Back in 2006, Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat were just unknown actors trying to make it big. Now, over ten years later, they are unknown actors looking to make it big. The difference this time, in 2007 the pair starred in the hugely successful Paranormal Activity, the film which reignited the found footage genre. Now, the audition tapes that landed the pair the gig have hit the web, and they’re pretty damn interesting. Read on to check it out.
The audition tapes were uploaded to the web via the film’s director, Oren Peli, and they give a sense of how the film came together. In the videos, Featherston and Sloat were asked to completely improvise their scenes, performing one each individually before filming a scene together.
Apparently the improvised nature of the film was something Peli wanted from the outset, with it even being part of the initial casting call. The call included the details ‘No script will be provided at any stage of production’ and ‘All dialogue will be ad-libbed,’ something which meant the actors needed to rely purely on their improvisational skills, something which added to the sense of realism the filmalready invoked.
You can check out the raw audition tapes below:
Whilst the sequels have often received a less-than-stellar response, the original Paranormal Activity was a wholly imaginative and unique film. The latest release Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension was released October 2015 with a sequel expected.
What do you think? Do you enjoy these films? Does this video make you appreciate them more? Let us know below!