Chapter 9： Casting (1/2)
Hollywood, located in the northwest suburbs of downtown Los Angeles, is where the headquarters of major film companies are located. It is also a popular tourist spot, and it also represents a holy place for movies.
As early as Wang Yang came to Los Angeles in the early days, he had been to Hollywood, visited Paramount Cinemas, walked the Avenue of Stars, and visited the Chinese theater to see the celebrity's hand and foot print. His purpose in coming to Hollywood today is not to play, but to find the hero and heroine candidates for ”Smart and Ghost Record”.
Finding actors is not on the street. Observing whether passers-by are suitable for acting on the street is scouting. How to cast a movie, Hollywood has its own system. Wang Yang is just going to the actors union today.
The American Actors Association (SAG), established in 1933, is the largest actor union in the United States, with more than 120,000 members. With another union of more than 70,000 members, the American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA), these two unions include almost all actors in the United States.
The significance of the actor union is to seek benefits and rights for the union members, such as introducing actors to job opportunities, defending rights, and negotiating labor contracts with producer associations.
Many people who do not understand Hollywood think that Hollywood generally has ”unspoken rules”, that is, sex-transactions. That's not true. It might have been like that in Hollywood decades ago. At that time, directors, actors, screenwriters, etc. were all contracted with the film company, which is equivalent to the company's employees. The film company is in power, and naturally it breeds a lot of dirty. , Dark things.
However, with the establishment of various labor unions, with the improvement of the system, and the maturity of the market, directors and actors no longer signed employee contracts with film companies, but became signing contracts, from their subordinate relationships to cooperative relationships. Under these changes, Hollywood's sex-transactions are becoming fewer and fewer, and now it is almost extinct.
Why? First, let's not talk about whether the actor himself wants to do sex-transactions, but even if he / she is willing, it is difficult for the other party to implement it. Hollywood is no longer a studio system or a star system. Those big-name celebrities and studio owners can no longer make a finalist decision. They say that the era of whoever plays is gone.
The current angle selection system is a multi-party check and balance system. Directors, producers and even CEOs of investment companies do not have absolute power. When you want to choose actors, you can find an agency. Of course, the agency will eventually go to the actor union. The actor union will notify all eligible parties according to your requirements. Of the members, agree to a time for the interview. The interview examiner is composed of the director, the producer and the agent sent by the actors' union.
In the end, only actors who agree with the three parties can get the role. Of course, the agent is more of a supervisory role; but as long as one party does not agree, the actor will not get any role.
So here, even if a certain actor has a deal with the director, don't expect success, because the director has no right to decide, and the deal will not succeed.
Besides, if any ignorant girl is deceived by an unscrupulous director and falls asleep but fails to get an appointment, she is likely to go to court and newspapers, and this scandal is a big deal in the United States. The director and The actor must have been ruined and crippled. Fans all over the country will spurn them and refuse to watch their movies. In other words, you have no market, and naturally no film companies will ask you to make movies.
Do n’t say it, even if it ’s impossible to say, if a producer or a director tries to make such a request, then the actor can find his own union to help protect his rights. Both SAG and AFTRA are very powerful. They will immediately send lawyers and related directors and producers to the film company to discuss the case.
Okay, you said that as long as you sleep all three parties, you won't be able to get a character?
This is about the mature market of American movies. How many movies are made in the US in a year? A few hundred less. How many directors and actors? Countless. In this brutal competitive market, no matter which director is going to make a movie, they are facing huge profit pressure.
Look, Hollywood makes a movie and invests tens of millions of dollars, or even hundreds of millions. Investors may involve dozens of companies. The requirements of these companies are simple, profitable, and the minimum requirement is to recover costs and not lose money. If you say that someone is messing up for sex-transactions and messed up the movie, causing them to lose money, the investment company will not let him go. It will only make you lose your reputation, and will hold you accountable and bring you to jail.
Furthermore, many directors ca n’t make a movie for a few years, the opportunity comes, they will not allow themselves to miss, and will not be stupid enough to ignore their own future for a moment of pleasure. If you want to feel great, you can go to the bar to find a one-night stand or a call girl, and once the movie's box office fails, his career can basically come to an end.
Achievements and reputation are very, very important for the director and the producer. If the movie you make is a box office poison, or you are a notorious person, absolutely no investor will give you the money.
Because the movie failed, the investors themselves will not be able to protect themselves. Look at the ”Windspeaker” produced by MGM and directed by Wu Yusen. It cost 120 million, but in the end, only 77 million boxes were received worldwide. MGM suffered a deficit and the stock price plummeted, which directly led to the reorganization of MGM's top management. And Wu Yusen has never been able to gain the trust of investors. Finally, he will return to China to shoot ”Chibi”.
Why did the box office fail? Quite simply, in the face of hundreds of movies every year, the level of the American audience has long been raised, and with so many movies, which one is better? Therefore, before entering the cinema, the audience will always look at the film criticism and then make a decision. It is conceivable that a bad movie is a bad movie. Even if you promote it again and again, your heroine will be beautiful, and the critics will not be sympathetic. , Because the way they want to keep their jobs is to write popular movie reviews.
This is a very simple fact, Hollywood does not lack beauty, and no film company has seen a few vases to make a movie, then the movie can be sold. joke? Haven't you seen a woman? If you want to see a woman, you might as well go to ”Playboy”, which is still completely naked.
There are more women who are willing to betray the hue. Look at the **** girls, but you have n’t seen the heroine of any movie that they can become, or even a small supporting role.
Because in Hollywood, you want to change roles by flesh, you are willing, others are not willing, there is no such sale.
Is not saying that the quality of Americans is particularly good. Hollywood was also dirty a few decades ago. Why is it so clear now? Without him, the system determines everything.
Of course, Hollywood also has ”unspoken rules”, but not sex-transactions. The real unspoken rules are discrimination, discrimination against homosexuality, discrimination against skin color, and even discrimination against women.
Take a 70-year-old actress and 70-year-old actor, for example, this old woman usually only plays a grandmother, but this old man can star in a love movie with a 20-year-old young woman.
”Welcome to SAG.” When Wang Yangyi walked into the actor union, the staff responsible for receiving guests at the front desk enthusiastically said: ”Do you want to join the actor union? As long as you pay the annual fee of 1500 US dollars, we will give you Insurance, provide job opportunities, and protect your rights. ”
”No, thank you. Maybe I will join the director's union in the future.” Wang Yang smiled and shook his head, and then made it clear: ”I am going to make a DV movie independently. I need two actors, that is, the male and female protagonists. See I ’m in my twenties or so, I ’m not fat or thin, I do n’t need to look. Oh, it ’s a horror movie, it takes about a week, and both roles are paid for 4,000. ”
After listening to Wang Yang ’s words, the staff member raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Oh, four thousand dollars is not too much, but I believe there will be many people who need it. Well, I signed up and arranged an interview time and place Well, we will notify all qualified actors, as to whether to go to the interview, to see what they mean. So, when and where? ”
”The faster the time, the better. Tomorrow? Is the location at my house OK?” Wang Yangdao said that his home is the scene in the movie. If the audition is performed in the scene, the effect is the best.
”I'm afraid not, you know, the best place to interview is in a public place.” The staff shrugged and said: ”There is still time too fast to do it, some members have not received the news, and you don't want to miss the suitable one. Candidates? ”
Wang Yang nodded his head. Although he is now competing for minutes and seconds, he cannot delay things. After thinking for a while, he said: ”So three days later? The place is set at the” Sweetheart ”Cafe on Sunset Street.”
”OK, then your name, contact number?”
While everything was registered, Wang Yang paid a fee of two hundred dollars before it was finished. The next step was to wait.
While waiting for these three days, Wang Yang stayed at home and watched the horror movie in his mind all day to perfect his script. These days, Wang Yang has been terrified. Even at night, he ca n’t sleep well. He will wake up when he hears any sound. This is all thanks to those horror movies.
The horror movie in the United States is okay, only bloody, and it is more disgusting and thrilling; the theme and cost of ”Smart and Ghost Record” determine that the horror of this movie is psychological, so Japanese horror movies It ’s his focus on research, and the Japanese horror movie is the most terrifying, it is the suffocating feeling, whether it is the “Midnight Bell” that has been released in January this year, or it will be released in 2003. ”Curse” ... Each one brings Wang Yang's spirit close to the edge of collapse.
Fortunately, I can still chat with Jessica on the phone every day and listen to her sweet laughter, otherwise Wang Yang will be crazy.
On the day of the interview, this ”scared out” script was completely written. Wang Yang adopted many future horror ideas and chose them in the way of ordinary American thinking. If it is said that the ”Spirit-Ghost Phantom Record” in later generations can scare people, then now this unrecognized ”Spirit-Ghost Practical Record” can definitely scare people!
The agreed interview start time is 9 am. Wang Yang wakes up early in the morning as usual, practises boxing for breakfast, and then sets off to the ”Sweetheart” Cafe on Sunset Street in Hollywood.
When Wang Yang came to the cafe, he found that Jessica, who said he was coming last night, had already arrived. She sat and smiled at him, and Wang Yang walked over and whispered in her heart, Joshua. Poor guy, if you ca n’t come to class, you also want to stare at me, haha!
”Hey, are you Yang?” As soon as 9 o'clock, the staff sent by the actors' union also arrived. He was a middle-aged white man, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses. He took out his ID and showed it to Wang Yang. Looking at it, his name was Mark Slante, and he laughed: ”I am in charge of the interview today.”
”Hello, Mr. Srant.” Wang Yang and he gently embraced, and Jessica asked, and shook hands with Slant.
Seeing Jessica, Mark-Srante “Oh”, it seems to have found the treasure, ca n’t move his eyes and said authentically: “Beautiful lady, did you come for an interview?”
Jessica shook her head in denial: ”No, sir. I am the producer of the movie.” She smiled and looked at Wang Yang. ”Just kidding, I just came to see the lively, Yang is today's presiding officer, He has the final say. ”Wang Yang spread his hands and made a grimace.
”Oh, I know.” Mark Srant sat down, ordered a cup of coffee to the waiter, and continued to look at Jessica, praised: ”Miss Alba, I am actually an agent, you are very beautiful , There is a particularly charming temperament. From the perspective of my years in the industry, you can be an actor. ”
Wang Yang and Jessica both smiled, and Jessica said: ”In fact, I am already an actor and a member of the actor union.”
Mark-Slante suddenly laughed: ”I knew I wouldn't read it wrong.” He looked at Wang Yang and Jessica, and asked curiously: ”Interesting, young director ( Young-director (pun intended), why do n’t you let your girlfriend star in the movie? ”
”Oh, oh! No, no ...” Hearing Mark-Slante thinking they were a relationship, Jessica conditionedly denied: ”I'm not his girlfriend.” Wang Yang glanced and jumped up and down, why was she full of anticipation?
Seeing her deny it so quickly, Wang Yang was a little disappointed in his heart and smiled and said, ”I am a good friend.”
”Oh.” Mark Srant shrugged and said, ”Is it possible to star in without being a girlfriend?”