From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

“… … Marcia?”

Sitting next to her, assistant casting director Nicolas Stamos noticed Marcia rubbing her temples, a hint of worry in his voice as he called out, his gaze questioning.

“Need an aspirin?”

Marcia shook her head, “Not a physical thing.”

“Uh…”

“I’ve been thinking, for a script so full of fateful tragedy, should the character of Kaila have a classical feel, like something out of Shakespeare, a bright yet melancholic quality?”

But clearly, that wouldn’t be easy.

Nicolas thought for a moment, “Claire Danes?”

In 1996, before “Titanic” was released, Leonardo DiCaprio filmed “Romeo and Juliet,” a movie that won him the Best Actor award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The female lead in the movie was Claire Danes, an actress who wasn’t a typical beauty, but possessed a unique charm in her eyes and demeanor.

After the movie's release, many professional film critics questioned the casting of Claire, arguing that she lacked the classical Shakespearean charm; these criticisms also caused her acting career to fluctuate.

But Marcia had a different opinion on this.

When Baz Luhrmann filmed this movie, he originally intended to reinterpret it in a postmodern style, and the casting of Leonardo and Claire was a deliberate attempt to break away from fixed notions, their modern vibes being part of the movie.

In fact, few people know that Claire was the first choice for the female lead in “Titanic,” and had already received unanimous approval from the producer and director, only needing her to nod and sign, but Claire refused—

The reason was that James Cameron insisted that the male lead had to be Leonardo DiCaprio, and Claire had just worked with Leonardo on a movie, this individualistic actress with her own ideas about acting and roles didn’t want to become a “screen couple” with Leonardo, as it would tie her hands.

So, she refused.

Marcia thought about it seriously, then shook her head.

“No, Claire Danes…”

“Her personality is too distinct, she doesn’t seem like someone who could be controlled by her brother.”

In “The Butterfly Effect,” Kaila’s brother has a kind of insane obsession, rejecting any man who gets close to his sister, even if that man is his best friend Evan, he recklessly tries to hurt Evan, all to “protect” his sister, and the young and ignorant Kaila didn’t stop her brother.

In Marcia’s view, Kaila should have a kind of broken beauty.

Obviously, Claire Danes didn’t fit that image.

Unfortunately, so far, Marcia hasn’t seen a suitable actress—

Unexpectedly but reasonably, there were more actors auditioning today than she had imagined, the audition had been going on for three hours, but the long line outside still showed no signs of shortening, it was incredibly lively.

A project with a production budget of only ten million dollars, a project without a famous screenwriter or a famous director, was actually able to attract so much attention.

“Phew.”

Marcia exhaled softly.

“Now, let’s hope that the ‘Anson Wood’ card can attract as many actors as possible, allowing us to find a screen sweetheart for the new Spider-Man.”

This teasing made Nicolas laugh, “Shouldn’t Anson’s screen sweetheart be Jennifer Aniston?”

Marcia raised an eyebrow, “Correct answer. But that’s exactly why, from Jennifer Aniston to Anne Hathaway to Kirsten Dunst, we need to find the next outstanding sweetheart, a difficult task.”

Marcia seemed to sense the playful teasing in Nicolas’s eyes, she reached out and made a stopping gesture, “Don’t look, I’m already regretting it.”

“God, my weakness really is handsome guys.”

Nicolas sat next to her, chuckling happily.

Just then, the next actress came in.

The girl saw the strange scene inside, with both laughter and sighs, and hesitated slightly, unsure if she should interrupt the atmosphere.

Nicolas waved, signaling the girl to come in.

The girl quickly came in, placing her resume on the table, Marcia took it and quickly scanned it.

Nicolas had already started speaking, “You can start.”

The girl was stunned: …So fast?

No greetings, no introductions, just starting the audition directly?

This made Rachel McAdams a little nervous, but she forced herself to calm down—

Auditions, after all, have countless possibilities, it’s possible that casting directors don’t ask for names or look at resumes, that’s why they need to prepare their resumes.

Just a year ago, she had just come to Los Angeles from Ontario, Canada, and the actors told her auditioning tips, one of which was to prepare her resume, from the ID photo to the self-introduction to the layout design, everything was important, and thus an industry was born:

Specializing in helping actors create resumes.

A resume, cheap ones cost five hundred dollars; expensive ones can cost eight thousand dollars, with no upper limit.

Rachel, a clueless newbie, a country girl from rural Canada, didn’t know whether to believe it or not, but because she was short on money, she didn’t do it, but now, she was finally starting to believe that saying.

Just like now.

She didn’t even have a chance to introduce herself, her information and details were all on that resume, which made Rachel’s confidence plummet, unsure what the casting director saw on that thin piece of paper.

“Calm down. Rachel, calm down!”

Taking a deep breath, Rachel forced herself to concentrate and stay focused:

Acting, that’s the key.

For this audition, there was no script and no requirements, they just asked the actors to prepare a performance they were good at, kept within two minutes, that was all.

Now, it was time to show herself.

Marcia didn’t notice Rachel’s nervousness at all, even if she did, she wouldn’t care, she was looking at this resume that didn’t carry any weight:

So far, there were only two works, one a drama series she had never heard of, where she guest-starred in a role; the other a comedy movie that was just released this year but had mediocre box office performance, “The Hot Chick,” where she played the cheerleader captain.

Moreover, born in 1978, twenty-four years old? And she’s only played two roles?

Oh, from Canada, the big countryside, no wonder.

With one glance, Marcia made her judgment, wasn’t this a typical vase?

Looking up, Marcia saw that bright-eyed, white-toothed, pretty face, sure enough, as expected, a typical sweet girl look—

Doesn’t fit.

One hundred percent, Rachel and Kaila didn’t have the slightest resemblance.

Even before the performance started, Marcia had already made her judgment.

This was Hollywood, many times, things were decided even before the actors realized it, and the actors didn’t even have a chance to speak.