The Players

Linklater and Bogosian worked together, along with Producer Ann Walker-McBay and Casting Director Judy Henderson, to cast the film. The key decision was that the actors had to be as close to the age of the characters as possible. Steve Zahn and Samia Shoaib stayed on from the Lincoln Center production, and were soon joined by Nicky Katt and Parker Posey, both Dazed And Confused veterans. This left five remaining roles to be filled. Auditions were held in New York, Los Angeles and Austin. Amie Carey had been starring in a student production of the play at the University of Southern California, and was asked to audition. Giovanni Ribisi initially auditioned for the part of Pony, but his intense sincerity seemed more fitting for the role of Jeff. Jayce Bartok, Ajay Naidu and Dina Spybey auditioned and secured their roles in New York City, and the film had been cast in a mere three weeks.

The goodwill fostered between writer and director quickly took root in the production itself. After three weeks of rehearsals, the cast of nine young actors formed a close-knit group - actors would regularly show up on-set on nights when they weren't working, just to hang out.

"It's extrordinary to be a part of a cast where you think everyone is good," notes Ajay Naidu. "Everyone is good in this. That was clear during the first read-through, and became more evident as we rehearsed."

It was an enjoyable shoot. Interviewed during the production, Parker Posey remarked that "We are having so much fun on this movie - we just hang out and talk and it always ends up being about the moon and sex and how superior we are to the guys, how much funnier we are."