So, I hadn't heard anything about the movie or casting, and if it's supposed to be out by end of September, I thought that surely there would be casting notices. Also, I was perhaps a bit jealous that the His Dark Materials photo stills were posted and still nothing on Dark is Rising. I didn't find pictures, however, I did find the casting call which... I found extraordinarily disturbing. Cut for those who don't want to be spoiled or um... heartbroken.
Source:
My Entertainment World, found via IMDB.
(Romania) - Send photograph & resumes ASAP to: Details Are only Available By Subscription.. Title: THE DARK IS RISING, Feature Film. EXEC PROD, Ron Schmidt; PROD, Marc Platt; DIR, David L. Cunningham; SCR, John Hodge. Shoot Dates: February, 2007 (in Romania). STORY: The film is about Will Stanton, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is the last of the "Old Ones," a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark and he must undertake a difficult journey to defeat the evil powers that threaten the land. Breakdown--
Will Stanton: 13. Will is an American who lives in England with his family. Will is bullied and/or ignored by his older brothers, and Will is gloomily convinced that he's doomed to be a bookish, gawky oddball at the bottom of the pecking order. However, he is actually an innately cool kid who has not yet grown into his coolness;
Professor John Stanton: 45-55. Will's father. Professor Stanton is an American physicist and college professor and he's paid a price for it. He is emotionally cool, authoritative and very remote from his children;
The Rider: 30-40 years old man with icy malevolence who is masquerading as a simple village doctor when in fact he is an agent of Evil;
Mrs. Mary Stanton: 40-50. She is the American mother of the Stanton six children. She works hard at protecting her husband and her family. She similar to her husband is not emotionally available to her kids and is very distant;
Gwen Stanton: Will's younger sister, Gwen is an American, neat, upright girl of about 8 or 9. Unlike her brothers, who treat Will with amiable contempt, Gwen looks up to Will, loves him and dotes on him;
Max Stanton: 19 or 20, an edgy young man with piercings and tattoos. Will's older brother. Max is the American, bohemian of the family. He is always inclined to question his father's authority;
James Stanton: 17. Will's older American brother. James is mature, muscular and good looking, the object of admiring eyes. Busily looking for a girlfriend, James barely interacts with Will - especially when Maggie Barnes becomes the object of his affection;
Robin Stanton & Paul Stanton: 15, Male. A pair of grungy American adolescents, Robin and Paul are identical or fraternal twin brothers, and they're still at the "horseplay" stage of development. Always ready to tease Will about his bookish ways, always willing to reinforce his fears of being a gawky oddball, Robin and Paul tease and bully and sometimes blow off Will. (Posted: November 2, 2006)