"Didn't you say that Diane Lane has already been selected? Why do we need other actresses to audition?"
When Ronald returned to the studio, he heard Coppola's comments about Diane and thought the actress's audition was over.
But Coppola still asked him to continue filming the audition videos for the remaining actresses tomorrow, which made him feel a little strange and blurted out.
"Looking alike doesn't necessarily mean they're suitable. Don't you want to know how to solve the problem of actor's performance consistency? Just start by filming a casting video for me. You know when Roger Corman asked me to wash his car, I can I didn’t ask why washing cars would help me become a director.”
"Uh, okay." Ronald knew that Coppola wanted someone to help him with the audition chores.
Maybe the actors work well with each other and the performances are more consistent. Coppola's casting is known for actors fitting the roles. "The Godfather" has been praised as the best casting of any movie in history. Ronald decided to talk less and listen more.
"Go on, let's have another day of auditions. We'll move on to the next mixed audition tomorrow."
"No problem, director." Ronald made an OK gesture, "But Mr. Coppola, did Mr. Coleman ask you to wash the car back then, does it have anything to do with being a director?" This approach is very consistent with Roger Coppola. Mann's character.
"Of course, then he asked me to take his car to shoot a drag racing scene. How can we shoot it if we don't wipe it clean?"
The next day Ronald saw many familiar faces. He also saw Katherine Mary Stewart, the heroine of Minahan Golan's blockbuster "Apple."
In the evening, Ronald and other audition assistants brought all the audition videos to Coppola for review. Ronald and Coppola, the casting director, sat together and watched the audition tape.
"This is C. Thomas Hall." The casting director pointed to a boy with big glasses on the TV.
Coppola ticked off his notes, "Who do you think they look like?"
"Like Johnny, the boy who was bullied and the friend of the protagonist Ma Zai." The girl who got the trainee director position answered.
"What about you, Ronald?"
"Johnny, Johnny has a strong heart and an independent mind. The actor Hall has an innocent look that is more like Jacky." Ronald replied. Now Coppola won't take the initiative to speak without asking.
Coppola nodded and signaled to continue.
"This is Matt Dillon."
"For whom?" Coppola asked again.
"Dali, that outsider who comes from a good background but hangs out with the Oil Head Gang. This actor has the temperament of a gangster at first glance, but girls won't hate him," the girl answered quickly.
"Ronald?"
"I agree."
…
After several rounds, Coppola had to wait for Ronald's opinion before proceeding.
"This is Tom Cruise."
"Johnny, this looks like Johnny. He seems to be very independent." The trainee girl answered quickly.
Coppola looked at Ronald.
"I'm not sure, several characters are possible."
"Very good, I hope you can give me your opinion and don't take my opinion as the final answer. George Lucas often argued with me on the set, but he also had many good ideas. Each of you can come up with a good idea every day , then I’ll make money by paying your wages.”
Ronald nodded. He felt that Coppola's words were sincere. Maybe he really needed some young people's opinions.
"Rob Lowe?" This is a very beautiful boy, not handsome, but beautiful. But not femininely beautiful, very masculine.
"Second brother soda?"
"Dennis Quaid?" PJ Soles' husband, very masculine.
"Brother?"
…
The male actors were taken out one by one, and several young people gave the roles they thought they were suitable for. The casting director filled in the appropriate role names for these actors in the casting notes according to Coppola's code.
After a long time, it was the actress's turn again, and Coppola also watched every audition video.
"Kate Capshaw? Twenty-eight years old, still young." Ronald briefly introduced the actor.
"The mind is a bit mature, and Cherry is a bit naive girl." The trainee girl commented.
"Catherine Mary Stewart?"
"How about this?" Coppola asked the trainee girl again.
"A bit soft, probably more suitable for Cherry's friend role."
"Brooke Shields?"
"She is very suitable, the dream girl of all American boys." Isn't Cherry a very beautiful girl? What caused the war between the two gangs was that Ma Zai and Johnny said a few more words to her, which aroused the jealousy of her boyfriend.
"What do you think, Ronald?" Coppola asked.
"I think... she is indeed pretty enough. Her beauty and popularity seem to make up for her possible lack of acting skills."
"Helen Slater is next." The casting director pressed play.
Ronald looked at the blue-eyed girl and couldn't help but smile.
"She's also a bit pretty, but her temperament doesn't look like a pretty girl from the country. She's an uptown girl." The trainee girl's evaluation of the actress was more sharp. Unlike the male actor, she still had some reservations. Several actors had good things to say.
"Is it okay? It's not too big of a big city. Her mother is an environmental lawyer and usually wears second-hand clothes." Ronald put in good words for Helen Slater.
"Next is Diane Lane." The casting director found a tape of Diane auditioning alone.
This was the first time Ronald saw Diane's audition video.
"Diane fell in love in high school?" Ronald looked at the TV screen as Diane shyly and cheerfully talked about her first love, which seemed to be her true nature.
"Why haven't you heard about it from Donna? Which lucky bastard stole the girl's heart?"
"This doesn't seem pretty enough." The trainee girl commented.
It is true that Diane looks a bit dark and thin compared to Helen Slater and Brooke Shields, but she dresses up very well.
"She looks beautiful after makeup. I recently filmed her music video. She plays the lead singer of a rock and punk band, which is very photogenic."
"Brooke, Helen, Diane, and those...Ronald, which one should you choose?" Coppola patted Ronald on the back.
"I don't know..." Ronald was stunned for a moment, why did Coppola ask himself. Maybe you want to test yourself, or maybe you want to hear how young men feel?
Looks don't necessarily mean they fit, Ronald recalled what Coppola had said earlier.
"Maybe let them match up with male actors?" Ronald squeezed out.
"Well said, let them all come tomorrow, let the boys come too, and we will have a mixed audition on the spot."
…
When it came time for the mixed audition, Ronald set up a camera on one side, and three rows of chairs were randomly placed in the middle of the studio, just to audition the scene that Ronald had dreamed of, in which Dali molested Cherry in a drive-in movie theater.
All the actors, male and female, sat in a circle along the corner. Ronald greeted Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Helen, Brooke, and Diane whom he knew.
"Helen Slater plays Cherry, C. Thomas Hall plays Ponyboy, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, you play Johnny and Dally."
"Wow..." The actor suddenly started making noise. How can there be a trial like this?
In normal auditions, everyone waits outside. When they are called, the auditioning actors go in. If you are auditioning in front of everyone, won't everyone see you no matter how you act? And with so many competitors watching from below, how much psychological pressure is there?
"Quiet." Ronald called, "Come up when you hear your name." Then he gave Helen a "reassuring" look.
"Look, there is a red-haired beauty here." Rob Laura picked up Helen's hair, put it under his nose and smelled it.
"Sorry, I can't act, let me think about it for a while." Rob Lowe also lost his composure. How to act in a scene of teasing a girl in public? I can't let go. The people on site are not staff, but competitors.
"It doesn't matter, you and Tom Cruise switch roles."
"Look, there's a red-haired beauty here." Tom Cruise put down the script, still memorizing his lines. Then I acted this scene with my usual serious attitude.
"Isn't this teasing? This is like a confession." Ronald touched his nose secretly and looked at Helen in the front row.
Helen felt his gaze and smiled, indicating that she was fine.
"Tom Cruise, you come down and Dennis Quaid comes in," Coppola said.
"Did I perform badly?" Tom came down and asked Ronald to talk.
"Actors who have not auditioned, please retreat to the wall and do your best, and do not interfere with other actors." Coppola said to this side.
"It's okay, you did a good job." Ronald said softly and pointed to the empty seat in the corner.
"Helen, come down and enter Brooke."
After several rounds of male actors, Coppola called Brooke Shields on stage.
"How do I know if this red hair is natural? Is it the same color as your eyebrows?" Dennis Quaid, who plays Dali, said the line.
I'm still at the wrong age and can't act like a little ruffian. Ronald shook his head secretly, PJ Soles' husband had little chance this time.
"Get your feet off my back and shut up!"
Brooke Shields scolded him in a serious manner.
Brooke's acting doesn't quite look like a pretty girl from the country. She's a bit like a city girl. Brooke's acting skills are as good as ever.
"Dennis Quaid, please come down and replace me with Matt Dillon and Emilio Estevez."
This was another actor that Ronald was familiar with. He had seen the image of Emilio Estevez in the abandoned film reels of "Apocalypse Now", but it was not later edited into the film.
"This is the eldest son of Martin Sheen, the star of 'Apocalypse Now'," the trainee girl said in Ronald's ear. "He's very handsome."
"Really?" American girls' aesthetics are sometimes very strange. Some girls think this Latino boy is handsome.
"How do I know if this red hair is natural? Is it the same color as your eyebrows?"
Ronald thought Emilio's performance was okay, but still a little worse than Matt Dillon in his dream.
"Emilio, you play Johnny, Matt you play Dali. Brooke, you play Diane."
"How do I know if this red hair is natural? Is she the same color as your...ah...ah...eyebrows?"
"Put your feet off my backrest and shut up!" Diane Lane hid for a long time and then scolded.
"Tsk." Ronald secretly admired, this is the chemical reaction between actors, right?
Some actors are so in sync with each other on camera that the audience loves to watch them co-act. The emotions and strength are all on point no matter how you act, and the consistency is also very good. You can perform any scene at any time without any problem.
Ronald gradually began to understand that the first key to Coppola's ability to achieve emotional consistency in the drama was casting. It was not whether a single actor was similar to the character, but more importantly, the coordination between the actors.
Sometimes it is not necessarily the actor who most resembles the character who is most suitable, but several actors working together can create the right emotions. This is the so-called chemical reaction.
"Emilio, come down and come in for Ralph Mazzio."
Coppola called a dark and thin actor to play with Matt Dillon. Ralph Mazzio is Latino. Although he is twenty-one years old, he looks as if he has not yet developed.
…
As time passed, Ronald also saw some clues. No matter how he changed, C. Thomas Hall, who played Ma Zai, did not change. It seems that Coppola has gradually developed a favorite candidate.
"Okay, Matt Dillon, you can go." After trying this, Coppola let Matt Dillon go.
"Now let's change the scene to a scene between Ma Zai and the two brothers. You can change the position of the chairs."
Matt Dillon was stunned on the spot, and the other actors also looked at him slightly pitifully.
"fxck!" Di Long cursed in a low voice, turned around and walked towards the door.
"Don't be discouraged, it might be a good thing." Ronald gently pulled him and told him as he walked past.
"Stop comforting me." Dillon patted Ronald's arm and walked straight away.
"Val Kilmer, Mickey Rourke, come up and play the eldest and second brothers of Ponyboy."
"You two change."
"Dennis Quaid, Patrick Swayze, you two are the eldest brother and the second brother."
In this way, this kind of gladiator-style audition made all the actors very nervous, and many of them performed abnormally and their voices trembled. But there are some actors who perform better under pressure.
After several days of intense gladiator auditions, all audition filming was finally completed.
"Bah bang," Coppola clapped twice and said to everyone with a smile, "You all stay for dinner today. I will cook for you personally and give you a taste of the skills of an Italian chef."
Everyone returned to Coppola's temporary apartment in Los Angeles. He cooked by himself, prepared some Italian dishes, opened two bottles of red wine from his own estate, and filled them for everyone.
"Thank you everyone for your hard work. Let's finalize the main characters."
"Inform Matt Dillon that Dali is his and let him start reading the script in advance."
"Why? Didn't you let him leave early?" The trainee girl was surprised.
"Tell her why." Coppola pointed to Ronald.
"Because he no longer has to audition, the subsequent auditions have little to do with Dali's role, and there is no need for him to stay and co-star. It is different from C. Thomas Hall in the role of Ma Zi."
"Oh." The trainee girl nodded. She found that Ronald still understood Director Coppola's thoughts very well.
"So, this is the second time Matt has played the male lead in a movie adaptation that I wrote." Author Hinton laughed beside him.
"He is indeed very suitable for taking pictures of you." Ronald raised his glass. Dillon has a natural sass that is perfect for a teenager like Hinton.
"Patrick Swayze plays the eldest brother, Rob Lowe plays the second brother Soda Soda. Diane Lane plays Cherry. Emilio Estevez plays 'Bitch.'" Coppola assigned the roles , casting director Fred was taking notes.
"Ralph Marzio plays Johnny..." Coppola continued.
Seeing that Tom Cruise's name hadn't been called yet, Ronald had some ideas. Paula Wagner called him several times to ask for help.
"What about Steve from the Greasy Gang?" The casting director clicked on the role. There were many male characters in this movie, and there was a supporting role from the Greasy Gang that Coppola didn't pick.
"What about Tom? Tom Cruise, the blond boy who always pushes a little too hard, similar to Steve's personality."
"Just him." Coppola nodded, then took the hand of the teenage girl next to him and started playing with her.
"Ring ring ring ring..." The doorbell rang at this time.
"Sofia, open the door. It's your cousin Nick."
The little girl went to open the door, and it was Nicholas Coppola who walked in.
No, his stage name should be Nicolas Cage now.
"Nick, come here." Coppola asked Nick to sit next to him. "This time I have left a supporting role for you. You should play it well. If you perform well, you will have the opportunity to play a more important role in the next film."
"Thank you for what happened last time. You gave Nick a Screen Actors Guild card." Coppola turned around and thanked Ronald.
"It's nothing. Nick will always come out ahead if you support him."
"But you are always the one who gives him the first chance, Ronald. We Italians know how to be grateful."
After drinking and eating, Ronald said goodbye as he still had a date.
"Which girl is it? Oh wow..." Coppola smiled and sent him out the door.
"Helen, have you been waiting for me for a long time?" Ronald came to the mall where "Fast Pace" was filmed and found Helen Slater in the cinema here.
"It doesn't matter, I know it's Director Coppola who's looking for you. I didn't know that I..."
Ronald shook his head, "I'm sorry that Coppola chose Diane Lane."
"It doesn't matter, I know he's known as a dictator on set. I still have a chance on 'Once Upon a Time in America'."
"Didn't you say that 'Once Upon a Time in America' has been selected?" Ronald handed over a cup of Coke and caramel popcorn.
Ronald bought two movie tickets. This was the old movie "Chariots of Fire" that was released last year. The director Hugh Hudson also competed with him for the right to direct a chewing gum commercial. The story of a group of British people winning gold medals at the Olympics actually grossed 50 million at the box office in America.
"You don't know. John Belushi, who was originally scheduled to play the second male lead, suddenly died at home. Director Leon is considering changing the age of the heroine to match the new male lead. So the casting needs to be re-cast."
"How did he die?"
"I heard it was drug abuse."
"So you have another chance?" Ronald and Helen walked into the screening room together.
This time he wanted to take things slowly with Helen Slater and go through the dating process of American men and women.
The lights in the screening room have been turned off and pre-show advertisements have begun. This is a new promotion model that some cinemas have come up with since last year. The box office is insufficient and various incomes are needed to subsidize theaters.
Helen took Ronald's arm and said, "Yes, I have another chance." She would go back to New York to audition for the female lead in an ABC TV series arranged by her father, and she would stay with Ronald for a while if she had the chance.
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