Chapter 125 - 125 The deep meaning of words

Hugo carefully recalled the movie "sugar-coated trap," but his mind was a complete blank. He could not recall any information about this movie, not even who the lead Actor was.Although he had the director, Sidney, and the Screenwriter, Robert, as clues, Hugo found that he still had no leads in his head. Instead, he remembered several works where Sidney served as a producer later on, such as "Cold Mountain," "Michael Clayton," and "The Reader."However, regarding how the script for "sugar-coated trap" was, or how its performance turned out, Hugo still had no thoughts. Perhaps seeing the script would spark some memory."Are you worried about Brad?" Joseph looked at Hugo's contemplative expression, thought for a long time, and finally brought up the topic.Hugo paused and chuckled, "No, I'm not worried about him."It might seem like a huge coincidence, but in reality, this is the current status of the film industry. There is only a small group of Actors between the ages of twenty and thirty, and Actors like Hugo and Brad, who share similar temperaments yet have their own unique characteristics, were the first to emerge. When producers make selections, it is very easy for them to put both of them on the audition list.This is also the third time the two have had to face each other in competition, following "a river runs through it" and "a few good men." They didn't know if this should be considered fate or a nightmare. Hugo and Brad had each won one of the previous two times, and he didn't know what the outcome would be this time."Then why are your brows furrowed?" A few months ago, Joseph wouldn't have asked such a direct question, but now the two had clearly found a balance in their relationship. Joseph was also willing to ask about Hugo's personal situation, which was beneficial for their collaboration. "Or are you worried about Tracy?" This was the second answer in Joseph's mind.Upon Joseph's reminder, Hugo's memory from just moments ago was awakened. He briefly described the situation where Tracy and Ron met. Joseph's brows couldn't help but furrow as well; this was indeed a tricky situation, as no one knew what was really going on with the mastermind behind it."You said Tracy mentioned what Ron said?" Joseph tried to search for some clues."Ron told her that the premiere date for 'a few good men' had been set, and he hoped everything would go smoothly this time." Hugo recalled the scene of the conversation, trying to reconstruct the situation."Were both of those sentences said by Ron, or did the second sentence come from Tracy?" Joseph noticed that this statement seemed problematic and couldn't help but ask.Hugo bit his lower lip and pondered for a moment. "'I,' Tracy said, 'I hope everything will go smoothly this time.'" That meant the second half of the sentence was Tracy's hint, which was also the reason Hugo felt something was off after hearing it.It was very likely that Ron had arranged some accident at the premiere waiting for Hugo, so Tracy gave a hint; or perhaps it was a hint that Ron was using some underhanded tactics behind the scenes. But why? Why would Ron do this, and why would Tracy take the initiative to warn him? Ron and Tracy were not exactly a friendly alliance with Hugo, and was Tracy's word even trustworthy?Joseph also felt a headache coming on. He thought carefully and finally asked tentatively, "Hugo, do you think it might be related to what happened with the 'a few good men' crew?"Because Tracy specifically mentioned the premiere of this movie, but the problem was that a premiere is a public occasion. Aside from journalists making things difficult, there were few behind-the-scenes masterminds who could push for anything—Hugo was a male Actor, unlike female Actors who could have things done to their costumes—even if there was a possibility of an accident at the premiere, Columbia Pictures wouldn't want those situations to occur. So, if it wasn't related to the premiere, it was related to the movie itself. Joseph made the most reasonable deduction."...Are you talking about Alej?" Hugo didn't react at first; after all, that incident had passed a long time ago, and there were no further ripples, and "a few good men" had wrapped up smoothly. If Joseph hadn't brought it up, he would have completely forgotten about it."You know, when Alej left, he hinted that someone was pulling the strings behind him." The more Joseph thought about it, the more he felt this was a possibility. "I guessed Tom, Brad, or Martin back then, and I even guessed Tracy, but now it seems that Ron is the most likely one.""We can't trust Tracy's words. Maybe she's the one making trouble behind the scenes and is now pushing it onto Ron." Hugo, however, was unwilling to jump to conclusions and instead guessed other possibilities. "Besides, if it really is Ron, why? What reason does he have?""Because you attended the premiere of 'the last analysis,' stole the headlines that should have belonged to 'basic instinct,' and embarrassed Ron. And seeing you receive invitations for two works in succession is a powerful counterattack to his previous decision to abandon you, which is not what he wanted to see." Joseph expressed his point of view. "So he felt like giving you a lesson. A harmless lesson on the set of 'a few good men' would both teach you a lesson and not cause any accidents."Indeed, Alej's act of changing the cold water was actually just to make Hugo suffer a little, with no more serious consequences."Most importantly, I learned that Alej's previous job was as a production assistant for 'Reversal of Fortune.'" Joseph naturally didn't sit idly by after that incident; he still went to search for some information. Although he didn't gain much, everything was connected now. "Jeremy Irons is an Actor under Ron.""Reversal of Fortune" was a nominee for best director and best adapted screenplay at the 63rd Academy Awards, and it won the lead Actor Jeremy the double best actor award at the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscar that year, which was a huge upset at the time.Jeremy was a great Actor. Hugo's deepest impression of him was not the work "Reversal of Fortune," but the 1981 classic miniseries "Brideshead Revisited," as well as "The French Lieutenant's Woman," which he collaborated on with Meryl Streep in 1981.He didn't expect Jeremy to be an Actor under Ron, which also showed how seasoned Ron's eye was. His previous crafting of Hugo's acting career path had traces to follow. Jeremy was a veteran Actor who had been honing his craft for nearly twenty years, finally shining brightly in "Reversal of Fortune." That year, he defeated Robert De Niro in "Awakenings," Kevin Costner in "dances with wolves," Gerard Depardieu in "Cyrano de Bergerac," and Richard Harris in "The Field," finally winning the Oscar best actor statuette. It could definitely be called a decade of sharpening a sword. Hugo was being trained following this route, and after Hugo had been polished for six years and still hadn't become successful, it was no surprise that he was abandoned by Ron."But even if it really is Ron, what can we do? Not to mention there is no evidence, even if there was evidence..." Hugo spoke the plain truth. Alej's actions were actually part of the unspoken rules in the industry. Rob Reiner being able to fire Alej on the spot had already given Hugo an explanation, and pursuing it further would not yield any results.Joseph, however, took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "No, at least we know the enemy exists. I hope we won't continue to be passive."The former agent was now standing behind him, stabbing him in the back. This kind of thing was very hard to accept, but Hugo was alright. He didn't have that kind of dependence or trust toward Ron, so although he felt disheartened, he didn't experience the anger and grief of betrayal.What Hugo was more concerned about was why Tracy wanted to warn him, and what her purpose was. Was it just to see Hugo and Ron fight? It certainly wasn't that simple. If Tracy was extending goodwill to Hugo, there was no sign of it in the course of the conversation.Tracy, this was an even bigger mystery than Ron.Joseph looked at Hugo with some concern, but to his surprise, although Hugo's expression was a bit stiff, there were no major emotional fluctuations, which was different from what he had expected. But thinking about it carefully, in the past six months, Hugo had almost stopped mentioning Ron. It seemed he had truly given up on Ron, so the current reaction was not surprising.After a moment of silence, Hugo took the initiative to change the subject. "After I go back, I'll go buy the original novel and read it first." After experiencing the filming of "scent of a woman" and "a few good men," Hugo knew that acting was not that simple. Even if he had objects to imitate in his mind, if he couldn't evolve the imitation into his own thing, then his acting would never be able to break through, so he had to work hard.Although it was just an audition now, serious preparation in the early stages was very necessary. Regardless of whether the audition would be successful in the future, this was also one of the links in honing his acting skills.Hearing Hugo's fighting spirit, Joseph also relaxed a little. "I will contact Sidney in the next two days to see how the audition will be conducted." According to Rick, the audition was just beginning to be planned, which meant the crew had just been formed, so there was no need to rush."You haven't forgotten this Thursday, have you?" Joseph said in a relaxed tone to liven up the atmosphere. "How about it, do you plan to spend it in Los Angeles, or go back to Cheyenne?"Hugo froze in place, offering no response to Joseph's words. Just when Joseph almost thought Hugo had fallen asleep, he finally let out a hesitant sound, "Uh," and asked with a frown and a tone full of confusion, "Is Thanksgiving already here?""Of course!" Joseph looked at Hugo in surprise. Because the movement was too big, he almost lost his grip on the steering wheel, breaking out in a cold sweat. "Hugo, don't tell me you still haven't called Mr. Lancaster!"Hugo could only grin speechlessly, then pointed to the intersection ahead, "Hey, it's a green light.""I'm not colorblind." Joseph rolled his eyes and replied helplessly. This trick to change the subject was too clumsy.