American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

The second half of Chapter 10 has begun.
In Britain, it's very difficult for a classically trained actor not to act in plays.

Maggie Smith is the same; born in 34, she made her stage debut at the age of 19.

Her first play was "Twelfth Night" at the Oxford Theatre, where she played the lead role of Ovira, and she became famous immediately upon her debut.

Of course, her ability to land the lead role despite being unknown was also related to her father, who was a professor at Oxford University. Her first job was with the Oxford University Drama Society, which sponsored the production of "Twelfth Night".

Fatherly love is great, and Maggie Smith did not disappoint her father. She had a great talent for acting and soon went on tour on Broadway after becoming famous. In 62, Laurence Oliver invited her to join the soon-to-be-established National Theatre, which she accepted. Thus, Maggie Smith became a member of the founding committee of the Royal Theatre.

Therefore, when she said she would take Isabella to the theater she founded, that theater could only be the Royal Theater.

When Isabella first heard about the target, she was a little confused, not understanding what the old lady was up to. But after she arrived at the national cultural landmark of Daiying, and with the opening of the training room and the appearance of the sparring partner, she immediately understood the other party's intentions.

So-called performance is simply the ability to act and perform.

Analyzing a character with words and pen is indeed a good approach, but it's just theoretical; only practical experience can lead to true mastery.

Since that's the case, the training is complete.
To be honest, Isabella had never seen the old lady's teaching method before. You see, when she was learning music in her previous life, whether it was the erhu or the piano, she always learned the basics first and then practiced the techniques.

But now?

The old lady didn't teach her anything, she just let her do it?

What's the difference between this and having her solve discrete mathematics after learning 1+1=2?

Oh no!
She doesn't even know how to say 1+1=2 in a performance anymore!

To be honest, Isabella panicked as soon as she entered the training room.

Maggie Smith, however, smiled and pulled a page from the script she had worked on overnight. The plot described the Hogwarts orientation dinner, where the children were enjoying their meal when ghosts appeared at Hogwarts.

Nick, who was almost headless, crawled out from under the table, startling many people.

Hermione was very curious about his nickname and asked him about its origin.

Then, Sir Nicholas grabbed her head and showed her his neck, which had been chopped forty-four times with a blunt axe and still had some skin clinging to his head—an act that disgusted the little girl.

After reading the contents of the paper, Maggie Smith pointed to the theater actor with a mustache standing in front of Isabella and said, "He is Nicholas now. How do you think this scene should be portrayed?"

"Um……"

Isabella thought for a moment and said, "I think this scene needs to be performed in three parts to be shown."

"Why?"

"Because this is an interactive dialogue, the camera should focus on Hermione when Hermione asks a question, on Nicholas when Nicholas answers, and then on Hermione again when she gets scared."

Isabella replied, "Based on my understanding of film, these kinds of cut-and-cut shots should be filmed separately?"

"Yeah~ You answered very well~"

The old lady nodded and said, "From a film production perspective, your answer is perfect. And this part of the plot involves visual effects, so what you need to do on set is actually acting without props. But now, there are real people in front of you, so I need you to act it out in a connected way. What do you think you should do?"

"I asked him out of curiosity, and then he scared me, and then I was scared?"

Here, have a try.

The old lady gestured for her to proceed.

The fact that he didn't set an example made the trash-talking king even more nervous.

Seemingly sensing her panic, the uncle who had been called over by the old lady to act as her practice partner immediately smiled and said, "It's okay, you can act however you want. We all started from scratch."

The uncle is a nice person.

Isabella wanted to express her gratitude.

But before she could even speak, the old lady's scolding came.

"Who gave you the right to talk to her like that?"

“You are now Nick, Nicholas Poppinton.”

Although it was a reprimand, the old lady's voice did not rise.

The most terrifying thing is actually the clear pronunciation and smooth intonation with pauses.

Isabella instinctively tilted her head.

At this moment, the old lady stood there with her hands clasped in front of her, like a pine tree.

Not only that, she also tilted her head slightly and looked down, and that condescending feeling made Isabella feel a little uncomfortable.

Even more so for her—

"Professor McGonagall?"

She pursed her lips, mustered her courage, and said, "Please stop impersonating Professor Snape, okay?"

"Ok?"

The old lady didn't understand what the little girl meant.

Isabella continued, "Minerva McGonagall is a good teacher who seems strict but is actually kind-hearted. She is indeed very strict in many things, but that does not mean she is heartless."

"In The Chamber of Secrets, after Ginny's incident, Professor McGonagall voluntarily canceled the annual exams to celebrate her safe return. This action alone proves that she is humane and considerate. Her strict adherence to school rules is only because she is a professor at Hogwarts."

“In ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban,’ she cried with emotion after the Quidditch match, which shows that she was a person with personal preferences and complex emotions, wouldn’t you agree?”

"Therefore, such a good professor would not speak to children with her head held high."

"Only someone like Snape, who needs to maintain his status as the head of Slytherin at all times, would scare people like that."

"..."

The world is quiet.

There are seven people in the training room at this moment.

Apart from Maggie Smith and Isabella, the other five were sparring partners found by the old lady.

At that moment, everyone looked at Isabella with astonishment. This was not only because Maggie Smith was their honorary dean, but also because everyone agreed that there were very few people in the entire entertainment industry who could say that Maggie Smith acted poorly, and in Britain, the only person who dared to teach her acting without giving her face was the late Laurence Olivier.

So?

"very good."

The old lady's expression remained unchanged, but her slightly raised head returned to normal. "Miss Granger, since you know I'm a good person and all my strictness is for your own good, then I won't hold back in my teaching from now on."

"Now, please begin."

His voice remained calm.

The pronunciation remains abrupt and halting.

But at this moment, Isabella felt no longer nervous.

She smiled at the old lady, thanked the uncle who had comforted her, closed her eyes to gather her thoughts, and when she opened them again, curiosity immediately shone in her eyes as she looked at the uncle.

"Almost headless? How could you be almost headless?"

"like this."

After reading the script, the middle-aged man immediately grabbed his hair and turned his head to the side.

Since there were no special effects, he simply appeared to bend his neck.

But in Isabella's eyes, his head and body were about to separate.

Furthermore, because he did not receive the treatment of Louis XVI, the junction between his head and neck was still a bloody mess.

The dog-chewed cross-section made Isabella instinctively frown, her features contorted in disgust.

If you look closely, you can even see that her right eye is twitching.

"How was it, Professor McGonagall? Did I expect to get a perfect score in my acting class?"

Isabella held her expression for a full five seconds before turning around.

Although the other party remained aloof, but...

"Next scene."

Maggie Smith pulled out a new page of the script.

…………

Before the training began, Isabella did find the old lady's teaching methods somewhat baffling.

After starting the training, she found that the old lady's class was really comfortable.

She doesn't teach techniques, but she'll point out your problems during every rehearsal, or rather, once the videotape recorder is set up in the practice room, you can easily find your mistakes by simply watching the replay.

Furthermore, after identifying the problem, she doesn't just tell you how to solve it, but guides you by asking how you want to improve it.

If you think the idea is okay, you can try it again.

In just a few seconds, you'll understand whether the new solution is correct or not.

The hands-on teaching style, which guided her through the process, made Isabella, whose mind was racing, feel like she was a genius.

He is extremely talented in performing.

Although the old lady didn't praise her verbally, her act of pulling out the script spoke volumes. Practice began at eleven o'clock.

Lunch break at 12 o'clock.

Continue a little further.

When it reached two o'clock, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Two hours of practical teaching a day is already a lot for the old lady. She can continue practicing, but that would not be a natural performance, but rather turning her into a craftsman. This is a waste of an actor's talent and has no meaning.

Of course, the end of acting class doesn't mean Isabella can go wild. She can rest backstage at the theater for a while, digest the experience from the class, and wait for the clock to strike three or four before a new class begins.

She needs to perform at the National Theatre.

Anyone who has ever watched a play knows that plays have intermissions.

Because a complete theatrical performance usually lasts at least two hours, and many can last three hours, anyone who can sit still for 100 or 200 minutes is a legendary iron-butt king, and most people can't stand it.

During the fifteen-minute intermission, the theater also offers performances. These include very short plays used to connect the main acts, called intermedios, but most are actually music and dance performances, so…

Half past four in the afternoon.

As soon as the intermission began at the Royal Theatre's Dorfman Theatre, Isabella, dressed in a white gown, took to the stage.

He bowed to the audience, sat down at the piano that had just been brought on stage, and a piano piece that matched the play began to play.

Perhaps it was the striking presence of a ten-year-old;
But it could also be that Isabella played the game well;
In short, her appearance sparked a lot of discussion at the scene.

Yes, there are indeed a lot of people on set during filming, and the scene can be quite chaotic, but even the most chaotic film set is never as chaotic as a movie theater.

Because the film crew has a boss, which is the director, he can intimidate everyone and make you as quiet as possible, but in a theater?
Every ticket-buying audience member can scrutinize you and comment on you.

Once you can clear the level here, you'll be able to easily handle all the distractions on set during filming.

In Maggie Smith's eyes, this might be the biggest problem Isabella needs to face, because extroverts are always nervous when they first step onto the stage. But unfortunately, Isabella disappointed her; she had performed before in her past life, and this was what she was best at.

On July 15th, Isabella officially started receiving special treatment.

Then, she lost track of time.

All she knew was that Maggie Smith had guided her through all of Hermione Granger's scenes in the script and recorded them on a videotape. From being somewhat awkward to becoming fluent, it took her only three or four tapes.

At the same time, she also does some extracurricular exercises every night.

It's about finding the differences.

List all the named characters in the script and see how they differ from their descriptions in the book.

Compare the script with the novel to see where the screenwriter made deletions and changes.

Although this kind of life is tiring, Isabella feels quite fulfilled.

And everything she did came to the attention of J.K. Rowling on August 5th.

"You made her do these things?"

"I only had her organize Hermione's storyline; the rest was her own responsibility."

"Oh~ That's great~"

Rowling smiled and shook her head, then closed Isabella's manuscript.

After watching the rehearsal video, her mature demeanor made her nod in agreement.

After a brief chat, we arrived at the main hall.

She did come to the Royal Theatre to see a play today, but she wasn't watching the main performance provided by the theatre. Instead, her friend had recommended an intermission performance. Sitting on the third floor, she looked down at the girl in the theatre, whose figure was both small and towering.

"You played it quite well."

"This shows that she has been practicing the piano diligently in the past."

"So you like her?" Rowling looked at Maggie Smith.

The old lady raised an eyebrow. "No one can refuse a talented child who keeps working hard, can they?"

“Indeed.” Rowling crossed her arms and sighed.

After a while, she added, "I thought the fast-paced learning would cause her trouble, but I didn't expect her to be so capable."

The old lady understood the unspoken message: "Have the actors been mostly confirmed?"

"Ah."

"How did you handle things with Chris?"

The old lady knew about all the messy things that happened on set.

So when she noticed that Rowling was in a good mood, she wanted to know how Rowling managed the crew.

Rowling paused for a moment, then sighed, "Because I chose Daniel."

The old lady was taken aback for a moment, but quickly laughed, "Oh, I see~"

The Daniel that Rowling is referring to is Daniel Radcliffe.

As all future media reports will show, this was Harry Potter's first choice from the very beginning.

Because he's British, has acting experience, and is cute, and then...

His father is in the publishing industry, working as a publishing agent and agent for traditional literature. His reputation in the UK is... well, how should I put it? He's similar to David Heyman, J.K. Rowling's mentor, the driving force behind the Harry Potter series, and the lead producer of the film project, and the two have known each other for many years.

To put it bluntly, shortly after the Harry Potter movie project was greenlit, Daniel Bryan came into David Heyman's sights. They did hold open auditions, and it wasn't just a formality, but unless they could find someone exactly like the character described in the books, no one could beat Daniel Bryan for the role of Harry Potter.

Well, even if Haley Osmont came, it wouldn't work.

Because Daniel Andrew is not only British, but also Jewish.

His mother was born in South Africa and was of Jewish descent; according to the theory of maternal lineage, he was even a pure Jew.

The power of this identity in the Western entertainment industry is well-known, so when J.K. Rowling decided to cast him as Harry Potter, not only Chris Columbus, but even if Steven Spielberg were directing, he couldn't say no.

Maggie Smith knew all of the above information, so she had no more doubts after Eggsy appeared.

But at the same time, she had other questions: "Where are the others? Where's Ron?"

"It's most likely Rupert Grint. You've seen the kid's file; he's quite good."

"Oh, I remember that."

Maggie Smith nodded. "And Hermione Granger?"

When Hermione was mentioned, Rowling suddenly fell silent.

After a pause of about ten seconds, she said, "When I told Chris that I wanted Daniel and Rupert to play Harry and Ron, he didn't have much of an objection. But for the role of Hermione, he showed me a new candidate, an Englishwoman born in France, who was also a beautiful little girl, just as good as Isaac."

"Furthermore, her parents are also divorced."

The overwhelming amount of information made Maggie Smith squint.

After searching, she understood what Rowling meant.

"According to the rules of the industry, you should respect Chris Columbus's casting choice, right?"

A society composed of people must be a society based on human relationships.

Therefore, even though Rowling and Columbus had a conflict, and it was the latter who first 'provoked' her, she couldn't very well act unilaterally.

When she selected two members of the "iron triangle," and one of them was the absolute lead, the remaining lead role had to go to director Chris Columbus. After all, he's a prominent figure, and a student of Steven Spielberg; you can't expect him to be just a tool in the project who only knows how to yell "cut."

People have pride too!

but--

“Oh, Maggie, you’re right.”

The old lady had seen more storms than Rowling had ever tasted salt, and she had already revealed the essence of the matter, so Rowling no longer hesitated. "If I hadn't talked to Isaac, I probably would have left Hermione's decision to Chris."

“But I’ve already talked to her, so…”

"I can only apologize to Chris."

Although Rowling was chatting with Maggie Smith, her attention never left the stage.

When she saw Isabella finish her performance and begin thanking the audience, she joined in the applause. The thunderous applause made her eyes sparkle, and the little girl smiling, waving, and happily leaving the stage made her speak again—

"Maggie, do you know why I like Isa?"

"Because she was only ten years old, but she told me that she had to support her family."

“I am a mother, and I cannot stand to hear such words.”

The moment the words were spoken, the entire theater went dark.

With a clang, a beam of white light descended from the sky and landed in the center of the stage.

The second half of the performance has begun.

(End of this chapter)