Chapter 301: The Opportunity to Audition
Chapter 301: The Opportunity to Audition
Eric spread his hands helplessly. “But Julia really isn’t suitable.”
Hearing Eric say that, although she had not really wanted the role in the first place, a trace of disappointment still flashed through Julia’s eyes. Elizabeth, however, pressed on, “Then tell us, what exactly is unsuitable?”
“Julia is completely different from the female lead I imagined. In my vision, the heroine should first of all have short hair.”
Elizabeth protested indignantly, “It’s just hair. She can cut it off. When Julia filmed Steel Magnolias last year, it’s not like she hadn’t cut her hair before. You’re completely making excuses.”
“Alright, alright. Actually, the image I imagined for the character should look like this.” Eric glanced around, then dipped a finger into the red wine in his glass and quickly sketched across the coffee table in front of the three of them. Very soon, the image of Molly as portrayed in his memory by Demi Moore appeared on the glass tabletop.
The two women watched curiously as Eric drew at high speed. When he finished, Elizabeth stared at the sketch for a while, then angrily raised her head. “I get it now. It’s just that the mouth is a little smaller. You’re saying Julia’s mouth is too big now. But when you were doing that with Julia, why didn’t you think her mouth was too big? You bastard.”
Eric pulled a bitter face. “Liz, can we be serious for once? Stop dragging everything back to the bedroom.”
Julia also tugged at Elizabeth at that moment. “Alright, Liz. Even if he let me do it, I wouldn’t take the role.”
Just as Elizabeth was about to say something else, another woman’s voice suddenly sounded beside the three of them.
“Mr. Williams, so this is where you are.”
Elizabeth and Julia were the first to look behind Eric. Then both of them parted their lips slightly, letting out soft exclamations of surprise.
Eric turned around as well and widened his eyes. The person who had spoken was none other than Jane Fonda, who had presented him with an award on the Oscar stage not long ago. But that was not the important part. The key point was the young woman linked arm-in-arm with Jane Fonda.
Seeing the three of them staring in surprise at her niece, Jane Fonda quickly followed Julia’s gaze toward the coffee table in front of them. Then she, too, revealed a puzzled expression.
“Mr. Williams, I didn’t expect your drawing skills to be so good. Just a few simple strokes, yet it looks so lifelike.”
Eric laughed awkwardly, then stood and looked toward the young woman beside Jane Fonda, knowingly asking, “Ms. Fonda, this is…?”
“Hmph, pretending. You already drew her and you’re still asking who she is.” Elizabeth pouted sourly and mocked him before pulling Julia away directly.
Although Jane Fonda knew Julia, she did not recognize Elizabeth, so she paid no mind to the two women leaving and instead said to Eric, “Mr. Williams, this is my niece, Bridget Fonda, my brother’s daughter.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Miss Fonda.” Eric reached out and shook Bridget Fonda’s hand.
Bridget Fonda had also noticed the portrait on the coffee table, which was nearly dry by now. She had recently cut her hair to ear length for a film role, so her current appearance resembled the woman in the sketch by nearly eighty percent. Although she did not know why Eric had drawn the picture, Bridget nevertheless felt that perhaps her purpose in coming tonight would go much more smoothly.
Eric knew that Jane Fonda had already begun trying to approach him backstage at the Oscars, so she definitely had something she wanted to discuss. Casually wiping away the drawing on the coffee table, Eric gestured toward the seats Elizabeth and Julia had previously occupied. “Please, have a seat.”
The aunt and niece thanked him and walked together to the sofa.
Looking at the two women before him, Eric recalled that, in his memory, Jane Fonda and her brother Peter Fonda were supposedly estranged. But judging by the two women in front of him, perhaps the conflicts of the older generation had not affected the next one.
Speaking of it, although the Fonda family’s influence in Hollywood could not compare to the Coppola family, it was still not something to underestimate.
That influence could be clearly seen through Bridget Fonda sitting beside Jane Fonda.
This actress, whose acting ability was fairly average, had debuted in the late 1980s and spent more than a decade acting in films without ever truly becoming popular. She achieved nothing particularly notable in either awards or box office performance. In fact, until she retired after a car accident, Bridget Fonda had acted in dozens of films, most of them as the female lead, yet did not possess a single truly representative work. Such a thing was almost unimaginable for actresses in Hollywood without background or connections. An ordinary actress with no backing and no network would definitely have been abandoned by Hollywood producers after starring in several films without any notable response.
“Mr. Williams, may I ask why you drew that portrait just now?” After the two women sat down, Bridget Fonda could not help asking first.
Eric hesitated for a moment before giving an ambiguous explanation. “I was explaining something to Miss Julia just now and casually drew it. I didn’t expect it to resemble Miss Fonda so much.”
Jane Fonda, however, gave Eric no chance to dodge the subject and asked with a smile, “Mr. Williams, that should be the appearance of a female lead from one of your films, shouldn’t it?”
Eric coughed lightly before replying, “More or less.”
“It wouldn’t happen to be the female lead from your upcoming Ghost, would it?” Jane Fonda pressed further.
Since the film would eventually be made public anyway, Eric could hardly alter the already-established character design over such a minor lie, so he nodded again.
The aunt and niece immediately exchanged a glance.
Jane Fonda then spoke. “It’s like this, Mr. Williams. Since things are such a coincidence, could you perhaps give Bridget an opportunity to audition?”
Eric hesitated somewhat. Since Jane Fonda was personally asking, she obviously was not referring to the preliminary rounds of actor selection, but rather the final audition opportunity for the role.
Although Demi Moore, the original Molly in Ghost, had often been criticized for her acting, she had delivered a rare breakout performance in that film and even received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.
Moreover, when Demi Moore took on Ghost, she had at least already spent many years acting in films and accumulated some experience. The young woman before him, however, was a newcomer who had debuted only two years earlier. Her later filmography also proved that she did not possess much potential in acting.
Seeing the hesitation in Eric’s expression, Bridget Fonda cast a pleading glance toward her aunt. Jane Fonda gave her niece a reassuring look before saying, “Mr. Williams, although this request is indeed rather abrupt, you only need to give Bridget an audition opportunity. Both I and Bridget’s father will certainly remember your kindness.”
Hearing her say that, Eric quickly nodded. Although if Bridget Fonda ultimately failed to get the role, the value of the favor would naturally diminish greatly, it would still remain a favor. Perhaps it might prove useful someday.
“Alright then, Ms. Fonda. However, I can only give Miss Fonda an opportunity to audition. As for the outcome, I can’t make any guarantees.”
“Of course,” Jane Fonda nodded. Looking at her niece beside her, she stood and said, “Mr. Williams, I’ll take my leave first then. Bridget has always liked your films very much. Perhaps the two of you can chat.”
Eric also stood, watching Jane Fonda leave before sitting back down again. The two of them exchanged glances for several moments. Like a man and woman meeting through matchmaking for the first time, neither knew what to say. In the end, Eric spoke first.
“Miss Fonda, actually, I’ve seen your films.”
“Hm? Which one?” Bridget Fonda asked.
“Aria,” Eric said, even pointing toward the corner of his mouth.
Bridget Fonda pursed her lips slightly. “At the time, I had a pimple at the corner of my mouth, so I didn’t look very good on camera.”
“I thought you still looked pretty good,” Eric teased casually and subtly.
Most of the scenes in Aria were nude scenes. Back then, Eric had watched it entirely because of those scenes, so Bridget Fonda naturally could not have been an exception. Eric also could not understand why she had chosen such a film at the very start of her career. Perhaps it was because she had “nothing to fear.” After all, with her family supporting her, she did not need to carefully protect her image the way other actresses did.
Hearing Eric’s words, Bridget Fonda’s face reddened slightly.
Because they had only just met, the two did not speak much. After chatting aimlessly for a few moments, Eric said, “Miss Fonda, I’ve already been sitting here quite a while. With so many people around, I should go socialize a bit.”
“Mhm, please go ahead, Mr. Williams. Also, you can call me Bridget.”
“No problem.” Eric smiled and nodded before standing and walking elsewhere.
…
After the Oscars, the newspapers naturally began discussing and critiquing the results. Most people felt that this year’s Oscars had divided the awards too evenly, like “sharing out pork.”
At the same time, many people also complained on Eric’s behalf over losing the Best Adapted Screenplay award for Scent of a Woman. Under such circumstances, Driving Miss Daisy, which had taken the Best Adapted Screenplay award from Scent of a Woman, became the target of criticism.
Driving Miss Daisy was distributed by Warner Bros., currently the strongest among Hollywood’s seven major film studios. Therefore, after controversy erupted around Driving Miss Daisy, Warner’s counterattack came swiftly. The matter consequently stirred up a minor media storm in the newspapers and even overshadowed the attention surrounding several of the major awards.