Danny Boyle film starring Ed Sheeran and Lily James needs a lot of UK extras

Danny Boyle’s new movie is looking for a lot of unpaid extras to fill concert scenes across the UK.

The untitled film, written by Richard Curtis and starring both Lily James and Ed Sheeran, has put out a request for people to attend a full day of shooting at a location in Liverpool, for free, on Tuesday, June 5.

The advertisement placed on applausestore.com by Working Title Films – which produced Darkest Hour, The Danish Girl and Baby Driver – invites people “to help create an enthusiastic, vibrant concert goers audience throughout the day and play a vital role in the making of this film.”

This vital role comes with refreshments and the potential to win a prize of an unknown value as long as you stick around between 9 to 5pm.

Sadly, though, for those wanting to see Ed Sheeran perform live they will be disappointed as the advertisement makes it clear he won’t be doing any songs during the live concert scene either.

He may knock out a few tunes at another live concert scene in Norfolk.

A separate casting call for the same production was posted by script supervisor Emma Freud (Richard Curtis’ wife) asking for 5000 people to come to a live concert, 10am-2pm, on June 27, at Gorleston beach.

The average payment for background performers, depending on the size of production, is around £50-100 per day but the event organisers have made it clear it is unpaid too.

Working Title told Yahoo Movies that they don’t have the budget to pay extras within the crowd scenes but there are certain extras who will paid during the film’s production.

“We are recruiting paid extras throughout the film’s shooting schedule, including Liverpool, for which we are using casting agencies,” a spokesperson said.

“Paid background artists have very specific roles within the film, each artist being cast for that role by the filmmakers. We are really hoping Liverpool will embrace this call to action and help Danny to film a real crowd. We will make it a fun event!”

Some people on social media criticised the request for unpaid extras with one person saying the practice ‘needs to be stopped.’

Others don’t seem to mind though.

The movie had been looking for paid extras in East Anglia, according to a casting call put out by the production company with Casting Collective.

The notice said, according to East Anglian Daily Times: “Filming locally April – June, all adults ages 16yrs and over welcome to apply, no upper age limit if you have stamina. No experience necessary. For one or two days filming, good rates of pay.”

Not much plot detail is known about the film but it will be music-themed and set in the 1960s or 1970s, but (if you don’t mind the whole not getting paid bit) you can be a part of it if you follow the above links.

Yahoo Movies has contacted Working Title Film and Equity for comment.

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