CSI Files
Captain
Blog posts on <A class="link" HREF="http://www.level26.com/">Level26.com</a> reveal details about <I>CSI</I> creator <font color=yellow>Anthony Zuiker</font>'s <I>Level 26</I> series of "Digi-Novels" and how actors were chosen to play key characters in the online "cyber bridges".<p>As CSI Files previously <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/news/010809_01.shtml">reported</a>, Zuiker has been blogging on Level26.com, the interactive website created to accompany the <I>Level 26</I> series. CSI Files' own <font color=yellow>Kristine Huntley</font> has a blog on the site, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.level26.com/true_crime/">True Crime</a>, which explores real life killers and the people who hunt them down. Level26.com also has contributions from several people involved with the process of making <I>Level 26</I> a reality. In the site's most recent <A class="link" HREF="http://www.level26.com/tlc_units/filter/2/245/1">blog post</a>, <font color=yellow>Ra Hanna</font> described how he created the "Sqweegel Mix" and posted a 50 second clip for visitors to listen to. Earlier in the week, <font color=yellow>Jennifer Cooper</font> offered insight into the casting process for the cyber bridges that take <I>Dark Origins</I> from crime novel to Digi-Novel.<p>Cooper is the casting director for <I>CSI: New York</I>, and Zuiker approached her about finding the right people to bring his Digi-Novel characters to life. "When Anthony asked me to work on <I>Level 26</I>, I of course signed on without another breath," Cooper explained in her blog post. "I cast <I>CSI: NY</I> for him, and after hearing about the Digi-Novel concept, I was both totally confused and totally in!"<p>"In the beginning, I was unsure about how to cast something like this," Cooper said. "I knew that people would at least take the call based on the creator of <I>CSI</I> being the director, but to actually convince big time actors to work on a project in a medium that has not even been created yet seemed like a daunting task."<p>For the hero of <I>Level 26</I>, Steve Dark, they found <font color=yellow>Daniel Buran</font>. Cooper met Buran when he auditioned to appear in the <I>New York</I> episode <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/newyork/season3/days_of_wine_and_roaches.shtml">"A Daze of Wine and Roaches"</a> from the show's third season. "The second he walked out of the office, I called every agent and manager I could think of to get him signed," Cooper shared. "He has the kind of star quality that is rarely seen in this business and a humility that makes you wish every actor behaved as well as he does. I introduced Daniel to Anthony, and it was clear that we had found our Steve Dark. Everything about Daniel Buran screamed Steve Dark."<P>Once Buran was chosen, the rest of the cast came together "like a puzzle", Cooper said. "Anthony had worked with <font color=yellow>Glenn Morshower</font> on <I>CSI</I> and <font color=yellow>Michael Ironside</font> on <I>Terminator Salvation</I>. So, after a short meeting they were off and running as Tom Riggins and Norman Wycoff," she explained. Fans of <I>CSI: Crime Scene Investigation</I> will recognize Morshower as Sheriff Brian Mobley, who appeared in seven episodes during the show's first and second seasons. He was last seen in <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season2/overload.shtml">"Overload"</a>.<p>While casting Jack Mitchell, Zuiker kept wishing that each potential actor was "more like <font color=yellow>Bill Duke</font>." Twenty-four hours later, Duke himself signed on to play the role. For the character of Josh Banner, Cooper immediately thought of <font color=yellow>Kevin Weisman</font>. "I had known Kevin for years, and within a few minutes of talking to Anthony, Kevin was excited and ready to start working," she shared. Weisman was in the <I>CSI: NY</I> episode <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/newyork/season5/the_box.shtml">"The Box"</a> this past season.<p>Finding the perfect person to play the series' twisted--and twisty--serial killer, Sqweegel, was not easy. "We had actors crawling on the floor and balancing on chairs, and after the 30th disastrous audition, I knew we were not even close to the scariest villain of all time," Cooper explained. "We decided we needed a contortionist, and we needed him to be under 6 feet and under 120 pounds to fit in the suit we had already bought." When they met <font color=yellow>Daniel Browning Smith</font>, they knew they had their man. Smith, who played contortionist Lukas Neiman in <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/newyork/season1/blood_sweat_and_tears.shtml">"Blood, Sweat and Tears"</a> during <I>New York</I>'s first season, fit all of their criteria.<p>"What makes the cast of <I>Level 26</I> so special is that they are visionaries," Cooper said. "Each one brought something unique and cool to the table. They are the kind of actors who are willing to take a leap of faith into the unknown. And working with them is like working with family."<p>The original blog post about the casting for <I>Level 26</I> can be found <A class="link" HREF="http://www.level26.com/tlc_units/filter/2/244/1">here</a>. Curious <I>CSI</I> fans can find out more about the series at <A class="link" HREF="http://www.level26.com/">Level26.com</a> and preorder their own copy of <I>Dark Origins</I> at <A class="link" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0525951253/trektoday">Amazon</a> or other online retailers (Level26.com provides a list of links on the right side of the main page). A filmography for each of the actors featured in the cyber bridges can be found on IMDb: <A class="link" HREF="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0120698/">Daniel Buran</a>, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607703/">Glenn Morshower</a>, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000461/">Michael Ironside</a>, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0918858/">Kevin Weisman</a>, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004886/">Bill Duke</a> and <A class="link" HREF="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1828323/">Daniel Browning Smith</a>.<center></center>
I love seeing people I recognize in other shows or movies - and now books, apparently! :lol: