Crisis of confidence

As agents, the true embodiment of their abilities lies in the artists. The outstanding achievements of the artists are their badges of honor, attracting more artists to join them.

Ron Meyer's abilities were remarkable. Setting aside other factors, just the ten-year plan he developed for Hugo was evident. In recent years, the development of artists under Ron's management had been very good. However, he had always had a fatal weakness, which was the lack of truly top-notch artists in his roster.

The so-called top-notch referred to artists like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Julia Roberts, who were at the peak of their careers. Currently, the most outstanding artist under Ron's management was Michael Douglas, the Oscar winner from four years ago, who had reached new heights again this year with the movie "Basic Instinct". However, Ron was still a step away from being the top agent, as he lacked a top-notch artist.

As producers, the true reflection of their value naturally lies in films. Whether it's reputation or box office success, the best scenario is to have both, which can give them more influence and initiative when dealing with production companies.

Tracey Jacobs was an outstanding producer. There was no doubt that she had had excellent collaborations with movie production giants like Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox. She also achieved significant results in terms of box office performance and reputation.

However, Tracey had faced a bottleneck in her career in the past three years. There were three films that Hugo starred in which were all produced by Tracey. In other words, Tracey also faced the failures that Hugo endured. However, the film industry was more tolerant within producer circles. Tracey was not a lavish and extravagant producer, which had helped her maintain a good impression within the production companies. But making a comeback was not an easy task.

Both Ron and Tracey were facing a dilemma, so they needed to find ways to break through this situation and reach new heights in their careers. The project they were currently planning, in which Hugo was unaware of the details but could be certain of their ambitious attempt to persuade Universal Pictures to invest, might only bring collateral damage to Hugo. If Ron and Tracey could secure this project, Hugo would definitely be completely excluded from it, provided Hugo had an interest in this project. In the film industry, agents and producers, although it is somewhat challenging compared to film companies, have the means to blacklist actors. They can utilize their connections and resources to completely close all projects related to the actor, making their future prospects in the industry extremely difficult.

Currently, it seemed that Ron and Tracey were doing just that. Starting from "A River Runs Through It", including the premiere of "Basic Instinct", and now with the project they were planning, coupled with Hugo's strong suspicion that Sidney had not contacted him regarding "The Firm", he wondered if Tracey had played a role behind the scenes. Otherwise, it would be too abnormal.

In the past year, the conspiracies and schemes behind the scenes had finally revealed a glimpse of their plans. However, this could only be considered a phase of their plans, and it was uncertain what the future held. The greater the achievements of Ron and Tracey, and the more power they held in the entertainment industry, the more difficult it would be for Hugo to rise. Although they had no direct interaction, they were completely opposing forces, and the future would only see more confrontations. If one side completely fell, that was a different story altogether.

Although Hugo had made a strong breakthrough with "Scent of a Woman" and "A Few Good Men", surpassing the blockade of Ron and Tracey, and achieving his current success, the future was still uncertain. For example, "Sleepless in Seattle" was invested by TriStar Pictures, a subsidiary of Columbia Pictures. Who knows if Tracey's influence was strong enough to influence TriStar Pictures' decision? After all, "Sleepless in Seattle" was not a big production, just a small project, and the influence of personal connections naturally had more room to play.

However, it could be seen now that Ron was wavering because of Hugo's rise. If Hugo was willing to join forces with Ron, he may find a crack in the alliance of Ron and Tracey and even have the possibility of quickly rising to the top. But would Hugo do that? Absolutely not! There was no room for negotiation in this matter.

Victor Hugo once said, "I'd rather struggle for my own future than grovel under the charity of the potentates." That is Hugo's mindset.

What's more important was that although he and Joseph had only been partners for a year, and they had stumbled along the way, Joseph was still inexperienced and immature, but their friendship was priceless. Hugo was willing to uphold this friendship in a society that valued money above all and was cruel and cold.

Joseph returned with the fruit in hand. He had just met several company partners through Rick Rosen's introduction, which took up some time.

In the talent agency, becoming a partner means reaching the top in one step and becoming the owner of the company. Every agent has such an opportunity. Ron Meyer and Rick Rosen were promoted from ordinary agents to partners. This year, Joseph, relying on Hugo's strong performance, had entered the sight of the partners for the first time. Although he was currently just a rising star, it still gave Joseph an infinite sense of encouragement.

Joseph walked back with light steps but didn't see Hugo in place. This was not surprising, as today's lunch meeting was originally focused on Hugo. Joseph stood in place and looked around, then saw Hugo talking to Gary. Joseph lifted his foot to walk over, but unexpectedly stopped his steps because of two gossiping remarks next to him.

"Just now, Ron was talking to Hugo. Did you see it?"

"Of course, Ron must be trying to persuade Hugo to come back. He only has that much ability, always thinking of getting something for nothing, even digging his own colleagues' walls."

"Well, maybe Hugo has been wanting to go back for a long time. When you compare Ron and Joseph, anyone can see the difference. Hugo used to cling to Ron all the time."

"That's true. Actually, Hugo's achievements this year were all based on his own efforts. Joseph didn't contribute much. "Scent of a Woman" was a collective audition without any technical difficulty. "A Few Good Men" was introduced by Goldman, and in the end, it was not Joseph who secured the role. It was Hugo's own excellence, and he even had a meager salary."

"Hmph, are you jealous? Joseph is just lucky. What can you do about it..."

The following conversation between the two was just banter. However, Joseph's steps came to a halt, and his heart was in turmoil. Ron actually came to find Hugo again! But... this wasn't surprising, was it? Ron was always a cunning fellow. When he saw that Hugo's progress was hindered, he transferred Hugo's contract to himself. Now that Hugo had risen again, he naturally wanted to sign him back. The question was, would Hugo agree?

If this were a year ago, Joseph wouldn't need to ask Hugo; he would already know the answer. Hugo would definitely be eager to sign a contract with Ron. But now... Joseph hesitated. In fact, he wanted to believe in Hugo. Over the past year, Joseph had witnessed Hugo's tremendous transformation. He believed that Hugo had changed for the better. Moreover, the two of them had worked hard together, overcoming numerous setbacks and difficulties to get to where they were now. Joseph wanted to believe in Hugo. But...

However, now that Hugo had achieved such great results, from an objective standpoint, Ron had better hardware and software conditions than himself. If Hugo wanted to climb higher, forming a strong alliance with Ron was undoubtedly a wise choice. As for himself, he hadn't even secured "The Firm" audition yet. Every time he called Sidney, it was his assistant who answered, and there had been no progress so far. Any smart person would know how to choose.

This was the reality, and this reality left Joseph feeling a bit discouraged.

Joseph stood in place, watching Hugo and Gary chat with smiles on their faces, but his initially excited expression gradually stiffened. He didn't know when Hugo came back again, smiling as he greeted, "Hey, you're here. Where were you just now? Taking a fruit took you so long."

Joseph looked at the smile on Hugo's face, struggling to find words. He wanted to directly ask Hugo if he had talked to Ron and what they discussed. However, he didn't know how to approach the topic, so in the end, he cautiously probed, "I met with a partner and had a chat. How about you? What were you doing here? I'm sure you didn't get bored today."

Hugo originally intended to tell Joseph about Ron, but upon careful consideration, this wasn't the appropriate occasion. Gossip runs rampant in the entertainment industry, and there were definitely no shortages of eavesdroppers, especially when there were no walls here. So Hugo made up his mind to talk about it later when they returned. As a result, the words at the tip of his tongue turned into, "It was just polite conversation, nothing meaningful."

Upon hearing Hugo's response, Joseph's expression darkened. Hugo didn't tell the truth; he didn't even mention Ron's matter. Joseph wanted to believe in Hugo, but at this point in time, it seemed to become increasingly difficult.

In reality, Joseph wasn't angry. People always strive for higher positions, and water naturally flows to a lower place. Choosing a seasoned agent like Ron was undoubtedly a wise decision from a rational standpoint. Such things are not uncommon in the entertainment industry, just like how Karl hadn't been able to retain any artists by his side. For a new-generation agent to keep an artist, apart from relying on loyalty, their own abilities are also indispensable. And Joseph knew that he still had many shortcomings.

Therefore, Joseph was mostly disheartened and discouraged, which prevented his emotions from soaring. Hugo stood before him, smiling and saying something, but it went in one ear and out the other for Joseph. It wasn't until he noticed Rick's slender figure appearing in his lowered line of sight that he realized he had been absent-minded. He had no idea what had happened.

Then, Joseph heard Rick's laughter and him saying, "Come to my office, I have a New Year's gift prepared for you."