I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 470 One step closer to the Oscars!
"Okay, very good!"

"Set up the scene, start filming the next take immediately!"

Action director Sean Andrew Van den Chao gave Chen Jin a thumbs-up while she sat in the car. The props and set designers, as well as the explosion crew, were quickly setting up new filming locations.

They filmed almost every take, then blew it up, and having to do it all over again was a huge challenge for the crew.

Therefore, at this time, a stable actor becomes extremely important.

No matter how good your relationship is with the prop master, set designer, and other crew members, after a few takes, they'll hate you to death and curse you to death in their hearts. You're a terrible teammate who drags the whole crew down. Who would like that?!
Starting over would only increase their burden and workload, and even if it saves face, they would still be unhappy inside.

After a few times, he finally angered her.

As for actress Chen Jin, she's the kind of actress the production team most enjoys working with.

Even if you don't have a good relationship with the set designer or prop master and have never spoken to them, if you can get every take right in one go, then you are their good friend.

Such emotions are subtle, but they are very real in the filmmaking industry.

That's why some actors are popular while others are not.

Actually, this is the same concept as whether or not someone has good public image.

You don't always reap what you sow.

You need to make a good impression on the audience and on your colleagues; having emotional intelligence alone is not enough without ability.

In this industry, it's all about having connections and having solid personal skills.

If you have both, you're guaranteed to become famous faster than others.

"Brother Jin!"

The assistant, Wang Yuanyuan, couldn't help but call out softly to Chen Jin, who was sitting in the car on set waiting for filming.

Chen Jin gestured to the director, and the young girl quickly walked to the car, squatted down, and handed him her phone.

"Paula has called three times already, should we call back?"

Wang Yuanyuan spoke softly.

"Okay, I'll ask her!"

There are at least 15 minutes left for the set setup, enough time for Chen Jin to make a phone call. The Fast & Furious 6 crew isn't so heartless as to not allow phone calls. With that kind of waiting time, the actors can even get out of the car and stretch their bodies without any problem.

However, Chen Jin still sat in the car and called her agent Paula back.

"Were you filming just now?"

Paula's voice quickly came from the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, we just finished filming a scene, and we're setting up the set!"

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point, two things!"

Paula quickly said, "The first thing is that Damien is confirmed. He'll be the lead in 'Whiplash,' but he'll have to add another million dollars to the budget!"

This is blatant price gouging.

However, Chen Jin still agreed: "Okay, then 400 million it is!"

Initially, Damien Chazelle estimated a budget of $300 million for "Whiplash," which also included a share for the director.

This guy wrote, directed, and cast the show himself, and took a 10% cut.

"Is there one more thing?"

Chen Jin looked at the busy staff members not far in front of her and couldn't help but ask.

"The original Wall Street investors in 'Dallas' have withdrawn their funding!"

Paula suddenly lowered her voice and said, and a glint flashed in Chen Jin's eyes: "Oh? When did this happen?"

"It should be within the next day or two, Ryan told me!"

Ryan is the CEO of Relativity Media, which is backed by Wall Street capital, so he can usually get the news when Wall Street withdraws its investment in a movie.

Especially since it was the one Chen Jin auditioned for, this guy was particularly interested in it.

The two are now somewhat in a strategic alliance. He is single-mindedly focused on making relativity kill Legend, while Chen Jin naturally wants to take her business in North America to the next level. So they are currently in a honeymoon period.

"I was never optimistic about this script from the start because it had been aborted too many times, and even Universal's evaluation department gave up on it, which in itself showed that it had no value!"

"The market for true stories of people playing the victim is becoming increasingly limited in North America!"

Paula spoke fluently on the other end of the phone.

Clearly, she told Chen Jin that the withdrawal of investment from Dallas was not the goal; rather, proving her foresight to him was her second point.

Because Chen Jin herself chose to audition for both "Dallas" and "The Wolf of Wall Street".

Although the projects were all assigned to him by the team.

There were many audition opportunities offered by the Actors Guild and the production team, but Chen Jin only chose these few!
But in Paula's opinion, the role in "Wall Street" was dispensable for Chen Jin, and she didn't even like the supporting male role in "Dallas".

The project has now stalled again, which was within Paula's expectations.

This script has indeed gone through too many hands, and it was created 20 years ago, so it's long outdated, even if it's a niche independent art film.

……

"Sister Paula!"

Chen Jin suddenly interrupted Paula as she tried to prove herself, saying, "Can you contact that woman, the producer of 'Dallas' who auditioned me?"

"I can't remember her name for a moment!"

Originally, Chen Jin wanted to wait for a notification for another audition, just like Jared Leto, the actor who played the supporting role of Ryan in "Dallas," so that he could prepare carefully.

However, Chen Jin now has a better idea.

Instead of passively waiting for the other party to come to you, it's better to take the initiative.

Given the current situation of capital withdrawal, CETC's takeover is a perfect match.

Perfect opportunity!

Others may not know the value of "Dallas," but Chen Jin knows it all too well. It was a dark horse that received six Oscar nominations and even won three Oscars, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

Global box office revenue is secondary; what matters is making a name for oneself in film history.

This film holds a very high position in film history, and can be described as a legendary underdog story of a low-budget film.

And just as legendary as this one is the film that Chen Jin just confirmed her investment in – "Whiplash"!
This film, also a low-budget production of $3 million, garnered six Oscar nominations and won three awards, but its box office performance and overall success were clearly inferior to "Dallas".

We're missing an award-winning actor.

In other words, the role Chen Jin was to play did not receive a Best Actor nomination, let alone an award.

Chen Jin wanted to give it a try and see if his acting skills could make a splash.

However, he didn't win an Oscar, but the lead role in "Whiplash" and other awards like the Saint Denis Oscar and the British Academy Film Award were all highly praised.

This character, though not as outstanding as the male supporting character, is very eye-catching.

Therefore, Chen Jin did not want to give up any of the films he auditioned for.

Including... a series of characters that Marvel has been talking about.

It's said that there's been internal disagreement within Marvel, and half a month has passed without a response from Paula!

"what?"

Paula seemed not to understand Chen Jin's words, and raised her voice slightly, "Chan, what do you want to do?"

Do I need the phone number of that stupid female producer from "Dallas"?
This woman rejected her without any mercy... and even said that Asians shouldn't be causing trouble!

"You want to invest in this movie?" Paula seemed to have guessed it.

"Hyakugo!"

"Paula, you truly deserve to be called Hollywood's best manager!"

Paula: "..."

"Chan, you seem to be very rich?"

Paula took a deep breath, wanting to put an end to her artist's crazy idea.

Although it's only a matter of a few million dollars, investing for a role would get him into big trouble if those mediocre Hollywood producers, directors, screenwriters, and so on who go around begging for investment found out.

God knows how many artists and writers in North America are looking to get something for nothing.

They're just waiting for investors to give them money to keep them afloat.

Given Chen Jin's penchant for investing in every film she sees, Paula suspects that Chen Jin might go bankrupt because of this in the future.

Every year, 99% of films invested in North America fail, and 99 out of 100 so-called independent films lose money.

The only one is like winning the lottery.

"We've already invested in 'Whiplash'!"

"You've been cast as the male lead!"

Paula felt it necessary to remind Chen Jin: "You can't possibly get the lead role in 'Dallas.' It's a story based on a true story, and you're not even suitable for the second lead role!"

Why can't this kid understand?!
Paula had certainly read the script; as a seasoned manager, analyzing the quality of scripts was part of her daily work routine.

Otherwise, how could she get promising roles for her artists?!
This is the key to whether a manager is excellent or not.

The first quality of an excellent manager is the ability to understand the roles their artists are best suited for in a script, to judge whether they have a chance of winning awards, and to determine whether a film will be a hit...

The second male lead in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was a role that Paula placed a heavy bet on for Chen Jin.

Now, the preparation for this film has been delayed, and the auditions have been postponed for another month.

The director of that script was a notorious perfectionist and procrastinator who frequently caused accidents; but he was indeed a great talent, able to promote actors, and had a great artistic flair and the potential to become a master.

"I want to play the second male lead. Wasn't he the one we auditioned for?"

"Paula, I feel this role is very challenging for me!"

Chen Jin calmly said, "Don't you think it's very rare for a homosexual transvestite to be in the late stages of AIDS?"

The buffs are all maxed out!

Homosexuality, transvestism, AIDS, terminal illness... wow, Chen Jin wants to applaud this role.

For an actor, taking on this kind of role isn't about courage, but about having a purpose.

It's not like Chen Jin himself became like this; he's just experiencing the role. What's there to be afraid of?

"Do you really think a clown like this deserves an award?"

Paula didn't take this character seriously at all; isn't she just a complete psychopath?

"And you'll have to lose weight for this role!"

"Have you thought this through? You'll have to get back in shape after losing weight, which will take at least 3-4 months. What about your schedule for other projects?"

Paula felt that wasting four months on a male supporting role, and not even being able to recover in four months, was not a worthwhile investment no matter how she calculated it!

"Only roles like these are worth pursuing for an actor!"

Chen Jin was obviously just showing off.

If the actor were replaced, there would definitely be hesitation, because he doesn't know the outcome.

Chen Jin knew that this role could win an Oscar. Although the butterfly effect might change some things, plus the super buff of his yellow skin reducing his chances of winning, what if?
What if I could win an award? What if those old men on the Oscar judging panel took pity on me?
What if I spend money on public relations and manage to get the role?!
This is all possible.

With characters involved, anything is possible.

No roles, no films, even if you have money, you don't know where to go to lobby for the Oscars!

That's the difference!
"..."

Paula thought her artist must be crazy.

For the first time, she felt that he seemed even more committed to art films than Tom Cruise.

Are all actors such idiots?

To waste so many money-making opportunities for a role, and potentially even harm one's health while losing weight... Paula thinks that's incredibly stupid.

But this idiot is one of his own artists.

"What if... Chan, I mean, what if we don't win the award?"

Paula asked a question.

"Not winning an award is fine, but experiencing such a great role has helped my performance!"

"All right……"

Paula sighed deeply. She really didn't understand why Chen Jin insisted on casting a male supporting actor and even went so far as to invest money in him.
What if that crazy woman doesn't want your money?!

She seems to have said she wouldn't use actors with yellow skin.

"Paula, actually, what I was interested in wasn't the role, but the script!"

"The script is excellent, and the characters are all outstanding. No matter who I play, it will be a challenge for me!"

I hope you're right!

What else could Paula say?

Wishing you a crushing defeat?
As an excellent manager, she knows when to say what, and when... it's inappropriate!

Anyway, her collaboration with Chen Jin was only for two years. If she didn't make a name for herself within those two years, she would just take her money and leave. However, she couldn't ruin her reputation in the industry, which meant that she had to achieve results during her time as the head of Chen Jin's team.

In this way, she can go to the next employer and refresh her resume.

So, despite her displeasure, she would still diligently carry out the tasks assigned to her by Chen Jin.

This is the quality of an excellent manager.

"Rachel Winter!"

Paula mentioned the name of the female producer of "Dallas," and Chen Jin immediately realized, "Yes, it's her. She was sitting in the middle when I auditioned!"

"Yes, she told me that people of Asian descent are not suitable for this role!"

Paula spoke very honestly.

"It's alright, you can talk to her about the investment first. CETC also has a branch in North America, which is mainly responsible for investing in some independent films!"

All the qualifications are in place, and there is also a partnership with Universal, meaning that the films invested in can utilize their distribution channels, just like many independent film companies under the six major film studios.

Examples include searchlights and Sony classics.

They are also affiliated with the Big Six, buying various independent films from all over the world for production and distribution.

"Okay, I'll talk to her!"

"I hope this time, your wish will come true!"

Paula sighed, recalling Rachel Winter's bloated, fat face; that woman was not easy to deal with.

She might not accept the money even if you offer it to her!
(End of this chapter)