Awakened by the sound of the alarm clock set three hours ago, Ronald felt as if he was still floating in mid-air.
The mental stress of the past two days and the lack of sleep last night made me feel a little out of sorts.
After taking a bath with scalding hot water, Ronald regained his energy. Today will be another day of continuous fighting.
There was no time last night to talk to the casting director Julia Taylor on the phone. Early this morning, Ronald drove to the casting studio. After greeting the big black security guard, Ronald waited at the front desk for Julia to show up.
"She has been busy casting for the new film these two days, so she may not have time to talk to you." The front desk saw him coming to the company so early and couldn't help but remind Ronald.
"When will she come today? I only need 20, not 10 minutes." In addition to the two versions of the script, Ronald also specially took out the plot of Doris in case Julia didn't have extra time to read it.
"Then just wait." The front desk said angrily.
"This is a gift for you." Ronald took out a box of beautifully wrapped chocolates and handed it over. He bought it temporarily when he went out in the morning, just to make the front desk happy.
"Oh, is this from Belgium? I like it very much." The receptionist happily swept the chocolate into the drawer under the table.
"Let me tell you quietly, Julia has encountered some problems with casting in the past two days, and she is not in a good mood. Don't refute her, just follow what she says."
"Got it, thank you."
Ronald was waiting at the front desk while chatting with the front desk lady.
"Good morning, Julia." The receptionist suddenly sat down and showed a standard working girl smile.
"Morning. Ronald, are you here too?" Julia walked over quickly, saying hello and going to the conference room.
"Julia, I have something to ask you..." The receptionist gently pulled him under the table.
"...I want to ask you for help." Ronald didn't care so much, he had to speak out.
"I'm very busy, please wait for me." Julia pushed the door open and walked in. The moment the door opened, Ronald saw that there were already actors waiting inside.
"You started auditioning so early?"
"You have to wait. It's been like this for the past two days. As soon as you enter, you let them perform, and they won't finish the performance for less than an hour each time." The front desk said to Ronald in a low voice.
Ronald raised his hand to look at his watch. He didn't have much time to waste in the morning.
"Julia, I only need 10 minutes..."
"Julia, Julia, my matter is very urgent, can you...?"
Two hours had passed, but Ronald had not stopped Julia. The second time he tried to hold her back by force, but Julia's stern eyes stopped him. After all, he had to ask her for help.
If he still can't find free time, Ronald can only try Irene at the Stella Adler Acting Center. I don't know if it's too late now, so I have to find a place to call.
Ronald, who was anxiously circling outside the conference room, sighed "Hey", he still had no connections. He supported the wall, lightly touched his head to the wall twice, and then leaned against the wall.
"Young man, you hit the wall so well."
Ronald raised his head. He was still the strange man wearing black-rimmed glasses and explaining to himself what emotional memory was last time.
"Uh..." Ronald was embarrassed and speechless.
"Are you also here to peek at the audition?" The man said to him gently, "Don't make too much noise, otherwise they will hear it inside."
"Peeping?" Ronald followed the strange man's eyes and looked over. It turned out that there was a small door on the wall of the audition room with transparent glass above it. The strange man was behind the door, observing from a distance.
Actors auditioning.
"Why are you peeking here?"
"You know, I'm not good at dealing with people. I get nervous when I face them, so during the audition I just watch here secretly. I will write down the right people and talk to Julia later." Strange.
The man lowered his voice and explained to Ronald.
So he is the director of the new film that Julia works for? Ronald thought to himself.
"But you seem to be talking to me normally. You don't look like an introvert at all."
"Yes, yes, I will talk non-stop when I meet the right person, but I will be scared when I meet strangers. You hit the wall very well last time, so I started talking to you. I feel that we are the same person.
Humanoids are the kind of people who have strong powers of observation."
"Are you the director?"
"Yes, I'm a director. I'm also a famous clarinetist in Manhattan."
"Can you look at my script for me and give me some advice?"
Ronald handed over the Doris scene that he had rewritten. He happened to be the director as well, to see if he could get this guy's evaluation.
"Why not? It just so happens that this batch of actors are very boring."
The director and clarinetist adjusted his glasses, picked up the two versions of Doris' plot before and after Ronald's revision, walked under the light and started to read.
"Yeah, that's good. I'm right. You have a strong sense of observation. I've seen many shy performers in orchestras, but I've never seen a shy singer."
"It's great here too. Watching exploitation films at midnight shows, my psychological barriers are opened by the enthusiasm. Are you making these up or are they true? Do they really watch movies like this at midnight shows and go up and act themselves out?"
"Oh, yes. They have a fan club, and the most they have seen is The Rocky Horror Picture Show more than 150 times."
"More than 150 times? It would be great if someone likes my movie so much. My fans don't watch it so many times. Even film critics only watch it once. I really envy this director in this regard, although
What he shoots is rubbish."
"I really hope that my movies can get such high praise from the public, but most of my audiences are intellectuals, and the general public doesn't like to watch them."
The director and clarinetist began to talk to himself again.
Are there any film critics who have reviewed his movies? It seems that his movies are good. Maybe Alan Parker will approve of his reviews?
"If it's convenient for you, could you give me some written comments on my script? For some reason, I need an authoritative third-party opinion, sir?"
"Do you have other parts of the script? Sometimes the fragments of the script may not represent the real level."
Ronald quickly handed over the final version of the script he got from Antonia, with the parts he wrote on it marked with post-it notes.
"Well, this paragraph is very good, very good. Your writing style is very good, and your observation of life is also very detailed. I just said that we are the same kind of people."
"Huh? How did you write this dialogue about a girl competing for a man? The darker the blackberry, the sweeter the taste. It's a very interesting wording. I feel like you have a talent for writing comedy. Why don't you try to change the script for me next time?
"
"By the way, you can call me Woody, Woody Allen."
"Thank you, Mr. Woody Allen. My name is Ronald Lee." Shaking hands with Woody Allen, "Can you give me a third-party opinion?"
At this time, Julia heard the noise outside, stopped the audition, and came out to see Ronald pestering Woody Allen, "Ronald, don't disturb Woody. We are still auditioning."
"It's okay, Julia, Ronald is great, I'm reading his script, it's great."
"I'm not satisfied with this batch of actors, Julia. Why not give Ronald a try? I feel like he's hit a wall very well, and maybe he has talent as an actor."
"Are you serious?" Julia looked at Ronald, not quite understanding what hitting the wall well meant.
"Of course, he is a very natural performer, and his performance is very natural. He is a hundred times better than those artificial actors."
Woody Allen said while writing a review of Ronald's script.
"Ronald Lee's modifications made this script better. It made the character of Doris from mediocre to outstanding. I hope he can modify the lines of my script."
Then after thinking about it, he added, "Also: Ronald's acting skills are also very natural. You can consider letting him play the role of the guy who banged his head against the wall after failing the entrance interview. Signed - Woody Allen."
Tear the review out of the notebook, put it in the script and hand it back to Ronald.
"Ronald, when are you going to give me a screen test for my new film? Julia will arrange it."
"Well, I have very important things to do today, so I don't have time to audition."
"It's okay, I know how to find you, Ronald." Woody Allen winked at him.
"Julia, I apologize for disturbing your audition, but I came to disturb you because I have something very important."
Ronald briefly described his dilemma to Julia, hoping that she could give him a neutral evaluation of his script.
"Ronnie, you are so interesting. You already have Woody's evaluation, which is enough." However, Julia still took over the script and browsed it quickly.
Ronald looked at Woody and then back at Julia. Is this man a big shot?
"You don't know Woody, right? He is the most powerful director in New York. In 1977, he directed and starred in 'Annie Hall,' which beat George Lucas and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and the most
Two awards for best director."
"Stop talking, George is just not liked by the judges." Woody looked a little shy when he heard others praise him.
Ronald looked at Woody in surprise. This little man was actually the winner of two Oscars. His evaluation of his script was definitely strong enough.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Allen, I don't know who you are. When I was in high school, I was busy making money and didn't have much time to watch movies."
"Don't worry about this, keep writing scripts, and you will succeed one day. Remember to come to the bar of the Carlyle Hotel to watch me play when you have time. I will play with the New Orleans Jazz Band there every Monday night." Woody Allen also told
He blinked.
Ronald apologized to Julia again, hugged her goodbye, picked up the script, and went straight out the door.
He rushed to the phone booth, stuffed a few coins, and dialed the number of Robert Donnell Law Firm.
Lindsay must not go to court.
Ah, OK.
"Is this Rebecca? I'm Ronald. I'm looking for Miss Lindsay Dole. Please pick up the phone."
"Lindsay, it's Ronald. I got a key testimony. I can try to negotiate again. Are you in the firm? I'll go find you."