After three days of meticulous location scouting in Idaho, Kazir finally decided to return to Los Angeles.
As soon as he stepped out of the spacious and bright airport waiting hall, Kazir spotted Reiner and Harold waiting for him in a prominent position.
These two were his most capable partners, having climbed and crawled with him through three films, and on this difficult path of chasing dreams, they had long become close friends, like brothers.
Three young people with movie dreams, squeezed into the fiercely competitive and extravagant Hollywood, were all eagerly hoping to make it big one day and realize their cinematic ideals.
Harold was obsessed with art, especially possessing unique talent and high attainment in prop making; Reiner, on the other hand, had a deep love for photography, and as soon as he picked up a camera, he seemed to be filled with inexhaustible energy.
They both indeed had talent and were willing to put in the effort to study their craft, but unfortunately, on the grand stage of Hollywood, where talent abounded, talent alone was far from enough.
Hollywood was never short of geniuses; one more or one less made no difference.
Even great directors like Spielberg were not irreplaceable—George Lucas, James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bay... there were plenty of capable directors.
"Kazir, the props are all ready. This film doesn't have many complex scenes, so preparing them wasn't too much trouble," Harold broke the silence first after they got in the car.
"I bought 400 rolls of 35mm Kodak color film. My uncle gave me a discount, so it only cost 32,000," Reiner added immediately.
"Thanks," Kazir nodded slightly.
Before 2000, Kodak film was the standard in Hollywood.
Later, with the rapid rise of digital cameras, film gradually lost its former advantage.
However, even so, many directors still insisted on shooting with film, such as Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Christopher Nolan.
"Have the cameras been rented?" Kazir asked with concern.
"Don't worry, I've talked to my uncle, and we'll rent four when the time comes," Reiner patted his chest, speaking with confidence.
Actually, they didn't need so many cameras yet; renting them when they were truly needed would be perfectly fine.
"Harold, send out an audition notice to the Actors Guild. Focus on the roles of Napoleon and Pedro; put more effort into those. Other roles can be arranged as we go," Kazir said seriously.
The actors from the original film were too young now and certainly couldn't participate in this one.
Kazir planned to find other suitable candidates, confident that in vast Hollywood, he would surely find actors who could perfectly portray the roles of Napoleon and Pedro.
After all, in Hollywood, no one was irreplaceable.
"No problem," Harold readily agreed.
The group returned to Reiner's apartment.
Among the three of them, Reiner came from the best family, with his family owning a company and a substantial fortune. If it weren't for his obsession with movies and his persistent pursuit of cinematic art, he might have long since returned home to inherit the family business, instead of toiling in his uncle's rental store, striving for his movie dreams.
"It's agreed, the budget is 500,000. Save wherever you can, and absolutely don't exceed it," Kazir emphasized again.
"Understood," Reiner and Harold replied in unison.
Both of them had been on film sets and understood the importance of saving money. In their view, filmmaking was essentially a business, and the lower the cost, the better.
"I've talked to the others, and they're all willing to come," Reiner said.
"Great, fifteen people at most, that's enough," Kazir nodded with satisfaction.
Subsequently, Kazir and his partners fully immersed themselves in planning the shooting details.
Fortunately, Preston High School had already been settled, and contracts signed, which saved them a lot of trouble. Other locations were also easy to handle; renting a suitable house could meet the filming needs... "Sigh..."
Ed Helms sighed helplessly, his face filled with disappointment.
He had just auditioned for a small role in the nutty professor, full of anticipation that he would get the opportunity, but they told him his image didn't fit and directly rejected him.
At only 21 years old, he desperately wanted to be an actor, eager to showcase his talent on this charming stage.
He knew he was young and nobody took him seriously in the talent-rich Hollywood, but if he didn't try, how could he be content? What if he succeeded?
With a belly full of unshakeable disappointment, Ed walked into the Actors Guild.
His gaze slowly swept over the job postings on the bulletin board, knowing that most of them were for low-budget films, which often had limited funds and little publicity, making it almost impossible to earn money by participating in them.
'I'm not looking for money now, just an opportunity,' Ed thought to himself.
Even without pay, as long as he could be on screen and become a familiar face to the audience, he would be happy.
After all, youth was capital; establishing his name first would naturally lead to more opportunities later... Of course, if he could earn money, that would be even better.
Ed had a clear understanding of his situation; he knew that making a name for himself in the fiercely competitive Hollywood was not easy.
"This is..."
As Ed aimlessly scrolled through the job postings, an advertisement suddenly caught his eye—a crew was looking for young actors to shoot a comedy.
However, this recruitment notice was quite brief, not revealing too many specific details, only leaving the audition address and time at the bottom.
Ed squinted, looked carefully, then pulled out his small notebook and diligently copied down the address.
Auditioning didn't cost anything anyway, so how would he know it wouldn't work if he didn't try? Maybe this was the opportunity he had been dreaming of... "Thank you, Miss Adams, you can go back now."
Kazir said calmly.
"Director, please give me another chance, I'm sure I can act well!" The girl's eyes sparkled with anticipation; she still wanted to try harder.
"No need, we'll contact you if there's any news," Kazir shook his head firmly, his attitude very clear.
The girl left reluctantly, leaving only Kazir and Reiner in the audition room.
"What do you think of her?" Reiner couldn't help but ask.
"Amy Adams is quite suitable, but let's see, no rush," Kazir frowned slightly, still weighing his options. He was looking for a blonde girl who looked innocent and a little silly. To ensure he chose the most suitable person, he planned to wait until all the auditionees had been seen before making a final decision.
'I never thought I'd see Amy Adams audition in person, it's like a dream...' Kazir secretly sighed to himself.
Just then, Harold called in the next person, and Kazir looked up, stunned again—it was a familiar face.
"Hello, I'm Reese Witherspoon," the girl said with a sweet smile.
Reiner and Kazir both remained silent, waiting quietly for her to begin her audition.
"Reese, it's simple, just say one line—'Um... hi, do you want to end up like me?'—in a very shy tone," Kazir said.
"Huh? What? Oh, oh, okay, Director, I'll try!"
Reese took the script paper, looked at it with some surprise, then quickly memorized the line.
In her opinion, the line was a bit strange, and she didn't even know what character she was playing.