America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

William Morris, at the tail end of the routine partnership meeting every Monday, the bigwigs had discussed the status of important clients, and now the topic had moved on to clients with potential.

Sharon, in charge of coordinating daily affairs, gestured to her assistant, who hurried over and connected the projector to her laptop.

The Saturn Award is one of the top ten film and television awards in North America, and the WMA executives also pay attention to it. Sharon opened the news about the Saturn Award, "Last weekend, our agency's Class 6 client, Martin Davis, won the Saturn Award for Best Young Actor.

His visibility is currently high in entertainment publications and on the internet, and there is a force behind him pushing things forward."

Partner Ali Emanuel asked, "Did he utilize the company's resources?"

"Very little," Sharon had specifically checked with Thomas, "Apart from his agent Thomas, no other company resources were used."

Ali looked up at the projection screen, "How did he win the award?"

Sharon clicked her mouse, and Wes Craven's headshot appeared, "Martin invited Craven to his private party and managed to secure his support."

Another partner, Jim Whit, said, "Louise Mel from Pacific Pictures recommended Martin to me, as he starred in the film 'Zombie Stripper.' I've marked him as a key focus among our Class 6 clients."

According to WMA's internal regulations, only those who have played a lead or an important supporting role in at least one theatrical film or television series can become Class 6 clients.

This standard excluded ninety-nine percent of the actors in the industry.

Class 6 clients in WMA are also referred to as actors, but they are the actors who are allocated exclusive agents.

Above them are well-known actors, stars, famous stars, superstars, and megastars.

The dividing criteria are simple: salary, power, and influence.

Salary is not the sole criterion, but it is the most intuitive: 1 million, 5 million, 10 million, 15 million, and 20 million.

The priority of resources is clearly stratified in that order.

Because talent agencies are not about art, they're about money.

Clients whose fees can command a premium enjoy the best resources.

WMA currently has no megastars.

Their most heavyweight clients are Michael Bay and Eastwood.

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"I know Thomas, a newcomer, he doesn't have the capability to win over Craven," Ali was interested, "This kid has some tricks up his sleeve."

Sharon was very thorough, "He starred as the lead in 'House of Wax,' which hasn't been released yet. I specifically called producer Susan and director Zomi. Both spoke highly of Martin's acting skills and praised his ability to get along with people."

Ali said directly, "He has the capabilities and connections. In that case, upgrade Martin's client level by one. Prioritize Class 5 resources for him."

In less than two minutes, the discussion about Martin's affairs concluded. Potentially valuable clients would be given appropriate attention, but whether or not they could rise to the top also depended on luck.

Sharon then mentioned the real key figure among the new clients, Blake Lively.

These people discussed for nearly ten minutes because Ernie Lively was pushing a project for his daughter.

WMA wanted to cram as many of their clients into this ensemble as possible.

After the meeting, Sharon called Thomas and chatted with him for a few minutes.

In the office cubicle, Thomas excitedly punched the desk, the independent office was getting closer and closer!

He looked up and saw himself in the mirror.

After returning the phone to its place, Thomas took a closer look in the mirror; it seemed his hairline had receded a bit more?

He ran his fingers through it, and a few strands of hair fell onto the desk.

Right when Thomas was buzzing with excitement, he blew them away in a breath, picked up his cell phone, and dialed Martin's number, "Come to the agency, there's good news."

Half an hour later, Martin arrived at the office cubicle.

Thomas had just printed a thick stack of documents from the company's internal system. source at m,vle mpyr

Martin glanced at them; they all seemed to be casting emails from production teams.

"If you want water, help yourself," Thomas was still a bit excited, shaking his head and body vigorously, causing a few more hairs to fall.

He began with the latest developments, "You won the Best Young Actor award, and the company values you highly. They've raised your client level to Class 5. Class 5 resources will be prioritized for you; many roles that fall into the Class 5 category, the company will recommend you first."

As one of the largest two talent agencies in the industry, WMA's strong endorsements can get their actors to the third round of auditions, and if the director and casting director are also from the same agency, the chances of winning increase further.

Martin was well aware of this and asked, "Do you have any good roles to recommend?"

Thomas handed him a printout, eagerly saying, "This project from Castle Rock Entertainment, 'Crazy Hostage,' has a dual protagonist setup."

Martin looked over the printout, which included a brief script, character settings, and descriptions, trying to recall but with no impression.

This was a project Thomas had carefully selected, "The production budget is 8 million US Dollars, a family-friendly type. I expect the salary won't be less than 300 thousand US Dollars; family-friendly stories always have a market."

Martin closed the printout, "Are you sure a bunch of adults wielding weapons in Disneyland constitutes a successful family-friendly theme?"

Thomas questioned back, "What's the problem?"

"I'm not feeling very good about this," Martin said, picking up another script, a project from Universal Pictures.

Thomas said, "George Romero is planning to remake Land of the Dead, and this is one of the main roles. The competition could be fierce."

Martin had only one impression of this film: zombies watching fireworks.

Choosing the leading role had to be done carefully, so he set it aside.

Thomas was in no hurry to make a choice either. He handed Martin another script: "Dimon Films' project 'Brothers Grimm,' a fantasy genre, going the route of overseas financing, mainly funded by Germany, with dual protagonists. Matt Damon has been confirmed for the first lead, and they plan to cast a newcomer for the second lead to keep the costs down."

Martin rejected without hesitation, "I PASS on all fantasy genre films."

Louise had told him that Germany was Hollywood's special toilet for laundering money.

God knows how much real investment went into the film.

Thomas emphasized, "The success of 'The Lord of the Rings' series has sparked a fantasy craze."

Martin retorted, "Van Helsing' premiered at the beginning of the month, and two weeks in, how terrible have the box office and reviews been?" He stated plainly, "I have absolutely no interest in fantasy or epic films."

Thomas said, "You're going to miss lots of opportunities that way."

Martin didn't want to argue endlessly because he couldn't explain clearly, "I trust Louise Mel's judgment."

"But she invested in Alexander the Great..."

"Louise already regrets that." Martin's words were sharp, "When it comes to choosing films, I trust a producer's professionalism."

Was he implying that his own agent wasn't professional? Thomas opened his mouth to retort but couldn't say anything. After all, when it comes to professionalism in selecting films, most agents couldn't even compare to the managers who worked directly with the stars, let alone producers facing the front-line market.

It was like asking a film critic how to make a movie that would succeed in the market; a surefire way to fail.

Thomas said, "Being careful in choosing is good, but you must understand, we don't have a wide range of choices."

Martin nodded slightly and asked, "Is this all?"

"As far as leading roles go, that's all for now. It's not possible for movies over the next two years to recruit actors at the same time, and some crews or companies seldom cooperate with WMA." Thomas wanted Martin to face reality, "Although our company doesn't have any superstars, after the intention to cooperate filters down to us, all that's left are the scraps the stars didn't pick."

Martin understood, "Nothing else?"

Thomas pointed to the computer screen, "There are some villain roles, but I don't recommend... no, I strongly oppose you choosing villain roles, unless the villain is like a main character."

Martin joked again, "Someone like me is naturally the lead. A villain? Killed by one hero in one film and another hero in the next, I'd be finished quickly!"

He turned to Thomas, "Do you want me to make a desperate choice and be completely finished?"

As these words sank in, Thomas's enthusiasm cooled a bit. Smacking his forehead, he accepted the rejected reality, "My mistake. I got too excited with the success of the Saturn Award and the company's attention..."

Seeing him calm down, Martin said, "Let's keep looking."

The rest were all supporting roles, with new movies from the agency's big director clients, Michael Bay and Eastwood, all recruiting for supporting actors.

Playing small supporting roles in these kinds of films would barely elevate Martin's career unless the pay was high, which clearly wasn't the case.

Thomas noticed the agency's system had updated, adding new projects and roles to his OA, which he hastily opened for Martin to see: "A project with an all-young cast, with Blake Lively confirmed as a female lead and five other main roles, three females and two males."

Martin inquired, "Are the names confirmed?"

"Adapted from a novel with the same name 'The Summer of Jeans' by Brashares," Thomas explained. "The adaptation will likely keep the name."

Martin had seen this movie, recalling it as a chick flick, and asked, "The two male roles?"

Thomas said, "One's a soccer coach, the other's a Greek lad." He exclaimed in amazement, "That's far-fetched, with a budget of 25 million US dollars!"

At the mention of money, Martin's interest was piqued, "If the role pays well, sign me up, I've been pretty broke lately." He added, "Forget it if the compensation is low."

Thomas noted this down, "No other projects you find suitable?"

"It's really hard to choose an appropriate role." There were indeed many resources, but in Martin's eyes, the quality was doubtful, lots of pitfalls, and given the inherently low success rate of films, it was normal to have many potentially disastrous projects.

Thomas smiled, "Projects with high investments naturally look for stars with strong appeal to lead."

"Keep an eye on the pay for 'The Summer of Jeans,'" Martin instructed, then added another matter, "Do you have time tonight? Accompany me to a gathering."

Thomas said, "I've made plans with a lady..."

Martin let out a sigh, "Wes Craven has invited me and French director Alexander Aga to discuss a script." He emphasized, "A horror film script created with me as the unequivocal lead."

"You never mentioned it before," Thomas said, quite helplessly.

Martin explained, "The story comes from a clash of ideas between the two directors. Until they settle on a framework, it's full of uncertainty. I can't very well tell you things that aren't confirmed. Their agents will also be there, and not bringing my agent would seem disrespectful."

Thomas found himself in a tough spot but then bit the bullet, "I'll go!"