EXCLUSIVE: William Baldwin, Xander Berkeley, Ashanti and Beverly D’Angelo are among a raft of stars getting behind the upcoming drama No Address about a community of homeless people fighting eviction from their encampment.
They have been announced as key cast by Robert Craig Films as shooting gets underway in Sacramento.
Further cast members include Ty Pennington, Lucas Jade Zumann, Kristanna Loken, Patricia Velasquez, and Isabella Ferreira.
British LA-based Julia Verdin directs from a screenplay co-written with James J Papa.
They created the characters from true stories gathered during research trips to shelters, missions and charitable organizations across America.
Baldwin plays a gambler living beyond his means and desperate to close a lucrative deal involving the acquisition of land currently being camped on by a community of homeless people. He is determined to find a way to clear the unwanted residents off the lot.
Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Walking Dead) plays a war veteran, former addict and protector of the group. He is also a talented artist who paints and sells his pieces to make money for the group.
Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Ashanti plays an Iraq War vet who suffers from PTSD and has turned to drugs as a coping mechanism.
Golden Globe nominee D’Angelo takes on the role of a formerly successful actress whose early-onset dementia has led her to a life on the streets.
Home Improvement celebrity Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) makes a guest appearance as the charitable owner of a hardware store who is a strong believer in second chances. Rising newcomer Zumann plays a youngster who has been living on the streets since leaving his abusive home.
A study released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development study (HUD) in January suggested that nearly 600,000 people are unhoused on any given night across America, and recent statistics suggest there are roughly 42,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County alone.
“My hope in making a film about people experiencing homelessness is that it will open people’s hearts to remember that we have human beings out on our streets with nowhere to go,” says Verdin.
The film has the endorsement of a number of West Coast bodies supporting homeless people including Step Up LA, Union Rescue Mission LA, the Downtown Women’s Center and the First Presbyterian Church, Hollywood.
Baldwin is repped by Stride Management; Berkeley, by Untitled Entertainment; Ashanti, by GVA Talent Agency; Pennington, by Creative Arts Agency (CAA), and, Zumann, by Paonessa Talent Agency and United Talent Agency.
Principal photography will continue in the greater Sacramento area until the end of March.