Supporting auxiliaries

The next morning, after waking up at 9 o'clock, Hugo and Joseph got ready and walked towards the Loop business district, which was less than two miles away.

The Loop area was not only Chicago's traditional central business district but also the second-largest central business district in the United States after Manhattan in New York. It held significant importance not only in the United States but also globally. Michigan Avenue, renowned and comparable to Champs-Élysées, owed its fame to the Loop area.

Harpo Productions, the production company founded by Oprah, was located at the heart of the Loop business district. Walking along Washington Street, you could see the United Center, the home stadium of the NBA's Chicago Bulls, from a distance. However, they stopped at the intersection of Madison Street, feeling the gentle breeze from the Chicago River behind them. Looking at the grayish brick buildings in front of them, about thirty stories tall, they appeared inconspicuous like an ugly duckling compared to the surrounding skyscrapers. However, it was here that the future of American talk shows had been nurtured for over a decade.

Harpo Productions was established in 1986 and had the exclusive rights to produce The Oprah Winfrey Show. At present, their business revolved solely around the show. Although not massive, Hugo knew that this inconspicuous production company gained its fortune through The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1996, it went through a transformation and became a large entertainment conglomerate with various departments, including talk shows, movies, radio, printing, and online media. It could be considered a classic representation of an ugly duckling transforming into a swan.

After entering the building, Joseph and Hugo registered at the entrance and received temporary access passes. Before they could take the elevator, someone came down to greet them. While welcoming Hugo to the show, they also apologized for missing the airport pickup yesterday. Then, they led Hugo and Joseph to the studio. Just from this detail, it was evident that the production team highly valued Hugo and gave him a grand treatment.

Compared to the studios where Hugo had previously recorded shows, the budget for the show here was severely limited due to Oprah's control over the production. The studio appeared relatively simple. It was a warehouse-sized space with different types of backgrounds set up. In front, there were two large red single sofas, and in the center, four cameras were positioned. There was also a boom camera suspended overhead. Near the entrance was the audience seating area, which could only accommodate around 150 people. It looked quite simple, reminiscent of the open-air stone steps where one would watch football games in high school.

Hugo had just entered the waiting room when Oprah personally came to greet him. The talk show queen, who was not yet forty years old, had a retro bouffant hairstyle from the 1990s, resembling a seashell perched on her head. Her face was adorned with a warm and welcoming smile. Her robust physique was not delicate but rather had a touch of simplicity. Her thick lips outlined a gentle curve, making it easy for people to feel close to her.

"It's truly an honor to invite you. Thank you so much for making the last-minute trip to Chicago," Oprah expressed her welcome with an enthusiastic hug.

A smile appeared on Hugo's cheeks as well. "Of course, of course. To receive an invitation from The Oprah Winfrey Show, even if it's far away, I must come. This is a very rare opportunity. I must thank you for inviting me."

Oprah released her embrace and calmly observed the young man before her. Hugo was still dressed casually, wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, just like any young person who had recently entered the workforce. His face radiated a brilliant smile comparable to the sunlight outside. His handsome features were as delicate as the strokes of a painter's brush, causing people to involuntarily exclaim in admiration.

Before this, Oprah had already seen "A Few Good Men". On the movie screen, Hugo, dressed in a naval uniform, exuded a powerful aura. Every frown and smile of his could easily captivate the hearts of countless young girls. Therefore, Oprah was mentally prepared for Hugo's handsomeness. But after seeing Hugo in person today, Oprah couldn't help but pause for a moment. Unlike the charm of Hugo in uniform, the Hugo in front of her was filled with a sunny demeanor from head to toe. There was a faint warmth and the scent of sunshine emanating from him, making it hard to look away.

"I can't wait to have the interview with you. I'm looking forward to creating wonderful memories today," Oprah, being experienced, quickly composed herself and spoke with a smile. She and Hugo needed to prepare for the upcoming recording of the show. "Oh, by the way, congratulations on your double nomination at the Golden Globe Awards. You deserve it."

After saying that, Oprah politely left the waiting room, giving Hugo some space.

Hugo sat down in front of the makeup table and waited for the makeup team of The Oprah Winfrey Show to come and work on his appearance. In Hollywood, real A-list stars all have their own teams. In addition to regular members such as assistants and managers, during promotional periods, they work with a fixed team of bodyguards, makeup artists, hairstylists, and stylists. The top-tier stars may have an exclusive team because they can afford to pay the team's wages in the long term. However, most artists work with a fixed team that also serves other artists. The industry's top makeup artists, hairstylists, and stylists usually have their own studios or agents, forming a specialized industry that is no different from other professions. So, if an artist wants to collaborate with a specific team but doesn't have an exclusive team, they have to rely on their agent's public relations skills and make appointments in advance.

In simple terms, A-list artists have their own dedicated teams, tailor-made for their every appearance.

Shows like The Oprah Winfrey Show naturally have their own dedicated teams because they have to record episodes regularly. So, these teams exclusively serve the show, and it's possible for a team to work on two or three shows, but their main focus is television programs. The professionalism of such a working team may be relatively weaker. On one hand, the show's guests are mainly ordinary people, and celebrities have their own teams, so the technical requirements for the team are not as high. On the other hand, the team doesn't have enough time to tailor makeup and styling for each guest, so their creative space is limited.

So, it's not that the production team of a TV show is not excellent, but relatively speaking, there is a gap when compared to top professionals.

After the remarkable success of "A Few Good Men", Hollywood began treating Hugo with the status of an A-list actor. But what exactly defines an A-list actor? Hollywood has many criteria, and the most basic one is the paycheck. In the early 1990s, being paid eight million dollars was considered A-list, and ten million dollars was another threshold. As for a paycheck of fifteen million dollars, it's currently rare in all of Hollywood.

The second criterion is the entire working team. People have joked that the larger the team, the more prestigious the artist. Of course, this is just a joke, but a small number of top-level stars have such a preference, hoping to demonstrate their status through this means. For example, around the year 2000, Mariah Carey had a team of over twenty people, and every outing was a grand procession. However, it is undeniable that a complete working team is essential for top-tier artists.

While it was believed by many that Hugo had the potential to become a top-tier actor, this estimation was based on box office performance and popularity. Some believed that Hugo could command a paycheck of eight million dollars, acknowledging his capabilities. However, until a movie company actually offers Hugo such a price, he couldn't be considered a bona fide A-list actor.

Currently, the promising projects in Hugo's hands are "The Firm", which did not require an audition, and "Sleepless in Seattle", which had no news at the moment. If it was "The Firm", an eight million paycheck was not a dream, but it still depended on the outcome of the audition. As for "Sleepless in Seattle", it would likely be more difficult to secure eight million. Therefore, for Hugo to truly be recognized as a top-tier actor, he would probably have to wait.

As for Hugo's work team, it was quite unfortunate that only Joseph was supporting him. That was why Joseph reminded Hugo to find an assistant and manager not because Hugo was already an A-lister, but because the current workload required a team to support it. Depending solely on Joseph is overwhelming. However, building a team was not a simple matter either. There hadn't been enough time recently, as everything had happened too quickly. They could only slowly form a team after this busy period was over.

So, currently, Hugo's reputation could be considered top-tier, but in terms of actual supporting auxiliaries, he was still an actor rolling in the second-tier. Coming to The Oprah Winfrey Show was also ad-hoc, relying only on the show's makeup artists and hairstylists to prepare Hugo's appearance. Fortunately, it was much easier for Hugo to find clothing support now, especially for a top-tier show like The Oprah Winfrey Show, where clothing brands were actively sponsoring Hugo.

Fortunately, Hugo's makeup didn't require much attention, and his hairstyle wasn't difficult either. So, relying on the show's team alone was not a problem.

After Hugo finished all his preparations and changed into his stage outfit, the show's staff came over and briefly explained the recording procedure to him. Usually, The Oprah Winfrey Show was divided into two parts: the first half discussed recent hot topics, while the second half invited guests for interviews and conversations. However, to show their seriousness towards Hugo, and with Joseph's consent, both halves of the show would focus exclusively on Hugo, conducting a comprehensive interview. This not only demonstrated the importance they attached to Hugo but also aimed to thoroughly explore his story. It could be said that this was the highest-profile show in the past two months.

At this point, Hugo couldn't help but feel a bit worried. He didn't have enough knowledge about his past life, and he hoped he wouldn't be rendered speechless by Oprah's questions. That would be disastrous. However, since he was already here, Hugo accepted the situation and so he took a deep breath, calming his restless emotions, and preparing himself for the recording of the show.