Champawat Pictures has launched a
nationwide casting quest for an unknown actor to play the lead role in its
film project, The Mercy Man, the first ever film series to feature a Hispanic
character in the lead role. Scheduled to begin filming in May, The Mercy Man
is based upon the bestselling novel and comic book about a Puerto-Rican
American NYPD undercover cop, Willy Diaz. In the debut film of the series, the
30 year old handsome and street smart Diaz tracks down a copycat serial killer
terrorizing New York City.
"We're looking for that rare talent just waiting to be discovered --
someone on the verge of stardom," said Rider McDowell, writer and director of
the movie. "The time is finally right for this project, and there's a huge
pool of talent in the Hispanic community that we're drawing from to find our
lead actor."
"Open Call" auditions have been scheduled in New York City for October
15th and November 12th at the Creative Acting Company, 122 West 26th Street --
11th floor, from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. The hunt for a Hispanic action hero has
created a frenzy among Hispanic and non-Hispanic actors, who first learned of
the casting call through 150,000 Mercy Man promotional comic books that were
circulated by the producers at key east coast cities and in Los Angeles.
Discussing the history of Hispanic actors in American cinema, McDowell
noted, "Like most minorities, Hispanics have been clearly underrepresented in
films. But America has changed and the time of Rock Hudson playing a Native
American is over. The diverse American movie going public would not accept
that today."
In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th to October
15th), 15,000 free Mercy Man comic books will be distributed at the Hispanic
Day Parade (Desfile de la Hispanidad) on Sunday, October 12th in New York
City. The free distribution of comic books at Hispanic events will continue
until the casting of the lead role is completed. People can also visit
http://www.mercyman.com to view the comic book and information on how to audition for
the role.
Word of the potentially ground breaking Mercy Man project has spread
internationally. The film was recently invited to be part of the prestigious
2004 San Sebastian Film Festival, the largest Spanish language film festival
in the world.