Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The four actors were accompanied by their families or elders on the sofa outside the audition room. All four had a lot of audition experience and knew the audition process and the degree of competition. No one was so naive as to deliberately show goodwill to competitors, to get information, or to take the opportunity to mislead. Everyone sat on the chairs and waited quietly.

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

Therefore, the focus of this audition is not on the quality of the "trial", but on observing whether the actor is "on camera" 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. She had been deprived of most of the power to decide the heroine, and only had an honorary attendance.

Ronald still played the role of an assistant, responsible for recording the evaluation on one side. Gubel privately gave him a task, which was to evaluate the sex appeal of the heroine to young men, that is, how many young male audiences would buy tickets to the cinema just to see the beautiful body of the heroine.

The first person to audition was Kelly Preston. Born in Hawaii, she lived with her mother in Australia after her parents divorced. She is 17 years old this year. It was not her mother who brought her here, but a fashion photographer.

He claimed to be the apprentice and "close partner" of the famous photographer Richard Avedon, and lived with him in a multi-million dollar mansion on Long Island, New York.

Kelly Preston was a model he discovered, and he has been promoting her everywhere since then, hoping to join a film crew as the protagonist.

This slightly weird combination is actually quite common in Hollywood. Dorothy Stratten, the former client of agent Eddie, was like this. The young girl had few assets, but was willing to give everything for her dream of becoming a star. After soaring to the sky, it was another story.

Ronald called Kelly Preston into the audition room alone. Hollywood puts the market first. As long as you can bring in box office revenue, the director has considerable autonomy in creation. Therefore, the rule of the audition is that only the actor can enter alone, eliminating any possible interference.

"Hello, my name is Kelly Preston, I am from Hawaii, and I am 17 years old this year." The girl introduced herself to the camera. Then some close-ups and close-ups from the front and two sides were taken.

This is a very typical American sweet girl, with long golden hair and a very sweet face. Ronald thinks her attractiveness index is quite high. The only thing that does not fit the plot of the movie is that Kelly Preston does not seem to be so confident, and her expression and reaction are more like a child from a middle-class family.

In the original work of "Endless Love", Jed was born in a wealthy family and had a single-family house on Long Island. It would be difficult for her to play this kind of confident and free-spirited character. After all, the actors in youth films are all around 20 years old, and being able to play themselves will save a lot of trouble.

Ronald couldn't help but think of Brooke Shields. This tall girl was indeed the first choice for the heroine of the movie. The success of two consecutive movies has increased her confidence and willfulness, which is in line with the plot of the movie.

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

Looking back at Kelly Preston's resume, it turned out that she also auditioned for "The Blue Lagoon", but was not chosen. She was suppressed by Brooke Shields twice

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

Director Franco Zeffirelli asked her two questions. Kelly Preston answered a little nervously and covered her mouth with her hand to hide her embarrassment. Even the executive producer Gubel shook his head slightly.

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

The second person to audition was Jennifer Jason Leigh, 18 years old. Vic Morrow and her mother had a very unhappy divorce, and even changed their daughter's last name. Morrow did not accompany her to the audition this time. Her mother, Barbara, an unsuccessful screenwriter, came with her.

"Personality?"

"Rich girl."

"Character?"

"Willful, doesn't consider anything else except love."

...

Jennifer was still reviewing notes with her mother, and reviewing every aspect of Jade before the audition. They were also a couple who couldn't figure out the situation.

Ronald led her into the audition room.

Because of her father, Jennifer has appeared in many TV series, and she was very confident in answering questions with the director. Her analysis of the heroine was also very accurate, and it can be seen that she had received professional acting training.

Her problem lies in her appearance. Although she is very photogenic and looks good, she is not attractive enough compared to Kelly Preston. At the age of 18, she still has a little baby fat. To be honest, in high school, she is the type that is easily ignored by boys.

Maybe she will be a beauty after she grows up in a few years.

She also auditioned for "The Blue Lagoon", but she gave up the role because the director insisted on full frontal nudity at the beginning.

If she had starred in "The Blue Lagoon", it would have been a completely different movie, with a weaker visual impact and a higher degree of character credibility, which was a rise and fall for film reviews and box office, but it was hard to say whether it was good or bad for the producers.

It was obvious that Director Zeffirelli admired her very much and had talked to her for a long time. Shirley Knight was also willing to have her star so that she could still grab some attention in the scenes where the two of them were on screen together.

However, Gubel was not very satisfied. In terms of the most important appearance, Jennifer Jason Lee was inherently inferior.

Ronald sent her out as usual, and her mother Barbara took her aside and discussed the audition process in a low voice. Barbara was quite satisfied when she heard her daughter and the director talking about the character's personality. Her years of education had paid off.

Ronald was going to say some nonsense as usual about waiting for the agent's notification, but Barbara interrupted him directly, "We are learning about the audition process." and sent him away.

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

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

Although "Endless Love" is a bestseller, the number of readers is still a minority compared to the number of moviegoers. Readers and non-readers are first attracted by the love story of the young man and woman. The beauty of the characters that catch the eye is the key to the audience's appreciation.

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

But Ronald didn't look at her much outside.

Because Bo was brought by her husband John Derek.

John was 30 years older than Bo. When he met the 16-year-old Bo, he was fascinated. He quickly divorced his wife and took Bo to Germany.

At that time, there was an automatic sexual assault law in California. Anyone who had sex with a woman under the age of 16, whether voluntary or not, would be treated as sexual assault. After Bo's 18th birthday, John Derek married her quickly, and then returned to the United States to push Bo into the entertainment industry.

"Perfect" released in 1979 was a big hit at the box office and in reviews, and Bo Derek became a popular star.

But this movie also limited Bo's acting path. Most of the scripts Bo Derek received afterwards were about sexy bombshells. In order to break through the acting path, they paid close attention to the protagonist Jed in "Endless Love". After all, Jed had many more lines in the movie than in "Perfect".

Ronald felt that among the four actors, Bo Derek was undoubtedly the sexiest, and there was a hint of childishness in his sexiness. This was quite consistent with the description of Jed in the original book.

But seeing that director Zeffirelli was not very satisfied, after shooting the audition clip, the director went against his desire to communicate with Jennifer Jason Leigh, and asked a simple question and then said nothing, looking like a businesslike person. Soon Bo Derek finished the 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 beauty, which is somewhat different from Jed's girlish figure of less than 19 years old.

The last one is Melanie Griffith. Her mother Tippi Hedren no longer has the charm in Hitchcock's movies. After filming "Jay Thief", Tippi Hedren and Hitchcock fell out and never got a big role in Hollywood again. Tippi and her family moved to Africa and raised lions.

Living in the African jungle for many years turned her into an old woman. It also turned her daughter into a white and fat appearance.

Living with lions in the African jungle and communicating less with people made Melanie Griffith's normal communication ability have some problems. At the age of 14, she married Don Johnson, who came to visit her mother, for 6 months. After a crazy period, they divorced.

After bidding farewell to the jungle and returning to Hollywood, Melanie dated many movie stars again. Her experience of being with lions also attracted many Hollywood stars. It can be regarded as "integrating" into the chaotic and crazy side of Hollywood.

Ronald took Melanie into the audition room and shot some movie shots. Director Zeffirelli and Guber both shook their heads slightly.

Her face was far beyond the scope of baby fat. Ronald tried his best not to look at her, fearing that his expressions and movements would cause her dissatisfaction. After the audition, he took her out, and Melanie still looked like she didn't know what happened.

Mother Dibby sighed, and it seemed that she had made a mistake to take her children to Africa to raise lions. Fortunately, her current husband is a well-known agent and producer, and is tailoring a movie "Roar" for the mother and daughter. It is adapted from the experience of the mother and daughter and tells the story of a mother and daughter who live with lions in Africa.

It seems that Melanie is not competitive as the heroine Jed of "Endless Love".

After sending Melanie away, Ronald entered the audition room. Shirley Knight was complaining that Brooke Shields was not suitable for the role of Jed, and insisted on choosing between Kelly Preston and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It seems that Guber mentioned the idea of ​​getting Brooke Shields back again.

Guber saw Ronald coming back and asked, "What do you think, Ronald? Who is more suitable between Brooke Shields and the two of them?"

"Brooke Shields." Ronald told the truth when asked by his boss.

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

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

"Let hormones decide?"

Gubel took out a cigarette and smoked it. Steve McQueen said in an interview that he was in the navy when he was young and was exposed to a lot of asbestos, which caused the disease. Now he can smoke again.