Putting aside Hugo's mistake of arriving late, Allerge, as the stage manager, had the responsibility to ensure the smooth operation of the crew. Even if Hugo needed to be punished for being late, it was not Allerge's place to enforce it after all, Hugo was the leading man in the production. If an actor needed to be replaced, that decision naturally belonged to the producer.
Judging from what Hugo just said, though he was indeed late, he had been held up at the studio for a while he had specifically apologized to the staff, and afterward had been further delayed by Allerge. In total, at least twenty minutes had passed these events could all be verified, so Hugo had no way to lie about it. When everything was added up, Hugo was actually only about five minutes late.
Simply put, it was Allerge who had caused the real disruption, which seriously delayed the production's first script rehearsal. Hugo was at fault, but Allerge, as the stage manager, was even more unforgivable. No wonder all the actors in the conference room were glaring angrily at Allerge.
Listening to Hugo's explanation, Joseph remained calm but had already launched a quiet counterattack. Not only did Hugo sincerely admit his mistake, but he also left Allerge with no room to argue. This allowed Joseph to release some of the frustration in his heart, though he still didn't show it, merely lowering his head to express sincerity while watching the stunned Allerge out of the corner of his eye.
Allerge was completely speechless now. He had no way to defend himself, because everything Hugo said was true. He wanted to argue further, but Robert directly cut him off. "You can leave now. The script rehearsal is about to begin." Allerge stood frozen in place, unmoving, until Jack lost his temper again. "If there's any more delay, we might as well cancel today's rehearsal altogether." Then another assistant director kept giving Allerge meaningful glances, and only then did Allerge leave the conference room, full of frustration and unwillingness.
Before leaving, Allerge shot a fierce glare at Hugo. But Hugo had his back to the conference room door and gave no response whatsoever. Then the door was slammed shut with a loud "bang" by Joseph, ruthlessly shutting Allerge out.
"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience I caused," Hugo quickly walked to the first seat on Robert's right-hand side and sat down. Joseph found an empty seat along the row of chairs by the wall.
Jack glanced at Hugo. "If you have time to apologize, you'd better use it to read the script."
Only then did Hugo really take a look at the man before him. Jack was already fifty-five years old. His hairline had receded significantly, revealing a broad, full forehead, with fine wrinkles telling the story of time. Jack wasn't what you'd call classically handsome. His gaze wasn't sharp, and he had no particularly distinctive aura. He wore a simple lake-blue shirt with no decorations or embellishments. Yet somehow, he exuded a quiet authority that seemed capable of commanding the entire room.
In this respect, Jack was very much like Al, whom Hugo had worked with not long ago. From Jack to Al, to Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, none of them were what you'd call handsome. Al was indeed very good-looking, but his height was a fatal flaw. Robert fit many people's idea of a handsome man, but compared to guys like Tom, Brad, or Hugo, he still fell short.
But all four of these acting masters had their own unique traits, and more importantly, they were able to integrate those traits into their performances, creating timeless classics. That's true charisma.
No wonder people often joked that, just like beautiful women, handsome men had a hard time gaining recognition from the academy. Flip through the history of Best Actor winners at the Oscars, and you'll find that the percentage of good-looking winners is surprisingly low. Not to mention the long road it took for Al to finally win after eight nominations. And in the 21st century, no one represents this struggle better than Leonardo, whom Hugo had recently met. This handsome man's road to an Oscar statuette had been nothing short of bumpy.
So, for Hugo to gain recognition based on acting, it wouldn't be easy. Looks might be a foot in the door, but they could also be a stumbling block.
Sitting to Hugo's right was the film's female lead, Demi Moore. After twelve years in the entertainment industry, it wasn't until the 1990 film Ghost that she finally hit her stride, and her paycheck skyrocketed to eight million, making her one of the top actresses in the industry.
There were many reasons Demi chose to accept the A Few Good Men script. For one, she wanted to challenge a completely new role. For another, working with Tom and Jack would be fun. But what Demi definitely didn't expect was for Hugo to end up as the male lead of the film.
It's worth mentioning the whole saga between Hugo and Bruce Willis. Tracey had turned down Bruce and chosen Hugo to shoot Hudson Hawk. Although the film flopped, Bruce naturally still felt some resentment. And Demi? She was Bruce's wife.
So at this moment, Demi's calm, dismissive gaze wasn't hard to understand.
Faced with Jack's anger and Demi's coldness, Hugo didn't try to explain himself anymore. He quickly lowered his head and opened the script for A Few Good Men in front of him.
This was Hugo's first time seeing the script. Everything was unfamiliar every line, every scene, every character had to be learned from scratch. Around the table sat a group of people not only Hugo, Jack, and Demi, the three main leads, but also a series of supporting actors. They had all arrived for the script rehearsal. Since some time had already been wasted, their patience was wearing thin. The soft whispering made the conference room feel stiflingly noisy.
"Let's get started then," Jack said. Clearly, he didn't want to wait any longer.
Robert looked at Hugo, his eyes asking a silent question. Hugo had just gotten the script and didn't understand anything yet, but he still gave Robert a confirming nod to signal he was ready. Then Robert announced, "Guantanamo. Daniel officially meets Colonel Jessup for the first time."
As soon as Robert spoke, the room filled with the soft rustle of pages being turned. Hugo glanced at Demi's actions on his right and quickly flipped through his own copy. But unfamiliar with the script, he moved slower. Demi noticed Hugo's awkwardness but didn't offer any help she just sat quietly. Fortunately, Robert extended his right hand and helped Hugo flip to the correct page. Hugo looked up and smiled at Robert to express his gratitude.
"Begin," Robert ordered. Then Jack's voice came, calm but relaxed, "Nathan Jessup, come in."
Hugo was still searching for the exact lines and didn't react right away. But he soon noticed the silence in the room. When he looked up, he found everyone staring at him. Hugo immediately sensed something was wrong was the next line his? Seriously…
In this kind of setting, especially when everyone already had a negative impression of Hugo, no one would make an effort to understand his situation. Their eyes were full of indifference and curiosity. Even Joseph, sitting in the back, couldn't bear to watch. He shut his eyes in frustration, once again regretting sleeping in that morning.
Hugo knew that apologizing repeatedly wouldn't help. No one would buy it. So this time, he didn't say anything. Instead, he gave a small apologetic smile to ease the awkwardness in the room. Fortunately, amidst the crowd, he received a glance of kindness. He looked over and saw it was Kevin Bacon. Hugo remembered working with him before on Diner. Kevin gave Hugo a faint smile and glanced encouragingly at the script in front of him. Hugo didn't have time to respond properly and simply returned the smile, then quickly lowered his head to focus on the script.
"Thank you, sir. I'm Daniel Kaffee, the lawyer for Dawson and Downey…" Hugo found the line and started reading it without any pause. Although it was his first time seeing the script, this part wasn't too difficult. So despite a slightly slower pace, Hugo managed to get through the whole introductory dialogue without any mistakes.
"What can we do for you, Daniel?" Jack followed up with no issue at all, effortlessly reading his lines. It was clear that the man before them wasn't Jack anymore, but Colonel Jessup. Jack's mastery in handling his performance was truly admirable. Hugo still had a long way to go to reach that level.
"Uh, nothing really, sir. Just a matter of routine, the Judge Advocate General requires… uh, sorry." Hugo finally stumbled. Although the line wasn't long, Hugo was unfamiliar with it, so he naturally fumbled during delivery. "The Judge Advocate General requires us to meet with all relevant witnesses." Hugo still managed to finish the second half of the line.
The next line was originally Demi's, but Jack cut in directly.
"Hugo," a voice full of impatience drew everyone's attention back to him.
"If you think script rehearsal is just reading lines aloud, then you're wrong."
Script rehearsals aren't just about memorizing lines. They're also about developing chemistry among actors and emotionally engaging in dialogue while in character. Even though there are no cameras rolling, an actor's state of performance shouldn't differ much from the actual filming.
Clearly, Jack was dissatisfied with Hugo's flat and stumbling delivery. After speaking, he set the script down on the table.
"Let's take a thirty-minute break. There's no point rehearsing like this."
With that, he stood up and walked out of the meeting room.
Right after, Demi also stood up and left. Seeing the two leads walk out, and with Rob's permission, the other actors began getting up as well. The quiet and orderly meeting room was instantly broken, and no one spared a thought for Hugo's feelings as they chatted and laughed their way out.
Hugo looked at the script he had only gotten less than five minutes ago but couldn't say a word in his own defense. He could only suffer in silence.
....
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu