Sony’s Face of the Fan Launches with Online Casting Call for Underworld 4

Debi Moore |

Nov 20, 2010

It looks like the final nail went into the casting couch’s coffin today as Sony Pictures Entertainment launched Face of the Fan, a new initiative for virtual talent sourcing. First on their list of projects to lend a hand to is Screen Gems’ and Lakeshore Entertainment’s Underworld 4.

Per Sony’s press release, the Underworld 4 filmmakers are searching for “a fresh talent to play a pivotal role as a female teenager” in the Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein helmed sequel that will see Kate Beckinsale’s return after all (perhaps as said teen’s mentor…or mother?).

Along with the casting calls are contests for Sony Pictures’ properties — turning today’s fans into tomorrow’s stars™. With this ongoing program, crossing all of Sony’s platforms – film, television, and online – Face of the Fan will give the biggest fans a chance to get involved with Sony’s most popular franchises.

Here’s how Face of the Fan works: Users from across the country can log onto the website, download select pages from a script to rehearse, and then upload their audition video and other credentials for submission. The submitted videos will then be reviewed by a panel of studio and production executives; selected participants may be contacted by casting agents for future roles. The site will also help users spread the word and expand the conversation by providing them with the tools to share the programs with their family and friends through social networking.

“The Face of the Fan program enables us to source people from all over the country to find unknown talent and give them a shot at something they may not have otherwise been able to do,” said Clint Culpepper, president, Screen Gems.

The concept for Face of the Fan builds on several past initiatives from Sony Pictures, in which uber-fans were chosen to participate in various marketing-related activities. Whether meeting talent on the red carpet, interviewing them at Comic-Con, or becoming guest correspondents covering the movies, these contests allowed the winning fans to get close to actors and filmmakers like never before and share their experiences online with their friends, family, and other fans.

Commenting on the announcement, Dwight Caines, president, Worldwide Digital Marketing for Sony Pictures, said, “As new Face of the Fan initiatives roll out, we hope to provide a unique way to reward those people who show tremendous enthusiasm for their favorite movies or TV shows by giving them an opportunity to meet talent and filmmakers.”