James Wong had been in Hollywood for many years and had served as a producer in various roles for three television crews; Robert Lee and George Clint were also veterans who had prepared many direct-to-video films.
Although Ronan lacked experience, he was definitely willing to humbly ask for advice when necessary, and the crew’s preparation was on the right track.
By late March, the rental of equipment and props had been negotiated one by one, all behind-the-scenes staff had been hired, and the script had been officially finalized after discussions and revisions by Ronan, James Wong, and Glen Morgan.
They had signed with a small agency to handle the extras, and even the actors for the Arab roles had been confirmed.
In Hollywood, the number of Arab-American actors was small, their treatment was poor, they were not valued, and they basically only played villains or terrorists.
With a fee of only $15,000, Ronan had found two Arab-American actors who had each played over twenty roles.
The villains were easier to handle; they wore masks most of the time, and Hollywood was never short of extras with fierce looks and some filming experience.
In the end, the only ones who actually underwent auditions were the family of four for the lead roles.
For the male lead, James Wong recommended a candidate, American actor Robert Knepper.
He was born in ’59, had the required golden-brown hair, was a standard Western white man, had a very distinctive appearance, and had entered the industry in 1986, but his luck had been average, and until now, he could only play insignificant supporting roles.
The price was right, and his appearance and acting skills were up to par; after just one audition, Ronan decided to cast him.
The Female Protagonist was the second to be confirmed; 38-year-old actress Melissa Leo, who had long golden-brown hair, got the role.
Then came the male lead’s two daughters.
The younger daughter was set at around 10 years old, and the older daughter was around 16.
The actors could be a few years older than that.
Generally speaking, in the teenage years, the older the actress, the more reliable she was; it was common in Hollywood for actresses in their twenties to play teenage roles of fifteen or sixteen.
In the audition room at Warner Bros.
Studio, a blonde girl around ten years old stood in front of the camera.
This was an office building within Warner Bros.
Studio, which also housed post-production rooms, with each floor spanning thousands of square meters; the crew for the purge had just rented the audition room and a few offices.
James Wong was adjusting the camera, and Ronan was sizing up the candidate he had dug out from a pile of actor profiles.
The girl had a typical baby face, a pair of expressive big eyes, and long golden hair, looking just like a large Barbie doll.
However, facing the camera, the girl seemed a bit nervous.
“Relax,” Ronan smiled, “There are no monsters here.”
The girl giggled, and her expression immediately relaxed.
Behind the girl, her mother was observing everything carefully and secretly taking note of this scene.
Her daughter’s sweet and likable appearance was her advantage; she had realized this when applying for small modeling jobs before.
This producer seemed to have a good first impression of her daughter.
Ronan presided over the audition, and James Wong filmed it personally; this had always been the procedure before.
“Please introduce yourself,” Ronan said.
The main content of the audition was basically standard for the industry; it was neither mysterious nor complicated.
“My name is Amanda Seyfried, I am 13 years old, and I am from Pennsylvania.”
The girl smiled sweetly, her tone very steady: “I started acting in community plays at the Civic Theatre of Allentown when I was nine, became a child model at eleven, and have shot print ads and three television commercials…”
Such a resume couldn’t compare to child stars like Kirsten Dunst or Christina Ricci, but among twelve or thirteen-year-old actors, it was not bad.
Then again, he couldn’t afford child stars like Kirsten Dunst or Christina Ricci at all.
Ronan was respectful to his work partners most of the time.
After Amanda Seyfried introduced herself, he looked over at James Wong, who nodded quietly.
If someone stuttered even during a self-introduction in front of the camera, there was no need to proceed to the next step.
Ronan said directly, “Miss Seyfried, please perform a scene where you are terrified.”
He glanced at the woman who had been staring this way and added, “The scene is that a killer has broken into your home, and you have to hide so you won’t be discovered.”
“Okay.”
Amanda Seyfried had a very soft voice.
After composing herself for a few seconds, she hugged her arms to her chest and curled into a ball, sitting on the floor looking very helpless, her lips pressed tightly into a line, and tears seemed to be welling up in her big eyes.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the audition room.
Amanda Seyfried let out a sob and quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth…
After just ten seconds, Ronan called cut and said, “Now perform a scene where you are dissatisfied with your overbearing older sister.”
The audition lasted for twenty minutes before it ended.
Ronan called the staff to bring in the actress for the older daughter to continue the auditions and asked James Wong, “What do you think?”
“It’s okay, her acting is above the baseline,” James Wong said truthfully.
“Of course, she’s not among the best; two people before her performed better than she did.”
Ronan said directly, “Those two had poor physical conditions.”
To be precise, they were too ugly.
A child in her early teens who wasn’t cute or adorable wouldn’t add any value to the film.
James Wong had a different opinion: “Appearance isn’t the most critical factor; there’s makeup, there are filters…”
Ronan rubbed his chin and said, “Amanda Seyfried’s physical advantage is too great. Her fragile feeling, sweet appearance, and cute big eyes are more attractive to the audience. In the midst of slaughter and a terrifying atmosphere, a soft little girl can reach straight into people’s hearts.”
“Uh…” James Wong thought for a long while before saying, “What you said makes sense.”
Ronan wouldn’t easily abuse his power; that was the lowest-level way to solve problems.
He smiled and said, “So, she’s tentatively chosen?”
James Wong agreed: “Good.”
Ronan used a red pen to circle Amanda Seyfried’s profile.
As long as the price was right, he would choose her.
She was one of the former “Four Little Flowers” of Hollywood; although she could only be a vase later on, her own conditions were really good.
The audition room door was knocked on from the outside, and a staff member walked in with a blonde actress.
This was normal.
Those mixing in Hollywood basically had their own interpersonal networks, and personal favors applied here just the same.
As long as it didn’t cross the line, Ronan wouldn’t be too fussy.
Moreover, this actress’s appearance was truly unforgettable.
Plump breasts, a plump butt, plump thighs—a typical American bombshell.
Ronan could see the staff member standing to the side of this actress secretly swallowing saliva.
Even among Americans, such a sexy bombshell was relatively rare.
Ronan looked her over and said, “Please introduce yourself.”
The blonde bombshell noticed Ronan’s gaze and said, “I am Jessica Blake, I am twenty years old…”
After the self-introduction, Ronan exchanged a look with James Wong.
After reaching a consensus, he said, “A killer has broken into your home; perform a scene where you are terrified.”
Jessica stuck out her tongue to lick her full lips and then let out a piercing scream.
Ah—
This sound was extremely high-decibel, as if it could pierce through the roof.
Then, the blonde bombshell kicked off her high heels and ran for it.
Her running triggered a violent bounce in her chest, and her tight shirt popped open several buttons, revealing the pink lace bra underneath.
She simply yanked off her shirt, threw it behind her on the floor, turned a corner, and ran toward Ronan and James Wong.
That pair of breasts seemed to be experiencing an 8.0 magnitude earthquake…
Seeing that the breasts had a tendency to pop out of the bra, Ronan quickly shouted, “Stop!”
The blonde bombshell’s performance was extraordinarily exaggerated; she still had some basic acting skills and stopped immediately.
Ronan said directly, “Miss Blake, that’s enough. We will notify your Agent of the audition results in three days.”
Jessica Blake first nodded, turned around to pick up her shirt, and as she was about to leave, she suddenly looked back at Ronan and even winked.
“Eliminated?” James Wong asked.
Ronan nodded: “Yes.”
This actress didn’t just overact; she was over-the-top to an exaggerated degree.
If he hadn’t yelled stop just now, she probably would have taken off her bra.
Although that pair of breasts was dizzying to look at, this was an official audition.
Besides, the person sitting behind the camera wasn’t a lecherous director, and he wouldn’t get a year’s worth of pleasure just from seeing a topless audition.
The morning’s auditions ended, and they still hadn’t found a suitable candidate for the older daughter.
Ronan returned to the office to put down the materials and went to the restroom to take a leak.
The blonde bombshell followed him quietly.