Most people who come to Hollywood with dreams want to become actors—more precisely, star actors!

The crew had no obvious preference for the female lead. This is Hollywood, after all; word would surely get out to those who are interested. And these actresses, who have played a few minor roles but haven’t truly become famous, definitely wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.

Maybe this crew isn’t well-known, but don’t forget, the film’s producer is Lucasfilm, and the producer’s spot even bears the name George Lucas.

You could tell from where these actresses sat just how competitive they were. They kept a great distance from each other, barely spoke, and their sense of self-protection was strong—even when the crew brought them water, they wouldn’t touch it.

Hollywood is truly a giant melting pot. To become famous, people will use jaw-dropping tactics, especially the competition among actresses, which is often even more intense and devious.

Although he hadn’t witnessed it firsthand in this life, Duke had heard many rumors about this, and ninety percent of those rumors had been proven true.

For example, the assistant director from the “Hook” crew once told him that if there’s fierce competition among several actresses in a crew, each one will be extremely cautious, especially with food and drink. They only trust their own personal assistants. Often, after opening a bottle of mineral water and taking a sip, they’ll rush off to film a scene, and after finishing, they’ll never drink from that bottle again.

It’s not that someone will definitely do something, but it’s the most basic sense of self-protection.

After having a cup of coffee in his own office, Duke entered the audition room. After greeting Robin Grant and nodding to the assistant director Conner, he went straight to the monitor connected to the camera and sat in the middle chair.

The audition started quickly. Just like Hollywood’s assembly-line productions, auditions were almost always formulaic: the actress would come in, give a brief self-introduction, read a segment of lines, perform a scene from the script as requested by the interviewer, and then talk about her understanding and views of the character.

Anyone who could pass the first audition definitely wasn’t lacking in basic acting skills or appearance.

Over the course of the morning, a total of six actresses entered the audition room. In fact, there were some names Duke recognized—for example, the second, a tall woman with distinct Germanic features, was Uma Thurman; the fourth, an Australian with a sweet temperament, was Naomi Watts; and the last, an African American, was Halle Berry.

The African American actress would definitely be eliminated. Duke didn’t know who was in charge of the first round of auditions, but they actually selected her for the second round, which was completely inconsistent with the film’s requirements. Anyone in the back of the bus could be any race, but if the film was to succeed, the female lead in the driver’s seat had to be white.

That’s the simplest kind of movie political correctness.

After a quick lunch, those with a say in the choice of male and female leads returned to the audition room to watch the morning’s audition tapes together, hoping to decide on the female lead as soon as possible.

“Duke, you’re the director.”

Sitting behind the oval office desk, Robin Grant asked Duke, who was standing by the monitor, “What’s your opinion?”

Taking a videotape, Duke put it into the VCR and pointed at the tall woman on the screen. “Uma Thurman. She’s the one who best fits the image of Annie.”

“I don’t think so.”

The assistant director Conner stood up and walked over to the monitor as well. “She’s only twenty-one, too young, her acting is a bit raw, and she’s not pretty enough.”

As he spoke, he took a tape and swapped it out for the one playing. “I think she’s good—Naomi Watts is more likable in terms of image.”

Glancing at Conner, Duke frowned for a moment, then relaxed, and said directly, “I disagree!”

He took two steps to the left, standing opposite the assistant director. “What I need is a typical American girl—a big, wild, slightly goofy woman, not a sweetheart!”

“I stand by my opinion!” Conner didn’t back down.

“Robin, what about you?” Duke turned to look at the person behind the desk. “What’s your opinion?”

With George Lucas not interfering, the real decision-making power was still in Robin Grant’s hands.

“How about this,” Robin Grant tapped the desk lightly and said, “Move Naomi Watts to the back as a bus passenger, and put Uma Thurman in the driver’s seat.”

“I agree.”

Returning to his seat, Duke sat down. Although Robin Grant was supporting him, he was also tactful and capable. There was a reason George Lucas chose him to run the crew.

Duke was the first to compromise, so Conner naturally didn’t insist on his own view. Once the crew signed formal contracts with them, the scripts for their roles would be sent to each of them.

The next day, auditions for the male lead were held. Duke once again had a disagreement with Conner, and once again Robin Grant subtly supported Duke. Keanu Reeves landed the role of Jack.