In Burbank, a satellite city of Los Angeles and home to many world-renowned media companies such as Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC, Viacom, and PBS, it's self-proclaimed as the "Media Capital of the World." Besides media companies, Burbank also hosts a series of production studios and sound stages closely linked to these companies, with Disney Studios being one of the most notable.
Under the summer sun of June, a black Mercedes turned onto South Buena Vista Street and soon parked in the parking lot in front of Disney Studios. Since the audition was still some time away, Matthew and Helen Mirren didn't immediately get out of the car.
"This project is really unusual," Matthew once again said to Helen, "They've already confirmed one male lead, and the auditions for the other two main roles are in the final round, yet they haven't finalized the director."
Helen looked at Matthew, replying, "It's not that there's no director, but that he will join the team a month before shooting begins."
"You're right," Matthew conceded, "Director Gore Verbinski is only responsible for the shooting."
It had been half a month since Walt Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films announced "Pirates of the Caribbean." The already-established crew worked with astonishing efficiency, quickly finalizing several key positions.
While Director Gore Verbinski was still contemplating whether to take on the project, Jerry Bruckheimer and his casting director decided through two rounds of auditions that Johnny Depp would play one of the male leads, Captain Jack Sparrow. Auditions for the other two roles, Governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann and the young blacksmith Will Turner, also commenced.
Unsurprisingly, Matthew had smoothly passed the initial audition, which brought him here today for the costume test.
In the past half a month, news kept coming from the crew. After Johnny Depp signed with the crew, Gore Verbinski also decided to sign a directorial agreement with them.
However, Verbinski's new film "The Ring" was still in the works, so he couldn't join "Pirates of the Caribbean" immediately. According to what Matthew had heard, he would join the crew after completing "The Ring," meaning he wouldn't be involved in any of the actor auditions.
Matthew had been keeping tabs on the progress of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and was used to such arrangements.
This project didn't start with a script or established characters but stemmed from Jerry Bruckheimer's burst of inspiration as a producer. Reportedly inspired by the Caribbean-themed attractions at Disneyland, he gathered a team of writers to create a script driven by his ideas. First, the quirky character of Captain Jack Sparrow and the casting of Johnny Depp were decided, followed by the choice of Gore Verbinski as the director.
Apart from a few assistant directors, all major positions in the crew were picked by Jerry Bruckheimer, with little to do with Verbinski. The casting director was also one of Bruckheimer's regular collaborators.
The project's initiation and focal point were both Jerry Bruckheimer.
Therefore, even though Matthew and Helen knew that Gore Verbinski was likely to direct "Pirates of the Caribbean," they didn't bother to network with him beforehand.
Helen focused her attention on Disney Studios and the crew's casting director.
As for Jerry Bruckheimer, Helen had only minimal contact. This long-faced producer, renowned in Hollywood as a top-tier producer, wouldn't be swayed by personal connections if an actor wasn't right for a role, especially with his substantial investment in "Pirates of the Caribbean." Winning over Bruckheimer hinged on the audition itself.
One wrong casting choice could lead to a film's failure. Such a setback might not be catastrophic for Disney but could bankrupt Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
No one in the crew was more eager than Jerry Bruckheimer to find actors fitting the roles perfectly.
Given these circumstances, any underhanded tactics would have little effect on the audition outcome.
Matthew had some confidence in himself, and even if he didn't, he had to exude confidence. Lack of confidence could lead to a poor performance in the audition.
Moreover, he had already used some tactics to ensure his biggest competitor, Orlando Bloom, went to the "Van Helsing" crew instead.
Since Bloom took the lead role in "Van Helsing," he didn't even participate in the initial auditions for Will Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean."
Of course, this could benefit other actors.
Matthew, carrying a bag and accompanied by Helen, entered Disney Studios. Studio 2, not far from the entrance, was their destination. Along the way, they saw people bustling in and out of the massive sound stage doors, with various materials being carried in. However, the audition wasn't in Studio 2 but in the smaller Studio 3 opposite it.
Upon reaching Studio 3, a crew member led Matthew to the makeup room for the main role audition, a completely different treatment from ordinary role auditions. With the time scheduled, there was no waiting.
Arriving at the men's makeup room, Matthew saw an actress in British lady attire coming out from another room, seemingly auditioning for the role of Elizabeth Swann.
He took an extra look and realized she wasn't the flat-chested English rose he remembered.
Without any strict requirements from the crew and Matthew not minding, Helen accompanied him into the makeup room. Seeing his interest in the actress, she whispered, "That's Kristen Bell, one of the actresses selected for the final costume audition. Your audition today will mainly be with her."
Matthew nodded, not saying much. He had a general understanding of the crew's situation. Compared to Will Turner, there were more actresses auditioning for Elizabeth Swann, making the competition fiercer, including Keira Knightley.
For the role of Will Turner, his main competitors were three actors: British star Jude Law, Spider-Man Tobey Maguire, and the less famous Christopher Masterson.
The crew had also invited Ewan McGregor for the costume audition, but he declined to prepare for "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith."
Sitting in front of the makeup mirror, Matthew pondered his competitors, who would audition in the coming days.
Helen had carefully analyzed these competitors and believed that while Jude Law and Tobey Maguire were famous, their chances of landing the role were slim. Law was reportedly preparing for the Weinstein brothers' "Cold Mountain" and likely to withdraw from the audition like McGregor.
As for Maguire, unless Jerry Bruckheimer had lost his mind, he wouldn't cast Spider-Man in a pirate movie.
According to Helen, Bruckheimer's invitation to Maguire for the costume audition was likely a face-saving gesture, but it wouldn't jeopardize his reputation or the film's future.
Therefore, the real threat was Christopher Masterson, similarly aged but almost unknown.
Beforehand, Masterson had no fame, appearing only in a minor role in last year's "Scary Movie." Moreover, his agency was much smaller than Helen's Angel Agency, alerting Matthew that an unknown actor with no draw or connections, making it into the second round of auditions, indicated Bruckheimer might see him as fitting for Will Turner.
Ultimately, Jerry Bruckheimer's preference would decide who got the role.
After the makeup artist finished with Matthew's hair, styling his nearly black dark brown hair into a neat 17th-century English hairstyle, his makeup was complete.
Next, he changed into a very fitting costume in the dressing room with an assistant's help, put on boots, fastened his cuffs, and stood before a tall mirror.
His appearance matched the image of a young blacksmith, but his demeanor was entirely different, appearing stronger yet retaining a touch of British gentlemanliness.
"Not bad…" Helen approached, sizing up Matthew through the makeup mirror and advised, "In this costume test, the crew asked for a free performance from a script segment. Bring out your best!"
Matthew had already received Will Turner's script after the initial audition and had studied it extensively, thoroughly preparing.
"Don't worry," Matthew appeared confident.
As this audition allowed improvisation, the crew had him visit the previous week to discuss the needed costume and props.
He stepped away from the mirror to the door, where Helen opened his long backpack and took out the rapier he used for fencing practice, handing it to Matthew.
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