Hollywood Production - Chapter 2

Lovett is Duke’s agent, he has been with Duke for a few years and is good at drilling camps. After several years of hard work, he is now an agent of the younger generation that CAA attaches more importance to.

Duke is very clear about what CAA means in Hollywood now. In fact, his brokerage contract is about to expire. This time when he will meet Lovett, he wanted to initially discuss the renewal of his contract. After all, if he could use the power of CAA, he would not need to take a lot of detours.

After changing into more formal attire, Duke checked himself in the mirror once more. He didn’t want to come across as untidy in such an important meeting.

The dark brown, medium-length hair inherited from his mother is neatly divided on both sides of the top of the head. Above the tall nose are deep eye sockets, with black eyes that show depth and restraint, different from his age. The tough lines on the face seem to have been carved by Michael Angelo.

“Perhaps, It will be easier to be successful as a vase man in a commercial film.?”

Looking at his apparently half-breed appearance, and his six-foot-one height, Duke shook his head.

He doesn’t want to be a vase, he wants to be the man in charge of the set.

After tidying up a little, Duke locked the door to the rented apartment and went downstairs. He got into his second-hand Chevrolet on the side of the road and drove towards the location of the California Institute of the Arts.

As a satellite city of Los Angeles, Valencia is not too big, and Duke’s residence is not too far from the school. After passing through Center Street and turning two intersections, the car successfully arrived at the entrance of the California Institute of the Arts.

Duke drove to the location Lovett specified, which was a café next to the side door. He found a parking space on the side of the road.

As Duke entered the door, he saw Lovett in the quiet corner of the café. However, it was different from what he thought. There was another person beside Lovett.

“Why is he here?”

With a slight frown, Duke strode over. Lovett obviously saw him and nodded, “Duke.”

“Hi, Lovett.”

Duke greeted him familiarly, pulled out a chair and sat directly across from Lovett, stretching out his hand to the other side. “Hello, Rick Solomon. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

The other party did not intend to shake hands, but waved instead.

Withdrawing his right hand, Duke chose not to pay him any mind, his was his classmate from CalArts. The two had a very general relationship; Duke was the quarterback of the college football team and Rick was the captain of the cheerleading squad. They were in direct competition with each other.

Of course, Rick Solomon was the loser.

Duke wasn’t looking to get into a fight with the other party. He looked directly at the opposite side. Lovett, like all Hollywood agents, had on a sharp suit and an indifferent poker face.

“Lovett,”

Since the other party remained silent, Duke took the initiative and said, “New contract…”

“Sorry, Duke!”

Putting down the coffee cup, Lovett directly interrupted him, “Some things were not made clear on the phone. I came to Valencia this time to discuss the brokerage contract with Mr. Solomon…”

He paused for a moment and said rudely, “CAA will evaluate every artist under its umbrella, but Duke, your acting skills are very bad, and you haven’t made any progress. As for what you said about becoming a director, sorry, I don’t see any chance of success, so neither CAA nor I will be renewing the contract with you.”

Hearing these unexpected words, Duke’s hopes of hugging CAA thighs failed. He looked up at his manager with surprise.

“Terribly sorry.”

Having said that, Lovett didn’t have any regrets, “The management of the company has officially invited me to become one of the partners, and I will cross-manage some well-known artists. The work and resources in my hands will increase, and there is no extra energy. Planning for the future for those with no hope…”

Lovett may have been trying to hide it, but Duke could tell that he was feeling self-satisfied just from looking at his face. Lovett’s eyes were curved and his mouth was upturned, which are both signs of smugness.

Indeed, to be a partner of CAA, there is indeed a sense of self-confidence, it’s understandable to give up on a newcomer who seems to have no future.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Duke’s surprise disappeared and returned to his original expression. He didn’t say anything more.

“You know what, Duke.”

Lovett stood up, patted him on the shoulder and said as he passed by in a condescending tone, “You have disappointed me. You’ve only played seventeen roles in five years and your career has failed. There is no progress. Just follow my advice. You’re not suitable for this industry. You’ll only waste your time and energy if you continue.”

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the door of the café without looking back, never looking at his partner of five years, as if he wanted to use this method to show his attitude of giving up on Duke completely.

“You hear that, you’re not for Hollywood.”

Rick Solomon said these words to Duke, who he thought was bleeding in his heart. His tone was bitter and mean. “Lovett is known as the best-sighted agent among the newly-rising agents, and he just give up on you.”