PROJECT: Forge
TYPE: Feature Film
GENRE: Crime Dark Comedy
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jing Ai Ng
CASTING DIRECTOR: Damian Bao
SHOOT START DATE: May 6th for 4-6 weeks
SHOOT LOCATION: Miami, Florida
CONTRACT: SAG Low Budget Agreement (open to union and non-union talent)
TALENT RATE: $753/day or $2,612/week for Speaking Roles
SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE: Monday, March 18, 2024
Damian Bao Casting is currently searching globally for captivating talent, ages 18-70, for FORGE, an art crime dark comedy feature film. FORGE is a Film Independent supported story with class, greed and ambition at the heart of the characters’ conflicts.
SYNOPSIS: Siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang run an art forgery ring in Miami. When they cross paths with millionaire Holden Lawrence, they are coerced into creating counterfeit masterpieces. Meanwhile, FBI agent Emily Lee moves to Florida to investigate a new string of art forgeries.
ABOUT THE PROJECT: FORGE is a dark comedy that deals with authenticity and identity, in art and in people. FORGE tackles the myth of the model minority, centering on Asian American characters who are unmistakably human. The Zhangs are forgers, and therefore, criminals. We live in a society where appearances and being “ahead” of others are at the forefront of our minds. FORGE is a tragi-comedy, a cautionary tale about how the rat race of modernity has the ability to destroy beautiful things—whether that be art, family, or relationships. FORGE is a tale of greed and youth set in Miami, a story of how a young woman’s ambitions leads to the destruction of her passion for art and eventually, her family.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Jing Ai Ng is a writer & director based in Los Angeles. Raised between Malaysia and Miami, she brings a global perspective to her storytelling. Her latest project, short film DELTA, recently won Gold at the Young Directors Award at Cannes Lions 2023. She participated in Film Independent’s Screenwriters Lab, where she developed her art crime feature script FORGE. Her short film FLECK won the Grand Prize at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Student Film Awards. Jing graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory with a MFA in Directing, and is an alumni of Telluride Film Festival’s Symposium. Her films have played at over 50 festivals worldwide.
PRODUCTION NOTE: Filming will start around May 6th for 4-6 weeks in the Miami metro area pending the availability of the main lead and supporting cast. This will be a paid casting opportunity under the SAG Low Budget Agreement. Production will provide roundtrip flight, lodging, and local transportation for talent based outside Miami.
CASTING NOTE: Casting is open to actors and non-actors for all roles. Talent does not have to have prior acting experience to apply. Open to union and non-union talent. First time actors are welcome to apply!
CASTING GLOBALLY FOR LEADING AND SUPPORTING ROLES!!!
TO SUBMIT A TAPE FOR CONSIDERATION:
Step 1: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SELF TAPE DIRECTIONS FOR THE AVAILABLE SPEAKING ROLES BELOW. PLEASE SEE THE SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS FOR EACH ROLE TO MAKE SURE YOU QUALIFY FOR THE LOCATION REQUIREMENT.
Step 2. RECORD YOUR TAPES.
Step 3. CLICK HERE TO GO TO WHERE YOU WILL NEED TO UPLOAD AND SUBMIT YOUR TAPES. MAKE SURE EACH VIDEO FILE IS LESS THAN 500MB BEFORE SUBMITTING.
Our office has paid to use the CastIt platform to collect self tapes so that you can submit for free. You can upload files straight from your phone, tablet, or computer by clicking on the link. It’s a very easy system. Our office will be notified when you have successfully uploaded your materials. Please submit ALL of your videos at the same time. (Please note that each file should be less than 500MB in size. Storage space gets expensive. LOL!) CastIt might charge you if any of your files is 500MB or bigger so be aware and keep your files within the size limits.
It is 100% FREE to submit and audition for all roles from Damian Bao Casting. Auditioning comes at $0 cost to talent. Please notify our office immediately if anyone is asking you for payment to submit.
TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AN EXTRA/BACKGROUND ROLES:
CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN EXTRA OR BACKGROUND TALENT IN MIAMI, FLORIDA. ALL TALENTS BASED IN MIAMI AND FLORIDA CAN TAPE FOR ANY/ALL SPEAKING ROLES THAT THEY CAN RELATE TO AND ALSO SUBMIT FOR BACKGROUND CONSIDERATION. =)
CONTACT US:
If you have any specific questions about the project or role(s) or tech issues, you can email our office at “film@damianbao.org” and include “FORGE” in the subject. Please read and explore this webpage fully and click on the links above to find your answers before reaching out to our office. Please note that due to the high volume of emails our office receive daily, we may not be able to reply to your email immediately.
Feel free to follow our casting director @damianbao and office @damianbaocasting on social media to keep track of the project’s status and learn about other projects we are casting.
OPEN CALL ROLES:
LEAD ROLE:
COCO ZHANG – Cunning, beautiful, and willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy her own vanity, 23-year-old Coco Zhang is a gifted art forger. Growing up as the younger sister to the charismatic Raymond, she has lived in the shadow of his accomplishments and failures her entire life. She’s obsessive not only about her forgeries but also the lives of the artists whose work she imitates. Coco is still grieving her father, whose illness was the reason she dropped out of art school. She is secretly and constantly chasing validation, either from her Chinese American family or the art world. Ambition is her achilles heel and arrogance is her status quo. (LEAD ROLE)
***OPEN TO ASIAN FEMALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 18-30 WORLDWIDE***
RAYMOND ZHANG – Raymond Zhang, 25, a hustler by nature. Academically gifted but reckless, he was accustomed to being the golden child in his Chinese American family until his untimely expulsion from Duke University for selling fake IDs. Despite his book and street smarts, Ray has a fully-fledged gambling problem, which hinders both his bank account and personal relationships. Since coming back to Miami, Ray has fully indulged the grifter within himself by running an art forgery business with his younger sister Coco. (LEAD ROLE)
***OPEN TO ASIAN MALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 20-35 WORLDWIDE***
EMILY LEE – 36-year-old Emily Lee is a rule-abiding FBI agent, who is extremely passionate about art crime. Having grown up in a large working class family in Queens, NY, she has worked very hard for every career success. Emily is currently a fish out of water in Miami, struggling to assimilate to her new environment, which is a huge departure from the large Asian American community she was surrounded with for most of her life. (LEAD ROLE)
***OPEN TO ASIAN FEMALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 30-50 WORLDWIDE***
SUPPORTING LEAD ROLES:
JEANETTE ZHANG – Jeanette, 60s, is a welcoming and protective Chinese mom, who shares her disappointment for her children’s failures and unconventional career paths freely. However, deep down she would do anything for her kids, Raymond and Coco. (SUPPORTING ROLE)
***OPEN TO ASIAN FEMALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 50-70 WORLDWIDE***
HOLDEN LAWRENCE – 30-year-old Holden Lawrence is an old monied WASP who runs an events startup in Miami. Now on the verge of bankruptcy, Holden is desperate to generate cash through whatever means necessary in order to keep up appearances and keep his marriage with Talia stable. Seeing an opportunity in his family’s destroyed art collection, he is overjoyed to meet the Zhang siblings. (SUPPORTING ROLE)
***OPEN TO CAUCASIAN MALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 25-40 FROM ANYWHERE IN THE USA***
TALIA LAWRENCE – 28-year-old Talia is primarily known to outsiders as Holden’s trophy wife. In reality, she is much more street smart than he is. Originally from a working class family, Talia grew up in the Miami suburbs and met Holden at an exclusive beach club. (SUPPORTING ROLE)
***OPEN TO LATINX OR AFRO-LATINX FEMALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 20-35 FROM ANYWHERE IN THE USA***
PEDRO ABAD – Pedro, 34, is Raymond’s smart yet slimy friend from high school and forgery accomplice at the start. He warns Ray and Coco not to take the Lawrence job. (SUPPORTING ROLE)
***OPEN TO LATINX OR AFRO-LATINX MALE-IDENTIFYING TALENT AGE 21-40, WHO ARE MIAMI BASED OR CAN WORK MIAMI LOCAL***