Rodriguez seeks extras as 'Alita' begins Austin shoot

Robert Rodriguez is back in action directing Alita: Battle Angel for Fox in Austin from now until February.

According to Deadline, it's set in a 26th-century dystopian future: "The film follows the story of an amnesiac cyborg who, after being rescued from a scrap heap by a doctor (Christoph Waltz), becomes a bounty hunter tracking down criminals."

Actress and singer Eiza González has the lead role. She also stars in Rodriguez's El Rey Network series From Dusk Till Dawn. Rodriguez shocked Austin locals when he moved series production to film friendlier (as in incentives) New Mexico for season three. The cast also includes Lana Condor, Rosa Salazar, Jackie Earle Haley and Ed Skrein.

It's an adaptation of  the graphic novel series Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kushiro. James Cameron wrote the script with Laeta Kalogridis.

Third Coast Extras is handing background roles, which include punk rocker types, Asians and East Indians, but also general folks of all ages. Get more info at the casting company's Facebook page.

The film is set for a 2018 release.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' TV series fires up in Austin

Robert Rodriguez acknowledges he's the king of reworking the same premise, so why not TV, which is all about the series? His new El Rey network has started the engines for a From Dusk Till Dawn series for the network with local casting happening right now in Austin.

The network is English language, but will aim to discover new Latino talent both in front of and behind the camera. Chief among the latter is Robert Orci's untitled action series, which has been dubbed a Latin James Bond. That series will likely film in Los Angeles with a 13-episode commitment beginning in March.

Rodriguez says the network, which is paired with Univision and Comcast, is aimed at

--> "people who like irreverent, visceral action and comedy." Think Walking Dead and Breaking Bad with a lot more Latino faces.

It should be a boon to Austin, but will it mark a slowdown in Rodriguez's filmmaking? He says any future films will be somehow tied into El Rey.

El Rey will have a soft launch on television in December then go full force in 2014.

Oh, and here's the extras call from Beth Sepko Casting:

Third Coast Extras is taking general submissions for extras to work on FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, a new TV series (based on the 1996 film of the same name) and produced & directed by Robert Rodriguez, shooting in the Austin, TX area between November 2013 to March 2014.

-READ CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SUBMIT-

You'll need a flexible schedule with ability to clear your schedule for the WHOLE day and/or night that we book you to work (we don't get call times or map until the night before a shoot!) & you'll need to have your own reliable transportation to get to the sets- either in Austin or outside of town on location.

Minimum pay guarantee for extras is $79.75 per shoot. If a shoot goes past 10 hours, overtime pay kicks in.

Who we need- Adults ages 18-80s of all ethnicities and ALL types and looks including great character faces.

To submit, email us at: thirdcoastextras@gmail.com w/ subject heading "Dusk Extras" and follow directions below exactly:

Men: include name, age, phone #, height/weight, jacket size, collar size, pants size (waist/inseam), and shoe size. Attach plenty of clear, well-lit, current photos in high resolution - including both close up photos and full length photos that show your body.

Women: include name, age, phone #, height/weight, dress size, measurements (bust-waist-hips), & shoe size. Attach plenty of clear, well-lit current photos in high resolution - including both close up photos and full length photos that show your body.

IMPORTANT: Must be Texas resident w/ valid Texas ID who lives in (or at least nearby) to Austin, TX since shoots days can change at the last minute. Please don't submit if you're not local to the area or nearby. Even if you've submitted or worked with us on a previous project, please follow directions and submit again for this project. We want your most updated info & current photos to show Director. Also, if you don't hear from us for a booking soon, we may need you later on in the project so keep submitting to our postings. Thank you!

Hey, lady: are you 'Transformers 4' tough?

First sign of extra work on the film not actually called Transformers 4 (it's untitled at this point) from the folks at Third Coast Extras. It also gives a good notion of the actual shooting dates:

Seeking submissions from FEMALE CAUCASIAN EXTRAS between the ages of 16-23 fit, tan, attractive with an "all-American" Texas type look to work as a featured Extra on the Transformers sequel directed by Michael Bay shooting in the Austin, TX area between June 3-20, 2013.

-PLEASE READ BELOW CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING-

You'll need a flexible schedule w/ ability to clear schedule for both all day/night shoots if necessary & have reliable transportation to get to set either in Austin or outside of town on location. Must have good follow-through and be able to commit to dates + wardrobe dept. will need to have pre-fit clothing & you'll attend a wardrobe fitting the week before shooting during the last week of May. Scenes for this Extra shoot 6/3 and 6/11, but subject to change.

Minimum pay guarantee for this featured extra is $100/8hr. After 8 hours time + 1/2 overtime pay kicks in. Potential for upgrade.

Please email us at: thirdcoastextras@gmail.com w/ subject heading "Transformers: Featured Friend" and follow directions below exactly:

Women: include name, age, phone #, height/weight, dress size, bust-waist-hips measurements, & shoe size. Attach several clear, current photos in high resolution - including a close photo (no professional headshots however) & a full length photo also. Please only casual photos not professionally taken.This Director wants to see your current everyday real appearance.

Must be Texas resident w/ valid photo ID who lives in (or at least nearby) to Austin, TX. Please don't submit if you're not local to the area or nearby.

The female 'Walker, Texas Ranger' shoots Austin pilot

It's called Killer Women and the ABC television pilot is set to shoot in Austin from March 11-26, though the show is actually set in San Antonio.

Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer plays the lead in the pilot about the only female in the Texas Rangers (the law enforcers, not the ball players). The male lead is DEA agent Marc Blucas of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Necessary Roughness fame. He also had a small part in The Alamo when it shot outside of Austin where I met the likeable ex-jock. He is a former Wake Forest basketball player, and his teammate and pal is some guy named Tim Duncan.

Blame this all on Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, A native of Colombia who is exec producing the adaptation of Argentine TVseries, Mueres Asesinas, which itself is based on the book trilogy of the same name by Marisa Grinstein.

Third Coast Extras is seeking all sorts of background folks as well as a mariachi band for the pilot shoot. Check them out on Facebook here. Would the series shoot here? Your guess is as good as mine. Often these projects vamoose for LA once they're picked up. If it stays put, maybe Chuck Norris can make a cameo.