"Hey, Rick." Hugo shook Rick's outstretched right hand. Rick patted his shoulder, signaling for him and Joseph to sit on the sofa, adding, "Looks like I saved a cup of coffee." This made Hugo chuckle."Are you guys done with your business?" Hugo looked at the office; it was about the same size as Ron's, with a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. The city view of blue skies, white clouds, and skyscrapers was quite spectacular.Rick was not a tall American man. Perhaps because of his Native American heritage, his skin was darker. He looked dark, thin, and short, very inconspicuous, but he had exceptionally bright eyes that made it easy for people to ignore his appearance and focus on his conversation. Unlike Ron's assertiveness, Rick seemed more like an agent still working diligently on the seventeenth floor, rather than one of those elite vampires on the twenty-third floor.But if one were deceived by Rick's appearance, they would be making a big mistake. Rick was a pillar of International Creative Management, and his business volume for the entire last year ranked in the top five within the company, on par with Ron. At the beginning of this year, Rick also officially became a partner of the company.Anyone who could achieve such results in the agency industry would definitely not be a simple person."Actually, there's nothing much. I just acted as a middleman," Rick said. The smile on his face was not big, just faint, with his small eyes curving into an arc. He looked very friendly and had an indescribable affinity. Then Rick looked at Joseph, "I'll leave the opportunity to announce the answer to you."Joseph did not decline too much. He met Hugo's inquiring gaze, the excitement between his brows sparkling in his eyes. "Do you know Sydney Pollack?""Of course." Hugo nodded without hesitation. Although he knew Sydney from the movie "The Reader", Sydney was a famous director with many more famous classics, such as "Out of Africa", "Tootsie", and "The Way We Were". He could definitely be called one of the most outstanding directors in American film history."Paramount Pictures is preparing a novel adaptation script this time and has chosen Sydney to be the director." Joseph's tone rose slightly, revealing his inner joy. Obviously, he hadn't finished speaking yet. "It has been confirmed that the adapted script will be written by Robert Towne.""Robert Towne?" Hugo wasn't asking a question, but repeating it for confirmation.Robert Towne was not the father of the famous Robert Downey Jr. in the future; there was no relationship between them. Robert Downey Jr.'s father, Robert Downey Sr., was an independent film director and producer. The Robert Towne mentioned here was a famous director and Screenwriter in Hollywood. The classic scripts he wrote included "bonnie and clyde", "Chinatown", "Days of Thunder", and so on.One could imagine that the collaboration between Sydney and Robert was definitely a top-tier lineup.At this time, Paramount Pictures was going through a period of growing pains. After a long period of downturn, it had made a comeback and returned to the top ranks of Hollywood. However, the iconic iron triangle that led Paramount's revival had been broken by Disney. Disney had poached two of the iron triangle: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner, which caused Paramount to fall into a slump again.Under these circumstances, inviting big names like Sydney and Robert to collaborate on a project clearly showed Paramount's ambition. Sure enough, Joseph's next words confirmed Hugo's guess, "It's Robert. Paramount has made a $60 million budget investment for this project.""Wow, is this another 'the terminator'?" Hugo was surprised by the cost budget.If it were when he first transmigrated in January this year, Hugo would have said "such a small investment," because after the 21st century, investments of over $100 million were countless, and works with costs over $200 million were not uncommon. But after a year of adapting here, Hugo knew that in the current film market, a cost of over $50 million was a big production, and it was not common.So, for Paramount to actually make a $60 million budget, Hugo's first reaction was that it was an action movie with very complex special effects, which was also one of the most popular genres in the early 1990s."No, it's another 'a few good men'." It was Rick who answered. He gave Joseph an apologetic smile, "Let me talk about the script." He certainly hadn't discussed this in detail with Joseph, after all, Joseph had only just come in, so Rick was definitely more familiar with it. "This is about a young man who graduated from Harvard Law School. After he started working at a law firm, he received a lot of preferential treatment, but he soon discovered that the company was involved with illegal activities, to the point that he was implicated in a case that drew the attention of the Department of Justice.""Another lawyer?" Hugo understood immediately. This was also the reason why Rick said it was "another 'a few good men'.""Yes." Rick nodded in affirmation. "They have just started casting now, and all roles are starting from scratch. Sydney heard about your outstanding performance in 'a few good men', so he hopes you can participate in the audition.""Me?" Although Hugo was mentally prepared, hearing Rick actually say it, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. After all, "a few good men" had not been released yet, so he never expected the opportunity to come so quickly.Rick was amused by Hugo's surprised expression, but his smile was still not big, just outlining a slightly larger arc, his eyes already squinted into a slit. "Hugo, you know, this circle is actually very small, very small." When he said the last part, Rick pinched his thumb and index finger together as if pinching a hair, forcefully expressing his meaning.When Hugo finished filming "scent of a woman", he got the audition opportunity for "a few good men" because of his outstanding performance, and finally, Hugo grasped it with his own efforts; and now, Hugo had received more attention because of the excellence of "a few good men", plus the positive reaction after "scent of a woman" was released, the opportunity really came to his door on its own.Compared to before, Hugo's status had quietly changed. Now there were audition opportunities automatically delivered to Joseph's hands. This was a big improvement, and it was a big move by Paramount Pictures with a $60 million investment, which was even more rare."Wow." Hugo did not hide it and made his happy sound directly. The positive impact brought by "scent of a woman" recently had already made Hugo overjoyed, and an opportunity like today was even better. "I was still thinking that I hadn't had any offers for half a year, and Joseph must have been anxious.""Are you sure it wasn't you who was anxious?" Joseph was in the mood to bicker with Hugo now. Although in the past few months, Joseph told Hugo to rest well, without any auditions, the anxiety in Joseph's heart inevitably began to gradually breed as time passed. But now, after "scent of a woman" was released, everything started to get on the right track, which was the best."Rick, thank you, really thank you." Hugo expressed his gratitude repeatedly. In fact, Rick was not Hugo's agent, so he didn't have to help at all. This was not like finding a house; this was a job opportunity. To put it bluntly, money was reputation. Rick's unpaid help was indeed admirable. Comparing Ron and Rick, the gap was immediately apparent."No need, I've already noted on my notepad that you owe me a meal." Rick said easily with a smile. Hugo and Joseph also laughed out loud. "Actually, you don't need to care too much. Sydney asked me for Joseph's phone number, and then I helped contact him, that's all. You know, even if I didn't want to tell him, he could contact the company, and the final result would be the same. So strictly speaking, I didn't help much."Rick said honestly, "Besides, we are still competitors. I also have Actors under me who want to audition. So, don't rush to thank me. Maybe my Actor will defeat you and get the role."Hugo couldn't help laughing heartily. However, mentioning this matter, it awakened a little of Hugo's memory. "Rick, I saw Tracy in Ron's office just now, it seems like she was discussing important matters. Is it this project of Sydney's?" It wasn't that Hugo had paranoia, but the timing was just too coincidental, right?"Oh, no. Tracy and Ron were talking about a collaborative project with Universal Pictures." Rick said simply. But there were still some doubts remaining in Hugo's line of sight, such as why Tracy mentioned Ron to him, and whether Tracy's meeting with the Universal Pictures producer in charge at the Waldorf Astoria had anything to do with this project. However, Rick obviously had no intention of letting Hugo continue to ask questions and directly ignored Hugo's gaze, then continued, "I have already given Sydney's contact information to Joseph just now. This project is considered notified to you. You have to work hard for the rest. As a competitor, I will not provide any help.""That goes without saying." Joseph smiled and took over the conversation. He also noticed Hugo's distraction, but he was used to it now. "You haven't told me the name of this project yet!""Oh, look at my memory, I'm getting old." Rick patted his head, took a script from his desk, and put it in front of Joseph. "'sugar-coated trap', this is the script, my copy. If you want one, you can get it from Sydney. And, this is adapted from the original novel, you can go and read the original.""That novel of the same name by John Grisham?" Joseph remembered the best-selling novel of the same name last year. After receiving confirmation from Rick, Joseph saw the determination of Paramount Pictures to go all out this time."Oh, by the way," Rick suddenly remembered another thing, "I heard that Brad Pitt also got an audition opportunity. You know, Sydney and Robert Redford have a strong friendship. They are old partners who have worked on 'Out of Africa' together." Robert Redford, the director of "a river runs through it", sure enough, this was a very, very small circle.
