Four Hundred and Fifty-Eight - Kicking the Ball

The core creative members of the "Dark Knight" crew all know that the reason why the crew atmosphere is so harmonious now is that, on the one hand, everyone has a close relationship with Wayne, and there are no major conflicts of interest among the main actors. No one is willing to deliberately seek trouble and put themselves at risk. Seek death to get out of this small circle.

The more important point is that there is only one heroine of sufficient importance in the crew, and that is Naomi Watts. As long as you have been on a few crews in Hollywood, you will understand that if there are more than two actresses, there will definitely be endless appearances. The tearing b incident.

After the crowd of spectators dispersed, Naomi Watts took a deep look at the woman's back, turned and left the rest area, and continued to practice her performance.

There was a knock on the door of the casting director's office. When Schwartz raised his head, he felt a moment of silence. He warmly greeted the casting director to sit down and asked, "Tell me, Harry, what do you want from me?"

Halle Berry, who was sitting on the sofa, took a sip of coffee and said without any nonsense: "My schedule is very free during this period, and Jimmy suggested that I come here to see if there is any role suitable for me. .”

Hearing this, Schwartz frowned slightly. In his opinion, this was not a big trouble. As long as the old people in the crew usually knew about Halle Berry and Wayne Although they lost contact for a time, since Wayne personally helped each other that time, the woman joined Jimmy's agency.

Even a fool knows who is the boss behind Jimmy's agency, so it's hard for anyone to guess whether this woman is related to his boss, right?

After thinking carefully for more than ten seconds, Schwartz shook his head slightly and said: "There is indeed no role suitable for you in "The Dark Knight", but as far as I know there is one in "The Matrix", and Will has been cast." - Smith’s wife Jada Smith, Harry, and Will have said hello long in advance, unless you can get the boss to say hello to Zach in person, otherwise..."

While saying this, Schwartz said sorry to Zack Snyder in his heart. On the one hand, there is indeed no suitable role for him in the "Dark Knight" crew. Even if there is, he is not willing to make a decision, otherwise once During the filming, Naomi Watts fought with each other, which was a headache.

As for the cast of "The Matrix", whether Halle Berry can get that role, and whether he will quarrel with Charlize Theron after getting it, that's not what he should care about.

"OK, thanks."

Halle Berry didn't bother, nodded, opened the door and left the office. Since she joined Jimmy's agency, although she has had few opportunities to star in big roles, there have been quite a few African-American supporting actors in Warner Bros.' internally funded and produced projects, so she basically has no shortage of film roles.

She knew very well that if she wanted to continue to advance her career, she must have the opportunity to play a leading role, but there were not many such opportunities in the entire industry, and even Jimmy could not do anything about it.

There is another possibility. In Halle Berry's mind, the other way is very simple, which is to return to the devil who likes to ravage his body and work hard to please him. Maybe the other person will create such an opportunity for him personally. .

Just as she is afraid of Wayne Greenberg, she is also one of the women who understands the other person best. She knows that as long as the man wants to do it, he will completely make herself famous and make herself famous just like he made Naomi Watts famous. Becoming a big star is definitely not difficult.

"The Matrix? There's nothing to lose by giving it a try, right..."

Muttering to himself, Halle Berry walked out of the studio belonging to "The Dark Knight" and turned to look at another studio deep in the studio.

Perhaps it’s because “The Dark Knight” shines so brightly, the news that “The Matrix” project has begun preliminary preparations didn’t stir up much excitement in the industry. It’s just that Zack Snyder really enjoys an uninterrupted working environment, so it’s best if he can It is better to avoid the media and start shooting quietly.

Unlike the audition work for "The Dark Knight", which was as high-profile as Zack Snyder and Hector Henry, they were very low-key and only invited specific actors. They were prepared to do all the preliminary work quickly and then fly to Australia for the long second and third auditions. Part set shooting.

In the eyes of the public and the media, the investment of more than 160 million US dollars in "The Dark Knight" is already considered a terrifying sky-high price. I am afraid that no one can imagine that the investment in the second two parts of "The Matrix" far exceeds this figure. Reaching a staggering US$240 million.

Since the movie chose the package shooting mode, it saved a lot of costs. Otherwise, according to Zack Snyder's estimation, the production cost of a single film would never be less than US$150 million. He was working so hard at this moment but he didn't know yet that a ball that troubled Schwartz had been kicked to his side.

After Wayne arrived in New York, he did not immediately contact the Big Apple city government. Instead, he asked Warner Bros.'s public relations department to follow up while making a phone call to a Jewish "one of his own."

Later, I met with Saul Feinstein at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel where he was staying. In less than two days, the city government's tone changed again, and they successfully reached an agreement with Warner Bros., expressing their welcome to "Darkness". The crew of "Knight" came over to film.

No one knows how the matter will be resolved. Only Steve Wilson, who is following Wayne, can probably guess a little bit about the price they paid, or the price Warner Brothers will pay in the future.

Three days later, when Wayne and his entourage boarded the flight back to Los Angeles, he was still thinking about what his "one of his own" senior had said. "Someone paid a lot of money not to let you film in the Big Apple. Boy, think about it. If The Dark Knight didn't shoot in New York, where would it go?!" "Chicago."

When this question was posed to Nina, this smart woman immediately gave an answer. "Boss, if the film cannot be shot in New York, the crew's first choice will be Chicago."

"Don't worry, the fox's tail will show up sooner or later."

Wayne also guessed the answer, but he was a little confused about the other party's purpose of doing this. The thing before him now is to quickly identify all the actors, and then start shooting the movie material as soon as possible, and put other things later.

I believe that if it weren’t for Warner Bros.’s promise of publicity during the campaign, the Jewish politician would not have told him this information even if he helped.

After two consecutive days of running around in New York, surveying the shooting locations, Wayne's face showed unconcealable fatigue, but he had no time to rest. On the afternoon of his return to Los Angeles, he rushed directly from the airport to Warner Bros. Film studio, preparing for the audition the next day.

"I have informed Nicolas Cage that he will come with his agent before ten o'clock tomorrow morning."

From the moment he entered the studio, Gilmour was by his side, constantly reporting on the results of the auditions over the past few days. All the insignificant actors had been decided, and the final candidates were almost all made through Gilmour and Schwartz. There is nothing controversial about the commonality with Charles Rowan.

The two remaining characters with the most important roles are important characters that require Wayne to watch in person before making a decision based on their performance. One is the Joker who still knows the specific situation, and the other is Two-Face. "We are all optimistic about two candidates, Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Sheen."

"Who do you like more?"

Back in the office, Wayne lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and asked casually: "I have an impression of Matthew McConaughey. I remember seeing him at the premiere of "A Time to Kill" before. This actor.”

"Yes, he was in A Time to Kill."

Gilmore nodded. "He was recommended by Steven Spielberg. His acting skills and image are not a problem. I prefer him. As for Charlie Sheen..."

Speaking of the Mexican bearded man, he paused, recalled the other person's information, and continued: "His father is Martin Sheen. He seems to have some friendship with Bruce Rosenblum. Bruce also said hello in person. Acting skills There is nothing wrong with his image, but there have been rumors in the industry that he is very addicted to drugs and "contraband"."

In fact, if it weren't for Bruce Rosenblum's sake, Gilmour would never have spoken so tactfully. He specifically inquired about Charlie Sheen. His life and career as an actor were in a mess. It’s not just as simple as smoking contraband.

Even if no one is willing to reveal it, he also knows that there are many people in the circle who smoke those things, and Charlie Sheen is not the least of them. That guy is like many fallen stars. As long as it is an operation that can cause death, he can After many experiments, no company or crew is willing to use him.

"I see."

In this regard, Wayne still trusts the judgment of his assistant director. Even if he only looks at his relationship with Spielberg, he is inclined to use Matthew McConaughey.

After listening to the reports on the audition work over the past two days, he got up and left the office, went to the corner occupied by the props team again, and observed the props they had prepared. The Bat suit here is actually somewhat different from the first one. It is a foreshadowing that he deliberately arranged. This has unusual significance for the development of other Batman movies after that.

"Has Chris tried it all?"

Caressing the black-painted Kevlar armor, Wayne turned to the prop supervisor Wicks-Hart and asked. "We don't have much time left. Once all the actors are in place, we will immediately fly to New York to start filming and adjust these important props as soon as possible."

"No problem, boss."

Wicks-Hart patted his chest twice and sat confidently to reassure himself. "The prop team will definitely make all preparations, and there will be no trouble in this regard that will delay the filming work."

While the two were constantly discussing the props issue, the casting director Schwartz looked at them from the other side of the studio with a troubled look on his face. After thinking about it for more than ten minutes, he suddenly let out a sigh of relief and walked towards Wayne as if he had put down some burden in his heart.