By Rick Harmon
Montgomery Advertiser

When Tim Burton's "Big Fish" has an open casting call from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday at the old Cloverdale Junior High School gym, the film's casting directors will be looking for more than 6,000 extras from the Montgomery area.

As if needing 6,000 extras isn't a big enough indication that "Big Fish" is a big movie, it was announced Wednesday that Jessica Lange, who won an Oscar for "Blue Sky," which was also filmed in Alabama, has been added to a cast that already includes Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor and Billy Crudup.

"Using that many extras, it's staggering," said Brian Kurlander, the director of the Alabama Film Office.

"I knew there were some big scenes in the movie, but I had no idea that it was going to be this extraordinary an opportunity. 'Big Fish' is a redefining event for the film industry in Alabama."

What sort of people do the casting agents want?

"We want all shapes, all sizes, all ages," said Tracy Kilpatrick, who will be coordinating the casting call.

"The movie is going to be shooting from the middle of January through sometime in May, and will involve scenes from the'40s to the present day, so we need a very, very large number of extras."

Kilpatrick, who helped cast movies such as "Forrest Gump," "Dead Man Walking," and "The Hudsucker Proxy," said besides regular extras, she will be casting some featured extras and possibly a few speaking roles.

Kilpatrick said people will fill out information on site, so they don't need to bring resumes.

"All they need to bring is a picture of themselves that they can give to us and some patience," she said.