Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Chapter 67: Slaughterhouse-style auditions

  Chapter 67 Slaughterhouse Audition

"Hey, you can't encroach on the road. We are old acquaintances, and the line cannot line up on 43rd Street. Keep your line within the porch of the Ambassador Hotel and turn around the building." A New York policeman, facing the hotel the doorman yelled.

"Sir, I've already lined up twice around the hotel. If I don't calm down, I'm afraid something will happen." The concierge manager (Concierge) in the lobby came out of the hotel, shook hands with the police officers, and quickly hid The $20 in hand was handed over.

   "Okay, I'll call the other officers to help keep order. But the Knicks game next week?"

   "It's all arranged, the front seat." The concierge manager said.

  The concierge manager of the hotel is the distribution center of all kinds of urgent resources, as well as the distribution center of gossip. He's got the cops in quick order to help keep order on the audition crew for that **** crew.

   "What kind of activities are you doing? Why are there so many people?"

   "An audition for a film crew." The concierge manager maintained a smile on his face, but there was already some resentment in his heart. At that time, the manager of the business department did not tell him that there would be so many teenagers, it seemed that all the handsome men and beauties from high schools in New York were gathered here.

"Call HQ, call HQ, here's the police..., near the Ambassador Hotel on 43rd Street, a large crowd gathered for a movie audition, more police are needed to maintain order, over." The police turned on the radio on the police car and began to call for backup .

  The crowd was still gathering in large numbers, and the queue of people who surrounded the hotel twice finally threw its tail to the 43rd Street. The number of people who came to audition was still increasing, eroding the street layer by layer, and finally at nine o'clock in the morning, the street was blocked.

"God, there are close to 2,000 people right now. Excluding those who accompanied the audition, there are almost 1,000 people who have come to audition. David, where did you find so many boys and girls who auditioned?" Director Alan Parker said in Looking down from the window in the hotel room.

   "Crooked? Where did these auditioners know about us? Is it a newspaper? Or a message from an agent? Neither? The biggest source is the acting school? Why do they have so many people auditioning?"

  Producer David da Silva is on the phone with audition director Howard Fair, who is downstairs at the audition.

   "Let's go down and have a look." Director Parker came up and pressed the phone, and dragged producer Da Silva downstairs.

"Everyone listen to me, the audition is divided into four departments, musical instruments and singing go to the hall on the left, dancing and performances go to the right, there is a dressing room for changing dance attire. Everyone will be treated equally, we guarantee fair treatment .”

  Ronald was standing on a table in the lobby, holding an electric speaker and telling the rules to the audition candidates.

"After you go in, there will be professional audition directors to interview you. Just do what they say and show your talents to your heart's content. Anyone who gets a green note, please go to the second floor from the front to continue the second round of interviews. If you get it, please leave through the back door of the hotel."

  "Those who participate in interviews for more than two projects can queue up again, and one project can only have one interview..."

  Producer Da Silva stopped a student-looking audition candidate, "Hey, how did you know about the audition here?"

   "Have you not received the gospel for art school students? Here you are, go and call your friends. This is the best news for the New York show business circle in the past 10 years." The stopped student handed over a piece of letter paper.

"Here is the greatest news in the 10 years of the New York showbiz! The Oscar-winning director's new film, 47 signed roles, 600+ group performance opportunities, if you think you are a talented actor, dancer, singer, performer, Please bring your talents to the Ambassador Hotel, 43rd Street, time..."

   "Shxt, Ronald did it. How many people did this guy recruit? Ronald! Ronald!" Producer Da Silva started to shout.

   "Stop yelling stupidly here, go and interview singers with Fair's subordinates. Remember not to find actors who obviously don't match the script"

   "But me and Margaery... okay, okay" Seeing the producer start to stare at him again, Ronald raised his hands in surrender and went to the interview room.

   "Don't sigh, let's go to the second floor and wait for the audition candidates who have passed the initial test." Director Parker was very satisfied with all this, and pulled the producer upstairs.

"Next!"

   greeted Margaery, and Ronald also entered the singer's interview room.

  Today, he has a beard and wears a suit and tie. He looks like a big Hollywood figure who can decide the fate of audition candidates.

Ronald sat with a middle-aged female manager from the casting company of "Fair and Lizel", and a young man learning to sing filed in. Each had 30 seconds to sing, waiting for their fate ruling.

   "Next!" The female manager called again.

   "This one seems to be sung well, why don't we choose it?" Ronald was a little puzzled.

The female manager’s name was Joanna Merlin, and she whispered in Ronald’s ear, “The producer has already favored a black girl as CoCo, we’re just making a formality, and if we hear something really good, we’ll give her another one.” Pass, go to the group performance of the choir."

  Ronald nodded to express his understanding, and said to the girl interviewing: "Did you bring the accompaniment tape?"

  The girl put the backing tape into the recorder and sang "You Are The One That I Want" by Olivia Newton John.

  The popularity of the movie "Grease" has not completely passed, and the audition singers sang this song very much.

   "Next." The female manager, Joanna Merlin, interrupted the girl who was half out of tune without hesitation.

  The girl cried on the spot, picked up her accompaniment tape, and ran out of the interview room.

   Ronald felt like a butcher, and the audition audition was like an assembly line in a slaughterhouse. My job is to kill the acting dreams of one girl after another.

  Ronald is unwilling to be the villain who kills his dreams, so he usually lets Joanna be the judge. After half an hour, he still couldn't bear it anymore, and asked:

   "What kind of singer can be selected?"

   "It's hard for me to describe, you'll know it when you hear it." The female manager Joanna shrugged.

  Finally, when a singer was selected, Ronald understood what Joanna meant. A really good voice does not need to be judged, and it is naturally different when it is sung.

  It's like a swan singing among crows, you know it when you hear it.

"What's your name?" Ronald wrote down her name on a piece of green paper, with the singer's name written next to it, and handed it to her, "Go upstairs and turn left, there is a sign, follow to the second-round interview room Wait outside."

  The black girl happily took the green note. He shouted "Yes" and ran up the stairs.

"Next person."

   After a long time, Ronald heard another voice that stood out.

   This time it was a white girl. She is not tall, with neat short hair and long and powerful eyelashes, a bit like a doll. The fly in the ointment is that there is a wide gap between her front teeth.

   But when she spoke, everyone forgot about her appearance and focused on her singing.

  The girl didn't play the accompaniment, but sang Linda Ronstadt's song "Just One Look"

  This song is difficult to sing a cappella. The original singer relies on the bass to bring out the rhythm, and there is no clear melody line.

  The girl can sing a cappella, not only the rhythm is on point, but also a touch of the charm of the original singing, which is definitely a super-level musicality. I am about to write a green note to her.

   "Next" female manager Joanna called Pass.

   "Wait a minute" Ronald stopped the girl who was about to go out, tilted his head and asked Joanna, "Why, isn't she singing very well?"

  Joanna came up and said, "She is white, and the producers don't want CoCo to have too strong a white candidate." She gave Ronald a "you know" look.

   "But she's more than enough to sing in the choir?"

   "The director might like her. You don't want to be fired, do you?" Joanna heard about Ronald's support for the black Gene.

   "Okay, I'll report to the producer first and see what he means." Ronald picked up his notebook, put a green note in it, and said to the girl, "Follow me."

   The girl didn't know why, so she followed Ronald upstairs.

   "By the way, what's your name?"

   "Madonna, two n's."

   "Madonna, wait for me here, I'll ask the producer to come out and see if I can give you a role in the chorus."

   Ronald asked Madonna to wait at the stairs, and went to confirm with the producer Da Silva himself.

   Madonna nodded in agreement, and her restless eyes began to look around at all kinds of people passing by.

  Ronald walked into the room of the second test, walked up to Mr. Da Silva, who paid him his salary, talked about Madonna's strength as a singer, and asked him if it was suitable for her to pass the primary election.

  Producer Da Silva smiled, this time Ronald finally remembered who was the boss.

   "This is Madonna", Ronald introduced the girl to the producer, "She can sing very well, like a young..."

   "Yes, like a young Barbra Streisand." Da Silva continued.

   "I wanted to say it was Linda Ronstadt, but you are the boss, so you can say whatever you want." Ronald complained secretly.

   "Are you Jewish?" Da Silva looked at Madonna's big nose and asked suddenly.

   "No, I'm Italian." Madonna combed her hair impatiently.

   "It's okay, you can play Jewish, and you've passed the nose." The producer gave Ronald an appreciative look, as if to say, little Ronnie, you did a good job this time.

   "Come with me, Madonna will sing a song by Barbra Streisand (The Way We Were) for everyone."

   "Is this what you said? I can't blame the director for wanting her to play CoCo." Ronald thought.

  (end of this chapter)