Chapter 16: Dinner that Triggers Gastric Ulcers

"Sir, miss, have you decided to order?"

I don't know if it's a coincidence, the atmosphere between the two was just tense, and the waiter came over to ask about the menu, which invisibly eased the atmosphere.

"Give me a seafood platter for two appetizers," Cesare quickly decided, "I want a veal steak, half-rare, mashed potatoes and lobster tomatoes as a side dish, and two kinds of wine, and you can look at the pairing." "

The waiter quickly jotted down the order, then looked at Jenny with Cesare.

Jenny thought of the seductive aroma of the veal steak, the mellow astringent aftertaste of the red wine in her mouth, and even the wheat aroma of a slice of bread that was a very strong temptation for her, and she had been working day and night for almost a week, and had not eaten at noon.

But it also means that after a week of not exercising, every bite of food you eat now has a high chance of converting into fat on your face.

"Tuna salad, thank you. She herself admired her calm tone, and even added in a broken jar, "Please don't add salad dressing." "

The waiter's attitude towards her quickly cooled down, and Jenny was not impressed, in a high-end restaurant, the waiter would be more respectful of the gourmet, and she was more unwelcome than the tourists who looked like she was on a strict diet and lost weight.

Cesare, on the other hand, showed a modicum of approval, saying, "I guess you probably won't have time for lunch." "

"yes, but I've been working five days straight and don't have time to work out. Jenny shrugged, "At times like these, am I craving good food? Yes, but I'm more hungry for success." "

"Good. Cesare did not hesitate to approve, "You have been astonishing me, Miss Jefferson. Now, allow me to apologize for my oversight, I should have taken Jim's abilities into account, but apparently my busy schedule has made me negligent after all. "

Jenny raised her eyebrows, "You mean, you thought I would be in time for dinner and not be in such a hurry?"

"I also came up from the bottom," Cesare said, "and when I was working in the mailroom, Eno Martin asked me to run errands for him and brought Julia Roberts to the dinner in three hours — she was on Universal Studios for "My Best Friend's Wedding," directed by P.J. Hogan, and neither of them had a good temper, and I was just a newcomer, less than three months into the company. Julia had made it clear to Martin that she didn't want to attend the dinner that night, and Hogan scheduled the day's shoot until nine o'clock in the evening. "

Unconsciously intrigued, Jenny asked, "How did you convince her in the end?"

"That's the problem," Cesare said, "and in three hours, I'll hand Julia in the crook of Martin's arm, and all Jim has to do today is get you a gown to get off work on time, get dressed and come over." There is no set evaluation standard for brokers, and because of this, the gap between good and bad can be quite large. "

"I see what you mean. Jenny said, "You're more like you're misestimating Jim's ability than misestimating the time - however, it still makes me feel uncomfortable, you know that the most important thing for an agent is vision, and the yamen has to look at people and scripts, and if you misjudge Jim's ability and miscalculate the time, the former seems to be a more serious problem." "

"Ahh Cesare smiled lightly, but the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes, and Jeanne had not noticed any human feelings since she had known him. "I can see that you are a shrewd girl. "

The waiter brought the liquor and poured a glass for both of them, and Jenny raised her glass to Cesare, "In Hollywood, that's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Of course not," Cesare moved out of the way, and the waiter put down a small seafood platter, "I'm on a diet for a long time, I don't recommend you try oysters, or cheese-baked scallops, these things are too taxing on your stomach, but you can try the baked cuttlefish, this dish is lighter, relatively low in calories, and tastes good." "

"Thanks for the recommendation. Jenny said, suddenly her mouth began to water, God, the last time she had a feast was really from a lifetime - literally.

They didn't speak for a while, just silently eating their snacks, and Jenny thought the food was so delicious that she ate two pieces of baked cuttlefish and a small slice of bread in quick succession.

Cesare added a drink for her, "As an aside, the little dress you're wearing is a T-shirt, isn't it? "

"Thank you. Jenny couldn't help but feel a little proud, "But I didn't have time to put on makeup, so I had to put on lipstick in the elevator." "

"Makeup isn't essential for your looks and your age," Cesare said matter-of-factly, his eyes moving up and down Jeanne's body without any obscenity, "in fact, your bare makeup gives me more confidence in you—you're still beautiful even without makeup." "

There's no woman who doesn't like to be complimented, and Jeanne is no exception, and she relaxed a lot under the influence of the food and sweet words, and couldn't help but smile at Cesare in a friendly way, "Thank you for the compliment—but you would be wrong to think that it would make me forget about the question." "

"It looks like I didn't get by. Cesare took a sip of his wine, "This is indeed a mistake I made, whether it was because of the miscalculation of time or the misidentification of a colleague, this is your choice, you are free to understand." "

"Then you're going to deduct a few points from me. Jeanne was not going to let go of this advantage, she stared at Cesare earnestly, "I have another question that I am very curious about, you are an agent, let's be vulgar, the agent and the pimp actually do the same job, that is, to exchange the labor of one for the money of the other. Of course, many agents sometimes double as pimps. "

A polite smile crossed Cesare's lips again, "I don't disagree with that. "

"Then here's the question, Mr. Vijeri," asked Jenny curiously, "have you ever seen a pimp as high as you are? I mean, how do you use this face to fight for your clients? We all know that in Hollywood, it's all about connections, and with how you're doing today, it's hard for me to even believe you have a friend." "

"Great question. Cesare remained composed, "The three answers to your question are, no, for most agents, amiability and ease of communication are indeed essential qualities. Yes, I don't have many friends, and — no, I don't have that kind of face when dealing with studios, and I can be polite and humorous when I have to, it's just that I'm used to not wasting that energy on the target demographic. "

"That means I'm not worth pretending to be. "Jenny is aggressive.

"You're not worth it. Cesare said, glancing at Jenny, her blue eyes deep and sharp, "because you don't care about my indifference." Miss Jefferson, I trust my judgment on this point. "

Jenny opened her mouth—and then closed it again, what could she say? She really didn't care about Cesare's indifference, as long as he could prove that he was a good agent, even if he didn't say a word to her, she didn't care if he only communicated by email.

As for the fourth sentence you said, I also quite agree that in Hollywood, everything is related to connections, and I think a good agent should have the following points: first, accurate vision, second, predictive market analysis ability, third, extensive and powerful contacts, and fourth, outstanding control over its artists. Cesare told the waiter to remove the appetizer platter, "Miss Jefferson, do you agree with me?"

Jenny nodded, "The first point is doubtful, because you misread Jim, but ..." she smiled, "You have taken a fancy to me again, and even turned off the trip to New York for me, so I choose to believe that your eye for people is quite accurate." The second point is that you don't recommend Jennifer Bell to take "Pearl Harbor", which proves that you are also very good at market analysis - "Pearl Harbor" is really bad at the box office. As for the fourth point, oh, Mr. Vijri, you are undoubtedly a control freak, and that's absolutely true. "

"So all we're left with is the third doubt. "You don't believe that my communicative skills can maintain multiple connections," Cesare said.

Jenny thought for a moment and nodded, "Now that's all we have left. "

The waiter brought steaks and salads, and the conversation was interrupted for a moment, and Jeanne sniffed the aroma from Cesare's plate with jealousy, and she noticed that Cesare ate quickly, but with great grace.

"It's Julia's story. Cesare took a sip of his wine and put his knife and fork down, and the steak was only half on his plate. "—Forgive me for gobbling up, I didn't eat lunch if you're interested—I persuaded Julia to show up at the dinner in three hours, and you wonder how I managed it. "

"That's right. Jenny admitted, narrowing her eyes and guessing, "You can't be flirting with Julia or something, are you?" But even if she was willing to attend, how did you convince the director to let her go?

"I don't have to. "My biological father was MGM Senior Executive Vice President, my mother was a Disney Production Manager, my stepfather was Time Warner's Head of Acquisition, and my great-grandfather was Rosie Manson, one of the founders of MGM. Julia and Hogan were both family friends, and that night, I brought Hogan to the dinner party as well. "

He raised his glass and tilted it slightly towards Jenny, clinking glasses. "That's one of the big reasons why I've become a veteran agent in five years, Miss Jefferson, and I may not say I have the most extensive network in all of Hollywood, but I'm one of the most well-connected agents. "

Jenny had nothing to say. Who said that foreigners do business? Do not rely on relationships? In any corner of the world, relations are the most precious resource, and compared with Chinese, foreigners are even less afraid of taking relationships, and are more proud of having relationships.

She raised her glass, "So, you've proven that you're going to be a very good agent, and I'm sure you're happy with me." "

She clinked glasses with Cesare, "Is this a congratulatory glass on our brokerage contract?"

Cesare shook his head, and instead put his glass down. His azure eyes fixed on Jenny, "No, Miss Jefferson, this only proves that you have the qualifications and intentions to make a contract with me. I have one last question to ask before we finalize the contract. "

Jenny frowned, and a sudden sense of uncertainty arose. "Excuse me?"

"What is your ultimate goal. Cesare asked, and in his piercing eyes, Jeanne felt that she couldn't lie, "Whatever it is, I don't judge, you can, and please tell me honestly." "

Jenny's first reaction was actually lying, but before she could speak, Cesare seemed to be aware of it, and he immediately added, "Whether it's a movie queen or a genre actor, just want to make money or marry into a wealthy family, you can honestly say that I won't judge you, and I can even tell you, Miss Jefferson, no matter what you say, I will basically sign you." "

"Well," said Jeanne, feeling that if she didn't tell the truth, Cesare might see it and get angry, "and she said helplessly, "you promise not to laugh at me?"

"Guaranteed. "

"OK. Jenny shrugged, "What do you think is the highest achievement an actress can achieve in Hollywood? Winning multiple awards and entering the top 10 at the box office?Leaving a name on the Walk of Fame?Owning her own company, or even having her own cable network like Oprah?"

"Oprah doesn't have a cable network," Cesare said, "and she has a television production company, but yes, she does represent a peak." "

Chen Zhen suddenly remembered that Oprah's TV network was set up in 09, and she quickly vaguely passed the topic, "Well, you're right, she represents a peak." "

She gestured to indicate how high Oprah had reached, and then covered it with her other hand. "Then my goal is to be higher than her, and I want to make my name in the history of Hollywood — I want, I have to dominate Hollywood. "

There was a brief pause in Cesare's movements.

Note: 1 Mastro and the previous 'Eat Dry and Wipe Clean' are both well-known restaurants in LA. Eat in such a restaurant and dress a little more formally, of course, you can dress very dick, but the person who eats with you will be more embarrassed...

2 Oprah should be one of the most famous and accomplished women in the European and American entertainment circles, Oprah has her own production company, and later her own TV network, her annual income in 2001 easily exceeded 300 million, and her social influence is also very large, anyway, she has too many achievements, you can Baidu it.

3 The mailroom of major brokerage companies is the only way for every newcomer to join the company, just like the MBA in the brokerage industry... No matter what kind of education, if you want to be an agent, you have to start from the mailroom, and as for how to get ahead, you have to rely on your ability.?