The film’s locales will also include, from today through December, Nassau and Paradise Island streets. Some 1,400 Bahamian extras are expected to appear in a variety of roles.
The New Line Cinema production is being directed by Brent Ratner (Rush Hour I and II), and features Pierce Brosnan (Thomas Crown Affair, Die Another Day); Salma Hayek (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Desperado); Woody Harrelson (White Men Can’t Jump, Indecent Proposal), and Don Cheadle (Swordfish).
The plot revolves around a rare gem being sought by Brosnan’s character, who teams up with Hayek’s character later in the film on a pursuit that begins in the United States and leads to Bahamian shores.
In 1994’s, My Father the Hero, which starred Gerard Depardieu, Baha Men had a highly visible – and audible – presence.
In 1987’s Jaws the Revenge, set mostly in The Bahamas, Bahamians had bit parts.
Now, a part from being one of the biggest blockbusters in recent times, After the Sunset is expected to feature a greater Bahamian presence than in any other locally-filmed movie.
News about the film and openings for 1,400 Bahamian extras, some of which may be speaking roles, resulted in scores of “starry-eyed” residents flocking to the Dundas Civic Centre on Mackey Street to audition.
As for reported delays, according to the film’s publicist, Sid Swank, production was postponed by a week due to last minute amendments to the script, contrary to press speculation elswhere.
“That was not true,” she said of reports that building material needed for the production set was diverted to help rebuild Iraq , thereby hampering the start of the production.
“I spoke with that other paper and told them that I would rather them contact me rather than print something in their paper that was not true,” she told The Guardian on Sunday.
Asked where production would be initially staged, Ms Swank refused to give an exact location due to initial security and crowd control reasons.
Leading up to the start of the filming, casting director Judy Cook conducted auditions for young Bahamian females interested in “providing companionship” to a womanizing character played by Mr. Cheadle.
In a recent interview, Ms Cook said that Mr. Cheadle’s character is a Caribbean crime lord and “charmer” who is seen with a different woman in each scene.
“So, we need beautiful women of all ethnicities ﾗ Black, Asian, White, Middle Eastern ﾗ and they will play all of the girlfriends of Don Cheadle’s character,” Ms Cook said.
So far, reportedly, five American women have been selected for filming in Los Angeles, and a Bahamian woman will be chosen to play Girlfriend No. 6.
Ms Cook said there is still a chance that during filming, one or more persons may be given an “upgrade” to a speaking part, but the decision would have to be made by the movie’s director.
“They might be upgraded on set. The director might say, ‘Hey, say this,’ or ‘Say that’,” she said. “And then some people, who he sees in the photos that he likes, I will put them aside, call them up and have them come in for an interview. And, then we go from there,” she said.
Ms Cook said that Bahamians are also being sought to play “background people” in a wedding scene, restaurant scene and a beach scene, including bodyguard, female and male dancers, bikini “babes”, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, and also stand-ins for co-stars Harrelson and Hayek.
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
