America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 86 The HBO Project (Please Subscribe)

In the audition room, casting director Thomson glanced at the list and said, "Bring Martin Davis in."

The Latina woman at the door went to call someone.

The assistant whispered a reminder: "A recommendation from WMA, from Thomas Lane's client."

"I know," Thomson said in a low voice, "It depends on the audition results."

If someone is too incompetent, then personal relationships are not worth considering.

Martin followed the Latina woman into the audition room and saw that there were seven people in total, including the photographer.

Six were very serious, while the other was slacking off by playing PSP.

No need to guess, it must be someone with connections.

Every film crew needs him.

Martin recognized Thomson and went over to shake his hand: "Director."

Thomson nodded slightly: "The role you're auditioning for is the director of an independent film. There's no script yet. You'll perform a short scene."

Martin approached the sunshade, gathered his emotions, and recalled Benjamin's outburst and behavior, quickly immersing himself in the moment.

This is the director he is most familiar with.

"One million dollars! Just one more million dollars and this film can get started!" Martin, who had seen many independent film directors struggling to raise funds, wore a mixture of excitement, helplessness, and frustration: "Dude, tell me, who can put in a million dollars! Who the hell can invest a million dollars in my project?!"

He became hysterical, his voice rising: "I'd sell my ass to him for money! I'd kneel on the ground and give him a blowjob ten times, no problem!"

Thomson thought to himself that the company was quite reliable, and the people they recommended had good acting skills.

After Martin finished his performance, Thomson said, "Good, go back and wait for news."

Martin said thank you and left the audition room.

Thomson asked those around him, "What do you think?"

The assistant understood his meaning and cooperated fully: "He portrayed the predicament and helplessness of an independent film director."

The woman next to him said, "Of the seven people who completed the audition, he was the best; his acting was excellent."

Thomson made the decision, but he still had to put on a show: "Go on, let the next one in."

Martin came out of the audition room, asked the receptionist a question, exchanged phone numbers, and left the small office building.

Walking to the parking area, he thought for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed Robert's number: "Hey buddy, what's up?"

"What made you think of calling me?" Robert's smugness was palpable in his voice. "I was teaching a newbie acting."

Martin said directly, "Do me a favor, go get a bottle of Coke, glass or can, and put it on the table facing Los Angeles."

Robert asked in surprise, "Why?"

Martin explained, "I just auditioned for a very important role that will determine whether I can join the Screen Actors Guild as soon as possible."

Robert understood: "Dude, Coke isn't working."

"I know regular Coke won't work," Martin emphasized. "I want Coke blessed by Robert!"

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Robert was already numb. He hung up the phone, went to the theater concession stand, bought a can of Coke, went to his office on the second floor, moved his desk to the west side, and placed the can of Coke on it.

After thinking for a moment, he found some olive oil, smeared it on the aluminum can, drew a cross on it, took a picture with his phone, and sent it to Martin via MMS.

Martin received the MMS message and felt inexplicably at ease. He then made a special call to Benjamin: "Director, it's nothing, I just wanted to say thank you."

A woman's laughter and Benjamin's voice came through the receiver: "Thank me for what?"

Martin said, "Congratulations on getting out of this mess. I won't disturb your happiness any longer. Bye."

For his last call, Martin called Thomas. The agent seemed very busy, and it took two tries to get through.

Thomas was simple and clear: "Just wait for our notification."

He hung up the phone before Martin could reply.

On Friday morning, Martin was notified by the production team that he had been cast in the role.

In the afternoon, he met Thomas at the entrance of Warner Bros. Studios and they went together to the small building where the film crew was located.

Thomas was dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a black briefcase; in New York, this kind of attire would make him a typical stockbroker.

In Los Angeles, he would naturally be an entertainment agent.

"You're not a union member, so your pay won't be high, maybe $3000 at most," Thomas said quickly as they walked. "Don't worry too much about pay right now. Getting the opportunity and a role is more important than anything else. Filming will start soon, and once that starts, you can submit your application to the union. Only then will we be eligible to pursue more significant roles."

Martin said, "You're a professional."

The two arrived at the office building. Martin waited in the lounge while Thomas went to talk to a producer about his salary, but returned in just ten minutes.

He told Martin, "The role pays $2800 per episode. You'll appear in a maximum of two episodes. Transportation, meals, accommodation, and insurance will be covered according to the production team's normal standards. If there are no problems, we'll sign the contract. After signing, you'll get a few pages of the character's script."

Martin clearly didn't care about the salary for the role: "No problem."

Thomas told his assistant, "Inform your boss that you can sign the contract now."

There were ready-made templates for actor contracts. Martin followed Thomas to another conference room, took the contract from the assistant, carefully reviewed it, and signed his name.

Thomas asked, "Is there a problem with the contract?"

Martin shrugged: "Of course I have to read the contract I signed."

"Good, remember this." Thomas emphasized, "Don't trust anyone easily."

Thomas's words were unpleasant, but they made sense. Martin had seen many celebrities being cheated by those around them.

For example, a certain root or something like that.

After the contract was officially signed, the assistant director brought over a few pages of the script and instructed Martin: "This is part of the character script that the screenwriter rushed out yesterday. Familiarize yourself with the character settings first. The plot may change later, but the character settings will not change."

Martin took it: "I will study it carefully."

The assistant director added, "Keep this a secret."

Martin quickly glanced at the first page, where the title at the top was labeled with the code name "star".

In light of his role as a director, the title will be temporarily changed to "Star".

Additionally, HBO is printed in one corner of the contract.

This is Warner Bros. Studios, and HBO is owned by Warner Bros. Martin couldn't help but have some unpleasant thoughts: blood and nudity flying around.

He just escaped the mire of late-night shows and zombie machine gun dances, only to fall into HBO's "sex and violence" trap.

Martin asked Thomas, "Is this an HBO project?"

"Probably," Thomas said simply. "Film and television projects change a lot. Sometimes HBO projects are pushed to WarnerMedia. It depends on how things are handled later."

He's an agent, good at reading people's minds: "Resisting explicit scenes? That shouldn't be the case. I specifically watched your starring role in 'Zombie Gigolo' and the late-night scenes. HBO's standards won't be higher than Ma Zhen's."

Martin thought to himself, "The news of Ma Zhendu has even reached Los Angeles."

Thomas added, "Your acting is good, and you have many other skills too. Be smart about keeping you on set."

Martin decided to be frank: "I made my way up from the gang-ridden slums and gigolo clubs of Atlanta, and I'm never afraid of competition or challenges."

As the two went out, they ran into casting director Thomson in front of the office building.

Thomas stepped forward and shook hands with Thomson, saying warmly, "Thank you very much this time."

"You're welcome." Thomson was about to look at Martin when Martin was already in front of him, grabbing his right hand and giving it a firm squeeze. "Director, when do you have time? Let's grab a bite to eat together?"

Seeing that the person was sensible, Thomson smiled slightly: "No need." He was very direct: "Give me your private contact information."

Martin understood that treating him to a meal couldn't make up for the favor, so he took out his business card and handed it to Thomson: "Give me a call if you need anything."

Thomas put away the business card, nodded to Martin, and then asked Thomas, "Where did you find this newcomer? He's quite good."

Thomas said, "He has some understanding."

Martin didn't say much and automatically acted as the mascot.

Thomson walked toward the office building: "You guys are busy, I need to get back to work."

Thomas had a vague feeling that the new person the company had assigned this time was not simple.

An agent's status is directly proportional to the size of their clients.

If Thomas poachs Tom Cruise, he can immediately become a senior partner at WMA.

As they walked out, Thomas said to Martin, "Martin, you're quite clever and have connections. If you cooperate with me, I guarantee you'll become famous."

Regardless of what Martin was thinking, what he said was very pleasant: "Boss, I believe in your abilities, and we can become the best partners."

Upon arriving at the parking lot, Thomas drove away first.

Martin got into the car but didn't start it immediately. He took out a few pages of the character script from his bag and began to read them carefully.

The first page of the script is quite normal: an independent director gathers a bunch of ordinary actresses for a pool party, and they do whatever they want.

The exhaust pipe wouldn't be that bad; HBO wouldn't go that far.

However, if the director is determined, a whole bunch of people might collectively mess around.

Those who know HBO's style will understand.

The second and third pages of the script contain similar content: the male protagonist goes to find the director, who emerges from a group of women, and the two sit down and chat among them.

The fourth and last page is a conversation between the male protagonist and the director about the movie.

The film is being made by an independent director in the story, and the male lead wants to be the protagonist.

An independent director admired him but made a request: the lead actor had to play the blows himself!

This is their dialogue; whether the male lead agreed or not is left unsaid.

Martin guessed that the screenwriter probably hadn't thought it through yet.

"It's not even the time when LGBTQ people are starting to become active yet, and HBO's scripts are already this wild?" Martin tried to recall: "Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' was a landmark event, it definitely hasn't been filmed yet."

Hollywood is not the same as European cinema; even if similar scenes existed, they wouldn't be filmed on location.

Martin wasn't worried. He packed up several pages of the script and went to the Burbank Film Archive to look for books like autobiographies and interview transcripts of independent film directors.

Even for a minor role with limited screen time, Martin prepared with 100% dedication.

(End of this chapter)