Tell
someone in Philly to put on a happy face and you might get
clocked. But ask 'em to put on a Philly face and you'll get
all sorts of different looks.
And that's what casting director Diane Heery is counting on.
The head of Philadelphia's Heery Casting is holding an open
call today for ''Philly faces'' to act as extras in ''Rocky
Balboa,'' the sixth installment in Sylvester Stallone's
boxing flick franchise.
A
Philly face ''has got some good character to it; it tells a
story,'' Heery said. Asked for specifics, she demurred:
''You can't split it up into different parts; you have to
take the whole thing.''
Mayor John Street has a Philly face, and so does colorful
former Mayor Frank Rizzo, Heery offered. It's the kind of
mug you might see at an Eagles game, or on South Street, or
at a sports bar, she added.
Or at Chickie's Italian Deli, a stone's throw from famous
cheesesteak rivals Pat's and Geno's in South Philadelphia,
aka Rocky Balboa territory. At least that's what Chickie's
owner Henry George thinks.
''What's a Philly face? Right there,'' George says, pointing
to 63-year-old customer Vinnie Pollino, who has lived in
South Philly his whole life. Pollino is sporting a flat cap
and glasses that might date to when Jimmy Carter was
president.
Pollino has one word for a Philly face.
''Good-lookin','' he cracks, and everyone in the deli busts
up.
You can even find a Philly face in the Lehigh Valley, said
Lois Miller, who runs Star Talent Management in Allentown.
Lots of her clients have contacted her about today's open
call.
''A Philly face means any ethnicity, but it might be more
ethnic because the setting is South Philly. They don't
usually want your blond-haired, blue-eyed all-American,''
Miller said.
When the first Rocky movie came out in 1976, a typical South
Philly face might have been working-class Italian or Irish,
said Frank Tartaglia, 28, a vegetable vendor in the Italian
Market. Now, it could be a black, Asian, Hispanic, or ''some
art school kid who moved here from Seattle.''
Teutonic-looking Telly Simmons said a Philly face is ''not
mine.'' Still, the 31-year-old South Philly resident thinks
he'll go to the audition, because the movie is such a legend
in the city.
Extras usually shoot for one day and get paid $122 if they
belong to the actors union; $75 if they don't, Heery said.
Filming is scheduled to begin Jan. 9 and take four to five
weeks.
The original ''Rocky'' is the only film in the series so far
shot mainly in Philadelphia. ''Rocky Balboa'' will be filmed
primarily in Philadelphia and in Las Vegas.
The plot has a retired and widowed Rocky returning to the
ring because he misses the competition. The Sony picture
stars Stallone, who is also writer and director.
The release date is Feb. 2, 2007. |
