Chapter 323: Being Single Is Good
Chapter 323: Being Single Is Good
“Then I…” Joanna Pacula realized something, but still found it hard to believe. After all, this was only her first meeting with Eric.
Eric continued, “Even if you auditioned, your image still doesn’t fit Catherine Tramell at all. I need an actress with an overpowering presence, while you’re more suited to playing a gentle and virtuous wife. To be honest, you look somewhat different in person from the photo I saw last night. Otherwise, you would already have been eliminated last night.”
Joanna Pacula felt somewhat embarrassed. At her agent’s suggestion, she had specifically taken that photo for this role. Because of the angle, the photo in her file made her face look comparatively squarer beneath her long hair, giving her whole temperament a sharper edge. Although Eric did not point it out directly, the woman still felt embarrassed.
Eric, however, had no intention of pursuing it. Many actors used far more extreme methods to obtain roles. Compared to that, Joanna Pacula’s little tricks with the photo were nothing worth mentioning.
“How about this? Leave me your contact information. If there’s a suitable role in the future, I’ll notify you,” Eric soon said.
Joanna Pacula raised her head, looked at Eric, then lowered her eyes again. Her slender fingers uneasily rubbed against the leather of the handbag she was holding. She had heard promises like this from many people before. Most of them were perfunctory words that never led anywhere. Once spoken, there was no follow-up.
Eric noticed the woman’s small movement and quickly realized the problem with his own words. This promise sounded no different from those perfunctory lines.
Eric did not deny that the moment he first saw Joanna Pacula, he became interested in this woman, whose entire body carried a faint, gentle grace.
Moreover, although it was somewhat unreasonable, Eric really did like Joanna Pacula’s accent when she said “I’m sorry.” That short, flat-tongued pronunciation felt like a finger unintentionally plucking a string deep in his heart.
Therefore, his words just now naturally were not perfunctory.
But clearly, Joanna Pacula did not think so.
This was obviously a woman with very little sense of security. In truth, that was easy to understand. She was alone in a foreign land, her career was full of setbacks, and from what she had just said, it seemed she had also been wounded emotionally. Of course she would lack a sense of security.
“Miss Pacula, how about this? I’ll invite you to dinner tonight, and we can talk properly. If… you don’t find that too abrupt?”
The woman’s expression instantly became even more hesitant.
Eric quickly added, “You can choose the place. I’m fine with anything.”
“Then… alright. Maybe my cooking is still decent. Mr. Williams, how about…”
Eric raised an eyebrow, realizing what the woman wanted to say. “Of course. But would it be convenient to go to your home? I mean, would your husband or boyfriend misunderstand?”
The woman shook her head gloomily. “I’m single now.”
Being single was good!
Eric immediately echoed that in his heart. As the two were talking, footsteps came from one side of the corridor. Soon, Eric’s assistant Allen turned the corner and arrived there. Seeing Eric and Joanna Pacula standing together, he stopped in surprise, unsure whether he should keep walking over.
“Allen, what is it?” Eric asked casually when he saw his assistant.
Allen pointed at the restroom door behind Eric, then immediately shook his head. “No, nothing. I’ll go to the other one.”
After saying that, the assistant moved quickly and turned away without looking back.
Allen’s reaction made both of them unable to help laughing softly.
“That’s my assistant. He definitely misunderstood something,” Eric explained before saying, “Why don’t you wait in my office first? I may still need a few hours.”
Joanna Pacula nodded obediently. Eric brought the woman into the elevator and went all the way to the top floor, then led her into his office. He pushed open another door inside the office and turned back. “There’s a television here. You can…”
Seeing the large bed inside the lounge, Joanna Pacula immediately hesitated and shook her head, pointing at the sofa area near the desk. “I’ll wait there.”
“Alright then,” Eric did not insist. “There are magazines on the bookshelf. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll head downstairs first.”
…
Two hours later, inside the audition room, all the remaining actresses had completed their auditions. Eric, Jeffrey, and Basic Instinct director Roger Spottiswoode gathered together to discuss the final result.
“Kelly Lynch’s audition was the best, and her image is good too. However, she doesn’t have much acting experience, so it’s hard to be sure whether this exceptional performance can carry over into filming. The other one, Diane Lane, performed a little worse just now, but I think she has stronger malleability. Besides, her acting definitely won’t be a problem. Otherwise, Francis Coppola wouldn’t have chosen her for The Cotton Club. Also, she already played a similar role in last year’s Love Dream. I think choosing her is the safer option,” Roger Spottiswoode said, then looked at Eric.
Jeffrey, on the other side, did not express any opinion at all, but from the small movements of his occasional nods, it was not hard to see that Jeffrey agreed with Roger’s view.
Eric sighed and said, “Diane Lane’s appearance is still a little too soft.”
“Eric, you don’t need to worry about that at all. As long as we spend more effort on makeup, we could even shape her into a man if we wanted to,” Roger said again.
Eric looked left and right, then stared at Allen and asked, “Half an hour. Can you find a few stylists, the best ones?”
Allen froze, then immediately nodded. “Of course. I’ll contact them right away.”
After saying that, the assistant hurried out of the audition room.
Eric thought for a moment, then said to another staff member, “Contact Mr. Don Johnson and have him get here within an hour. I need him to run lines with the female lead and see the effect.”
The person heard Eric’s instruction, nodded, and left the room as well.
Eric closed the files in front of him. “Alright. Notify those actresses. Miss Diane Lane stays. The others can leave.”
The staff in the audition room quickly began moving, dismantling camera equipment, organizing documents and files, and tidying the chairs.
As Eric spoke, he led the main Basic Instinct creative team out of the audition room.