The reason why Leo decided to do an audition with Harold was simple. A slight fear that the movie won't work at the box office with a lead that was not famous had gripped his heart.
Although many movies have worked at the box office without a famous lead actor, the number of movies which didn't work was much higher. And the difference had just increased in recent times.
Earlier, a movie which would work at a film festival and get good ratings had a chance to do well at the box office with adequate promotions.
But now, studios would release many of them on streaming platforms like Zetflix because the audience prefers to watch them in their homes instead of going to the theatres, this would also help a lot in recovering the budget, and the movie might even break even.
Leo didn't want [30 days of Happiness] to release directly on a streaming platform as he felt the true beauty of cinema was on the big screen. Still, he also didn't want the movie to fail at the box office because of not getting good visibility.
This fear and Rodrigo's intentions made him allow Harold Woods a chance to audition.
After all, the latter was a big actor and was very fitting in a rom-com despite being in his early 30s. Moreover, he had nailed down a lot of teenage romantic comedies, which had become big hits at the box office.
There was no doubt about his credibility as an actor, too, as Harold had given some great, intricate performances throughout his career.
Ultimately, Leo consoled himself thinking it was just an audition and he wasn't giving Harold the role straightaway.
"What parts of Arthur's character do you like the best, Harold?" Leo asked as they entered a room adequate for an audition.
The cameras and lights were already set up, meaning that Rodrigo had planned everything from the start.
"I think I liked his love for Claire the best part of the script. It's very pure and something one would rarely see in this age. That's the main point of the script for me - the love that Arthur has for Claire and how he's willing to do anything to get her. You don't get that kind of passionate romance at this age in Hollywood. So I think people, especially young girls, would love that part, and the movie will get a lot of popularity."
Harold said, and Leo felt like his comprehension of the script was mainly from a box office point of view which wasn't bad as Harold was a commercial actor.
"What about the changes in the individual characters as the story progresses? What do you think of it?" Leo asked, trying to see what kind of answer Harold would give and if it would be better than Aiden.
Harold took a while before giving out an answer.
"I think the changes in both the characters are shown very subtly. The whole point of the journey for Claire was to know about her grandma, but the subtext was that she wanted to know more about love and relationships as she was very confused about them. So it was a personal journey for her."
"What about Arthur?"
"He took it to get closer to her, and I think it was also a way for him to get over his insecurities by doing something he won't ever do. So, it was also a personal journey for him, and his goal was to give himself a chance to win over Claire."
"Did you feel like you wanted to add something to it to make Arthur's character more relatable to the viewers?"
Leo asked, hoping for an answer like what Aiden had given him, but Harold shook his head after thinking about it.
"No, I don't think so. For me, the story is about a guy wanting to get over his insecurities and trying to win over the girl of his dreams. It's simple, and I think it should stay like that."
For Harold, [30 days of Happiness] was a very true-to-heart rom-com, and he didn't want it to be more than that. But for Leo, he felt like the soul of the movie that Aiden had described as Arthur's struggle to write a song was the better one.
He felt like that truly elevated the level of the whole movie.
"Anyway, let's start the audition. Shall we?"
Rodrigo suddenly interfered with their conversation and said.
Leo nodded his head, and Harold read the part of the script that he would perform again. Then, after taking a few breaths, he was ready to do the scene.
It was one of the ending scenes where Arthur would have a personal talk with Charles Dunkin about love. Rodrigo personally was going to read the lines of Charles.
He had chosen this scene because Arthur was going to be in emotional turmoil during the scene as Claire had told him that she still loved her ex. It was then that Charles would have a talk with him about life and love.
"Start!"
As Leo gave out the signal, the performance started.
Harold closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there were a lot of emotions in his eyes; pain, grief, heartbreak. Arthur couldn't help but clench his fist tightly in that emotional turmoil.
"Are you okay?" It was then that Rodrigo started acting, and Leo had to say he wasn't a good actor. He said that line in a very casual manner.
Thankfully, it was just an audition.
"No, no, I'm not. It hurts a lot. I feel like everything I did was for nothing… I can't even think straight."
Harold muttered, finding it hard to say out the feelings inside of him. Rodrigo patted his shoulder.
"I know it hurts. I felt that too when I was young."
"Don't. Just don't give me that." Harold looked at him. "I don't want to hear that you need to let go. I tried letting go, but I couldn't. You don't feel it right now. I do. I fucking do…"
"What are you going to do now, then?"
Rodrigo asked, looking at the script in his hand. There was an awkward expression on his face as he continued to read out the lines.
"I don't know. The only thing I ever wanted was her… just her. Now, I only feel hurt whenever I think of her..."
Harold suddenly stopped his sentence and blinked his eyes. The expression on his face loosened up as he raised his head to look at Leo, who was also looking at him strangely, standing beside the camera.
"What happened?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, I forgot my lines. Can we start again?"
Harold made an awkward expression and asked. Leo nodded and muttered, 'Cut'.
***
It was only on the fourth try that a good audition came off.
Something like this was acceptable if the actor auditioning was popular enough and the director was patient.
After the audition was over, Leo felt like there were a lot of complicated thoughts in his mind.
'The audition wasn't bad, but… he just doesn't seem like Arthur Reeves in my mind.'
Leo frowned inwardly.
The audition was good in his eyes, but the way of talking, his emotional range, and even the way he looked didn't match what Leo had in mind for Arthur.
"How did you like my audition?"
Harold asked, looking at Leo, but before he could reply, Rodrigo pitched in.
"I thought the audition went very well. Your dialogues flowed well, and the expressions were on the mark too. I feel like we should contact your agent right now to sign the contract."
Rodrigo said, looking like he was very impressed with Harold's audition.
He was very clear that he wanted Harold to head the project. After all, [30 days of Happiness] was a very small-scale project and getting an A-lister to be a part of it was a huge thing.
If he's lucky, he might even recover all his losses from the previous projects with just this one movie.
'I need to say something.'
Leo thought, seeing Rodrigo and Harold talking to each other. If he really didn't say anything, he won't get the lead that he wanted.
'But is it worth it?'
He thought in his mind, hesitating a lot. It could go very wrong as going with Aiden over Harold was a risky choice for Leo, especially when Rodrigo wanted Harold.
He might even lose the investments from Night Hawk studios as he knew that Rodrigo saw Harold as a great opportunity to give the movie more visibility and a higher chance to earn profit at the box office.
But in the end, Leo won't be completely satisfied with Harold as the male lead.
"I'm sorry, Harold." He said after a while, attracting the attention of both men.
"What happened, Leo?" Rodrigo asked, staring at him.
"I don't think Harold suits the character of Arthur. I'm happy that he's interested in the movie, and he played it well too, but in my mind, another actor had already become Arthur, and I think I want to make the movie with him."
Harold's face froze hearing that.
He had thought that everything was going very well. Rodrigo was the movie's producer, and he looked impressed by him, so he believed that the role was as good as his.
But suddenly, Leo was saying that he had another actor already selected.
Was this some kind of joke? And who was this actor? Some other A-Lister? If not then...
...
