Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 137 Androgen Test

   All four actors were accompanied by their family members or elders on the sofa outside the audition. All four have a lot of audition experience, and they all know the audition process and level of competition. No one was naive enough to deliberately court competitors, snoop on news, or take the opportunity to mislead. Everyone sat in chairs and waited quietly.

   In the words of Brooke Xiaosi's mother, who expressed her unwillingness to act, "Endless Love" does not require the heroine's acting skills, but only requires them to stand, sit, lie down, laugh and cry beautifully.

   Therefore, the focus of this audition is not on the quality of the "trial" scene, but on observing whether the actor is on the "mirror" and meets the needs of the role.

  A movie camera was placed inside the audition room to shoot a video of the actor. Facing the auditioners were company executive Peter Guber and director Franco Zeffirelli.

  Shirley Knight sat on the other side, and she had been stripped of most of the power to decide who the heroine was, except for an honorary presence.

   Ronald is still in the role of an assistant, and is responsible for recording evaluations. Guber secretly gave him the task of assessing the female protagonist's sexual attraction to young men, that is, how many young male audience members would buy tickets to the cinema to see the female protagonist's beautiful body.

   The first audition was Kelly Preston. Born in Hawaii, he lives in Australia with his mother after his parents divorced. He is 17 years old this year. It was not her mother who brought her, but a fashion photographer.

   He describes himself as an apprentice and “close associate” of the famous photographer Richard Avedon, and lives with him in a multi-million dollar mansion on Long Island, New York.

  Kelly Preston is the model he discovered, and he has been taking him everywhere to recommend him, hoping to be the protagonist in a certain movie crew.

   This kind of weird combination is actually quite a lot in Hollywood. This is the case with Dorothy Stratten, the former client of the agent Eddie. The young girl has few assets and is willing to give everything for her star dream. After the skyrocketing, it is another story.

Ronald called Kelly Preston into the audition room alone. In Hollywood, the market comes first. In terms of creation, as long as you can bring in the box office, the director has considerable autonomy, so the rule of thumb for audition is that only one actor can enter. Any possible interference is ruled out.

   "Hello, my name is Kelly Preston, I'm from Hawaii, I'm 17 years old." The girl introduced herself to the camera. Then I took some frontal, close-up and close-up shots of the two sides.

   This is a very typical American sweet sister, with long blond hair and a very sweet face. Ronald thinks her attractiveness index is quite high. The only thing that doesn't fit the plot of the movie is that Kelly Preston doesn't seem to be so confident, and her expressions and reactions are more like a child from a middle-class family.

   In the original book of "Endless Love", Jade was born in a wealthy family and had a single-family house on Long Island. This kind of self-confidence and freewheeling character of the rich and noble in the world, it will be difficult for her to act. After all, the actors in youth films are all around 20, and being able to perform in their true colors will save a lot of trouble.

   Ronald couldn't help thinking of Brooke Shields, this tall girl is indeed the first choice for the heroine of the movie. The success of two consecutive films has greatly improved her self-confidence and willfulness, which is in line with the film's plot.

  The crew did not completely give up communicating with her mother Terry, but Brooke Shields, who was up for sale, had more initiative and was still trying to audition for other films that could better reflect her "acting skills".

   Looking back at Kelly Preston's resume, it turns out that she also participated in the audition for "Blue Coral Reef", but she was not seen. She was pressed down by Bo Ji Xiaosi twice, and it was estimated that her psychology was about to be overshadowed.

   "Sorry, Mr. Director, I was mainly a model before, and I have no experience in film and TV performances."

  Director Franco Zeffirelli asked her two questions, Kelly Preston answered a little nervously, and made a small gesture of covering his mouth with his hand to hide the embarrassment. This time, even the executive producer Guber shook his head slightly.

  Ronald accompanies her out, and Kelly Preston asks him about her audition. Ronald had to say they would notify her agent and let her go back and wait for news.

   The second audition was Jennifer Jason Leigh, 18 years old. Vic Morrow and her mother divorced so badly that even her daughter changed her last name. Morrow was also not accompanied by the audition this time. She was accompanied by her mother, Barbara, an unsuccessful screenwriter.

   "Personal design?"

   "Rich girl."

"character?"

   "willful, don't think about anything other than love."

  …

  Jennifer is still doing cheat sheets with her mother, reviewing all aspects of Jed before auditioning. It is also a couple who do not understand the situation.

   Ronald led her into the audition room.

  Because of her father's relationship, Jennifer has appeared in many TV dramas, and she is very confident with the director's questions and answers. The analysis of the heroine is also in place, and it can be seen that she has been trained in acting skills.

   Her problem is her appearance. Although very photogenic and good-looking, it is not attractive enough compared to Kelly Preston. 18 years old and a little baby fat, to be honest, in high school, it is the type that is easily ignored by boys.

   But after a few years of growth, maybe she will be a beauty.

   She also participated in the audition for "Blue Coral Reef", because at first the director insisted on full frontal **** and gave up the role.

If "Blue Coral Reef" starred in her, it would be a completely different movie, with less visual impact and more convincing characters, which is exactly one liter for film critics and box office, and one for producers. It's hard to say whether business is good or bad.

   It could be seen that the director Zeffirelli admired her very much and talked to her for a long time. Shirley Knight also wanted her to play, so that she could grab some attention in scenes where they both appeared together.

   However, Guber is more dissatisfied. The most important appearance is that Jennifer Jason Li is a lot worse.

  Ronald sent her out as usual, and his mother, Barbara, took her aside and whispered about the audition process. Barbara was more than satisfied to hear her daughter's Q&A with the director about the character's character. Years of education are still fruitful.

   As usual, Ronald wanted to say something that was waiting for the agent's notification, but Barbara interrupted directly, "We understand the audition process." Then he dismissed him.

  Ronald had to laugh. Many actors were too obsessed with the importance of acting. It seems that Barbara taught her daughter the same way. But does the success of a movie really depend on the performance of an actor?

  Maybe different types of movies have different focuses. Shakespeare's story has been performed thousands of times. The audience knows how the story develops and the acting skills of the actors will determine the success of the play.

Although    "Endless Love" is a bestseller, the number of readers is still a small number in front of the number of movie audiences. The first thing readers and non-readers are attracted to is the love story of the young man and woman, and the beauty of the character that grabs the attention is the key to the audience's appreciation.

   The third audition was Bo Derek. Ronald had seen her starring in "Perfect", in which she emerged from the sea and walked ashore in a flesh-colored tight-fitting swimsuit.

   But Ronald didn't look at her much outside.

  Because Bo was brought by husband John Derek.

  John is 30 years older than Bo, and when he met Bo, who was 16 years old, he was fascinated. After quickly divorcing his wife, he took Bo to Germany.

  At that time, there was an automatic sexual assault law in California. As long as you have a relationship with a woman under the age of 16, whether it is willing or not, it will be treated as sexual assault. After Bo's 18th birthday, John Derek married her quickly, and then returned to China to push Bo into the entertainment industry.

   "Perfect", released in 1979, was a huge hit at the box office and critically acclaimed, and Bo Derek rose to prominence as a star.

   But this movie also limited Bo's play. Most of the scripts Bo Derek received afterward were the images of **** meatballs. In order to break through the drama, they paid great attention to Jade, the protagonist of "Endless Love". After all, Jade's lines in the movie are much more than in "Perfect".

   Ronald thinks that among the four actors, Bo Derek is undoubtedly the sexiest, and there is a hint of childishness in his sexiness. This all fits the description of Jed in the original book.

But seeing director Zeffirelli's dissatisfaction, after filming the audition scene, the director turned away from his desire to communicate with Jennifer Jason Lee. After asking a simple question, he didn't say a word. look. Soon Bo Derek completed his audition and was sent out by Ronald.

   "24 years old." Peter Guber still found the director's dissatisfaction.

   Bo Derek, who has been married for many years, is a mature and glamorous, somewhat different from Jade's physique of a girl who is less than nineteen years old.

  The last one is Melanie Griffiths. Her mother, Tippy Hedron, no longer has the flirtatiousness in Hitchcock's movies. After filming "The Thief", Tippy Hedron and Hitchcock fell out and never received a big role in Hollywood. Tibby moved to Africa with her family and raised lions.

   Years of living in the African jungle turned her into an old woman. It also turned her daughter into a white and chubby look.

   Living with lions in the African jungle, and communicating with people less, made Melanie Griffiths' normal communication skills have some problems. At the age of 14, she married Don Johnson, who came to visit her mother for six months, and the divorce ended after a crazy period of time.

  Bidding farewell to the jungle and returning to Hollywood, Melanie has dated many movie stars again, and her experience with lions has also attracted many Hollywood stars. It's "integrated" into the chaotic and crazy side of Hollywood.

   Ronald took Melanie into the audition room for some movie shots. The directors Zeffirelli and Guber shook their heads slightly.

   Her face has far exceeded the category of baby fat, Ronald tried his best not to look at her, for fear that his expressions and actions would arouse her dissatisfaction. After taking her out after the audition, Melanie still looked like she didn't know what was going on.

   Mother Tibby let out a long sigh and took her children to Africa to raise lions. It seems that she did something wrong. Fortunately, her current husband is a well-known agent and producer. She is making a film "Roaring" tailored for the mother and daughter. It is based on the experience of the mother and daughter and tells the story of a mother and daughter who are in the company of lions in Africa. .

   The heroine of "Endless Love" Jed, it seems that Melanie is no longer competitive.

   Ronald, who had sent Melanie away, entered the audition room. Shirley Knight was complaining that Brooke Chen was not suitable for the protagonist Jade, and urged to choose between Kelly Preston and Jennifer Jason Lee. It seems that Gubert mentioned again to find Brooke Shields again.

  Gubell asked when Ronald came back and asked, "What do you think? Ronald? Brooke Stoudemire and the two of them are suitable?"

   "Borgy Xiaosi." When asked by the big boss, Ronald of course told the truth.

   "But Ronald, your aesthetics alone do not represent the general attitude of the audience." Shirley Knight rejected Brooke Shields and tried her best to prevent the crew from negotiating with her again.

"You're right, we can find some target customers and let them see photos of several candidates to see who can most arouse their fantasy." Ronald thought of a trick to avoid Shirley Knight's resentment. on oneself.

   "Let the hormones decide?"

  Gubert took out a cigarette and started smoking. Steve McQueen said in an interview that he was in the Navy when he was young, and he was exposed to a lot of asbestos-induced diseases. Now he can smoke again.

   (end of this chapter)