System in Hollywood

"You've got a new offer."

In an elegant café, Natalie Portman sat at a cozy window seat on the second floor, happily flipping through articles about *Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones*.

Although her screen time wasn't huge as a co-lead, she had the largest role among the female characters, making her essentially the female lead of the movie.

With her agency's efforts behind her, her name also appeared in the press, gaining even more attention.

"What kind of offer?" Natalie asked casually without looking up.

"A motivational campus comedy film being independently produced by Hemera Pictures," her agent replied, clearly used to Natalie's youthful, somewhat prideful attitude from becoming famous at a young age.

"Hemera Pictures? Never heard of them," Natalie continued flipping through the newspaper.

"A small production company," the agent explained. "They recently led a $10 million ensemble film that flopped terribly. The industry expected them to go bankrupt, but it seems they've secured a large investment now."

Natalie frowned at the mention of a "flop" but relaxed a bit when she heard about the "large investment."

"The production budget for this film is expected to be between $6 and $8 million, and they've signed a $2 million promotional deal with Warner Bros. The key point is, they're offering you $2 million as the lead actress. Quite generous."

Finally, Natalie's frown disappeared entirely.

A $2 million salary was no small amount for this era.

After her breakout role in *Léon: The Professional*, she appeared in big productions like *Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace* and *Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones*, but she only earned $500,000 and $800,000 for those films.

She had also starred in several low-budget indie films, but none of them were particularly successful. So her asking price as a lead actress was around $1 to $1.5 million.

Hemera Pictures offering $2 million was indeed quite sincere.

"Any other offers recently?" Natalie asked again.

"Nope."

"Then let's go with this one," Natalie decided after a brief thought.

Hollywood was a world of fame and fortune, and making money was often more important than just gaining fame.

Plus, a $2 million paycheck would bring a hefty commission for her agent, so even if she wanted to refuse, her agent probably wouldn't let her.

"Alright, I'll get in touch with them." The agent smiled, stepping aside to make a quick call to Hemera Pictures.

Meanwhile, similar conversations were happening between Jessica Alba, Hugo Weaving, and their agents.

In success-driven Hollywood, no one wanted to work with a loser. One failure could be enough to push 90% of people out of the game.

But money changes everything.

Jessica Alba, though also a child star, had only headlined a few low-budget indie films that didn't make much of a splash. Her fame paled compared to Natalie Portman's. Yet when she heard the offered salary, she accepted almost immediately.

After all, the cost of living as a female actress in Hollywood was pretty high!

And a million-dollar investment indie film would look good on her resume.

As for Hugo Weaving, even though he was about to start filming *The Lord of the Rings*, if the shooting schedule for this movie was just a month, he didn't mind earning some extra cash first.

Especially when this side gig nearly matched what he was making for *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy.

After lunch, Wayne asked Mia to drive him out to buy a new outfit.

As the saying goes, "Clothes make the man." Wearing a $10,000 suit, $3,000 shoes, and a Patek Philippe watch worth $130,000, Wayne instantly reached a new level of handsomeness in Mia's eyes.

When they returned to campus, walking hand-in-hand to Mia's dorm, they caught the attention of nearly everyone around.

"Oh my God! Is that Wayne Anderson? He looks so handsome!"

"Who knew he'd look this good in a suit? He's like a completely different person!"

"Are he and Mia dating? Wow, Mia is so lucky!"

"But where did he get the money for all this? I checked, and it's all designer! That outfit must cost thousands of dollars!"

"Thousands? Did you see the watch he's wearing? That's a limited-edition Patek Philippe released this year! It costs $130,000!"

"Whoa—"

"$130,000?!"

"Are you kidding? Does Mia's family have that much money?"

"That can't be right! I heard Mia's family's production company just had a huge flop and is close to bankruptcy."

"Come on, look at her! She's smiling like a queen, and she's spending all this money on Wayne. Does that look like someone whose family is bankrupt?"

"I don't get it."

Amidst the chatter, Wayne remained unfazed, ignoring the stares.

Mia, on the other hand, noticed the envious and jealous glances from the women around them, which greatly satisfied her vanity.

Right now, Wayne was undeniably the most handsome guy at SCA, and perhaps one of the best-looking in all of Hollywood.

Just having him as a boyfriend—or even just as a fling—was a huge win for her.

Mia had no illusions about this. After all, this was Hollywood, and growing up in this environment, she'd been shaped by these values.

"Sweetheart—"

As soon as they got back to the room, Mia clung to Wayne like an octopus. Exhausted from their earlier activities, she passed out within an hour.

Wayne, still without the full script and with nothing else to do, held her close and took a nap as well.

They ended up sleeping until evening.

Around 5 PM, Wayne was woken up by his phone's urgent ringing.

It was a call from Sarah.

"Wayne, the actors you chose have all accepted the offer."

"That fast?" Wayne was a bit surprised.

"No surprise there, you're offering way too much," Sarah said, half-joking and half-sighing.

This was, after all, a male-led film, and the female lead's total screen time might not even add up to ten minutes, yet they were offering $2 million!

Even if it wasn't Natalie Portman, a young actress with an Oscar nomination would likely have accepted the offer!

"Well, it's the investor's money, right?" Wayne laughed, changing the subject. "Will we be ready for auditions tomorrow?"

"Yes, we will," Sarah said. "Everyone on the list is in LA. As for the director, I've hired Steve Posey. He's directed a few low-budget comedies that did well at the box office and with critics."

"Great. I trust your judgment. Let's schedule the auditions for 9 AM tomorrow. We need to get started as soon as possible."

"Understood. I'll notify everyone right away."

Even though most of the roles were already decided, the formal process still needed to happen.

Plus, there were still a few supporting roles with lines that hadn't been filled, so they could be cast during these auditions.

(End of Chapter)