Before nine o'clock in the morning, Matthew Horner arrived at the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank as agreed. After waiting for less than three minutes, he saw Helen Herman drive up, bringing Amanda with her.
After the two of them parked the car, the three entered the Studio together. Since the audition studio was not far from the entrance, they did not take a golf cart but walked toward it.
"This studio is really dilapidated..." Matthew Horner looked around. Both the sound stages and other buildings were severely aged. "is Warner Bros. out of money? They haven't even renovated."
Helen Herman did not speak, but Amanda told Matthew Horner, "In recent years, Warner Bros. films have rarely been shot in Los Angeles; most are made in Australia. This studio is primarily used by HBO."
"HBO?" Matthew Horner felt he had heard that name somewhere.
Amanda added, "HBO is a cable television network under Warner Bros."
Matthew Horner had been hastily called away from the MV Crew by Helen Herman. He only knew that the upcoming audition was for a major role, but he wasn't clear on the specifics, so he couldn't help but ask, "Am I auditioning for a TV series funded by HBO?"
Helen Herman finally spoke, "It's jointly funded by HBO, DreamWorks, BBC, and other companies." She continued as they walked, "The producers are Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg."
"Sounds pretty good," Matthew Horner muttered.
Even if he was ignorant, he knew about companies like DreamWorks and BBC, and the names Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were certainly household names.
Matthew Horner asked curiously, "You told me this was a war drama? What kind of war drama? Something like Saving Private Ryan?"
He had seen Saving Private Ryan more than once, but he knew nothing about WWII American TV dramas because he didn't watch them back then. It wasn't that he was prejudiced against American dramas, but the ones he had watched tended to drag out the plot, which was truly irritating.
"The genre is somewhat similar; it's about the 101st Airborne Division." Amanda walked next to Matthew Horner and said, "In 1998, during the promotion of Saving Private Ryan, a veteran who fought in WWII personally gave Tom Hanks a novel about the 101st Airborne Division. After reading it, Tom Hanks passed the book on to Steven Spielberg, and the two subsequently decided to adapt the novel into a TV series and serve as executive producers."
Helen Herman turned to look at her, and Amanda stuck out her tongue. "That's what the newspaper propaganda said."
"This project is provisionally titled band of brothers." Helen Herman also said a few words to Matthew Horner, "The basic situation is similar to what Amanda told you."
Matthew Horner turned to look at Miss Herman, complaining as he walked, "Miss Herman, I'm about to attend the audition, and I don't even understand the situation of the Crew."
"I've already prepared the documents for you." Helen Herman walked straight ahead as if she hadn't seen Matthew Horner. "This audition is just for you to put on a military uniform and see if your appearance suits a soldier; there's no other content."
Matthew Horner shrugged and simply shut his mouth, saying nothing more.
They arrived in front of a sound stage with a huge HBO sign hanging at the entrance. Helen Herman spoke briefly to a member of the Crew staff, then led Matthew Horner and Amanda into the sound stage, following the passage on the left into a massive waiting hall.
There were many rows of seats here, occupied by hundreds of actors. Matthew Horner quickly scanned the room and found one commonality among these actors: they were all white males, ranging from about twenty to forty years old.
Perhaps some were mixed-race, like him, with Chinese or other ancestry, but based on their physical characteristics, they were all white, without exception.
Helen Herman looked at her watch. "The two of you wait here for a moment,
I'm going to find someone. I should be back in about ten minutes."
Having gained experience from previous auditions, Matthew Horner felt that the outcome of an audition was determined not only by the actor's performance but also by too many external factors. Helen Herman was likely going to lobby for those external factors.
After Helen Herman left, Matthew Horner and Amanda found an empty bench and sat down.
"Why are they all white?" he asked curiously.
"You don't know?" Amanda looked at Matthew Horner, and seeing that he genuinely didn't know, she said, "The 101st Airborne Division was originally a white unit during WWII."
Matthew Horner nodded. "I don't know much about history."
His knowledge of American history was quite limited, and he knew very little about WWII, roughly only knowing about the Normandy Landings and Roosevelt.
"Amanda, let me ask you a question." Matthew Horner suddenly remembered something. "How old is Helen?"
"Why are you asking that?" Amanda looked at Matthew Horner curiously. "A woman's age is a secret."
Matthew Horner gestured with his hand and said, "Helen looks like she's only in her early twenties, but she handles herself very calmly, and her social experience seems incredibly rich."
He felt that Helen Herman's social experience was no less than his own, but he hadn't spent much time in school. He started working right after junior high graduation to make a living. Much of what he knew came from hardship at the bottom of society. As a child who came out of a poor mountainous region and shouldered the burden of his entire family, it might be hard for a normal person to imagine the difficult life and complex emotional journey he had experienced.
Amanda, having a simpler mind, asked directly, "Isn't that normal?"
"Normal?" Matthew Horner replied based on his own understanding, "Shouldn't girls like her... girls from good backgrounds, all be hothouse flowers?"
"I can tell you're prejudiced against people from good backgrounds," Amanda pouted, then added, "People like the ones you describe do exist, and there are many of them, but not everyone from a good background is like that. Besides, Helen's family isn't exactly high society either."
She shrugged. "Since Helen was fifteen, she has been attending formal business parties with her father and trying to participate in commercial activities, especially in the Hollywood circle. Over these ten years, she has met many people. Even when her university courses were most demanding, she never gave up social practice. After graduating the year before last, she even worked in the mailroom at CAA for over a year."
Amanda seemed to really admire her cousin. "The effort and hard work Helen put in to start her own business are unimaginable to you."
Matthew Horner had never had access to the so-called elite class before and didn't understand these things well, but he could imagine that Helen Herman's extensive social network was inseparable from her family. Amanda had once revealed that Helen Herman's father had worked in Hollywood for decades. Although he wasn't a top mogul in the industry, he had established a wide network of contacts, and all of this could assist Helen Herman.
Presumably, Helen Herman's choice to develop her career in Hollywood was also related to the fact that this circle was easier for her to navigate.
Matthew Horner and Amanda were still discussing Helen Herman when Helen Herman returned.
She gestured with her head toward Matthew Horner and Amanda. "Follow me."
The two immediately followed Helen Herman out of the waiting hall and arrived in front of a styling room. Helen Herman told a staff member at the door, "Please notify Mr. Eric Polk that Matthew Horner is here."
As if he had heard Helen Herman's voice, the door of the styling room was pulled open from the inside, revealing the face of a middle-aged man who said to Helen Herman, "Come in."
Generally, Agents rarely participate directly in auditions. Helen Herman was very familiar with the man, so she greeted Matthew Horner and walked in first.
"Eric, this is Matthew Horner, my client."
Once Matthew Horner also entered, she made the introductions: "Matthew, this is Eric Polk, the producer of the Crew."
"Hello, Mr. Polk." Matthew Horner proactively extended his hand, and Eric Polk shook it. "Hello."
Next, Eric Polk pointed toward the costume designer. "Go change your clothes first."
Matthew Horner walked over to the costume designer and followed him to select a well-fitting Airborne Division uniform.
"The appearance is quite good, very robust." Eric Polk seemed relatively satisfied with Matthew Horner. "His face has distinct features; passing the preliminary audition with the casting team shouldn't be a problem."
Helen Herman said with a smile, "Matthew Horner is very suitable for tough roles." She specifically mentioned, "Director Ridley Scott once cast him as the barbarian leader in his new film Gladiator."
"Mhm." Eric Polk nodded. "I will remind the casting team."
"Thank you, Eric."
After the two chatted for a short while, Matthew Horner finished changing into his military uniform and walked out. He was wearing a steel helmet and the standard WWII combat uniform of the 101st Airborne Division soldier, looking imposing, robust, and brave.
"Definitely no problem." Eric Polk took just one look and called an assistant. "Take Mr. Horner to the audition team. I've already spoken to the person in charge of Group B, so you can skip the line."
Helen Herman wasn't worried at all. Matthew Horner's appearance was inherently suitable for this type of role, and with Eric Polk's help, if he couldn't even pass a preliminary, open-call audition, she wouldn't need to stay in the entertainment Agent business.
Matthew Horner arrived at the audition room, waited for the previous actor to leave, and was then called in. The audition was even simpler than the preliminary MV audition. They had Matthew Horner introduce himself, observed his physique while he stood there, took a few photos and a video, and then told him to leave.
This audition had no specific role; the casting team seemed only to be checking if he was suitable for the general type of soldier.
With such a simple audition, the results came back quickly. By the time Matthew Horner returned to the styling room, Helen Herman had already received notification that he had passed the audition.
As Matthew Horner changed back into his clothes and Helen Herman prepared to say goodbye, Eric Polk suddenly said, "You two, there are a few points I must clarify beforehand."