided by Wilhelm allowed Ng and Holdren to adapt both his persona and elements of their own personalities into the character of William Ashe a grown man still living at home with mother whose trip to the city to audition for a movie gets him caught up in a mystery without him actually realizing it Throughout the film the character bases his choices upon what he believes are signs but it becomes increasingly obvious as the movie proceeds that the hovering presence of his mother who we never see is evident Todd Waters who portrayed William Ashe didn t actually know that the character was based in part on a real person until late in the filming Holdren introduced Waters and Wilhelm in March 2005 while the film crew shot the final sequence in downtown Charleston West Virginia Wilhelm appears briefly at the end of the film as the last person to come into contact with the main character 2 Wilhelm who still continues to act recently won the prestigious South Eastern Theatre Conference s Best Play of 2008 Award with The Exonerated Written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen the play is a true story of six wrongfully convicted people who spent years on death row and were exonerated through newly discovered DNA evidence confessions and wire taps Wilhelm s part Male Ensemble 1 consisted of 12 characters throughout the production that entailed multiple facets of the criminal justice system to one of the accused and other various roles in The Exonerated Wilhelm immersed himself into the roles of each character and even worked as a Corrections Officer with the Division Of Juvenile Services during the one year running of The Exonerated For Wilhelm s legal characters he spent many hours at both the county and federal courthouses becoming acquaintances with Kanawha County Prosecutors Judges and Police Officers to delve into the criminal justice system Wilhelm still continues to act and audition in NYC West Virginia Kentucky and Ohio and is scheduled to appear in a new feature length film in 2009 Wilhelm still resides in South Charleston West Virginia with his older brother who both help with the care of their mother Bette Locations EditMost of the movie was shot in different sections of Philadelphia including Holmesburg Prison the Windsor Hotel and the Wyndham Hotel of Center City Rittenhouse Square Temple University and the former Marmont Bar amp Grill 3 The ending sequence however was shot months later in Charleston West Virginia in front of the historic Capitol Theatre now known as the WV State University Capitol Center Theater Complex 2 Awards EditBest Student Short Film amp Best Regional Student Film 2007 Bluegrass Independent Film Festival 4 Award of Excellence 2007 West Virginia Filmmakers Film FestivalFestival screenings EditAppalachian Film Festival 5 Bare Bones International Film Festival 6 Bluegrass Independent Film Festival 4 Route 66 Film Festival 7 West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival 8 Delaware Valley Film Festival 9 Colony Film Festival 10 Macon Film amp Video Festival 11 Fargo Film Festival Kent Film Festival 12 IU South Bend Independent Filmmakers Festival 13 Johns Hopkins Film Festival 14 Wildwood By The Sea Film Festival 15 Flint Film Festival 16 References Edit Audition page on Sam Holdren s Website Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 Retrieved 2008 08 27 a b c Articles about Audition Sam Holdren s website Archived from the original on 2016 03 03 Retrieved 2008 08 27 Temple graduate student s film gains recognition The Temple News 2007 10 30 Archived from the original on 2011 10 04 a b Bluegrass Film Festival Winners 2007 Archived from the original on 2008 05 16 Appalacian Film Festival Schedule for 2007 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2012 12 09 Bare Bones International Film Festival Schedule for 2007 Archived from the original on 2010 03 23 Route 66 Film Festival 2007 WV Filmmakers Film Festival Website Archived from the original on 2008 09 22 Retrieved 2008 08 27 Delaware Valley Film Festival 2007 Archived from the original on 2009 10 25 Colony Film Festival Schedule for 2007 Macon Film and Video Festival Schedule for 2008 PDF Archived from the original PDF on November 20 2008 Kent Film Festival Schedule for 2008 Archived from the original on 2010 02 04 IU South Bend Independent Filmmakers Festival Schedule for 2008 Archived from the original on 2008 08 01 Retrieved 2008 08 27 Johns Hopkins Film Festival Schedule for 2008 Archived from the original on 2011 07 12 Wildwood by the Sea Film Festival Schedule for 2008 Flint Film Festival schedule for 2008 External links EditOfficial website WV Film Blog Audition at IMDb Charleston Gazette article Kentucky Dept Of Tourism Article HuntingtonNews net article Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Audition 2007 film amp oldid 1162556533, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
