However, due to mediocre performance, her subsequent opportunities dwindled. At this point, she was only slightly better than a rookie, a D-list actress.
Still, since she had once played the lead role in a film, she was given the first spot.
"Alright, Miss Trachtenberg, you may begin your performance," said Hannah, the assistant.
Michelle Trachtenberg had been observing Wayne's reaction ever since she introduced herself. Seeing his indifferent expression, showing no interest in her, she felt a wave of disappointment, realizing her chances for this role were slim.
Nevertheless, she gathered her strength and began her performance, following the script she'd received while waiting.
As for the result...
"Thank you, Miss Trachtenberg. You may go now and await further notice. If you pass the audition, we will notify you and your agent within three days."
Michelle's face instantly showed disappointment.
If it were any other production company, there might still be a chance, but Hemera Films was different.
Everyone knew that Hemera Films typically announced casting decisions the same day, rarely waiting more than a day. If the results took three days, it was clearly hopeless.
Michelle forced a polite smile, bowed to Wayne and the other judges, and left.
Wayne and the others, including the emotional Hannah, remained unmoved.
That's just how Hollywood worked.
Next up was Megan Fox.
Thanks to her supporting role in Mean Girls, Megan had gained quite a bit of popularity, nearly reaching C-list status.
On top of that, she was part of Wayne's circle.
Wayne only needed to watch a bit of her performance, confirming her ability to portray nervousness and fear, before he gave her one of the two significant supporting roles.
This was the power of connections.
But Wayne didn't feel like he was losing out.
With Megan's looks and figure, featuring her in the film's opening scene, wearing something a bit revealing and casual, would surely get the audience's attention and make them feel their ticket purchase was worth it.
However, the selection of the other three female supporting roles soon gave Wayne a headache.
To his surprise, Amber Tamblyn, Rachel McAdams, Emmy Rossum, and even Amber Heard were all auditioning.
Amber Tamblyn had originally been the second lead in the original film. Her looks, figure, and acting were all top-notch.
As for Rachel McAdams, she needed no introduction.
If Wayne hadn't taken Mean Girls, The Notebook, and Wedding Crashers away from her, she would've likely skyrocketed from a nobody to an A-list star in just a few years, overtaking many established actresses.
Wayne felt a bit guilty toward her.
As for Amber Heard, although her character was questionable, her looks and figure were undeniably stunning.
If he put her and Megan Fox together in the film's opening, dressed provocatively, it would probably drive some audiences wild right there in the theater.
Most importantly, Wayne had no qualms about casting Amber Heard in more risqué scenes!
"Shit! Who should I pick?"
Wayne mulled over the dilemma while watching the next set of auditions. After much deliberation, he still couldn't decide.
So, in the end, he borrowed a page from the book of a well-established tradition in Chinese entertainment.
Having trouble with casting? Change the script!
Can't decide between a second and third female lead? Just add a fourth and fifth!
Four best friends having fun on the bed, goofing around to entertain the audience, while simultaneously introducing the film's haunted videotape legend through dialogue.
"Although four might be too many. Three's enough. After all, a triangle is the most stable shape."
With that, Wayne took one more look at the four names and finally decided to eliminate Amber Heard.
That left Amber Tamblyn, Megan Fox, and Rachel McAdams.
Recalling their auditions, Wayne smiled with satisfaction.
As for the remaining smaller roles, which only had a few lines and appearances, after some hesitation, Wayne decided to give one of those to Amber Heard.
The reason was simple: to give her a little hope and see what moves she'd make next.
Yes, Wayne just wanted to toy with her.
One of the other roles went to Evan Rachel Wood, whom Wayne had met at Lily's birthday party and who had also auditioned this time.
It's worth noting that Evan Rachel Wood, still in her early years, was very pretty, though her figure was a bit underdeveloped.
But considering her age, that was understandable.
As for the male supporting role, after reviewing seven or eight auditioning actors, Wayne finally gave it to Jonah Hill, a friend of a friend.
The role didn't require much acting—just a few lines delivered with a straight face. It didn't matter who played it.
Jonah was an absolute rookie, and his salary was only about two or three thousand dollars.
But for Jonah Hill, landing a role through an audition thrilled him. In front of everyone, he excitedly hugged Mike and started jumping up and down.
Although he didn't go as far as Ryan Reynolds did back in the day with a surprise kiss, it still attracted quite a bit of attention.
Meanwhile, having sorted out the casting for the male lead and major supporting roles, Wayne was ready to leave.
"I have other work to do, so I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes, Mr. Wayne."
Gore Verbinski quickly stood up to respond.
The remaining significant roles were Sadako, her adoptive parents, the doctor who had once treated her and later provided clues to the female lead, and the town archivist.
The other minor parts could be handled by the first assistant director.
But to ensure the film's quality, Gore Verbinski decided to take charge of selecting even the background characters.
After all, he hadn't forgotten that Wayne was also an investor in Pirates of the Caribbean.
With the project yet to start filming, Wayne had enough influence to replace him as the director if needed.
As for Wayne, the moment he left the audition, he got into his car and headed back to his estate.
After two days of rest, he couldn't wait to "spend some quality time" with Charlize Theron and Masami Nagasawa.
"I thought you said you had work?"
On the way back, Hannah couldn't resist teasing him.
Wayne didn't hold back either, giving her a playful slap and grinning mischievously, "Feeding you all is my work."
Hannah was suddenly speechless. After all, it had been two days since she received a gift, and she was already eager to have an in-depth conversation with Wayne.
Half an hour later, the car returned to the estate.
Although there was still a celebration party tonight hosted by Sony Columbia for the overseas box office success of The Bourne Identity, Howard Stringer was surely prepared.
However, confident in his own abilities, Wayne didn't hold back. He spent the entire afternoon, taking on six opponents, and defeated them all—Hannah, Jessica, Charlize Theron, and Masami Nagasawa.
To be fair, he gave each of them lavish gifts worth billions.
"Sir, do you need to delay dinner?"
After just taking a shower and in the middle of changing clothes, Wayne glanced back at the messy room and the six people sound asleep on the bed. After a moment of thought, he said, "Mia and I will have dinner as usual. Let's delay theirs until they wake up."
Though it was just a dinner for two, there were seven courses, each carefully prepared by top chefs hired at great expense.
Considering the fact that Wayne had just exerted himself for over four hours, his appetite was stimulated, and he was ready to dig in.
This made Mia giggle quietly.
Seeing that there were only two of them at dinner, she had a pretty good idea of what had happened that afternoon.
After dinner, Wayne and Mia took a stroll in the garden for about half an hour. When it seemed like the right time, he got into the car and headed to the party.
"Haha, Wayne, you finally made it! I'm so glad you could come to my party!"
Perhaps because there were many guests, Howard Stringer wasn't as obsequious as he usually was during private meetings, but he was still very enthusiastic.
As of yesterday, The Bourne Identity had finished its overseas run, and the box office total was finalized.
$321 million in North America, $285 million overseas, for a global total of $606 million.
That's an impressive number.
Most importantly, The Bourne Identity was a series and would at least be made into a trilogy!
The potential profits were huge, and everyone in Hollywood understood that very well.
So, at this party celebrating the success of The Bourne Identity overseas box office, over a hundred of Hollywood's hottest stars were in attendance. Still, the most popular and sought-after person was Wayne.
"Hi, Wayne, long time no see~"
"Long time no see, Julia."
It wasn't long before people eagerly came over to greet Wayne, and he could only smile politely in response.
Thankfully, most of the people who came to say hello did so in pairs or small groups. The male stars and older actresses usually exchanged a few words and left in under two minutes.
Unlike the younger actresses, who lingered, making it hard for Wayne to escape without spending several minutes on each one.
If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have enough time to greet everyone at the party.
"I'm so envious!"
"Yeah, it's one thing that he's good-looking and popular, but every movie his production company makes is a hit. He's really incredible."
"At least he has high standards~"
Tobey Maguire, who was also invited to the party, shook his head and smiled wryly at a very envious Leonardo DiCaprio.
Even Leo envied Wayne.
With his looks and fame, he could easily hook up with any third-tier actress with just a wink.
Even second-tier actresses weren't difficult, as few could resist his charm.
But first-tier actresses were a different story.
For instance, Julia Roberts, who was a leading actress even among the A-list, was someone Leo had never been able to get close to.
Tobey Maguire couldn't help but think of his former crush, Charlize Theron, and sighed.
Almost at the same time, Matt Damon, standing not far away with his friend Ben Affleck, also sighed with envy.
Of course, despite his jealousy, Matt, who was still struggling in his career, wouldn't pass up the chance to greet Wayne.
But with the constant stream of people around Wayne, he couldn't find the opportunity.
"By the way, didn't you star in a suspense thriller produced by Hemera Pictures, directed by the rising horror director James Wan? When does it come out?" Ben Affleck asked, changing the subject.
"You mean The Dark Side? Warner Bros. already asked me to clear my schedule for the promotional activities. If nothing changes, it should be released at the end of the month."
Talking about The Dark Side lifted Matt Damon's spirits.
After all, this was a project from Hemera Pictures, which had never failed.
Although he wasn't the top-billed actor—Martina García, who played the female lead, had the top credit—being the male lead still counted. If the movie did well at the box office, it would help erase the damage from his recent string of flops.
"Well, congratulations in advance!" Ben Affleck raised his champagne glass and clinked it with Matt's.
Of course, if The Dark Side flopped, Matt Damon could fall into obscurity.
But both he and Ben Affleck believed that was very unlikely.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the two finally had their chance. When Russell Crowe left after greeting Wayne, they quickly walked over.
"Hello, Wayne."
Wayne didn't have a strong impression of Matt Damon, and knowing he was close friends with Tom Cruise, Wayne just nodded politely and exchanged a few words.
However, Ben Affleck got a little more attention, perhaps because he had played Batman in Justice League and The Flash.
That said, Ben Affleck wasn't yet the mature, handsome man he would be twenty years later. He was still following a similar career path to Matt Damon.
So Wayne only gave him a bit more attention.
At the moment, Wayne was most curious about what gift Howard Stringer had prepared for him tonight.
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