As soon as the sun rose, Ronald went out and bought a few newspapers at the newsstand. He wanted to find out whether the movie he dreamed about last night was Alan Parker's "Hot Lunch".
He took a copy of Hollywood's "Daily Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter". There are more Broadway plays and musicals in New York, and there are also many magazines focusing on Broadway.
He also took a copy of "Backstage" and "Show Business".
Back to the apartment, he spread the four newspapers and magazines on the table and scanned the news one by one.
"Michael Cimino, director of "The Deer Hunter", Oscar winner of Best Director and Best Picture, signed a new contract with United Artists and will soon direct the new film "Heaven's Gate." "
Well, let's ignore this for now.
"British director Alan Parker and producer David Da Silva both said that the musical revival has arrived. Following last year's 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease', MGM has launched another musical 'Hot Lunch'. The film is in the casting stage and is expected to start shooting in July." After flipping through four newspapers and magazines, Ronald only found reports on "Hot Lunch" and no news on "Fame".
'I only remember three dances in my dream yesterday, and I can't remember who the director was in the opening credits.'
Maybe musicals will have a revival in the future? Another similar high school musical "Fame" was made. But Meg was very young in the dream, no more than 20 years old. Maybe it was this "Hot Lunch".
"Ring, ring, ring..."
The phone rang. Ronald picked it up and saw that it was director Alan Parker.
"Ronald? This is Alan Parker. Come to the Feuer & Ritzer casting agency today. It's on West 48th Street near Broadway. The specific address can be found in the phone book. Meet there at 10 a.m."
After saying that, he hung up the phone with a snap.
Ronald was sober. Wasn't this the competition that Julia had told him about yesterday? He should first tell Julia about the developments here.
"Excuse me, is Julia there? I'm Ronald Lee. I have something important to discuss with her."
"Ronald? It's me."
"Director Parker said he was going to a company called Feuer & Ritzer for casting today." Ronald wrote down the name in the notebook and spelled it awkwardly. The German pronunciation was damn bad.
"It's Feuer. I see. Remember to tell me if there's any new development."
He flipped through the yellow pages, which were covered with a thick layer of dust at home, and found the address of Feuer & Ritzer. It was at the intersection of 6th Avenue and West 28th Avenue, not far from Broadway. He decided to tell Meg first and called her home.
The line was busy.
When he ran to Meg's house, her roommate opened the door for Ronald.
"Yes, Jennifer, I have already got the contract. I didn't know... I still have to wait for the director to continue the audition. The director told me to sign up for an acting training class."
Seeing Ronald come in, Meg pressed the microphone, "Ronnie, it's my sister Jennifer. I am telling her the good news."
"I am going help the director with the audition. You continue, I came to tell you."
Taking the camera and film, Ronald took the subway to his destination.
Howard Fair is a partner of the studio and personally welcomed him in.
"How did you know the director?" He asked Ronald about his background in a roundabout way.
"I am a photographer specializing in audition portraits. I have taken photos of Nastassja Kinski before. Director Parker hopes that I will help with the audition and take some photos for reference for his new film." Ronald was very thorough.
"There are not many photographers as young as you."
"They all say I have some talent..."
As he was talking, Alan Parker also entered the office.
"Howard, hello, let's make it short. I need 600 extras, high school students who are studying dance, music, and acting. I also need 8 main roles and 16 minor roles. Here are the casting requirements." Director Parker threw a thick stack of documents on the table.
"Ah, Ronald, you're here too, great. Let's get started."
The two began to discuss the audition requirements, and Ronald took out a pen and paper to take notes.
Alan instructed Howard to find actors who are a little more ordinary and not so successful and exposed.
After a simple lunch, Alan took Ronald out.
"I want you to attend all the auditions with me, take photos of the candidates for me, and then keep records. You know, not all audition photos are as real as the ones you take. Some are retouched."
"Of course, Mr.Parker." Ronald was very happy. He had a short-term job and could also learn how directors choose actors.
"I may have to see dozens or even hundreds of actors every day, so I may not remember them all in a day. Remember to take Polaroid photos of them and record my comments." Alan was quite satisfied with Ronald's high efficiency in shorthand. In this way, one assistant could do the work of two people.
"One more thing, I hope you don't tell Julia and Margaret of the casting studio about our visit to Fair." Alan Parker finally made his attitude clear, hoping that Ronald would promise him loyalty.
Ronald thought about it, made his attitude clear, and hinted:
"I am not an employee of the casting studio, and Julia is not my superior, so I have no obligation to report your whereabouts to them, Mr. Parker."
"You are a smart guy. Let's do this. I will be busy with auditions this month. I can ask the producer to hire you as my temporary assistant and driver and rent your car."
"But I don't have a car now."
"Why are you saying stupid things again?" Alan Parker knocked Ronald on the forehead. "The daily rental and driver fee is $200. You can buy a new car and earn it back in a month."
'Oh, so it can be done this way?' Ronald nodded and agreed.
Alan took Ronald to the audition studio yesterday.
Julia and Margery were already waiting for Alan in the conference room.
There was also a half-bald man present. Alan introduced him as David Da Silva, the producer of "Hot Lunch".
Ronald stood up and greeted him.
After the introduction, he started the casting meeting: "Let's see which candidates you brought today."
Ronald felt that Director Parker didn't take producer Da Silva seriously. Speaking of producers and directors, who has more power?
Margaret spread out dozens of photos. "These are recommended by the agents after hearing the news. We have selected 5 actors for each protagonist. Let's take a look together."
"First is Hillary, a girl from the dance department. This role is a rich girl majoring in ballet, and her dream is to join the New York City Ballet." Margaret pasted Hillary's background on the whiteboard and attached it with a magnet.
Ronald almost couldn't hold back his laughter. Isn't this the image of the rich second generation who bought into the New York City Ballet that Meg despised yesterday? It seems that the script is very down-to-earth and simple.
However, at this point, it can be confirmed that "Hot Lunch" is the "Fame" that he dreamed of yesterday. The background of Hillary is very consistent with the practice scene in the dream, and the name is also right.
"What do you think of these candidates?" Margaret asked, pointing to the five photos spread on the table.
Alan shook his head, "They are still too American, with too happy of an expression on their faces."
"What do you think, Ronald? It happens that you are about the same age as them, so tell me." Alan asked him to express his opinion.
"I think this one is a good prospect, you can try auditioning her." Ronald pointed to a photo of a beautiful woman. The blonde had eyes that looked a bit like a cat.
'The actor in this photo is most like the one in my dream last night.' Ronald thought.
"Why?"
"Intuition. I think she has the temperament of a rich girl, and her thin figure is also like a ballet dancer's. "
"I think so, too. Michelle was specially recommended by William Morris. She won sixth place in the Miss California pageant last year." Producer Da Silva spoke for the first time.
"Very good. I will give her...um, Michelle, an audition opportunity." Alan Parker said.
Margaret looked at the director and pasted the photo of the beautiful woman under the label "Hillary".
Then there is the role of Montgomery, a sensitive boy with an inferiority complex, whose mother is a mentally ill actress.
"Which one do you think is suitable?" Alan asked Ronald again.
Ronald didn't remember the plot of the role of Montgomery, so he just pointed to one at random according to his intuition.
"This guy looks a little fragile and delicate when he smiles, and his teeth are messy. He may be fit for Montgomery."
"Very good. I think he is suitable too. "This time it was Margaret from the casting studio who agreed, and then put the photo under the role of Montgomery.
The director also nodded in agreement.
...
After selecting more than a dozen candidates for the leading roles, it was still not enough. Everyone decided to go to the High School of Performing Arts in New York the day after tomorrow to discuss with the school and organize a large-scale on-site audition for students.
After finishing their business, Julia and Margaret from the casting studio brought sandwiches and Coke. Everybody ate while chatting, and Ronald ate a lot.
"Ronald, I think you are very suitable for the casting industry. Did you know? The founder of our studio, Marion Dorothy, is now the vice president of Paramount. "
"She has always emphasized the need to rely on intuition to select people, and your intuition is very sharp. Would you like to consider joining us?"
Julia said to Ronald.
"Me? I still want to go to college first and see if I can be a director." Ronald said.
"Yeah, who doesn't want to be a director? "Julia smiled and changed the subject:
"Next, I will focus on casting for Woody Allen's new film, and Margaret will be mainly responsible for the auditions for performing arts high schools."
"Why, Julia, are you abandoning me for Woody?" Alan Parker made an exaggerated gesture to express his heartache.
"No, your film requires a total of about 600 actors, which is not something that any casting company can complete alone. We should find a few more casting companies and hold joint auditions."
Alan Parker was silent for a rare moment, "You are right. I will let the producer contact the casting companies in New York and Los Angeles and publicly issue casting invitations."
"We will make an appointment with all the casting companies and find a big house for a large joint audition. Ronald, you can come too; we all need the help of your intuition." He added half-jokingly.
"Okay, thank you, director. "Ronald was very happy. Perhaps the director saw that he was the same age as the character in the script, so he could get a better feel for these characters.
It takes some time from sending an invitation to receiving a recommendation, so everyone began to discuss how to organize a joint audition.
Julia Taylor called Ronald outside, leaving Margery and the director to discuss the details of the joint audition.
"Ronald, your notification was very timely. We have reached a consensus with Howard Fair. They gave up Woody Allen's new film, and we made concessions to do a joint audition with them for the hot lunch."
"But if a third audition company gets involved, you still remember to notify Margaret in time. The other parts of our deal remain unchanged, understand?"
"Okay, I understand." It just so happened that the two audition companies compromised and made a joint audition. Ronald didn't have to waver between them and the director, and used a car to test his integrity.
It was a good opportunity to ask about Meg: "Ms. Taylor, if Meg wants to attend an acting training class, do you have any recommendations?"
"Aren't you from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University? Why are you asking me? The best acting coach in New York is in your school."
"Uh, I haven't started school yet."