Combat Veteran Cast in a Film Starring Twin Sisters

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Sept. 6, 2018 - PRLog -- When casting began on the film "Mirror Image", director Linda Shayne auditioned hundreds of actors to portray the federal agent characters.  Versatility, believability, along with a combination of strength and vulnerability were essential for these roles in this short film about the recruitment and war game testing of identical twins.

"When actor Marlon Sanders auditioned, he had a way of imbuing confidence and a sense of heroism in the character," explained director Linda Shayne. "Marlon's acting talents, his stature and his baritone voice brought the role to life."  Sanders' previous acting credits include "NCIS", "Shameless" and "The Forgiven".

Juxtaposing Sanders' six-foot plus presence, Shayne cast retired colonel, now full-time actress, Lisa Costanza to portray Sander's partner, a colonel in the military. Shayne made a point of opening all roles in the film to veterans. Costanza is a member of Veterans in Media & Entertainment (VME), a non-profit that unites current and former members of the military working in film and television. http://www.vftla.org

"Lisa Costanza is an extremely versatile actress, in theater, film and TV.  She joined the service as a private before going through Officer Candidate School and then went on to become an Army Colonel, commanding at every level from platoon through brigade," Shayne stated.  "Having served in Kosovo and through Operation Iraqi freedom and Operation New Dawn, Costanza has seen the battlefield and she brought authenticity and gravity to the project, especially the recruitment scenes."  Lisa Costanza has acted in "Doubt", "The Guest Book" and the award winning Amazon series, "Transparent". Shayne and Costanza are now developing a project inspired by Costanza's extraordinary 20 year military career.

Screenwriter, director Linda Shayne has directed for Nickelodeon and Paramount and has written for Disney, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment, Warner Bros., Quincy Jones' QDE and Showtime. Shayne is a dual citizen, American and Canadian, with a degree from the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley).

Shayne developed the film "Mirror Image" for twins to portray a pair of identical undercover recruits.  "My idea was inspired by a real-life espionage incident involving twin undercover agents and I envisioned a re-interpretation regarding gender and age," Shayne explained. "The short will serve as an introduction to the movie or TV series."  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8394708

Identical twins Emily Hinkler and Elizabeth Hinkler star in the film. Emily Hinkler is featured in the feature film, "Boy Erased" starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, directed by Joel Edgerton that world premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and is screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Elizabeth Hinkler appears in "Under the Stars" starring Sydney Sweeney and Topher Grace opening in December. Both Emily Hinkler and Elizabeth Hinkler guest starred in two episodes of the CBS TV series, "The Good Doctor", starring Freddie Highmore.

"Mirror Image" introduces young actor, Easton von der Lieth and includes Jonathan Asgari, Matt Steele and Emmanuel Salgado. The cinematographer is Rachel Bardin, with James Regan composing an original score, the production designers are Angella Gasparin and Jorge Garcia, the film's producers are Max Vought, Linda Shayne, Lauren Taylor and Jonathan Regan.