Exploiting Hollywood 1980

On Monday, Ronald was in the casting studio again. It happened that Margaery and Joanna Merlin were chatting together.

"Good morning, Margery, Joanna."

"Ronnie, you seem to be in good spirits."

"Thank you, I came to confirm whether I have been fired." Ronald said.

Margaery and Joanna Merlin were both amused, "It seems you have a good sense of humor, good boy. In this business, you must have a sense of humor at all times, because reality is too strange and often exceeds your imagination." ”

"You're not familiar with the rules of Hollywood, Ronnie." Marion was not satisfied with his childish behavior yesterday. "Actresses are a special kind of animal. Don't let them fool you. Roles are their highest pursuit."

"Either you reveal the script to Meg and convince the director to use it for the audition. Or you don't use the scene at all. No actress can accept losing an audition for a character based on herself."

Joanna also came over and added: "A cunning fox will not hunt near its den."

"Unless you are the director or producer who controls the whole situation, don't get too involved with the actresses on the crew, do you understand?"

"If you plan to have a long-term relationship with her, make an exception by marrying her."

"Hahaha", the two casting directors were making fun of his naivety.

Ronald also smiled bitterly.

People in the conference room heard the laughter, opened the door and shouted, "Who is there? Ronald? Tell him to come in."

"The director and producer are inside?"

The two female generals nodded.

Hearing the voice was producer David DaSilva, Ronald knew he couldn't escape and walked into the conference room.

Director Alan Parker saw Ronald coming in and just gave him a cold look.

It looks like I'm going to be fired on the spot today.

However, producer Da Silva was much more enthusiastic: "Ronald, you found Madonna. Tell me, is she suitable for a black CoCo or a Jewish Doris?"

Ronald raised his eyes and glanced at director Parker, but did not answer the producer's question.

Director Parker pointed his finger at him and said: "It's been a long time since anyone talked to me like you did. Boy, you are very talented."

Ronald didn't say anything, thinking that the next thing he would say would probably be "You're fired."

Da Silva came out to smooth things over, "Ellen, Ronald is still a child, and you and I have moments when we are crazy about girls, right?" Da Silva specially added the words "crazy about girls" Accented.

When Allen heard this, he glanced at the producer and smiled uncontrollably: "Okay, okay, I forgive you Ronald, true love should be forgiven, right, da Silva gentlemen?"

"I apologize to you, Mr. Parker. I was impulsive the day before yesterday." Ronald apologized, thinking, "You can get through it so easily?"

Allen waved his hand, "You should write more scripts for me. You have to give the Jewish character Doris a wonderful ending like Hillary, do you understand?"

"I will try my best."

"Now we'd better let everyone come in and discuss together." He opened the conference room door and let Margaery and Joanna Merlin come in together.

"Now we have two roles, but there are three candidate actors. Let's discuss today and solve this problem." Alan Parker led the conversation.

After hearing this, Margery wrote the names of the two characters CoCo and Doris on the whiteboard. Then write their main description under the name.

What is written below CoCo is: black man, singer, spanning drama, dance and music.

Doris wrote below: Jewish, singer, actor, shy personality due to strong mother.

Then I posted the photos of the three audition girls under their names.

Posted below CoCo is an audition photo of a black girl named Irene Cara.

Margery said: "Eileen Kara, black. She is 19 years old. She entered the top five of Little Miss Arica at the age of 3. She is a child star in TV series. She plays piano. She has been trained in singing since she was a child and has also received acting training. Professional training in dance and dancing is a triathlon.

Posted under Doris's name on the right is an audition photo of a white actor named Maureen Teefy.

Joanna Melling began to read her resume: "Maureen Tiffey, of Irish descent, served as a labor singer for the United Labor Organization of the United States. Last year she participated in Steven Spielberg's new film "1941", with superb acting skills , the singer’s quality is trustworthy.”

Everyone looked at Ronald. Madonna in the middle of the photo was the person he recommended.

Ronald knew nothing about Madonna's background, so he could only say: "I discovered Madonna Ciccone at the audition. She is of Italian origin. Her singing ability is like Linda Ronstadt."

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for him to continue.

"No more." Ronald spread his hands, "She has no experience in film and television dramas."

"Hey, she's more like a young Barbra Streisand. I think she's Doris." Producer Da Silva gave Ronald a wink.

"No matter who she sings like, this girl is a confident person. Doris is a shy Jewish girl. I think Maureen Tiffey is more suitable."

The two were at loggerheads. The producer pointed out that Madonna's nose was bigger and she looked more like Jewish Doris than Maureen. The director pointed out that Maureen, who was shy in temperament, could play Doris without having to play her.

After several experiences of being caught between the director and the producer, Ronald gradually understood.

The director, Alan Parker, was invited by the producer to direct the project, which gave the director a great advantage in the right to speak, and he could always play the card of "If you disagree with the director's opinion, please find someone else". So every time there was a dispute, the director had the upper hand.

However, this kind of struggle between the director and the producer is not something that the director can do by just saying "listen to me". He must give the right reasons and convince other key people, such as the casting director, to veto the producer's opinion without hurting the relationship.

Madonna, who Ronald picked up during the audition, was used by the producer as a card to attack the director. Maureen, who looked more Jewish than the director's candidate, sang better and was more like the template of the character Doris - the young Barbara Streisand, all of which were extremely powerful attack points.

The director cleverly turned Madonna into his own card and fought back against the producer, because she could also play the singer CoCo. Her singing skills were also better than Irene Cara, who was strongly recommended by the producer.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he forgave Ronald's offense so quickly. He needed the casting director to stand on his side, and he needed Madonna to stand on his side.

Madonna was brought in by Ronald during the audition. What this means in the film and television industry is self-evident. She is Ronald's person, and now she must listen to Ronald the most.

"Where did the director come up with this Maureen Tiffey?" Taking advantage of the quarrel between the two big men, Ronald whispered to the two female generals.

"She was found from Los Angeles. She was picked out during the first two trips to Los Angeles. She arrived in New York yesterday and was directly stuffed into our company. She will play Doris." Joanna answered.

"Already 26 years old?" Ronald looked at her resume.

"Yes, but her face is still relatively young, and she can play Doris. It's just that she acts very maturely, not like a high school student. I don't know if her acting skills are good enough." Joanna explained to Margaret and Ronald.

"Crazy for a girl? True love can be forgiven? Ha." Ronald thought to himself.

"Character is the first priority in casting. To make a shocking movie, you must adhere to this principle. Just like Gene is more suitable for Leroy, Maureen is definitely more suitable for the role of Doris than Madonna."

"Why don't we discuss who is more suitable for Coco? Irene Cara or Madonna? Since you said her singing skills are so good." The director used offense as defense.

"CoCo is black, and she is an all-rounder in acting, singing and dancing. Only Irene Cara is the most suitable." Producer Da Silva was forced to switch to a defensive battle.

"But Irene Cara's live audition singing performance was not good, not at all at the level of Madonna, do you admit this?" Director Alan Parker continued to attack.

"Did she perform poorly in the audition?" Ronald began to whisper again.

"Yes, her singing was very dry, and she was completely different from the demo tape made in the studio. It may be because of nervousness, or it may be that the studio environment is more suitable for her voice." Margery said.

"Why did Da Silva make such a big effort to protect her? David has given up the other two controversial castings for her." Ronald was puzzled.

"Didn't you see her actor's resume? She is of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, and there are Latinos among the blacks." Margaret handed her resume to Ronald.

"And what is Co's last name in the script?" Joanna Merlin also reminded Ronald.

"Hernandez", Ronald understood that the producer Da Silva, who is also a Puerto Rican Latino, wanted to use this role to make Irene Cara, who is of the same ethnicity, famous.

As the only one among the eight protagonists who spans dance, performance, and music, CoCo can be said to be the top star of the movie. The producer will not give up this role, and he can give up all other roles for her.

"What if we choose according to strength? Which one is better?" Ronald asked the two female generals.

"Irene Cara has a solid foundation. She has been performing, singing, and dancing since she was a child, and she also has the bonus of piano. She is a good candidate." Margaret is more optimistic about her.

"Madonna's singing ability is indeed outstanding, and she was chosen by the director, so she has a good chance." Joanna had heard about Madonna's singing ability, and at that time she wanted to stop her from advancing and not let her compete with Irene for the role.

"Ronald, Margaret, Joanna, what do you think? Who is more suitable?" The director and the producer were arguing, and then turned around and asked everyone's opinions.

"Let's use the old method. Prepare a scene with intense dramatic conflict and let them audition again." Ronald made up his mind not to offend either side and rely on his ability to speak.

"Which scene to use?" The producer did not object to this arrangement. As a producer, he had various convenient conditions to give Irene Kara a sneak peek.

"Let's use the part where she was deceived by an unscrupulous director and went to shoot an adult movie in order to enter the industry." The director thought for a while and said.

This is a scene that requires a lot of acting skills, and Director Parker also wants to choose an actor with real acting skills to play Coco.

This scene requires the imagination of the actors. It is not that the performance will be good if the topic is revealed. If the background of the actors themselves is similar, playing the role in their true colors can be surprising and shocking.

Well, you two can notify Irene Cara and Madonna separately and ask them to come to the studio at a certain time for the second round of auditions.

"Ronald, you are very good and you understand the principles of casting." Da Silva patted Ronald on the shoulder and hinted.

"Madonna, it's me, Ronald. The director wants to audition you again, and there's another girl. Well, come to my casting studio on East 31st Street early. It's a white house..."