"Good morning!"
"Good morning."
When Marcia Ross arrived at the casting company near Sound City, it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. But there were already quite a few actors gathered in the hallway.
This scene didn't surprise Marcia.
In Hollywood, with over 400,000 actors, even though more than 400 movies are made each year, the resources are concentrated in the hands of a few. The rest still struggle to survive, clinging to the fringes of the industry. For them, any opportunity or project is precious.
So, for every project, a large number of actors show up to try their luck—even for independent or art films.
Marcia had even seen professional actors audition for roles they weren't suited for, just because the Actors Guild had posted a notice. They'd go to every audition they could.
Eventually, some of these actors became familiar faces to casting directors. When a suitable role came up, the directors would naturally call them in.
This approach wasn't entirely without merit.
However, it was still incredibly challenging.
"The auditions will start in five minutes. You can begin warming up now."
Marcia dropped this announcement, pushed open the door to the audition room, and went inside, greeting her colleagues who had just arrived.
A man wearing glasses, looking somewhat slim and appearing to be under thirty, approached Marcia with a hug.
"Marcia, honestly, I was surprised you took this project."
This was Marcia's assistant—not an assistant, but rather a co-casting director. The two often exchanged ideas, offering judgments from different gender and age perspectives, which provided Marcia with inspiration for her decisions.
Marcia took off her coat and hung it on the back of her chair.
"To be honest, I was surprised myself."
The others, setting up lights and cameras nearby, chuckled.
Marcia shrugged lightly. "It's the truth. I didn't expect Anson to call me. In fact, I didn't even know he had my number."
"Hey, Marcia, after all, you were the one who discovered him, right?"
Marcia burst into laughter. "Ha, that's one way to interpret it. But another way is that I just got lucky. If anything, he saved my skin."
Marcia Ross, the casting director, had previously worked on "The Princess Diaries." At the last minute, she had found Anson through a "GQ" magazine, completing the casting just in time and kick-starting Anson's miraculous journey.
Apart from "Friends," "The Princess Diaries" was Anson's first big-screen project, so it wouldn't be wrong to say that Marcia was his discoverer.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed, and Anson had skyrocketed to become the new Spider-Man, a top-tier star in North America, with popularity and status beyond comparison.
Marcia never expected Anson would still remember her, let alone that he would attempt to become a producer or that their paths would cross again.
Typically, Marcia and her team rarely took on independent film projects.
First, the budget was limited.
Second, there weren't many roles.
Third, producers or directors often had strong personal visions and were unwilling to accept opinions or compromise.
However, Anson had earnestly communicated with her, laying out his entire concept and sincerely asking for her professional opinion. He genuinely invited Marcia to take on the casting work.
Marcia hadn't expected to agree, let alone so quickly and decisively, which even surprised herself.
Reflecting calmly, Marcia realized it must have been the previous perfect collaboration that left a positive impression of Anson on her. Once again, during their brief conversation, she felt the same sense of ease and clarity from him. With such a well-organized and thoughtful approach, it was only natural to want to be involved.
In any case, that's how it happened.
"Phew."
"Honestly, I have some regrets."
Marcia shook her head lightly.
"I'm not too worried about casting the female lead. Different actors bring different charms, and I believe Anson can create convincing chemistry with them."
"Although, that's also a challenge…"
One core aspect of "The Butterfly Effect" is that Evan travels through time repeatedly for Kayleigh. The chemistry between the actors must convince the audience, making them feel the tension between the characters. Otherwise, the film might fail.
However…
"The real concern is the child actors."
"God, with Anson's looks, I have no idea what he might have looked like as a child. If we fail to cast well, it could be disastrous."
"But we're not the 'Harry Potter' crew…"
In "The Butterfly Effect," Evan frequently travels through different timelines, with his seven-year-old and thirteen-year-old selves appearing on screen. This was Marcia's biggest headache.
After all, Anson's appearance was quite unique, making it hard to find a young version of him.
Hollywood doesn't have many child actors. While there's a vast pool of adult actors, there are only a few hundred child actors aged seven or thirteen. It's the same batch of young actors over and over again.
And they had to find a young Anson among them?
Just imagining it gave Marcia a headache.
When "Harry Potter" held auditions, they interviewed over 10,000 children and went through eight rounds of auditions before finally selecting the three main actors.
But the crucial point is, "The Butterfly Effect" isn't a major production like "Harry Potter."
It wasn't just Marcia; everyone shared the same concern. "Actually, I'm worried about that too. For such a small project, we might not get many actors to audition."
It was 2002, and everything was still relatively primitive. Even if they posted a casting call online, they probably wouldn't attract many actors.
Beyond the Actors Guild, they would have to rely on connections.
Casting directors also have their networks, finding recommendations or pulling actors from other productions, hoping to discover a talented young actor this way.
Marcia took a deep breath. "That's why Anson sought me out, right? And I, charmed by him, foolishly agreed."
"Who says Helen was the only troublemaker? Paris was just as guilty."
Marcia's joke instantly set off a wave of laughter among everyone present.
In recent days, Hollywood's hottest rumor has been "Troy." Many were adamant that Anson was set to play Paris, squaring off against Brad Pitt's Achilles.
Naturally, everyone was curious about who would play the legendary beauty, Helen.
The strangest part of the whole situation was that neither Anson nor Brad had responded, neither confirming nor denying the rumors. This silence only fueled the speculation, making "Troy" the most anticipated project of the year.
Marcia took a deep breath. "Alright, whatever happens next, let's see how today's auditions go, and then we'll discuss."
"At least when I walked in, the hallway was packed with actors. I just hope the quality matches the quantity. Now it's time to see how much pull Anson really has—how many people want to act alongside him."