Bernsen laffer to lather up soap stars
Shriner, Davidson, Fath join 'Test'
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Bernsen, who also scripted "3 Day Test," has tapped "General Hospital" star Kin Shriner to topline the pic, which is about an accountant who unravels three days before Christmas and decides to put his family through a survival test. Eileen Davidson of "The Young and the Restless" will portray Shriner's wife and Farah Fath of "Days of Our Lives" will be the teenage daughter.
Also signed are Julia Barr and James Mitchell of "All My Children"; Tony Geary of "General Hospital"; John McCook of "The Bold and the Beautiful"; Arianne Zuker and James Reynolds of "Days of Our Lives"; Steve Martinez of "Guiding Light"; Kristoff St. John of "The Young and the Restless"; and Jacob Young of "All My Children."
The shingle, which is finalizing a distrib deal, is also aiming to tap into the soaps' fanbase once lensing starts in April. Bernsen envisions using the Public Filmworks Web site to offer merchandise, streaming video feeds from the set and polls on details such as which brands a stars should use in a particular scene.
"American daytime dramas reach a worldwide audience of over 300 million people daily," Bernsen said. "To say there is a fanbase and an appetite out there for projects starring this unique and underused talent base would be an understatement."
Bernsen believes the arrangement can defray part of the $2.5 million production costs. He said he became acutely aware of branding's potential during his long stint on "L.A. Law."
"I got asked again and again by fans who made my suit, but the fact that I was wearing Hugo Boss went unnoticed."
Bernsen, who founded Public Filmworks four years ago with Shaun Edwardes, said the shingle is developing several other projects with the same business model of casting from a specific talent pool and targeting their fan base. Bernsen and Edwardes brought in former Digital on Demand CEO Tom Szabo to fill the same slot at the shingle as dealmaker and strategist.
Public Filmworks signed a five-year partnership deal this week with the American Basketball Assn. with the goal of developing "The Action," a feature about a producer who purchases an ABA franchise and staffs the team with misfits, portrayed by basketball players. The shingle is also developing "Carpool Guy," a comedy set in Los Angeles to topline NASCAR drivers and music stars.
"We're going to build a grassroots demand for each film's release," Edwardes said.
