CORDELE – Joseph Lavender is making a movie, and he will be looking for local actors.

For anyone who has acting aspirations, this may be their big chance. There will be seven main characters, about five supporting roles and numerous “extras” in Lavender’s movie which he has aptly titled “Exit 101.”

He expects casting to begin in December and actual filming to start in January or February. The entire movie will be shot in the Cordele area. Lavender anticipates using a variety of venues including the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park.

He describes “Exit 101” as a fictional horror movie that will have some elements of truth, especially concerning Cordele’s famed missile which sits near Exit 101 of I-75. The movie will be family-friendly and should be suitable for most ages, he adds.

Lavender has written the script, and he has his crew set up. While he will be directing, producing and acting, the 28 year old movie maker has secured the services of professional photographer Doug Cole of Valdosta who will serve as director of photography. Cole is the son of Cordele residents Don and Leslie Cole.

Assistant director of photography and director of promotions will be William Mahnken who came to Cordele from New York about 12 years ago.

Lavender who lives in Arabi with his wife and two year old got the acting bug when he and a friend worked as extras in “The Crazies.” That movie was filmed in the Middle Georgia area about a year ago.

The two budding actors then went to Atlanta to be extras in another movie, “The Blind Side,” and realized that they wanted to do more acting.

“Chances like appearing in ‘The Crazies’ are once in a lifetime,” Lavender said, “so we decided to make our own movie.”

When they have a casting call, they will be looking for people with natural acting talent. They know local residents won’t have much, if any, experience, but they will give Lavender’s movie a special charm. “Who knows, this could be the start of an acting career for someone!

“People like to see themselves and other people and places that they recognize on the screen, so we expect a pretty good turnout when we have a casting call,” he says.

Lavender also is accepting donations to help defray the cost of producing his movie. He invites anyone who is interested to visit his website for more information, www.blackflightstudios.com.

He also has a blog that he updates daily, and he posts information on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Find his blog at exit101movie.blogspot.com.