American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 40 The Superpowered Family, the Imperial Envoy

Margot Robbie?

"Wow~"

"How did Susie find her?"

2002 6 Month 24 Day.

Isabella received the casting results from Susie in Australia.

After a quick glance, she spotted the future Harley Quinn in the resume that Susie had strongly recommended. Isabella was genuinely surprised when Harley Quinn's information appeared in front of her, because this girl was going to be very popular in the future.

Susie can spot celebrities just by randomly picking them?
This……

He truly deserves to be called a casting master in the British entertainment industry!
The skill level is really high!

With the appearance of Harley Quinn, the lineup of "The Voice" can basically be determined. Well, Isabella decided to let Harley Quinn play the final villain. Isn't it stupid not to use such a good talent?
Furthermore, in her previous life, Isabella quite liked the movies Robbie starred in, such as "The Wolf of Wall Street," "Suicide Squad," "Birds of Prey," and "Suicide Squad"... Well, it's just that Robbie was more attractive in those movies. As for the quality of the works themselves?
Only "The Wolf of Wall Street" is acceptable.

As for Chris Columbus's opinion?
Although he had never met Robbie, he decided to use Robbie anyway.

This person has great faith in Susie's abilities; all the previous rejections were actually just a matter of stance.

So, Susie declined? Then he'll use it!
Since everyone was in agreement, the film contracts could be rolled out smoothly. After Isabella finished reading the final cast list, she suddenly narrowed her eyes, almost laughing, because the entire lineup of "The Voice" was full of superhumans—

Grandpa, Anthony Hopkins, that's a cannibal, a vampire. He played Hannibal and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Not only that, in the future, he will also be Odin, the god-king in Marvel.

Dad, Jude Law, is also a vampire, because he played a vampire in "The Vampire Saints," but his future self is even more awesome. He's not only the intergalactic commander Rogue in Marvel, but also a young Dumbledore.

Mom, Sadie Frost is a bit less impressive, but she's also a vampire;
She starred alongside Hopkins in "Bram Stoker's Dracula".

Not to mention his uncle, Christian Bale's most iconic role is Batman;

Then, he also played the god-slayer Gale in Thor.

Sister, Keira Knightley may seem ordinary, but she also has cursed gold coins!
A family like this shouldn't be considered a loser at all, right?
And she, Hermione Granger, the youngest member of her family, will be participating in The Voice?

To be honest, Isabella couldn't believe she had lost.

My whole family has superpowers! Especially my uncle, who has the power of money! So what do you think you can compete with me?
The appearance of the all-star lineup made Isabella purse her lips and smile foolishly for a while. This kind of stew that only time travelers could understand was really too interesting. As for the villains... well, the villains were actually quite strong too.

The third phase boss is Harley Quinn, which goes without saying;
The first phase's boss, the villain who, like the protagonist, came from a rural background, was a gifted young boy in the choir, and was played by William Morris, Harry Potter's previous suitor.

This person isn't very well-known in mainland China, but is quite famous in Europe and America.

His most famous work is The Chronicles of Narnia, in which he plays the second male lead, the leader of the Good Army.

With the lineup finalized, the subsequent preparations were all piecemeal tasks.

How to set up a rural scene?
That was decided by the set designer and the executive producer.

How are costumes, makeup, and props made?
That was discussed by the art director and executive producer.

Of course, Isabella also had an informant in this process, namely Catherine.

Using the excuse that "my sister loves art and wants to learn," she placed Catherine next to executive producer Barnason, allowing her to sit in on all the preparations. Isabella had only one goal: although the protagonist of "The Voice" is a country girl, you can't make me too rustic. In the movie, I can dress plainly and live an ordinary life, but at the same time, I must be beautiful.

Because good looks can really boost box office sales.

Catherine supported her younger sister's idea, so after accepting the task, she followed Barnason around like a model student, diligently learning and asking questions. She would write down everything she heard, and then, at night...

“Isa, let me tell you, Barnason and the art director have an idea: at the end of the movie, they'll have the art student prepare a cheering T-shirt for you, the kind with hand-drawn slogans.”

"I think this idea is great. We need to use paint that bleeds, so that at the end of the film, when everyone hugs each other, the paint from their clothes will cover them all, symbolizing the whole family reconciling and becoming one..."

Yes, every night, Catherine would sneak into Isabella's room and chatter on and on about what had happened during the day.

If I had to describe it, the scene would be—

The evolution of the typist~
Repeating Princess
Tsk, why does this look like an online novel author who's stopped writing and is just chatting in a group?
Cough cough cough, that's not important.

Besides scouting locations, designing costumes and props, there are two other tasks in the preparation of "The Voice of China" that Isabella must do herself, one of which is song selection.

In the storyline of "The Voice of China", there are three competitions, each requiring a song.

Isabella has already taken one song, "The Climb," so she needs two more.

Furthermore, these two songs weren't chosen randomly; there were specific requirements.

Take "The Climb" as an example. In Columbus's design, he wanted "The Climb" to run through the entire film because in his eyes, the process of pursuing dreams and the spiritual journey that the whole film wanted to show was about ordinary people constantly climbing towards their dreams. Therefore, "The Climb" appeared in the film in the way that the protagonist was "creating".

For example, in the first eight minutes of the movie, weren't they trying to show the chaos in the protagonist's home? Okay, at that point, the protagonist was writing a song and was bursting with inspiration, but everything vanished with his mother's volcanic eruption.

Mom slammed the cooking pot onto the table, the house shook, and the scene flashed by.

The protagonist, who was sitting in the room, looked up, her thoughts disrupted.

Then, the next moment of inspiration might be when the family decides to help the protagonist fulfill her dream. On the way away from home, the protagonist is in a great mood and wants to finish writing the song, but unfortunately, after thinking for a while, the argument starts again.

My thoughts have been interrupted again.

To put it simply, "The Climb" will be a recurring theme throughout the entire film. The melody of the song will be pieced together bit by bit throughout the movie, and finally, on the eve of the final, all the family conflicts are resolved, and the song is born.

Then, the main character enters the scene and takes the card.

The reason for this design is simple: in Columbus's view, originality could showcase the protagonist's talent.

Creating original works amidst stumbles and setbacks can deliver the greatest impact to the audience.

When audiences in the theater discover that Hermione Granger is singing right in front of them on screen, they can't help but want to watch until the end, and if the song shown at the end is decent, the audience's joy will be extremely intense.

Because they will have a sense of witnessing history and witnessing success.

And when the appearance of a song can be integrated with the plot...

"Isa, I don't recommend that you use original songs in the first two rounds of The Voice."

"There are two reasons."

"First, originality is the last resort. When we define originality as the protagonist's outstanding talent, frequent use of originality will wear down the audience's passion. When the protagonist keeps producing original songs, the audience will think, 'Oh, the protagonist is amazing, so she will definitely win.' Once this thought appears, the audience will lose their expectations."

"So I suggest you do a cover song in the first two rounds."

"Secondly, I personally feel that the first and second stories in the script could also have their own songs, like 'The Climb,' which can cover a story and tell a life story."

"Since I'm not a music student, you'll have to judge for yourself. Of course, if you think my idea is wrong, or if my idea is good but you don't have any ideas, you should tell me immediately..."

During the conversation, Columbus spoke very professionally.

Because his idea was indeed very good, Isabella gladly accepted his proposal.

Then, she decided to have the lead singer perform Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" in the first game.

The reason is simple.

It's related to their story setting.

In "The Voice of China", the grandfather was the first person to support the protagonist in pursuing his dream.

How could a family with a grandfather not have a grandmother?

As for where Grandma went?
She has passed away.

In the story's background, the grandmother is deceased, and it is precisely because of her disappearance that the grandfather becomes so miserable.

That's right.

Columbus and Isabella removed all the scenes in "Little Miss Sunshine" where the grandfather likes to shove grass, because their film was intended for a wider audience, and such things shouldn't appear in children's world. Therefore, the grandfather's true nature is alcoholism, and the reason for his alcoholism is that he misses his grandmother, the person who has spent decades with him.

Therefore, when the grandfather emerges from his state of confusion to support the protagonist and sings "Tears in Heaven" during the competition, it is actually telling the grandfather, "We know why you changed, and we can understand your pain."

Because we miss Grandma too.

The song "Tears In Heaven" is about longing.

At first glance, this design seems to be an attempt to force a higher level of emotional impact and evoke tears.

But whether it's Isabella or Columbus, what they want to uphold is simply the original core of "Little Miss Sunshine," which is that "success in life is important, but family is also important."

That's the core of a road movie.

After sharing her thoughts with Columbus, Isabella received his pleasant surprise and praise.

Then, the copyright for the song "Tears In Heaven" was easy to obtain.

After Eric Clapton went solo, he signed with Atlantic Records.

This is a subsidiary label of Warner Music.

Just give Barry Mayer a call and it'll be fine.

However, convenience and high income are never the same thing.

“There’s no way Barry will sell you the rights to Tears in Heaven.”

Columbus said, "They can only give you five percent of the revenue from vocal performances, and at most you can retain the right to sing."

"Whatever." Isabella yawned.

She doesn't care about it.

After finalizing the song selection for the first match, what song will be used for the second match?
Isabella was momentarily lost in thought.

But there's no rush; there's plenty of time to think about it.

While busy choosing songs, Isabella was also busy with her second task on "The Voice": practicing singing.

Although everyone knows she has studied piano for many years, piano is an instrument after all, while singing is a vocal instrument.

Therefore, when "The Voice of China" showcases vocal performance, intensive practice is definitely necessary.

With the arrival of the external instructor, Isabella practiced with him for a while, and then...

"You've studied singing?" The teacher hired by the production team was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. The old man knew Isabella and knew that Isabella had studied piano with her 'colleagues', but he really didn't know that Isabella had studied vocal music.

"Uh...no..."

Isabella shook her head.

She had dabbled in vocal music in her past life, but had never touched it in this life, so she wanted to start from scratch.

"Oh, that must be talent."

The old man nodded and said, "Your voice is quite nice, clear and pure, but it's a child's voice."

"Your voice hasn't finished changing yet, so your current voice may not be able to be maintained in the future."

Isabella knew about her voice changing.

Or rather, many child stars are loved because they were cute when they were young, and their excellent voices are a big plus. But as they grow up, their voices change, oh wow, they explode.

This is also why the teen pop genre in popular music is not easy to define.

Singers who become popular during their adolescence are basically forgotten after they grow up.

The changes in sound had a huge impact on them.

However, this matter was not important to Isabella.

Because she doesn't make a living by her voice.

Isn't her foundation Hermione Granger?

It's her face!
So……

She doesn't really care whether she can pursue a singing career in the future.

Right now, as long as I can make money, that's okay.

This isn't short-sighted; no one can control voice changes.

While undergoing protected vocal exercises with her teacher, Isabella also had another job. That job was related to Harry Potter; she was to work with Stephen Clover, the writer of Harry Potter, to write the script for Azkaban.

J.K. Rowling has gone home to rest.

For her now, taking care of her pregnancy is the most important thing.

When a person chooses to embrace family, their career will inevitably take a break.

Therefore, Isabella was promoted once again to Instructor Isabella and began to oversee the preparations for Azkaban.

Okay, enough of this nonsense.

Isabella didn't have that much power. The scriptwriting for Azkaban was actually handled by screenwriter Stephen Clover and director Chris Columbus, but the final decision-making power rested with J.K. Rowling.

Isabella's role in the entire love triangle is actually to 'act cute'.

Because Stephen Clover was hired by Warner Bros., he actually represented Warner Bros.' interests. Although Chris Columbus 'reconciled' with J.K. Rowling, he ultimately insisted on his own interests.

In this situation, how does J.K. Rowling demonstrate her power when she doesn't have time to keep an eye on the script every day?
According to standard Hollywood practice, J.K. Rowling should have sent an assistant to communicate with them, but everyone has to admit that sending an assistant is useless when dealing with a director like Chris Columbus.

therefore--

"Aunt Annie, good evening!"

"Good evening, Isa. Is there something you need to talk to me about?"

"Can't I contact you if there's nothing wrong? Your words really hurt me—"

Hahaha~ Of course~

"Okay, okay, you guessed right. I did have something to discuss with you today… Director Chris and Stephen had a huge argument today because Stephen wanted to set the tone for *Azkaban* in a somber mood. He felt that all of Harry's experiences in the story were related to his deceased parents, so the film's main color scheme should be gloomy and dark. But Chris disagreed. He felt that *Harry Potter* is, after all, a fairy tale, and he didn't want to make the film too profound. He said that Harry fans just want to see adventure, they want to experience a dazzling magical world. Generational feuds are fine, sad stories can make Harry feel lost and depressed, but they can't make the audience lose their way…"

As Isabella was to be working with Columbus for a long time, she became J.K. Rowling's personal envoy, wielding the imperial sword, capable of executing tyrannical rulers and treacherous officials.

But since Columbus and Clover were neither tyrants nor treacherous ministers, she could not kill either of them.

(laugh~
Well, most of the time she did was relay messages between the three of them.

She also hopes that Azkaban can be the best it can be.

When a person can live a fulfilling and rich life, the passage of time will be very fast.

And just like that, July arrived in the blink of an eye.

Because film crews are located in places outside the three realms and five elements, Isabella was so busy that she didn't even have time to go online, so she had no idea what was happening in the outside world. After the time came to July 18, "The Secret Chamber" officially wrapped up filming.

The last two remaining, Daniel and Isabella, embraced and said goodbye.

Goodbye, Isa.

Goodbye, Daniel.

"I'm going on vacation, so... see you in winter?"

See you in winter.

The characters from Harry Potter also wanted to act in Isabella's movie, but it wasn't suitable; it would be too out of place, so they had to give up.

Chris Columbus handed over post-production to David Heyman.

This means that The Voice of China project has officially started.

Okay, start it in place.

Although Leavesdon is a British studio and not Warner Bros.' actual location, David Heyman had already leased it long-term back in 1999. Therefore, as long as Isabella's project investors remain the same, she won't even need to change filming locations.

When this fact came to light, Isabella immediately frowned.

"Keisha, why do I feel like I'm in prison at work?"

Isabella looked at her sister, both amused and exasperated.

Since she finished filming on location for "The Secret Chamber," she hasn't left Leavesden since the end of March.

Eating, drinking, relieving oneself, sleeping, and working—all of that happens in the team!
What kind of magical day is this?

"You chose this yourself."

Catherine laughed and said, "You won't regret it, will you?"

Although staying in one place for a long time can be quite boring, Catherine can endure the loneliness.

Isabella was the same way; practicing piano year after year, day after day, was also very boring.

Or, to put it another way, people who can't stand being alone find it hard to learn a time-consuming skill.

"I don't regret it."

Isabella shook her head at her sister's question. "I just think... changing groups but not changing venues? That's pretty absurd..."

Isabella wasn't afraid of loneliness; she was only afraid of being broke.

So, Kuku can make money just by staying in one place? She could stay there until Warner goes bankrupt!
Of course, she's not really in jail right now, is she?

She is free to move around in Livingston;

She does everything she likes;

She can also make new friends one after another;

For example, right now, with the official launch of "The Voice" project, the children who will appear in the film have all arrived in Leedsden. Isabella, hands in her pockets, stood in front of Leedsden's reception hall, watching the shuttle bus for the film crew come to a smooth stop, watching one little boy after another, accompanied by their parents, file out of the bus…

She was about to go up and say hello when her eye twitched.

Because she suddenly felt that this scene was like welcoming a new inmate.

And just as she was feeling sentimental...

"Ahhhh-"

A gasp suddenly came from the shuttle bus.

Upon closer inspection, inside the car, at the far end, a girl with a bob haircut was staring at him with wide eyes, peering out the window.

That gaping mouth looked like it could swallow a fist.

"HHHHHHHHHermione Granger???"

"Oh!!! My!!! God!!!"

Am I dreaming???

With this exclamation—

"Shh-"

The little ones who were still queuing to get off the bus all turned their heads at the same time.

The next second—

"Ahhhh-"

All those little potatoes started screaming.

Okay, this doesn't feel like welcoming a new inmate anymore.

It looks like a fan meeting is being held.

Oh wait, when all those half-human-sized guys huddled together and screamed at the top of their lungs, the huge Leavesden instantly turned into a groundhog colony. It was really... ear-piercing.

(End of this chapter)