Open Call for Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained'

Academy Award-winning writer-director Quentin Tarantino's new film "Django Unchained" is currently in production, and an open casting call for extras will be held on Wednesday, February 15 near New Orleans, Louisiana before principal photography begins.

As can be expected of a Tarantino project, "Django" boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, Sacha Baron Cohen, Don Johnson, Anthony LaPaglia, and Walton Goggins.

The film is described as a Spaghetti Western set in the 1850s in the South. A recently freed slave named Django (Foxx) assists German dentist-turned-bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) in order to retrieve his kidnapped wife from the charming but sadistic plantation owner Calvin Candie (DiCaprio).

Batherson Casting is seeking African-American men, women, and children at this call, which will be held the afternoon of February 15 in LaPlace, Louisiana. Because this is a period piece, actors should have no visible tattoos, piercings, or braces, and hair should not be braided or dyed. For more information and audition details, view the full casting notice on BackStage.com. (Subscription required.) Additional casting calls for other ethnic groups and types may be held on a future date.

The film has been shooting in California and Wyoming. Production is expected to begin in February or March in the Orleans and St. John the Baptist Parishes near New Orleans, where it will remain through April 27, 2012. "Django Unchained" is scheduled to be released in December 2012.