Exploiting Hollywood 1980

At dawn, Ronald went out and bought a few papers on the newsstand. He wanted to find out if the movie he dreamed about last night was Alan Parker's "Hot Lunch."

Take a copy of Hollywood's "Daily Variety", and "The Hollywood Reporter." On the Broadway side of New York, there are many stage plays and musicals, and there are also many magazines focusing on Broadway.

Another "backstage" and "show business".

Back at the apartment, spread out four newspapers and magazines on the table, and swept the news one by one.

"The director of 'The Deer Hunter', the Oscar for best director, the best picture double winner, Michael Cimino signed a new contract with United Arts and will soon direct the new film 'Heaven's Gate'."

Well, ignore this for now.

"British director Alan Parker and producer David Da Silva both say that a musical revival has arrived. Following last year's 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease', MGM has released a musical The film 'Hot Lunch'. The film is in the casting process and is expected to start in July."

After going through four newspapers and magazines, Ronald only found reports of "Hot Lunch", but not "famous".

Yesterday's dream only remembered three dances, and I can't remember who the director was in the opening subtitles.

Maybe there will be a revival of musicals later? Another similar high school musical "Famous in the World"? But Meg was very young in the dream, probably no more than 20 years old. Maybe even this "hot lunch".

"Ring, bell, bell..."

The phone rang and Ronald picked it up. It was director Alan Parker.

"Ronald? I'm Alan Parker. You're here today at Feuer \u0026 Ritzer Casting Company, West 48th Street near Broadway, the exact address can be found in the phone book. 10 a.m. Click to meet there."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Ronald's whole body is sober, isn't this the competitor that Julia asked yesterday? Let Julia report what's going on here first.

"Is Julia there? I'm Ronald Lee. I have something important to ask her."

"Ronald? It's me."

"Director Parker said today that he's going to a company called Feyel and Lizel to cast a role." Ronald followed the name he wrote down in the notebook and spelled it awkwardly. The German pronunciation is damn good.

"It's Phil, I know, remember to tell me if there is any new trend."

Digging through the yellow pages that had accumulated a thick layer of gray at home, I found the addresses of Phil and Lizel, just off the corner of 6th and West 28th Avenues, not far from Broadway.

To tell Meg first, Ronald called his girlfriend's house.

Always busy.

Running to Meg's house, her roommate opened the door for Ronald.

"Yes, Jennifer, I have already got the contract. I don't know... I have to wait for the director to continue the audition. The director said that I should sign up for the acting training class."

Seeing Ronald come in, Meg held down the microphone. "Ronnie, it's my sister Jennifer. I'm reporting good news to her."

"I'm going to the director to help him audition, you go ahead, I'll tell you."

Packing his camera and film, Ronald took the subway to his destination.

Howard Fair, a partner in the studio, greeted him personally.

"How did you meet Director Alan Parker?" I came up to inquire about Ronald's origins.

"I'm a photographer specializing in audition portraits, and I've shot Natasha Kinski before. Director Parker wanted me to audition for his new film and take some photos for reference." Ronald said nothing.

"It's rare to see photographers as young as you."

"They all say I have some talent..."

Just as he was talking, Director Parker also entered the office.

"Howard, hello, let's make a long story short, I need 600 high school students who are performing in groups, learning dance, music, and acting. I also need 8 leading roles, and 16 secondary roles. This is a casting requirement." Director Parker put the thick one Stacked documents on the table.

"Ah, Ronald, you're here too. Good. Let's get started."

The two began to discuss the audition requirements, and Ronald took out a pen and paper to take notes.

Director Parker instructed Howard Fair to look for ordinary, less successful actors.

After a simple lunch, Director Park took Ronald out.

"I want you to go to all the auditions with me, and you take pictures of the audition scene for me and record it. You know, not all of the audition pictures are as real as you take them. Some are retouched."

"Of course, Director Parker." Ronald was very happy that he had a part-time job and could learn how directors choose actors.

"I may watch dozens or hundreds of actors every day, so I don't necessarily remember them all day long. You remember to use Polaroid to take pictures of them and record my evaluation." Parker saw the efficiency of Ronald's shorthand. Very high, quite satisfactory, so that one assistant can be used for two people.

"One more thing, I hope you don't tell Julia and Margery at the casting studio about our coming to Phil's side." Alan Parker finally spoke up, hoping Ronald would assure him of his loyalty .

Ronald thought for a while, expressed his attitude, and made some hints:

"I'm not a casting studio employee, and Julia is not my superior, so I'm not obligated to report your whereabouts to them, Mr. Parker."

"You're a smart guy, so let's do this, I'm busy auditioning this month, and I can ask the producers to hire you as my temporary assistant and driver, and rent your car."

"But I don't have a car right now."

"Why are you stupid again?" Alan Parker gave Ronald a forehead. "The daily rent and driver fees are 200 yuan. You buy a new car and earn it back in a month."

Can you still play like this? Ronald nodded hurriedly and agreed.

The director took Ronald to the audition studio yesterday.

Julia and Margery were already waiting for him in the conference room.

There was also a half-bald man, introduced by Parker as "Hot Lunch" producer David Da Silva.

Ronald quickly stood up to greet him.

After the director's introduction, he started a casting meeting on his own: "Let's see, which children did you bring today?"

Ronald felt that director Parker didn't take producer Da Silva very seriously. Speaking of producers and directors, who has the most power?

Margery shared dozens of photos, "This is recommended by the agents after hearing the news. We have selected 5 actors for each protagonist. Let's take a look."

"The first is Hillary, a girl from the dance department. This character is a rich girl, majoring in ballet, and her dream is to join the New York City Ballet." Margery posted the background of Hillary on the whiteboard and held it with a magnet.

Ronald almost couldn't help laughing. Isn't that what Meg despised yesterday, the rich second-generation image who bought into the New York City Ballet? It seems that the script is very grounded and comes from life.

But here, I can basically confirm that "Hot Lunch" is the "Famous World" I dreamed about yesterday. The background of that Hillary is very consistent with the practice scene in the dream, and the name is correct.

"These photos, any thoughts?" Margery asked, pointing to the 5 photos spread out on the table.

Director Parker shook his head, "They're still too Amelia, with a victorious look on their faces."

"What do you think, Ronald? It just so happens that you're about the same age as them, so you feel more." The director called him to express his opinion.

"I think this is good, you can try it." Ronald said, pointing to a photo of a beautiful woman who looked a bit like a cat. "

The actor in this photo is most like the one in my dream last night.

"why?"

"Intuitive? I think she has the temperament of a rich girl, and her thin body looks like a dancer."

"I also think so. Michelle was specially recommended by William Morris' agent. She won the sixth place in Miss California last year." Producer Da Silva expressed his opinion for the first time.

"Very well, I'll give her... well, Michelle, an audition," Director Parker said.

Margery looked at the director and posted the photo of the beauty under the hashtag "Hillary."

Then there is the role of Montgomery, a sensitive and inferior boy whose mother is a mentally ill actor.

"Which one do you think is suitable? Director Parker asked Ronald again."

Ronald didn't remember the plot of the character of Montgomery, so he just pointed to one according to his intuition.

"Well, blond, I feel a little fragile when I smile, and my teeth are messed up. It's probably a little inferior."

"Fine, I think he's a good fit, too." This time Margery from the casting studio agreed, then placed his picture below the Montgomery character.

The director nodded in agreement.

...

The audition candidates for more than 10 protagonists have been selected, but it is still not enough. Everyone decided to go to the performing arts high school in New York the day after tomorrow to discuss with the school and organize a large-scale on-site audition for students.

After their business, Julia and Margery from the casting studio brought sandwiches and cokes. Everyone replenished their energy while chatting, but Ronald ate a lot.

"Ronald, I think you're a good fit for casting. You know what? The founder of our studio, Marion Dolotti, is now the vice president of Paramount."

"She's always stressed the need to rely on intuition to select people, and your intuition is very sharp. Would you consider joining us?"

Julia said to Ronald.

"Me? I still want to go to college first to see if I can become a director." Ronald said.

"Yeah, who doesn't want to be a director?" Julia smiled, changing the subject and continuing:

"Next, I will mainly do the casting for Woody Allen's new film, and the audition for the acting high school will mainly be in charge of Margery."

"What, Julia, are you going to abandon me for that Jewish dwarf Woody?" Director Parker made an exaggerated gesture, expressing his heartache.

"No, your movie needs a total of about 600 actors, which cannot be done by any one casting company alone. We should find several more casting companies and hold joint auditions."

Alan Parker was silent for a rare moment, "You're right, I'll let the producers contact casting companies in New York and Los Angeles to openly issue casting invitations."

"We made an appointment with all the casting companies to do a big joint audition in a big house. Ronald, you'll come too, we all like your instincts."

"Okay, thank you director." Ronald was very happy. Maybe the director saw that he and the characters in the script were of the same age.

It takes a certain amount of time from sending out an invitation to receiving a recommendation, and everyone starts to discuss how to organize a joint audition.

Julia Taylor called Ronald outside, leaving Margaery to discuss the details of the joint audition with the director.

"Ronald, your briefing was timely. We reached an agreement with Howard Fair that they dropped Woody Allen's new film, and we made a concession to do a joint audition with them for the Hot Lunch."

"But if a third audition company steps in, remember to keep Margery informed. The rest of our deal remains the same, understand?"

"Okay, I understand." The two audition companies just compromised and made a joint audition. Ronald also doesn't have to swing between them and the director, using a car to test his integrity.

I just took the opportunity to ask Meg about it: "Ms. Taylor, if Meg wants to take an acting training class, do you have a recommendation?"

"Aren't you from NYU Di Shi School of the Arts? Why do you ask me, the best acting coach in New York is in your school."

"Uh, I haven't started school yet."