[Chapter 62: Forget It]
Dinner with Dylan Lauren, thanks to Daisy's appearance, went off without a hitch.
Through his telepathic sense, Orlando couldn't help but find it amusing that, just as Daisy suspected, this heiress of Ralph Lauren really did have a collector's mindset.
Especially since Daisy openly revealed her connection to Orlando right in front of her, it only fueled her interest.
Dylan Lauren was basically the daughter of newly wealthy parents, the kind of young woman who used to run errands for the more established crowd.
Daisy, on the other hand, hailed from a century-old wealthy family, part of a prominent East Coast political dynasty.
Her social standing was naturally high, and with her personality and education, she had become one of the leading women in their elite group.
Now that she uncovered the truth behind a powerful figure's rumored secret romantic affairs, and apparently, this legendary lover had a reputation that made her all the more curious, so, given the chance, she naturally wanted a taste of that high-status romance.
There was also a complex mix of female rivalry and special psychology behind it all that Orlando simply couldn't understand.
Beyond that, nothing much was going on.
Dylan Lauren had no influence over her family's business affairs.
She couldn't actually help Orlando secure the full Ralph Lauren endorsement deal.
At best, she could only get him the LLR line -- that younger, trendier Ralph Lauren brand.
Even Daisy's involvement couldn't change that.
Part of it was the brand's image didn't quite fit.
Partly because Daisy's family leaned more toward one social faction, while the Laurens belonged to another.
---
Time flew, and a week had passed since Daisy returned to New York.
Approaching the end of the month...
Frank got his hands on the detailed script and first draft contract for Terminator 2, where Orlando was to play the villainous T-1000, directly from James Cameron.
"According to Cameron, Schwarzenegger is making about twenty thousand dollars per line. Based on that, your pay per line is two hundred thousand dollars -- ten times what Arnie gets!" Frank said with a grin as Orlando read the script.
"Come on." Orlando didn't even look up. "The script shows I only have ten lines total, while Schwarzenegger has 700. His salary's fifteen million; mine's just two million."
"Haha... I know, I know. But honestly, two million is still quite high," Frank analyzed. "Your friend Will Smith recently signed with NBC for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and his salary was only three hundred thousand for full season, even though he's past his prime and less famous than you now.
Madonna got four million for Who's That Girl three years ago, Michael Jackson publicly negotiated five million plus box office shares, and Bruce Springsteen took just twenty thousand for his supporting role in Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night back in '88...
There are plenty of examples of singers crossing over into movies, but very few who lead or do well at the box office. Cameron's offer of two million shows real sincerity."
Frank couldn't hide his thoughts from Orlando this time.
Unlike before, when he and Seymour opposed Orlando doing movies, fearing he'd lose focus on his music career, now, Frank was in favor -- even hoping Orlando would take this Terminator 2 role.
The reasons were simple.
First, the original Terminator performed well. Sequels can't always outdo the first one, but rarely do they flop when it's a solid franchise.
Second, Cameron had long established himself in Hollywood with Aliens and Terminator. He was definitely a top-tier director.
Finally, though Orlando was playing the villain, the character was cool -- constantly chasing Schwarzenegger.
Except for a plot twist, the bad guy was practically unbeatable.
There were even lots of musical cues tailored to promote Orlando as a singer.
Basically, Orlando just had to be himself on screen -- either playing it cool or expressionless like a robot.
No big acting demands, stunt doubles for action scenes, and most effects were CGI.
Most importantly, Cameron only needed twenty days of shooting.
Also, if Orlando was willing, he could handle the soundtrack and theme song production.
As for Orlando's own thoughts... he was quite excited to try it.
Having only done music videos before, he found filming easy and a completely different experience from singing.
Plus, he already had the Titanic theme and other key scores sitting unused in his catalog.
Connecting with Cameron now could open doors to selling him My Heart Will Go On and other pieces later.
It was a great opportunity.
"Then you should talk to him."
After some thought, Orlando said to Frank, "The schedule's the key. Cameron's not known for being flexible on that. If they extend shooting days, we need to get it all in writing -- especially the pay!"
"No problem."
---
Frank smiled and switched topics.
"Oh, and by the way, there's news you might win an award at this year's MTV Video Music Awards."
"What? I just debuted this year. Isn't that usually next year's thing?"
He already considered himself the strongest newcomer this year.
The media kept hammering that home so much that even Orlando now believed it.
But even if he were to win, it should be next year since that's when this year's awards would be presented.
"You know MTV and Warner are tight, right? And Viacom, MTV's new owner... they're the same crowd."
Frank lowered his voice and finally came clean, "Actually, someone let me know that if you publicly acknowledge you're part of the Jewish crowd -- or attend their parties -- you'd likely clinch the VMA viewers' choice award this year. That one's based on fan votes. And your fans are super active."
Orlando: ...
Damn!
So the legendary "one-drop" celebrity rule hit him after all?
He'd heard of it before: just like Richard Pryor's rule for African Americans -- if you have any African ancestry, you'll always be considered Black by society, no matter how light your skin.
It was similar with the Jews.
But there was one catch: you actually had to be famous.
If you were a celebrity, even with no real Jewish blood, the media would brand you as one.
While weighing his options, Orlando asked, "Why not Best New Artist instead?"
He liked that title more.
"VMA's Best New Artist is different from Grammys," Frank explained. "It doesn't exactly mean a fresh face. It focuses more on breakthrough achievements in music videos. That award competes just as fiercely as the prestigious Video of the Year. Besides you, there's Williams Phillips, UK singer Sinead O'Connor with her striking shaved head look, and the Smiths' Janie's Got a Gun last year highlighting child abuse -- all strong contenders. Even Madonna and MJ want a shot. Unless..."
Frank paused, then added, "Unless you're willing to take a trip out to the desert and...."
Orlando was silent for a few seconds before he finally said, "Forget it then."
*****
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