章 8: Chapter 8: Male and Female Protagonists
As night deepened, dense fog enveloped the seaside residential area, bringing in the salty, damp air through the gaps in the window, sneaking into the nose of the busy figure beneath it.
"Achoo~"
After sneezing, Duke turned off the air conditioner. His eyes returned to the drawing board in front of him. Stretching a long lazy yawn, he placed his hands back on the desk, picked up a pencil, and sketched simple lines: two ovals, one large and one small, along with four straight lines, forming a representation of the male protagonist.
In just a few minutes, the image in his mind transformed into a storyboard draft.
This was a storyboard technique favored by many young directors in another world—simple yet direct, sufficient to convey the scene represented by the sketch. In this era, it could be considered a futuristic drawing method.
Nonetheless, the effect was quite good. Duke often took the sketches to communicate with various departments of the crew, and most people found this kind of draft clear and straightforward.
After finishing another sketch, Duke gathered them together into a file. His storyboarding was temporarily complete; if he had any new ideas later, he could always make changes.
After tidying up his desk a bit, Duke stepped out of his bedroom and arrived at his mother's study. He gently knocked on the door, and as expected, a voice invited him in.
"Mom…" Duke pushed the door open and walked in.
"Is there something?" Mrs. Leah, seated at the desk, removed her glasses and looked over.
"It's late," he pointed at the clock on the wall, "you should get some rest."
"Okay, soon."
Seeing his mother nod, Duke finally said, "Good night."
"Good night."
Returning to his room, Duke lay down but couldn't fall asleep. His mind was filled with thoughts about the upcoming *Speed*, and although the preliminary preparations had gone smoothly with no apparent mistakes from the crew, the pressure of this first experience still weighed heavily on him.
When opportunities have not yet arrived, one longs for them; when they do arrive, one fears failing to seize them.
This is a common issue for most people, and Duke was no exception. Even though he had lived a previous life, he remained a normal person.
This was a rare opportunity, one he couldn't afford to fail. Duke was acutely aware of this; if he messed it up, he wouldn't have another chance for a long time.
Transforming pressure into motivation sounded simple, but doing it was far from easy.
Grumbling about the inspirational quotes from those motivational training gurus, Duke finally fell into a deep sleep.
Perhaps a good night's sleep was the best way to relieve pressure. After waking up the next morning, Duke's posture was still tall and straight, his strong face radiating determination and confidence, as if no force in the world could defeat him.
After running a lap along the coastal avenue by the beach, he returned home for breakfast made by his mother. After changing into formal attire, Duke drove his Chevrolet towards West Hollywood.
Today, the crew was holding the second audition for the female lead, in which Duke had a significant say.
During the first audition for the male and female leads, neither Duke nor Robin Grand had participated. He wasn't too concerned about whether Keanu Keeves, who accepted the audition invitation, would be cut; in Hollywood, no actor was irreplaceable, even if that person was Meryl Streep.
As for *Speed*, who played the male lead Jack was not that important. For such a role, any handsome young white male with a rugged air and passable acting skills would do; there really wasn't much difference.
Duke suggested Keanu Reeves simply because he had some popularity at the moment and his salary was affordable—not the Keanu of a few years later, who would definitely command more than $500,000!
Most of the budget would be invested in special effects and filming, with a total actor salary budget of only $2 million. Duke and Robin Grand had even reached a consensus to try and keep this expenditure under $1.5 million.
Even so, a third of the compensation for all cast and crew would have to be paid after the film's release in North America.
As for whether the film would be released in North America, the people involved, including Duke, were not worried. Lucasfilm was one of the top ten production companies in the industry, and finding a distributor was a routine job. They had already made contact with 20th Century Fox, which had been encouraging George Lucas to restart the Star Wars series; signing a distribution contract should not be a problem.
Of course, the specific distribution conditions would be finalized after 20th Century Fox viewed the footage.
When Duke arrived at the "Speed" studio, he found that many of the actors auditioning had arrived even earlier than him. This wasn't surprising; actors competed fiercely in Hollywood. In this era, even well-known directors often had one foot in front of the camera, but actors were the most glamorous stars of Hollywood.
Most of those who entered Hollywood with dreams aimed to become actors; to be precise, they aspired to be star actors!
The crew had no clear inclination toward the female lead. This was Hollywood; word would surely get out, and those actresses who had played a few minor roles without truly becoming famous would not miss this opportunity.
Perhaps this crew wasn't well-known, but let's not forget that the film's production company was Lucasfilm, and the name of George Lucas was attached to the producer's position.
From the positions of those actresses, it was evident that they were very competitive. They kept a considerable distance from one another, rarely conversing, and they were very protective of themselves; even the water offered by the crew staff was avoided.
Hollywood was truly a melting pot, and many would use shocking methods to gain fame. The competition among actresses was often even more intense and insidious.
Although he had never witnessed it personally in this life, Duke had heard many rumors about it, and 90% of them had proven to be true.
For example, a deputy director from the *Hook* crew had mentioned that if several actresses in a crew were in fierce competition, everyone would be cautious, especially with food and drink. They would only trust their personal assistants. Often, after opening a bottle of mineral water and taking a sip, they would rush off to film, and once they were done, they would never drink from that bottle again.
It wasn't that someone would definitely do something; it was just basic self-protection.
After having a cup of coffee in his office, Duke entered the audition room, greeted Robin Grand, and nodded at the deputy director, Cone. He walked directly to the chair behind the monitor connected to the camera and sat in the middle.
The auditions began quickly. Like a Hollywood assembly line, the auditions were almost formulaic. The actresses entered, briefly introduced themselves, read a line, performed a scene from the script as required by the interviewers, and then discussed their understanding and perspective on the role.
Those who passed the first audition, in terms of basic acting skills and appearance, were surely not too bad.
Over the course of the morning, a total of six actresses entered the audition room, including some names Duke recognized. For instance, the second actress, tall and with distinct Germanic features, was Uma Thurman, the fourth, a sweet-faced Australian, was Naomi Watts, and the last was the African American actress Halle Berry.
The African American actress would definitely be cut. Duke didn't know who conducted the first audition, but it was surprising they had chosen her for the second; this was completely against the film's requirements. Anyone could sit in the back of the bus, but to succeed, the female lead sitting in the driver's seat had to be white.
This was the most straightforward form of political correctness in filmmaking.
After a simple lunch, the few who had a say in the choice of male and female leads returned to the audition room to watch the audition recordings from the morning to quickly decide on the female lead.
"Duke, you're the director."
Robin Grand, sitting behind the oval desk, asked Duke, who was standing next to the monitor, "What's your opinion?"
Taking a tape, Duke inserted it into the VCR and pointed at the tall woman appearing on screen. "Uma Thurman; she best fits the character of Annie among everyone."
"I don't think so."
Deputy director Cone stood up and also walked to the monitor. "She's only twenty-one, too young, her acting is rather inexperienced, and she isn't pretty enough."
Saying this, he took another tape and switched it for playback. "I think she's good; Naomi Watts is more appealing in terms of appearance."
Duke frowned slightly but then relaxed, directly stating, "I disagree!"
He turned left and took two steps, standing directly opposite the deputy director. "What I need is a typical American girl, a somewhat wild, goofy girl, not a sweetheart!"
"I stand by my opinion!" Cone was unyielding.
"Robin, what about you?" Duke turned to look at the desk. "What's your opinion?"
In the absence of George Lucas's interference, the real decision-making power still rested with Robin Grand.
"Let's do this," Robin Grand lightly tapped the desk and said, "Move Naomi Watts back to the position of a bus passenger, and Uma Thurman will sit in the driver's seat."
"I agree."
Duke walked back to his seat and sat down. Although Robin Grand was supporting him, his tactics were smooth enough, coupled with his outstanding abilities. It was not unreasonable for George Lucas to choose him to take charge of the crew.
Duke was the first to compromise, and Cone naturally no longer insisted on her own opinion. They just had to wait for the crew to sign a formal actor contract with them, and then they would be given the scripts for their roles.
The next day, another audition for the male lead was held. Duke once again had a disagreement with Cone, and Robin Grand once again implicitly supported Duke. Keanu Reeves got the role of Jack.
Faced with these actors who are eager to become famous but do not have much capital, the crew will definitely not offer high salaries.
After a tug-of-war negotiation, Keanu Reeves' agent secured a salary of $400,000 for him, while another main actor, Dennis Hopper, received a salary of $200,000.
As for the leading actress, Uma Thurman only received $80,000 in Hollywood, where the pay gap between male and female actors is huge.
The crew successfully compressed the salaries of all actors to less than $1.5 million.
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