Hollywood:Starting out as an MV director

"Is there something you need?" Ethan asked.

Scott Borchetta smiled politely, "I'd like to know what song was being sung just now. I'm the owner of a record label, and perhaps we could collaborate."

"Oh," Ethan said regretfully, "Sorry, that was one of the girls from my label singing. It's her debut album."

Taylor, who was standing next to them, nodded eagerly, "I'm Taylor Swift."

"Taylor Swift... You sing really well. It's a shame, though. It seems I'm a bit too late," Scott Borchetta said with a hint of regret.

He had a feeling that this girl would become a cornerstone of the next generation of singers, and many people would come to like her. But now that she had already been signed, it seemed there was no opportunity left for him.

After expressing his admiration, Scott Borchetta left.

"Look, Ethan, even a record company is interested in me!" Taylor said, visibly excited. "If you hadn't signed me, I might have joined his company."

"You're right, Taylor, but there's no 'what ifs' in this world."

Ethan smiled and continued discussing the music collaboration with Nathan Chapman.

The next day, after finishing their camping trip, Ethan and his team returned to New York.

Ethan didn't waste any time. He signed the bet agreement with Lionsgate.

After a series of negotiations, Lionsgate and Norton Eye finally reached an agreement, modifying some clauses.

For example, the final profit amount for the movie was set to 40 million dollars. If the profit exceeded that, Lionsgate would have to allocate 8% of the profit.

With profits in the tens of millions, even 1% would be hundreds of thousands, so Ethan was very satisfied with the agreement.

Being able to extract some funds from a company as stingy as Lionsgate felt pretty good.

After signing the agreement, Ethan immediately rushed back to the company because "Little Miss Sunshine" had encountered some issues.

Though Norton Eye became famous after the success of Saw, Little Miss Sunshine was still a low-budget film, with a production cost of only 8 million dollars. This was especially true since it was a road movie.

However, it was challenging to find suitable actors for such a low-cost film, as Little Miss Sunshine could not offer high salaries.

The reason the film hadn't started shooting yet was that they couldn't find the right child actress. After all, the success of the film was largely built on the lead role, and if she wasn't cute or fun enough, the movie would lack tension.

Fortunately, they eventually found Abigail Breslin.

She was the original lead actress in Little Miss Sunshine, a child star who was only 7 years old.

However, finding the lead didn't mean the film's preparation was smooth sailing, because the other supporting actors were also crucial.

But now they couldn't find the right people.

"Greta, do we have any candidates?" Ethan asked, leaning on the desk. Around him were the staff members from Little Miss Sunshine, who were contacting venues, car companies, and dealing with the crew's affairs.

Greta handed over a few pages with headshots: "Ethan, I've found some actors who meet the requirements, but... we can't meet their salary demands. The total salary for these actors is already 4 million dollars."

"Salaries?" Ethan spread his hands. "It's fine, Greta. I'll make them realize the potential of this movie. Maybe they'll lower their fees to be in it."

Ethan glanced at the names on the paper. The first one was the actor for the grandfather's role: Alan Arkin.

Alan Arkin was an experienced actor who had delivered great performances in Edward Scissorhands and Love, God, and he was also a director, writer, and producer.

To convince him to take the role, they would have to visit him in person.

After learning where Alan Arkin lived, Ethan, along with Greta and screenwriter Michelle, flew straight to California.

"Ding dong!"

In front of a countryside villa, the three of them stood quietly waiting.

"Click." A minute later, the door opened.

Standing behind the door was Alan Arkin's wife, a kind-looking middle-aged woman, who warmly greeted them, "You must be Ethan. Come right in..."

The group entered the villa and saw Alan Arkin sitting in a chair reading the newspaper.

"Welcome!" Alan Arkin stood up immediately upon seeing Ethan and opened his arms.

Ethan shook his hand and gave him a brief hug.

"Mr. Arkin, I really love your performance in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," Ethan said, referring to Alan Arkin's 1967 drama film about seven stories of infidelity.

"Oh, that's quite old. To be honest, I've forgotten the plot of that movie," Alan Arkin chuckled as everyone took a seat.

The real purpose of the visit came next. "Actually, we came here to offer you a script for a role," Ethan said as he handed the script to Alan Arkin. "I know you've been focusing on your health lately, but when I read this script, you were the first person I thought of."

"What kind of script is this?" Alan Arkin asked, looking at the cover of the script: Little Miss Sunshine.

It didn't seem to be a story about the elderly.

"It's a family story," Ethan briefly explained the plot.

Little Miss Sunshine was a movie about family issues, but it wasn't the usual cold and hopeless film. Instead, it replaced sadness with joy and oppression with brightness.

The little girl, Olive, was an ordinary rural American girl with a small belly, round face, and glasses, looking unremarkable. But she had a dream of becoming a model, and when she got the chance to enter the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant, her whole family traveled with her.

However, unlike typical families, Olive's family members each had their own flaws and quirks.

For example, her father was a success coach who believed his books could bring success, so he spent the family's savings to promote his book.

Her uncle was a psychology professor who fell in love with one of his male students. After being rejected, he attempted suicide, only to be saved but left in a state of despair.

Her brother, in his pursuit of becoming a pilot, remained silent for nine months. But in the end, Olive discovered he was colorblind and couldn't even qualify for pilot school.

Finally, there was her grandfather, who was kicked out of the nursing home for smoking marijuana and, in his love for sexy women, taught Olive to do a striptease, which led to Olive performing a striptease at the pageant, creating one of the most hilarious moments in the movie.

The only normal person in the whole film was Olive's mother, who stood behind Olive and supported her dream, enabling her to achieve it.

Although Olive's dream eventually turned into a joke in the eyes of the world, it didn't matter. What was important was that, through this journey, Olive's family finally learned to reconcile.

As Alan Arkin read through the script, the sun began to set.

Ethan and the others were playing frisbee with the dog in the yard.

"Ethan, do you think he will agree?" Michelle asked. Little Miss Sunshine was his first script, but it hadn't yet been made into a film. Since Norton Eye had bought it, he had been very focused on it.

"Of course. Don't worry," Ethan reassured the anxious man. "I believe Alan will enjoy the grandfather role."

"Let's hope so..."

Just as Michelle spoke, Alan Arkin walked out of the house. "Ethan!"

Ethan threw the frisbee far, then walked over to Alan Arkin. "What do you think?"

"I really like this script," Alan Arkin said, as expected. "I think this role is very interesting. He smokes marijuana, loves beautiful women, but he's always rambling and encouraging everyone in the family. Even though he dies in the end, playing a corpse would still be fun."

"So, will you take the role? We might not be able to offer a high salary."

Greta and Michelle came over, eagerly awaiting Alan Arkin's response.

"Of course, even if you don't pay me, I still want to do it." Alan Arkin led them back inside and then added, "But, Ethan, there's one thing I need you to promise me."

"What's that?" Ethan didn't know what he was asking, but it seemed like it was related to the crew.

To his surprise, Alan Arkin said, "I want you to take a set of photos for me. What do you think?"

"Photos?" Michelle and Greta exchanged a glance, puzzled about why Alan Arkin would ask for such a thing.

Ethan was also confused. "Why?"

Alan Arkin laughed. "Good luck, Ethan. Is that enough?"

"Hahaha, I didn't expect you'd hear that nickname," Ethan laughed along.

"Of course!" Alan Arkin picked up the newspaper. "Charlize Theron just won Best Actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and during her speech, she thanked you for the photos."

Ethan had been busy with the crew's matters and hadn't paid attention to Monster, which had only just been released. He hadn't expected it to win an award so soon.

Looking at the newspaper in Alan Arkin's hands, the headline read: Charlize Theron Wins Best Actress, Credits Ethan for Bringing Her Luck.

It seemed that the nickname was starting to take hold, and Ethan's smile grew wider.

This would undoubtedly save him a lot of effort when convincing other actors. Maybe some would even seek him out for collaboration.

"So I think your picture is more important than your paycheck," Alan Arkin quipped.

"This is my honor." Ethan nodded: "Don't worry, I will take a great set of photos for you."

....

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