Behind The Spotlight Chapter 19
"What do you think of Lawrence?" Wyatt glanced at the man's resume to see his full name printed on the upper-left corner. "What do you think of Lawrence Terrence's performance?"
Wyatt was the director of this movie, but he couldn't deny that the three people in the room had more experience than him in filmmaking, casting, and production management.
Even Collin, who had worked as a model for years, had some knowledge of how movie production worked. He had seen both front and behind the camera.
"He's not bad... Well, his performance is great compared to what I expected. His delivery and expression almost made me laugh... But I held it back because I didn't want the guy to think he'd get the role just because of a chuckle." Gerald, the casting director, gave his opinion without holding back.
"My only problem is that he doesn't have credentials I can rely on, or any portfolio that gives me confidence. If we hire someone like him, how can we be sure he won't cause problems on set? He doesn't know how movies are made. He's just a theater actor with zero on-set experience."
Listening to Gerald's opinion, Wyatt nodded slowly while glancing back at the resume.
Honestly, Lawrence's lack of work experience wasn't a problem for Wyatt, either personally or professionally. After all, Wyatt also lacked experience in this field, as this was his directorial debut. Everyone deserved a start line.
Wyatt then looked at his assistant director, a man who was a decade older and clearly had more years in the industry.
Wyatt had no idea where Collin found these people so quickly, but he was grateful that his team had come together without hassle or miscommunication. More importantly, Wyatt could see they were trustworthy.
"The last time I gave my honest opinion, the producer kicked me out of the project without a second thought, so I don't feel comfortable giving my opinions in meetings like this."
Anthony, the assistant director, dropped this piece of his lore so casually that it made Wyatt blink. It seemed this was the reason why an experienced man like him was now working on a small-budget movie instead of staying with larger productions.
He lost his job and needed another job to pay the bills, so he accepted Collin's invitation despite the small size of the project.
"You don't have to be conscious of that, Anthony. We need to hear your opinion. It could determine how we move forward and shape the direction of our casting choices," Collin told him.
"If you say so. Lawrence has a handsome face that would look great on posters, though it's a bit on the baby-face side. But despite having only ten minutes to prepare, he managed to give us a surprising performance. His audition stood out noticeably above the rest we saw today."
Wyatt and Collin nodded in agreement without hesitation, while Gerald just shrugged. It seemed Gerald didn't like working with newbies, especially those without any background, which was understandable.
"Anthony, your opinion is valid and appreciated. But now I'm curious, why exactly did the producer kick you out?"
"Well, I told the producer that his son couldn't act. Yeah, he cast his own son as the male lead, and it was terrible. A complete waste of time and money. Everyone knew it but kept quiet like it was some open secret. I said it straight to the producer's face and he was livid."
"..."
Collin and the others realized then that Anthony was the kind of guy who couldn't keep quiet, even if it meant risking his career.
"As for you, Collin, you asked Lawrence if he had an agent. Why did you ask that question specifically?" Wyatt asked, still curious.
"If I told you that I want to sign him, would you believe me or think I'm joking?"
"You're being serious about signing a complete unknown actor?" Wyatt was surprised by how sincere Collin sounded.
"Why? Did you see potential in him?"
"Pretty much. More than you think. I can tell if a person is good or not and Lawrence doesn't strike me as a bad guy." Collin grinned while staring at Lawrence's resume, as if he saw something beyond the words on paper.
Collin had been out of the hospital for two weeks now. As he restarted his work as an agent, he realized something strange. Every now and then, he would see glowing words floating above people's heads.
Collin could discern people's talents because of this unexplained but useful ability. The trigger seemed to be when someone did something related to their talent, then the floating words would appear.
So far, Collin had seen over thirty people with these glowing labels above their heads, actors, models, singers, even directors. Wyatt and Arnold were included in that small group of talents.
However, among all of them, the only person who had a golden talent was Wyatt. Most people only had white or yellow ratings, which were decent but not exceptional.
But that changed today.
When Lawrence began acting, Collin saw the glowing golden words clearly floating above his head, illuminated like a spotlight only he could see.
Lawrence Terrence
-- A Comedy Actor (Yellow)
-- A Romance Box Office Hit Actor (Gold)
Just like Wyatt, Lawrence had two talents related to showbiz, a rare thing in itself.
'However, unlike Wyatt, Lawrence's Comedy Actor talent was only yellow. Not bad, but not outstanding. What caught my interest is his Romance Box Office Hit Actor trait... I'm not even sure if that's a real industry term, but the glowing words don't lie. I trust what I saw.'
Only the Romance Box Office Hit Actor trait was golden, shining the brightest. Despite Lawrence being a complete newbie, Collin was serious about signing him. He felt like he had just discovered gold in a river, guided only by a supernatural metal detector.
"I want to sign him."
He smiled at Wyatt, confident in his decision. Wyatt paused for a second, processing what he just heard, then nodded in acceptance.
Collin was a talent agent. If he saw potential in Lawrence, it made sense why he'd want to sign him despite the lack of experience.
And it was Collin's decision alone, Wyatt didn't have the power to stop his agent from signing whoever he wanted.
"Let's see... If he signs with you, I'll cast him as Jess. Think of it as my way of helping your clients get steady work and build momentum. Let's hope this project leads to more steady jobs," Wyatt added.
"I believe this project will be successful," Collin replied.
"I'll do my best to make that happen."
Wyatt understood why Collin was putting in so much effort. If Wyatt succeeded as a director, Collin would have a reliable way to find work for his clients and build sustainable careers.
It was a win-win situation, and Wyatt had no problem with it. He was grateful that his agent believed in him and was willing to invest in his success.
"Lawrence left his contact number. I'll call him later tonight or first thing tomorrow," Collin announced.
As for Anthony and Gerald, they chose not to veto the decision despite their initial hesitation. They admitted that Lawrence had given the best performance for the role of Jess among all the dozens who auditioned.
With that, the audition resumed, and the next name was called.
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[If I can maintain this pace, I can probably post up to 13 chapters per week. It depends on how many chapters I can write.]