"Actor for Hire" recently was given the Best Ensemble Cast award at the Orlando Film Festival. This film, no doubt, will resonate strongly with folks in the film industry as well as with folks putting on film festivals. After all, the film features a group of young people who want to break into acting but who struggle to even get noticed!
One of the struggling actors in this movie, Jesse, goes so far as to try something a bit audacious--to don a wig and create an all-new persona. After all, being bald hasn't gotten him any parts...perhaps having Keanu Reeves-style hair will! Surprisingly, he's now suddenly very popular...very, very popular. He apparently now has 'the look' and the future looks bright for him. However, just because things look good doesn't mean this film is going to have a happy ending for Jesse...especially when he's in a land of phonies and he's quickly becoming a phony himself. And, interestingly, the production was actually filmed in and around Hollywood.
Marcus Mizelle wrote and directed this film. While he has quite a few production credits already many have the less glamorous ones, such as a grip--one of the guys who assists the camera operator. Now this doesn't mean Marcus hasn't tried his hand at either directing or writing-- but these were almost exclusively short films. Here with "Actor for Hire", he's taking a big step and is helming a full-length picture. Because this is rather new to him, I didn't expect a perfect film...which it isn't. I really hesitate to rate it, as I don't want to discourage any of the folks who were in the film--and you cannot compare this sort of picture with a big-budget Hollywood release. But it is very interesting, the cast quite engaging and the film shows a lot of promise. I'd love to see what he and these other folks are doing in the near future, as I would assume they'd continue to hone their craft and only get better.
