Emirates Airline is coming to Hollywood. To celebrate its new direct route between Los Angeles and Dubai, the carrier is producing a short film, The Exposure of Tom King, and holding open auditions for the starring roles. But instead of a plane ticket to Los Angeles, a web cam is all you need to audition. Sure, auditioning via web cam is a bit of a kooky idea - but, wait, it gets weirder. The entire movie has already been shot - only without actors.

That’s where you and your web cam come in. Emirates has tapped Hollywood casting director Avy Kaufman (The Sixth Sense, Thomas Crown Affair, Brokeback Mountain, etc.) to choose the winning actors and place them into the main roles.

Auditions are open via the film’s web site through Oct. 26, the day the new Emirates route officially launches. To get in on the lights-camera-action, check out the actor-less movie trailer, head to the web site, where a list of characters and their crucial biographical information awaits. Choose a character, then start practicing your lines. When you’re ready, fire up the ‘cam and get into character. If your performance is good enough to land you in the real deal, then you’ll be featured in the short film when it premieres on Nov. 7, 2008.

Wanna size up the competition? You can view the auditions via the site.

If you’re not already a member of Virgin America’s Elevate program, then here’s a reason to join. The airline is picking one Elevate member to join its group of VIPs for the first public viewing, scheduled for July 28, of the WhiteKnight aircraft that will launch Virgin Galactic’s commercial space ship, SpaceShipTwo, into sub-orbital space flight.

Wanna see this knight in shining, carbon composite armor? You’ll have to get creative and tell the powers that be about the first thing you’d do in a weightless environment in 50 words or less. Click the image above to get started….