Watching the palm trees and old record stores retreating outside the window, the colorful billboards shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight, the promotional poster for the movie "Wayne's World" vividly brought to life the image of 1990s Hollywood. The houses on Sunset Strip, painted golden by the morning sun, formed a stunningly beautiful picture in sight. This avenue, stretching from downtown all the way to Hollywood, told Hugo in the simplest way possible: this is Los Angeles—a city that captures the world's attention with film and music.
Hugo took a deep breath, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from the breathtaking scenery and returning it to the script on his lap. He didn't have enough energy to read the script last night, and he couldn't recall a single scene from memory, so he had to seize the limited time now to finish this task. Otherwise, today's audition interview might be a disaster.
Hugo hadn't seen the film A River Runs Through It before, though he had heard of it. When Hugo decided to become an actor, he didn't have enough funds for professional acting training, so he chose to study acting by watching classic movies. Before his transmigration, Hugo had seen nearly a thousand films, and had developed his own understanding of what it meant to be an actor.
In fact, Hugo had wanted to watch A River Runs Through It, but later ended up watching Legends of the Fall, which had a similar theme but a deeper message. Both films were poetic and nostalgic, and Brad Pitt had delivered outstanding performances in both. One could say Brad Pitt's career breakthroughs came through these two films.
A River Runs Through It tells the story of a family in Montana by the Blackfoot River before a war—Reverend Maclean and his sons. The whole story flows like a river—calm and gentle, with no major ups and downs. It weaves familial love, romance, and friendship seamlessly into nature's beauty, like a moving oil painting or an emotional lyrical essay so beautiful it hurts.
There are two main male characters in the story: the Maclean brothers, Norman the elder and Paul the younger. Joseph had told Hugo yesterday that he was auditioning for the lead role, Paul. Paul, the youngest son, is free-spirited, unrestrained, and dashing—living vibrantly like an ephemeral flower that blooms brilliantly in a short time before quickly fading.
Hugo understood why Joseph had found him the role of Paul or perhaps Paul had found him. Hugo's appearance faintly carried that free and uninhibited aura. Though not a perfect fit, his melancholic and classical look did add some points. So Hugo playing Paul could just barely be considered a role that suits his natural temperament.
After the failure of Hudson Hawk, playing such a role was definitely a safe move. Although A River Runs Through It was a low-budget independent production with an investment of under ten million, the fame of its director, Robert Redford, was more than enough to make actors flock to it.
Robert Redford, as an actor, had starred in Out of Africa, The Sting, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. As a director, his debut Ordinary People won him the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. He also founded the Sundance Institute, the world's most influential independent film festival. He was undoubtedly one of Hollywood's most powerful figures.
A River Runs Through It was Redford's third directorial work after Ordinary People and The Milagro Beanfield War. Countless actors would kill for a role in it. Joseph had secured Hugo an audition, and for the role of Paul no less clearly showing he was a capable agent.
But in Hugo's eyes, playing Paul wasn't really a natural fit. That kind of wild, unrestrained aura wasn't strong in him. After all, his soul had changed bodies, and with that, the aura had shifted too. So to land the role of Paul, Hugo had to show real, solid acting skills and in that regard, he wasn't completely confident.
After all, before transmigration, Hugo had acting experience, but only as an extra or supporting role. All his acting knowledge came from theory. Now was the moment of truth. Hugo understood this opportunity was right in front of him, and whether he could seize it depended on his effort. That's why Hugo was reading the script so intently, already imagining in his mind how to bring the character to life. He didn't want to miss this chance.
Joseph steadily drove the car, bumping along toward the Four Seasons Hotel at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive. Glancing at Hugo sitting in the passenger seat, seriously reading the script, he was a little surprised.
Joseph had taken over as Hugo's agent from Ron Meyer just last year. Since Joseph was still a rookie, just getting started, he didn't have strong control over Hugo's career yet. Joseph had thought Hugo didn't need to attend the Golden Raspberry Awards, but Hugo consulted Ron's opinion and followed it instead. In less than a year, Joseph had seen Hugo's various messes—he was like a male version of Drew Barrymore.
Born into Hollywood's famous Barrymore acting family, Drew Barrymore had starred in E.T., Firestarter, and Irreconcilable Differences, reaching the peak of her career. But fame at just nine years old led her astray drinking, smoking, marijuana, cocaine, alcoholism, nightlife she plunged straight into ruin.
Hugo Lancaster was similar. In 1989, he gained attention for his role as Neil Perry in the Oscar-nominated film Dead Poets Society, earning nominations for four major categories and drawing the eyes of the industry. His career surged soon after—first starring with Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers in Michael Cimino's major production Desperate Hours, and then starring in the $40 million blockbuster The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. He swiftly rose to become one of Hollywood's most watched male actors, basking in lights, flowers, and praise.
Unfortunately, Desperate Hours failed both at the box office and with critics, earning Hugo his first Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Actor. The Adventures of Ford Fairlane also lacked any highlights, and from it came his first Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor. As a result, Hugo's career, just as it was picking up, came crashing down to rock bottom.
After Joseph took over as Hugo's agent, he found Hugo immersed daily in a world of alcohol and drugs. Not even a serious car crash following heavy drinking managed to wake him up. Hudson Hawk showed that Hollywood producers still held some hope for Hugo, but sadly, that project failed too.
However, after struggling on the edge of life and death last night, Hugo seemed to undergo a rebirth. Joseph couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but he could feel something different about Hugo. It was as if Hugo were a new man. At this moment, as Hugo read the script, Joseph could sense his serious dedication Hugo had definitely read scripts before, but today was different. This focus had never been there before. Also... Hugo's once restless aura now seemed to be settling. The indulgent glint in his eyes was gradually fading away.
That's a good sign, right? Joseph was unsure. He hadn't collected many fond memories during his nearly one-year tenure as Hugo's agent. But as a greenhorn in the business, he had to tough it out and grow bit by bit. Ron Meyer had been willing to hand Hugo over to Joseph under the banner of "nurturing new talent"—likely because Ron had already given up on Hugo's future. Regardless, Joseph still hoped Hugo's career would see improvement.
But then he recalled this morning's headline in the Los Angeles Times: "Tearfully Accepting the Golden Raspberry Award—'Thank You, My Dream Came True' —Hugo Lancaster." Joseph couldn't help sighing deeply. Three consecutive box office flops, and now this embarrassment at the Razzie Awards Hugo's situation couldn't get any worse.
"We're here, let's go." Lost in thought, they had arrived at their destination. Joseph called Hugo out of his script-reading trance. Hugo turned his head and saw the vintage sign of the Four Seasons Hotel outlined in golden light by the sun beautiful and dazzling.
A valet quickly ran over to open the door for Hugo. He stepped out of the passenger seat and stood at the hotel entrance, nervously shifting on his feet, watching the steady stream of people going in and out. He couldn't bring himself to step forward. Only twelve hours had passed since the accident, and Hugo still hadn't fully adjusted to his new self.
At that moment, someone approached him. Hugo instinctively thought it was Joseph, but when he turned, he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure short blond hair, seductive features, and a radiant smile. It was none other than Brad Pitt.
Having only ever seen this figure on the big screen before, Hugo now saw him standing right in front of him. It was the first time since his awakening that he encountered a "real person," and for a moment, he couldn't tell if this was reality or a dream distinguishing between the two was getting harder and harder.
Brad gave Hugo a brilliant smile. Hugo assumed it was a friendly gesture and was about to respond with a smile of his own when he heard Brad say, "Dreams come true!" Then Brad gave him a big thumbs-up and cheerfully walked up the Four Seasons steps.
Was that a taunt or a joke?