America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 122 Internal Promotion

William Morris, at the end of his weekly partners' meeting, after discussing important clients, moved on to potential clients.

Sharon, who was in charge of coordinating daily affairs, beckoned to her assistant, who quickly came over and connected the projector to her laptop.

The Saturn Awards are one of the top ten film and television awards in North America, and WMA executives are also paying attention to them. Sharon opened the Saturn Awards news: "Martin Davis, a level six client of the company, won the Saturn Award for Best Young Actor last weekend. He is currently receiving a lot of attention in entertainment newspapers and on the Internet. There is a force behind him."

Co-partner Ali Emmanuel asked, "Was company resources used?"

"Very few resources were used." Sharon had specifically consulted Thomas: "Apart from his agent Thomas, no other company resources were used."

Ali looked up at the projection screen: "How did he win that award?"

Sharon clicked the mouse, and Wes Craven's avatar appeared: "Martin invited Craven to his private party, and he won Craven over."

Another co-partner, Jim Witt, said, "Louise Meyer of Pacific Films recommended Martin to me because he starred in the theatrical film 'Zombie Dancer,' and I put him on my shortlist of Level 6 clients."

According to WMA's internal regulations, one must have played the lead or important supporting role in at least one theatrical film or television series to become a Level 6 client.

This standard excludes 99% of actors in the industry.

Level 6 clients are also called actors within WMA, but they are actors who are assigned a dedicated agent.

Above that are well-known actors, stars, famous stars, superstars, and superstars.

The criteria for this distinction are simple: pay, power, and influence.

片酬不是唯一标準，却最为直观，100万、500万、1000万、1500万和2000万。

Resources are prioritized in a clear order.

Because talent agencies don't care about art, they care about making money.

Clients who can command high fees enjoy the best resources.

WMA currently has no superstars.

The most important clients are Michael Bay and Eastwood.

“I know Thomas, he’s a newcomer, he can’t handle Craven.” Ali became interested: “This kid has some tricks up his sleeve.”

Sharon is very meticulous: "He starred as the male lead in 'House of Wax,' and before the film was even released, I specifically called the producer Susan and the director Jaume Coleman. They both spoke highly of Martin's acting and praised his ability to get along with people."

Ali stated directly, "Having the ability is relevant. In this way, Martin's client level will be upgraded by one level, and level five resources will be prioritized for him."

In less than two minutes, the matter concerning Martin was concluded. Potential clients will pay appropriate attention, but whether one can advance to the next position also depends on luck.

Sharon then mentioned the real key figure among the new clients, Blake Lively.

These people talked for nearly ten minutes as Ernie Lively was helping her daughter push a platter.

WMA wanted to include as many of its clients as possible in the production team.

After the meeting, Sharon called Thomas and chatted with him for a few minutes.

Inside the office cubicle, Thomas excitedly pounded his fist on the table; he was getting closer and closer to his private office!

He looked up and saw himself in the mirror.

Thomas put the phone back in its place and looked closely in the mirror. His hairline seemed to have receded again.

He scratched his head, and a few strands of hair fell onto the desk.

Thomas, in the midst of his high spirits, blew it all away in one breath, picked up his phone and dialed Martin's number: "Come to the company quickly, something good has happened."

Half an hour later, Martin arrived at the office cubicle.

Thomas had just printed out a thick stack of documents from the company's internal system.

Martin glanced at them; they all seemed to be recruitment emails for actors sent by film crews.

"Help yourself with your water." Thomas was still a little excited, shaking his head and body violently, and a few more strands of hair fell out.

He started by saying, "Having won Best Young Actor means the company values ​​you highly. They've upgraded your client level to Level 5, and Level 5 resources will be prioritized for you. The company will give you priority recommendations for many roles that fall to Level 5."

As one of the two largest talent agencies in the industry, WMA's strong recommendation can get its actors into the third round of auditions. If the director and casting director are also from the same company, the chances of winning increase even further.

Martin, well aware of this, asked, "Do you have any good roles to recommend?"

Thomas brought over a printout and said eagerly, "It's a Castle Rock project, 'The Mad Hostage,' with a dual protagonist setup."

Martin looked through the printout, which contained a simplified script, character descriptions, and introductions. After a careful recollection, he had no recollection of it.

This is a project Thomas carefully selected: "The production budget is $800 million, it's a family-friendly film, and I expect the actor's salary to be no less than $30. Family-friendly films always have a market."

Martin closed the printout: "Are you sure a bunch of adults fighting with weapons at Disneyland is a successful family-friendly theme?"

Thomas countered, "What's the problem?"

"I don't feel very good." Martin picked up another printout, a Universal Pictures project.

Thomas said, "George Romero is planning a remake of Land of the Dead, and he's one of the main characters in it, so the competition could be very fierce."

Martin has only one impression of this film: zombies watching fireworks.

Choosing the main character requires careful consideration, and he then set it aside.

Thomas wasn't in a hurry to choose either, and handed another document to Martin: "Dimen Pictures' project, 'The Brothers Grimm,' is a fantasy film that is being financed overseas, with funding mainly coming from Germany. It features two main characters, with Matt Damon confirmed as the first lead and a newcomer with a lower salary planned for the second lead."

Martin rejected the idea without hesitation: "Fantasy films are all a no-go."

Louise had told him that Germany was Hollywood's go-to toilet for money laundering.

Who knows how much this film actually cost to produce?

Thomas emphasized, "The success of The Lord of the Rings series sparked a fantasy craze."

Martin said, "Van Helsing was released at the beginning of this month, and it's been two weeks now. How bad are the box office and reviews?" He bluntly stated, "I have absolutely no interest in fantasy or epic films."

Thomas said, "You'll miss out on a lot of opportunities like this."

Martin didn't want to argue with him further because he couldn't explain it clearly: "I trust Louise Mayer's judgment."

"But she invested in Alexander the Great..."

"Louise already regrets it." Martin's words were like a knife: "When it comes to film selection, I trust a producer's professionalism."

So that means he's an unprofessional agent? Thomas opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a rebuttal, because compared to the professionalism of selecting films, most agents are not even as good as the managers of celebrities, let alone producers who face the front line of the market.

It's like a producer asking a film critic how to make a movie that will be commercially successful—they're guaranteed to fail.

Thomas said, "Choosing carefully is a good thing, but you have to understand that we don't have a wide range of choices."

Martin nodded slightly and asked, "Is that all?"

"These are the main actors for now. It's impossible to recruit actors for movies in the next two years all at the same time. Some production teams or companies rarely work with WMA." Thomas made Martin face reality: "Although the company doesn't have any superstars, the potential collaborations go down layer by layer, and by the time they reach us, they are all the ones that the stars have left over."

Martin understood: "Is that all?"

Thomas pointed to the computer screen: "There are some villainous characters, but I don't recommend... no, I strongly oppose you choosing a villainous character, unless the villain is like a protagonist."

Martin started rambling again: "Someone like me is born to be a protagonist. A villain? He'd get killed by this protagonist in one movie, and by another protagonist in the next. He'd be finished in no time!"

He asked Thomas, "Do you want me to be completely ruined because of a hasty choice?"

Hearing this, Thomas's fiery heart and mind calmed down a bit. He patted his forehead and accepted the reality of being "edited": "My fault. The success of the Saturn Award, the company's attention... I got too excited."

Seeing that he had calmed down, Martin said, "Let's keep watching."

The remaining slots were for supporting roles; both of the company's two major director clients, Michael Bay and Clint Eastwood, were casting for supporting roles in their new films.

The former is called "The Island," and the latter is "Million Dollar Baby."

Martin Scorsese gets almost no promotion for playing minor supporting roles in these kinds of films unless the pay is very high, which is clearly impossible.

Thomas noticed that the company system had been updated, and new projects and roles were automatically pushed to his OA system. He quickly opened it and asked Martin to take a look: "A project that fully utilizes young actors has confirmed Blake Lively as the female lead, and there are five other main roles, three women and two men."

Martin asked, "Have you decided on a name?"

"It's based on the novel of the same name by Brasheers, 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,'" Thomas said. "The adaptation will likely retain that title."

Martin had seen the film and remembered it as a girls' movie, so he asked, "Two male characters?"

Thomas said, "A football coach, a Greek lad." He exclaimed in astonishment, "That's unbelievable, a budget of $2500 million!"

Upon hearing about money, Martin became interested: "If the role pays well, sign me up. I'm really broke lately." He added, "If the pay is low, forget it."

Thomas wrote it down: "Anything else you think is suitable?"

"It's really hard to find a suitable role." There are indeed many resources, but in Martin's eyes, the quality is worrying, and many are still pitfalls. The success rate of movies is relatively low, so it is normal to have many pitfalls.

Thomas smiled and said, "For high-investment projects, it's natural to find celebrities with strong appeal to endorse them."

"Keep an eye on your paycheck this summer," Martin cautioned, then added, "Any time tonight? Come with me to a party."

Thomas said, "I have an appointment with a lady..."

Martin sighed: "Wes Craven invited me and French director Alexandre Aja to discuss the script." He specifically emphasized: "A horror film script with me as the absolute protagonist."

"I've never heard you say that before," Thomas said, sounding quite helpless.

Martin said, "The story came from the collision of ideas between the two directors. Before they finalized the framework, there was a lot of uncertainty. I can't tell you about things that aren't certain. Their agents also went. It would be disrespectful if I didn't bring my agent."

Thomas hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go!"

I was busy all day yesterday and didn't have time to write. I haven't finished writing the second update yet, so I'll post it later.

(End of this chapter)