"Did you see today's newspaper?"
In the office, Helen Herman saw Matthew sitting in the chair opposite her and said, "Gladiator took over 34 million US dollars in its first weekend in North America, which is pretty good."
Matthew shrugged. "Does it help me?"
"A little bit," Helen Herman said truthfully. "Not a huge amount."
"Let's talk about the new job," Matthew was more concerned about that.
Helen Herman changed the subject. "Every month, many films are approved in Hollywood, and most of them recruit actors externally. There are quite a few roles suitable for you."
She took out a document from the drawer and pushed it to Matthew. "This is what I asked the company to specifically collect. There are commercial films and independent productions."
Matthew understood her unspoken meaning. "You don't have connections in these film crews?"
"Mostly not..." Helen Herman frowned slightly, then said solemnly, "Even if I do, I can't just use them casually. Some favors, once used, are gone. They must be saved for critical moments."
Matthew was not a rookie who had just entered society and understood what Helen Herman meant.
Helen Herman added, "I will do my best to get you work, but you also need to do your best in all aspects, including auditions."
She couldn't solve every role problem using her father's connections from back then. While many Hollywood crews were indeed chaotic and involved various deals, in some crews, auditions and actor performance were also key factors in determining who got the role.
"Let's talk about the next steps," Helen Herman stopped rambling and said directly, "Among the crews currently recruiting actors, I've prioritized three for you: DreamWorks' Almost Famous, Universal Pictures' The Mummy Returns, and The Fast and the Furious."
Matthew hadn't heard of the first film, but he knew the latter two. He had watched the first two Mummy films and several Fast and Furious films, and he remembered them as having excellent box office results, both exemplary commercial film successes. Especially Fast and Furious 7—what was the male lead's name again? The studio used his death for promotion, and it was absolutely everywhere.
He had no impression of DreamWorks' Almost Famous.
If he could get a major role in The Mummy Returns and The Fast and the Furious, he would definitely become famous!
Seemingly understanding what Matthew was thinking, Helen Herman added, "We can't get the lead roles. We need to aim for major supporting roles."
Seeing Matthew nod, she continued, "I've researched the situations of these three crews. Based on the difficulty of getting a role and its impact on your future development, DreamWorks' Almost Famous is our top priority."
This greatly surprised Matthew, who couldn't help but ask, "Why not The Mummy Returns and The Fast and the Furious?"
"The Mummy Returns is a sequel to the blockbuster film The Mummy, so even a supporting role will face fierce competition," Helen Herman had clearly done her research. "The Fast and the Furious is a niche racing film, and a supporting role in such a film won't significantly boost your career. It's just a backup option."
She further explained, "Almost Famous was originally supposed to be filmed last year but was delayed until now due to funding issues. DreamWorks hopes this film can make it to the next awards season, so they've allocated significant resources and raised sixty million dollars for production. This film involves bands and rock music, making it inherently more likely to attract industry attention."
Helen Herman coughed softly. "The production company for this film is DreamWorks. According to Eric Polk's feedback, your dedicated and diligent performance on the Band of Brothers set received unanimous approval from the production team. This will benefit you in auditioning for Almost Famous!"
"Furthermore!" She directly pointed out Matthew's weakness,
"You also need a role to hone your acting skills. I don't expect your acting to be superb, but it absolutely cannot be bad!"
"Then..." Matthew was still unwilling to give up. "What about The Mummy Returns and The Fast and the Furious?"
"I've prepared three sets of materials for you. In addition to the Almost Famous crew, I will also submit them to The Mummy Returns and The Fast and the Furious crews," Helen Herman didn't object to Matthew participating in these films, as it was also an opportunity for an actor of his caliber. "If you can pass the auditions for all three crews and the schedules don't conflict, you can certainly participate in the filming of those two films as well."
She held up a finger. "However, from now on, you need to prioritize preparing for the Almost Famous role audition. A male supporting role in this film is the most likely role for us to get, and my work will also focus on negotiations with that crew. For the other two crews, I will only submit your materials."
Matthew knew very well that Helen Herman was not usually a talkative person. Her saying so much was simply to tell him that the male supporting role in Almost Famous was the most likely one to secure.
The other two film crews seemed appealing, but Matthew knew that if he couldn't get a role, those two films wouldn't be as valuable to him as Girl, Interrupted.
Right now, it was the film crews picking him, not him picking the film crews.
"The role you're auditioning for..." Helen Herman raised her hand and pointed at the material in front of Matthew. "It's all in here. Go home and read it carefully."
The two talked about work for a while longer. Matthew picked up the documents Helen Herman provided and said, "is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving."
"Don't go yet." Helen Herman adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. "I've had someone collect materials for Almost Famous and related roles. They'll be back this afternoon. Wait for them to return with the materials before you leave."
The phone rang then. She picked it up, listened for a moment, and said, "Okay, I understand."
Helen Herman hung up the phone and said to Matthew, "Your last two-thousand-dollar payment has arrived. Go to accounting to sign for it."
Matthew picked up the documents and left Helen Herman's office for the accounting department on the same floor. After signing, he had accounting directly deduct the agent's two thousand dollar commission and the ten thousand dollar breach of contract fee for the Forbidden Tarot crew, and the remaining eight thousand dollars were transferred to his account.
It was only a little past ten in the morning, and Matthew didn't want to just sit around the office waiting. He decided to take a cab to a used car market. He was quite lucky; the used Ford he had looked at that day was still there. After some haggling with the owner, he finally bought the white Ford for forty-five hundred dollars.
He had worked as a mechanic's apprentice for a while and had some understanding of cars. Although this used Ford was an older model, overall it was in good condition and worth the price.
After completing the paperwork and having lunch, Matthew drove his first car back to Angel Management Company. In the lounge, he browsed online news for a while. The internet was full of news about the stock market crash, countless people going bankrupt, and not a few jumping from buildings. It seemed America was experiencing a major economic disaster.
He didn't understand the stock market and was completely clueless about indices and such. He just watched it as a spectacle, but after seeing it, he was also a bit alarmed. The risk of stocks was really too high.
Matthew shook his head, closed the webpage, and went to read entertainment news. The hot topic in entertainment news was undoubtedly the divorce battle between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The once loving couple were attacking each other, seemingly having become enemies.
"This is Hollywood..." he sighed.
In his understanding, a long-lasting marriage was a luxury in Hollywood. The love lives of most Hollywood stars always came and went quickly.
Matthew didn't dwell on it. He had no experience in this area and only understood one principle—cherish the present!
As for the future, who could say what the future held?
After casually flipping through the news for a while, Matthew remembered his previous plan and specifically registered a blog. Just as he was about to write something, someone came to inform him that the person collecting the documents had returned.
Matthew received a thick stack of documents, greeted Helen Herman, and drove back to Westwood. After returning to his apartment, he immediately opened the documents Helen Herman had given him.
At the top of this document were the details of the Almost Famous crew and character descriptions, with a particular emphasis on a male supporting role named Russell Hammond, which was the role Matthew needed to strive for.
Below the Almost Famous documents were those for The Mummy Returns, followed by The Fast and the Furious and some other smaller projects.
The order of the documents also showed Helen Herman's priorities.
Matthew already trusted Helen Herman considerably in business matters, so he first picked up the Almost Famous documents and began to read them carefully.
This was a film about a rock band and a touring concert. The specific content wasn't in the documents, but it noted that the role Matthew was vying for, Russell Hammond, was the band's guitarist and was entangled with both the male lead singer and the female assistant.
In other words, this was a bisexual character.
According to Hollywood's mainstream aesthetic, playing such a role indeed required a certain level of acting skill.
Additionally, the documents also stated that two actors had already been confirmed: Kate Hudson, playing the female lead, and Jason Lee, playing the band's lead singer.
Helen Herman had also personally made a note under Kate Hudson's name, indicating that Kate Hudson was the daughter of veteran Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn.
After looking at the documents and thinking for a while, Matthew felt that such a role would indeed be quite challenging for him.
He then set this document aside and took out the information for The Mummy Returns. Like Gladiator, this was a project financed by Universal Pictures. The Mummy series was a monster movie franchise established by Universal Pictures many years ago. The Mummy, the predecessor to The Mummy Returns, could be considered a reboot. After its great success, this sequel naturally followed.
Matthew had some recollection of both Mummy films and was curious which supporting role Helen Herman wanted him to pursue.