Chapter 26

Supporting role's daughter!

Ryan paused for a moment, rummaging through the table and soon found some documents. Looking at the familiar name on them, he flashed a barely noticeable smile.

"Scarlett Johansson!"

"Let me see, she's not even ten years old yet!"

"Congratulations, Helen, you've found a very promising young actress."

"Tomorrow, she can come for an audition. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I don't think there should be any problems."

"However, since 'Saw' is a horror film, I hope you can handle her parents."

For Ryan, Scarlett Johansson was a familiar name. Born on November 22, 1984, in New York, USA, Scarlett made her film debut in 1994's "North". Unfortunately, the movie wasn't ideal, garnering a plethora of Golden Raspberry Awards. Over the next few years, she appeared in "Manny & Lo" and "The Horse Whisperer", without achieving significant success. It wasn't until 2003, when she starred in the drama "Lost in Translation", that she became a well-known Hollywood actress. Later, she portrayed Black Widow in "The Avengers" and truly became a leading Hollywood actress.

Ryan naturally wouldn't refuse Scarlett Johansson, but there was a prerequisite: her parents had to be handled.

"Saw" being a horror film, issues might arise during filming. If the parents of the young actress were difficult to deal with, it would be troublesome.

It might even invite the involvement of unions.

Any Hollywood production team would prefer to avoid dealing with unions.

Upon hearing Ryan's words, Helen relaxed a bit and said, "You can rest assured about her parents. I've known her mother for a long time; you don't need to worry about these things at all."

Helen's words were somewhat implicit.

The reason was simple: Scarlett Johansson's mother was a Jewish producer, and her grandfather was a director and editor. They were both industry insiders.

With such a background, although not comparable to the Coppola family, they still had some connections in Hollywood, and naturally understood the rules of the industry.

Otherwise, Helen wouldn't personally call to inquire about this matter.

"As long as her acting skills are up to par, I have no problem with it." Ryan could agree to this, but the prerequisite was that Scarlett Johansson's acting skills must be acceptable, at the very least.

"Her acting skills should be fine. She just participated in a film recently, so she has some experience."

Helen thought of Scarlett Johansson's participation in the film "North", which was scheduled to be released in July. Given Ryan's filming speed, perhaps the schedules of the two films would be very close.

Ryan hung up the phone. Given his relationship with Helen, as long as the acting skills were up to par, there shouldn't be any problem with this role.

Of course, whether there was a boost from Scarlett Johansson's fame in her past life, only he would know.

"Sofia, Helen will bring someone for an audition tomorrow. Remember to prepare," Ryan said to Sofia Coppola, who was earnestly reviewing the script.

"Okay."

Sofia Coppola looked up, showing a serious expression. "I've met little Scarlett before; she's a very cheerful girl. That's why I don't want her to be in this movie."

"For a girl who's not even ten years old, starring in such a horror film isn't a good thing."

She had seen Scarlett Johansson at Helen's company, so she was somewhat reluctant to let Scarlett Johansson play the role of a supporting character's child.

At this, Ryan rolled his eyes helplessly and said, "I think this should be decided by Scarlett Johansson herself."

After saying that, he instructed Sofia Coppola and got up to leave.

Today, he was going to visit a used car market to buy a cheap used car. If he had enough time, he would also meet with a real estate agent to find a new place to live.

"Maybe you're right."

Sofia Coppola glanced at Ryan, who was about to leave, and didn't continue the topic. Instead, she reminded him, "You need to get a better car now. It's best to get a Bentley-like car that's cheap and suitable for various occasions."

Bentley!

Ryan couldn't help but laugh bitterly, waving to her to indicate that he understood.

Although Fox had paid for the rights to "The Blair Witch", deducting the money lent to Helen, her agent's share, and the studio's expenses, there was only a little over six hundred thousand dollars left.

This money, apart from being used to shoot "Saw", also had to leave some funds to pay the studio staff's salaries, utilities, rent, and daily expenses.

For example, buying a used car, finding a place closer to Hollywood to live, and buying several sets of clothes for attending banquets, and so on.

It was estimated to be quite a sum of money.

As for the Bentley, it was too luxurious and not within his current considerations.

Ryan was worried that if Fox's payment for the box office split was a bit slow, he would face financial difficulties. So now was not the time to spend money recklessly.

Meanwhile, Sofia Coppola continued to review the script and storyboards in her modest studio. Being from an artistic family background and having acted in many roles, she had seen many scripts.

From an artistic perspective, there was nothing remarkable about the script in front of her. It was simply commercialized, with no artistic taste whatsoever.

But from a commercial point of view, such thrilling scenes were sure to attract many viewers' attention.

"This kind of plot!"

She shook her head, feeling conflicted, and muttered to herself, "A young commercial film director."

"Perhaps it's precisely because of his commercial sense that 'The Blair Witch' was successful."

Her father, Francis Ford Coppola, was a pinnacle figure among artistic film directors, having directed the renowned "The Godfather". However, she had understood from childhood that Hollywood always pursued commercialization. An artistic film director could never become a mainstream Hollywood figure. On the contrary, commercial directors often received the favor of major film companies.

Now, the storyboards in her hands lacked any artistic flavor, being entirely commercialized, yet they could captivate the audience.

This was not something an independent film should contain.

It was more like the style of Hollywood's major film companies.

However, as she looked at the very simple studio around her, Sofia understood Ryan's pursuit of box office success.

With horror as the main theme, thrilling plot, bloody scenes, unexpected endings, and a not-too-high investment budget, summarizing it all together, Sofia Coppola arrived at a conclusion.

Once this film "Saw" succeeded at the box office, it would become a classic with small investment yielding great returns, and might even go down in Hollywood history.

She suddenly felt a little envious. Ryan, as the sole investor, producer, director, and editor of "The Blair Witch", had already made it into Hollywood history.

Now, this "Saw" in her hands also had the potential to make it into Hollywood history.

Such honors were enough to make any director envious.

"Once this film succeeds, as the assistant director, maybe I'll surprise old Coppola!"

Sofia Coppola smiled slightly, thinking about her father's surprised or perhaps angry reaction, and suddenly found it quite amusing.