Los Angeles, metropolitan area, sunny.
In an ordinary apartment on Seventh Street, Jennifer Lawrence sat barefoot on a hammock, wearing a tank top and shorts, looking at the phone number on her cell phone, feeling a bit hesitant.
Previously, she planned to find Link and discuss the signing in person.
During the filming in Paris, she lived with Link for more than twenty days and got to know him quite well. Although he was a bit of a playboy, his character was quite good.
Talking to Link face-to-face about this matter and getting his promise would make her feel more at ease.
However, Link was too busy and asked her to contact Ms. Catherine, the person in charge of Palm Bay Agency.
This made her hesitate, wondering whether to wait for him to come back or to contact this woman named Catherine first.
"Jennifer!"
Her cousin and agent, Clausen, walked in briskly, holding a document, her sunburned face beaming with excitement. "The contract is signed, the role is yours, with a base salary of $200,000."
"So fast?"
Jennifer took the acting contract and looked at it.
Along with the thick script of "X-Men: First Class," it listed the responsibilities and obligations of both the production side and the actors, as well as the salary terms.
With this contract, as long as she didn't violate the terms during filming, the role was hers, and no one could take it away.
"Yes, when I went to sign the contract, the people at Fox said that you, along with the two male leads Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, were among the first to get the roles. They were also surprised that the production team would finalize the casting so quickly and give you the role."
Clausen said excitedly.
Jennifer flipped through the contract.
Previously, Link had sent a message saying that Fox had decided to give her the role. At the time, she didn't pay much attention, but just over two hours later, the "X-Men" audition team called to congratulate her on passing the audition and getting the role of Mystique.
At that time, she guessed it might be related to Link but wasn't sure. She felt she had performed well in the audition. Now, hearing Clausen's words, she was sure that Link had helped her get the role.
Thinking of Link, Jennifer felt a bit powerless.
Link was twenty-one this year, only a year older than her, already worth hundreds of millions of dollars, with multiple companies like Link Music, and many connections in the entertainment industry.
Understanding this, she seriously considered signing with Palm Bay Agency after receiving Link's invitation.
But this matter concerned her future, possibly her entire life, so she had to be cautious.
"Jennifer, what's wrong? Is there a problem with the contract?"
Clausen asked.
Jennifer shook her head.
She explained Link's invitation to join Palm Bay Agency.
Clausen, her cousin, was ten years older than her. After graduating from college, she came to Hollywood as a model assistant and agent, familiar with the entertainment industry, and was Jennifer's guide in the industry.
"Palm Bay Agency? Link agreed to pay your breach of contract fee? And a signing bonus of $1 million? Really?"
Clausen asked in surprise.
Jennifer nodded, saying it was true.
"It sounds great. What are you hesitating about?"
Clausen asked.
"Do you really think it's good? I haven't heard of Palm Bay Agency. It should be a newly established agency. Will it be better than my current agency?"
Jennifer got off the hammock, poured two glasses of iced soda, and handed one to Clausen.
"It's normal for you as an actress not to have heard of Palm Bay Agency, but I know about this company."
Clausen sat down on a wicker chair and introduced Palm Bay Agency.
It was an agency established in 2008, mainly engaged in actor management, currently with only two artists, Link and Emma Stone.
"Emma Stone?"
Jennifer knew Emma Stone, who was a year older than her, also a grassroots actress without formal training. They had competed for a role called 'Jules' in the 2007 comedy "Superbad," which she lost to Emma Stone.
Before last year, Emma Stone had only played supporting roles in a few low-budget teen comedies, with little fame.
But since the second half of last year, Emma Stone first starred in the teen comedy "Easy A," produced by Warner's subsidiary Screen Gems.
Then she co-starred with A-list stars Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling in the movie "Crazy, Stupid, Love," and was one of the leads in the female-centric film "Bridesmaids," currently in production. She reportedly had several scripts in hand and was not short of roles.
Currently, "Easy A" was in pre-release promotion, with Emma Stone appearing more frequently in the media, being named 'One of the Most Promising Actresses of the Year' by Vanity Fair.
From this perspective, Link's Palm Bay Agency seemed quite good.
"Emma Stone is an actress promoted by Palm Bay Agency, with a clear upward trend. There's one more thing you might not have noticed."
Clausen continued.
Emma Stone became the lead in "Easy A" because the film was invested and produced by Palm Beach Pictures, which was also reportedly founded by Link.
"Link is a billionaire, earning hundreds of millions from an album, making millions in minutes in the boxing ring, never short of money. This also means Palm Beach Pictures is not short of money. Because of this, many actors want to join Palm Bay Agency, especially actresses, hoping to connect with Link. But Palm Bay doesn't accept unsolicited resumes, mainly inviting artists, so no one has succeeded yet."
Clausen looked at her, "Jennifer, Link personally invited you to join Palm Bay, which means he values you. I think this is a good opportunity."
Jennifer thought for a moment and also felt that joining Palm Bay was not bad. With her relationship with Link, it would be better than being at IMG Models.
IMG Models was her current agency. When she was fourteen, she was discovered by an IMG scout while traveling to New York with her mother. At that time, she was over 5'7" with good looks, suitable for modeling.
After persuading her parents and completing all high school courses within two years, she joined IMG Models, worked as a model for a few months, but was more interested in acting. Through the company's channels, she gradually got some roles, and this year became famous with two small-budget art films, "The Burning Plain" and "Winter's Bone."
But IMG Models' main business was model management, with limited resources in the entertainment industry, providing her with limited support. This also led to her losing the lead role in "Twilight" in the third round of auditions in 2008 to Kristen Stewart, who was less skilled than her.
Last year, Kristen became a global teen idol and A-list actress with "Twilight."
It's impossible not to feel envious.
She had also considered changing agencies, such as CAA, William Morris WME, United Talent UTA, and other top agencies, but since she wasn't famous enough, joining a big agency was difficult, and other small agencies were not better than IMG.
Palm Bay Agency seemed to have more strength in the film industry than IMG.
Understanding this, Jennifer told Clausen that Link had sent a message asking her to contact a woman named Catherine. She was now hesitating whether to wait a few days to talk to Link or to meet this Catherine now.
"Catherine? Is it Catherine Baker?"
Clausen asked.
"Link didn't say, just that she was the person in charge of Palm Bay Agency."
Jennifer looked at the message on her phone and said.
"Then it's right, Catherine is Link's mother. Talking to her is no different from talking to Link."
"Catherine is Link's mother?"
Jennifer asked in surprise.
She looked at the number on her phone, feeling a bit indecisive.
If Catherine was just the general manager of Palm Bay, it wouldn't matter to call directly, but she was Link's mother.
And she had been rumored to have a close relationship with Link.
Facing Catherine, she would feel like meeting her boyfriend's parents, even though she and Link were not in a relationship, it still felt burdensome.
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end.