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.
Margery 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 an audition. Or you don't use this 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 is in charge of the overall 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.
Producer Da Silva, on the other hand, 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 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 his next sentence would probably be "You're fired."
Da Silva came out to smooth things over, "Ellen, Ronald is still a child, and you and I both 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 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 character 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 America when she was 3 years old. 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" and performed superbly. , 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 larger and she looked more like Jewish Doris than Maureen. The director pointed out that the shy Maureen did not have to play Doris.
After several experiences of being caught between directors and producers, Ronald gradually understood.
Director Alan Parker was invited by the producer to direct this project on his own initiative, which gave the director a great advantage in speaking power. He could always play the card of "If you don't agree with the director's opinion, please hire someone else." So every time there was an argument, the director had the upper hand.
But this kind of struggle between the director and the producer is not just about the director saying "Listen to me". He must give the right reasons to convince other key people, such as the casting director, to veto the producer's ideas without causing any harm.
Madonna, whom Ronald picked up during the audition, was used by the producer as a card to attack the director. She looks more Jewish than the director's choice, Maureen, sings better, and is more like the young Barbra Streisand, the template for the character Doris. These are all powerful points of attack.
The director cleverly turned Madonna's card into his own and countered the producers because she could also play the singer CoCo. Her singing skills are also better than those of Irene Kara, who was strongly recommended by the producer.
Perhaps that was one of the reasons he was so quick to forgive Ronald for his offense, he needed the casting director to be on his side and Madonna to be on his side.
During the audition, Madonna was brought in by Ronald. This means something self-evident in the film and television industry. She is Ronald's person and she must listen to Ronald's words the most now.
"Where did the director conjure up this Maureen Tiffey?" Ronald asked the two female leaders in a low voice while the two bosses were arguing.
"I found her from Los Angeles. I picked her the first two times I went to Los Angeles. Yesterday I went to New York and was directly recruited into our company to 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. She just acts very maturely and doesn't look like a high school student. I don't know if her acting skills are good or not." Joanna explained to Margery and Ronald.
"Crazy for girls? Can true love 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 the role of 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 a black person, and she is a triathlete of acting, singing, and dancing. Only Irene Cara is the most suitable." Producer Da Silva was forced to go on the defensive.
"But Irene Cara's singing performance in the live audition was not good, and it was not at the level of Madonna. Do you admit this?" Director Alan Parker continued his attack.
"Did she perform poorly in the audition?" Ronald began to whisper again.
"Yes, her singing is very dry, and she is completely different from the sample she made in the studio. Maybe it's because of nervousness, or maybe the studio environment is more suitable for her voice," Margery said.
"Why would da Silva put so much effort into protecting her? David has given up on the other two casting controversies for her." Ronald was a little puzzled.
"Didn't you see her resume as an actor? There are Puerto Ricans and Cubans, and there are also Latinos among black people." Margery handed her resume to Ronald.
"And what's Coco's last name in the script?" Joanna Merlin also reminded Ronald.
"Hernandez", Ronald understood. Da Silva, a producer who is also a Puerto Rican Latino, wanted to use this role to make Irene Cara of the same ethnicity popular.
As the only one of the eight protagonists who spans three fields of dance, acting, and music, CoCo can be said to be the number one star of the movie. The producers would not give up this role and would give up all other roles for her.
"What if we choose based on strength? Which one is better?" Ronald asked the two female generals for advice.
"Eileen Kara has a solid foundation. She has child-like skills in acting, singing, and dancing. She also has piano as a bonus. She is a good candidate." Margery is more optimistic about her.
"Madonna's singing ability is indeed outstanding, and he has been spotted by the director, so the chance is not small." Joanna had heard about Madonna's singing ability, and at that time she wanted to prevent her from advancing and prevent her from competing with Irene for roles.
"Ronald, Margery, Joanna, what do you think? Which one is more suitable?" The director and producer couldn't argue, so they turned around and asked everyone for their opinions.
"Still the old way, prepare a scene with intense drama and conflict, and let them audition again." Ronald made up his mind not to offend, and rely on his strength to speak for himself.
"Which scene should be used?" The producer did not object to this arrangement. As a producer, he had various convenient conditions to give Irene Kara the question.
"Let's use the scene where she was deceived by an unscrupulous director and made an adult movie in order to enter the industry." The director thought for a while and said.
This is a very demanding scene, and director Parker also wanted to choose an actor with real acting skills to play CoCo.
This scene requires an actor's imagination. A good performance doesn't necessarily mean the subject is clear. If the actors themselves have similar backgrounds, their true colors can be surprising and the performance is shocking.
Okay, you guys will notify Irene Kara and Madonna separately and ask them to come to the studio at a scheduled time for the second round of auditions.
"Ronald, you are very good and 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 yes, there is another girl. Well, you should come to me early at the casting studio on East 31st Street. It's a white house..."
