King of disaster movies

If one were to speak of Eva Green's acting career, it could be described as rather lackluster.

When you add up her film and television appearances, they don't even reach 15 in total. From her debut until 2018, if you were to average it out, she barely managed one project per year.

In terms of Hollywood actors, she was firmly in the middle tier – the kind that didn't get the best opportunities and were left with scraps. Those prime roles seemed to elude her.

Sure, there might have been a few leading lady roles, but they were often unremarkable characters. And then came the disastrous epic film "Kingdom of Heaven", which turned out to be a stroke of bad luck.

In recent years, riding on the popularity of "The Lord of the Rings" series, the film industry believed that epic themes were promising, and the six major studios in Hollywood had consecutive plans to cash in.

Movies like "King Arthur", "Alexander the Great", "Troy"...

Except for "300", they all fell flat.

This proved that not everyone could handle such projects.

Over the years, people's impressions of her mostly revolved around "The Dreamers", and aside from that, it was hard to pinpoint any other notable works.

For an actress, this was truly embarrassing.

While some of the works she appeared in did generate some buzz, such as "Casino Royale" and the TV series "Penny Dreadful", when they were released, the problem was that her roles lacked impact, and the focus of the films wasn't solely on her character. Viewers didn't pay much attention, and they quickly forgot about her, rendering her efforts nearly futile.

Audience appeal was a delicate thing, relying on intuition. If the vibe was right, people would unconsciously develop a favorable impression, but if it wasn't, they'd forget in a heartbeat, or worse, develop aversion.

Take Nicolas Cage, for example. He had such a massive influence in mainland China and had become one of the most recognized Hollywood actors among the Chinese audience. The reasons behind it were hard to pinpoint.

And this young lady was a French actress who ventured into Hollywood without any connections. In the early stages, she was basically a lone wolf, and even after signing with an agency, they couldn't allocate all their resources to a newcomer. It was a gradual process. She had to rely on herself.

So, for a long time, she remained in a state of mediocrity, better than some but not quite good enough. She had the foundation of "The Dreamers", but when it came to getting roles, she was easily overshadowed.

Her prime youth years were spent like this, wasted away.

Don't talk about being a decorative vase; she didn't even have the chance to be one. She had to turn herself into a serious actress, not because she wanted to but because she had no other choice.

To say her luck was unfortunate might be putting it mildly. In plain words, she had no one backing her up.

Hollywood was an absolute network-driven society. People like Leonardo DiCaprio could introduce his good friend Tobey Maguire to the casting team for "Spider-Man", but for her, there was no one to help. She had to rely on the scraps left behind by others.

In the case of "300", the leading actors were quite popular when it was released. Unfortunately, she took on a role in the second installment, missing out on the biggest advantage and instead contributing to her image of a fierce screen presence, leaving behind her innocent flower-girl image.

Finally, after a long wait, director Martin Campbell, impressed by Eva's performance, personally invited her to join "007" as the new Bond girl. The image of a "fighter" and a "tough woman" became indelibly associated with her. She continued her life at a leisurely pace, evolving into an increasingly sensual personal style while working with an agency that paid her less and less attention as she aged.

Acting, as long as she could do it, was enough. She didn't need to be picky.

So, she transitioned from being a movie star to a television actress, a step backward in a way.

But what could she do if there were no opportunities?

If she could still act in movies, she wouldn't have lowered her standards willingly.

So, it's not entirely fair to blame her for having a poor eye for selecting roles, because she didn't really have the opportunity to choose. Even if she knew it was a bad film, she had to go for it, just like someone else who knew they were terrible at basketball but still had to face the morning drills as a sports ambassador.

People had their own constraints. But did he have a choice? The company behind him only cared about the fame he would bring after endorsing something, whether it was good or bad; as long as it made money.

Just like chess pieces on a board, once they were set in motion, could they refuse to move?

...

"Are you nervous?" Lyman quipped, looking at his girlfriend Eva, whose hands seemed to have no place to rest in the 20th Century Fox reception room.

Seeing her stay silent with pursed lips, he chuckled, "Come on, after all the movies you've done, you're nervous about an audition?"

"Well, I haven't taken on anyone else's role before. What if the director isn't satisfied?" She tilted her head, slightly worried.

"Oh, come on, why worry about that? For that role, you don't even need to think. Just stand there during the audition, and with your appearance alone, you'll be more than okay."

She rolled her eyes at him, continuing to contemplate, too lazy to pay him any attention.

"Hello, Mr. Lattes, I'm Roland Emmerich, also the director of this project."

Before long, the main director arrived.

Speaking of this guy, he was pretty impressive too.

Originally, he had a background in sculpture. After graduating, he worked at an advertising agency for two years but found it unsatisfying. So, he went back to school to study film theory and production.

His graduation project was selected as the opening film for the Berlin Film Festival, unsurprisingly so considering that he was German, and the festival had a nurturing aspect to it. Thankfully, the movie garnered significant industry attention.

This man was particularly skilled in shooting special effects and action films.

In '96, he created "Independence Day", collaborating with Will Smith, and it became a global hit, becoming the annual box office champion of that year. In '98, he teamed up with Sony Columbia to release "Godzilla", which also did well at the box office.

Moreover, the failure of "The Patriot" made him realize where his strengths lay, and he stopped seeking transformation.

"The Day After Tomorrow" was the blockbuster he launched after the failure of his previous film.

"Hello, Mr. Emmerich," Lyman stood up and extended his hand, greeting him proactively.

They shook hands, and Roland didn't say much more.

The two of them had no prior interaction, and their film genres didn't even match. One emphasized plot and characters, while the other focused on creating large-scale spectacles, aiming to make the audience enjoy the visuals without caring much about the story or the depth of the characters.

To put it simply, this guy had a very adaptable mind. He knew what the audience liked to see, and he made films to please them.

Thomas, who was standing nearby, got up and exchanged a few words with him.

Lyman patted Eva on the back, gesturing for her to go in for the audition.

Then, Roland led her inside.

Because "The Patriot" didn't perform well, Roland, who co-founded the studio with him, was eager to make a comeback and restore their reputation in the industry.

This current film was undoubtedly a critical project. From the script to the casting, he personally supervised every aspect.

Moreover, he was more of a businessman than a director, never aiming for artistic awards. Making movies was about making money for him. So, when it came to casting, lower pay was acceptable as long as the actor had the talent.

Spend the least amount of money and get the job done right, as long as the special effects were up to par; that was the selling point, and nothing else mattered.

The film was still in the early stages of preparation, and most of the roles hadn't been finalized yet.

CAA was pushing for someone in this slot, and the actor had some private connections with the emerging director Lyman in recent years.

Under these circumstances, Roland decisively agreed to give her a try.

He didn't care if she had any fame or if she was a French actress; he just wanted to get on good terms with CAA and another rising star director in the industry.

Moreover, while Eva's fame wasn't high, she had a good foundation. Most importantly, her asking price would definitely not be high.

The money saved on her could be better spent than on the previous actress who auditioned.

After about half an hour, the office door opened, and Eva leaned out, waving to Thomas. "Thomas, they want you in."

"Okay," Thomas nodded calmly and went in.

Eva had a smile on her face and sat excitedly next to Lyman.

"Do you know how the audition went?" she asked.

"It went well, didn't it?" Lyman was equally composed. With her qualifications and someone helping her with connections, if she couldn't even secure a minor role, it would be quite baffling.

"Oh, you guessed it," she replied, a bit annoyed.

Come on, her emotions were written all over her face. Did she really need to guess? This was an open-book test; she couldn't possibly not find the answer.