I am Hollywood

Chapter 109: Perks



[Chapter 109: Welfare]

Eric listened to her but didn't show any reaction as he hunched over to jot down some notes. This made Gwyneth a bit anxious; she thought her answer should've been appropriate. However, the person across from her didn't give her much thought time and immediately went on with a few more questions before starting the performance.

The staff rolled in a bench that could seat two people. An assistant explained, "Miss Paltrow, the scene you're going to perform goes like this: You're on a bus when a handsome stranger suddenly sits beside you, someone who, at first glance, makes a woman's heart flutter. But then you see a gun tucked in the open collar of his shirt. The man takes you hostage and forces you to pretend to be his girlfriend to throw off the police's suspicion. You can't resist, so you have to go along with it. Miss Paltrow, you won't have any lines; you'll have to convey your emotions solely through expressions and body language. You have one minute to prepare." Not a single line? This... is way too hard, Gwyneth thought to herself. Still, she knew she had no choice but to quickly adjust her mindset to get ready for the performance.

One minute later, Gwyneth sat on the bench, indicating she was ready. The assistant reminded her, "Music stops, performance ends," and clapped the slate.

...

At the same time, another staff member hit the play button, and a light piano piece began to play.

The music was the same instrumental piece that recurred during the bus encounter in the original version, Greek composer Vangelis's 1995 instrumental work.

Gwyneth sat there quietly until a staff member sat next to her. She slightly furrowed her brow and turned to take a closer look at the man beside her, her gaze landing on the open collar where a gun was tucked away. Instantly, fear registered on her face, and she visibly recoiled.

From behind the audition table, Eric frowned slightly; Gwyneth's expression was overly exaggerated, but he didn't say anything to intervene.

The two players continued. The temporary actor, playing the kidnapper, wrapped his arm around Gwyneth's shoulders in time with the music and said, "Just don't make a sound, and you'll be fine."

Gwyneth stiffened for a moment, staring straight ahead. From Eric's view, he could see her hands resting on her lap trembling lightly. The actor removed his glasses and put them on Gwyneth, but she remained unresponsive, like a puppet.

There was supposed to be a gesture of taking out headphones, but it got skipped over due to the impromptu nature of the performance.

"Lean closer," the actor continued, and Gwyneth, looking forlorn, leaned against his shoulder.

Moments later, Eric made a hand gesture, and immediately the music stopped.

...

Gwyneth knew the performance had ended, quickly straightening up and smiling as she returned the sunglasses.

"Miss Paltrow, thank you for your audition. You may leave now; we will let you know the results as soon as possible."

"Uh, it's just... over?" Gwyneth couldn't help but ask.

Eric nodded and gestured her out, so she picked up her handbag and walked out of the audition room. Once the door was closed, she immediately masked her expression and walked coolly past the group of people waiting for their auditions.

Inside the audition room, a few people quickly began to discuss.

Allen Fisman, sitting next to Eric, asked, "Eric, what do you think?"

Eric drew an X next to Gwyneth's name. He had never been attracted to that type of beauty, and, frankly, her acting left a lot to be desired. He casually explained, "Not good; her emotions were flat, her expressions superficial, very forced. Kurt, get ready to call the next one."

Nicole Frank intervened, stopping Kurt from calling out. "Eric, let me go next?"

"Hey, I only just had three, okay? We agreed on ten to rotate," Roy, the temporary actor, protested immediately.

Nicole, pained, said, "Roy, you should really stop acting. You're so disruptive; all three of those girls were thrown off their game because of you. It's practically a career killer for them."

"If it was Audrey Hepburn auditioning, even with a gorilla sitting next to her, she would still pull it off."

"Roy, you finally admit that even a gorilla looks better than you."

Despite having a bit of a rugged appearance, Roy wasn't ugly in the least and snapped back, "Nicole, keep that up and you'll regret it when I spill the beans about that night at Brady's Bar."

"You wouldn't dare!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Eric, irked, tapped the table to stop their bickering. Nicole was Eric's photographer, and Roy held the position of assistant director. They were both part of Jeffrey's wife's crew and were close friends. Their little squabbles happened frequently, so Eric wasn't really worried they'd come to blows. But the noise was giving him a headache.

The arguments stemmed from the auditions they were doing, which were all for beautiful women today. Instead of hiring temporary actors, Eric had roped all the men present into playing the kidnapper role, giving the crew some perks after their monotonous work for days on end.

He hadn't anticipated the level of testosterone-fueled chaos that ensued. There had been a particularly stunning Latina girl who walked in, every curve perfectly accentuated. Then, when it was supposed to be Allen's turn, Nicole swooped in, and with someone present, Allen could only watch helplessly.

"Enough! My head is spinning. Roy, continue. No changes to the rules. If this keeps up, I'll just hire temporary actors and nobody will perform," Eric commanded, and his authority worked; Roy and Nicole promptly shut up, exchanging middle fingers instead. After getting a nod from Eric, Kurt stepped out to call the next auditionee.

...

It wasn't until Gwyneth exited the Firefly Films office building that she suddenly had a realization.

"Ah! I should've seen it coming!" Gwyneth threw her hands up in frustration and kicked a nearby trash can, it clanked loudly against the wall.

She finally figured out the reason Eric had asked her that question about love at first sight. Pairing it with the performance she had just done, it clearly depicted a scene where two strangers fell for each other upon meeting.

She had been foolish to claim she didn't believe in love at first sight. How naive! Plus, during her audition, she had been so focused on expressing fear that she hadn't hinted at the emotion of falling in love at first glance at all.

Oh, right! The staff had mentioned that the stranger was very handsome, one look at him could make a woman's heart skip a beat.

It was all that temporary actor's fault. He looked so unattractive and yet insisted on playing the handsome guy. If Eric Williams had been sitting next to her, she definitely would have felt

something.

Gwyneth clenched her teeth, inexplicably directing her disappointment and anger at Drew, blaming that little brat for living in Eric Williams's house. She was bound to have seen the script. She had even specially asked Drew about the script's contents, and if that brat had leaked even a bit of it, she wouldn't have been caught unprepared. Gwyneth let out her frustrations as she walked past a phone booth.

Right! Maybe she could reach out to Drew Barrymore to see if she could help her get another audition opportunity. Next time... next time she would surely be well-prepared and wouldn't

perform so poorly as before.

Gwyneth completely disregarded what time it was now. Typically, Drew would be in class at this hour. She rummaged through her bag for her contacts, dropped a quarter into the payphone, and dialed Drew's dorm room number.

It rang a few times before connecting.

"Hello..." A sleepy girl's voice came through, clearly just waking up.

Gwyneth instantly changed her tone to warm and friendly, "Hey, Drew, it's me, Gwyneth...

Haha, it's already ten! You're still asleep? I'm so jealous of you... Anyway, I auditioned today, but I feel like I didn't really show my true potential. Could you help put in a word with Mr. Williams and see if I could get another chance to audition?...Great... Alright then, I'll be waiting for your good news. Let's do dinner this weekend; I know a fantastic Italian place on Sunset Boulevard... Okay, sounds good... Alright, bye for now."

She smiled until she heard the busy signal on the line after Drew hung up, then she snapped the receiver back into place, her voice tinged with a hint of disdain and jealousy, "Sleeping all day? You must have been out partying last night! Hope you get caught in bed with Eric Williams someday, dragged off to work in some African mine and see if that baby face of

yours can still charm anyone."

*****

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