Chapter 50: Chapter 50 The Young Man Who Burst into the Casting Studio. "31 East Street, Audition Studio."
Ronald took out a small book and compared it with the address the airport taxi driver had given him.
"This is it."
Ronald and Meg found the address of the audition studio. It was a three-story building. The rough exterior walls were uniformly painted white. There were black iron railings on the steps at the entrance.
However, a burly black security guard in front of the stairs ruined the elegant atmosphere.
"Hello, hello... Self-recommendations from actors are not welcome here. If you want to audition, ask your agent to send you audition photos."
The big black man completely blocked the entrance steps behind him, blocking a group of boys and girls who wanted to run inside. Some male actors who didn't believe in the ban pushed against the big guy's waist, but he bounced back as if they had collided with a wall.
"Don't you accept self-recommendations as actors?"
Ronald touched his ears. It was the old problem of union qualifications again.
The usual production teams in Hollywood will not contact actors directly, but they will notify auditions through their agents.
However, projects registered with the Screen Actors Guild give priority to union members. If you want to join the Screen Actors Guild, you must get a short-term contract in a registered movie. And agents generally won't hire someone without a union card.
The door for newcomers to Hollywood is almost blocked, leaving only a small crack. Of course, young actors with connections are not included. Someone will open the door and let them in.
It seemed that the only way was to help Meg find an agent first, send her audition photos and resume, and then find a way to influence the casting director.
As soon as he turned his head, Ronald saw Meg taking him by the arms and looking at him with hopeful eyes.
This look gently pinched Ronald's heart, and he suddenly felt proud. We can't just give up today; we have to think of other ways to try.
If Meg can't audition for the movie, both she and the movie lose.
At that moment, the white door of the small building opened, and a FedEx delivery person dressed in a purple uniform and a baseball cap ran out. Ronald came up with a bold idea.
"Give me your baseball cap," Ronald told Meg. "Wait for me here, and I'll go try it."
Meg took off her New York Yankees baseball cap and handed it to Ronald, looking a little confused.
Ronald took off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket, grabbed the bag containing Meg's audition photos and those of the other two beauties, whistled, and quickly walked forward.
"I'm here to deliver the audition photos." Ronald opened the file bag, took out the audition photos, and showed them to the big black security guard.
"What company are you from?" The big black man still stopped him.
"I was a gopher, and the Actors Studio asked me to deliver three additional audition photos and resumes."
Ronald pretended to be a courier and impatiently waved the document bag.
"Come in." The big black man let Ronald in and then went back to blocking the remaining boys and girls.
As soon as you walk through the door, you will see the studio's reception.
"Delivering audition materials," Ronald repeated his trick and raised the document bag he had in his hand.
"The 'Hot Lunch' team?"
"Um..." Ronald didn't know the name of the movie, so he pretended to look at the contents of the folder, "It's the team with a lot of boys and girls."
"That's right." There was no doubt that he was there at the reception. "Go into the conference room to the right."
This studio is actually a refurbished old house, and all the rooms are made of wooden doors.
Ronald walked alone before reaching the conference room; he heard someone speaking.
"We've gone through the studio files, throughout New York and even all over Hollywood, of all the suitable young film actors' photos, as well as plays, musicals, and even television series. The problem is that the lead doesn't like any of them. Are there any suitable ones? No extras?"
A woman's voice said.
"No, this is not the actor I need. I need... I need an actor with a different temperament, the kind of actor that is very common in England. I don't know if it's because New York doesn't have 'or if you haven't found the right place," said one of them, echoed the young man's voice.
Seeing this, Ronald quietly entered the room and closed the door behind him.
There were two women and a man in the room. The youngest woman was so angry that she was about to fight with the man.
At that moment, another older woman stopped her colleague and said, "Wait, Margery."
Then, after a pause, she spoke:
"Director Alan Parker, our casting studio, has always prided itself on finding a variety of actors that meet the director's requirements.
This time, we spent several hours and still couldn't find a satisfactory actor to invite to audition. I thought, this is not normal. Is there some misunderstanding in the communication? We haven't understood what kind of actors you need."
"What I want are real actors, you understand? Not the kind of American Hollywood stars." The middle-aged man waved his hands enthusiastically as he made his grand comments.
Ronald looked at the director and saw that he had long hair like a shawl, but his huge face and chubby fingers betrayed the middle-aged man's attempt to grow long hair to highlight the temperament of an artist.
More like a carpenter, Ronald commented mentally.
"You must know that in the real world, not everyone knows if they can succeed. What I need is not a natural winner, a winner, you understand?"
"In England, all actors have been trained in Shakespearean drama and know how to portray an unfortunate person, an unlucky person.
The photos of the actors you are looking for are natural winners with their temperament. One look at their faces and the audience knows they will win at the end of the movie."
"And this ruins the tone of the whole movie. I won't allow the audience to guess the endings from the start. I want the audience to experience those misfortunes and dangers with them... to care for the characters and cry for the characters."
The director continued speaking.
The two women in the casting studio frowned more and more. They looked at each other and then communicated quietly.
"Margery, is this the script you have? How do I remember that the script I originally read had a very bright and optimistic tone?"
"I'm pretty sure our director got another script. Yours had a darker tone. I don't know why he did that. Anyway, we need to adjust the direction of the audition..."
The director turned his head and kept roaring.
"In the film and television industry, no one can guarantee your success. In the film and television industry, the only thing that can guarantee you is a hot lunch. This is the meaning of the movie's name. The people you choose are too confident."
The director picked up the audition photos that were scattered on the casting studio table and said:
"Look at these faces. Do they look like people who will fail? The word winner is written on everyone's forehead."
"Do you think I could have a role in my movie? And her? And him?"
The director collected the photographs and distributed one by one to everyone present, and also handed one to Ronald.
Ronald looked at the director and discovered that director Alan Parker not only had a big face but also a nose that took up a third of his face. So much so that the eyes and mouth seemed pushed to the limit.
"What I need is a real actor, give me the actor I need, not these confident people, I need that kind of... do you understand?"
"A real actor?" the older woman tried to respond.
The director shook his head and asked Ronald again: "You know? What kind of actors do I need? You can explain it to your colleagues."
It's over, I'm done with this.
The two casting studio employees also cast suspicious glances. At first, they thought Ronald was on the director's side, but now it seems...
"Tell me, what kind of actor do I need?"
The director kept asking Ronald.
"Well, I think you want Loser."
Don't hesitate at the critical moment, just say what comes to mind. Ronald gave the answer that he understood in his heart.
"Loser?" The two employees looked at each other and saw a glimmer of understanding in each other's eyes.
"To be more precise, a group of losers who work hard is needed. In the end, they can succeed or fail. But in the process of struggling, it is necessary for the audience to identify with them and experience their joys, sorrows, and joys."
Ronald could also say more, maybe he could impress the director?
"Ah, finally someone understands what I mean, God bless them." The director sighed with relief.
"Let me tell you that although you, Americans, and we in England speak the same language, sometimes we find it hard to understand each other. Our cultures are completely different."
The two casting studio employees stared deeply at Ronald: "Mr. Director, now we understand what you mean. The script we saw seems to be quite different from your current script. Why don't we make some copies of the current script and discuss the casting?"
"Okay, okay," Mr. Director handed him the script he had in his hand, "But you can only make two copies of this script. Don't make it public. It is only distributed to those present."
"By the way, what is your name?" The director turned to Ronald and asked.
"My name is Ronald, Ronald Lee."
I can't act stupid anymore.
"I apologize. I'm not an employee of the casting studio. I'm an audition portrait photographer. I came here to seek cooperation. I came here unintentionally and disrupted your work. I'm very sorry."
As he spoke, Ronald took out three audition photographs. They were handed out to several people present.
"Did you take the new audition photos of Natasha Kinski?" the women who received the two photos first asked Ronald.
"Yes, I took this one and this one as a romantic comedy."
"It turns out it's you. You don't know. The photos you took make many actresses jealous. We have been looking for you for a long time," said the employee named Margery.
"We got in touch with Natasha and she said you were at New World Productions, and then we found Roger Corman's assistant, and she said you would come to New York University, and we thought we wouldn't find you until classes started."
Another employee also smiled and said: "So you're Ronald Lee. Sleepy Luo?"
"Well, that's me." Ronald was secretly annoyed at the reason this nickname had circulated.
"Oh my God. This is the kind of face I was looking for." The director got the photo of Meg Tilly that Ronald deliberately handed him.
He showed the photo to the two women and said: "That's what I want."
"Mr. Director, Miss Meg is just outside the door. If you need her, why not let her in so you can see her in action to see if she is suitable for this movie?"
Ronald looked at the two casting studio employees, and they didn't object.
"Your doorman? You need to find someone to inform him." Ronald thought of the big black man who did his duty.
"I'll go with you." The employee named Margery, who had initially argued with the director, offered to go out with Ronald.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," Ronald apologized again.
"It's okay, it turns out we are also looking for you," Margery winked. "It's not easy to fool the doorman Sean."
Ronald knew they had seen his attempt to burst into the casting studio and apologized to her again.
"Have you met Director Parker before?" Margery asked.
"No, I saw him for the first time today," said Ronald.
"Go and call your girlfriend," said Margery.
"Meg, Meg, come here," Ronald desperately called to Meg Tilly in the distance.
Meg ran toward the door, and Margery ordered the burly black man to let her in, causing a commotion among the boys and girls gathered at the door.
"The director of Hot Lunch wants to meet you. He saw your photo and thought he might give you a chance to audition," Ronald told Meg, who looked expectant.
"This is Meg Tilly, and this is Margery, er... Miss."
"Just call me Margery, your girlfriend?"
"Uh," just as Ronald was about to respond, Meg had already run forward, wrapped her arms around Ronald's neck, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Ronald. Thank you."
As Meg Tilly spoke, she remembered the days when a wall had hit her in the past. She buried her head in Ronald's chest and silently shed tears for a while.
"Don't be like that, good girl, today is your lucky day. The director is still waiting; let's go in," Ronald consoled her.
"This is the Meg Tilly from the photo," Ronald introduced her to the director.
Meg Tilly waited nervously...
End of the chapter
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