director of the millennium

Chapter 32
Of course, although they were proactively invited actors, Chris and Scarlett still had to audition. If their acting skills were not good, they would have to choose new actors.

Wu Yuan exchanged pleasantries with the two of them, and after chatting about their acting experience, the formal audition began.

In fact, there is nothing to say, but one person gave a short script and asked the two of them to play together to see if it felt right.

As for acting?

To be honest, as long as the acting skills are not so bad that they are unacceptable at a glance, they can generally be trained.

For example, Huang Xiaoming's acting skills are often criticized for fluctuating levels, not just because he likes to reward himself with The Boss after a good movie.

Also because of his acting skills, he needs on-site training.

Huang Xiaoming, who was born in a major, at least has an acting level above the passing line, and the upper limit is also high.

When you meet a director who knows how to train actors, he can push his limits to the limit and deliver a score of [-], [-] or even [-] or [-].

But when encountering a director who doesn't know how to train, Huang Xiaoming can only show a performance of 60 points, and may even fail in his performance.

You asked Huang Xiaoming to act in a play directed by Zhang Yimou, do you think he will still get angry?

Although Wu Yuan is embarrassed to say that he is as good as Zhang Yimou in training actors, he is capable!
He clearly knows what the protagonists of the movie "Juno" need to look like to be good and eye-catching!
"Juno" is not considered a classic movie, but the actors in the original version did admirable performances. With Wu Yuan's reference answers, it is relatively easy to train the actors.

And Chris and Scarlett's acting skills are not bad, Chris Ben has studied acting, and Scarlett is a child star debut.

The two cooperated in a rivalry in front of Wu Yuan. Although it was not at the perfect level, it was still above the pass line.

Wu Yuan nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, I think you can fulfill these two roles."

"Sign a contract with the crew, and leave two months' schedule. The movie will start filming in half a month at the earliest!"

It is easiest for a sixteen or seventeen year old girl to play a sixteen or seventeen year old girl.

Coupled with the fact that Scarlett's character has many similarities with Juno, it is easier to understand the character.

As for the remaining deficiencies, Wu Yuan can definitely teach while filming, as long as Chris and Scarlett cooperate seriously, it can be done.

Fortunately, they are just two unknown little actors now, and they dare not show any slackness or disobedience in front of director Wu Yuan, even though Wu Yuan is also an unknown little director in Hollywood.

This is also the reason why Wu Yuan tends to find such two young actors, the price is cheap and they are obedient!

Since the director approved it and the producer had no objections, the contract between Chris and Scarlett was easily settled.

On the same day, the two of them signed a contract with John, who represented the crew. The pay of both of them is not high, and the main one is cheap.

Afterwards, Wu Yuan and John interviewed a group of actors who played Juno's parents and children's adoptive parents in the film.

These are all recommended by the Hollywood Actors Union. She plays the role of mother and father in major film and television dramas all the year round, which is equivalent to the blue-collar class in Hollywood, or the golden supporting role.

Wu Yuan didn't know most of them, but it didn't affect his audition. For this kind of actor, you only need to choose the one with the best acting skills.

In less than two days, the four main supporting roles were finalized. They are all experienced actors with excellent acting skills, and they also focus on one cheap thing.

Whether it is Hollywood or China, this kind of golden supporting role is synonymous with "cheap and easy to use".

Coupled with the extra actors expected to be used and the acting fees of the school students, the "Juno" movie has not yet started shooting, and the US$100 million has been spent.

And the total budget given by Fox Searchlight for this movie is only 600 million US dollars.

It looks like it's half a million less than the original movie's cost of $650 million, but it's actually a higher budget than the original movie!

Because Wu Yuan's director + script fee of US$120 million has not been included, this will not be allocated until the gambling agreement comes into effect.

Adding the $120 million, Fox Searchlight's announced production cost is $800 million!
As for why this is an additional 80 US dollars, of course it is better to say it!
After settling the main actors, Wu Yuan no longer has time to have sex with the blonde beauty, and John doesn't have time to organize any parties.

The two of them traveled all over North America with the crew's cameraman, and started scouting.

Even though the time has advanced six years, some things still cannot be changed.

For example, due to budget constraints, although Wu Yuan likes a small town in Minnesota the most, but out of budget considerations, after a few people discussed it, they settled for the next best thing and set the shooting location in Vancouver. Same as the original film crew.

Because Vancouver has financial support for film shooting, it is the most economical!

After the filming location was determined, the long-awaited cast, photography, lighting, sound recording, art director, art design, set makeup and other crew members came to Vancouver from the United States one after another.

These crew members were not selected by Wu Yuan, they were arranged by Fox Searchlight. Wu Yuan has tested their skills, and they are indeed not bad, at least they are definitely enough for "Juno".

Moreover, the division of labor of the crew in Hollywood is very clear, which is almost at the level of the mainland in 2015. This made Wu Yuan feel professionalism after a long absence, and has a feeling of returning to the world of dreams!

Of course, it is undeniable that some staff in the crew did look down on Wu Yuan, a director from China.

In their opinion, how can a Chinese director make a movie that is popular in Hollywood?

Not to mention Wu Baige, he is a director from the Hong Kong Island film circle, and Hollywood still recognizes Hong Kong Island films, after all, he was a strong rival back then!
But the mainland film industry has no status in Hollywood.

Now that Wu Yuan, a director from China, is directing them, there are some racially discriminatory staff members who will be unhappy and contradictory.

At this time, John, the producer, came in handy.

Fox Searchlight hired Wu Yuan to make a movie because they wanted to make money and win awards. They didn't just want him to experience Hollywood's discrimination against Asians.

John, who is usually very kind and cheerful when facing Wu Yuan, is like an angry lion when facing the crew!

During the days when the crew was getting used to it and before filming officially started, John sat next to Wu Yuan every day as soon as work started!

Once he found that a staff member didn't listen to Wu Yuan, or was sloppy in his work, or dragged his feet, John immediately cursed at him!
"Son of a bitch!"

"You guys will do whatever Daniel says. If there is any delay, get out immediately!"

"Fox Searchlight doesn't need disobedient crews!"

"In the crew, Daniel is God, and his words are the truth!"

John is more like a tyrant on the set than director Wu Yuan, but I have to say that this is really effective.

Under John's watchful eyes, the production crew was running in very quickly. It only took a week, and Wu Yuan felt that the production crew was already at their wit's end.

With the crew's obedience, the filming of the first official scene of "Juno" finally began.

(End of this chapter)