WTR-LAB
Best Movie Star
Ch. 8 / 1020
0.78%
#8$6 an hour
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
Monday morning, Matthew had just finished washing up when his cell phone rang. His Agent, Dennis Coulter, was already waiting downstairs in his car. Matthew changed into a newly bought suit, hurried downstairs, got into his Agent's car, and they headed together toward Universal Studios.
On the way, Dennis Coulter gave Matthew many instructions, especially not to talk out of turn within the Crew, not to be too curious, and if he happened to see anything strange, to act as if he hadn't seen a thing.
Matthew nodded on the surface but didn't take it to heart. His starting point was simply too low. To climb up as quickly as possible, he first needed to improve his own hard skills, like acting, and second, he needed opportunities!
But opportunities don't appear out of thin air; sometimes you have to create them.
For example, in the matter of helping Angelina Jolie catch an adulterer, if he hadn't raised additional demands, where would this opportunity be now? Matthew had thought it over for the past few days, guessing many reasons why Jolie would honor their verbal agreement. It likely came down to a few factors: one, this woman's personality was indeed different from ordinary people; two, she really was about to get divorced and didn't care if someone talked.
Dennis Coulter drove into Universal Studios, entered the restricted filming area, parked the car, and after a quick inquiry, soon found the soundstage where the "girl, interrupted" Crew was located. Although it was still early, the soundstage was already bustling with people coming and going.
Entering the soundstage and finding out where the casting director's office was, Dennis Coulter asked, "Do you want to go say hello to Miss Jolie?"
"No need." Matthew guessed that Angelina Jolie probably didn't want to see him. "She told us to go directly to the casting director."
A flash of disappointment crossed Dennis Coulter's eyes, but he said nothing more. Moving his bulky body, he led the way and found the door to the casting director's office.
After a knock, a crisp "Come in" sounded from inside. Matthew and his Agent pushed the door open. A man between thirty and forty years old sat behind the desk, seemingly looking through some materials.
"Are you Mr. Rubin?" Seeing the man nod, Matthew quickly said, "Miss Jolie's assistant, Vanessa, notified me to come for an audition today."
"Oh..." The man named Rubin remembered. "Right, there is such a thing."
Dennis Coulter had been listening intently. He quickly took a step forward, handed over his business card with both hands, and said respectfully, "Hello, Director Rubin. I am Matthew's Agent, Dennis Coulter."
Rubin took the card, placed it casually on the desk, and then looked Matthew up and down. "Alright."
He picked up the phone and pressed a button. "John, there's an extra here. Come over and take them to sign an agreement."
Matthew looked at Rubin, then at Dennis Coulter. The audition? That was it?
A young man walked in and made a gesture of invitation. "Let's go to the legal department."
Beside him, Dennis Coulter had a sycophantic look. After flattering Rubin with a few words, he successfully obtained his business card.
Led by the young man, Matthew and Dennis Coulter left the office and headed toward the Crew's legal department, which handled contracts.
As they walked, Matthew asked in a low voice, "That counts as an audition?"
"What did you think?" Dennis Coulter said with a hint of disdain. "For background work without even a line of dialogue, one look is enough for him. As long as you don't look particularly strange, anyone would do."
Matthew nodded. This made a lot of sense, and he felt the importance of opportunity even more.
Entering another office, a legal consultant brought out a contract. Matthew took it and flipped through it; he found it somewhat difficult to read. His own education level was too poor. If he wanted to develop in the future, he really needed to recharge, at least in terms of reading and writing; he couldn't stay as bad as he was now.
He only focused on the compensation section before handing the contract to Dennis Coulter. It was better to let the Agent handle this kind of thing. Anyway, there wasn't much pay to be had, and he didn't have to worry about a legitimate Crew scamming an insignificant little person like him.
Seeing Dennis Coulter look over the temporary contract, Matthew continued thinking about his own affairs. He decided to find a bookstore later and buy a few books on acting. He could gain some professional knowledge and improve his reading level—killing two birds with one stone.
The Agent just flipped through it briefly and then called to Matthew, "Come sign your name."
Matthew went over and signed his name on the temporary contract. The young man who had brought them over said, "You can leave now. I'll call when you're needed."
"Let's go," Dennis Coulter called to Matthew. Matthew was stunned for a moment but still followed him out of the office.
"Why are they kicking us out?" Matthew asked.
"They don't need you to work today, so why keep you here? To let you rack up hours and pay you for nothing?" Dennis Coulter said irritably. "Six dollars an hour isn't nothing!"
Matthew shrugged. In this temporary actor contract he had just signed, the pay was six dollars an hour. He guessed this might be the local minimum wage. The periods for which the Crew had to pay included not just filming, but also the time spent waiting after being called to work.
Moreover, the salary wasn't given directly to him. The Crew would pay the agency, and the agency would deduct ten percent at the highest standard before depositing the remainder into his account.
When truly calculated, this job basically paid very little.
Matthew also completely understood why actors, when not famous, all had to work part-time to support themselves.
With a job like this, if one worked over twenty days a month, supporting oneself wouldn't be a problem. But how many extras could land that many gigs in a month?
"Um, Dennis..."
With the previous breach of contract incident, Matthew really needed money. "When can this pay rate be increased?"
"Think it's too little?"
Since there were no people around, Dennis Coulter spoke freely. "Join the Actors Guild, and your pay can at least double."
Matthew's eyes widened. "Really?"
Dennis Coulter didn't even look Matthew in the eye. "Of course it's true. The Actors Guild has regulations; the minimum hourly wage for guild members cannot be lower than $10, and the minimum daily wage cannot be lower than $120..."
Matthew wasn't an idiot and immediately sensed a problem. "Do Crews dislike high-paid extras?"
Just like when he waited for work in the labor market, which boss didn't like cheap labor?
"You're quite smart!" Dennis Coulter patted Matthew on the shoulder patronizingly. "For someone like you, joining the Actors Guild might seem like it provides protection, but in reality, you lose your only competitive advantage."
He snorted. "Also, do you think the Actors Guild is something you can just enter whenever you want?"
Matthew blinked, looking like an ignorant fool. "Isn't it said that the entry threshold is very low?"
"Hmph, the entry threshold for the Actors Guild is indeed low!" Dennis Coulter strode forward. When Matthew caught up from behind, he added, "But even a low threshold is still a threshold!"
"I see." Matthew had to figure out some of the basic rules of the game. "Can you tell me about it?"
Dennis Coulter turned to look at Matthew, his face showing a bit of impatience. But for the sake of using him as a stepping stone to enter this soundstage, he still said simply, "Joining the Actors Guild isn't simple. You must meet the eligibility requirements before you can apply."
He coughed softly and continued, "First, you must have served as a principal actor in a film, commercial, or television work that has signed a contract with the guild, and the pay must meet guild standards. Alternatively, you can work for 30 days in another production of the same standard, but you must apply to join the guild within those 30 days. Or, for any extra, if you have proof of three independent working days in guild-recognized productions along with proof of income, you then have the eligibility to apply."
Hearing this, Matthew immediately knew that even if he wanted to join the guild, he wasn't eligible.
Dennis Coulter snorted again. "It also costs a lot of money! In Los Angeles, the initiation fee is $3,000. And for someone like you, the semi-annual dues are $58."
"I think I'll stay a freelancer for now," Matthew decided immediately.
Dennis Coulter said patronizingly once more, "Not completely stupid yet."
Matthew's eyes swept across his fat face, but he said nothing.
The two arrived at the entrance of the soundstage. Dennis Coulter suddenly stopped and said to Matthew, "Go back on your own. I have things to do."
Without waiting for Matthew to speak, he turned around and walked back into the soundstage.
Matthew frowned slightly. If he couldn't see through this move of 'burning the bridge after crossing it,' he really would be an idiot.
From Dennis Coulter's series of actions, it wasn't hard for Matthew to see that the other party was merely using him as a stepping stone to get into this Crew.
He shook his head. He couldn't afford to dwell on this now; the two parties were using each other to begin with.
Ignoring Dennis Coulter, who stayed in the soundstage to network, Matthew walked all the way out of the Universal Studios filming area. While looking for a bus stop near the studio entrance, he saw a large bookstore. This bookstore was located on the main path to the studio tour area and primarily sold books related to film and television.
Since he had wanted to buy some books earlier, he immediately walked over. After entering the bookstore, because it was still early, there weren't many people inside, and only two staff members were standing by the checkout counter.
As he passed by the checkout counter, Matthew took a casual glance and noticed a running surveillance monitor in a relatively hidden position behind the counter. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly; Americans were too excessive, even a bookstore like this had surveillance installed.
He then walked into the aisles, found the shelf with books related to acting, and pulled out a thick volume. Perhaps because the opposite shelf was empty, the gap left by the volume allowed him to see into the aisle between the next two rows of shelves.
Matthew hadn't intended to pay attention, but a subconscious glance caught his eye on a woman.
This woman had ear-length short black hair, and her features were so exquisite they were flawless. From this angle, she looked slender, pure, and beautiful. Besides her feminine beauty, there was also a definitely cool, tomboyish vibe..