For the past ten years, aside from her acting career, Rachel Weisz had been completely devoted to Darren Aronofsky. Her professional life was largely enveloped in the sweetness of love.
The depth of her love for him was matched only by the intensity of her hatred now; she wanted to reclaim everything she had given.
That was precisely why Rachel Weisz had reached out multiple tis to the one person she believed could help her, for she had witnessed firsthand just how powerful he was.
Even though Rachel was older than Matthew, she sat on the sofa like an eager student, hanging on his every word.
“The key, as always, is the people.” Matthew only laid out the frawork; the execution was up to Rachel. “If you can create internal discord on the ‘Black Swan’ team, if sharp conflicts arise among the cast and crew, the film will be much more likely to fail.”
He offered a brief analysis. “Natalie Portman just ca off the failure of a big-budget comrcial film like ‘Cloud Atlas.’ If an independent art-house film also fails, her career will surely take a nosedive. And as for Darren...”
With that, Matthew trailed off.
Rachel finished his thought. “Darren Aronofsky’s career as a director would suffer a serious blow.”
Matthew nodded, speaking from the perspective of a film company owner. “Whether it’s a comrcial blockbuster or an independent art film, it’s ultimately made for profit. And when a film fails, the bla falls squarely on the director and the lead star.”
It was a very sound argunt, one Rachel had no trouble understanding, yet she remained puzzled. “Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky are very close right now. The crew consists mostly of people Darren has worked with for years, and most of the principal actors were recomnded by Natalie.”
“So the key lies in the relationship between Darren Aronofsky and Natalie Portman,” Matthew shared his perspective. “And from what I know, Mila Kunis is a very clever woman.”
Rachel was a little confused, not quite understanding what Matthew was implying.
Matthew explained, “You find a way to get Mila Kunis to compete for the role, for screen ti, for influence, for the director...”
“But Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman are friends,” Rachel replied dejectedly.
Matthew shook his head. After a mont of thought, he said, “Rachel, you and Natalie Portman were once friends, too.”
Rachel's jaw tightened at his words, and she let out a long sigh. “I’ll find a way,” she said slowly.
Matthew considered this for a mont, then added, “Look at it from another perspective. Once a betrayal has happened, the chances of it happening again are extrely high.”
Rachel mulled over his words. “That makes sense. I’ll go figure out how to make those bastards tear each other’s throats out.”
Matthew’s knowledge of the ‘Black Swan’ cast was limited, so he could only offer a general strategy; the specific execution was up to her.
In his mind, revenge was only true revenge if you enacted it yourself.
Rachel chatted with Matthew a bit longer, then hastily took her leave. The mont she stepped outside, she instructed her personal assistant to book a flight to New York.
She would put her career on hold for a year. Rachel had already made her decision: from this year’s awards season until the next, her life would be consud by one thing—Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky.
After lunch, Matthew left as well, driving over to Warner Studios. Two of his projects were in pre-production there—‘Astral,’ directed by Jas Wan, and ‘The Hunger Gas,’ directed by Patty Jenkins. Both teams were currently auditioning for various roles.
The male and female leads for ‘Astral’ had been cast long ago; the only major role left to fill was that of the young daughter.
Matthew had already shortlisted a few suitable candidates and recomnded them to Jas Wan. He also called Johnny Depp, who consulted with his wife and daughter before flying back to Los Angeles.
Lily Depp was scheduled to audition this afternoon.
Frankly, all the other candidates were essentially out of the running. Jas Wan was not foolish enough to reject the daughter of Johnny Depp and the goddaughter of Matthew Horner; he would cast her as long as her performance was decent.
Mackenzie Foy was also among those auditioning that afternoon. Instead of eting with Lily Depp beforehand, Matthew went straight to the audition room.
In the waiting room, Mackenzie Foy, looking like a little porcelain doll, sat beside her mother, her eyes frequently drifting toward a father and daughter sitting nearby.
The man was middle-aged and looked slightly disheveled, and the little girl was about her own age.
Mackenzie Foy recognized the man: the famous Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl. Since Johnny Depp himself was here, she reasoned, the girl with him must be his daughter, Lily Depp.
Although she was only nine, she had made her debut at four and had been navigating the entertainnt industry from a very young age. She had her own understanding of how this world worked.
Gazing at Lily Depp, Mackenzie Foy pouted. How could this possibly be a fair audition?
Just then, soone entered the room and whispered sothing to Johnny Depp, who then got up and left with Lily.
Mackenzie Foy watched the door close behind them and said, “Mom, let’s go ho.”
Her mother looked at her, puzzled. “Sweetheart, we haven’t even auditioned yet.”
“We’re not going to get the part anyway.” Mackenzie Foy let out her frustration, hitting the arm of her chair with a small fist. “This is a total waste of ti!”
Her mother stroked her hair. “You haven’t even auditioned, and you already know the outco?”
Mackenzie Foy snorted. “I’m not so clueless kid anymore.”
She gestured toward the closed door. “That’s Johnny Depp and his daughter, Lily. She’s Matthew Horner’s goddaughter, and Matthew Horner owns the company investing in this movie. What chance do I possibly have?”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her mother looked at her daughter’s earnest face. “You really have grown up.”
Mackenzie Foy hopped off her chair and tugged on her mother’s arm. “Mom, let’s go.”
Her mother shook her head, slow but firm. “We have an audition. We need to see it through.”
“Why?” Mackenzie Foy didn’t understand.
“Because we can’t just back out of our appointnt,” her mother explained patiently. “Especially not when Matthew Horner is in there. We can’t just stand him up.”
Mackenzie Foy looked at her mother, her eyes filled with confusion.
Her mother patted her gently. “Just do your best in the audition. Give it everything you’ve got.”
Mackenzie Foy pouted, her voice tinged with grievance. “But I won’t get the part anyway!”
Her mother’s voice beca a little sterner. “Sweetheart, you need to do a good job and impress Matthew Horner. Make him rember you. It could be useful soday.”
Mackenzie Foy scratched her head, still struggling to fully grasp her mother’s aning.
“Just do a good job,” her mother repeated.
Mackenzie Foy finally nodded. “Ugh, fine! I’ll show them I’m the best one!”
***
The afternoon went by quickly. Matthew watched Lily Depp’s audition, followed by Mackenzie Foy’s. Seeing the two little girls perform one after the other made for a difficult comparison.
From a pure performance standpoint, Lily Depp, who had never acted before, was very raw. Mackenzie Foy’s acting was clearly superior.
However, after a short discussion, Matthew and Jas Wan decided to cast Lily Depp. For one, her audition had been decent enough, and Matthew had to take his friendship with Depp into account. For another, it was a decision made with the film's future prospects in mind.
After all, could Mackenzie Foy attract the sa level of attention during the promotional tour as Johnny Depp’s daughter?
Matthew gave his approval to cast Lily Depp.
Still, the little girl nad Mackenzie Foy had left a strong impression on him. She possessed a sweet energy and a charming spark, her elfin features were striking, and her audition performance was remarkably poised and polished for a child actor.
Reviews
All reviews (0)