Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 764 Because You Are An Asshole

The second important supporting actor identified is Ross Castorini, Loretta's mother who plays Cher.

Compared with Loretta's casualness and father Cosmo's cunning, mother Rose is the backbone of the Castorini family.

After she married Cosmo, she was a typical good Italian wife who always took the greatest responsibility for the family.On the one hand, they took care of the grandfather who lived with them, and on the other hand, they gave their daughter the best support. After Loretta's husband died unexpectedly, she always wanted to leave the house to her poor daughter.

In addition to being responsible, he is also very intelligent.She was the first family member to see that her daughter was in love with someone else, and she was also the first to discover that her husband had an affair outside.

However, for the sake of this big Italian family, she has been forbearing and has not exposed her husband's love interest.

After discovering that her husband and lover went to the opera without bringing her, Rose was puzzled. During dinner, she met Perry, a university professor with whom she got along very well.

After enjoying a wise conversation and being in the company of a man of high social status, she did not destroy the family's morals, and she sent Perry away and returned to the family alone.

This character can be said to be the key character that connects all the stories. If she is not believable, the structure of the story will be broken.

Julia Taylor's first recommendation was Olympia Dukakis, an unsuccessful Broadway actor.

"Isn't she Italian?" Ronald looked at the resume behind the other's photo, and then handed it to the screenwriter Shanli.

"No, she is of Greek descent. One good thing is that you don't have to worry about her familiarity with the atmosphere of an Italian-style extended family. Greeks are also famous for extended families." Julia Taylor tapped the table.

"Oh, she's going to act in 'The Raptors' in [-], even before you entered the industry." The screenwriter Shanli studied Dukakis' resume line by line and let out an exclamation.

"Then why hasn't she been popular in Hollywood for so many years?" Ronald also leaned over to take a look.

Julia Taylor pointed to her face, then made a ball on her chest.

"She has an overly mature face, and her figure is not the type that Hollywood likes. So although she has always been loved by film critics, she has no leading roles to play. When she has no film and television dramas, she still stays in New York for a long time, Her husband is also a Broadway performer. The two of them just play tricks on Broadway."

"John and Mary?" Shanley seemed to have discovered some great secret again, "Is it Dustin Hoffman, that romantic movie with Mia Farrow? She is about the same age as Dustin Can you play Dustin's mother?"

"At that time she was only 38 years old, and she could play the mother of Dustin Hoffman, who was 32 years old?" Ronald secretly calculated when they filmed "John and Mary" in [-] age gap.

"It seems to be a professional mother. I'm more interested. You must let her try it." Ronald became interested, and Julia Taylor also happily called Dukakis, telling her to come quickly.

……

"I'm Greek, not Italian."

Olympia Dukakis has the face of an ordinary person, but he seems to be the intelligent type.

Ronald asked her to film the audition and was very pleased with her appearance.I chatted with her about the role again, and I have to admit that Julia Taylor's vision of picking actors is much better than her own.

Dukakis not only has an excellent appearance, but also has a lot in common with the character of Ross in terms of character and inner character.

"It doesn't matter, Cher, who plays your daughter, is of Armenian origin. And our screenwriter, Mr. Shanley, said that after a certain age, everyone is of Italian descent."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Olympia Dukakis put the back of his hand to his mouth and laughed.

Ronald was even more satisfied with this gesture, which was an old-fashioned educated woman's habit of covering her mouth when she smiled.It fits perfectly with Rose's background in the script.

"If you are willing to come, I will not audition other actors. Julia highly recommends you, and I think she is right after seeing you. You are a perfect match for this role."

"Interesting, I gotta say, I never thought you'd be such a director, Ronald."

Olympia Dukakis couldn't help remembering how she had doubts about Ronald when she was talking to her husband about the opportunity at home.

After all, he is a director who started out with making MVs and low-budget exploitation films.Although very successful commercially, and the blockbuster "Top Gun" is still showing in theaters, it is about to win the box office champion of the year.

But he is a serious drama actor after all, and Dukakis doesn't really want to play the kind of character portrayed in popcorn movies.

After her husband, a Croatian immigrant, married Dukakis, they couldn't afford a house in Manhattan and settled in New Jersey.

After the husband learned that it was Julia Taylor who called, he still urged her to audition.

"Julia is Woody Allen's casting director and she's not going to suggest a bad role for no reason. And I've heard Ronald has a great relationship with Marty Scorsese, he won't be a forever Director of an exploitation film."

"But..." Dukakis continued to evade, she still found the role on Broadway enjoyable.

"Honey, our eldest daughter, Christina, is going to college next year. Do you really have the heart to pay her tuition with a credit card? Even if we use our two credit cards to pool together to pay the tuition next year. The next year's college Where is the son Peter? And the third son Stephen..."

"Oh...don't say it, I will sell my soul once." Olympia Dukakis and her husband are good actors who pursue acting skills, but in this era, their income is not enough.The income of the two, after paying off the housing loan, is just enough to raise their three children.

The current college tuition is expensive, and the two of them really have more than enough energy to deal with the three children who have grown up one after another.

This time, Julia Taylor said that Ronald's film budget is not large, but the script has high requirements for supporting roles. The price given by Ronald seems very generous for a supporting role.Julia knew that Dukakis was the most suitable candidate, and she also knew that she was short of money, so she specially asked her to be the first audition.

The two couples have a deep relationship. For the sake of their children's future, Olympia Dukakis made a decision that went against his own career pursuit, wanting to succumb to the magic of money and act in an exploitation film.

I didn't expect Ronald to value himself so much when he was picking someone.This method of selecting actors based on temperament and first impression is similar to those Broadway directors who pursue the highest level of acting skills.

Dukakis suddenly felt that the tens of thousands of yuan in salary did not seem to make people feel sorry for the god of acting.

"I thought you were a typical Hollywood director..."

"Hahaha, Hollywood directors are very strict, you have to hurry up. You should know Julie Boisso, right? Yes, she will play your sister, and she will also serve as the accent coach for the crew. I hope to see it as soon as possible. You speak a fluent Brooklyn-Italian accent."

……

Next to be confirmed is the role of the father, Cosmo Castorini.Ronald looked at Julia Taylor.

"Vincent Gardenia, this time it's a real Italian actor. He previously starred in 'Prisoner on Second Avenue' on Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Actor."

Tyler put a photo on the table and handed it to Ronald.

"Hahaha, I hired you. It's really the best decision I've made so far for this movie."

Ronald laughed out loud when he saw the people in the photo.

This casting is fantastic.

Vincent Gardenia has a particularly interesting face, which looks honest and honest at first glance, but there is a little bit of cunning in the smile that emerges slightly.

When you see him, you can think of the owner of the hardware store in the community. He looks reliable, but when he sells you things, he often sells you things that look good but you don't need.

When Ronald saw the real person, he felt that the casting was very good.

The real person of Vincent Gardenia, in addition to the natural mixture of cunning and honesty, also has a kind of lust that is unique to Italian men when communicating.

That's not the kind of lust that you want to pursue when you see a beautiful woman, but the Italian style. When you see a beautiful woman, you feel like sticking to it, and at the same time boasting and bragging about your own strengths.

His slightly chubby face also made him look a bit lecherous.

"Oh, Ronald, why do you want me to play Cosmo? When I was young, I always played the leading role. Can't you let me play Cher's fiancé Johnny?"

"Hahaha, no. I think you are suitable to play her father."

"Oh, it really hurts me to say that." Vincent Gardenia pretended to be sad by Ronald's words, "I think I can come here once or twice."

Ronald was very satisfied. The performance of these few sentences on the spot fit Cosmo's character very well.

"No, you play Cosmo."

"Let's discuss it. If I play that pious university professor, at least I can fall in love with my mother Rose. Look at me, such a handsome young man, it's too wasteful not to fall in love with the heroine."

"As far as Cosmo, you have a lover who can act opposite, and besides, you play Rose's husband in the movie. It's not better."

"What's the same? How are love and marriage the same thing?"

Ronald was very insistent that this person was still well-known by Julia Taylor, and he acted with a slick taste.A natural candidate for Cosmo.

Vincent Gardenia chatted a few more half-jokingly, seeing that Ronald insisted on not changing, he put away that Italian style.

"When do I need to join the group?"

"Now some non-Italian actors are still learning their accents. When we start script reading and rehearsal, you can come and participate."

Hearing that Ronald also arranged rehearsal time, Vincent Gardenia was even more satisfied.

Many Hollywood movies do not have a rehearsal link, but put the performance on the spot to solve it.Although I mostly acted for the salary, no actor would want the film to have no room for acting skills.

……

Immediately afterwards, the actor who played the university professor found a sanctimonious actor, John Mahoney.There are a few other minor supporting roles, and Julia Taylor also finds a perfect fit.

Among the remaining main supporting roles, there is only one Loretta's grandfather, and the old man is not easy to solve.

This character is usually confused, but he is very shrewd at critical moments.I usually keep a large group of dogs, and I often burn Ross to eat steaks for him, and secretly feed the dogs.It's a very distinctive character, and if there were an older Italian actor, it would add a wonderful flavor to the film.

This role requires a relatively high level of performance, as well as unique appearance conditions.Ronald already trusted Julia Taylor's casting skills, "Julia, who are you looking for me this time? Which old Italian actor?"

"No, I found you a Russian, Fyodor Chaliapin."

"Huh? Russian?"

……

Ronald saw this old Russian actor. He was very thin, but he could tell that he must have been a handsome guy when he was young.

Ronald knew from Julia that Fedor Chaliapin's father was the most powerful opera bass in the 20s.It was also the time of World War I, the great nobles of Russia.

Although his family property and land were confiscated later, he did not hate the leaders at that time very much, but maintained sympathy for workers and peasants.

Unlike his father, Fedor Chaliapin made his debut mainly as an actor and made many films in the European film industry.

Fedor Chaliapin is 81 years old this year, and his legs and feet are a bit inflexible. Ronald asked him to sit down, and then wanted to chat with him to see the effect.

"I noticed you made a lot of films in Italy, and you worked with Fellini?"

Ronald came up and talked about one of the other's greatest achievements, the cooperation with the legendary Italian director Fellini.

"What did you say?" asked Fyodor Chaliapin, puzzled.

"I said, are you...are you...cooperating with...Fellini..." Ronald had to increase his voice.

"Ah... yes, I've done quite a few movies with him. He's a very talented director, just like you."

Fyodor Chaliapin was speaking a little out of breath, and warmed his hands over the coffee cup.

"And what about your Italian accent? ... Italian accent?"

Ronald had no choice but to ask a few simple questions loudly so that the other party could hear them.

"Ah... Italian accent, I can do it, of course not as good as real Italian"

Fyodor Chaliapin stretched out one ear with great difficulty. His hearing had deteriorated so badly that he could only hear clearly if he was very close.

"Thank you for coming today, Monsieur Fyodor Chaliapin."

After chatting a few questions, Ronald had no choice but to stand up and send him away. His manager, a young man, helped him to stand up.When Fyodor Chaliapin turned around, he smiled at Ronald.

"This smile..." Ronald originally planned to change players. With such a hearing condition, it is difficult to match the play.

But the other party's smile at the end is very similar to those old people who are sometimes sober and sometimes confused.Their life wisdom is unfathomable, just because they are old and weak, sometimes they pretend to be confused, so as not to arouse the resentment of the younger generation too much, and add inconvenience to their own lives.

"How? Is it very suitable for the role of the old man?"

That's what Julia Taylor saw in Fedor Chaliapin.

"But he's too deaf."

"It's not a serious problem, he doesn't have a lot of roles."

"But every game is important." For the first time, Ronald and Julia Taylor had different opinions on casting.

Next, Ronald asked Julia to recommend several older actors, none of whom had the usual befuddled and occasionally intelligent qualities of Fedor Chaliapin.

He really wanted to use Fedor Chaliapin, but the other party's hearing impairment made him hesitate.

"Nisita, how did you say 'God's Child Fallen From Grace', the heroine, Marlene Metlin? How did the deaf play opposite?"

Ronald asked Nisita, his agent, who came to see him.

In this movie that reflects the lives of deaf girls, many characters are played by real deaf people.It was just released in New York, and Ronald went to see it. The story and acting are very good.

"I heard that the lead actor, William Hurt, has a deaf mother, so he knows sign language. He and Marlene communicate with each other through sign language. I heard that they also got to know each other because of the movie and officially lived together."

Nisita talked about what he knew.

Acting in a movie is actually acting out one's own reaction in response to the other party's reaction.The two leading actors and actresses spent a long time getting to know each other before filming and communicated in sign language every day.When it comes time to shoot, a tacit understanding is naturally cultivated, and there is a natural reaction to the subtle body and expression of the other party.

So in the movie, the couple played by the two is extraordinarily believable.Especially the deaf people tend to be irritable, and Ronald felt that he restored it well.

"You're worried about Fedor Chaliapin's hearing. Has he been in any films lately?"

"Yes, he has acted before." Ronald suddenly thought, Fedor Chaliabin is still frequently participating in movies recently, if deafness really affects his performance, then it should be soon No one asked him to act.

It is not known how long he had been severely deaf.

"Why don't you ask the director or actor who has worked with him to ask about the situation?" Nisita reminded.

"I don't know, do you?" Ronald thought, if he could talk privately with his colleague from the last movie, maybe he would find the truth.

"I know him. In the last movie, he co-starred with Sean Connery in War of the Magic Palace. And Sean made us the number one star of CAA." Nisita took out the phone book, dialed back to Los Angeles, and called Contact Ronald.

The so-called No. [-] star actually does not refer to the popularity of Sean Connery, but because Sean Connery was the first person he signed when Michael Ovitz, the chairman of CAA, started his business. star actor.In the CAA office, a large office was also reserved for Connery.

"Hello, Ronald, I heard from Michael that you have something to ask me?" Sean Connery spoke with a thick Scottish accent and spoke very arrogantly.

It's not that he can't speak other accents that are easier to understand, but he deliberately shows his Scottish origin and deliberately speaks this kind of dialect that he doesn't understand.

"Um, yes, Mr. Connery. I want to ask, are you familiar with Fedor Chaliapin? I want to ask him to act in a movie, but I am worried that his hearing will be affected."

"Young man, if you ask me, my answer is, sign him quickly."

"Why?" Ronald barely understood Connery's opinion, but what he actually wanted to know was some details about Fedor Chaliapin's presence on the set, not an arbitrary judgment.

"Don't you believe me, young man?"

"I just want to know more details. This role is crucial to the movie. I need a good actor."

"Let me tell you, sign him up. He's old, he's deaf, but as soon as he's in front of the cameras, he steals my scenes."

Sean Connery didn't give any details. After saying this, he urged Ronald to sign Fedor Chaliapin, and then hung up the phone.

"Mr. Bond is a person with a bad temper, but he has already given his opinion, hasn't he?" Nisita listened to the whole conversation, nodded to Ronald, and said that although Connery was a bastard, he was right The acting thing has always been honest.

This bald Bond, who has to wear a wig to act, is quite conceited about his acting skills. It is not easy for him to say this kind of praise for other people's acting skills.

Ronald went to the cinema again and watched "Magic Palace War" which had not yet been released. Sure enough, in this movie shot last year, Fedor Chaliapin's acting skills were very good, making Sean Kang Nelly was crushed.

In this case, Ronald agreed with Julia's judgment and signed a contract with the last main supporting role, Fedor Chaliapin.

Now that all the important roles have been settled, Ronald took half a day off on the weekend, waiting for everyone to gather for the first time to read the script, and then began to practice and correct the Brooklyn Italian with the help of Julie Bovasso. accent.

Diane Lane was back in New York just in time to see Ronald.The two were sitting together watching TV in the hotel.

Ronald needed such a routine to relax the director's tense nerves during filming.

"I always feel that I am a bit like the heroine Loretta in this movie. It seems that I have a bad luck. Every time there is a big production, as long as I participate in it, the box office is not very good."

Diane hung Ronald's arm around her neck, then leaned into Ronald's arms, with one foot straddling the back of the sofa.

When there are no outsiders, Diane has never had a good posture.

"Don't say that, if you think about it too much, it might actually happen. Knock on wood and get the bad luck away."

Ronald knocked twice on the wooden coffee table instead of Diane.

"Hee hee, why didn't you find me for this movie."

"There is no suitable role, this is a middle-aged love story." Ronald thought for a while, "There is only one scene where Ronnie works in the bakery, and there is a young girl who also works in the bakery, and she has a crush on Ronnie." .Would you like to make a cameo?"

"If I don't want to, I don't have anything to play."

Diane twisted twice on the sofa, picked up the remote control and changed the channel.Hollywood is like this, the more blockbuster movies you can't make, the less good scripts you can find.

"Look at this late show, Cher will be on David Letterman's show tonight." Ronald asked Diane to stop and watch NBC's late show together.His friend Letterman will invite Cher as a guest today.

After a burst of welcome applause, Cher wore a white crew neck top, black leggings, a conservative hairstyle, and hugged David Letterman.

The two sat down separately, and after the audience's applause disappeared, Letterman usually asked an ice-breaking question to let the guests relax and get into the mood.

"You are the guest I want to invite most since my show started. You have never agreed to be on the show. Why are you willing to come to the evening show after four and a half years of continuous invitation?" David Letterman said Good word, ask Cher.

"Ha...hehehe..."

Xueer burst into laughter suddenly, "I don't know, I think maybe there's a reason... I have to pay my hotel rent."

The audience was amused by Cher's humor.

David Letterman followed her up, "You mean, you're living in a hotel in New York and don't have enough cash to pay the hotel rent?"

"Hey, yes, because the rent bill is huge." Xue Er answered very formally as she sat upright.

"Hey hey..." David Letterman was a little surprised, Xueer's answer was beyond his expectations.

"So, I thought, why don't you meet this handsome guy, and then..." Cher continued to answer.

David Letterman couldn't figure out for a moment whether Cher was real or just kidding.

"Well, if you're expecting the Late Show to pay your hotel bill, I think you're being greatly misled." David Letterman formally dismissed the idea, frowning.

"Like I said, our previous time slot, Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, was very rich, and they could spend whatever money they wanted on guests. But our late show was very poor, not even a paperclip have to be reused.”

The audience laughed again.

David Letterman cleverly made the audience laugh, but then quietly told Cher about the real situation of the program group, that he really couldn't afford the other party's so-called "sky-high hotel bill".

"So, are you living back and forth between California and New York now?" He changed the subject.

"No, I mainly live in California. But I have been living in a hotel in New York for the past few months, and I just went back. You want me to be on the show, so I flew here." Cher continued half-jokingly to make the show crew to reimburse.

"So, our program group agreed to reimburse you for your air ticket?" David Letterman asked the staff below.

"Of course it is," Cher nodded to Letterman on stage.

"No, we didn't agree." The staff below replied, causing the audience to murmur again.

"Oh, God, something is going to happen." Ronald's face changed when he saw Cher.Is she really short of money?Could it be that she performed in three movies in succession in order to make money as soon as possible?

Of course, David Letterman also noticed something was wrong, and he wanted to go back and find it quickly.

"Just joking aside, I want to ask, you must have a reason. We have been looking for you for four and a half years, but you are not willing to appear on my show. You must have changed your mind?"

"No, actually, I always thought that I would never be on your show." Xue'er's tone was already very bad.

"Why?" David Letterman thought that Xue Er had some witty words, so he quickly answered.

"Because, because you're a big asshole (Axxhole)."

"Hey, hi...", David Letterman's face immediately collapsed, he lit his cigar, and took two puffs.

"Hey, the audience is not booing me, they are cheering for Xue Er..."

After ten seconds of embarrassment, David Letterman's professionalism still allowed him to continue the show.

"If the audience in front of the TV didn't hear it, I'm repeating, Cher thinks I'm a good person, yeah... Cher... famous singer, movie star. Everyone applauds..."

Still annoyed, David Letterman didn't give Cher a chance to continue speaking and ended the show hastily.

"Rick, have you watched TV? What's going on with Cher?" Ronald quickly picked up the phone and called his manager, Nisita.His wife, Paula Wagner, who is somehow allied with Cher's agent to break up Cher and Tom Cruise, may know something about it.

Xue'er is the most important character in "Moonlight Seductive", no matter what she lost her temper tonight, it's not good news for the crew.

(End of this chapter)