America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 302 The Perfect Audition

Burbank, Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company.

Martin went to the front desk and met up with Thomas, who was waiting there. Together they went into the dressing room.

Similarly, he called Robert, who was in Atlanta.

The high priest of the Cola Cult immediately sprang into action.

There was no one in the audition room at the moment. Thomas said, "Returning the favor is one thing, but I will do my best to fight for the pay and treatment you deserve."

Martin nodded: "Once the audition results are in, you can go for it."

He was there to repay a favor, but the agent wasn't.

Moreover, the script is very explicit.

Martin doesn't care about standards or anything like that; he's stripped down far too many times along the way.

Every time I take off my clothes, I gain something. Even with sports that cost hundreds of millions, I still gain enjoyment and happiness.

Hollywood has a very mature system for nude scenes, with corresponding prices and regulations for how much to take off and where to expose nudity.

These are all things Thomas needs to discuss with the production team.

Several stylists and makeup artists came in and began to style Martin.

Thomas left the dressing room, but Bruce remained, his wolf-like eyes scrutinizing everyone.

Today is my audition with makeup on.

Martin's beard was shaved clean, and his long hair was styled into an old-fashioned parted look, making his already young and handsome face appear even younger.

The old-fashioned clothes were brought over, and the stylist glanced at Martin's large frame, saying, "Change him to two sizes larger!"

The assistant quickly went to get it.

The feeling of a boy being too thin can also be created through styling and camera work. For example, a well-proportioned but muscular physique like Martin's can be achieved by wearing oversized clothes.

Of course, there's a limit to this; having someone like Dwayne Johnson who later gained unlimited muscle wouldn't be effective.

If it were Shaq, there would be no way to stop him.

With the meticulous care of several top makeup artists and stylists in the industry, Martin seemed to have returned to his appearance when he was seventeen or eighteen years old.

Meanwhile, many members of the film crew entered the audition room one after another.

The film is directed by Sam Mendes, produced by Kate Winslet, invested by Leonardo DiCaprio, written by Bernhard Schlink, and produced and written by Anthony Minghella.

Then there's the representative from the Screen Actors Guild.

Kate asked, "Is the makeup artist finished?"

An assistant said, "It will take about ten more minutes."

Casting director Gina and her team set up the cameras.

The original author, Bernhard, said, "The time span is too large. Can an actor handle that? Especially a young actor who acts in commercial films."

"Using two actors is easy to solve." Anthony shared a similar view, but also had concerns: "The only problem is that two different actors can easily create a sense of disconnect in the characters."

Kate, having finally found Martin as a suitable candidate, said, "Let's see how the audition goes before we talk about anything else."

Leonardo sat to the side, watching the show with great interest.

Anthony and Bernhard said no more; the audition was about to begin, and the outcome would be clear at a glance.

The audition room door opened from the outside, and an assistant led Martin in.

Bernhard, the original author, carefully observed that the actor was good-looking, had a very strong presence, and was clearly a very confident person.

This doesn't match the temperament of the young male protagonist at all.

Anthony was also observing Martin, but he wouldn't make a judgment easily, because great actors are multifaceted, but at 25 years old...

Martin greeted Kate and the others one by one, and then made a point of glancing back.

As expected, the dedicated game team members focused intently on playing their handheld consoles, refusing to participate in any actual work, demonstrating an extremely high level of professionalism.

Sam Mendes pulled out a script and handed it to Martin: "Let's begin."

Kate stood up and walked in front of the camera: "I'm acting opposite Martin."

The audition scene was about the female lead, Hannah, changing clothes, while the male lead, young Michel, was peeking at her.

Casting director Gina glanced at the camera monitor and said, "Action!"

As she finished speaking, Kate turned her back to Martin and began unbuttoning her coat, one button at a time, and began to take it off.

Martin crept up to the edge of the prop curtain, his shyness and confusion gradually replaced by curiosity. He peeked out, but then, driven by his inner morality, he pulled back.

But the intense desire finally overcame the shackles of morality and the shyness of youth. As if drawn by a magic spell, Martin stepped out from behind the curtain and couldn't help but watch Kate take off her coat...

The original author, Bernhard, stared blankly at Martin, as if he were seeing a real-life representation of the protagonist he created, Michel Berger.

The confident and powerful male actor on the other side completely disappeared after the casting director yelled "Action!"

The person is still the same, but in his eyes, they are no longer the same person.

His demeanor had completely changed; the confidence of a successful person was gone, replaced by the awkwardness and introversion of a young man. When he stepped out from behind the curtain in his hesitation, one could clearly feel his curiosity and desire for mature women. Even his eyes and expressions revealed an unspeakable yet understandable greed for flesh.

Anthony Minghella looked at the male actor in front of the camera, and for some reason, subconsciously turned his head to look at Leonardo DiCaprio. Even at his best, Leonardo DiCaprio in his thirties was not much different.

With just his eyes, subtle facial expressions, and a few body movements, he perfectly captured the youthful innocence of a boy.

Just then, Kate seemed to sense something and turned around.

Martin turned and ran, past the curtain, hiding behind the wall, pressing his heaving chest, before slowly emerging again a moment later.

The conflict between ethics and morality and primal desires suddenly erupted at this moment.

Feeling uneasy and ashamed while peeping at the female protagonist changing clothes, unable to resist temptation and desire, he struggled to return despite knowing it was "dangerous".

At that moment, Leonardo cursed Martin a thousand times in his heart, and then sighed in admiration: This pervert and bastard is indeed most suitable to play a pervert.

Even a little pervert is a pervert!

The audition scene ended there, and Sam Mendes shouted, "Cut!"

The male and female protagonists in front of the camera seem to be still immersed in their roles and unable to break free, walking towards each other step by step.

After taking a few steps, Martin broke away first, calling out, "Kate!"

Kate Winslet seems completely immersed in the character's emotions, just as Hannah is about to do, reaching out to touch Martin.

This script is very explicit, with many scenes going straight for the vulgar.

Kate's hands are like that too.

Martin stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and said, "How was my performance?"

Kate detached herself from the role, paused for a moment, and then said, "Great, you got me into character."

Sam Mendes didn't pay attention to what was in front of him; instead, he went to look at the monitor with producer Anthony.

The footage captured by a camera differs from what the naked eye sees.

Even Bernhard, an outsider, joined in.

After reviewing the audition footage again, Sam asked, "What do you think?"

Anthony said, "The audition went very well. Martin perfectly captured the character's emotional journey at that moment, so naturally and smoothly. I couldn't ask for more."

"That's right, it's him!" Bernhard interjected hastily. "The Martin we just saw is the sixteen-year-old Michel I wrote about."

Casting director Gina said, "It was almost a perfect audition."

The audition wasn't over. Martin left the audition room and went back to the dressing room to redo his makeup and styling.

When he reappeared in the audition room, he had become a middle-aged man.

If it were an ordinary young actor, trying to portray a middle-aged character, especially a middle-aged person like Michelle with a complex psychological journey, they would encounter various problems, particularly in terms of mindset.

But Martin portrays middle-aged men with more ease than he did as the young man earlier.

Introverted, weathered and quiet, even somewhat withdrawn.

After all the auditions were over, the original author, Bernhard, could no longer contain himself and stood up to stop Martin, who was about to leave: "Mr. Davis!"

Martin didn't seem to have completely shaken off his role; his eyes and expression were full of vicissitudes, and he only nodded slightly.

"Thank you!" Bernhard said somewhat strangely, his face full of sincerity. "You've truly brought the characters in my book to life."

Martin simply said, "You're welcome."

Bernhard grabbed Martin's hand and squeezed it firmly.

Martin then left the audition room.

Bernhard turned to the crew of bigwigs and said, "I'm not an expert in making movies, but I can feel the connection between the characters and the actors. Martin Davis is a perfect fit."

Sam asked Anthony, "What's your opinion?"

"There are many actors in the industry who can portray a single teenage character or a single middle-aged character," said Anthony, an Oscar-winning director with extensive experience. "But there are not many actors who can portray two characters with such a large time span at the same time."

He stated directly, "I'm abandoning my previous opinion. With an actor like Martin, why cast two people to play Michelle? That would only weaken the character and the film."

Sam looked at Leonardo, one of the investors.

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Martin is great, not only in acting, but also in his commercial appeal as the leader of the Coca-Cola cult. We were even able to get sponsorship from Coca-Cola. I think Germany had Coca-Cola back then, right? I remember there were American troops stationed there."

He considered it from an investor's perspective: "With so many followers in the Cola Cult, there must be a group who contribute to the box office revenue for their leader."

Of all these people, Kate has known Martin the longest and knows him best: "I've said before that Martin is perfect for the role."

Leonardo cautioned, "That guy's a madman. When he's really into it, he can go toe-to-toe with Nicholson. Kate, you need to be at your best. This is a story told from the male lead's perspective, so if you don't perform well, he'll overshadow you."

Kate, however, was very confident: "No, I just had a feeling that Martin can get me into character."

Leonardo recalled his happy times with Martin: "Yeah, I was in great form during the few scenes I filmed with him."

Anthony then stood up and said, "Now that we've decided on Martin, there's no need to wait any longer. Let's go and inform him and his agent."

Kate said, "I'll go."

Leonardo followed: "I'll go with you."

(End of this chapter)