Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1421 Lost Innocence

"Bravo, this is great, absolutely great..."

All casting doubts had to be resolved through auditions. Sally Field wore reading glasses, a southern female plantation owner-style cap, and a cute little bag with flowers. Even without the two major options of wrinkles and gray hair, the image of a southern mother was already very powerfully created.

"Oh, Ronald, you always ask me to play the mother. I could play the lover with Tom a few years ago?"

Sally Field's walking, standing, sitting and talking are all well-designed, and she exudes the demeanor of a southern lady. No doubt this was the foundation she laid during her previous role as "Steel Magnolias".

The two mothers have similar characteristics, such as stubbornness, emphasis on etiquette, and infinite love for their children. So this time, Sally Field only spent half a day to recall some of the emotions and small designs in her memory, which made Ronald and Julia Taylor applaud.

"Oh, come on, Ronald, we are also a good match as lovers." Tom Hanks and Sally Field played stand-up comedians together. The two are old friends and joked in front of Ronald.

"No, now I need him to go back and let Forrest Gump come out..." Ronald signaled Hanks to get into the role of Forrest Gump and act with Sally Field.

"Forrest, I'm so proud of you, let me hold this for you..."

"Oh, Mom..."

"Ronald?" Tom Hanks and Sally Field played two or three scenes, and the last one was when Forrest Gump graduated from college by playing football, and his mother helped him move the tassel to the other side after the graduation ceremony.

At this point in the performance, everyone present could see that the two talented actors were very suitable for casting. The mother-son love emanated from Sally Field's eyes, and the assistants in the audience could feel it.

But Ronald seemed to be in a daze and didn't express any opinion. The two actors looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Sorry, I just remembered something else. Sally, I've already said that I look forward to working with you..."

"Oh, yes, yes..."

Everyone noticed the director's abnormality, but no one said anything. Ronald also understood that for children and their parents, seeing their children succeed in their studies is undoubtedly one of the most important moments in their lives. He promised Aunt Karen something, but now that he has a family and a career, he has very little time and doesn't know when he can complete it...

……

Compared to the role of the mother, which has a relatively fixed candidate, the casting of Forrest Gump's best friend Bubba is full of uncertainty.

Ronald had a long conversation with Spike Lee, as he was still unsure about what a typical black person looked like during that time. Spike Lee told him that as long as the black person didn't look like the one on TV, movies, or magazine covers, it was right.

In fact, the black community itself is not very interested in those black people who are very "beautiful" or close to the white aesthetic. The best example is Michael Jackson. After he had plastic surgery a few years ago, many black fans gradually thought that this person did not want to be with us.

Now MJ has a double chin, a full forehead, big eyes, and a straight nose with a small nose wing. If you compare the album cover photo of his debut with the current photo, it is hard to recognize that this is the same person's nose.

Moreover, since his popularity swept the world, in some East Asian countries, a large proportion of fans who started listening to his newer albums and his newer MVs do not know that he is black. Even his singing style has gradually become less black.

Ronald met several candidates, and Ice Cube's audition showed that he was too murderous. No matter how he was made to relax, he still looked like a butcher when he smiled. The role of Bubba should be a relaxed, carefree black guy, so that he could resonate with Forrest Gump and become friends. Ice Cube seemed to resonate more with Professor Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

Tupac is a person of another orientation, he looks relatively peaceful and gentle, but once he opens his mouth, he is in a different state, there is a violent feeling deep in his heart that leaks out through those gentle lines.

Moreover, this person is too smart. When he listens to Ronald's guidance, he is very insightful. But this kind of intelligence cannot be hidden at all, and it is particularly exposed. It seems that he is always saying, I am actually very smart.

Of course this has something to do with his family background. Although he has acted in movies with Janet Jackson, he is not a professional actor, and Ronald has no complaints.

Another candidate, Dave Chappelle, declined the audition, saying he wanted to focus on black characters who could serve as role models for the black community.

Ronald didn't quite understand this statement, but of course Spike Lee understood it very well. He told Ronald that this meant that in the movie Forrest Gump, the black characters did not have any actions or ideas about fighting for black rights.

Alabama is a state with serious racial discrimination, and Bob has never made any opposition or protest against Forrest Gump, a typical representative of southern white people. In their eyes, only black people who resist white racial discrimination are worthy of playing a role.

Ronald didn't quite understand this idea. He told Spike Lee frankly that it was not that he didn't want to show the racial equality movement, but that the story was seen from the eyes of a slightly mentally retarded adult, and Forrest Gump was completely unable to understand the complex social movements.

Therefore, the perspective of this movie is that of an innocent person who looks at various social movements purely from an instinctive perspective. He became best friends with the black man, Bob, and gave Bob's family the shares they deserved. When the university lifted the restrictions on black admissions, and when Dr. Martin Luther King encountered opposition from white racists, he stood on the side of the blacks.

This kind of battle position is not the result of wisdom, nor is it the teaching of thoughtful intellectuals, nor is it the result of a surging movement among young people.

Most of Forrest Gump's decisions are made out of a pure heart. He does not rely on the guidance of those smart people, nor does he have the ability to analyze right and wrong. He relies on a complete and innocent heart like a child.

This is the consensus of many people in American society: children and innocent people can make the right decisions automatically under the guidance of God. However, well-educated adults may be captured by various desires such as money, power, etc. and lose their original intentions.

This is a complex in the entire American society, and countless novels, plays, and movies have explored the theme of lost innocence. Whether it is "The Great Gatsby", which enjoys a high status in American literature, or "An American Tragedy", which is known as the first masterpiece in America, or various versions of movies adapted from these two novels, they are a win-win for both reviews and box office.

Even Spielberg's recent success cannot escape the shadow of this complex. Whether it is "ET the Alien" or "Captain Hook", the core of these two movies is the words "Lost Innocence".

Spike Lee completely disagrees with this narrative. In his view, the black community is a forgotten group of people who are deliberately left in backward communities and are insulted and harmed. Ronald's tender and tender narration will weaken the influence of the black civil rights movement for decades.

It’s as if a good white person who is nice to black people and makes a few black friends can offset the institutional discrimination against black people in the entire society?
The two have different views and cannot reach a consensus, but they can still understand and respect each other. Spike Lee also brought Ronald good news. Under his message, Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, agreed to let Ronald use some of her husband's images.

In addition, Dr. King's youngest son, Derek King, who is famous for his resemblance to his father, also volunteered to play the role of his father.

Of course Ronald welcomed them to come. After all, the parts that needed actors to play were actually very few shots, and the main thing was the authorized use of Dr. King's images from that year.

Technically, Ronald did not need the approval of Dr. King's family to use the public interview footage from the TV station, which is a fair use of TV footage. However, since Forrest Gump's footage will be inserted into the film to interact with historical figures, there is some room for legal debate.

Others are fine, such as the descendants of past presidents, who don't mind such use. But Dr. King's family is protected by the golden glory of the leader of the civil rights movement, plus the sensitive nerves of black people. If there is a problem, it will be more trouble than being sued when the movie is released.

The casting of Bob was finally done by Julia Taylor, who picked out an actor with a very distinctive appearance named Mykelti Williamson from a large number of audition photos.

He looks like a typical black man, especially his very flat and wide nose, which is the opposite of the white man's nose that evolved in high latitudes. He looks like the average black man you see in a small town in the South.

Mykelti Williamson is a good-looking man who gives people a sense of trust and does not have too many typical temperaments of black people in big cities on the East and West Coasts. To some extent, this is also the appearance of a person who has not lost his innocence.

Ronald was very satisfied after watching his audition. The only drawback was that he looked too average and lacked some black stereotypes.

"Mr. Williamson..." Ronald looked up at him after chatting quietly with Julia Taylor for a while.

"Yes, sir..." Mykelti Williamson spoke in Bob's tone, trying to leave a good impression on the director.

"Hahaha, can I call you Mckelty?" Ronald laughed. This guy's acting is pretty good.

"Of course..." Mykelti Williamson smiled. Is this a good impression?

"I have one request. If you feel offended, you can tell me..."

"Sure, what is it?" Mykelti Williamson became nervous again. What was he supposed to do?
"Can you show your lower lip a little more, and move it forward..."

"Ah?" Mykelti Williamson didn't expect this to be the request. Many black people in the South do have this kind of abnormally thick lower lips.

"Please don't get me wrong, the role of Bub is a major turning point for Forrest Gump, but unfortunately, due to the large plot of the movie, he doesn't have much time to introduce himself to the audience, so I need a particularly typical southern black person to remember him... Of course, if you think this is not a good idea, I won't force you..."

"It's okay, I understand what you mean, thank you, director." Mykelti Williamson was not angry, he thought this was a good opportunity to leave an impression on the audience. He tried hard to stick out his lower lip, and then kept it like this and said a few words.

It’s true, although it was a bit difficult, Mykaty Williamson performed very well.

"Is this the best you can do?" Ronald asked him after taking a few photos.

"To be honest, this is the best I can do now, unless I practice hard when I return..."

"No need..." Ronald waved his hand...

"Ah, this... I can still try harder..." Mykelti Williamson panicked.

"Haha, don't worry. What I mean is that you just practice more like this. When we shoot, I will ask the makeup artist to make some improvements. The important thing is to keep the natural feeling of speaking like this. You can practice more. When we make a decision, we will inform your agent..."

"Thank you, thank you..." Mykelti Williamson left happily.

……

Just like the role of the black Bob, there were also many white actors who gave up auditioning for the role of Lieutenant Dan.

Their reasons are different from those of the actor who plays Bob. To white people, such a character who sacrificed his life for his country for generations and had both legs amputated during the Vietnam War is a bit outdated.

Ten years ago, such a role would have earned an actor an Oscar nomination. Five years ago, such a role would have been a box office success like Tom Cruise's Born on the Fourth of July.

But today, with the end of the Cold War, the national reflection on the Vietnam War has passed. The main movie audience, the young people, are the generation born after the end of the Vietnam War.

If you play a role like this today, the most likely outcome is that you won't make any splash and will be forgotten.

Ronald had no choice, but Julia Taylor used her extensive casting network to find him Gary Sinise. This actor had acted in a few movies when he first started out, but he never became famous afterwards. He has acted in a lot of TV series over the years.

As soon as Ronald saw his bitter face, he felt that Julia Taylor was extraordinary. With such looks and temperament, she didn't need to act, she was just a person whose great dream was shattered by God and then she was looking for herself.

After some auditions, Ronald also asked Gary Sinise to curl up his calf, say a few lines, and do some actions. The shots after Lieutenant Dan broke his leg required the assistance of the special effects team.

After special effects director Van Fleet nodded, Ronald informed him of the good news.

"Robin Wright..." The last important role is Jenny. Robin Wright is about to give birth, and she was very excited when she heard about this role. And if Tom Hanks doesn't play it, her boyfriend Sean Penn may also take over. Isn't this a happy thing for everyone?

For this reason, she auditioned for this rare role despite the fact that she was still a few weeks away from full-term. The sugar-coated trap she had given up because of her pregnancy was already very painful, and now she had the opportunity to regain the role of Ronald, which she could not let go of.

"It's me. Is the audition time the same?" After receiving a call from Julia Taylor, Robin Wright's heart moved. Is there any change in the afternoon audition?
"There have been changes, we are sorry..."

"what?"

"I'm sorry, but Director Ronald has to leave Los Angeles for something important. Can we make an appointment, um, the morning of the day after tomorrow?"

"Oh, of course. I'm fine with it." Robin Wright put down the phone and felt relieved for a while. I wonder where Ronald is going? Did he find someone more suitable than me? Should I audition her first? No, I have to call director Robert Reiner again...

(End of this chapter)