Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1403 Her face turned red

"Thank you, Arnold. This gym and professional trainers are awesome."

"Hahaha, no big deal. How's that young man?"

"He's nothing like you, we just wanted him to look more like a detective than a male model."

Keanu Reeves shaved his hair short to show his determination. But he still looked more like an advertising model. So Ronald asked Schwarzenegger for help and asked him to recommend some fitness trainers. Then the crew asked Keanu Reeves to spend more time in the gym every day during the two-month preparation period.

Also, I'll wait for his hair to grow a little longer. His buzz cut makes him look more like a Marine than an LAPD detective.

"How's the casting for the female lead going?"

Ronald turned around and asked Jan de Bont, the director of "Speed". The director was very satisfied with the choice of the male lead. There was no superstar like Tom Cruise, nor a potential star like River Phoenix. Keanu Reeves could be said to be the best choice within the budget. Reeves has a certain acting skill, and with this kind of action movie, it can be said that the successful model of the Die Hard series has added the right elements to sell well: a likable, handsome male star with a pointed chin.

However, the casting of the leading actress was not smooth. Just as Keanu Reeves' most important quality is not to make women feel threatened, the leading actress also needs to break away from the traditional Hollywood female star formula.

She has to be like the female version of Keanu Reeves, beautiful to the opposite sex, but not so beautiful that the male audience feels "not a girl that a person of my class can pick up". At the same time, the female audience must not feel threatened - "Why does my boyfriend (husband) keep staring at this actress?"

These two qualities seemed to be easy to satisfy, but after looking for many actresses, we couldn't find one that possessed both qualities. We had no choice but to ask director Jan de Bont to come over and discuss whether there were other solutions.

"I talked to Julia Taylor for a long time, and she made two possible suggestions. I think if I can't find anything else, I need to consider her suggestions..."

Ronald provided resources and asked his most trusted casting director Julia Taylor to talk to Jan de Bont. Julia Taylor's idea was very interesting.

The first way is to make the heroine a black actress. In this way, the jealousy of female audiences will be naturally eliminated. Although racial equality is emphasized, in the hearts of most white women, their white boyfriends (husbands) will not find a black girl.

Men, on the other hand, don't have too many racial issues with beautiful female actors, especially if the black actress is one who looks like a white person but has slightly darker skin.

"Halle Berry, she's very good." Ronald saw Jan de Bont's recommendation, which was an actor he had used in "The Trap". She played a call girl who seduced Tom Cruise on the beach. The effect was very good, and the audience who watched the preview of the edited version were all impressed by her.

But such casting also has its price. For example, in terms of box office, audiences in small towns in the Deep South and the Midwest may not like such a white man and black woman configuration. And the audience in these small towns is an important market segment for such action-oriented police films.

"What's another solution?" Ronald wanted to hear...

"Another way is to remove the romantic love part and replace it with a comedy character, making him a gag and responsible for all the comedy scenes."

"Hmm? That's a novel idea."

Ronald touched his chin. This idea is often used in the movies of black star Eddie Murphy. The protagonist can still use the original configuration, while the second male lead is responsible for all the comedy scenes. The romantic love part of the script is transformed into a funny part.

There are several actors in Hollywood who often play such roles, such as the white comedy star John Candy and the black star Martin Lawrence.

"No, I still want a comedy actress to play this role. The pairing of men and women is still the core of this script. Otherwise, many lines will have to be modified too much." Jan de Bont explained that if the background of the heroine was changed, there would be serious matching problems in the script, and it would be difficult to ensure that the level would be up to standard if someone else was asked to revise it.

"Oh my God, you are not interested in Roseanne Barr, are you? I tell you, this is impossible. Roseanne Barr is busy with divorce now, and he is very dissatisfied with the real lies about my investment and the fact that he dared to use her future ex-husband Tom Arnold. He even sent several faxes to the crew office to intimidate him."

"She's a possible choice, but I've found someone better," said Jan de Bont, handing over an audition photo.

"Ellen DeGeneres, who is she?" Ronald looked at the photo and felt an indescribable feeling about the actress with short hair.

"She was a stand-up comedian who wrote for Johnny Carson and had a few parts in movies and TV shows. She was just a younger, prettier, thinner Roseanne Barr and, of course, cheaper."

"It seems like you've thought of everything." Ronald said to him with a smile, "Call them all to audition. We'll see how they perform and ask Julia Taylor for her opinion."

……

"How about it?"

Halle Berry came first to audition with Keanu Reeves. Ronald watched the whole process. After asking Halle Berry to leave first, he kept Keanu Reeves to listen to his opinion.

"She's pretty good..." Keanu Reeves didn't say much. He just kept massaging his muscles. The high-intensity training in the past few days had caused a significant reaction in his body.

"Okay, give us some private time to talk, and then I'll have you audition with the other one later."

"She's really good..." Jan de Bont said first that Halle Berry's biggest feature is that she's easy to photograph. Her facial lines are natural and smooth, and within the frame of the camera, no matter from which angle you shoot, there's no big problem. Jan de Bont, who was a photographer, appreciates this very much, and he knows how much trouble it can save on lighting and makeup for such an actress.

"She is very good, but she is totally incompatible with Keanu. I think it is more convincing to say that they are siblings than lovers..." Julia Taylor disagreed completely. Her philosophy is that the temperament matching between actors is more important than appearance and acting skills, which is the biggest feature of film performance.

Both men looked at Ronald.

"Well, I don't know, let's look at that stand-up comedian?" Ronald agreed with Julia Taylor in his heart. What's more troublesome is that when these two actors stand together, the chemistry is almost non-existent. This feeling is there or not, and no matter how good the acting skills are, it's hard to save it. And these two actors don't have much acting skills.

Keanu Reeves was invited in again and read a line with the comedian Ellen DeGeneres. There was a little height difference between the two, but it didn't prevent them from reading the lines in a good way.

"She's still good, right? Like I said, younger, prettier, thinner Roseanne Barr, and cheaper." Jan de Bont felt good.

"What do you think, Ronald? I feel something is wrong..." Julia Taylor still objected, but this time unlike the last time with Halle Berry, she could give specific reasons. This actor seemed good, but there were some deep-seated problems that always made people uncomfortable like a thorn.

"She is not only younger, prettier, and thinner, but also gayer... Are you sure you want a leading lady like this?"

"What? Are you sure? I think she and Keanu Reeves are more like a pair of good buddies... um..." Jan de Bont realized that Ronald was right. Unlike those lesbian actors who can't be seen on the surface, the tomboy temperament of this Ellen DeGeneres is suspected of overflowing.

"Shxt! You're right, when she was sitting there looking at Keanu Reeves, it seemed like the next step was to give him a cigarette, or have a beer with him, like she was saying what's in my pants is bigger than yours." Jan de Bont also laughed to himself. If he hadn't thought about it, he wouldn't have noticed it. He felt awkward when he was reminded of it. The actress's temperament was too obvious.

"It seems we are back to square one and have to start over..." Ronald sighed. If the leading actress is not confirmed, this movie will be a headache. The charm of a movie depends largely on the success of the casting.

"Please give us some coffee," Ronald said to his assistant. They still needed to discuss who would be suitable and then invite them to audition.

After a few minutes, a female assistant brought in a few cups of coffee and handed them to the three people who were discussing.

"Thank you..." Ronald took the coffee and took a sip.

"Is it possible for us to broaden the scope and look for European actresses?" Jan de Bont knew many actresses in his hometown.

"Perhaps a British actress would be more suitable. Language is a problem, and the actress is more familiar with the culture. If this role is replaced by an actress from continental Europe, it is likely that her temperament will show that she is not an American girl."

"Ahem..." The female assistant cleared her throat.

"What's the matter? Oh, we don't need it...thank you." Ronald forgot to instruct the female assistant, thanked her and let her leave.

"Wait a minute... I remember you. Did you play in the TV version of Working Girl before?" Julia Taylor suddenly stopped Ronald and asked the female assistant.

"Yes, Ronald met me when I was working as a restaurant waiter in New York and gave me a guest role... ahem..." The female assistant cleared her throat again, made an expression as if she was also an actress, and raised her eyebrows a few times.

"Sandra, right? Do you also want to try this role?" Ronald saw what she meant and asked directly.

"Yeah, is it okay?" Sandra Bullock's voice was a little weak. After the failure of her TV series, she acted in some Roger Corman B-level movies or played small roles in TV series. When she had free time, she came to Daydream to work as an assistant to earn a living.

"Of course...but you have to ask the director and the casting director..." Ronald was about to agree when he realized he had overstepped his boundaries and immediately corrected himself by asking the two people who were theoretically powerful.

"Of course, go and get ready, we'll let you try next..." Julia Taylor seemed very confident in Sandra Bullock.

"I don't know, her face..." Jan de Bont almost broke down when he saw Sandra Bullock's round face. Such a face is very difficult to frame. According to his experience, to shoot Sandra Bullock well, the time spent on lighting and moving the camera is several times longer than Halle Berry.

"Let's see first. I have a feeling you'll like her..." Julia Taylor seemed very confident. She went out to call Keanu Reeves in and whispered a few words in his ear.

……

Twenty minutes later, when the two actors were ready and entered the room again to rehearse their lines, Jan de Bont suddenly discovered that their chemistry was super strong.

Neither actor raised his eyes to look at the other directly, showing a mutual affection. Keanu Reeves is not a passionate person, so his reaction is normal. But Sandra Bullock's performance is like a little girl who is going to a prom and finds out that the boy who invited her is her secret crush.

Whether it was love at first sight, or the joy of having the chance to play the leading role in a medium-sized Hollywood production, Sandra Bullock's performance was a perfect score.

"Oh, oh, oops, I hit the baby, I hit the baby..." Sandra Bullock read the reaction of Anne, played by her, after she temporarily replaced the bus driver and sat in the driving seat. Because of distraction, she suddenly hit a baby stroller pushed by a lady on the roadside.

Not only did she read the lines, she also grabbed Keanu Reeves's clothes tightly with one hand, and her tone of voice was also anxious and fearful.

Although her acting wasn't good enough to convince the three judges that she had truly entered the scene, it was strange that Sandra Bullock's skin turned red from her neck to her face.

"It's a can, a can, that's not a baby, there are cans in the stroller..." Keanu Reeves, who was also being carried by Sandra Bullock, looked back excitedly and shouted.

The cart was taken by a lady who went into the supermarket and bought a bunch of canned food, but there was no baby in it.

I don't know if it was because he felt something when Sandra Bullock was pulling his clothes, or because he had to shout loudly to respond to Sandra Bullock's excited performance, but when the two of them finished their lines, Keanu Reeves' neck turned a little red.

"My God, they both blushed..." Jan de Bont whispered in Ronald's ear.

"Okay, please give us a little time to discuss..."

Ronald asked the two to leave the room, closed the door, and then pointed at Jan de Bont and said, "You are really lucky, hahahaha..."

"Hahahaha..." Julia Taylor also laughed out loud. Everyone could see that the two actors themselves had similar emotions to the characters in the play. Jan de Bont might have made a fortune this time.

"Oh, Yes!..." Jan de Bont stood up and shouted.

"We have to separate them afterwards and try to keep them in minimal contact before the actual shooting begins..." Ronald hopes that this feeling of love at first sight will last longer.

"Who of you will tell them the good news?" Ronald smiled and pointed outside the door.