Chapter 323: Being Single Is Great #
“I…,” Joanna Pacuła realized something, but felt incredulous. After all, she had only just met Eric.
Eric continued, “Even if you auditioned, your image is completely unsuitable for the role of Catherine Tramell. I need an actress with a commanding presence, while you are more suitable to play a gentle and virtuous wife. To be honest, I was surprised to see that you looked different in person compared to the photo I saw last night. Otherwise, you would have been eliminated last night.”
Joanna felt embarra.s.sed. She had taken the photo at her agent’s suggestion, specifically for this role. Due to the angle, her personal photo in the materials looked square under the contrast of her long hair, which made her whole temperament appear more fierce. Although Eric did not mention it, Joanna still felt a bit ashamed.
But Eric had no intention of pursuing the matter. Many actors resort to more drastic measures to get a role. Compared to that, what Joanna did with the photo was insignificant.
“Let’s do this, leave me a contact, and I will notify you if there is a suitable role in the future,” Eric quickly said again.
Joanna lifted her head to look at Eric, then lowered her eyes and fidgeted with her slender hand on the leather bag. She had heard this kind of promise from many people before, and most of them were just empty words without any follow-up.
Eric noticed the girl’s small movements and quickly realized that what he had said was inappropriate. This promise was no different from those empty words.
Eric did not deny that he was interested in Joanna Pacuła from the first moment he saw her, with her alluring and gentle temperament. Although it was unreasonable, Eric was particularly fond of Joanna’s accent when she said “I’m sorry.” The short and flat p.r.o.nunciation was like a finger inadvertently plucking the heartstrings.
Therefore, his words just now were certainly not empty promises. But obviously, Joanna did not think so. She was obviously a woman with very little sense of security, which was easy to understand. Being alone in a foreign land and with a career full of setbacks, she had also suffered from emotional wounds. It was no wonder that she had no sense of security.
“Miss Pacuła, how about this? I’ll invite you to dinner tonight, and we can talk more. If… you don’t find it intrusive?”
The girl’s expression became even more hesitant for a moment, and Eric quickly added, “You choose the location, and I’ll follow.”
“Um… well, maybe my cooking is not bad, Mr. Williams. How about…”
Eric raised an eyebrow, realizing what the girl wanted to say. “Of course, no problem. But, is it convenient to go to your place? I mean, would your husband or boyfriend misunderstand?”
The girl shook her head sadly. “I’m single now.”
“Being single is great!” Eric immediately echoed in his mind. The two were chatting when footsteps came from the corridor. Soon, Eric’s a.s.sistant, Allen, came around the corner and saw Eric standing with Joanna Pacuła, and was a little surprised, unsure whether to continue walking over.
“Allen, what’s up?” Eric saw his a.s.sistant and asked casually.
Allen pointed to the restroom door behind Eric, then immediately shook his head and said, “Nothing. I’ll go over there.”
After speaking, the a.s.sistant quickly turned around and left without looking back. The reaction of Allen made both of them unable to help laughing lightly.
“That’s my a.s.sistant. He must have misunderstood something,” Eric explained, then said, “How about you go to my office and wait first? I might need a few more hours.”
Joanna Pacuła obediently nodded, and Eric took her in the elevator all the way to the top floor, bringing her into his office and opening the door to the lounge, saying, “There’s a TV here. You can…”
Joanna Pacuła saw the big bed in the lounge and hesitated, shaking her head and pointing to the rest area with a set of sofas near the desk, “I’ll wait there.”
“Okay,” Eric didn’t force it and said, “There are magazines in the bookshelf. Feel free to browse. I’ll be going down first.”
……
Two hours later, inside the audition room, the remaining female actresses have all finished their auditions. Eric, Jeffrey, and the director of “Basic Instinct”, Roger Spottiswoode, huddled together to discuss the final result.
“Kelly Lynch’s audition was the best, and her appearance is good too. However, she doesn’t have much acting experience, and it’s difficult to determine if she can bring this kind of performance to the filming. On the other hand, although Diane Ryan’s performance was a bit weaker, I think she has more plasticity, and her acting skills are definitely not a problem. Otherwise, Francis Ford Coppola would not have chosen her to play a role in ‘The Cotton Club’ last year. Also, she played a similar role in ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ last year. I think choosing her is safer,” Roger Spottiswoode said, looking at Eric.
On the other side, Jeffrey did not express any opinions. However, from his occasional nods, it was not difficult to see that Jeffrey agreed with Roger’s view.
Eric sighed and said, “Diane Ryan’s appearance is still a bit soft.”
“Eric, you don’t have to worry about that at all. Just spend a little more effort on makeup, and even if you want to make her look like a man, it’s not a problem,” Roger said again.
Eric looked around and asked Alan, “Can you find a few stylists in half an hour? We need the best ones.”
Alan nodded immediately and said, “Of course, no problem. I’ll go and contact them now.”
After the a.s.sistant finished speaking, he quickly left the audition room. Eric thought for a moment and said to another staff member, “Contact Mr. Don Johnson and have him come here within an hour. I need him to rehea.r.s.e the lines with the female lead and see the effect.”
The person who heard Eric’s instructions also nodded and left the room.
Eric closed the materials in front of him and said, “Okay, notify those female actors that Diane Ryan can stay, and the others can leave.”
The staff in the audition room quickly got to work, disa.s.sembling the photographic equipment, organizing doc.u.ments and data, and cleaning up the seats.
Eric spoke and led the “Basic Instinct” team out of the audition room.