In the psychological clinic on Sunset Boulevard, Laura seemed to be flipping through the books on the table, but her eyes were actually focused on Martin on the other side of the couch.
Martin opened his eyes at this time, pulled off the blanket, stood up, folded it casually, and said, "It's time to go."
Laura looked at the time and asked: “Is it so fast today?”
“It’s not good to be late for an audition,” Martin said.
Laura nodded and said deliberately: "It's quite normal when you don't say crazy things about destroying the United States."
"That's not crazy talk." Martin grinned, "That's the truest thought in my heart."
He picked up his bag and walked out.
"Close the door, thank you." Laura had a feeling that this Hollywood star had at least two personalities.
According to her judgment, those crazy words must be true thoughts.
His second personality is antisocial?
After coming out of the psychological clinic, Martin relaxed slightly and stood at the door for half a minute so that Ivan could take good photos.
The Bruce car drove up and Martin got in and said, "Go to Paramount Studios."
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is co-produced by Paramount and Warner Bros. David Fincher's last film "Zodiac", although the online box office did not do well, the offline DVD and TV rights sales have been very good. The cost was recovered, so this one still secured an investment of US$100 million.
In addition to these two companies, DreamWorks accounted for one-third of the investment.
Arriving at the studio, David Fincher's assistant Bob came out to receive Martin.
Accompanying Martin to the dressing room, Bob specifically said: "The makeup time will last for several hours, so the audition is scheduled for three in the afternoon."
"It doesn't matter," Martin said.
Bob said a few more words and took the initiative to say goodbye and leave.
The stylist came in at this time and reminded Martin to go to the bathroom before starting to put on makeup.
Martin was very patient and cooperative throughout the process.
Bruce had been sitting next to him, and the girlish makeup artist looked at him with eager eyes. His girlishness suddenly disappeared and he became like a normal man.
Wearing makeup for an audition, or changing from a young man to an old man, the most tedious thing is the styling.
Martin had previously learned that the crew would use makeup and post-production special effects to achieve Benjamin's aging state as a toddler, and hired Industrial Light and Magic for special effects production.
David Fincher is not a real-shooting fanatic like Nolan. As long as he can achieve the effect he wants, he doesn't care how it is implemented.
It took nearly four hours to put on makeup and styling, and Martin even drifted off for a moment at noon.
In the middle, Bruce received a call from Robert, saying that the ceremony had been completed this morning.
I have the most basic guarantee and inner comfort.
Near mid-afternoon, Martin walked into the audition room for the second time this year.
After entering, he first greeted Finch: "David."
Fincher introduced the people who participated in the audition: "This is Kathleen Kennedy, this is Frank Marshall..."
The couple represents DreamWorks, and insiders know them as Spielberg's right-hand men.
The former is even the leading female producer in the industry.
After Martin said hello, Finch said: "Get ready to start."
Martin returned to the camera and looked behind the producers and directors out of habit. He felt relaxed when he saw the union and insurance company representatives calmly playing game consoles.
Everything that suits his habits is there.
When the audition began, Martin first read a narration line according to David Fincher's request.
This was no problem for Martin.
Then he acted like he was old and decrepit.
It's just appearance, not personality and psychology.
So, the character’s physical aging phase isn’t particularly complex.
The audition went very quickly and was completed in only five or six minutes.
David Fincher's style of doing things was different from other directors, and Martin was the number one choice. He looked around, solicited the opinions of Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, and announced directly on the spot: "Congratulations, Martin, You get the role.”
Martin came down to shake hands with David Finch and said: "It's an honor."
Then he shook hands with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy one by one: "Thank you. It is a great honor for me to cooperate with you."
He is handsome and well-spoken. The couple had a good impression of Martin and said, "Your performance is expressive and perfect for this role."
After the simple commercial exchange, Martin left the audition room and returned to the dressing room to remove his makeup.
Just in the corridor, I met a young actor about 20 years old.
The powerful aura of the American young man on the other side was as high as 10.8 meters.
From a distance, that indescribable temperament seems to be telling passers-by, I am Erbi, who am I afraid of.
Martin recognized him, Shia LaBeouf, the leading actor in the "Transformers" live-action movie and Spielberg's favorite godson.
He is even more popular with Spielberg than Drew Barrymore was back then.
In Martin's previous life, this man was the focus of frequent discussions among large groups. Why was Spielberg so fond of such a careless and brainless person?
So much so that some gossips speculated that he was Spielberg's illegitimate son.
When the two were about to pass each other, Shia LaBeouf's curious eyes fell on Martin.
Because Martin was wearing old man makeup, he might not have recognized it and joked casually: "Hey, old man, you are so cool!"
Martin grinned suddenly and showed a strange smile in the shape of an old man: "Why don't you be more serious."
Shia LaBeouf had a poor psychological quality. He was stunned for a moment, then jumped to the corridor, as far away from Martin as possible, covering his vitals with his hands: "You...what do you want to do! I'm a man!"
Suddenly, he felt that the man was not safe either. With his butt pressed against the wall, he shouted again: "Don't mess around, I'll call Bumblebee over!"
Martin stopped paying attention to him, turned around and left.
When they walked away, Shia LaBeouf breathed a sigh of relief and asked the production assistant who was leading the way: "Who is that pervert?"
"Don't talk nonsense." The assistant warned, and then said: "That's Martin Davis, who just passed the audition and is the male lead of the crew."
Shia LaBeouf rubbed the back of his head: "This guy is so perverted!" He muttered: "Originally I wanted to take the leading role, but in the end I could only audition for a supporting role."
The assistant continued to take him to the audition room. Although he didn't say anything, he didn't think so in his heart.
Regarding this second-rate thing, the crew has long spread that Shia LaBeouf wants to steal the male lead. Not to mention David Fincher, even Spielberg reprimanded him.
This man has no self-awareness at all.
Martin returned to the dressing room, and the stylist came to remove the makeup. He said to Bruce: "Notify Thomas and ask him to come to negotiate with the crew tomorrow."
Bruce took out his cell phone: "There will be news soon."
“I like the crispness of the crew,” Martin said.
Bruce called Thomas.
Martin took off his makeup and changed back into his clothes. When he came out, he saw Bruce talking on the phone again and waited for him for a while.
After a few minutes, Bruce hung up the phone and said, "Kim called."
Martin packed up his things and walked out: "Is the video tape on the market?"
Bruce whispered: "We have started to distribute the goods. Jenna's company will officially launch sales next Monday."
Martin said: "You really didn't show your face?"
Bruce said: "Absolutely not! Not even the upper body is exposed."
"Congratulations to you too," Martin said seriously, "You have become the leading actor."
Although Bruce felt weird, he really became the leading actor this time.
Based on the current situation, it should not be difficult to sell millions of CDs. This bad idea given by Martin can really gain not only fame and popularity, but also actual monetary benefits.
As soon as the two people turned out of the corridor, an assistant from the production crew chased them from behind: "Mr. Davis, please wait."
Martin stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"
The assistant ran over, took a breath, and said, "If your time permits, Director Fincher would like to talk to you."
Martin nodded: "Okay, you can lead the way."
The assistant took the two people to the director's office.
After participating in the male lead audition, David Fincher returned to the office. Martin's performance was very good, and he was not worried about the male lead.
The audition for the female lead has also been completed and no decision has been made yet.
He sat in front of the computer and clicked on the video of the heroine's audition. Cate Blanchett appeared in the player.
David Fincher had previously spoken with Martin's agent Thomas, who was at odds with Blanchett.
Although he didn't say anything clearly, the meaning of release was obvious.
Martin didn't want to be on the same set as Blanchett.
The commercial performance of David Fincher's last film "Zodiac" was very unsatisfactory. With an investment of US$100 million in this film, he felt tremendous pressure.
Therefore, Martin, who performed extremely well commercially, was listed as his first choice for the leading role.
But for the heroine, Fincher didn't want to choose a vase. Blanchett performed best in the audition and was the actress he thought was the most suitable.
Because the age span of the heroines is also very large, too young will not work, and too old will not work.
There was a knock on the door, and the assistant brought Martin over. Fincher let him do whatever he wanted, saying: "After signing the contract, you must join the crew as soon as possible. Industrial Light and Magic needs to use you as a prototype for modeling."
Although Martin doesn't know much about post-production special effects production, he has some understanding of it and knows that it requires a lot of preparation work in advance. He said: "There is no problem on my side. As soon as the contract is signed, I will join the team and start work immediately."
"For the heroine, I'm going to choose Blanchett." Fincher is a first-line director, and he only cares a little about Martin's ideas.
He said directly: "I heard that your relationship with Blanchett is not very good."
Martin was reminded of the words of Nicholson and Leonardo, and as a member of the Bastard Trio, he was not afraid of these challenges at all.
And if the crew really wanted to use it, he couldn't stop it.
Martin thought for a moment and said: "Director, if you think she is suitable, I have no objection."
Finch laughed: "Whenever you have time, we can sit down and talk together calmly."
Martin seemed to have thought of something interesting and smiled: "No problem."
(End of chapter)
