Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 70 Choose two out of three

   On Monday, Ronald was at the casting studio again. It happened that Margery and Joanna Merlin were chatting together.

   "Good morning, Margaery, Joanna."

   "Ronnie, you seem to be in good spirits."

   "Thanks, I'll check if I've been fired," Ronald said.

Margaery and Joanna Merlin were both amused, "Looks like you have a good sense of humour, good boy, you have to have a sense of humour at all times in this business, because reality is too strange and often beyond your imagination. ."

   "You're not familiar with Hollywood rules, Ronnie." Marion was displeased with his childish behavior yesterday. "Actresses are special animals, don't be deceived by them, roles are their highest pursuit."

   "You either reveal the script to Meg and convince the director to use it for the audition. Or just don't use this scene at all. No actress can accept and lose an audition for a character written on her own."

  Joanna also came over and added: "A sly fox will not hunt by the nest."

   "Unless you are the director or producer in control of the overall situation, don't get too involved with the actresses on the set, understand?"

   "If you're going to have a long-term relationship with her, marry her as a wife."

   "Hahaha", the two casting directors were making fun of his childishness.

   Ronald also smiled wryly.

   The people in the conference room heard laughter, opened the door and shouted, "Who's where? Ronald? Call him in."

   "The director and producer are in there?"

   The two female generals nodded.

  The voice was producer David Da Silva, Ronald knew he could not escape and walked into the conference room.

   Director Alan Parker saw Ronald come in and just gave him a cold look.

   It looks like he will be fired on the spot today.

   On the contrary, the producer Da Silva was a lot more enthusiastic: "Ronald, Madonna was found by you. You said, is she suitable for black CoCo or Jewish Doris?"

   Ronald raised his eyes to look at director Parker, but did not answer the producer's question.

   Director Parker pointed at him and said, "It's been a long time since anyone talked to me like you, boy, you're very kind."

   Ronald didn't speak, thinking that the next sentence would be "You've been fired".

Da Silva came out to smooth things out, "Alan, Ronald is still a child, you and I both have times when you are crazy about girls, don't you?" Da Silva added the words "crazy for girls" accent.

Hearing this, Allen glanced at the producer and couldn't help laughing: "Okay, okay, I forgive you Ronald, true love should be forgiven, isn't it, Da Silva gentlemen?"

   "I apologize to you, Mr. Parker. I was impulsive the day before yesterday." Ronald apologized, thinking, "Is it so easy?"

   Allen waved his hand, "You still write more scripts for me. You have to write a wonderful ending like Hillary's for that Jewish character Doris, you know?"

"I'll try my best."

   "For now, let's let everyone come in and discuss." He opened the conference room door and let Margery and Joanna Merlin come in together.

   "Right now we have two roles, but three candidates. Let's discuss it today and get that out of the way." Alan Parker led the conversation.

  Margaery wrote the names of CoCo and Doris on the whiteboard. Then write their main description under the name.

  CoCo wrote below: black, singer, spanning drama, dance, music.

  Doris wrote below: Jew, singer, actor, strong mother makes character shy.

   Then posted the photos of the three audition girls under their names.

  CoCo posted below an audition shot of a black girl named Irene Cara.

Margery said: "Eileen Carla, black. 19 years old. She broke into the top five of Miss America (LittleMissAmerica) at the age of 3. She was born as a child star in TV dramas. She knows how to play the piano. She has been trained in singing since she was a child, and she has also received acting and dancing. Professional training, is a triathlon.

   On the right is an audition photo of a white actor named Maureen Teefy under Doris' name on the right.

Joanna Merlin begins reading her resume: "Maureen Tiffey, Irish-born, former U.S. labor singer, starred in Steven Spielberg's new film '1941' last year with great acting , the quality of singers is trustworthy."

  Everyone looked at Ronald, the Madonna in the middle of the photo was the one he recommended.

   Ronald didn't know anything about Madonna's background, so he had to say: "I found Madonna Ciccone at the audition. She is Italian, and she sings like Linda Ronstadt."

   It was quiet for a while, and everyone was waiting for him to continue.

   "No." Ronald spread his hands, "She has no acting experience in film and television dramas."

   "Hey, she's more like a young Barbra Streisand. I think she's Doris." Producer Da Silva gave Ronald a wink.

   "Whoever sings like, this girl is a confident person. Doris is a shy Jewish girl, and I think Maureen Tiffey is a better fit."

   The two were arguing. The producer pointed out that Madonna had a bigger nose and was more like a Jewish Doris than Maureen, and the director pointed out that Maureen, who was shy in temperament, did not need to be Doris.

   Having been caught between the director and the producer several times, Ronald gradually understood.

  The director Alan Parker was invited by the producer to direct this project, which gave the director a great advantage in the right to speak. He could play the card of "disagree with the director, please be smart" at any time. So in every dispute, the director has the upper hand.

   But this kind of struggle between the director and the producer is not just a matter of the director saying "listen to me". He had to give the right reasons and convince other key people, like the casting director, to overrule the producers without hurting.

  The Madonna picked up by Ronald's audition was used by the producers as a card to attack the director. She looks more Jewish than the director's candidate Maureen, sings better, and is more like a template for the character Doris, the young Barbra Streisand, which are all powerful points of attack.

   And the director, cleverly flipped Madonna into his own card and fought back against the producer, because she could also play the singer CoCo. Singing is also better than the producer's strong push Irene Cara.

   Maybe that's one of the reasons why he's so quick to forgive Ronald for his offense, he needs the casting director on his side and Madonna on his side.

   Madonna was brought in by Ronald during the audition. What this means in the film and television industry is self-evident. She belongs to Ronald, and she must listen to Ronald the most now.

   "Where did the director change this Maureen Tiffey?" Ronald asked the two female generals in a low voice while the two bosses quarreled.

   "I found her from Los Angeles. She was the only one who was picked in the first two trips to Los Angeles. Yesterday, I went to New York and put it directly into our company, and she played Doris." Joanna replied.

   "Already 26?" Ronald looked at her resume.

   "Yes, but her face is still relatively tender, and she can play Doris. She is very mature, not like a high school student. I don't know if the acting is good." Joanna explained to Margaery and Ronald.

   "Crazy for girls? True love can be forgiven? Ha." Ronald thought to himself.

"Character is the first priority in casting. To make a shocking film, you must adhere to this principle. Just like Gene is more suitable for Leroy, Maureen is definitely more suitable for Doris' role than Madonna. ."

   "Why don't we discuss who is more suitable for CoCo? Erin Kara, or Madonna? Since you said her singing skills are so good." The director is on the offensive.

   "CoCo is a black man, and she's a triathlete of acting, singing, and dancing. Only Erin Cara is the best fit." Producer Da Silva was forced into a defensive battle.

   "But Erin Cara's singing performance in the live audition was not good, and it was not at the level of Madonna at all, you admit it?" Director Alan Parker continued to attack.

   "Did she audition well?" Ronald began to whisper again.

   "Yes, her singing is very dry, and she is different from the sample tape (Sample) made in the studio. It may be because of the tension, or the environment of the studio may be more suitable for her voice." Margery said.

   "Why did Da Silva work so hard to protect her? David has given up on the other two casting disputes because of her." Ronald was a little puzzled.

   "Didn't you read her actor resume? Puerto Rico, Cuban, and Latino among blacks." Margery handed her resume to Ronald.

   "And what's Coco's last name in the script?" Joanna Merlin also prompted Ronald.

   "Hernandez", Ronald understands, and the Puerto Rican Latino producer Da Silva wants to use this role to make the same-ethnic Irene Cara popular.

   As the only CoCo among the eight protagonists who spans dance, performance, and music, it can be said to be the first card of the movie. The producer is not going to give up this role, and all the other roles for her.

   "What about choosing based on strength? Which is better?" Ronald asked the two female generals for advice.

   "Irene Cara has a solid foundation. She is a good candidate for her performance, singing, and dancing. She also has extra points for piano." Margery is more optimistic about her.

   "Madonna's singing ability is really outstanding, and he was spotted by the director, so the opportunity is not small." Joanna had heard of Madonna's singing ability, and she wanted to prevent her from advancing and let her compete with Irene for the role.

   "Ronald, Margery, Joanna, what do you think? Which one is more suitable?" The director and the producer were arguing and turned to ask everyone's opinion.

   "It's still the old way, prepare a scene with intense drama and let them audition for another round." Ronald made up his mind not to offend, and to speak with strength.

   "Which scene to use?" The producer has no objection to this arrangement. As a producer, he has all kinds of facilities to give Erin Cara through questions.

   "Just use her to be deceived by an unscrupulous director. In order to get into the industry, let's go and make an adult movie." The director thought about it and said.

   This is a scene that requires a lot of acting skills, and director Parker also wants to choose an actor who really has acting skills to play CoCo.

   This scene pays attention to the imagination of the actors. If the actors themselves have similar backgrounds, they can be surprising and shocking if they have similar backgrounds.

   That's fine, you two separate notices for Erin Cara and Madonna to come to the studio for the second round of auditions.

   "Ronald, you are very good, you understand the truth of casting." Da Silva patted Ronald's shoulder to hint.

   "Madonna, it's me Ronald. The director is going to audition you again, yes there's another girl. Well, you come to the casting studio on East 31st Street early to find me, it's a white house..."

   (end of this chapter)