Chapter 8 The hero and heroine

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The night was getting darker, and the dense fog enveloped the seaside residential area, and the salty moisture came through the cracks in the windows and slipped into the noses of the busy figures under the windows.

Ahhh~

After sneezing, Duke turned off the air conditioner, and his eyes fell on the drawing board in front of him again. After stretching for a long time, he put his hands back on the desk, picked up a pencil and drew simple lines, one big and one small two. An ellipse plus four straight lines form a pattern representing the male protagonist.

In just a few minutes, the image in his mind turned into a storyboard.

This is the favorite split-shot painting method of many young directors in another world. It is concise and direct enough to express the scene represented by the artwork. In today's era, it can be regarded as a futuristic painting method.

However, the effect is not bad, Duke often communicates with people in various departments of the crew with the artwork, which most people think is simple and clear.

After drawing another one, Duke put them together in the file bag, and his split-shot artwork came to an end for the time being. If he had any new ideas in the future, he could change it at any time.

After simply tidying up the desk, Duke walked out of the bedroom and came to his mother's study. He knocked on the door lightly, and as expected, there was a sound of inviting in.

Mom... Duke pushed open the door and walked in.

Is something wrong? Mrs. Leah, who was at the desk, took off her glasses and looked here.

It's late, he pointed to the clock on the wall. You go to bed early.

Well, right now.

Seeing his mother nod, Duke finally said, Good night.

Good night.

Back in the room, Duke lay down but didn't feel sleepy. His mind was almost full of the preparations for Speed ​​of Life and Death. Even though the preliminary preparations had been going smoothly, the crew had not made any mistakes on the surface, even if he had a good understanding of his ability to learn and accumulate over the years. Confidence, but the pressure brought by this first time made him feel a little heavy.

When the opportunity does not appear, I look forward to the opportunity; when the opportunity comes, I am afraid of failing if I can't grasp the opportunity.

This is a common problem for most people, and Duke is no exception. Even if he lives again, he is still a normal person.

It's a rare opportunity and an opportunity that can't be lost. Duke knows this very well. If he messes up, he won't have a second chance for a very long time.

Pressure can be transformed into motivation, which is easy to say, but not so easy to do.

Laughing at the famous sayings of those Niubi people who engaged in inspirational training, Duke finally fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps a good night's sleep is the best way to relieve stress. After getting up in the morning, Duke's body is still tall and straight, and his tough face is full of determination and confidence, as if no force in this world can defeat him.

Going for a run on the seaside Esplanade, going home and having breakfast made by his mother, going back to his room and changing into formal clothes, Duke drove his Chevrolet to West Hollywood.

Today the crew is holding a second audition for the heroine, in which Duke has a certain say.

Duke and Robin Grande did not participate in the first leading actor and actress audition. He didn't care too much about whether Keanu Keeves, who accepted the audition invitation, would be brushed off. There are no actors in Hollywood who can't be replaced. , even if that person was Meryl Streep.

As far as Speed ​​of Life is concerned, does it matter who the hero Jack is? For such a role, as long as you find a handsome white boy with a bit of toughness, and you can pass the basic acting skills, it doesn't really make any difference.

Duke proposed Keanu Reeves, just because Keanu is somewhat popular now and the salary is cheap enough. This is not him in a few years, and it can definitely be done within $500,000!

Because most of the money will be invested in special effects and shooting, the total budget of the film in terms of actors' remuneration is only $2 million, and even Duke and Robin Grande have reached a consensus to try to compress this expenditure to 150 dollars. less than $10,000.

Even so, one-third of all cast and crew salaries are paid after the film is released in North America.

As for whether the film can be released in North America, these people, including Duke, are not worried. Lucasfilm is definitely a top ten production company in the industry. Finding distributors is just a very common job, and it is not the same as the 20th century. Fox has already been in contact, knowing that the latter has been encouraging George Lucas to restart the Star Wars series, and signing a distribution contract is basically not a problem.

Of course, the specific release conditions will not be determined until 20th Century Fox has seen the samples.

When he arrived at the 'Speed' studio, Duke discovered that many of the actors who had auditioned came earlier than him, which is not surprising. Actors are the most competitive circles in Hollywood. In this day and age, even well-known directors have only half of them. With only one foot in front of the screen, an actor is the most glamorous sign in Hollywood.

The vast majority of those who enter Hollywood with a dream want to be an actor, a star actor to be exact!

The crew has no obvious preference for heroines. This is Hollywood, and the news will definitely be heard by interested people. These actresses who have played a few small roles but are not really famous will definitely not miss this opportunity.

Perhaps this crew is not well-known, but don't forget that the producer of the film is Lucasfilm, and the producer's name is George Lucas's name.

From the positions of these actresses, you can see their competitive mentality. They are very far apart from each other, and they basically can't talk, and they have a strong sense of self-protection, even if they are sent by the crew. Water, and don't touch your mouth.

Hollywood is a veritable big dye vat. In order to become famous, many people can use jaw-dropping means, especially the battles between actresses, which are often more intense and insidious.

Although he has not witnessed it himself in this world, Duke has heard many rumors in this regard, and 90% of these rumors have been proved to be true.

For example, the assistant director of the crew of Captain Hook mentioned to him that if there is fierce competition among several actresses in a crew, everyone will be careful, especially the diet, they only trust their personal assistants, Often a bottle of mineral water is unscrewed and taken a sip, and they hurried to catch the show. After the show, they would never drink this bottle of water again.

It's not that someone must do something, but the most basic sense of self-protection.

After going to his office for a cup of coffee, Duke entered the audition room, greeted Robin Grande, nodded with the assistant director Corne, he walked directly behind the monitor connected to the camera, and sat in the middle. on the chair.

The audition started soon. Just like the Hollywood production line, the audition was almost all stylized. The incoming actress briefly introduced herself, read a line, performed a scene in the script according to the interviewer's request, and then talked about the role. understanding and perception.

If you can pass the first audition, you will definitely not be too bad in terms of basic acting skills and appearance conditions.

In the morning, a total of 6 actresses entered the audition room. In fact, there are many names that Duke has an impression of. For example, the second tall person with distinctive features of Germanic descent is Uma Thurman. Four sweet-hearted Australians, Naomi Watts, and the last black, Harry Berry.

Black people will definitely be eliminated. Duke did not know who hosted the first audition, but chose her to enter the second audition. This does not meet the requirements of the film at all. The person sitting behind the bus can be of any skin color, but For the film to be successful, the heroine in the driver's seat must be white.

This is the simplest movie political correctness.

After a simple lunch, the few people who had a say in the selection of the hero and heroine returned to the audition room and gathered together to watch the morning audition video, in order to decide the heroine candidate as soon as possible.

Duke, you are the director.

Robin Grande, sitting behind the oval desk, asked Duke, who was standing next to the monitor, What's your opinion?

After taking a videotape, Duke put it into the video recorder, pointed to the tall woman on the screen and said, Uma Thurman, she is the best Anne of all people.

I do not think so.

Deputy Director Ke Nei stood up and walked over to the monitor, She is only twenty-one years old, she is too young, her acting skills are relatively young, and she is not beautiful enough.

Saying that, he took a videotape and replaced the one that was playing, I think she's good, and Naomi Watts is more likable in terms of image.

Turning his head to look at Cone, Duke frowned a little and then said directly, I don't agree!

He turned around and took two steps to the left, standing opposite the assistant director, What I need is a typical American big girl, a silly big sister with a bit of a wild temperament, not a sweetheart!

I stand by my opinion! Kone did not back down.

How about you, Robin? Duke turned to look behind his desk. What's your opinion?

With George Lucas not intervening, the real decision rests with Robin Grande.

That's it, said Robin Grande, nodding lightly on the table. Naomi Watts was moved back, and Uma Thurman was in the driver's seat as a passenger on the bus.

I agree.

Walking back to his seat, Duke sat down. Although Robin Grande was supporting himself, his wrist was smooth enough, and with his outstanding ability, it was not unreasonable for George Lucas to choose him to control the crew.

Duke took the lead in making a compromise, and Corne naturally no longer insisted on his own opinion. As long as the crew signed a formal actor contract with them, they would send the script belonging to the character to their respective hands.

The next day, with another male lead audition, Duke once again had a disagreement with Corne, while Robin Grande once again veiled his support of Duke, and Keanu Reeves took the role of Jack.

In the face of these actors who are eager to become famous and do not have much capital themselves, the crew will definitely not offer high salaries.

After a tug-of-war negotiation, Keanu Reeves' agent got him $400,000, and another major actor, Dennis Hooper, was paid $200,000.

And the heroine, in Hollywood, where the pay gap between male and female actors is huge, Uma Thurman is only $80,000.

The crew managed to keep all actors' salaries under $1.5 million.