7. My Clients

After hanging up the phone, standing at the entrance of the Red Penguin Company, Matthew clenched his fist with determination. This step towards his dream of becoming a star, opening the door to a better future, was finally about to happen!

The person who called was Angelina Jolie's assistant. She informed Matthew that next Monday, he would go with his agent to the Universal Studios studio in Burbank for a screen test. It was just for the casting director to take a look, and then sign a temporary actor agreement with the production team.

As for the role, it was just a fleeting passerby.

Matthew had never thought of skyrocketing to fame overnight, nor was it possible. This basically met his expectations.

He himself wasn't particularly knowledgeable about Hollywood, mostly aware of the mainstream information from the era when news spread like wildfire. Like Angelina Jolie later marrying Brad Pitt, but the previous one, because of his desire to enter Hollywood, had collected a lot of information, which remained in his memory.

So, Matthew's current position was very clear to him, just a temporary actor, or as they would say in another country, an extra.

Regardless of the type of actor, getting a job required an agent.

Getting a job in Hollywood wasn't easy, but becoming a nominal actor didn't have a high threshold. Anyone who wanted to be an actor, whether a professional or a temporary one, first needed to take a few headshots and full-body photos with a photographer, then register their height, weight, eye color, etc., with a talent agency, sign representation contracts, and enter the database for the agency to negotiate with production teams.

The previous person had already completed this step long ago. He had registered with a small agency and still had the phone number of an agent in his phone, though the agent had never contacted him.

Matthew took out his phone and, while flipping through it, walked towards the bus stop. There weren't better options at the moment. He could try contacting the agent whose number he had, and if that didn't work, he could look for other small agencies. After all, Los Angeles was the home of Hollywood.

In fact, he had thought about finding an agent right after his conversation with Angelina Jolie, but yesterday he was busy renting a house and then went to work at night, so he didn't have the time.

According to the memories left by the previous person, agents weren't just necessary for actors to get jobs; excellent agents could also help plan their clients' future careers. Matthew also wanted to attend specialized acting classes, which was necessary, but he was clueless and needed advice from professionals like agents.

In Hollywood, there were not only the Big Five talent agencies but also many small agencies struggling between them.

The Starlight Agency on Sunset Boulevard was one of them.

This company wasn't big, nor had it been around for long. It had only seven or eight relatively inexperienced agents with not many resources. The office had only three rooms; the boss occupied one, the financial officer used the smallest one, and the rest squeezed into a large office.

"Hey, director, it's me, Dennis. We had dinner together the day before yesterday."

The person making the call was a chubby man with glasses. Even though the other party couldn't see him, being just a casting director for a small production, he still had a flattering tone. "Don't worry, I've arranged the twenty corpses you needed for your film! They've all played dead before, you could kick them and they wouldn't move! When can we sign the contract?"

"Good! Good!" Probably agreeing on the other end, the chubby man's eyes crinkled with a smile. "I'll come over early tomorrow morning!"

Hanging up, the flattery vanished from his face. He slumped into his chair, which creaked ominously under his weight as if it might collapse at any moment.

"Damn!" he muttered, rubbing his stiff face, "All these low-grade deals!"

He always felt like the temporary actor business the company handled was beneath him. He had been here for nearly a year, and none of the films the company cooperated with had a large-scale theatrical release; they were mostly direct-to-video market fodder. TV shows were slightly better, but control over that business remained in the hands of the boss, leaving him sidelined.

Ring ring—

The phone on his desk rang.

"Hello..." he picked up the receiver. "This is Dennis from Starlight Agency."

"Ah, hello." A somewhat unfamiliar voice came through the receiver. "Are you Mr. Dennis Kurt?"

"That's me!" He thought it was a business inquiry.

"I'm Matthew Horner." Dennis didn't recall the name. "I registered as an actor with you some time ago."

Upon hearing this, Dennis immediately understood. It wasn't a business call, just some daydreamer. "Do you need something?"

There was a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Well, here's the thing. I got a job as a temporary actor in a production, and I need an agent to sign the contract."

Dennis became a bit interested. "How many contracts?"

"Just one!"

Upon hearing this response, Dennis's interest waned. He couldn't be bothered to run around for just one extra? Just for a few bucks?

"Mr. Dennis Kurt?" The voice on the other end probably couldn't hear anything and began to urge, "Are you still there?"

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Dennis glanced at it and saw it was a casting director he had dealings with before. He put down the receiver and saw a young agent who had joined the company just last month idling nearby. He waved him over and, with an air of authority, said, "I have some business here. Come handle it."

The younger agent took the receiver and started talking.

Dennis picked up his cell phone, but before he could speak, an angry voice erupted from the other end. "Dennis, what the hell are you doing? I asked for cheap non-union actors! Not expensive union ones! Among the actors you contacted, why are there union members? If I wanted union members, wouldn't I go through the actors' union notices? Why do I need you?"

"Sorry!" Dennis quickly apologized. "Sorry! It might have been a mistake by my assistant..."

He didn't actually have an assistant; he was just passing the blame.

"Tomorrow morning!" he assured, "I promise, by tomorrow morning, you'll have suitable actor profiles!"

The person on the other end cursed a few more times before hanging up. After he hung up the phone, Dennis sat in his chair, seething with anger.

"Wait a moment, let me confirm!"

The voice of the young agent across from him came over, "Are you saying you've got a job with the production of 'The Soul Lady,' directed by James Mangold and starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie?"

"What?" Dennis Kurt was stunned for a moment. "James Mangold? Winona Ryder? Angelina Jolie? 'The Soul Lady'?"

These big names, how could they be connected with the forgettable extra he couldn't even remember?

If he remembered correctly, this film by Sony Columbia Pictures had a budget of up to forty million dollars! Even his boss couldn't reach that level, let alone him or his extras!

Could it be a mistake? Dennis Kurt found it hard to believe.

"Yes!" the faint voice on the other end sounded very sure. "It's the job introduced by Miss Jolie."

Jolie? Angelina Jolie? Dennis Kurt stood up abruptly, defying the laws of physics with his hefty frame, and rushed to the other side, ignoring the anger in the young agent's eyes and the resentment in his tone. He exclaimed loudly, "Sorry, there was an urgent call. I am your agent, Dennis Kurt."

The young agent saw the shamelessness of the situation and, despite feeling angry, wilted under the threatening gaze and the seniority of Dennis Kurt.

"Hello, I'm Matthew Horner." The person on the other end seemed oblivious to everything. "Can you represent me for this job?"

Dennis Kurt immediately said, "Of course!"

For an agent, this kind of job was nothing special, but being able to represent this job meant dealing with figures like Angelina Jolie and the production team of "The Soul Lady," a level of people he had never encountered before!

Not him alone, even the entire company hadn't encountered it.

This was like a stepping stone, knocking on the door to higher-level business!

Only a fool would want to represent temporary acting jobs forever and stay in such a dead-end small company.

Thinking about the opportunity to establish higher-level relationships, Dennis Kurt couldn't wait to say, "Alright, Matthew, let's meet. Come to the office and we'll discuss it in detail."

After hanging up the phone, Dennis Kurt saw the young agent still looking at him. He snorted coldly and said, "What are you looking at? This was my client from the start."

He wasn't wrong; the young agent, feeling aggrieved, cast one last angry glance before reluctantly sitting back down.

About forty minutes later, the receptionist brought in a young man and said, "Dennis, he's here for you."

Following the receptionist's gaze, Matthew saw a big man wearing glasses, probably weighing over two hundred pounds.

"Are you Matthew?"

The big man greeted him with a smile and came over. Matthew nodded. "You're Mr. Dennis Kurt?"

"Just call me Dennis." The big man said cordially.

He glanced at his watch and said, "Let's go, we'll talk downstairs at the coffee shop."

Matthew had no objections and followed the big man to the coffee shop. The big man ordered two cups of coffee and asked, "Is this job introduced by Miss Jolie?"

"Yes." Matthew confidently raised his flag, while adding, "Please keep this confidential. Miss Jolie doesn't want outsiders to know."

Dennis Kurt nodded. "Tell me the details."

Matthew had already prepared and embellished everything he would say, mostly about his dream of coming to Hollywood, coincidentally meeting Jolie, and then her helping him get a temporary acting job.

"Don't worry, I'll accompany you on Monday."

After listening, Dennis Kurt said with pride, "You just focus on acting, I'll handle the rest!"