By Monday, Maude, the casting directorr had dozens of photographs pinned to the wall of the pre-production room.
(You guys ever seen that image of a girl with condomss pinned to guys pics on the wall. Every I see something pinned to a wall I think of it)
Each one were headshots, the kind every actor carries to every audition.
Room 4 was a rehearsal room on the Paramount lot with a long table and an ashtray on the center.
Maude sat at one end with her script and a thermos of tea.
Duke leaned an finger against his coffee cup, wondering if his asistant was close to ask for a cigarrete to at least pass the time.
Casting began with actors read them with someone playing the other part, and the room would politely say a few words and send them away.
This was already the second round of auditions, and now Duke was participating in person.
Harrison Ford came fourth.
He was ten minutes early, in a leather jacket, reading a paperback in the hallway. He shook Maude's hand and sat down with no fuss.
Duke offered a slight smile but didn't say hello.
Ford read the scene where the general faces the emperor after the betrayal in a very controlled manner.
Duke shooks his head while looking at his manners. 'He's trying to act charismatic- Maximus is very different than someone like Han Solo.'
Maximus was not the sarcastic, cocky archetype.
At the end of the lines, Duke noticed how hyper-aware he was of the camera recording the audition.
He had the same problem you see in teen actors, where they constantly are aware of how they look in the camera, what their best angles are, etc.
But instead of looking to make himself look better, he was using it to try to cover up his lack of acting range.
This kind of camera aware behavior is good if youre making a movie with no big requirememnts in terms of acting, but it becomes horrible when you need an actor to push past everything and give you a raw performance.
Specially, when it came to where he had to ask for his wife pardon, he clearly lacked the emotion necessary for it.
"He's lovely," Maude whispered when the door shut as Ford left. "But Star Wars seems to have... damaged his acting skills."
She was right.
Since Ford had one of the biggest movies in the world behind him, the audience would probably come to the cinema. Box Office appeal must count for something, right?
Duke wrote one note on his pad. 'No.'
Harrison Ford in 1982, next year, would star in the original 1982 Blade Runner. Surprisingly, people would not come to support him in the Box Office.
Tom Selleck flew in from Hawaii on his one free day. He still had the mustache on, and he apologized for it with a grin.
"I'd have regretted it if I hadn't come," he said.
He read well, but also seemed to not be able to get in character for Maximus.
That was a problem. Millions of people had already watched him crack a whip this year, he didnt want to affect the audience perception.
"Everybody in the audience will probably be waiting for you to get your whip out," Duke said, trying to let him down easy.
Selleck laughed, then nodded, and rubbed his tired face. "Well, had to try at least."
He left shaking hands, taking a no better than most.
Nick Nolte was last, coming in unshaven, smelling of alcohol, like he'd slept in a chair.
He stared at the page for a long time, not really acknowledging them as he took his time to start.
His voice was low and rough. He read the speech hurt, he was clearly drunk, but the drunkness and roughness sort of did act a slight hint of inmersion to his speech.
"He is very good at portraying the grief," Maude said softly.
"He is the best option but... dont like it," Duke said.
She looked at him.
"Maximus has to think he's going home. If he grieves too early, there's nothing to hope for." Duke tapped the card. "Nolte probably lacked preparations for this role."
3 great actors yet, none of them right. Maude drew a pencil line through each photograph, and Duke caught himself smiling.
Arnold Schwarzenegger turned a little sideways to get through the door.
He was 34, same age as Duke, built like a tank, and his smile arrived before he did.
He'd just finished shooting Conan The Barbarian, so he was still extremely muscular for the 80s.
Maude leaned over. "He played Hercules once in a B tier picture, years ago."
Schwarzenegger gave it everything, his acting wasn't even necessarily bad, but his voice was the problem.
Every line came out with a Vienna accent in it, meanwhile Maximus was supposed to be from Spain/Iberia.
Of course, when Duke saw him, he could only think one thing, 'I need to find James Camreon.'
When he finished the audition, he asked a few questions about the characterization, wrote some stuff down, and left.
Mel Gibson hugged him in the doorway, and Maude suddenly needed to do something with the clipboard.
Gibson had a fading bruise over one eye from a stunt on his last movie, Mad Max 2
"Don't go easy on me," he said.
"I won't."
"You will."
"I might," Duke said. They both laughed.
Then Gibson sat down, and the friend vanished as the actor took his place.
He was good. Really good.
He didn't care how he looked, only whether the scene was performed correctly.
Duke sat still when it ended. Finding talent wasn't the hard part of this job, the minute things were also very important.
"You're 25," he said.
"25 and a half."
"Maximus is 30-40s. He's supposed to have led men in battle for years. Put you in a beard and a helmet, and people still see a yuth."
Gibson looked at the table, then he smiled.
"Well, if theres any roles, I also do Cameos."
"I'll let you know if anything comes up."
At lunch, Duke and Maude ate sandwiches in the commissary.
"A young man is coming from New York," Maude said, reading the clipboard. "Very funny. I'm not sure he'll read it as written."
"Who is he?"
"He's on that late-night comedy show, SNL. The youngest one they have, Eddie Murphy."
Duke stopped eating his sandwich to look at her. "Yeah, uhh. No... He doesnt look like he came from Iberia."
She nodded and shrugged. "I own a favor to his agent so we'll just reject him at that point."
The audition went like shit, Eddie was at the end of the day a comedy talent, not a acting powerhouse.
The next actor was 19.
He had a few small parts, in films most people had not seen.
His agent had pushed this audition through, and Tom Cruise had arrived an hour early so nobody could change their mind.
He read with a lot of focus, getting every word right. He then asked if he could try the sword.
Maude brought a wooden practice blade from the closet. He swung it around trying to look serious, yet his second swing hit a coat rack.
The hit made a lamp beside it wobble.
Duke caught the lamp.
"Sorry," Cruise said. Then he tried to smile as Maude led him out.
Kurt Russell came in last, to the point that Duke almost missed him.
Wearing a baseball cap with an old jacket.
Kurt Russell had been acting since he was a kid. He'd also played pro baseball in the minor leagues, until an injury ended it.
Duke liked that detail more than he could explain. A man who'd lost one career and had to reestart as an actor again.
"Before I start," Russell said, "can I ask about his home?"
"You mean his farm?" Duke asked.
"Yeah. Is it hard work to keep it running?"
"Every single day. But he's not personally running it, he wants to finish matters to go back there and become a simple farmer."
Russell nodded and took off his cap.
He took a deep breath to get in the mood, and read the scene where the Praetorian Guard arrests him.
A few production extras dressed as guards stepped forward, weapons drawn.
While Quintus delivers the cold order from Commodus, the new emperor.
The Emperor is dead, and Maximus and his family will die too.
Russell didnt decided to play it with dramatic outrage.
He stood still for a moment, letting his eyes do most of the talking.
When he asks about his wife and son, his voice stayed small and raspy. Like a man holding back his anger.
Maude froze with her clipboard and she turned to look at Duke, and gave a small smile.
Russell finished the small scene and a little embarrassed, put his cap back on.
Duke knew his search was over. He made a motion to a nearby assistant to bring a part of the costume.
The costume assistant tushed over and brought over a helmet made of painted fiberglass.
Russell slid it on and Maude snapped a Polaroid to check the fit.
The face in the photo looked tired, but weary. The kind of look he needed.
____
Too much work, going to sleep, bye
Will prob post in a few hours again