Seeing Joseph and Hugo walking straight toward him, the male assistant sitting outside the office immediately stood up and leaned forward to stop them. "Sorry,Ron is currently busy. You can't go in."
Joseph stopped in his tracks and looked the male assistant up and down. He was dressed in a formal suit, with nothing distinctive, but his slightly tucked chin and the orchid fingers he raised clearly showed that he not only lacked masculinity, but also had an overly feminine air. However, this was not surprising, because Hollywood, much like the modeling industry, is one of the industries with the highest number of homosexuals.
Hollywood is a place full of contradictions. On the one hand, more than 25% of insiders here are homosexuals, and they race to the front lines when it comes to fighting for equal rights. On the other hand, in actual practice, it is extremely conservative and resistant—when the spotlight shines on them, they often don't even dare to tell the basic truth.
The fight for equal rights by homosexuals in the U.S. began in the 1960s, but development in the past thirty years has actually been quite limited. Despite being the industry with the most homosexuals, Hollywood has not used its vast media power to promote anti-discrimination and equal rights. On the contrary, Hollywood has long had unspoken rules against homosexuality, to the point that it can even be called oppressive. It wasn't until the early 1990s that U.S. television began featuring real portrayals of homosexuals.
In recent years, there's been a saying circulating in Hollywood: to know who isn't gay in the industry, just see who dares to play a gay role. The most famous example is William Hurt, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his flamboyant and effeminate gay role in Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1985, becoming the first man in history to win an Oscar for portraying a homosexual. But everyone knows he is 100% heterosexual.
Of course, this kind of thinking became outdated after entering the 21st century. For example, after Jake Gyllenhaal starred in Brokeback Mountain, rumors about him being gay have never ceased.
In Hollywood, homosexuals can be divided into those in front of and behind the camera. Behind-the-scenes workers basically don't need to hide whether they're regular directors or crew members, they won't be discriminated against for their sexual orientation, not to mention the countless gay individuals in makeup and costume departments. Actors in front of the camera can be further divided into stars and supporting roles. If an actor plays supporting roles or extras their whole life, then whether they disclose their sexual orientation doesn't matter audiences won't care about the private life of a supporting actor. But if they're a star, let alone a super celebrity, then staying in the closet for life is the norm, because Hollywood's unspoken rules against homosexuality are even harsher than those for race or gender.
The male assistant in front of them was part of the behind-the-scenes group. He could openly express his sexual orientation without any concern, and it wouldn't affect his job at all. Joseph looked at him, showing a confused expression. "Who are you?" Then Joseph added, "Where's Sherry?"
Hugo glanced at Joseph, vaguely guessing that Sherry was likely Ron Meyer's former assistant.
"I'm Gary Scott, Ron's new assistant." Gary coyly brushed his not-so-long sideburns, looked back at the office, and said in a lowered voice, "Kelly made a huge scene over Sherry's situation—everyone in the company knows." Kelly was Ron Meyer's wife. This piece of gossip came out of nowhere, but it was quite juicy.
Then Gary looked at Hugo and actually threw him a flirtatious glance, catching Hugo off guard. "Hugo, if I were you, I wouldn't go in right now. Ron's already had three cups of coffee today—his temper's at its peak." Once Hugo processed what just happened, he couldn't help but show an embarrassed and slightly shy smile. He had really never encountered a man openly flirting with him before.
Clearly, Gary recognized Hugo Lancaster no surprise there and the person next to him was, of course, Hugo's agent, Joseph Gibbs.
"Gary, tell Ron I'm going in," Joseph's tone was still relatively firm. But after all, he was still a newcomer, while Ron was already a company partner. That level of disparity still made him a bit cautious.
"Joseph! You know…" Gary still tried to stop him, but Joseph shook his head and gave a determined look. "Make the call!" Gary actually looked to Hugo for help.
Hugo was both amused and a bit helpless, but he gave a warm smile to reassure Gary. Seeing that smile, Gary immediately nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, for Hugo's sake." Earlier, Hugo had been a bit shy, but now Gary's sincerity made him laugh, and he stood there chuckling.
Gary picked up the phone, pressed a button, and said, "Ron, Joseph and Hugo are here together… He insists on seeing you. Yes…" Then he hung up and looked at Hugo again. "He said you can go in."
Joseph noticed Gary's eyes were fixed on Hugo the entire time, and he actually laughed. He patted Hugo on the shoulder. "Let's go in."
Facing Gary's fiery gaze, Hugo responded with a polite smile and a nod, then followed behind Joseph into Ron's office.
This office was at least 430 square feet (forty square meters), spacious and well-lit, neatly arranged, and furnished with elegant and comfortable furniture. Hugo felt it was even nicer than Joseph's home—the difference wasn't just a little.
Ron was sitting behind the desk at the moment, legs crossed, with a head of silver-white curls and wearing glasses. He didn't look as sharp or capable as one might expect, more like a crew coordinator or assistant director on set. However, his way of speaking was far more imposing than his appearance. "So, what do you want with me? I don't think we have any business worth discussing." Crisp and direct, without any hesitation, which showed his bad mood.
Joseph was momentarily taken aback by Ron's imposing tone, but it didn't affect him much. He raised his voice and steadily asked, "Ron, Michael Douglas is one of your clients, right? He has a movie coming out next week?"
Michael Douglas held a very unique position in Hollywood. On one hand, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1987 with Wall Street. On the other, he had an outstanding track record as a producer—his 1976 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest alone secured his legacy. Of course, Douglas was best known for two things: marrying Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was 25 years his junior, in 2000; and co-starring with Sharon Stone in 1992's Basic Instinct.
When Hugo heard Joseph's words, his first reaction was: "Basic Instinct is coming out next week?" His second thought was: Michael is actually one of Ron's clients turns out Ron really is a big-time agent. But what Hugo didn't realize was that he himself used to be one of Ron's clients too.
Sure enough, Ron replied, "Yes, Basic Instinct. So what? What do you want?" He still spoke with absolute clarity, showing no patience, clearly unwilling to get entangled with Joseph any further.
Only then did Hugo notice that since they had entered the office, Ron hadn't greeted them or even invited them to sit. He simply sat in his executive chair, watching Joseph and Hugo talk while standing a sense of superiority that was definitely uncomfortable.
Even if Hugo didn't know what had happened before, he could guess that for a successful agent, someone like Hugo—who had "fallen from grace" wasn't worth much effort. Compared to Hugo, Ron had plenty of other important clients to manage. No wonder Ron had transferred Hugo to Joseph after their contract expired. Now, Ron's attitude was not only unhelpful, but even dismissive. Hugo couldn't understand why Joseph had insisted on coming—he still didn't fully grasp how the entertainment industry operated.
Although Ron's attitude was stiff, Joseph remained composed and continued the conversation. "Ron, you know Hugo needs work right now. I was wondering if you could get him a premiere invitation?"
Joseph actually had his reasons. March was a slow season for movies; not many were being released, and even fewer were high-profile or attention-grabbing. Among them, the $49 million-invested Basic Instinct was undoubtedly the most high-profile. Conveniently, its male lead Michael was one of Ron's clients, so getting a premiere invitation from Ron shouldn't be difficult. Michael would certainly receive a pile of invitations, and Ron would have control over at least a hundred of them.
If Hugo could attend the premiere, it would be great exposure and help him build connections. After much hesitation, Joseph decided to prioritize Hugo's career. Even though he didn't want to deal with Ron Meyer, he had to push through learning to face unpleasant people was a required skill for any agent.
As for bringing Hugo along, Joseph hoped Ron might offer some help out of old acquaintance. Especially considering that it was Ron's advice at the Golden Raspberry Awards in January that had led Hugo into a downward spiral Joseph hoped Ron would show a bit of goodwill.
Only then did Hugo realize Joseph's intentions. But seeing Ron's indifferent attitude, he sighed inwardly Joseph was still too new to the business. Hugo didn't believe Ron was the type of agent to act out of conscience. Profit was the only principle that mattered.
As expected, Ron confirmed Hugo's judgment. He simply shook his head. "No, I don't think Hugo is suitable to appear at that event." Without any hesitation, Ron rejected Joseph's request outright, not even pretending to be polite.
.....
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