The preparations for Infernal Affairs are currently underway. While the two protagonists selected by Levi were preparing their manuscripts in their respective homes, Levi had already received his guests in the Enigma Company.
"Mr. De Niro, I am very grateful that you are willing to discuss with me about starring in this movie. It is my honor to invite you to play this movie. What do you want to know about this movie? Yes, you can tell me everything, and I will answer you one by one."
At this time, the person sitting in front of Levi and chatting with him can be said to be one of the most outstanding actors in Hollywood. Like Brad Pitt and Norton, Robert De Niro was also moved after receiving Levi's invitation, but unlike Brad Pitt and Norton, who immediately agreed to the invitation, De Niro decided to come first to meet Levi to talk, see the preparations for the film, and then make a decision.
"Director Levi, thank you for inviting me to participate in the film. I never thought people would be willing to let me play the gang boss." De Niro, who was sitting opposite Levi, nodded slightly, but in his demeanor was a little reserved and proud, "I've already read the script; it's not bad, and I'm willing to act, but I really want to know how much confidence you have in this movie. I know you invited Brad Pitt and Norton to act. Do you want us to cooperate to make a classic movie or a movie that makes money?"
De Niro immediately thought of this question after reading the script.
Unlike other actors, Robert De Niro is a big star who has been famous for many years. As a top actor, he has acted in many plays and gangster characters.
The first thing he thought of was not how much it would benefit him if the movie succeeded but whether it would affect him if it failed. Even this movie might just want to use his name to make a fortune.
This is what worries him.
De Niro knows he doesn't have much time in the future: in the past few years, his performance has begun to decline; after all, he is nearly 60. Playing a tough guy is no longer suitable for him. In the past two years, he even had to develop in the direction of comedies.
He knew that his acting peak had basically come to an end, and in the future, he would probably spend more time performing a little comedy to make everyone happy. He has already been full of honors and has nothing to pursue. He can play some funny and light-hearted comedies.
It's just that this time Levi's movie invited him to perform again, which was beyond his expectation.
He thought he would no longer play these roles, but Levi asked him to play such a role again. He was very uncertain. Did Levi really want him to play a different role? Or just hope he will play another gangster and increase the movie's box office?
Levi is indeed a well-known director, but he has never worked with Levi. Naturally, he was worried. It took him a lifetime to create his classic screen image, and it will be difficult to have a better image in the future. Those are his precious memories, and he absolutely cannot allow a movie to ruin them.
"I understand your concerns." For De Niro's question, Levi didn't refute; he just nodded and motioned him to come with him, "I think, no matter how confident I am in making a classic, it's just lip service. Empty words are meaningless. Let me introduce some supporting roles in the movie to show you my confidence."
Supporting roles? Levi's words made De Niro get excited.
Therefore, he is very interested in who are the supporting roles in this movie: the protagonist of the film is for the box office, but the supporting roles are not. Whether or not the supporting roles are carefully selected also reflects the seriousness of the director to a large extent.
"Liam Neeson has agreed to play the role of the captain in the movie. This is the most important supporting role besides you..."
Walking on the way to the set, Levi introduced the preparation situation in a low voice, and De Niro nodded slightly at the mention of his name.
Liam Neeson was the first one to decide to star in a movie: this actor has been acting in literary films these years, and he likes characters that can portray the depth of characters very much.
The role of the captain in this movie is a very important supporting role in the whole play, and in terms of performance, it is also quite challenging, which made him agree to Levi's invitation with little hesitation.
He just finished filming the first part of the Star Wars prequel, and now he is idle and has no film appointments. He can come to film this film anytime.
Being able to find this actor to play the role also shows Levi's confidence: Liam Neeson basically doesn't take any commercial films. Finding such a supporting role is obviously for the movie, not for making money, and De Niro is also satisfied with this.
"As for the heroines, there is basically no problem... but in this movie, they don't have many roles..."
A few heroines are not a problem. Naomi immediately agreed to act in this movie. Although Aniston was relatively busy, her role was very simple. One week was enough to complete the filming, so she naturally had no objections. These protagonists were quickly settled.
De Niro is not very concerned about this either: he has read the script of this movie, and he is also very clear that in this movie, women are just out to play the beauty, which is not very important. In fact, it's nice that Levi doesn't oversell them for the box office.
"And then there are our actors. At the beginning of the movie, there is a confession section between you before going undercover ten years ago. In this section, both of you are actors with younger versions. These two actors are the ones I found to play you ten years ago, Ryan Gosling, Heath Ledger, the two of them, to play you when you were young."
Levi has already brought him to the studio under preparation; standing at the studio door, Levi pointed to the people inside and introduced De Niro.
He found the two of them without much effort.
Now Ryan Gosling is still playing tricks; he is a little famous actor; Levi saw his name in the list of interview actors, so he found him and asked him to play a role.
And Heath Ledger was recommended by Naomi: Australians are relatively united. When she heard that Levi needed young people to play, Naomi recommended Heath Ledger, and Levi was also very satisfied.
De Niro's eyes glanced at them. He had never heard of these two young actors, and he didn't know how good their performances were, but this level of seriousness was indeed rare.
"And then there is the actor who plays a small supporting role in the movie. That is another undercover of the police who was responsible for shooting the undercover gangster at the end. I let Joaquin Phoenix play it. His acting skills are still good. I believe in this role, he can play well. And the other one is a friend of the protagonist in the gang, and I gave Matt Dillon to play this role."
Jacques Phoenix is the younger brother of River Phoenix, but unlike his famous brother who died young, he has been in Hollywood for a long time, but he has never been very famous. However, he does have some acting skills, and it's definitely not a problem to play a small supporting role in a movie.
As for the other character, Levi chose Matt Dillon. This actor was also a figure in the idol group in his early years, but his fame has long been consumed, and now he has basically transformed into an acting school - it's just a tragedy that his reputation is much worse than before. However, it is very feasible for him to play a small role in the movie.
At this time, the two of them are also preparing for the scene. Although one of them used to be a star, and the other is not, their preparations are equally hard at this time.
Levi selected these people individually, and now, he is also very happy to introduce them to De Niro so that De Niro can see how his cast is.
"These people..." De Niro was very clear that Levi introduced them to him because he believed their acting skills could satisfy him. He has the confidence to pass these people and convince De Niro that he really wants to make this movie well.
And now, De Niro really believes it: In the room, several young actors who look quite young are preparing for their roles: De Niro is very clear that their roles are actually very few, but it's just a matter of a few minutes, and it's accompanied by a lot of editing.
It's actually not that difficult. It can be said that they are all tricks, but in the room, they are seriously preparing for them; their attitude doesn't look like they're playing tricks at all.
Whether an actor is good or bad, ability is one aspect, and attitude is another. Even the extras he found have this attitude, and Levi's seriousness can be known: If the director is not serious, why should he choose the little extras carefully?
Rather than saying how confident he is, let De Niro see how his actors are carefully selected. The careful selection of each actor is enough to prove how much he values this drama.
"Where did you find these actors?"
Looking at the practice of these actors, De Niro asked Levi in surprise.
"Why? Aren't you satisfied?"
"I'm quite satisfied." Looking at their performance, De Niro sighed after a while, "Director Levi, I take back my question just now. For a movie, I should not question the director who can find so many good actors to play a movie. I believe that your dedication to this movie is unparalleled. I also believe that being able to participate in this movie will be another thing I am proud of!"
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Cherif Doghri
Scott DePaepe
MMMCMXCIX, or 3,999
Britanna
Mandy G
Adam LV
The Main Man
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