This shows how fierce and cruel the competition for resources in Hollywood is.
"A role?"
Sarah looked at Hardy, hopefully.
"This film indeed features a young girl character, around 14 or 15, and she's the protagonist," Hardy said softly.
Excitement flickered in Sarah's eyes.
She was even more thrilled.
"Mr. Hardy, my daughter Taylor just turned 14. Could you give her an opportunity? I can bring her over to perform for you. Would you consider it?" Sarah said excitedly.
There was even a hint of pleading in her tone.
Hardy paused.
"Okay, I'll see her performance, but it's too noisy here, perhaps we could find a spot in the courtyard," Hardy suggested.
"Alright, alright, I'll go call Taylor," Sarah said happily, heading off to find her daughter.
Elizabeth Taylor was chatting with two young boys, former child stars. One of them had acted alongside Taylor in 'Lassie Come Home'. At this point, Roderick was already eighteen and considered an adult.
After starring in 'Lassie,' he had a brief surge in popularity but hadn't landed any substantial roles in the years since, nearly forgotten.
That's how it was with child stars, they were easily typecast. Initially, they might get roles in one or two films of their type, but further development was exceedingly difficult, and many child stars were quickly forgotten.
There were few child stars like Shirley Temple, whose fame stood out globally due to her adorable childhood. Since then, no child star had surpassed her popularity.
And even now, Shirley Temple is competing for roles.
They all felt a bit disheartened about sharing their recent experiences.
"I've only had a small supporting role in the past year," Taylor said.
"I haven't even found a supporting role in over a year," Roderick said helplessly.
At that moment, Sarah approached, smiling at the youngsters. "I'm sorry, I need to take Elizabth away to meet someone."
"Mom, who are we meeting this time?" Taylor asked discontentedly. She had been socializing all evening, but the only ones she really connected with were Roderick and some other former child stars.
Ah! There was also Mr. Jon Hardy she had casually met in the backyard.
Taylor thought of Hardy.
She felt that chatting with him was more enjoyable than chatting with Roderick and the others. While they had common topics, most were complaining and worrying about the lack of roles and future prospects.
Conversely, chatting with Mr. Hardy, She felt happy.
Sarah led her daughter away from the main hall. "I'm taking you to meet a film investor. He's preparing to invest in a new film. He might collaborate with director Hitchcock and even Mr. Meyer, the boss of MGM."
"Mr. Hardy is a senior executive at Noah Ark Studios, the assistant to the chairman, and has his own independent film company and talent agency. He gets along well with Mr. Meyer and is quite capable."
"Mr. Hardy is investing in a new film with a role for a 14 or 15 year old girl, and she's the lead. Taylor, when you meet Mr. Hardy, be sure to perform well and impress him." Sarah instructed her daughter.
When Taylor heard Hardy's name, she was momentarily stunned.
This man also had the surname Hardy.
Could he be the same Mr. Hardy she'd met before? However, she quickly dismissed the idea.
The world wasn't so coincidental.
Listening to her mother, Mr. Hardy was a high ranking executive at Noah Ark, a film investor, and a friend of director Meyer. He must be quite old.
In Taylor's impression, only older people had such high achievements.
The two arrived in the backyard, and Taylor noticed her mother leading her to where she had eaten cake before.
Under a streetlight, the mother and daughter saw a tall figure.
As Taylor saw the person's face clearly, she was completely stunned, it really was him, Mr. Hardy. Taylor was pulled along by her mother until they reached him.
Sarah showed Hardy a genuine smile.
"Mr. Hardy, this is my daughter Taylor. Taylor greet Mr. Hardy." Sarah gently nudged her daughter.
Taylor collected herself.
"Hello, Mr. Hardy."
"Taylor, perform for Mr. Hardy with all your heart," Sarah told her daughter.
Taylor looked at Hardy, recalling their earlier meeting. She was a bit distracted, Sarah's words catching her off guard.
"Taylor, perform a piece," Sarah urged her daughter in a low voice.
At that moment, Hardy interjected, "Ms. Sarah, perhaps it's better for Elizabeth and I to chat alone, she'll feel more at ease that way."
Sarah didn't hesitate.
"Of course, go ahead, I'll be nearby."
"Show your best, Elizabeth."
Sarah reminded Taylor once more before leaving, stopping tens of meters away to watch Hardy and her daughter.
Taylor looked up at Hardy, her big eyes filled with curiosity. Her thick eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Hardy remembered a story about Taylor's eyelashes that were naturally thick, the director had her remove some during the filming of 'Lassie' because they were too dense.
"I didn't expect the Mr. Hardy my mother spoke of to be you," Taylor said softly.
Hardy chuckled.
"Surprised?"
"Well, a bit. Mr. Hardy, what kind of performance would you like to see?" Taylor asked after composing herself.
Hardy considered.
"You do ballet, right? How about a ballet performance?" Hardy suggested.
Taylor had practiced ballet since she was young. Hearing Hardy's request, she immediately felt less nervous and struck a ballet pose, starting to dance.
Under the dim streetlights,
A girl danced lightly on the grass.
The scene was quite beautiful.
Hardy thought to himself, about filming 'Once Upon a Time in America' with Taylor, it would also be very beautiful.
But he seemed to recall that the movie had once been among Hollywood's top ten biggest box office losses.
The film might be good, but losing tens of millions of dollars in one go?
Maybe not.
Taylor felt she had been dancing for quite a while, Mr. Hardy hadn't interrupted. Unsure if he was enjoying it or dissatisfied, she subtly turned to look at Hardy and noticed him appearing slightly lost in thought, wondering what was on his mind.
Taylor felt a bit annoyed.
She was putting effort into her performance, and he seemed distracted.
But she dared not stop.
Instead, she danced even more energetically.
"Alright, that's enough."
Finally. Hardy spoke, signaling for the girl to stop.
In fact, he had only been lost in thought for a few seconds, most of the time he had been admiring the girl's dancing.
Getting Elizabeth Taylor to dance for him left Hardy with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
If he enjoyed it, why not savor it a bit longer?