Chapter 469: Audition Review

Chapter 469: Chapter 469: Audition Review

Barely a few minutes after Elizabeth’s voice fell, the exclusive elevator in the top-floor room opened in response once again.

Staff members from the Condé Nast Group legal team walked into the room holding neatly bound paper cooperation agreements.

As a top global media group, Condé Nast’s legal processes were standardized and meticulous, with every external cooperation contract having been polished through multiple layers.

This time was also their first major film and television collaboration involving on-location shooting, haute couture apparel sponsorship, and all-media publicity linkage, making the terms even more comprehensive, detailed, and clear in rights and responsibilities.

The staff gently placed the duplicate official sponsorship agreement in the centre of the table, then stood quietly to the side, waiting for the two core persons in charge to review and verify it.

Irene carefully reviewed and verified it page by page and clause by clause.

The entire agreement was neatly formatted with clear clauses, and its contents completely corresponded to all the cooperation details Vera had reported in the car earlier, with no discrepancies between oral commitments and written terms.

The agreement clearly stated all the core resources provided by the group: opening up One World Trade Center and the full-area on-location shooting rights at the New York headquarters of Vogue, freely providing the group’s massive collection of haute couture apparel, light luxury accessories, and a full set of styling resources for film shooting, as well as linking top publications such as Vogue and Vanity Fair under the group for global publicity and exposure.

At the same time, it clearly marked the sole cooperation requirement: all starring actors and core supporting roles appearing in the film must undergo preliminary review by the group’s fashion aesthetic team to ensure the actors’ temperament, appearance, and fashion adaptability fit the high-end tone of top fashion magazines, especially for the core role corresponding to the prototype of Anna Wintour, for which the review standards were even more rigorous.

Reading through the entire text, the contract terms were fair and just, rights and responsibilities were distinct, and resources were generous, making it an excellent contract entirely based on friendly cooperation between both parties.

After confirming that the overall contents were correct, Irene raised her gaze slightly, looked at Elizabeth who was leisurely drinking coffee to the side, and smoothly threw out an invitation.

"I saw the review requirements regarding actors’ image and temperament in the agreement. I completely understand this and agree with it very much.

Coincidentally, I have an idea. Half a month from now, we will officially launch the audition work for the main actors. Perhaps you would be willing to spare some time to come over and participate in our actor audition review?"

This invitation was very clever; it not only met the actor review requirements in the agreement, but also fully respected the Condé Nast Group’s fashion discourse power, while also allowing Elizabeth to deeply participate in the project and bring their cooperation and personal relationship closer.

Elizabeth had originally been lazily leaning against the sofa chair.

Hearing Irene’s invitation, she instantly raised her eyes, a flash of surprise and unexpectedness flickering in the depths of her eyes, and her tone carried a bit of excitement:

"Really? Can I participate in the audition review? Will it disturb your normal work progress and cause you trouble?"

She was well-accustomed to fashion circle blockbusters, magazine location shoots, and celebrity red carpets, but she truly had not experienced the behind-the-scenes actor audition process of film and television dramas, and she was full of novelty and curiosity about this brand-new job.

Irene smiled faintly: "Of course not. Having you participate will only add icing on the cake, how could it cause trouble? Your fashion aesthetics and circle vision are what our crew needs the most.

By the way, do you usually have any actresses you particularly appreciate and want to cooperate with? If there are suitable candidates, we can completely give priority to issuing audition invitations and include them in the backup list."

Elizabeth thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head with a smile, her tone entirely filled with unconditional trust in Irene:

"I am one hundred percent confident in your eye for picking people. The actresses you have cooperated with before all have outstanding temperament, acting skills, and texture, and I like them very much. In this regard, I completely listen to your arrangements."

"However, I am really quite curious about what an actor audition for a film or television drama is actually like. Is it completely different from the finished film performances and magazine lenses we usually see? You must definitely notify me in advance when the time comes; I want to come over in person to broaden my horizons."

"Naturally, it is different." Irene responded with a smile,

"The finished film is the final effect after editing, colour grading, background music, and post-production packaging, while the audition is the most primitive and truest state of the actor, allowing one to most intuitively see the actor’s lines foundation, emotional explosiveness, lens adaptability, and character shaping ability. You will understand when you arrive in person at that time."

After speaking, she smoothly finalized the subsequent docking matters: "Later I will have Vera organize a complete candidate actor list and send it to you. You can read through it in advance to understand it, and just quietly wait for the audition half a month later."

Elizabeth nodded readily, and the sense of anticipation in the depths of her eyes grew even stronger.

After confirming the audition invitation and subsequent arrangements, Irene lowered her head again to quickly read through the last few pages of detailed rules in the agreement.

Confirming that all terms, rights and responsibilities, resources, and time limits were completely correct, she neatly closed the entire agreement and gently handed it to Vera by her side.

"There are no problems at all with the overall agreement; the contents are generous and the terms are clear." Irene instructed softly,

"Take it back to the company, have the legal department do a final review, and after completing the internal processes, we will officially sign and implement it."

Vera respectfully acknowledged the order, took the document, and properly stored and archived it.

Having resolved all formal work, the tense atmosphere in the room completely dissipated.

Elizabeth neatly put down the coffee cup in her hand, stood up to stretch her figure, and prepared to fulfil the duties of a host: "Now that work is done, next it is time to properly relax. Today I am treating; I will invite you to lunch."

As a native New York top socialite and the little princess of the Condé Nast Group, Elizabeth knew Manhattan’s top dining resources like the back of her hand.

New York never lacked luxurious and high-end Michelin restaurants and private banquet clubs.

She knew Irene’s dietary preferences—preferring light, sweet, and original-flavoured seafood cuisine—so she had already arranged it properly in advance, specially booking Manhattan’s top French Michelin three-star restaurant, Le Bernardin.

This restaurant was located at 155 West 51st Street in New York City, serving as a benchmark existence in the New York culinary world.

It perpetually dominated the top of the New York Zagat restaurant guide’s "Best Food" category, was selected multiple times for the list of the world’s fifty best restaurants, and specialized in exquisite French seafood cuisine.

Known across America for its ultimate fresh ingredients, delicate and high-end cooking techniques, and pure, sweet flavours, it was the ceiling of French seafood in the hearts of countless food lovers.

More conveniently, the restaurant was only a ten-minute drive from One World Trade Center, requiring no long-distance travel, which was just right for a short post-meal break for the two of them without delaying both parties’ subsequent work arrangements.

The two simply packed their personal belongings, bade farewell to the legal staff, took a short ten-minute car ride, and successfully arrived at the entrance of Le Bernardin restaurant.

The restaurant’s exterior facade was low-key and elegant without exaggerated decoration.

The minimalist and high-end French design style was quiet and secluded, fading away the hustle and bustle of the marketplace and full of the atmosphere of a high-end private banquet.

The exclusive waiter had long since received the reservation information, waiting and guiding them early at the entrance, and led the two directly into the private exclusive box inside the restaurant.

The private box had excellent soundproofing effects; the environment was quiet and elegant, the lighting was soft and soothing, and the soft furnishings were exquisite and graceful without outside noise and clamour, making it perfectly suitable for friends chatting and small business gatherings.