Chapter 5: The Audition
Susie Figgis was a veteran in the film industry, having started in the 70s.
She was responsible for casting the Oscar-winning Best Picture "Gandhi" in '82, as well as "Chaplin" with Downey in '92 and Tom Cruise's "Interview with the Vampire" in '94.
Thirty years of experience meant she had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women, but even so, she had to admit that the suddenly appearing Isabella was very beautiful. A long white dress made her look incredibly pure. When getting out of the car, her gaze was lowered, paying attention to her steps. After getting out, the way her eyes darted around to survey her surroundings perfectly combined caution and agility.
Most importantly, as Isabella introduced herself, she not only didn't show the confusion typical of her age when facing strangers, but instead raised her head to look at Susie. Her curious, lake-blue eyes were a symbol of confidence, and her cheerful smile and proactive handshake fully displayed her outgoing personality.
Without hesitation, they shook hands and greeted each other.
After a brief chat, and learning that Isabella's arrival was an accident, Susie's eyes immediately flickered.
Then, she decisively received the two of them as a former casting director for the crew and a friend of the original author.
She led them into what used to be her office, asking what they'd like to drink. Even though both politely declined, Susie still sent her successor, Jesse, to get drinks. While waiting, the conversation continued.
"Oh, Isa, may I call you that?"
Susie was a kind-faced middle-aged woman, born in the forties, already in her fifties.
"Of course~"
Isabella nodded obediently.
Even without the identity of Auntie Rowling's friend, a person with a smiling face and a kind demeanor receives better treatment in society than someone with a hateful expression, right? Of course, the former identity was more important; she loved to speak the truth.
"Okay, Isa, so you mean, before arriving today, you never sent us any information, nor did you participate in any open auditions, and you just came directly? Came to Leavesden?"
"Uh... if this is Leavesden, then Auntie Susie, your summary should be correct."
Isabella tilted her head, as if thinking.
Her adorable look made Susie's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Oh, then you're quite brave. Others' self-recommendations involve sending us resumes and videotapes. It seems no one has ever 'sent' themselves over."
"Hmm... I don't think my behavior counts as 'sending', right?" Isabella pointed to Catherine and said, "This is my older sister; she brought me here. So, if I had to describe it, I think our actions today are more like a food delivery."
As she spoke, Isabella even made a phone gesture.
"Hello~ Is this Ms. Susie Figgis? Your delivery has arrived."
"What? You're Susie Figgis, but you didn't order delivery? Oh, that's not important."
"You know, our delivery industry's principle is to frequently deliver the wrong items, often deliver incomplete orders, and routinely deliver to the wrong place. So, are you hungry? If you're hungry, come get your order."
"Hahahaha--"
Susie burst into laughter.
"Very good, darling, I'm hungry. I'm going to open a blind box now."
She got Isabella's joke.
Delivery services have existed for a long time, and the time and place where the industry formed was in Britain, where the First Industrial Revolution originated.
Before the Industrial Revolution, the British generally lived in the countryside, with their own fields and cows, living a life of drinking milk daily.
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, many British people moved from rural areas to cities. Without fields or cows, they had no milk, which made them very unaccustomed. Thus, the work of delivering milk between urban and rural areas emerged, and this was the earliest delivery service.
At that time, there was even a specialized delivery brand in London called Clarke.
Because communication was not well-developed in that era, delivery people could only deliver goods to the address provided by the customer. This operation was not a problem; food delivery in the internet age also works this way. However, during the First Industrial Revolution, the overall education level in Britain was not high, and many common people were illiterate. When these people couldn't read addresses, delivery often became misdelivery.
And then--
What? Sir, you said I delivered it wrong?
Why do you care if I delivered it wrong or not? I'm just asking if you want fresh milk? If you do, pay up!
And we all sell standardized, measured by the pint!
That's right, the British delivery industry back then was that wild.
The confusing pint measurement method was also born at that time.
Even now, the situation hasn't improved, because payment is collected after delivery. As long as the delivery person can collect the money, the boss doesn't care if they delivered it incorrectly. And for those who received the wrong order, eating the wrong meal is like opening a blind box.
Yeah~
This is a blind box~
As they chatted, Jesse returned with the drinks. Upon learning that the two had likened today's encounter to a food delivery, she also chuckled. With everyone present, the audition officially began, and the subsequent process was more formal.
Jesse took out a DV camera, set it up on the table, and aimed the lens at Isabella. All auditions had to be recorded.
Catherine was invited to sit out of frame; minors cannot audition alone, it's a legal requirement.
Jesse took out a clapperboard, wrote today's date on it, and clapped it simply in front of the camera. Then, the two-on-one questions began to emerge. After formally asking for basic information like name, age, date of birth, and whether she had any acting experience, Susie finally got to the main topic, saying, "Isabella, I want to know, which character do you want to portray in this audition?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Okay, give me a reason why you chose her."
"Because she is a main character in 'Harry Potter', and since I came, I want to pursue the best."
"Oh~ Your honesty exceeds our imagination~"
Susie and Jesse exchanged a smiling glance, then prompted, "Child, this is a formal audition. It's not that you can't joke, but I think you have other reasons, right?"
"Yeah~" Isabella, in front of the camera, also smiled and nodded, "You guessed correctly."
"Besides being a main character, my reason for liking Hermione also relates to her background."
"Or rather, her Mudblood status."
Hmm?
Susie and Jesse were a bit surprised.
Since the casting for "Harry Potter" began, they had received nearly forty thousand resumes and self-recommendation letters. Almost everyone described their love for the trio, but no one had ever said they liked Hermione's Mudblood status.
"Tell me why." Susie became interested.
"Hermione is the only child of the Granger couple, Muggle dentists in London. Before receiving the invitation to Hogwarts, she had no idea magic existed in this world. So, after deciding to join Hogwarts, driven by curiosity, she eagerly began to learn about the magical world. 'philosopher's stone' states that Hermione was already studying magic before the first school year began, and successfully learned a few simple spells before school started, then demonstrated them on the train, right?"
"Perhaps in some people's eyes, this description might make them dislike Hermione, because she seems to be showing off. But isn't that also what many people like about her? I'm already excellent, so why shouldn't I show it? And everything I show isn't something I was born with, but something I spent time learning while you were resting and playing..."
Since it was a formal discussion, Isabella stopped being cutesy.
Her speaking pace was neither fast nor slow, and every word was clearly pronounced.
"In my opinion, all of Hermione's pride stems from her own strength. She doesn't have a noble lineage like Malfoy, so she can't constantly say 'My father will hear about this.' At the same time, she doesn't feel inferior because of her Muggle status. The fact that she can only rely on herself, and only relied on herself, is her most charming point."
"Her intelligence and diligence are key to her success, or perhaps, the idea Auntie Rowling wanted to convey to the outside world when creating Hermione is 'Where there's a will, there's a way.'"
"People with families certainly find it easier to achieve success, but people without background don't necessarily fail. Only those who are content with the status quo will stagnate, tread water, until they fall into the abyss."
Hiss--
Catherine stared wide-eyed at her sister, while Susie and Jesse gasped.
This insight was not something an ordinary person could have, let alone a 10-year-old child's understanding of the world.
They exchanged glances, both seeing astonishment in the other's eyes.
The next second, Jesse, the new British casting director for Harry Potter, asked curiously, "Is this your own thought?"
"Of course~"
"Our auditions allow for advance preparation, but we don't like dishonest children." Jesse kindly reminded.
Isabella smiled and shrugged.
"Director Jesse, preparation can indeed be done in advance, but no one can predict the full thought process of the examiner, right? So, you can ask other questions; I believe I can show enough sincerity."
Yesterday, Isabella had just told her older sister about wanting to enter the industry. While her mother was still oblivious to her sneaking off, how could anyone else help her with her 'homework'? Of course, she also admitted that she had indeed cheated.
Her assessment of Hermione all came from her memories of her past life.
In her past life, she quite liked Xiao Hai Li. This wasn't just because she came from an ordinary background but rose to the pinnacle of life, with a 'cool story' feeling in her destiny's trajectory, but also because her personality was very distinct; she was a flesh-and-blood person.
Hermione, as written by Auntie Rowling, initially appeared a bit overbearing and opinionated. In many people's eyes, this was pride and arrogance, but as the story developed, you'd realize these were all superficial. As a Muggle-born, she wasn't originally part of the magical world. Standing with those who had family legacies made her seem out of place, but she didn't accept the status quo. Instead, she proved her worth with her own hands, and because her experience was not yet rich, her methods might not have been as gentle as people usually prefer.
This complexity and contradiction gave her life.
Or rather, in Isabella's opinion, Xiao Hai Li's strength could be described with a line from Mayday's song:
'You're not truly happy~ Your smile is just a protective color you wear~'
It was precisely because Auntie Rowling truly brought her to life that Isabella liked her. Susie thought for a moment and then asked, "What kind of person do you think Harry Potter is?"
"Uh... Saint Potter?"
Isabella looked at Susie and said, "I think he will be the greatest Gryffindor, bar none."
In "Harry Potter", Malfoy once called Harry a saint.
Isabella thought the young master was quite right.
This wasn't meant as an insult.
Because in Harry Potter, many people went astray due to the tragedies of their original families, but Harry was different. Although he suffered countless slights and torments in his childhood, he never went crooked. You know, Dumbledore, at 17, even dreamed of ruling the Muggle world, but Harry? He calmly faced death. What kind of outrageous character setting is that?
And during the deathly hallows period, everyone couldn't understand why Dumbledore didn't just tell Harry the secret, and Dumbledore said it was because he was afraid Harry wouldn't be able to resist the temptation, so he needed to discover it himself.
And in the end?
The true GOAT of the wizarding world, in his later years, couldn't resist putting on the Resurrection Stone when he saw it, because he missed his deceased sister.
And Harry, after collecting the deathly hallows, voluntarily threw them away.
If this isn't a saint, then who is?
Since the deathly hallows had not yet been released, Isabella could only discuss Harry based on the existing novels.
As her words fell, there was another moment of silence in the room. After a pause, the audition continued. Susie gave Isabella a page from the novel to read, and then asked her to make some expressions directly into the DV camera.
From the clapboard to the declaration of the end, the entire process lasted approximately one hour.
After getting Isabella's contact information, Susie told them they could leave.
The simple outcome left Catherine, who had witnessed the entire process, a bit bewildered. She noticed that when the two casting directors first saw her sister, they were very excited, but later, their words became fewer and fewer.
So...
Was this a liking or a dislike?
Catherine was a bit conflicted.
But after leaving the building, while waiting for the shuttle, suddenly, a honk came from beside them.
Following the sound, the casting director named Jesse was holding the steering wheel, looking at them. When she saw the two looking back at her, she immediately tilted her head and said, "Get in, I'll drive you home."
"Hmm?" Catherine was a little confused.
Jesse smiled and said, "Catherine Haywood, right? You're definitely not eighteen."
"Don't deny it, and don't doubt the eyes of a casting director."
"We didn't explicitly say it before because it was for work, but now revealing it is..."
Jesse paused, then finally raised an eyebrow and said, "If something happens to you on the way back, Susie will kill me."
"Really???"
Catherine's face lit up with immense joy.
"Oh~ Isa~ Did you hear that? You passed!"
She understood Jesse's hint.
Isabella, however, smiled and nodded. She wasn't surprised.
As an adult, if she couldn't beat a minor in reading comprehension, then she truly would have lived her life in vain.
And, today's win was just a small win, right?
Whether it's a big win still depends on the subsequent auditions; the real power-holders of the project haven't appeared yet.
So...
"Calm down, dear, today was just the first round."
Isabella replied to her older sister, then pulled Jesse into the conversation, "Right, Director Jesse?"
"According to the process, that's correct."
"See, there's still a long way to go... So, let's go, we're going home..."
As Isabella, with expected joy, naturally got into the car, on the third floor, Susie, standing by the window, was frantically pressing the camera's shutter. She had intended to capture some distant shots, but unexpectedly, she directly saw the little girl's mature side.
"Oh~ What a cute expression~"
"Does she think she has victory in her grasp?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, very interesting."