This time, the post-production editing studio rented by Ronan was still located at Warner Bros. Studios, the same one that Jessica Felton had turned into a junkyard last time. Due to the fact that both the filming locations for "Death Comes" and "Ace Agent" were also at Warner Bros. Studios, this facilitated his coordination efforts.
Managing three projects simultaneously, even if Ronan was only overseeing the overall picture, still kept him extremely busy.
"Miss Hagel, that's it for now," Ronan called a halt to the auditions in the office's screening room, addressing Catherine Hagel. "We'll notify you of the audition results no later than tomorrow."
Catherine Hagel glanced at Ronan, seeing no further indication from him, and smiled, "Alright."
After she left the audition room, director James Huang said to Ronan, "She has a good appearance, and her audition was the best among all the actresses so far."
Ronan nodded slightly. "I agree."
Tony Koch, who was observing the auditions, was silently reviewing the actors' profiles without interjecting.
He was a smart man, knowing he had no say in this matter.
Ronan and James Huang reached an agreement without hesitation. Ronan said directly, "I'll have Andrew contact Catherine Hagel's agent this afternoon. As long as the salary is suitable, she's our first choice."
"Alright," James Huang knew that Ronan was the one making the final decision and asked, "What about the male lead?"
The casting for the male lead had not been finalized yet.
Ronan glanced over the records in his hand and said, "Let's go with Devin Savva for now. We'll consider others if the salary isn't right."
The auditions for the main actors in "Death Comes" were basically completed by now, and most roles had their first choices. Taking into account factors like salary, Ronan and James Huang discussed for a while and then confirmed backup choices.
To be honest, for this kind of film, as long as the appearance and basic acting skills passed muster, variations in performance quality didn't make much difference.
"James, about the African-American actor, it's best to change one of the roles," Ronan looked at an audition record and said, "Take the African-American out of the list of those killed by Death. Change the role to that of a coroner and make it an African-American... Hmm, that actor you recommended who appeared in 'The X-Files,' Tony Todd, is good."
Hearing this, James Huang understood Ronan's implicit meaning. After all, he had worked in Hollywood for many years and had some understanding of the situation regarding African-American actors.
James Huang responded, "Alright, I'll give Tony Todd a call."
Ronan didn't say much more. With the overall smooth operation of the crew, he bid Tony farewell from the audition room and went to find Andrew to discuss negotiations with the actors.
This time, similar to "The Purge," the negotiations didn't have to consider the actors' acting skills; the salary was the primary factor.
Even if it was someone like Catherine Hagel, whom he had specifically sought after, if her salary exceeded the crew's bottom line, Ronan would not hesitate to let her go.
The film's public production budget was only $15 million. If they could produce outstanding work with that amount, it would be the best outcome.
Ronan had already decided to keep personnel costs below 25% to 30% of the publicly announced budget.
Back in his office, Tony poured himself a glass of water and took a few sips before saying, "The auditions were completely different from what I imagined."
Ronan glanced at the financial statements for "Death Comes" and "Ace Agent" and asked, "What did you imagine the auditions to be like?"
"Where's the red sofa?" Tony asked curiously. "Don't actresses have to take off their clothes to show their real material? Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of transaction?"
Ronan didn't even look up. "Red sofa? That's so many years ago. And doing such things in public? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"
Even the industry's worst reputation, Harvey Weinstein, wouldn't do such things in the audition room. They'd arrange to meet in a hotel room or an apartment.
Tony lowered his voice and asked tentatively, "Ronan, um... would you choose actors based on that kind of transaction?"
Ronan chuckled, not avoiding the topic. "I'm also a normal man. If a beautiful woman offers herself willingly, of course, I won't refuse. But this industry is about reciprocity. If you get benefits from actresses, you have to give corresponding returns, otherwise, there will be trouble in the future."
Just think about Harvey Weinstein. There were countless producers in the industry who engaged in such transactions, but in the end, it was this fat Jewish man who got into big trouble.
Maybe there were bigwigs pulling the strings behind the scenes, but it couldn't be denied that Harvey Weinstein's conduct in terms of giving and receiving was just too unsightly.
Thinking about the "Me Too" movement later on, some things couldn't be done recklessly.
Tony shook his head. "You're too conservative."
Ronan shook his head as well. "Let's talk about the 'Death Comes' project. A serious mistake in selecting actors could lead to the failure of the film. Which of the actresses you're interested in is worth $15 million?"
"I understand," Tony nodded slowly. "Even if she's made entirely of diamonds, she's not worth $15 million in one night."
Ronan was momentarily speechless. Made of diamonds? That would require diamond cutting...
Tony, full of curiosity, asked, "What should I do if I'm interested in a beautiful actress?"
"Just go after her? Pursuing women is something men always do, right?" Ronan gave a standard answer. "As a young, handsome, and wealthy gentleman like you, you're a favorite of many female celebrities."
"Formal dating?" Tony seemed hesitant.
Ronan shrugged. "If you like her, be together. If you lose interest, break up. It's Hollywood-style romance, no need to think too much about it."
Forget about Hollywood; isn't break-up-and-make-up the norm in society?
Perhaps some places in the Midwest of the United States were very conservative, but the theme in major cities had always been openness.
Forget about the West; even across the Pacific, in a few years, things like breaking up and getting back together among men and women in big cities would become commonplace.
In his previous life, Ronan had had four or five formal girlfriends besides his first love, and most of them came and went quickly.
As for marriage, it had never been considered.
This was also influenced by some situations around him in his previous life.
There was a real-life case of a colleague that had left Ronan trembling with fear.
The colleague's wife came from a slightly poorer place, with five siblings... um, four sisters and one brother.
When they got married, the cars and houses went without saying, that was the man's standard package, and then the woman's family also asked for "all the colors of the rainbow" as a dowry, but the $200,000 dowry didn't accompany the woman...
If it had just been that, it would have been fine, after all, there was gratitude for raising them.
The trouble came after the marriage. The colleague worked in a big city, and the woman's younger brother's education, living expenses, job search, and buying a car and a house, among other things, were all passed on to this colleague.
When the younger brother got married, the colleague was asked to fork out $300,000.
This colleague's family was basically at war after marriage, and inevitably, it ended in divorce...
A week later, Tony left Los Angeles and returned to Germany. There were still many things to be done at Koch Films, and besides Helen Corrigan's interpersonal relationships, gathering large sums of money wasn't easy, even with the temptation of tax exemption.
Before leaving, Ronan talked to him for an afternoon. If everything went smoothly, the next project under Sand Sea Entertainment would require more than $50 million in funding.
After sending Tony Koch off, Ronan plunged back into his busy work. Anyone in the entrepreneurial stage would inevitably be in an extremely busy state.
Delegating authority was necessary, but one couldn't be detached from work. The temptations of money and power were too great, and there were too many company bosses worldwide who had been quietly sidelined by management.
Sand Sea Entertainment continued to operate smoothly, while Embassy Pictures was busy with production and promotion plans. Relative Theory belonged to the holding shell, and the three companies had not encountered any major problems for the time being.
As for the film crew, after "Death Comes," "Ace Agent" also confirmed its main cast. The preparations for both crews were steadily advancing.
At this time, George specifically found Ronan. "I've found out where the film and television rights for 'The Identity of Bourne' are."