Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

Hollywood is more exciting than Jill Castle's dream "Movie City."She looked around and saw the magnificent houses where the stars lived.She knew that someday she too would have a nice house of her own in Belle-Eyre or Beverly Hills.Currently, Jill lives in an old apartment building.This apartment is a two-story building with a wooden structure and an extremely unattractive appearance.The twelve bedrooms upstairs were even worse.However, her rent is not expensive.So, the two hundred dollars she had left over was more than enough.The house was built on Bronson Hill.Minutes away from Downtown Hollywood and Vine Streets.It is also very convenient to the studio.

Another thing about the house that attracted Jill was that the twelve tenants who lived there were all men who had broken into the film industry.Some of them are playing mass roles or small roles, and some have retired from this industry.Those retired old guys, wearing yellowed clothes and curly hair all day, paced up and down the room.The cuffs and hems of the clothes were frayed, and the shoes were so worn that they could no longer be polished.Not only are they old, they're like scraps.Inside, however, there is a communal living room with some worn furniture.In the evening, everyone gathers there to gossip about what they have seen and heard during the day.Everyone had ideas for Jill, even though most of their ideas were contradictory.

"The best way to break into the film business is to find a director who likes you, baby," a morose woman recently fired from her television company told her. "What is an assistant?" "Assistant Director." The voice expressed pity for Jill's ignorance, "He is responsible for the recruitment." Jill couldn't be more embarrassed to ask Lin Yuan what he meant. "If you listen to me, you go to a lecherous assigning director. The assistant director can only hire you in his film; the assigning director can assign you to various uses." This is a An old woman in her eighties who had lost all her teeth told her.

"Is it true? I heard that most of them are gay." A balding actor asked. "What does that matter? I mean, if you can go up." A young man with a serious expression, wearing glasses, and keen to be a writer expressed his opinion. "Starting with extras, how do you get..." Jill asked, "like a central character?" "Come on, don't worry about this. The register of central roles is already full. Moreover, if you don't have special skills, they won't let you in at all." "I—I'm sorry. What's a specialty?" "It's like, say, if you're a man with no arms and no legs, instead of paying your usual wages of twenty-one dollars and fifty cents a day, you'll get thirty-three dollars and fifty-eight cents; if you will If you play cards or can roll dice at a card table, that's twenty-eight and thirty-three cents; There are as many people with limbs. If you can ride a camel, an elephant, you can get fifty-five dollars and ninety-four cents. Listen to me, don't be an extra. Try to be a small part."

"I don't know, what's the difference between them?" Jill asked frankly. "Little actor, at least one line of lines can be spoken. Extras are not allowed to speak, except for babbling." "What's a babbling sound?" "The babbling sound is to create a sound effect in the background. Everyone is 'babbling', and it becomes a loud noise." "You still have to find an agent first." "How to find a way?" "They're listed in Screen Actors. It's a kind of magazine from the Screen Actors Guild. I have one in the house, and I'll get it for you."

They all went through the list of attorneys with Jill, from cover to cover, and narrowed it down to twelve little ones.The consensus was that Jill was in the big surrogate, and there was no possibility at all. With this roster in hand, Jill began to visit one by one.The first six agents were completely unwilling to answer her.She meets the seventh, who is about to leave the office. "I'm sorry," Jill said, "I'm looking for an attorney." He looked at her for a while and said, "Take out your folder and have a look." She looked at him blankly: "My what?"

"You must have just gotten off the bus. You can't do a job without a book in this city, so go get some pictures. Poses. Highlight those attractive places, breasts, buttocks that matter..." Jill found a cinematographer in Culver City, near David Selznick Studios.He charged her thirty-five dollars and provided her with a folder.She took the picture a week later.She is very happy to see these photos, she is still very beautiful.The camera caught her in various poses.Affectionate... Jiaochen... Cute... Sexy.The photographer bound the photographs into a loose-leaf glued album. "This is the place at the front of the book," he explained to Jill, "where you can write down the grades of your performances."

Results, that's another story. Another two weeks later, every single agent on that list, Jill would have met, or had managed to meet.But those people were not interested in her at all.One of the agents said to her, "Did you come here yesterday, honey?" She shook her head. "Nothing." "Well, she looks exactly like you. That's the problem. You all look like Elizabeth Taylor or Tona Turner or Eva Gardner. If you go to another town, find someone else You're pretty, you're coquettish, and you've got a great body. But in Hollywood, beauty is a dead-end commodity. Beautiful girls come here from all over the world, and they Some played the leading roles in high school plays; some won awards in the selection of beautiful women; Pile up here. Got nothing to do. Take my word for it, honey. You must have been here yesterday."

The tenants again helped Jill open a new list of agents.These agents have smaller offices, located in low-rent areas.The result is still the same. "Come back when you've got some acting experience, kid. You've got the look. You could be the biggest star since Garbo, in my opinion. But I can't waste my time trying to prove it right now, come on Find a way for you. Try to figure out something yourself first. I will be your agent." "Where am I going to make a name for myself if I have no one to work for?" He nodded. "Yes, that's exactly the problem. However, it's all about luck."

There was only one agency left on Jill's list.It was introduced by a girl sitting with Jill in the Mayflower coffee shop on Hollywood Avenue.The Denning agency was in a small bungalow outside a residential area.Jill made an appointment on the phone to talk.A woman told her, "You come at six." The small office that Jill saw turned out to be the living room of a family.A cluttered pile of papers lay on an old, speckled desk.A faux leather sofa was patched here and there with strips of white tape.Three tweed chairs are scattered in the room.A tall, heavy, pock-faced woman came out of another room and said to her, "Hello, what's your business?"

"My name is Jill Castle. I have an appointment with Mr. Denning." "Miss Denning," said the woman, "this is me." "Oh," Jill said in surprise, "I'm sorry. I thought..." The woman's laughter was warm and friendly: "It's okay." "But it does matter," Jill thought to herself, and suddenly she felt a surge of excitement.Oh, how had it never occurred to her to find a female agent before!Such a person must have been through some trauma before.She will understand the situation of a young woman who is just starting out.She will be more compassionate than any man... "I see you have a folder," said Miss Denning. "Can I see it?" "Of course." Jill said and handed it to her. The woman sat down and opened the folder and began to flip through the pages, nodding her head in appreciation: "You're very photogenic." Jill didn't know what to say. "Thank you!" The agent looked at a photo of Jill in a bathing suit: "You have a good figure. That's important. Where are you from?" "Odessa, Texas," Jill said. "How long have you been in Hollywood, Jill?" "About two months." "How many agents have you had?" The idea of ​​lying flashed through Jill's mind.But when she saw the sympathy and understanding in the woman's eyes, she said, "I guess there are more than thirty." The agent laughed: "So, in the end, you came down to Rose Denning. Well, you may be even more unlucky, because I am not MGM, nor William Morris... But, I was able to get my people to work." "I have no acting experience." The woman nodded, not surprised at all. "If you have acting experience, you go to MGM, or William Morris. I'm just a starting point here. I let talented kids improve. Then, those big agents will take them from I snatch it here." For the first time in weeks Jill felt hopeful. "Do you—do you think you intend to do something for me?" she asked. The woman smiled slightly. "Some of my clients aren't half as beautiful as yours, but they all have jobs. I think I can find them for you. That's the only way you can get experience. Right?" Jill felt a surge of gratitude. "The trouble with this goddamn city is not giving kids like you a chance to work. While the studios are clamoring for new talent, they're putting up a wall in front of you. Huh , I'm going to have a good time with these guys. I think there are three things that would be right for you: a soap opera; a small role in a Toby Temple movie; Get a role in De's new movie." Jill felt dizzy. "But they'll—" "As long as I recommend you, they will want you. The people I send are not bad. Although they may give you small roles, you have to understand that this is just the starting point." "I can't really say how grateful I am to you," Jill said. "I probably have the script of that radio play here." Rose Denning stood up with difficulty, moved her chair, and walked to the next room.She beckons Jill to follow her in. This is a bedroom.There is a double bed under the window in the corner.In the opposite corner was a metal filing cabinet.Rose Denning staggered to the front of the cabinet, opened the drawer, took out a script and handed it to Jill. "Here you are. The director who sent the role is a good friend of mine. If you do what you're asked to do, he'll keep you busy." "I'll do it," Jill promised enthusiastically. The agent smiled slightly: "Of course, I will not send someone blindly. Would you like to read a paragraph to me?" "Of course I would." The agent opened the script and sat on the bed: "Let's read this scene." Jill sat down next to her and read the script. "Your character is Natalie. She's a rich woman married to a softie. She decides to divorce him, and he won't. Well, you go from there." Jill read the lines quickly.She wished she could be given a night to study the script.Even for an hour.She was desperately trying to make a good impression. "Ok?" "I—I think it's all right," Jill said.She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the character's situation.She is a rich woman.Like the mothers of friends Jill grew up with.Those people have what they want in life and take it for granted.They believe that others are born to serve them.Someone like the Sasse Toppina.She opened her eyes.Continue to look down at the script, and start to read the lines. "I want to talk to you, Peter." "Can't you wait?" This is Rose Denning speaking to Jull. "I'm afraid I've waited too long. I must catch that flight to Reno this afternoon." "Are you in that hurry?" "Yeah, I've been wanting to get on that flight for five years. Peter. It really happened this time." Jill felt Rose Denning's hand patting her thigh. "Very well," said the agent approvingly, "read on." Her hand remained on Jill's lap. "The problem with you is that you haven't grown up yet. You still want to play. But from now on, you'll have to play by yourself." Rose Denning's hand was tapping her thigh, making Jill uncomfortable. "Okay, read on," she said. "I—I don't want you with me anymore. Do you understand that?" The hand patted Zhan's thigh more urgently, and moved towards the base of her thigh.Jill put down the script and looked at Rose Denning.The woman's face flushed, and there was a bewildered look in her eyes. "Read on," she said hoarsely. "I—I can't," Jill said, "if you—" The woman's hands moved faster. "It's cultivating your emotions, honey. It's a conflict of the sexes, you know: I want you to have a sex drive." Her hand twitched hard between Jill's legs. "No!" Jill stood up, trembling. "Be merciful to me, I'll be good to you," the woman begged. "Come on, child." She reached out to grab Jill, who ran out of the office. When she ran out into the street, she threw up.Even though the nausea subsided and the stomach no longer vomited upwards, there was still an indescribable discomfort in the whole person.Her head hurt too. No, it's not right to say that.It wasn't her head that was hurting, it was Josephine Zinski's. For the next fifteen months, Jill Castle had become a veteran survivor.She understood that this group of survivors who were crowded around the performance industry had spent many years in order to break into the film and television industry, or even temporarily find a job, and some of them spent their entire lives like this.Even so, even though they were only given temporary jobs and let them work like this for ten, fifteen years, they never lost heart. And, just as ancient peoples sometimes sat around campfires and recounted their heroic deeds, so these survivors often sat outside Schwab's grocery store and told over and over again about the biggest stars in the show business.They drank cold coffee and exchanged the latest internal news.They were not in the world of acting, but, oddly enough, they were closely related to it.They can tell you which star was replaced, which producer was caught sleeping with the director, which department head was going up and down.They know the news faster than anyone.Because they have their own special channel.They can hear all kinds of anecdotes and strange things in places where miscellaneous people gather.That's what these vagrants do all day long.But they are not serious about these rumors.The other thing they're really serious about is that someday they'll be able to find a way into the studio's gates, or over its walls.They think they are artists, the pride of heaven.Hollywood is theirs.As long as Joshua blows the golden trumpet, the gates of the city will fall before them.Their enemies would be slaughtered.So voila!Sam Winters is about to wave his wand, dress them up in fancy dress, and be a star.They will forever be adored by the enchanted audience, amen.Schwaber's coffee is the holy spirit of excitement, and it's all about the future.They are together every day, love each other, and comfort each other with the "coming soon" of this dream.They said they once met an assistant director who told them, "There was a producer, the producer said, a director who cast a role, who had promised ... and just At some point in the present." Reality seemed to be in their hands. Of course, they also find occasional jobs in supermarkets, garages, beauty shops or car cleaners.They depended on each other like this, intermarried or divorced each other, not paying attention to how time betrayed them.They never thought that their temples would be frosted, their faces would be more and more wrinkled, and it would even take more time to groom and groom every morning.In fact, they are all old goods that have been placed in the store that no one looks at.In old age, the mind is still immature.Some of them are very old.Too old for plastic surgery, too old to have children, too old to play the younger roles they once aspired to. So far they are still small characters, still daydreaming. Younger and prettier girls are all earning their so-called "pillow mat money". "Why do drudgery from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon when you can easily get twenty dollars for it by lying on your back for a few minutes. When your agent comes, you Just wash your hands." Jill didn't bother to do it.All her life she thought about her career, and there was no way a poor Polish girl would marry that David Kenevenin.Now she understands it.But Jill Castle could have anyone, or anything, she wanted if she became a movie star.If she doesn't become a star, she's willing to go back and be Josephine Zinski again. No, she would never do their stupid things. Jill's first chance at the show was offered by Harriet Marks.Harriet is one of the survivors.Harriet's distant cousin's ex-brother serves as second assistant on a medical TV series.The film is being shot at Universal Pictures.So, the second assistant director promised to give Jill a chance, even though the role only had one line.Jill would be paid fifty-seven dollars for this, but after deducting expenses such as Social Security premiums, tax deferrals, and movie relief apartment fees.Jill plays a nurse.The script stipulates that she is in a ward, standing by a patient's bedside, taking the patient's pulse.Then the doctor came in. Doctor: "How is he, nurse?" Nurse: "I'm afraid it's not good, doctor." That's it. Jill got a page-long mimeographed script on Monday afternoon.They asked her to report for duty at six o'clock the next morning to put on makeup.She has watched this scene a hundred or ten times.She thought the studio should give her all the scripts.How could they expect her to be able to imagine the whole character's background from this one page?Jill struggles to analyze what this nurse might be.she married?Still celibate?She may be secretly in love with the doctor, or she may have had an affair with him before, but now she has blown it.What was her attitude towards the patient's death?She doesn't want him to die?Or do you think he's dead? "I'm afraid it's not very good, doctor." She tried to convey a sense of apprehension in her voice. She tried again: "I'm afraid it's not very good, doctor." Panicked foreboding that he was going to die. "I'm afraid it's not very good, doctor," charged.This is probably the doctor's mistake.He shouldn't have gone with his lover... Jill spent the night thinking about the role and was too nervous to sleep.But when she reported to the studio in the morning, she was elated and in high spirits.It was still dark when she arrived at the gate near Lanxham Road in the car her friend Harriet had lent her.Jill gave her name to the doorman, who checked the register and waved her in. "Number seven," he said, "go past two buildings and turn right." Her name was on the roster.Universal Pictures was expecting her.It was like a strange dream.When Jill headed to the set, she decided to negotiate the role with the director, letting him know that she could provide any kind of interpretation he needed.Jill pulls up in the big parking lot.Walk into studio number seven. There are already people on the shooting set.Those people were busy turning on the lights, moving the electrical equipment, setting up the cameras, and talking to each other in black language that Jill couldn't understand: "Get rid of the blackest black guy, give me a playable one... I need a black one here Something light and easy... would make that bitch go crazy..." Jill stood there watching, seeing these phenomena, vibes, and sounds in the show business.This is her world, her future.But she had to find a way to leave a good impression on the director no matter what, so that the director could see that she was an extraordinary person.Yes, he will gradually use her as a talent, not just as an ordinary actor. The second assistant director led Jill and a dozen actors into the dressing room.Someone gave Jill a gown and told her to put it on and go back to the set.Jill and all the other actors put on makeup in the corner of the set.As soon as she finished her makeup, the assistant director called her name.Jill hurried to the set in the ward.At this time, the director is standing by the camera, talking with the protagonist of the film.The lead actor, Lord Hansen, plays a compassionate and talented surgeon in this film.When Jill walked up to them, Lord Hansen was saying, "I knew a shepherd boy in Germany, and the bullshit he said was more interesting than the shit. God, why do people who write plays You can’t write something distinctive for me.” "Lord, we've had this play for five years. We can't change the plot. Don't! The audience will love the character you're playing now." The cameraman came over and said to the director, "The lights are all on, director." "Thanks, Hal," said the director.He turned to Lord Hanson and said, "Let's do this, okay, boy? We'll talk about it later." "One day, I will settle accounts with the production company." Hansen said sharply, and strode away. Only the director is left.Jill turned to look at him.This was an opportunity for her to discuss the role with him.Let him know that she understands his intentions and helps him make this scene really well.She gave him a warm and friendly smile. "My name is Jill Castle," she said, "and I'm playing a nurse. I think she could be really interesting, and I'm thinking—" The director nodded absently and said, "Go to the bed." After speaking, he walked away to talk to the cameraman.Jill stared blankly at the director's back.The second assistant director, the former brother-in-law of Harriet's distant cousin, hurried over and whispered to Jill, "For Christ's sake, do as he says. Get to that bed!" "I want to ask him—" "Don't fart!" he yelled angrily in a low voice, "Go over there!" Jill went to the patient's bedside. "Okay. Everyone is quiet," the assistant director looked at the director and said, "Do you want to rehearse?" "Just for this scene? Let's start officially." "Bring a bell. Take your positions! Everyone be quiet, and your movements should be crisp and neat. Let's start shooting, hurry up." Incredibly, when Jill heard the bell, she looked anxiously at the director, eager to ask him how to interpret the scene.For example, what kind of attitude should she have towards this endangered patient? She is—— A voice yelled, "Start the show!" Everyone looked at Jill expectantly.She wonders if she dares to ask the camera to stop, even just for a second, so that she can discuss the scene— The director yelled wildly: "God! Nurse! This is not a morgue, but a ward. Before he dies of old age, hurry up and feel his damn pulse!" Jill looked around in horror at the lights that had been turned on.She took a deep breath, took the patient's hand, and began to feel for his pulse.With no one to help her, she had to interpret the scene in her own way.The patient is the doctor's father.The father and son had quarreled.Father had been in a car accident and the doctor had just been notified.Jill looked up to see Lord Hansen approaching.He went up to Jill and said, "How is he, nurse?" Jill looked into the doctor's eyes and saw concern in them.She wanted to tell him the truth, his father was dying, and it was too late to reconcile the two parties.But she had to tell him the news in a way that didn't cost him his life.and-- The director yelled: "Stop! Stop! Stop! Damn it, this idiot, she can't even remember one line. Where did you find her—couldn't be from the Yellow Pages phone book! " Jill turned and listened to the roar in the dark, burning with embarrassment. "I know my lines," she said weakly, "I just wanted to—" "Well, if you know, say it, for Jesus' sake. You pause, and there's a train going by. He's asking you such a shit question, and you'd better answer it right away, okay?" " "I just wonder if I should—" "Do it all over again, right away, and bring the bell." "That's it. Pay attention! Switch on." "quick." "start!" Jill's legs were shaking.It was as if she was the only one here who cared about her scene.The only thing she wants to do is to create a sense of beauty.However, the blazing light made her dizzy, and she felt her arms dripping with sweat, soaking the starched nurse uniform. "Play, nurse!" Jill stood beside the patient and put his hand on his pulse.If she fails again this time, they will never give her another chance.She thought of Harriet and her group of friends in the flat, and what they might say. The doctor came in and came up to her: "How is he? Nurse?" She would not be with them any more, she would be their laughing stock.Hollywood is a small city.Word spread quickly. "I'm afraid it's not very good, doctor." No other studio would hire her again.This would be her last job, and this would be the end of everything, she thought, her whole world shattered. The doctor said: "I want this patient to receive special care immediately." "Good!" cried the director, "Stop, print." People were running around Jill, dismantling sets for the next scene.Facing all this, Jill feels strange, but has no intention of knowing.She's done her first act -- but she's still thinking about that scene.She could not believe that the performance of the scene was over.She wondered if she should go to the director and say thank you for the opportunity.But he had already walked to the other end of the filming set and talked to a group of people.The second assistant director came in front of her, grabbed her arm tightly and said, "You did a good job, kid. But next time you have to learn the lines by heart." She has a movie.She scored her first performance. Jill thought to herself: From now on, I will work all the time. It was thirteen months before Jill got her next chance to perform.That was when MGM hired her for a small part in a new film.For thirteen months, she worked various odd jobs: babysitting, selling cold drinks, and—simply put—driving a taxi. With little money on hand, Jill decided to share an apartment with Harriet Marks.It was a two-bedroom house, although Harriet used it a lot.Harriet worked as a model in a department store downtown.She was an attractive girl, with short black hair, dark eyes, and a model's slender figure, including a sense of humour. "When you were old," she said to Jill, "you'd better have a sense of humor." Jill was initially a little apprehensive of Harriet's cold, want-for-all attitude.But she soon saw that beneath Harriet's cynical exterior lay a warm, wounded heart.Harriet was often in love.When Jill first met her, Harriet said, "I want you to meet Ralph. We're going to get married next month." A week passed and Ralph disappeared.I don't know where to go.Harriet's car was also taken away. A few days after Ralph left, Harriet ran into Tony.He's doing an import-export deal.Harriet loved him passionately. "He's a very important man," Harriet convinced Jill.But others obviously didn't see it that way, because a month later, people found Tony with an apple stuffed in his mouth, and his body was floating on the water of the Los Angeles River. Arik is Harriet's next lover. "He's the most handsome man you'll ever see," Harriet told Jill. Aric is really beautiful.He dressed expensively, drove a fast convertible, and spent most of his time at the race track.The romance ended when Harriet's money was about to run out.Jill was very angry that Harriet could not distinguish between good and bad men. "It's involuntary," Harriet admits. "I'm drawn to seeing lads in trouble. I think it's just my mother's instincts." She smiled and added, "My mother's an idiot." .” Jill watched Harriet's succession of fiancés come and go: Nick, Bob, John, and Raymond... and then even Jill lost count. A few months after they lived together, Harriet told her that she was pregnant. "I think it's Leonard's," she said half-jokingly, "but, you know—they both look pretty much the same in the dark." "Where's Leonard?" ".I know nothing about geography." "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to have a baby." Due to Harriet's small stature, her belly was noticeable after a few weeks.She had to give up her modeling job.Jill found a job at a supermarket and could support both of them. One afternoon, when Jill came home from get off work, Harriet left a note.It read: "I've always wanted to go to Hoboken to give birth and go back home to my loved ones. I promise there'll be nice boys waiting for me there. Thanks for everything." Signed underneath: "Sister Harriet." The apartment suddenly becomes a cold place.

---

Notes: