Birth of an actor

Chapter 238 Leonardo who recommended himself

Leonardo DiCaprio wants to inquire about the news of the change of the starring role in "Milk", so he doesn't need to rely on others, just ask Steven Spielberg directly.

The two exchanged private phone numbers during the filming of "How to Get Away with Murder," but this is the first time Leonard has called since the film's promotional period ended.

When Spielberg received the call, he was a little confused at first when he was asked about Dan White's casting, but he didn't expect that Leonardo was recommending himself. He only thought that the other party was recommending his friends. , like Lucas Haas and the like-Leonardo has a few friends who grew up together in Hollywood, who were all child stars like him, except that Tobey Maguire is now starring in "Spider-Man "became popular, and most of the others are unknown. In the past few years, as long as he has the opportunity, Leonardo will recommend his friends to the producers he knows. He has really succeeded a few times. Several friends have made guest appearances in his movies. However, some people successfully auditioned for the leading role in a TV series.

No matter who recommends it, if the actor does not meet the requirements, he will never use it. Commercial films can be accommodated, but art films are absolutely not.Thinking of this in his heart, Spielberg did not evade Leonardo perfunctorily, but explained the whole story of Matt Damon's resignation in detail. Anyway, it will be spread everywhere in a few days. yes.

It was Spielberg's idea to let Matt Damon play Dan White. He is also the only actor invited to play in the crew, because Damon's facial features are really two or three points like Dan White, and he has a good temper. The acting is good, and Spielberg has worked together before ("Saving Private Ryan").

After considering that Matt Damon was indeed suitable for the role, Spielberg contacted the other party directly, and when Damon heard that it was Spielberg's invitation, he agreed without thinking about it-this is Matt Damon. ·Damon's routine operation.

As an actor who was admitted to Harvard University, dropped out of school for acting, and worked hard until he was almost 30 years old to become famous, Damon's natural intelligence and acquired experience make him very good at forming friendships in Hollywood. He never refuses to cooperate and is willing to work together Friends made cameo appearances in movies and even TV shows. Since 2000, Matt Damon has participated in more than four film and television works on average every year. In 2002, it reached as many as seven films. He has starred in, participated in friendship, and occasionally dubbed cartoons and documentaries. It is worthy of the name. As a prolific actor, he has formed friendships with many directors and stars and gained a lot of contacts.

For example, a few years ago, directors Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney co-founded a production company. The two planned to make a movie to become famous, which is the star-studded "Ocean's Eleven".George Clooney single-handedly led the preliminary preparations. He took the initiative to lower his salary, and persuaded other stars to lower their salary to play. Many stars hesitated after receiving the invitation, but Matt Damon agreed more readily than others. , and after this movie, he also agreed to George Clooney's invitation to match the next two movies for the other party.

Matt Damon readily agreed, but his agent was worried, because Damon is currently filming "Bourne Shadow 2", which is expected to be completed in about half a month. There are two films to be made, "Ocean's Twelve" and "Syriana", both with George Clooney, and the schedule is really tight.

But the agent also knows what a precious opportunity "Milk" is. Not to mention anything else, just looking at the script and characters, it seems to be tailor-made for the awards season. Turned down - but impossible, they signed the contract.

Fortunately, after Matt Damon and his agent calculated all the shooting periods, they found that the time was barely enough. After filming "Bourne Shadow 2", they immediately went to shoot "Milk", and at the same time, they worked with "Ocean Twelve" "The crew negotiated to join the crew a few days late - anyway, his role in this movie can only be regarded as the third or fourth - although there may not be a day off between the two movies, but it will not delay any The progress of a movie.

Matt Damon, who felt that he had found a solution, began to concentrate on studying the script, and the agent was responsible for wrangling about the salary and treatment. Regarding the issue of overseas filming visas, the filming period was suddenly moved forward by a full month, and even the filming of "Ocean's Twelve" had to be advanced. Matt Damon had no time for "Milk", so he could only resign with great regret. play.

Steven Spielberg also felt very sorry. Although he promised to cooperate with Damon if he had the opportunity in the future, both of them knew that there was little hope because there happened to be such a great script and It happens that there is a suitable role. Many actors will not encounter it once in a few years. There are even a few actors who can have a director tailor-made a script for themselves. Damon knows that he does not belong to this category.

"So, have you found an actor to replace Matt Damon?" Leonardo asked, not feeling sorry for Damon at all, but rather happy.

"not yet."

"How am I?"

"What?" Spielberg wondered if he had missed a name.

"I want to play Dan White." Leonardo reiterated: "This role is very challenging."

"However, we are going to make a biography of Harvey Milk." Spielberg was very surprised: "Although Dan White's role is a bit complicated, and the script also gives his motivation, he is still a character. An annoying villain who took two innocent lives." After a pause, he emphasized, "People will think he is pitiful and hateful, and understand why he went from a bright future to a dead end, but they will never sympathize with him Like him, like... like Voldemort." Spielberg finally found a metaphor that he thought was appropriate.

"Sounds great." Leonardo said lightly, "Let me do it."

"..." Spielberg is now sure that the other party is really about to make a big breakthrough, because Leonardo has never played a villain before, maybe he has played both good and evil (and at the same time likable) role, but definitely not a villain.

However, it is not a life-saving straw, but this really solves the urgent need of the "Milk" crew-Spielberg has indeed not yet found a suitable actor who can replace Matt Damon.

"If you insist-well, Leo, I can give you this role." Spielberg didn't think about it for long, and he readily agreed to Leonardo's request. Now his only trouble is "Milk" "Is the actor configuration too luxurious. "There will be a script discussion next week, as well as a fitting, you can come and participate."

"By the way," Spielberg suddenly thought, "You need to put on some weight and some muscle."

"Increase?" Leonardo took a breath: "Isn't it a decrease?"

"Dan White was a police officer and a fireman before he ran for San Francisco City Council, which required him to be tall and strong. Your height is acceptable, Leo, but underweight, not like a policeman." Spielberg recalled Leonardo's appearance during the promotion of "How to Get Away with Murder" and said that this was the last time he saw each other. The Leonardo in his memory was a bit thin, and even a little beard could not erase the bruises on his face. Juvenile feeling, still not mature enough. "You've got to work your arms and thighs a little more, and add ten pounds, and you should be good to go."

Leonardo: "..."

If Spielberg had met him recently, he probably wouldn't have asked him to gain weight.

During the period after the filming of "The Aviator", Leonardo has completely released himself in his vacation life. Watching football games, going to parties, clubbing, eating and drinking are all daily routines, and William has been very busy recently and has no time to make appointments. For fitness, Toby doesn't have a new job and doesn't like to go to the gym. His waistline is no longer the same as before. At least he doesn't need to grow a beard now, and his chin has a rounded line instead of a pointy one.

"Okay." Leonardo said obediently, "I will gain weight as soon as possible." Pies, hot dogs, pizza, and ice cream can be arranged today. Anyway, there is not much difference between ten pounds and twelve pounds, isn't it?

What time do you want Leonardo to be the happiest?Of course it was when he was gaining weight for the show, even though he was about to enter the group to meet Will, he was not at all guilty of sacrificing his body for his career.

……

There is another person who expressed strong opposition to Leonardo DiCaprio's decision and persevered in dissuading him, that is Leonardo's agent.

"How many Hollywood superstars like you can play villains? Leo, I advise you to think carefully again—it will hurt your image and commercial value!"

The agent walked up and down anxiously, looking at Leonardo from time to time, his expression threatening and pleading for a while.

"I don't care about the image." In stark contrast to the agent, Leonardo was lying leisurely on the bed by the pool. He was still holding a tennis ball in his hand and tossing it back and forth. Feeling a little tired, he threw it far away. In the bushes, the Doberman Pinscher, who had been watching for a long time, quickly chased after it with a "bark".

"You were a member of the $2000 million club a few years ago. How much will Spielberg give you this time? Half of it?"

"I'm not short of money either."

"Then think about your teenage girl fans, they won't want to see you play a murderer in a gay movie! Just let Spielberg find another actor, I see British Actors are fine."

The manager waved his arms in excitement, and almost bumped into the Doberman pinscher when he turned around. The nimble dog naturally dodged lightly. On the side, looking at the master energetically, longing for him to throw it again.

Leonardo didn't give his pet dog any attention. He looked at his manager with strange eyes and asked, "Do you have any objections to gay movies, or do you have an objection to the role of a murderer?"

"Uh." Sensing the displeasure in Leonardo's tone, the agent faltered immediately.He suddenly remembered that Leonardo had actually acted in gay movies, or two, "Diary of the Edge" and "Total Eclipse of Love", and he almost stepped on the minefield of the other party.

Leonardo curled his lips: "When Anthony Hopkins decided to shoot "The Silence of the Lambs", I'm afraid he didn't have as many worries as you."

"I'm thinking about you." The agent defended himself.

"And for yourself by the way? After all, ten percent of my income belongs to you."

Indeed, the guilty agent did not answer immediately, and the awkward silence spread for a while, and Leonardo was the first to break the unbearable silence: "I have already promised Spielberg, and I will not give up on this movie."

The agent was helpless, Leonardo was not an actor he could control, once the other party made up his mind, there was nothing he could do. "Well, if you insist, then I can only go and negotiate a contract with them. Anyway, I warned you, Leo, if this movie messes up in the future, or you regret it, don't say I didn't warn you. "At the end, the manager's tone was unavoidably a little bit weird. After finishing speaking, he straightened his collar, turned and left.

Leonardo shrugged at the manager's back, picked up the tennis ball that the Doberman Pinscher had just picked up, and threw it out vigorously. The tennis ball happened to land near the manager's car, and the Doberman Pinscher chased it excitedly. Like a black whirlwind.

The agent had just opened the door of the car, and the tennis ball fell nearby. He impatiently stretched out his foot to kick the ball away, but the Doberman pinscher pounced on his calf, and the agent yelled "bad dog!" ! Bad dog!", while driving away quickly.

Leonardo, who had witnessed everything, laughed, but finally sighed.He wanted to change agents again.

Unlike William's long-term relationship with Amon Goffman, Leonardo changed agents as often as he changed girlfriends—okay, maybe not as often.

At the earliest time, Leonardo was not an actor but a child star in commercials. His agent thought his name, Italian name and Italian surname were too "minority", so he changed his name to Lenny Williams Si, Leonardo's response was to make a face, and then fired the other party without hesitation.

The bad start was just a symptom, and since then, Leonardo has never been able to have a long-term cooperation with any agent, because he insists on freedom of choice, favors challenging scripts, and does not like to work with hated directors and actors. I hope that everyone can see him in the movie theater instead of the entertainment tabloids, which is always different from the ideas of his previous managers.

They worked hard to maintain his handsome image and commercial value, but few people really understood him.Just like Leonardo's current agent, if he really understands him, even if he doesn't want him to make "Milk", he will find other challenging scripts, instead of always helping commercial film crews to match him Go play a secret agent, a spy, a superhero.

If it didn't seem too unprofessional, Leonardo would have let his parents act as agents.Especially his father, George, an old hippie who hasn't studied seriously for a few years, but he has his own ideas about art. To be honest, several important movies of Leonardo when he was young were all suggested by old George. next.

And Leonardo's previous filming of "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator" were all obtained through his personal connections, and the help of the agent was basically zero-this is the benefit of becoming a superstar, He can have direct conversations with A-list directors and film company executives, and the scripts he gets on the phone are often better than the ones his agents have painstakingly searched for.

In this regard, Leonardo and William are in the same state. They can no longer get anything from the agent, but the agent often has to rely on them.Therefore, Leonardo often feels that his agent is not working for him, but he is working for the agent. This is one of the reasons why he changes agents so frequently, but William never abandons his agent. man, why?

Whenever he thinks of this, Leonardo will feel a little inexplicably complicated. He suspects that William has a serious fledgling plot, both for his agent and for his relationship.This kind of "nostalgia" is simply out of place in Hollywood, where people break up every second, and it makes people sneer and feel extremely uncomfortable.

……

A week before the filming of "Milk" officially started, William and Leonardo held the script and bowed their heads to study hard at the script rehearsal.

"How long have you been a fireman?"

"A few years."

"You were a cop before that?"

"What do you think of the police?"

"No, no, they didn't like me. But the firefighters are real heroes. They supported my last campaign and I supported them too."

"Really? Nice to hear you say that."

"My words are all sincere, and I am willing to cooperate with you."

"Me too, see you later."

"Ok."

"Okay, very good." Steven Spielberg took off his glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, put them back on, and then looked at the two people who had finished the dialogue: "My first comment on this scene The idea is, Will, you should be a little more friendly, you're trying to get close to Dan Whitera. 'How long have you been a firefighter, Dan?' You should call out his name to show that you want to be with him become friends."

William nodded and took a pen to make a mark on the script.

"Should I just call him by his first name too, for emphasis?" Leonardo DiCaprio chimed in, rolling his ballpoint pen, "Like, 'What do you think about the police, Harvey? '"

Leonardo looked at William, substituting Dan White's emotions, repeated the sentence again, and then analyzed: "When I said this line, I finally met Will's eyes. Before I was Dodging his communication impatiently."

"Okay." Spielberg nodded. "But your tone should be more tense. Harvey Milk is sincere and friendly to Dan White, trying to fight him, but Dan White He is very homophobic, so he is wary and suspicious of Harvey, and he will not open up with Harvey."

"Also." Spielberg went on to add: "'Really? I'm glad to hear you say that.' This sentence should also be revised. Dan's attitude should be more perfunctory. He doesn't want to communicate with Harvey. Can't wait to end the conversation."

"Delete the rhetorical question?" asked screenwriter Dustin Black.

"not enough."

"Then replace it with 'Thank you very much.'"

Spielberg agrees: "Perfunctory enough."

Dustin Black quickly wrote something on the script that had been dug out of the rough edges. In addition to the revised content requested by Spielberg, there were also some of his own insights.

Spielberg took a sip of water from his water glass, turned back to the previous page of the script, bowed his head and said, "Do it again from the last scene. And, Will, that political joke 'Whether you like it or not, Dan and I are A bed', your tone should be a little more obscene."

William agreed without changing his face, and tried his best to ignore Leonardo who was winking at him.

This is a room similar to a hotel suite restaurant. The area is not too big. The spherical chandelier emits a warm yellow soft light. A TV and a dining table for eight people fill the room to the brim. There is still dinner on the table. Finished salad.

"Milk" director Steven Spielberg, screenwriters Larry Kramer and Dustin Black, and William and Leonardo sat casually at the table, each with a thick A thick stack of scripts, including scripts 2.0 and 3.0 that are being revised, as well as water glasses, drinks, fruits and other things.

They have been here all day since they met for rehearsal at ten o'clock in the morning, and the same day has been more than two weeks.

Everyone sits in this room every day, speaking and asking questions freely. They discuss the whole plot together, analyze each character, practice the dialogue of each scene, determine the arrangement of positions, explain the meaning of each line, and why this line It is correct to put it here.

Spielberg called this a pre-rehearsal.Sometimes producers and assistant directors will also join in, but most of the time there are only directors, screenwriters and actors. The number of people who appear every day is not fixed, and William has the most roles, basically every day.

To be honest, it is actually a very extravagant thing to spend one-third of the filming period (the official filming period is expected to be two months) for script rehearsal, but Spielberg, who has not been so ambitious for a long time, insists on , he believes that only when the director knows everything about the script, can he be confident when shooting-and the rehearsal did indeed spark a lot of inspiration.

In addition to discussing how to shoot in the next two months and what content should be highlighted, they will also preview content that will not be mentioned in the script at all, such as Harvey Milk's youth-he In the script, he is a middle-aged image who is almost 40 years old - William will imagine Milk's hippie life, and Leonardo will imagine how Dan White suffered when he was in the fire brigade and police station. Those young, fit male bodies are alluring and horrifying.

Yes, Leonard thinks Dan White is homophobic because of his closet, he insists that is implied in the script, and whenever he says that, both writers just laugh and say nothing.