Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Bye!" After Helen had had enough sleep, she left Ronald's apartment and went to her mother's residence. She wanted to tell her mother the good news first.

Instead of rashly telling Helen that she should play Supergirl, Ronald first approached Richard from CAA and inquired about the status of the "Super Girl" project.

Soon Richard's boss Niceta called Ronald's home.

"I think I warned you, Ronald. All benefits to pretty girls should be informed to me in advance, and it's best for us to handle them for you."

Niceta was afraid that Ronald would promise an actress the benefit of appearing on the scene without going through an agent, which would easily lead to problems.

"She's not just any pretty girl, she's my girlfriend..."

"Oh, have you reached the girlfriend stage?" Niceta loosened her tie, then pulled it off and threw it on the desk. The company's most promising screenwriter and director was captured by a beautiful girl like this?

"Helen, Helen Slater. This name should be familiar to you. Her father is..."

"PBS's Gerald?" Niceta said oh, and sat on the chair with a sigh of relief. He was deeply afraid that Ronald would be fascinated by some young actor and agree to something he shouldn't.

A client's sex scandal is a very troublesome matter, involving a lot of resources and energy, and will make the client lose its competitiveness in front of the studio.

"Then what are you asking about? Gerald will be considerate of his daughter." Niceta expressed confusion about Ronald's unnecessary behavior.

"The agent her father chose for her helped her get an audition invitation for a supporting role, but I think her appearance is more suitable for the leading role..." Ronald explained the situation again, "I'm not sure either. I want to ask you about the relationship here, you are the most professional.”

"Of course, Ronald, you did a good job." Niceta appreciated this method of thinking that was discussed with the agent in advance.

The contract situation of the Superman series of movies is relatively well understood. This is something that old people in the industry know that Warner Bros. regrets.

After the Serkinds bought Superman for $3 million, it sold $300 million at the box office worldwide. Warner Bros. regretted selling the rights cheaply from the first day it was released.

They took advantage of the terms in the distribution contract and began to constantly find trouble with the Selkinds. The Selkinds were also veterans in the industry. The two parties kept going back and forth over the selection of directors, plot development, and supporting actors. Stuff in all kinds of personal belongings.

Supergirl was originally scheduled to appear in Superman Part 3, but after the black movie star Richard Pryor joined the cast, there was no plot space left for Supergirl, so we had to turn around and ask Superman to appear in Supergirl Part 1. Bringing out the story of his cousin on Krypton.

Producers Serkind and his son want to make Supergirl's casting similar to that of Superman's casting, becoming a publicity and pre-production gimmick before the movie starts shooting, and are starting an audition tour across the country.

"Then ask for me and see if there are any competitive candidates. Don't worry, I'm just helping Helen find an audition opportunity." Ronald hung up the phone.

The dreaming effect last night was good. It seems that tennis can indeed trigger dreams. Ronald set off to the tennis court again.

"They cast Superman's casting director Lynn Stamaster. This is a veteran casting director. He had already seen a circle of actresses in Los Angeles and was going to New York for preliminary screening."

Soon CAA's Niceta got more accurate news. Ronald had known for a long time that the so-called auditions were not really selecting among ordinary girls, but choosing those girls who had acting experience.

"I know, I can handle it."

Ronald knew who he was looking for. Julia Taylor from the casting studio must know this Superman casting director. It's not a big problem to ask her to add a name for the audition.

"Helen Slater? Who is her agent?" Julia indeed knew the casting director. She asked Ronald to give him the name of his agent. In this industry, castings must be contacted through agents. The Actors Guild has made special regulations on this in order to prevent various unspoken rules.

Ronald thought for a while, called Helen and asked her to tell her the name of the agent her mother had found for her.

"Really? Are you able to get them to audition Supergirl for me?" Helen was indeed very happy.

"Don't get too excited, it's just an audition opportunity." Ronald replied on the phone.

"Yeah, Mom, Ronald found me a chance to audition for Supergirl." Helen turned around and told her mother about getting the chance to audition.

"This is a good thing." Helen's mother asked her daughter about the ins and outs of the audition role. After Helen went out, she called her ex-husband, "Did you do it? I smelled your scent from Helen's story. Don't interfere." My daughter’s freedom, if she wants to be a superwoman, let her be.”

"What do you know about the entertainment industry?" Gerard was a little anxious, "How did she get the audition for Supergirl? I asked my agent to change it to the supporting role of Lucy Lane."

"Her boyfriend found it for her."

Gerald immediately hung up the phone and called Ronald.

"Ronald, come to my office quickly! Now!"

Ronald, who received the call, knew he had guessed correctly. He didn't hesitate and rushed to Jerad's office immediately.

"Why did you find Helen an opportunity to audition for Supergirl?" Gerald asked right away.

"Because I think she is more suitable for Supergirl, not that supporting role." Ronald replied.

"I thought you were already a mature director, so I allowed you to date my daughter." Gerald pointed at Ronald's head and said:

"Where is your common sense? Helen is just a high school student in an acting school. Supergirl uses the configuration of Superman, and the supporting roles are all veteran actors. Their targets are Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton. Helen can't get a role next to them, and will be criticized by the critics."

Ronald suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Gerald found a supporting role for Helen. Playing a supporting role in a big production is an easy step to enter the Hollywood entertainment industry. There is exposure, and there is no trouble of being criticized by film critics.

But Ronald also has his own considerations, "Mr. Slater, you are of course right. But the Superman series of movies is different."

"Oh?" Gerald saw Ronald coming quickly, and he calmed down a little. After all, he was working hard for his daughter's acting career.

"Many Superman viewers miss the flying stunts, and acting is not that important. Christopher Reeve had no filming experience before he played Superman, but that didn't stop him from becoming a star."

"Besides, even if Helen's acting is not good, it's still early to leave. If she is selected, it's not too late to find a suitable acting teacher for her."

Gerald took out a bottle of brandy from the drawer and poured a glass for himself and Ronald.

"You are still naive. Reeve is Katharine Hepburn's darling. She recommended Reeve to become Superman." He took two sips of the wine.

Ronald accidentally heard a big gossip. The age difference between the two must be more than 40 years. "They have the kind of relationship between grandmother and grandson, right?"

Gerald ignored Ronald's question, but looked at Ronald, "But what you said makes sense. Poor acting can be remedied. You go and inform Helen to prepare for the audition for Supergirl. I agree."

"Helen, tell me, do you really want to act in this movie?" Gerald called his daughter after Ronald left.

"Of course, being an actor is my dream."

"Well, you can give it a try."

"Oh, I'm so happy. Thank you, Ronnie." Helen was so happy when she heard that her father had agreed to her audition that she ran to tell Ronald the good news.

"No wonder he chose an agent to let me audition for the supporting role of Lucy Lane." Helen kissed Ronald, reacted, and then laughed.

"What should I prepare, Ronnie?"

"Just be yourself, there's not so much to consider when casting for a movie."

Helen didn't listen to Ronald, and picked up the Supergirl comics she bought and started studying them.

"For the people on Earth, wake up."

The Supergirl in the comics found that Superman had forgotten his identity and lost his superpowers after arriving on Earth. She used various methods to wake Superman up and finally found herself.

Helen tied a red headband on her head and recited the lines in the comics to Ronald.

She was very formal, a typical American high school student who learned the drama accent in the drama club.

"Oh..." Ronald covered his eyes with his hands. This is not the right way to audition for a movie role.

"What's wrong? Did I speak the lines badly?"

"No, you're OK." Ronald felt that he had to explain to her, "The main purpose of the movie audition is to see if your appearance is suitable for the role, and the filming of the movie has close-ups and close-ups. The lines used in comedy stages are often unnecessary in movies."

"Oh, is that so? But my teacher at the acting school said that the lines are the key to expressing the character's personality." Helen was a little confused. If Ronnie hadn't directed a hit movie, she would definitely not believe this statement.

That's true, but...

Ronald pointed to the TV opposite and said, "Imagine the TV as a stage for a drama, with actors performing inside."

"If the actors speak in the way that normal people do, the audience in the back row may not be able to hear clearly. And they are far away, and they can't see the facial expressions of the actors on the stage. That's why students studying drama should practice body language first. Body language can be heard even if they are sitting in the last row of the theater.

"Then we can think of it as a TV," Ronald said as he turned on the TV, which was rerunning the TV series "Family Grudges."

"Like movies, TV can use lenses of different focal lengths to capture the facial expressions of actors," Ronald pointed to the characters on TV and said to Helen, "There are also simultaneous recordings to capture the voices of actors speaking, so that the audience can appreciate this more lifelike performance."

"But there are also many actors in movies who act in Shakespearean accents? For example, Laurence Olivier from the UK. ”

This involves the issue of different performance genres, and Ronald himself actually didn't quite understand it.

"You may be right, but when auditioning, they will definitely first see if your appearance meets the requirements of the role."

"Should I dye my hair blonde?" Helen suddenly thought.

"Don't worry, Supergirl's Earthling identity Linda Lee also has dark brown hair. Wait until you are selected..."

Looking at Helen's big eyes looking at him, full of longing for the audition, Ronald said, "Buy a blonde wig first and try it on. Then they will decide what kind of blonde they need to dye it."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."