The Legendary Actor - Chapter 37

In the Hollywood film industry, agents play a very special role. They are not personally involved in the production of any film, but they are in charge of the lifeblood of the film and are truly the mastermind behind the scenes.

To summarize the complexities of the agent’s job, the agent is an intermediary who finds the right actor for a film project and gets the actor a higher salary. Many people don’t understand the work of an agent and think that they are just mouthpieces, but the truth is that the real top agents in Hollywood are as good as any producer in the industry, and many directors and actors have to suck up to them.

For example, when “Avatar” was ready to start shooting, and James Cameron was making some noises about finding the right actors, his first decision was to find the top agents in the industry, who will weigh and select for them, then submit a list of actors to be cast, and only then it’s time for the actors to go to the casting.

In other words, not just any actor can get this kind of information, even a top star like Tom Cruise, without a good agent, his sources are extremely limited, not to mention the second and third tier actors.

Generally speaking, new big projects for major Hollywood studios are in the hands of top agents, who control the resources and never leak them out, and the cast and crew are always chosen in a specific area: whether to give a newcomer a chance, or to promote a particular actor, or to bring a top actor into the supporting cast.

The opposite is also true: when Leonardo heard that Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu was working on a new film called “The Revenant” he wanted to be in it immediately, so it was also up to the agent to cast him. Or if Leonardo wants to make a commercial film, the agent will immediately contact the major studios and get the latest feed on the projects available, and after the agent’s initial selection, he will give them to Leonardo.

An agent is like a huge transfer station, where countless information and messages are digested and re-distributed, becoming the foundation for a film project.

A good agent can completely transform an actor. For example, the audience always wonders, why him or her again? It seems that within the past year, this actor has been everywhere, in commercial films, in art films, everywhere. That’s where the agent comes in.

As a senior manager at Creative Artists Agency, Andy’s abilities are exceptional and he is one of the best in the business. Although he oversees several big name actors, it is part of his day-to-day job to find new talent or to defend himself from the competition.

When “The Pacific” began shooting, Andy received word that Steven Spielberg had dropped the prior agreed Joseph Mazzello in favor of an unknown newcomer, and there was a little debate about it, but “The Pacific” was just a TV show.

The impact was so limited that the news was quickly forgotten.

Not long ago, HBO did the internal screening of “The Pacific”, and there was a lot of talk about this newcomer. I heard that the five directors of the series all spoke highly of this rookie as a natural actor, and the cast and crew also said that this newcomer’s talent and performance really stood out.

This caught Andy’s attention, and he was curious as to what kind of newcomer he was, and what kind of potential he had.

However, this curiosity was not enough to make Andy act. There is a saying in the industry, “Hollywood can produce a hundred talents every day, but not even one star a year.” There was never a shortage of talent in these rich lands.

On a second thought, he decided to come to Pioneer Village to take a look, just passing through.

After the meeting, Renly brought a small surprise to Andy, not because of his appearance, but because of his conversation, his age-breaking composure and wit, which showed a rare and generous demeanor. Hollywood is not a place you can just break into, but every step is built on top of one’s or someone other’s bones, and Renly’s temperament is invaluable and will likely help him go further.

Of course, it’s just a “maybe”.

“I know you’re in “The Pacific” and I watched the internal screening of it,” Andy began by saying that, though this was an outright lie as HBO was not opening any kind of previews at the moment.

“That’s good news.” A glint of excitement appeared underneath Renly’s eyes, “The results of our seven months of hard work are finally available, and it looks like we’ll be able to see the finished product with our own eyes soon.”

Andy’s eyes glinted at the darkness in his eyes. “It’s a very good work and I’m sure it will cause another storm of good reviews like “Band of Brothers” did.”

“Haha, I’ll cross my fingers and pray.” Renly’s response was still flattering, which made Andy more and more amused.

For any new actor, an offer from a top agent should not be demeaning, it is actually very flattering. So, was it because he didn’t have a clear understanding of Andy’s status as an agent, or was it because he didn’t have an accurate understanding of the importance of an agent?

The way Renly smiles, Andy thinks that neither of these is probable.

However, this is not important. It’s a two-way selection process between agent and actor, and both sides want to choose the better partner and work together for the greater good. Whether arrogant or wise, it shows that Renly is a smart man, which means that more sparks are likely to come out of their future collaboration.

An actor with purpose, ambition, and belief can go a long way in Hollywood.

“Do you want to be a star?” Andy brought up a similar question a second time in an attempt to probe further.

Riley smiled and shook his head, “No.” The answer caused Andy’s eyes to twinkle slightly, somewhat unexpectedly, “I want to be an actor.”

Andy’s smile blossomed, thinking that was Renly self-deprecating, or rather, idealistic, “The real top actors are stars.”

“But not all stars are actors,” Langley’s answer was seamless.

Andy didn’t say anything right away, but paused for a moment and looked seriously into Renly’s eyes, trying to peek at the emotions hidden behind them, and he saw confidence, perseverance, and determination: “There are a lot of geniuses in this world, but not every genius can be successful. ” In Hollywood, dreams are the cheapest things.

“Oh.” Renly laughed softly, spreading his hands and shrugging his shoulders lightly, “I guess only time will tell, won’t it?”

Not angry, not agitated, not impulsive, not even defensive, Langley’s response really brightened Andy’s day, and he smiled a big smile, as if he were the Buddha himself, “I can’t argue with that, can I?” After a pause, Andy began probing again, “So, what kind of actor do you want to be? Jack Nicholson? Or Tom Cruise?”

The former is one of the most iconic acting stars in contemporary America, and the latter is one of the most successful box-office stars in recent history, Andy’s question is very precise.

“I don’t know. “The Pacific” was only my first filming experience.” Renly’s answer made Andy raise his eyebrows slightly, open and honest, not like ignorant pretending to understand. This open-mindedness deepened the previous impression, “Of course, if possible, I want to challenge different roles, try different possibilities.” Renly gave a smile, “I come from a British academic background.”

It dawned on Andy – the definition of an actor in the British school is: to be able to play different roles, to be able to play a thousand different roles, a million, that’s what acting is; not the kind of acting that focuses on one type of role, or only one specific role.

“It’s not an easy task.” Andy exclaimed a short sentence

Renly chuckled softly, appearing relaxed and easy-going, “If it were simple, then everyone would be able to do it.”

It was a dry, but wise rebuttal to Andy’s bucket of cold water, which was another bright spot as Andy’s eyes narrowed to a slit from the bright smile, “I’m starting to miss my youth.” The subtext is that Renly doesn’t know how to be grateful and doesn’t understand the cruelty of real life, just acting based on the impulse and passion of youth.

Renly also laughingly replied, “So you’re not me, and I’m not you.”

Is this a dig at him for being too timid, too worldly, too boring? This … is really funny, too funny. Andy laughed uproariously, picked up the Coke in front of him, tilted his head, finished it in one gulp, then stood up, smiled, and said, “If I don’t want to miss my flight, I should head to the airport now.”