Script practice

Ignoring Hugo's lateness, as a production assistant, Algric was responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of the crew. Even if Hugo deserved punishment for being late, it was not Al's place to execute it. After all, Hugo was the lead actor of the crew, and if an actor replacement were to occur, it would be decided by the producer.

According to Hugo's account, he was delayed in the studio for some time and expressed apologies to the staff. Then Al further delayed him for at least 20 minutes. These facts could be investigated, and Hugo couldn't really lie about it. So, in summary, Hugo was actually only five minutes late.

In short, Al was creating obstacles, which seriously delayed the first script rehearsal of the crew. Although Hugo was at fault, Al, as a production assistant, was even more unforgivable. No wonder all the actors in the conference room were glaring at him.

Listening to Hugo's statement, Joseph quietly completed his counterattack. He not only sincerely admitted the mistake but also made it impossible for Al to refute. This relieved Joseph's frustration a little, but he didn't show it, just lowered his head to express sincerity and then glanced at Al with the corner of his eye, who was stunned.

Al was completely speechless now. He wanted to refute again, but Rob interrupted him directly, "You can leave now. The script rehearsal is about to begin." Al stood still, and Jack became angry again. "If you postpone it again, just don't do the rehearsal today." Then another assistant director kept signaling to Al, finally making him leave the conference room with a look of frustration and unwillingness.

Before leaving, Al glared at Hugo fiercely, but Hugo had his back to the door and did not respond. Then Joseph closed the conference room door with a bang, isolating Al outside mercilessly.

"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience I caused," Hugo quickly walked to the first position on Rob's right hand side and sat down. Joseph found an empty seat in the two rows of chairs against the wall of the conference room.

Jack glanced at Hugo and said, "Instead of apologizing, you should read the script as soon as possible."

Hugo finally took a good look at the man in front of him. Jack was already fifty-five years old, with a receding hairline that exposed a broad forehead full of fine wrinkles telling the tale of time. Jack was not a typical handsome man; his gaze was not sharp, and he had no particularly unique aura. He was wearing a simple light blue shirt without any decoration or embellishment. However, he had a silent presence, as if he could control the whole scene with ease.

In this regard, Jack was very similar to Al, who Hugo had recently worked with. From Jack to Al, and then to Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, they were not typical handsome men. Actually, Al was quite handsome, but his height was a fatal flaw, and Robert was closer to the definition of a handsome man, but compared to Tom, Brad, and Hugo, well, there was still a gap.

However, these four acting masters all had their own characteristics, and the key was that they could integrate these traits into their performances, thus creating classics. This was the real aura.

No wonder people liked to joke that, just like beautiful women, it was not easy for handsome men to gain recognition from the Academy. Looking at the history of Oscar Best Actor winners, the proportion of handsome men was pitifully small. Even if we didn't go far back in time, just looking at Al was enough - nominated for the Oscar eight times before finally fulfilling his dream. In the 21st century, the most famous was Leonardo, who Hugo had recently met. His Oscar journey was definitely a rocky one, despite being such a handsome man.

Therefore, it was not an easy task for Hugo to gain recognition in acting. Appearance was a stepping stone, but it could also be a stumbling block.

Sitting on Hugo's right side was the female lead, Demi Moore, who had been in the entertainment industry for twelve years before reaching her true career peak in the 1990 film "Ghost", which also catapulted her salary to the eight-million-dollar level, making her one of the most top-notch actresses today.

There were many reasons why Demi took on the script for "A Few Good Men". For example, she wanted to challenge a new type of role, or she thought it would be interesting to work with Tom and Jack. However, what Demi didn't expect was that Hugo would become the male lead of the film.

It was worth mentioning that there were a few things that needed to be said between Hugo and Bruce Willis. Tracey chose Hugo to participate in "Hudson Hawk" instead of Bruce, and even if the movie failed at the box office, Bruce still couldn't help but feel resentful about it. And Demi happened to be Bruce's wife.

So, it was not hard to find the reason for Demi's indifferent rejection at this moment.

In the face of Jack's anger and Demi's coldness, Hugo didn't make any excuses. He quickly lowered his head and opened the script of "A Few Good Men" in front of him.

This was the first time Hugo had seen the script for the film, and everything was so unfamiliar to him. All the lines, scenes, and characters had to start from scratch. There was a group of people sitting next to the conference table, not only the three main characters, Hugo, Jack, and Demi, but also a series of supporting roles who had arrived on the scene to practice for the script. They had already waited for some time and were a bit impatient, whispering to each other, making the conference room seem a bit stuffy and noisy.

"Well, let's get started." said Jack, obviously unwilling to wait any longer.

Rob looked at Hugo and gave him a questioning look. Hugo had just received the script and didn't understand anything, but he still gave Rob a confirming look, indicating that he was okay. Then Rob began to speak, "Guantanamo, Daniel's first formal meeting with Colonel Jessep."

After Rob finished speaking, there was the sound of rustling pages turning in the conference room. Hugo glanced at Demi's movement on his right and quickly turned the pages as well. But because he was unfamiliar with the script, Hugo's movements were inevitably slower. Fortunately, Rob reached out his right hand to help Hugo turn to the correct page. Hugo looked up at Rob and smiled gratefully.

"Let's begin," Rob ordered, and then heard Jack's calm and relaxed voice saying, "Nathan Jessep, come on in and siddown."

Hugo was still looking for the specific location of the lines and didn't react for a moment. But he soon realized the quiet in the conference room and looked up, only to find everyone looking at him. Hugo thought to himself that he was in trouble: was he the one delivering the lines? It was really...

In such a situation, especially since everyone didn't like Hugo in the first place, no one would understand Hugo's predicament. Their eyes only showed coldness and curiosity. Joseph, who was sitting behind, couldn't bear to watch and closed his eyes in regret again for waking up late this morning.

Hugo knew that apologizing continuously was ineffective, and no one would buy it. So this time, he didn't speak and instead used an apologetic smile to ease the awkwardness in the conference room. Fortunately, Hugo received a friendly glance from the crowd, and he glanced at it to find Kevin Bacon, whom he had previously worked with on "Diner". Kevin gave Hugo an encouraging smile and gestured towards the script in front of him. Hugo had no time to make any other gestures and could only return a smile, then lowered his head to look at his own script.

"Thank you. I'm Daniel Kaffee, I'm the attorney for Dawson and Downey...." Hugo found the lines without any pause and started reciting them. Although this was his first time seeing the script, this part was not difficult, so Hugo recited the entire section of mutual introductions. Although the rhythm was slightly slower, he did not make any mistakes.

"Well, what can we do for you, Daniel?" Jack recited his lines without any difficulty and it was clear that the man in front of him was not Jack, but Colonel Jessep. Jack's mastery of acting skills was truly admirable, and Hugo still had a long way to go to reach this level.

"Not much at all, sir, I'm afraid. This is really a formality more than anything else. The JAG Corps insists... uh, sorry." Hugo finally stumbled over his words. Although this line was not long, Hugo was not very familiar with it and inevitably stumbled during recitation. "The JAG Corps insists that I interview all the relevant witnesses." he finished reciting the second half of the line.

The next line was Demi's line, but Jack interrupted directly. "Hugo," his impatient voice drew everyone's attention in the conference room again, "if you think script practice is just about reciting lines, you're wrong."

Script practice was not just about memorizing lines. It was also a situation to cultivate actors' cooperation and even required actors to embody emotions and engage in dialogue as their characters. Although there were no cameras recording, the actors' state during practice was no different from actual filming.

Clearly, Jack was very dissatisfied with Hugo's slightly flat and stumbling script practice just now. After he finished speaking, he put the script on the table and said, "Let's take a half-hour break and start again. Practicing like this won't lead to any results." He then stood up and left the conference room.

Immediately, Demi also stood up and left. Seeing both of the main actors leave, after getting approval from Rob, the other actors also began to leave one after another. The quiet and orderly atmosphere in the conference room was instantly broken, and nobody cared about Hugo's feelings as they left the room laughing and talking.

Hugo looked at the script he had just received less than five minutes ago and couldn't say anything to defend himself, feeling dumbfounded.