Chapter 27: Respect and Memorial
"Clark, you better stop messing around. If you want to find a woman, I'll give you money, and you can find one for yourself. If you want skills, go to San Fernando. If you want your figure, go to the fashion circle in New York, and if you want looks, you can find a personal escort by yourself. But don't mess around with this TV series. Moreover, I don't want anyone to mess around, not just in this TV series but all my film and television work." After thinking for a while, Levi added another sentence.
"Your statement is bizarre. This TV series is fine. Sometimes, I mess around, and it doesn't affect the shooting. What's the big deal?" Clark was a little depressed, turned his head, and watched Levi drive away.
In the beginning, his tone may have been a bit teasing - even though he said such things before, it doesn't mean that he will definitely do it, but now he is a little serious. Even if he doesn't have the intention and doesn't want to do it, this is still his power - the casting director holds the most significant influence in the casting process, and he doesn't want to be always guided by others on what to do with his work.
He's the casting director, casting is his prerogative, and he doesn't want people telling him what to do.
Casting directors have their own union—they are not the same as the actors' or directors' unions. In many works, especially in TV series, they play a critical role. In the shooting of TV series, it is rare to use a fixed director; rather, directors are often changed. It is a commonplace for TV drama directors to change frequently, and producers do not necessarily know how to shoot, so when it comes to professional issues, you have to find professional people to solve them, and the position of casting director came into being—they are the person in charge of that specific job. In a sense, they are also professionals, and professionals naturally don't want others to guide their work.
How powerful are they?
In the future, Gwyneth Paltrow once revealed that when she first participated in film casting, she encountered the unspoken rules of the casting director.
Gwyneth Paltrow's parents are Hollywood insiders, and her godfather is the prominent director Spielberg. But even so, she ran into trouble when it came time to act in movies. Of course, with her background, she could just abandon this movie. Anyway, she has a lot of connections and familiarity, so she fell out with that particular show and continued to have other jobs with another crew. But others have to consider whether they still have a job after leaving here.
"Clark, there is a saying, don't shit in the place where you eat. Movies are our career, and we must respect this career. I hope that we can start from the most serious perspective and treat our works with the same perspective as artworks. Every work - I know what you want to say; TV dramas are not art. Maybe they are not art, but our goal is to pursue movies and success, so we must look at the works with this kind of heart. I don't want to order you; I want to persuade you to agree."
"Clark, I will not give you such a chance. Bob is right; if you want to find a woman, go find it; if you are short of money, we can lend it to you, but on our set, don't use your power to do this kind of thing." In selecting actors, the casting director is a significant position, so Levi also felt it necessary to discuss with Clark and have a good chat. After all, he is the only one among the few who has joined the casting directors' guild. This task still needs to be done by him.
And Levi also has his reasons: even on the set, messing with women is not a big deal, but doing so is always disrespectful to one's work. Levi loves movies. He hopes to make the best movies, not to get a group of women—of course, he is not a dedicated person, but for the sake of a few women, he can't throw away his career pursuit. The lack of respect for what one has pursued in one's life can't be so pathetic. "We are not short of money. If you want to find a woman, you can find it elsewhere. It is best not to do this kind of thing on our set. Not only should you not want to do it, but I also won't do it. And I will notify the actor union and let them keep an eye on it."
In fact, doing sofa auditions is not as easy as imagined: at the audition scene of a large-scale film and television production, the producer, casting director, director of the actor union, brokerage company, and actors will all be present to participate in the audition. Unlike independent film directors who find a room and set up a sofa, they can directly imply that the actors are fooling around. It is not that simple to invest in large-scale film and television works. Among these people, even if the producer is too busy to come to the audition, and the brokerage company is unscrupulous and does not stop such things, at least the actor union will consider protecting the actors' interests.
However, some things are not so certain. Even in the face of various systems, it is easy to find loopholes. In domestic industry, it is no longer news that directors hinted that actors would go to their rooms to talk about plays in the middle of the night. In the United States, there is a unique kind of love called 'set love.' People do not engage in unfair transactions. There will be no deals, but they will be in love for the duration of filming; no one cares about that, right? Everyone must admit that the people behind the film's scenes are very talented, and the actors are gorgeous, right? So, is it any wonder that a group of talented and beautiful people get along daily and have a short but passionate love? Even if the actor union wants to protect actors' interests, it can't prohibit them from falling in love.
As for the actors who are allowed to act after falling in love? This is taking care of the family and the ones you love. This is the concrete embodiment of the proper American spirit! What, you said that there might be conflicts of interest behind this? Why can't you think of the good of people and believe that this is love? Is it annoying to always pay attention to conflicts of interest? Can't we focus on the beautiful part of love? Why is your mind so dirty?
All kinds of practices are also excellent opportunities for people to escape surveillance. There are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom, which is a common phenomenon all over the world. Therefore, more often than not, the supervision of the actors' union is to ensure that no coercive incidents occur, so forget it.
"Of course, Clark, if you like a certain actor and want to fall in love with her, then you can do whatever you want."
Of course, Levi can't deny that maybe someone will have a spark of love when filming Explosion—such a thing is possible. If you have to deny even true love for the sake of your career, it won't be worth it.
"Then what if I fall in love three or four times a day?" Clark looked at Levi and laughed.
"You are my friend; you won't lie to me for a woman, will you?" Levi shrugged, "I still believe in you; you won't do that." Levi's words made Clark silent for a while,
"Don't worry; I will do it to your satisfaction. It's just that I can't do this out of respect for my career - Nick, you have to understand that there are too many dirty things in this circle. Even if you do not shit where you eat, there will be other people who will dirty this place if you mess around. Those actors are not all clean."
"Clark, I didn't ask them to be clean." Levi shook his head, "You know me, I'm not a moral model, and I don't think that if you do these things, you must be inferior to others: a person works hard for his own career, and if the methods are so dirty, why bother to accuse those women of using their bodies as a way to advance? In the entertainment industry, some plagiarize, some forcibly buy out other people's works, some forcibly take roles from others, and some ask the director to cut other people's scenes. There are many wicked people, some for some money, some for their momentary pleasure, who can ruin a person's life. So, what qualifications do you have to despise those who do anything for their future?"
"Then why…"
"Because I don't want this kind of thing to be done by us."
Yes, Hollywood has a variety of forces and struggles everywhere in the darkness. Some people meet those bullshit rules and fall, while others keep their self-esteem and self-love in their hearts and still struggle. Still, there will always be more people who are full of confidence in the future and pursuing a career.
In this place, there are still some people who, for a job opportunity, have to work part-time while looking for opportunities. There are still some people who, to get a role, frantically memorize lines and practice postures from the moment they wake up. They try to figure out, analyze, and even forget to eat and sleep to get a role. There are still some people who really love acting and are unwilling to give in.
It may be hard to find the day when these people are struggling, but Levi is at least willing to give them a chance so they don't have to struggle in such adversity. And to say why? Because Levi also had such a struggle in his previous life. He knew how difficult the situation of those people was. As a person who has been at the bottom, he has seen the difficulties of these people. Of course, he doesn't have the idea of wanting to save everyone or purify the rules of the circle; he knows he can't do it. But at least he wants to remember his origins, struggles, and the past years.
This can be regarded as a kind of sympathy. Levi knows that his thoughts are a little naive, but thinking about his previous self, he still wants to stick to this naivety.
"Give a way out to those unwilling to join forces and sacrifice themselves." Levi sighed, "It's not easy for them, so please help as much as possible, just to commemorate your former self."
*****
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