[Chapter 912: I Hope You Can Be More Serious]
After a week of auditions, the list of candidates for the lead role in Iron Man was whittled down from fifty to just ten. To select Tony Stark from these final ten, the creative team began holding frequent meetings for discussions.
"David, this isn't working. I need you to try again. Remember, Tony Stark's pride is ingrained -- it doesn't need to be overtly displayed; your tone needs to sound more natural and self-assured," said Eric.
For the remaining ten candidates, the crew had moved away from group auditions, opting instead for one-on-one discussions and deeper evaluations to gradually eliminate candidates and closely scrutinize the best fit.
In a conference room at the studio, Eric patiently explained his vision for Tony Stark to David Duchovny, who was partaking in the discussions. David Duchovny was initially supposed to be the star of The X-Files, but due to a twist of fate, he was now just a familiar face in various indie films and television shows. While Eric didn't have a strong opinion about Duchovny's performance in The X-Files, he was a fan of his other work, Californication. David's portrayal of the disillusioned writer Hank Moody, navigating through the lives of beautiful women, left a significant impression on Eric.
After Eric finished speaking, David Duchovny on the opposite sofa pondered for a moment and replied, "Alright, Eric, I'll give it another shot."
Just as Eric turned to instruct the production assistant nearby to provide David with the lines, he noticed that everyone, including Joss Whedon, was looking at him with strange expressions. This seemed to happen often lately, and Eric felt a puzzling tension in the room. Unable to contain himself, he finally exclaimed, "I warn you all, if you keep looking at me with those adoring eyes, I'll dock your pay! Sally, let's go over that scene with David again."
Everyone circled on the sofa chuckled lightly, and Sally, the production assistant, picked up the script, glanced at David, received a nod, and began reading the lines of Christine, the Vanity Fair reporter, from Iron Man: "Some people say you're the modern-day Da Vinci. What do you think?"
"That's absolute nonsense. I don't paint," David replied.
"What about your other nickname, the Merchant of Death?" she asked.
"That's not bad," David answered, "let me guess, Berkeley?"
"Actually, Brown University."
"Alright, Miss Brown. The world may not be perfect, but we don't have a choice. I promise you, if one day we don't need weapons for peace, I will switch careers to build children's hospitals."
As the two prepared to continue, Eric interrupted, "Stop, still not right. David, your tone needs to be faster, and the scene shouldn't come across as too casual. Just think about it, and if it doesn't work, we'll move to the next scene."
David hesitated, "Eric, can you show me how it's done?"
Eric hadn't thought of how to describe it suitably and, upon David's request, nodded without a second thought. He turned to the production assistant and said, "Sally, let's start from that last part."
However, Eric didn't notice Joss Whedon excitedly signaling to the cinematographer behind them, who naturally directed the camera towards Eric.
Sally noticed Joss's subtle actions behind Eric but pretended not to and lowered her gaze to her script before reading, "Mr. Stark, you've rehearsed this line many times, haven't you?"
Eric didn't need to look at the lines; the recent preparatory auditions and his memory allowed him to understand the script thoroughly. Furthermore, he knew better than anyone what kind of effect he wanted. After gathering his thoughts, Eric replied effortlessly, "I practice it in front of the mirror every night before bed."
Sally nodded, "I can tell."
With a hint of playful sarcasm, Eric looked at Sally and said, "I wish you could see it in person."
Under the weight of Eric's natural, assertive gaze, Sally felt her cheeks flush, instinctively looking away as her voice faltered. Although she was very familiar with the script, she misread her lines: "Mr. Williams, I, I hope you can be more serious."
"..."
Eric was momentarily speechless.
"Haha."
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Realizing her mistake, Sally's face turned bright red, feeling intensely embarrassed as she raised her script to shield her face and hurried away to the restroom.
Watching the young woman flee in panic only caused more laughter from the group.
After a moment, Eric clapped his hands together, "Alright, everyone, let's get back to it. We'll skip that part and move to the scene between Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes on the plane."
With Eric's cue, the group managed to rein in their laughter and resumed discussions.
...
As evening approached, Eric was about to discuss David Duchovny's performance with Joss Whedon and the others when Joss suggested, "Eric, we're almost off the clock. How about grabbing a drink together?"
Eric raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Huh?"
"I mean, Venice Beach has some great bars," Joss said. "Plus, I want to discuss something else; this is also everyone else's thought."
After assessing Joss's expression, Eric nodded, "Fine, then let's call it a day for now."
Thanks to the rise of Firefly Studios, Venice Beach near Playa Vista had recently become a popular hangout for Hollywood filmmakers, leading to an influx of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars.
As they followed Joss into a bar called 'Light', Eric suddenly realized he hadn't had an experience like this in quite some time.
Although it was still early evening and night had yet to fall, the bar already buzzed with energy.
Wearing sunglasses, Eric entered the bar behind Joss, watching as he greeted the owner. They settled into a secluded booth in the corner.
After ordering a beer from the approaching server, Joss asked, "Mr. Williams, what do you want to drink?"
Eric noticed a waitress in revealing attire staring at him intensely, so he took off his sunglasses and shushed her with a finger raised, then smiled, "I'll have a beer too."
"Ah, got it," the waitress replied, somewhat startled, nodding as she hurried away. It took quite some time before she returned with two beers, her makeup visibly touched up, and she had removed an excessively large pair of earrings. After placing the beers in front of Eric and Joss, the girl boldly asked, "Mr. Williams, can I take a picture with you?"
Eric smiled and shook his head, "Sorry, miss."
Not discouraged, the waitress pulled out a business card from her pocket and handed it to him, "Mr. Williams, here's my number. Call me."
Without giving Eric a chance to refuse, she turned and sashayed away.
Eric glanced at the business card. "Jenny? I think Jennifer sounds better. I like the name Jennifer."
"Why don't you call her over and have her change it? I bet she wouldn't say no," Joss said with a laugh.
"I'm not interested in doing something so silly," Eric replied, shaking his head and placing the business card back on the table. He turned to Joss and asked, "So, what do you want to discuss?"
"Eric, which of the candidates we've been testing recently do you think aligns best with your vision?"
Eric chuckled, picking up the card again as if toying with it. "I'm guessing this isn't the only thing you want to talk about tonight, right?"
Joss shrugged and said, "Eric, I'm sure you've noticed everyone's sentiments lately."
"Huh?"
"We all feel that you have the deepest understanding of the character Tony Stark beyond any of the auditioners we've seen," Joss expressed. "In the past weeks, you've been repeatedly guiding these actors on how to perform, what expressions to use, and the tone to take."
Eric raised his head, "You want me to play Tony Stark?"
Joss nodded, "I've discussed it privately with Mr. Katzenberg, Mr. Arad, and others; they all think this plan is feasible."
Eric hesitated, recalling his dissatisfaction with the audition process. He even remembered that Robert Downey Jr.'s performance had several aspects that weren't convincing.
"Joss, I'm already a producer. If I take on the lead role, your position as director could easily become marginalized."
"If it would make the film better, I'd have no issue stepping aside," Joss said without hesitation. "Eric, I'm a fan of Iron Man, so I truly hope this film has the perfect leading man."
"I haven't even auditioned. I know what I want Tony Stark to be like, but do you think I can perform it well?"
Joss chuckled, "Eric, I think you wouldn't even need to act; just be yourself. Just look at how Sally reacted to your lines this afternoon; never has she blushed in front of other actors. It's essential for Tony Stark, as a playboy, to have that strong attraction to women. Moreover, well, I've been quietly observing you for a month, and many of your behaviors align closely with the Tony Stark we envision."
Without realizing it, Eric folded the business card into a paper airplane while listening to Joss. He looked back up and said, "Alright, let's start narrowing it down from these ten."
Joss noticed a shift in Eric's tone, without hesitation he pressed on, "Eric, I know you're busy, but you should also know that filming Iron Man won't take up too much of your time. The planned shooting schedule is four months. If it's tightly organized, you'd only need to be on set for under two months -- most of that can be done in LA, and even for the overseas shoots, we just need to head to nearby Nevada."
"It's not just about that, Joss," Eric replied, "the entire Marvel cinematic universe requires Iron Man to appear in not just this film but a whole series."
"But that's not really an issue, Eric. Aside from a few primary Iron Man films, your appearances in the crossover films will be much less than that -- and might not even take up a month's time. Furthermore, we average a two-year production cycle for films related to Iron Man, so taking two months every two years shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"It seems you're set on having me in this role?"
Joss chuckled and said, "Eric, honestly, have you never considered playing this character yourself?"
Eric's eyes flickered for a moment, "I have thought about playing Hugh Hefner's role; I wonder if he has managed to gather 2,000 girlfriends by now."
"Haha, that's the tone we need," Joss laughed. "The tone of Tony Stark."
"Okay, okay, I'll think about it. I promise to give you an answer by tomorrow... or, well, the day after," Eric said, tossing the small paper airplane towards Joss with a little too much force. It sailed over the barrier and landed in a nearby booth, where a girl let out a light scream.
Joss sensed that Eric's thoughts were softening and prepared to press on with his persuasion, but two petite girls marched over angrily. One was in a black dress, holding the paper airplane, which was now stained with liquid, likely from landing in a drink. Just as they were about to reprimand him, they recognized Eric and their anger evaporated, leaving them momentarily speechless, looking lost like two little quails.
With a smile, Eric regarded the two girls with amusement, then pointed at Joss, saying, "It's this guy fooling around; don't blame me."
The girl in the black dress was the first to react, quickly saying, "Sorry, Mr. Williams, we, we're fine."
As she spoke, the girl in black started to pull her friend away.
But Eric looked at the slightly taller girl with a bit of baby fat on her cheeks and said, "Sarah, right? I happen to remember your name. You're Sarah Michelle Gellar."
Turning to the other girl knowingly, he asked, "And what's your name?"
"Uh, I," the girl in black hadn't expected Eric to know her friend and quickly replied, "I'm Jennifer Love Hewitt."
"Oh, another Jennifer! I like girls named Jennifer -- can I buy you both a drink?"
*****
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