"How's it going over there?" Walk into your own office, Anthony? Minghella habitually scratched his bald head, and then asked Steve, who was already waiting there? Andrews and Dekkers? Roman.

"Or is it like that, Weinstein is quite laid-back, and this morning with Disney CEO Michael? Eisner went to play golf. Andrews spread his hands.

Minghella immediately frowned, the audition had been going on for almost a week, and it would have been tricky if he hadn't been able to get Weinstein to keep his head down.

"We have to find a way to not continue like this." Minghella sighed, a look of weakness between his eyebrows.

He suddenly regretted agreeing to do this, and if he continued to grapple with Weinstein, maybe he would have agreed by now? But in just a few seconds, Minghella adjusted his mentality, he had already done it, there was no need to regret it, and he couldn't show it in front of Andrews and Roman, they also proposed it for themselves.

"What do you guys think?" As he spoke, he reached out again and scratched his head again, although the head was basically bald, but there was still a ring of hair on the back of the head and temples. It's just that if you don't find a way to solve the problem in front of you, I'm afraid that these few hairs will also fall out.

The two in front of him exchanged glances, and Andrews spoke first: "There is another way, so far, among these rookie actors, we have selected the five most suitable, you can make a gesture of inviting them to talk alone, and then let people spread the news." ”

"Oh?" Minghella was puzzled.

"Weinstein is like this because he doesn't believe we're going to really have a rookie actor as the lead actor in 'The Talented Ripley,' so what we're going to do now is convince him of that." Roman added on the side.

"And Weinstein is equally unsure of your determination, William? Hoberg first passed every other day, and now he runs there every day. Andrews then added.

William? Hoberg is one of the executive producers of the crew, and he was also sent by Miramax, and as an investor, it is normal for Miramax to send someone to supervise and participate in the production.

"It just so happened that you jumped up and yelled 'Cut' during the audition that day, and it has now spread all over Hollywood, which can make your behavior more convincing." Roman added again.

Hearing him say this, Minghella couldn't help but blush, he didn't expect that he was just watching the audition, and he would actually have a gaffe.

That day, the young man was acting out Ripley's scene of Yujian Freddy after murdering Dick, which was a difficult scene that Minghella didn't pay much attention to at first. But with the other party's performance, he unconsciously watched it, and even jumped up and shouted "Cut" with some excitement in the back, wanting to correct it.

It's not that the young people acted perfectly, in fact, many places were a little too violent, with a bit of traces of stage plays. But he grasped the emotions of the characters very appropriately, and behaved in a restrained and outgoing manner, which could easily infect people who watched seriously, so Minghella forgot that he was auditioning and got up and shouted "Cut" to get him to correct the reshoot.

This perspective can show that this young man has great potential, but his qualifications are too shallow. Minghella then deliberately went through his information in detail, Sean? Don, 23, from San Francisco, only started his career as an actor in September this year, playing only a supporting role in the hit TV series "Friends." It's kind of interesting that he first had a role in "Everybody Loves Raymond", but was abandoned by the crew, and ended up going to the "Friends" crew, which helped them get the most Haode ratings in the new season.

It's a shame. Minghella occasionally thinks that if he takes a few more steps before this, even if he hasn't had a role in a big-budget or high-profile movie, he'll think carefully about the potential he shows.

Still back to the topic, although it was embarrassing at the time, but after it was circulated, it proved in disguise that Minghella really chose the male lead for his film among the rookie actors, so Andrews and Roman's opinions are highly operational.

"So be it." After thinking about it for a while, Minghella said.

There was a knock on the door, and Minghella, who had poured himself a glass of water and took a sip, immediately said, "Please come in." ”

As the office door was opened, a young man walked in, with brown hair and black eyes and mixed-race facial features. Tang Dynasty.

"Sit down, Sean." Minghella greeted by pointing to the couch.

"Xiexie, Mr. Minghella." Sean bowed slightly, and then sat down, without the restraint of other young people, and without the rush to show himself, neither humble nor arrogant, very good to people.

"Don't be too nervous, you can call me Anthony," Minghella sat down on the couch next to him, "You performed very well at the audition before, and I can't help but applaud it." ”

"If you like it, you can worry about it for a long time when I go back." Sean smiled slightly.

Minghella couldn't help but laugh, and then his favorability increased a little: "I've read your profile, Sean, you're just starting to be an actor, aren't you?" ”

"Yes, I came to Los Angeles in May of this year, and I've been doing other jobs, and in September, I got into a fight because the bank wouldn't change checks, and I was taken by an agent, so I became an actor." Sean briefly talked about what he had been doing over the past few months.

"Did you have any acting experience before this? For example, a stage play? Minghella asked.

"Yes, I acted in a stage play in school," Sean said similarly simply, "I knew it wasn't enough, so I was auditing acting classes at USC during this time." ”

Minghella groaned for a moment before continuing to ask, "So, what do you say to Tom?" What does Ripley think about the character. ”

"I've seen a lot of comments that they have to do something about Ripley's bisexuality and think it's one of the root causes of his tragedy, such as falling in love with Dick and getting no response, so they killed him on impulse. Personally, I prefer to put these aside and only dissect this character from the perspective of human nature, Ripley is not a bad person, he loves vanity and yearns for a rich life, like many ordinary people, but he can't control his greed, jealousy, and dissatisfaction with the status quo, plus Dick and his friends never look at him squarely, only treat him as a henchman or even a clown, so it leads to tragedy. If you want to play this role, then how to express his contradictions step by step will be the most important point......"

As Sean began to speak, the two talked for more than 30 minutes before it ended, the longest among the actors auditioning.

After he left, Minghella couldn't help but sigh regretfully again, this young man was really good, he had done his homework so much that several times he couldn't help but want to talk in depth, if it wasn't for ......

Minghella shook his head and stopped thinking about it, but was that really what it was? ――

Listen to a melodious ditty, Anthony? Minghella looked around the restaurant, but after a long time he couldn't find the person he was looking for, and the restaurant was always full on weekends, so he couldn't help but walk to the bar in frustration, and then heard what he wanted to hear.

"I thought you'd have to wait there for ten minutes before you came." The middle-aged man sitting in the high chair in front of the bar turned his head and smiled.

"Why are you sitting here, John?" Minghella looked at each other in surprise, "Didn't you get a table?" ”

"No, I just want to sit here." The middle-aged man shook the cup in his hand, "It's more comfortable here." ”

Minghella laughed, sat down next to him, and beckoned the waiter for wine.

"How's it going? I've heard that you seem to be a professor at USC. Tasting the dark brown whiskey, Minghella asked.

"It's just that from time to time, I'll just take a few lessons." The middle-aged man named John shrugged his shoulders, "But this is not bad, USC has a good environment, and the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable." ”

Although it was said very well, when it came to the last few sentences, the tone was somewhat gloomy.

Minghella was silent, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and was about to say a few words of comfort, but heard him say again: "I'm going back, Tony, back to England." ”

"Go back? It's okay to go back and relax. Minghella said with a smile.

"No, old man, I'm not going to come to Hollywood again," the other shook his head, "I see it, here...... It's not a big deal. ”

"Hell, what are you talking about?!" Minghella's eyes widened, "You're John, the all-rounder who writes, directs, and produces?" Harrington! ”

"So what?" John? Harrington looked at him, "You go to the street and ask someone casually, do you know Anthony, the Oscar-winning director?" How much is it for Minghella, or John, who almost burned down the MGM studio with a fire? Harrington? ”

Minghella sighed: "Listen to the old man, a failure is nothing, you know, I am preparing the movie version of "The Genius Ripley", as long as you want, you can come to the crew as an assistant director." You can start over, and as long as you stay through it for a few years, you'll definitely have a chance to take the helm. ”

"Xiexie, old man, but...... How many more years do I have to survive? Harrington smiled, "Don't forget, I'm British, and not every British can succeed here." ”

Minghella stopped talking, he thought of Weinstein, if he was an American like Spielberg, would Weinstein still play those little tricks? Yes, as long as it brings benefits to investors, they will seek you here, but glass ceilings are also everywhere.

"Alright, don't talk about that," Harrington waved his hand, "I'm asking you out today to say goodbye, or to talk about something light." ”

Minghella barely managed to squeeze out a smile and talk to Harrington about other topics, and after a few glasses of wine, they reminisced about the past and chatted with each other.

"By the way, what do you plan to do when you return to England?" After eliminating the simple food in front of him, Minghella asked.

"If I could, I would like to go to the Royal College of Arts and Drama, even if it would be a regular lecturer. Watching those young actors with vigor and vigor continue to discover themselves and show their talents, it feels no worse than standing behind the camera. Speaking of this, Harrington laughed, "You know, I met such a young man at USC, smart, patient, and good at analyzing problems, although his acting skills are still a little immature, but his potential is immeasurable." By the way, do you remember the way we designed the show with Lird? One face makes two different expressions, and that kid actually made it by sticking transparent glue to the facial muscles. ”

"You guy, you must have instigated the other party to do it." Minghella daxiao.

"I didn't, I just mentioned it, but I didn't expect him to practice. To be honest, it is difficult to have a down-to-earth, but daring young man like him now. Harrington said, tilting his head and pouring the rest of the wine from his glass.

"But last time you said that those USC students were too keen to become famous." Minghella shrugged.

"That was before," Harrington waved his hand, "Besides, Sean wasn't a USC student, he was an actor, a young actor, and he came to USC to audit." ”

"Sean?" Minghella's heart moved for no reason.

"Yes, Sean? Don," Harrington nodded, "I'm about 20 years old, I'm from San Francisco, and I only started working as an actor in September this year......"

"Brown-haired, of oriental descent, about 6 feet tall, very modest and very calm." Minghella continued.

Harrington looked at him in surprise.

"I was recently casting for the lead actor for 'The Talented Ripley,' and he auditioned." Minghella explained.

Harrington's face changed, he didn't speak again, patted Minghella, and then got up to leave.

"Wait, John," Minghella called out to him, "what do you ......think?"

"That's your movie, Tony." Harrington said without looking back.

But after taking two steps, he still stopped, and then slowly turned around: "If I were to direct...... I'll make him the lead actor. ”

Watching his friend leave, Minghella sat at the bar in the restaurant for a long time.