King of Hollywood

"Thank you, thank you little Debbie for your performance, Ms. Burton, you have a very lovely daughter." After patting his hands twice, Adrian said to the little girl's mother, and then said "you can leave" gesture.

The mother immediately took her daughter away, and she could vaguely hear the little girl asking if her mother had succeeded. Adrian shook his head imperceptibly, and listened quietly to other people expressing his own opinions. Finally, wave them to call the next candidate in.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The little girl who came in bowed slightly to everyone. She had bright blond hair, a pair of big light blue eyes, dimples on her face, and the clothes she was wearing. The pink T-shirt that most little girls like is very beautiful and cute.

"I'm Hannah Dakota Fanning. I'm from Georgia. I just turned 6 years old. Although I don't have much acting experience, I believe I will be a good actor." She put her hands behind her back, He introduced himself generously, without the slightest sense of stage fright, but many people were amazed.

You must know that many children are still in the stage of imitation and discovery when they are six or seven years old, and it is difficult to express the meaning clearly in very organized language, even if she recites this passage , It is not easy to be able to say this so fluently without any other expression.

Adrian smiled slightly: "Hello, Hannah, the script should be familiar, so let's start."

As he spoke, he pointed to the small video camera next to him, and the little girl performed as she faced the camera. This scene is not long, but because the eldest daughter has to leave home to find her father, and her mother is a delirious patient, she has to temporarily teach her younger brother and younger sister how to use a shotgun in order to protect themselves. Of course, here she won't take out a gun and let her gesture, it's just a few conversations, the key is whether the little actor can grasp that feeling.

Frankly speaking, Hannah's performance can only be said to be quite satisfactory, not particularly brilliant, but considering that among the final candidates, the other children have more or less made guest appearances in some TV series, she is still not bad.

"Very well, thank you for your performance, Hannah, can I ask you a few questions?" Adrian did this after she finished her performance, and then glanced at her mother who was standing by, "It must be you to answer."

After hesitating for a while, the little girl nodded: "Okay, sir."

"So," Adrian gestured, "tell me, Hannah, why you want to be an actress."

Hannah didn't speak, she bit her lip and thought carefully, and then said slowly: "I'm sorry, sir, I can't give a specific reason, but I really like acting, and my parents also I did a commercial with Mr. Ray Charles in Georgia last year and then about - 6 weeks ago my parents and I came to LA to shoot a commercial for Tide and then my parents decided to move When I came to Los Angeles, they thought it would give me more opportunities, and then met my current agent, Mr. Mark Bridges, who also thought so, so I believe I will become a good actor."

Although it is a bit lengthy, and there are several pauses in the middle, it is already very good for a 6-year-old child, and he has never looked back at his mother, as expected of the precocious little girl in memory. However, when he heard the name Mark Bridges, Adrian glanced at the casting director Carlos Pike not far away, who was sitting there upright, as if he hadn't heard anything.

"Thank you for your answer, Hannah, you are excellent." Adrian clapped his hands again to encourage him, "The second and last question. Your hair color and eye color are different from what we asked for, so if you get If you take this role, we have to dye your hair and wear colored contact lenses to change your eye color, which is very likely to hurt your hair and your eyes, are you still willing to play this role?"

The little girl bit her lip again, but this time she took much less time to think than last time: "Yes."

"Oh?" Adrian raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I have an aunt who works as a broadcaster on ESPN. She once told me that impressive performances require sacrifice." She said softly, without a single pause, and she did not look back own mother. Then, she smiled, with a little cunning in her eyes: "Besides, I believe the crew can help me avoid these injuries."

What a ghost. Adrian laughed dumbfounded, and clapped again.

"You have a very good daughter, Ms. Arlington." He immediately got up and extended his hand to Hannah's mother. Although he didn't make a clear statement, he could tell from this action that he had never done before, if nothing else happened. , the role will be Hannah Dakota Fanning's.

Sure enough, most of the children, especially the little girls, who can make a name for themselves in Hollywood are precocious. So did Hannah Dakota Fanning, and so did Leighton Meester. Adrian clearly remembers how this girl who played tricks on herself in order to get the role in "Spy" faced her appearance when she participated in the audition for "Very Little Spy". She said something to the other party, but she complied calmly.

"Yes, I did deceive you, Mr. Adrian, but I think you should have investigated my family. For a girl like me, what else can I do?" Although there are still some traces of acting—Leighton obviously underestimated Adrian's observation ability—but half of it comes from the heart.

Facing such a young girl, Adrian didn't say much, but he didn't let it go, and pinched her face frivolously: "You are a beautiful and smart girl."

Of course, there is a difference between Leighton's precocity and Dakota's precociousness. Leighton's precocity is different from ordinary people's life experience, so she had to shoulder the responsibilities that did not belong to her prematurely, and then honed herself from it. And Dakota is naturally sensitive to imitation and performance, which is a talent, just like... Natalie. Such talent is both a good and a bad thing, and making the most of it would make her a great actress, but, this is Hollywood!

Well, this is a matter for the future, and we will talk about the future. As for now, Adrian is very happy to get a future star at this time. Hannah Dakota Fanning will be very valuable for at least the next five or six years, and having her play the youngest daughter in "Winter's Bone" and then signing to the franchise is definitely a worthwhile investment.

"Tell me honestly, Carlos, how much did Mark do to you?" After the audition, Adrian asked the casting director with a smile.

"It's not good at all, I promise, Ed," Carlos Pike quickly raised his hands, "Mark keeps asking me to recommend that little girl, who pesters me almost every day, I can't call the police, right? But this is called Hannah's little girl is really nice, isn't she? Don't tell me you don't think so."

"You passed." Adrian smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

Mark Bridges, an agent at their agency, is known for spotting actors, so it's no surprise that Dakota was signed. Brokers generally have a wide network of contacts, and professional brokers who cannot weave connections will be eliminated sooner or later—why is Xilei Lin willing? Because without his support, she couldn't do it. The wider the network, the more opportunities for actors in their hands. Things like Bridges pulling Parker for opportunities are happening everywhere in Hollywood.

However, compared to other brokerage companies and film and TV production companies, the brokerage company and the media have a closer relationship, so they have more opportunities, and their brokers are bolder in recommending actors. It is precisely because of this advantage that Michael Ovitz has annexed many small brokerage companies, perhaps leaving He and Uta behind.

If it weren't for several other brokerage companies to secretly stop, Adrian and Crowder would not be convenient to directly support, and Ovitz is also worried that it will affect his current status, maybe r will be annexed.

In short, this is a more perfect industry chain. The brokerage company finds newcomers, and then recommends them to film and television production companies more conveniently. After the media hype, the brokerage company becomes more attractive after becoming famous. Hannah Dakota Fanning is not the first future star to fall into the hands of Adrian through this industrial chain, and she will definitely not be the last.

On March 2, 2000, "Winter's Bone" was officially launched on the outskirts of Kansas City, the state capital of Missouri. Unless there are special circumstances, no regular crew will actually go to those remote towns to shoot.

There is no media paying attention to Director Miracle's new movie. In his position, it is very easy to cover up these things for a while, not to mention that the investment in this movie is not big, and the movement of starting the movie is naturally not big. What's more, the media's attention is now on the Oscars.

While none of this year's Best Picture nominees carry as much weight as "Schindler's List" or "Forrest Gump" or "Saving Private Ryan," only "American Beauty" has enough talk, "The Beauty of Sicily" "Legend" is not bad, but it is too far away from American life. Even so, Oscar is the biggest event in the American film industry after all, and there are still countless media reports and speculations.

Who is most likely to win Best Picture? Who will the best director go to? Who is the most likely winner of Best Actor and Actress and so on. Especially for Best Actress, Nicole can be said to be in the limelight. In addition to the gimmick of "leaving Cruise, she will shine immediately", one of the reasons is that Cruise has a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Sometimes you can see them meet on the red carpet or on the stage.

Although Monica is behind Nicole, she has also received a lot of attention. With Adrian behind the scenes to support her, many people are still optimistic about her. However, some people think that Hilary Swank is likely to be upset. Her performance is the biggest highlight of the whole movie "Boys Don't Cry". Without him, this movie will only be a second-rate work.

Even so, the intensity of the discussion is still not as intense as the previous one. After all, last year, two Wonder Girls were nominated, and both were directed by Adrian himself. Although many people speculate that Nicole and Adrian have some connections, and people in the circle know that Adrian intervened in Nicole and Cruise's divorce case, but even those tabloids known for sensationalism can only play around the edges , let alone others.

Adrian also read a lot of relevant reports, and the news from Weinstein was also passed on at any time. Although he was still a little worried, when the filming started, he turned all his attention.

"Okay everyone, now everyone, get ready to start." After communicating with everyone in turn, Adrian clapped his hands and shouted loudly.

The whole crew immediately started to operate. For the first filming, he chose some life fragments to let everyone warm up and find their feelings.

"You should restrain your emotions, Natalie, this kind of life has passed for several years, irresponsible father, unconscious mother, ignorant brother and sister, the burden is all on you, no matter how tough you are, numb still It will be written on your face, understand?" Adrian said to Natalie after two or three shots, ng a few times while shooting breakfast.

"Well then, I'll basically keep it serious, and then convey my emotions through some subtle expressions." Natalie said after thinking about it.

"You can try it, but you have to know how serious it is." Adrian nodded immediately.

To be frank, Natalie's performance is still good. She roughly understands what Adrian intends. She has indeed done enough homework. Not only did she quickly enter the role, she even spoke with a rural Missouri accent. Adrian Those that have just been raised are minor issues.

In fact, in a sense, Rae Dolly and Matilda have many similarities. Both have suffered major personal changes, and they can only carry it on their own shoulders. Struggling hard in life. The few words that Natalie concluded when reading the script can be regarded as their common characteristics: like weeds, humble but tenacious.

The difference is that Matilda's experience is short but intense and full of conflicts, while Dolly's life is calm and stable, like a pool of stagnant water, until the stones fall and countless waves will be splashed. The two characters have to face different things, the stories that happen are naturally different, and the reactions they produce are also different. However, this similarity is enough for Natalie to grasp the characteristics of the character. The slightly thin appearance is also very suitable. In addition, there are still more than two months before the age of 19. This role can be regarded as a role for her. Tailor-made.

"By the way, it can be regarded as a remembrance." Adrian said in his heart as he watched Natalie who was getting ready in a down jacket.

As for the other two children, they also performed very well. The boy was ignored by Adrian, and Dakota, who was bouncing around, was very united. Georgia and Missouri were not far apart, and the role was relatively simple. She had no trouble interpreting images. To be honest, if it wasn't for Natalie as the main character, she could keep that blonde hair, but it doesn't matter, her hair is not long, and there is no difficulty in wearing a dark wig. As for the eye color, as long as it is not close There is no need to worry about the close-up and close-up shots, even if there are, they can be dealt with in the later stage. The hair dye and wearing contact lenses mentioned during the audition are just tentative.

"Our whole family is a Baptist!" During filming, in one or two shots, the Baptist church held a fundraising event on the radio, and then the little girl told Adrian so triumphantly.

"Really? What a surprise." Adrian expressed his admiration. He had no feeling for Dakota's family's religious beliefs, and just wanted to talk to the little girl. In the luxurious Hollywood, although the influence of religion is not there, it is definitely not as big as that in the interior, even though the Southern Baptist Church is the largest denomination in American Protestantism.

"By the way, Hannah, have you ever thought about what stage name you use?" Adrian asked suddenly.

"Stage name?" Dakota looked up, blinking cutely.

"Yes, just like Natalie has a stage name. She used her grandmother's surname as her actor's surname, which saved her a lot of trouble. When she was studying at Harvard University, many letters sent to her fell through. Oh, there is more than one girl named Natalie in college," Adrian said with a smile, and then looked at Natalie next to him, "Really, Natalie?"

"Adrian is right." Natalie put down the script and showed a faint smile, showing no other emotions at all. "You can try to get one, Hannah."

"Hmm..." Dakota tilted his head and thought for a long time, "Ed should help me think of one, you must be very experienced."

"Well," Adrian thought for a moment, "Why don't you use your middle name and last name, in private with your parents or friends, you are Hannah Fanning, when you were an actress, you were Dakota Fanning How are you, Fanning?"

The little girl read it several times, and then smiled brightly: "I like this, thank you, Ed, I'm going to tell my mother to go."

As she said that, she ran away quickly. After seeing her talking to her mother with great interest, Adrian retracted his gaze, and then glanced to the side inadvertently. The script in Natalie's hand immediately lifted up again. lift.

She probably thought she was thinking of something again, really... Adrian shook his head slightly with a smile, and then called the assistant director over to prepare for the next shot.

For three days in a row, the progress of the crew was pretty good, without too much turmoil, and without interference from external factors. But most of the shots are still just warm-ups, such as Dolly peeling potatoes for breakfast, brushing her delirious mother's hair, or teaching her younger siblings to spell. The only problem is chopping wood. Natalie’s petite appearance makes people sweat involuntarily every time she raises the ax above her head. Moreover, chopping wood is also a technical job. After several times, Natalie was so tired that she gasped for breath.

The next step is to start shooting some difficult shots.