Chapter 24: Frustration

 Cesare-Lilian's makeshift family has several cars, and Jenny, who has received her salary and a check from CBS, has been too busy to buy her own car these days. Cesare continued to drive her Audi A6 for the time being, while he drove his Bugatti Veyron to and from work. Lillian even told her directly that if she was still financially strapped lately, she also had a spare car to lend her to drive for a long time.

 Jenny is polite in refusing this, she still adheres to the attitude of the Chinese in this regard, the so-called emergency does not help the poor. A month or two is too much, but borrowing someone else's car for a long time is a bit out of proportion, although Lilian doesn't care, but she has a clear score, otherwise Cesare's side, she can't raise her head.

 Whether it's China or the United States, there aren't many opportunities for an agent like Cesare to meet with the artists under him. Of course, if he wants, then there is nothing wrong with asking Jenny to go to the company every day to find him, but under normal circumstances, everyone is more likely to contact him by phone. After the agent contacted the job opportunity, he called the artist to inform him, and then the trivial matters at work were not in his charge. In China, there may be assistants who accompany you to auditions and help with things like daily life, but in Hollywood this doesn't work very well.

 Hire a few housekeepers in your mansion and take in a few friends to be your little friends, that's all your business, but there will be no phenomenon that the company will prepare everything for you at work. You want a driver, an assistant, a bodyguard, a dedicated manager who takes care of everything for you, yes, you pay for it yourself. If you are a dedicated manager, you will usually take a 10% cut of your remuneration as the price of your service.

 A senior senior agent of Cesare's level, according to the CAA system, crosses with many international superstars, and it is conceivable how busy he is, if it weren't for Jim contacting Jenny from time to time and telling her that Cesare was filtering through the many audition offers that came because of CSI's appearance, Jenny would almost have thought that Cesare had forgotten about her. Anyway, since the day Cesare came back, it has been more than a week since the two met, and she has not heard from Cesare at all, even though she has to go to Cesare's house every day to walk the dog, and she has not met him. Cesare rarely arrives home before 12 p.m.

 According to Jim, there are many offers, but few can satisfy Cesare, so at the moment she can only count on auditions for "Chicago." The audition has been postponed for more than a month because of 911, and it was originally scheduled for early October, but Jenny received a notice the day before the audition and directly postponed it to mid-October.

 If Jenny passed the audition, she should have entered the group at this time to start singing and dancing training, so the courses arranged by the company also ended some time ago, and she even considered whether she should take a few more orders for dog walking work, the United States is expensive, Washington such a big dog, according to the market price, if it is one-on-one, walking the dog for half an hour is $25, an hour is $50, she sneaks twice in the morning and evening Washington has $100 in the account, 3,000 a month, and because it is not affiliated with the company, there is no need to pay taxes. - Of course, Cesare gave her a few hundred extra cuts, but after Jenny understood the market, she was less concerned about the salary.

 If you walk the dog twice a day, one-to-one... Wow, she's more earning than working as a waitress in a restaurant, and she can walk and exercise, which is really a double win.

 There is already her page on IMDB, but a lot of the information is very simple, and there are hundreds of comments on the message board, all guessing whether this Jennifer is a movie star from Europe who came to make a cameo, because her 'temperament is very classic', in short, Jane guesses that Jenny is very high, Jenny sometimes looks at the comments and has a wry smile: how good her fans guess her? If they know that she still wants to develop into a professional dog walker, will they be surprised?

 However, even if she is a little bit of a disillusioned one now, Jenny has not thought to question Cesare about anything, and although "CSI" is a good opportunity to appear, it would be too much to say that this show attracted a good opportunity. This kind of public TV series, the level itself is probably fixed, maybe her joining will make the TV series more dazzling, but it is unlikely that the drama itself will be reborn, it should be like that or that, this level of excitement can't attract the attention of big directors and big producers, and most of the people who will come to her now should be supporting roles in small productions, or more simply, directly produce B-grade films and R-rated films with erotic connotations, which may make her the protagonist. After all, she is not only beautiful, but also has the sexual allure of an old movie star when she performs, and she is a newcomer, and the price is cheap, which will naturally attract small studios with relevant needs - this is what Cesare said to her at the time, 'If you only have this kind of acting skills, you can only develop into a genre actor'.

 For a person whose goal is to dominate Hollywood, the only point of these opportunities is to waste her time, and if she is willing to trade sex for money, there is more than a way to earn it, and making such films is only the lowest means, even if Cesare asks her to act, Jeanne will not give a damn. Of course, she can only trust Cesare now that he didn't contact her because the opportunities weren't good enough, instead of calling Cesare to ask questions.

 Trust building is a long process, and the first affirmation to show more sincerity must be her.

 After the class was over, and the audition had not yet begun, Jenny had free time, so she pulled Jim with her and bought a Volkswagen Passat in very good condition for more than 4,000 dollars, which left the factory in 98 and the mileage was not high. In the United States, cars are convenient, oil prices are not high, the entire automobile industry is much more developed than China, that is, second-hand cars are still the same as China, you have to be able to shop, otherwise it is easy to be fooled by car dealers.

 Fortunately, Jim knows a lot about cars, the two ran a few places, and successfully picked the car and went through the formalities, Jenny wanted to invite Jim to dinner to thank him, Jim waved his hand and said, "Forget it, before you get the first protagonist, I'll invite you." "

 He chuckled, "But I thought you'd ask Dave for help." "

 Jenny shook her head, "After a while, I hope you don't laugh at me for crossing the river and demolishing the bridge." "

 "If you were still in close contact with him, I would laugh at you. Jim disagreed, "It's for his good now—but Jenny, I have to say I admire you." "

 "What do you admire me?" said Jenny, signing a check to the car dealer.

 "Generally speaking, young beauties always have a lot of bad things in their love life. Jim walked out the door with her, "Especially since you're still dormant, and although Chesa won't allow you to fall in love, I thought you'd keep hanging Dave to find some security for yourself." "

 "Isn't that a bit too cheap?" Jenny smiled.

 "At this point, Hollywood actresses are almost always Bitch," Jim said, "and people have become accustomed to it, and even if it gets out in the end, most people will just laugh at Dave for wanting to eat swan meat, because beauty and celebrities have that privilege." In Hollywood, beauty and fame are the hardest currency, and middle-aged men who have no power or power are the weakest and most vulnerable groups, and they can be trampled on casually. "

 Jenny grimaced, commenting on it, and she changed the subject, "What I'm thinking about now is when the next audition is coming, not finding someone to be my safety blanket." "

 "Don't you want to think about tomorrow's Chicago?" asked Jim with interest.

 "I don't really have much hope for Chicago," Jenny frowned, "it's a Weinstein movie, after all, and I'm just a nobody." "

 "Just behave well. Jim said meaningfully, "If you're good enough, Chesa will take care of it for you." "

 #

 Compared to "CSI", the audition for "Chicago" is much higher. As Jenny predicted, she met Lucy Liu at the audition venue, in addition, there are several quite familiar faces, about the second and third tier of small movie stars, although in 2014, no one remembers their names, but now, each of them is more well-known than Jenny, and the biggest coffee is of course Lucy Liu, who has just starred in "Breaking Badly (Charlie's Angel)". "Breaking Bad" has an investment of nearly 100 million and a global box office of more than 200 million, and Lucy Liu is one of the leading actors.

 Since they are more or less famous in the circle, there are more people who know each other, and most of the actors are greeting each other intimately - although they are competitors now, they are only a small role for a few minutes, and they are not to the point of fighting each other openly and secretly. After all, most people still audition for Weinstein and the fame of the original musical, and although this is a big production, director Rob Marshall has never directed a film before, not even a TV series, and many people naturally have doubts about the quality of the finished film.

 After observing it around, Jenny was relieved. Prima facie, she is the only one who is determined to win this role.

 As a new face, she was of course excluded from the clique, and Lucy Liu was the center of communication: not only did she have the commercial film series "Breaking Bad", but she also collaborated with the great director Quentin Tarantino, and she is currently the most popular Asian face in Hollywood. Even Jenny looked at her curiously a few more times, but she didn't go over to talk to her. As a nobody, she is still very eye-catching and self-conscious.

 The order of auditions is according to the letter of the surname, but there are no other flowers, Jenny took a glass of water and sat down, and did not talk to others, just silently revisited the details of the finished film of "Chicago", but she didn't think much about it, this is the one audition she has to prepare for in the past few months, of course, she has studied it very thoroughly, and she is completely ready for the audition.

 "You're Jennifer Jefferson, aren't you?" Shortly after the audition began, someone came over and accosted her, "Can I sit here?"

 The girl who sat next to her before had already gone in to audition, and Jenny looked up, "Of course you can, it's an honor to meet you, I like your "Breaking Bad" very much." "

 "Thank you. Lucy Liu looked very thin in real life, her face was completely the size of a palm, and her body was so slender that she could be knocked out with a casual punch, and she shook hands with Jenny. "It's also a pleasure to meet you, I'm a fan of CSI, and I was impressed with your performance in that episode. "

 "I'm sure you're not saying kind words, at least you made it to the cast and found my name. Jenny said.

 Lucy Liu smiled, "Wow, you're really different in reality, I almost didn't recognize you just now." On camera, you're very flamboyant, but here I can even say you're a little unremarkable, even though you're beautiful. "

 Jenny fully agrees with her statement, whether it is Chen Zhen or Jenny's original body, they are actually the type with a bland temperament. - This description may be very abstract, but everyone can understand it in reality, some people are beautiful, but inconspicuous, some people are average, but their temperament is eye-catching, this is the so-called star aura.

 "Are you complimenting me on my acting skills?" Jenny winked at her.

 Lucy laughed, "Yes, I'm complimenting you on your acting skills." "

 She lowered her voice, "In today's audition, you are the opponent who feels the most dangerous to me. "

 Although she said that, her tone was very casual, and Lucy Liu was obviously not very committed to the role.

 Jenny looked at a room of people, there is indeed no well-known acting school, and her performance in front of the camera is actually cheating, so she thinks Lucy's vision is really good, "But I don't have much confidence in front of you, you are famous and acting, and you are very beautiful." What about me—"

 She shrugged.

 "No," Lucy Liu shook her head. "You're right, but I don't have much faith in you. If we perform just as well, I think you should get the role. "

 "Why, because I'm cheap?" asked Jenny.

 Lucy Liu said calmly and naturally, "Because you're white and I'm Asian, it's as simple as that." "

 Jenny has nothing to say - in fact, the reason why she will try to complete the so-called task of dominating Hollywood is entirely because she is at least in good condition, she is a Caucasian beauty, if she is the original body to travel over, or reborn into Asian, then Chen Zhen will not try at all. The entertainment industry is the industry with the most serious racial discrimination and gender discrimination in the United States, which is not because of the narrow-mindedness of practitioners, but the natural result of the market's condensation of the audience's preferences and needs.

 But specifically for "Chicago", judging from the final result, it was Lucy Liu who finally got the role, so Jenny still didn't have much confidence in this audition, she said, "Why don't we make a bet, I'll wait for you after the audition comes out, and then bet on who gets the role?"

 "Haha!" Lucy was amused, "no problem, we can negotiate bets at lunch." "

 Jenny's name began to be called at the door of the audition room, and Jenny didn't have time to say anything, so she nodded and smiled with Lucy, ignoring the bright or dark eyes cast in the room, sorted out her best state, and walked into the audition room.

 Of course, as always, there were several people in the audition room, but to Jenny's surprise, one of the two people sitting behind the long table was actually director Rob Marshall himself.

 It seems that Marshall took his first film very seriously, so he had to audition for even a few minutes of the role himself. Of course, when he sits down, the other person will not be someone else, it should be the producer, or the representative of the producer, after all, only a character of such a level can resist the director's decision, and not turn the audition into a director's word.

 Jenny thought quickly in her heart, and showed a bright smile to the director and the producer, this smile she had practiced for at least a week, absolutely gorgeous.

 "Jenny, we've all seen your video resume, and although your resume is weak, you're pretty enough. Marshall got straight to the point, gesturing for Jenny to sit down while flipping through the information. "And you can sing and dance, which is important for the movie. "

 Jenny didn't even know she had a video resume, which was probably Cesare's handiwork, and she kept smiling, "Thank you." "

 "But the main reason you ended up on the interview list was that I liked your Hollywood Golden Age temperament, arrogant, sexy, very old-fashioned," Marshall said, "but Kitty needed a little more grumpy feeling for the character, she was crazy, desperate, like a mad flower of the end, she had a brutalist charm, and now I want you to make a few grumpy faces." "

 Jenny didn't expect Marshall to even read the script and audition, and went directly to the basic skills assessment. She was a little instinctively flustered, but fortunately, the ample preparation she had made in the past few months saved her, and even without the help of Goldfinger, Jenny easily immersed herself in the role that she had practiced repeatedly and watched the finished product, showing a few disdainful expressions to the camera as 'Kitty'.

 She acted more restrainedly, as if she was facing a boring reporter who was constantly asking questions, and she was looking at the other party's jokes.

 "Very well, now I hope you have a few angry expressions, can you tell the difference? You can say some lines and make up your own. Marshall immediately went on to say that he didn't give her much room to adjust.

 Jenny felt that if she stopped to adjust, she might lose points, and she didn't even have time to choose a film to open the golden finger, so she could only rely on many exercises, instinctively struggling and writhing under the virtual prison guards, and yelled at the reporter, "I'll give you three words - die!"

 "OK. There was no expression on Marshall's face. "Can you sing me a few words now?"

 Jenny had to immediately withdraw her emotions and sing the famous song "Nowadays" from the "Chicago" play to Marshall, because she has always liked and learned this song, she feels that she sings it well.

 Then the interview ended here, she didn't have the time to turn everyone upside down at all, and she didn't have this opportunity even if she wanted to surprise the director. When Jenny walked out, she felt that she had just experienced a complete romantic audition, and the other party was completely going through the motions, and then she could be brushed off.

 She and Lucy were close to each other, so she was followed by Lucy Liu, and Jenny calculated that she had only been in the audition room for five minutes, probably the shortest of all, and Lucy Liu had been in for a full twenty minutes.

 She came out with a smile on her face, and it was clear that it was a great interview.

 Although she had been prepared, Jenny was still in a bad mood: this audition should be out of play, and she had already missed this great opportunity. And the most frustrating thing is not her failure, but that she has been judged to lose at all at all.

 Note: Hollywood has the difference between an agent and a manager, the agent is responsible for negotiating the film contract, salary, and cooperation details, and the manager is mainly to maintain the relationship between all parties and determine the schedule, for example, the manager is the father, who works hard to earn money for the children (talking about good films, high salaries), and the manager is the mother, who is responsible for taking care of the children (the star works smoothly and has a good relationship with all parties). Another big difference is that the agent only cares about one aspect of her, the movie is the movie, the record is the record, and so on, but the manager will coordinate all the business of the star.

 Many people start by finding a manager, get some interview opportunities, and have their own agents after entering the industry to open up the situation, but there are also agents as soon as they enter the industry, such as Jenny, and there are also some stars who do not have managers, but it is rare to have no agents.