I am the only one who practices magic: I practice magic in the city

Chapter 490 You Are No Longer from the Same World (4939)

Audition room 201-B is not small, nearly square meters, with light grey industrial carpet and cool white fluorescent lights.

The walls and ceiling are covered with acoustic foam, and the sound in the entire room is suppressed to the point where there is almost no echo.

Sydney could even feel that her own footsteps were particularly clear, and she could also hear the breathing of more than a dozen people in the room.

As soon as she entered the door, Sydney felt something was wrong, as if this audition was not what she had imagined.

How should I put it? I feel like... the scene is a bit too big for an audition?
On the right hand side of the entrance to the audition room is a gray curtain background wall. Opposite the wall is a soft LED light and a 4K lens camera is fixed on a tripod.

There were also two cameras on the side, and three cameramen were standing behind the cameras fiddling with something.

Three seats?

No, there is a panoramic camera hanging at the back, the power light of the camera is on, and it is also filming.

Four cameras?
Sydney has auditioned so many crews, but this is the first time she has seen four cameras during an audition.

In addition to the four cameramen and three interviewers sitting behind the long table, there were seven or eight men and women of different ages and clothes in the room. Some were adjusting the lights, some were sitting on the folding stools next to them with notebooks and recording something, or some were discussing with their heads down, or occasionally looking up to observe.

Didn't Gis just say it was just an independent film? Why are so many people watching my audition?
Sydney couldn't help but get nervous.
-
The center area of ​​the audition was marked with a line of silver tape, which was the standing line for the auditioning actors, and there were two sponge pads next to it.

After Sydney rolled over on the sponge mat, she made a gesture as if she was drawing her gun and shooting.

"Card!"

After hearing the card, Sydney breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and looked at the three people sitting behind the long table, a little nervous: "Thank you, my performance is over."

She had never expected that this audition would involve so much content and would last for more than an hour.

First, the middle-aged white man named Cliff on the left examined her facial expression management and body language, then her emotional state transitions, and then asked her to do a situation simulation and character analysis. Finally, he called a female employee sitting on a folding chair next to her to act with her and examine her lines.

She was shocked when the female employee opened her mouth.

The acting and lines are so strong!

He looks like just an ordinary crew member, but his explosive acting skills and dialogue skills are simply overwhelming her, even better than many stars she has seen.

Such a person is actually just a reader (a crew member who specializes in acting with the auditioning actors) here?

She knows that there are too many actors in Hollywood who have great acting skills but have never gotten any opportunities, or even a supporting role. They can only go to acting schools to teach or hang around in various crews as a stand-in or acting instructor to make a living.

Even the Gallic national treasure Huppert played many minor roles when he entered Hollywood.

There's nothing we can do about it, this is Hollywood.

But it was the first time she saw such a person in the crew. After all, her biggest role before was just a few small supporting roles in Mai dramas.

After the literary scenes were over, the Chinese man on the right named Justin asked her to go to the dressing room next door to change into a black tight jumpsuit and try the action scenes.

The top of the jumpsuit was a little tight, and she exhaled desperately before she could zip it up.

Justin first tested her sensitivity and flexibility, asked her to do some difficult moves, and then went on stage himself to practice some moves with her.

There are action scenes! Is this a commercial film?
Sydney couldn't help but perk up and pay full attention. She felt that her reaction and speed were better than usual.

Although art films sound more classy than commercial films, they don't make any money.

"Have you ever had any experience in fighting and shooting?" Justin returned to his seat, twirling the ballpoint pen in his hand, and asked calmly.

Sydney was delighted. Compared with her previous literary drama, she was more satisfied with her action scene audition.

Sydney took two breaths and nodded vigorously. "Yes, I used to practice MMA and participate in competitions. I also often shoot wild ducks with a shotgun on the farm at home."

After hearing Sydney's answer, Justin shook his head and turned to look at Sarah Finn: "The movements lack continuity and fluidity, the transitions are too abrupt, and lack the appreciation of difficult movements."

"The reaction speed is OK, but it lacks the precise control for violent movements."

"Similarly, the shooting action is the same. The audience will not feel that she is a trained female agent, but only that she is a big blond bear girl who grew up on a western ranch, has touched a few guns in a gun store, and occasionally accompanies her boyfriend to the shooting range."

???

Hearing Justin's words, Sydney twisted her feet in embarrassment, her face turned red, and she almost cried.

Cliff nodded in agreement, "Yes, the literary drama is the same. The understanding of the characters is too dry, the emotions lack progression, the traces of performance are too serious, and it is not 'accurate' enough."

Cliff commented to Sarah Finn from the side, and Sarah Finn nodded: "I think so too."

After hearing the comments from the three people, Sydney felt extremely frustrated and sad. She couldn't help but lower her head slightly, clenched her hands, and her eyes dimmed.

She is not a professional actor and has only attended a few days of training courses. She also has no money to hire an acting teacher, so almost all of her acting skills come from actual practice.

Obviously, the audition just now did not satisfy the other party.

Maybe, as Mayne said, it is really impossible for me to become a star.

"Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Please give me another chance..."

Sydney pursed her lips hard, forcing herself not to cry, and her tone was full of pleading, hoping for another chance. But before she could finish her words, Sarah Finn on the opposite side interrupted her plea.

"You can go back first. We will notify you if there is any news. Remember to keep your phone turned on 24 hours a day."

Sydney nodded with tears in her eyes, covered her mouth and ran to the dressing room to change clothes.

Every crew that auditioned said they would notify me when they had news, but no one actually released any news.

Maybe, I should really give up?
"Sarah, you're not really going to cast this farm girl as the second Black Widow? That's crazy. She doesn't have any resume to show for it!"

As soon as Sydney walked out of the audition room, Cliff couldn't help but move the folding chair under his buttocks and faced Sarah Finn with an incomprehensible expression on his face.

"Except for that pair of big bears, I can't find any highlights in her acting! How can we give up Saoirse Ronan for her!?"

Nonsense, didn't I know her acting skills were lacking?
Isn't this impossible?
Sarah Finn remained calm: "The big bears are the highlight. Acting skills can be trained. Will Saoirse Ronan get breast augmentation?"

Cliff was speechless: "This, these are two different things."

Justin Yu smiled and tried to smooth things over: "It's not that bad actually. At least she has some basic skills. I believe she and Scarjo will be able to put up a good fight."

Cliff shook his head: "I still think Saoirse Ronan is more suitable. Her performance in Brooklyn is perfect and she has a certain box office appeal."

Sarah Finn sighed: "Saoirse Ronan is 8 centimeters taller than Scarlett."

Cliff choked.

In the movie "Black Widow", Scarlett Johansson is the absolute leading lady, and obviously no supporting actress can overwhelm Scarlett in momentum.

The most important thing is that Scarlett is not only the leading actress, but also replaced Marvel President Kevin Feige and became the executive producer of this movie!

Marvel has been wanting to launch an independent Black Widow movie for more than a day or two, but has never reached an agreement with Scarlett Johansson. Scarlett Johansson wants to be the producer and participate in the creation, but Marvel obviously cannot agree to this condition.

Therefore, this movie has been a lot of hype but little action. It has always been said that it would be filmed, but it has never been filmed, and it has not appeared in the timeline of Marvel Studios.

Times have changed. After the huge changes in Hollywood, Scarlett Johansson became the only actor in the Marvel Universe without any risk, and this movie became the only new film project that Marvel could launch in the near future.

Therefore, Marvel had to agree to Scarlett's conditions and agreed that she would serve as the executive producer of the film and work with Marvel to plan and prepare this independent Black Widow film.

Hollywood has a typical producer-responsibility system, where the chief producer has almost all the power over a film.

Except for working with super directors like Cameron or Spielberg.

Even if Quentin has learned from Jiang Wen what being awesome is, he still has to listen to the producer.

"Okay, that's it. The project won't officially start filming for another four months. Jamie, you arrange a 90-day training camp for her. From lines to movements, we will train her comprehensively to ensure that she meets our minimum requirements before filming begins."

Sarah Finn was too lazy to explain, so she stood up and raised her chin to a young man with a frivolous look and a beard. Jamie, who was frivolous and bearded, made a gesture to Sarah Finn that made the Korean angry.
-
Why haven't you come out yet?

This audition took too long. My phone is almost out of battery.

Wouldn’t Sid really be chosen?

Outside the audition room, Mayne was playing games while looking at the door of the audition room anxiously.

"Hey, man, do you have a charger? Lend it to me."

Looking at the low battery notification on his phone, Mayne hesitated for a moment and patted the shoulder of the bearded man with the Avengers 3 badge around his neck.

"No." The bearded man said lazily while sitting in the chair.

After saying that, the bearded man pulled out a data cable from the side and stuck it into the back of his Apple phone. At the other end of the data cable, a Apple 5v1A charging head was plugged into the wall socket.

Mayne: ...

Looking at the physique, Mayne could only shrink his neck. At this moment, he saw the door of the audition room open and Sydney walked out in a daze.

You can tell from his expression that he was not selected!

Myne was secretly delighted: "How is it, dear? Were you chosen?"

Sydney glanced at Mayne, her eyes immediately turned red, and she shook her head.

"Maybe not. He said he would wait for notification."

Mayne was completely relieved: "It's okay, it's just an independent movie, there's nothing to regret. By the way, do you have a power bank in your bag? Lend it to me."

Sydney numbly took out the power bank she bought for 99 yuan from her bag and handed it to Mayne.

After plugging in the power bank, Mayne sat on the bench at the door of the audition room and continued playing the game.

Originally..., Pocket Monster Go! Start!
The Kabi monster that we just caught needs to be trained well.

"Maine, stop playing and let's go. I still have to get my car fixed." Sydney took a deep breath and looked at the credit card limit on her phone distractedly.

The rent is due soon. It's twelve thousand dollars a month, but I only have seven hundred dollars now. Now I have to spend another one hundred dollars to repair the car and pay for parking.

I have three more credit cards to pay off...

Sydney bit her lip, considering whether to ask Mayne to borrow some money.

She has never asked her boyfriend for money.

Sydney wasn't lying when she said her parents didn't approve of her pursuing a career in acting, but that was a few years ago.

It was true that her family was considered lower middle class before, but because her parents inherited the ancestral house left by her grandmother's grandmother, the annual property tax completely dragged down the family. Her parents had filed for bankruptcy a few years ago, and in the end they could not keep the ancestral house and were forced to sell it.

Out of desperation, considering that their daughter had acted in several movies since she was a child and had outstanding looks, she might really be able to make a name for herself in Hollywood. So her parents gritted their teeth and moved the family to Los Santos.

Even if you don't become a big star, there are more opportunities in Los Santos, and it would be good to catch a rich husband.

The cost of living in Los Santos is much higher than in her hometown. When the family was in the most difficult times, they had to live in a motel, with four people squeezed into a small room of less than 10 square meters.

In the end, still because of the debt problem, her parents had a fake divorce a few years ago and transferred all the debts to her father, who then ran away to Mexico.

In the past two years, her mother had to work five jobs to support her and her brother's lives and her brother's tuition. She also took whatever roles she could get, and from time to time she got some pay to supplement the family income, and she also shot some print commercials to barely support the three of them in Los Santos.

The balance in her card rarely exceeded 800 yuan.

"Maine..." Sydney gritted her teeth and called out her boyfriend's name. Immersed in the game, Maine thought Sydney was calling him to leave, so he responded casually, but his butt did not leave the bench.

Sydney was just about to ask Mayne if she could borrow a few hundred dollars when she heard the door of the audition room open with a bang.

"Sydney Sweeney? You haven't left yet? Perfect, I was just about to call you."

When Mayen heard the voice, he looked up and saw a man with a stubble on his face and manicured fingers smiling seductively at his girlfriend.

Oh shit, what kind of monster is this?

Sydney turned around and recognized at a glance that this delicate man was the assistant who had just been responsible for serving tea and water to Sarah Fenn.

Something like Jamie?
Are you about to call me?

"Congratulations, you got the role." Jamie stretched out her index finger and smiled charmingly.

! ! ! ! ! !
Sydney covered her chest with her hands, her eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth open but unable to speak.

Mayne was even more stunned. He shuddered all over and jumped up from his chair.

"Sydney, don't you still need to get the car fixed? Let's go!"

Jamie glanced at Myne in confusion, then turned his gaze back to Sydney: "You don't want to accept this role?"

"No! No! Of course I accept! Oh, my God! Oh my God! I hardly know what to say~ I thought, I thought I didn't get the chance..."

Sydney covered her mouth and spoke incoherently.

"Haha, that's normal. But you need to attend a 90-day training camp to improve your abilities in all aspects. You'd better..."

"Ha! I knew it!" Mayne jumped up excitedly and interrupted Jamie, "You just want to collect money, right? A ninety-day training camp, ha! How many Mai dollars do you plan to charge? Thirty thousand? Or sixty thousand?"

"Sydney, don't pay attention to these scammers. I've seen a lot of them since I was a kid in Hollywood!"

After saying that, Mayne pulled Sydney up and was about to walk out.

Sydney couldn't help but stagger as Maine pulled her. A hesitant expression appeared on her face, and she didn't know who to trust.

"Hey! Boy, who are you calling a liar?" Jamie's face darkened. "Are you her agent?"

"I'm her boyfriend!" Myne's eyes flickered. "You didn't even tell me which movie you were auditioning for, nor what role you were going to play. How could I trust you?"

"Boyfriend?" Jamie frowned and looked at Sydney. "Sister, your taste in men is really not very good."

"Jamie, I really can't afford the cost of the training camp. I only have 700 dollars right now..." Sydney bit her lip.

"You!" Mayne pulled Sydney again, "Sydney, do you believe me or him?"

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Do you trust me or you trust us? Boy, what qualifications do you have to compete with Marvel in credibility?"

Marvel!? Really Marvel!?

Myne couldn't help but turn pale.

"Marvel? You mean this is a Marvel audition?" Sydney was breathing rapidly and felt like she was about to faint.

"Can I ask what movie this is? What role did I get?"

"I'm sorry. I can only say that this is a very important role and the film is still in the confidentiality stage. Even after you sign the contract, you are still obliged to keep it confidential and you must not disclose it to irrelevant people."

Jamie glanced at Myne sarcastically, then gave Sydney a charming smile:

"You can ask your agent to contact me for the specific film title and role information."

"Oh, by the way, since this is a training camp arranged by us, of course we won't charge any fees. However, before signing the contract, you won't get paid. During these ninety days, you can get a temporary subsidy of 300 Malaysian dollars per day."

After that, Jamie pointed at Mayne with his orchid finger: "Boy, from now on, you are not from the same world. If you have self-awareness, you should know what to do."

(End of this chapter)