While he was driving Britney's car, he controlled his raging harmones by taking deep breaths and thinking about his career so that he could avoid parking the car and ravage her.He was shocked by his physical needs."looks like the military training is also playing a part in this. I need to control my emotions.i can't behave like a horny beast just because my surname is horner."finally in front of Angel agency he lightly kissed her goodbye.She was also dazed by being kissed like that for almost half an hour. Mathew felt smug that he truly has talent in this field.
Watching Britney's car drive away, Matthew turned and walked into the small building of Angel Agency. He found Helen Herman standing near the front desk, seemingly waiting specifically for him.
"Let's go." Seeing Matthew, Helen Herman immediately walked over and greeted him. "We'll find a place for lunch first, then head to Warner Bros. Studio."
Matthew turned and followed her out of the building. "So urgent?"
Helen Herman nodded. "At the latest, we need to be there by one o'clock."
"is the Crew that eager?" Matthew was in a great mood. "Do they value us that much?"
"You're overthinking it." Helen Herman led the way toward a restaurant on the left. "The Crew's Signing Team is signing a lot of actors today."
She waited for Matthew to catch up and added, "And before the pen hits the paper, any accident could happen."
The two entered the restaurant. Helen Herman ordered a few dishes at random. Matthew asked curiously, "Could the Crew actually back out at the last minute?"
"That's not uncommon in Hollywood." Helen Herman returned the menu to the waiter. "So, we need to finish negotiations with the Crew as soon as possible. It's best to sign the contract this afternoon."
Matthew had no objections to this. He asked, "The compensation..."
This was an Agent's most basic job. Helen Herman said, "I will fight for the best treatment for you within the Crew's acceptable range."
While waiting for the food, the two talked continuously, all about work-related matters.
A few simple dishes were brought out by the waiter one after another. Helen Herman and Matthew continued to eat while they talked.
"In the Crew, you have to find ways to handle interpersonal relationships well." Helen Herman mentioned some points to note. "Other actors don't matter as much, but don't casually offend people from the Directing Team, the Filming Crew, or the Production Team. Their arrangement of blocking, the shots they film, and the choices made during post-production editing will directly affect an actor's performance in the final film."
Matthew was no longer the rookie of a few months ago. Having studied at the Los Angeles School of Performing Arts for a while, he naturally knew that an actor's performance didn't just depend on themselves; it was directly influenced, and even restricted, by other factors.
For example, in cinematography, the angle of a shot could present two completely different effects.
The director's influence was massive. Even if they only served as a general commander of the shoot, their on-set rehearsal would greatly affect an actor's final performance.
Most directly, when an actor was in the perfect acting state, if the director called 'cut' repeatedly, the actor would inevitably be affected. Their good state might be interrupted or even vanish without a trace.
The executive producers were even more significant. For those producers who could participate in post-production, their choices of shots during editing were vital.
Of course, in most cases, Hollywood professionals maintained professional ethics, as it concerned their livelihoods.
But Matthew judged others by himself, feeling that things like human hearts and professional ethics were sometimes very unreliable.
He strongly agreed with Helen Herman's words. If he could build good relationships with these people and they put more heart into the work related to him, it would be beneficial and harmless.
Matthew shared his thoughts with Helen Herman. She nodded at him. "Having such a mindset is good for your future career development."
She reminded him again, "Another thing: people in these departments might become the main director or a key producer of a project at any time. An inconspicuous Assistant Director becoming a director in charge of their own camera happens often in Hollywood."
"So, by building good relationships with these people now," Matthew said, having quite some experience in handling interpersonal relations, "I'll have an 'in' when we meet again in the future?"
Helen Herman said seriously, "Interpersonal relationships are very useful in Hollywood."
Networking is woven bit by bit, especially for an actor with your background."
Matthew understood the meaning behind those words. He had no family background to speak of. To build good relationships, relying solely on his Agent, Helen Herman, wasn't enough; he often had to step up himself.
"Actually, there's a better way..." Helen Herman suddenly looked Matthew up and down with a strange gaze, "And it's simple and practical."
Matthew felt a creeping sensation. After thinking for a moment, he understood Helen Herman's meaning and said directly, "My bottom line is very low, but I do have one."
He emphasized his tone, "I'd rather stay a pauper!"
With the Michael Sheen incident before, Helen Herman wasn't surprised. "So, I said you have to find ways to handle interpersonal relationships."
Matthew put down his fork and knife, picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, and asked, "Do a lot of people take that path?"
"For actors without any background, male or female, it's the simplest path." Helen Herman spoke without reservation. "While it might not be a universal phenomenon, it certainly exists within the industry, even including some famous stars who started out that way."
She looked at Matthew and said, "Many actors, like you, come from poor families and haven't even finished high school. They don't have a rich daddy to pave the way with money. The only thing they can exchange is their bodies; they have no other job skills or knowledge. If they don't succeed, they might only be able to work as waiters in restaurants. Many people believe that sacrificing themselves for an acting opportunity is a very valuable thing."
Helen Herman shrugged again. "That's not to say everyone is like that. Some people play roles that aren't too competitive and become famous unexpectedly. Some get lucky and don't meet anyone with special needs. Some are so talented that they stand high above thousands of competitors. These are all possibilities."
As someone who had followed entertainment gossip, Matthew also knew to some extent that in the global entertainment industry, this wasn't even considered a 'hidden rule' anymore.
He remembered seeing a quote from Marilyn Monroe's autobiography on some entertainment feed: 'Yes, I slept with producers. Everyone did. If you didn't, there was another girl waiting outside the door. I don't remember how many times I knelt down to unzip them...'
Of course, this was entertainment gossip seen online; its truth was hard to distinguish.
Helen Herman had also finished eating and took the initiative to pay the bill. She checked her watch and said, "Let's go."
The two left the restaurant and went to the parking lot in front of the office building. Matthew got into Helen Herman's car and headed to Warner Bros. Studio.
Before one o'clock, they arrived on time at the Audition Soundstage where the band of brothers Crew was located. Led by a staff member, they walked into the office where the Signing Team was.
Just like the last contact with Britney's MV Crew, Matthew left all the negotiation work to Helen Herman. After all, she was the true professional.
The reason the Crew called the actor over, rather than just the Agent, was that besides negotiations, there were other matters to communicate.
Before negotiating with Helen Herman, the Signing Team specifically made several declarations to Matthew. Actually, they weren't major issues—just what Eric Polk had mentioned before: starting in November, all actors for the main roles would fly to the UK for a month and a half of military training. Filming would last from January to July or August of next year, and all scenes would be filmed in Europe.
Matthew had worked hard to get this role, so he naturally had no objections.
Then came the negotiations between Helen Herman and the Signing Team. In this regard, Matthew acted entirely as an observer. Like the last negotiation, Helen Herman fought for almost every actor's benefit one by one, such as makeup, assistants, security, and so on. Since the filming was in the UK and the actors would have to stay in hotels, she even secured a separate Room for Matthew.
Regarding the most important part, the salary, because it wasn't yet certain how many episodes the character Ronald Speirs would appear in, Helen Herman simply bundled the pay for the entire series, requesting a compensation of one hundred thousand dollars for ten episodes.
She had done a specific assessment. This was an epic television series, and most of the budget would be spent on filming and production. This was also one of the reasons for using actors who weren't very well-known; this way, actor salaries could be compressed into a lower percentage range. One hundred thousand dollars was basically the Crew's upper limit.
However, one of the goals of the Signing Team's negotiations was to compress actor salaries as much as possible. Compared to an unknown actor like Matthew, the Crew held an overwhelming advantage.
To put it bluntly, it wouldn't be hard for them to kick Matthew out and find another suitable actor, but it wouldn't be easy for Matthew to find another job like this.
It was inevitable for Helen Herman to make concessions in the negotiations. Finally, both sides reached an agreement at sixty thousand dollars. Furthermore, according to Hollywood custom, the salary would be paid in three installments: after Matthew reported to the Crew, before the series officially started filming, and after all production was completed.
With the terms settled and the contract drafted, both parties signed the triplicate contract under the witness of a representative from the Actors Guild.
Matthew was now a member of the Actors Guild. Besides the copies kept by him and the Crew, one copy of the contract had to be filed with the Actors Guild for the record.
Next, he went to the Production Team to collect the script and the filming schedule.
With everything settled, Matthew finally breathed a sigh of relief after walking out of the soundstage. Now that both sides had signed the contract, as long as there were no major changes, the role of Ronald Speirs definitely belonged to him.
"By the way, I forgot to tell you something."
As they walked toward the studio exit, Helen Herman remembered something. "I've been in contact with Elena Boyar and persuaded her to cooperate with us. You can continue to stay in touch with her in the future, but no matter what you do, you must notify me first."
"No problem." Matthew first nodded, then also remembered something. "You mentioned last time that if I get into a relationship, I should let you know."
Helen Herman stopped and looked at Matthew. Matthew said naturally, "Britney is my girlfriend now."