Hollywood Domination Chapter 4: Dave

The restaurant where Jenny Jane works is called 'Hollywood Star'. One can imagine how close it is to Hollywood. It has been open for a long time, the food is good, and there are a few celebrity photos hanging on the walls of the restaurant. Chen Zhen believes that Jenny Jane chooses to work here because she has some considerations of being close to the water and getting the moon first.

As for her, she stayed here after time travel, entirely because the salary in this store is pretty good. Although she also met two people who claimed to be scouts and struck up a conversation with her within a month, Chen Zhen didn't care about it. It is lack of interest. As an insider who went to film school and kept in touch with many classmates after graduation, she deeply knows that almost all the stories of "discovered by scouts on the street" are hype.

Perhaps when the movie industry just started and people didn’t realize how much benefits it can bring to be a movie star, the production company did send talent scouts to find talented young men and women in the streets and alleys, but now in 2001? Even the A.V actresses are fiercely competitive. At least the film industry no longer needs scouts. On the contrary, there are some labels under the record company that are looking for new blood. Of course, the advertising industry and the modeling industry have also maintained their traditions. The 'scout' system. But this kind of regular scouts always leave the company's fixed number, and they will also give business cards. The so-called scouts who strike up a conversation with her in restaurants, to put it bluntly, are nothing more than trying to cheat. It is also possible to cheat money.

Although this kind of scam is old-fashioned, it has appeared in the 1920s-in the movie "Chicago" in the past two years, the heroine Roxy was unquestionably accused of being a relative of the producer. The salesman was lied to, but it is still prosperous today. There are too many pretentious and hopeful men and women in Los Angeles. Jenny Jane is not alone in waiting for a chance to work in a restaurant with the dream of stardom. Well, another hostess of the Hollywood star also has the same intention to develop into the showbiz as she does, but her goal is more practical, she wants to enter the advertising industry first, start as an advertising model, and then strive for roles in TV dramas.

This is a good idea, but it is meaningless to Chen Zhen, and the reason is very simple - she doesn't have so much time.

She traveled through time in 2014, and now it is 2001, and she can only give her 14 years. After 14 years, one of her advantages will disappear, that is, she no longer knows which movies will be popular, Movies will hit the market. In order not to waste this prophetic advantage, it is impossible for her to start from a TV series and then switch to the big screen. After all, there is almost no precedent for an actress from a TV series to dominate Hollywood. A successful American TV series such as "Friends" , The shooting cycle is often seven or eight years, and it will characterize the image of the actor in the audience's mind, which is very detrimental to the actor himself, let alone how difficult it is to switch from the TV drama circle to the movie circle.

Of course, no one dominates Hollywood by being an advertising model, being a model, shooting A.V, shooting reality shows, singing, etc.

If she wants to dominate Hollywood, the only way is to act in movies. She can only start with movies, so she has such a faint hope that at least 70% to 80% of this task will be completed within 14 years. As for how to get to the top... Chen Zhen didn't think about it herself, and she didn't even know how to quantify this goal.

Even if it's just the short-term goal of 'acting in a movie', it's enough for her to drink a pot.

Jenny Jane served a few guests and got generous tips from them with a sweet smile. Seeing that most of the guests in the area she was in charge of were eating, she walked to the storage cabinet for the time being and leaned on the After resting his sore legs in the cabinet, he began to mechanically analyze how he should go next.

To become an actor, of course you need to find an agent. The agent has the audition channels, knows all kinds of audition news, can send out audition applications for her, and contact various performance opportunities. If she is the agent's favorite, she is willing to spend a lot of time recommending her, and she will even receive special attention during the audition... But the problem is that the more capable the agent is, the more picky the client is. With her current level, she can find Her agent is so good that she can receive supporting roles in TV dramas. This has to be because she is very lucky, and the result is favored by the agent. If she is not favored, she can directly introduce various models or extras in TV dramas as a starting point. .

It’s not that Chen Zhen is too picky, but in the show business circle, the first work is very important, even if it’s an independent film that will never be released, as long as you act in a film, then the next film will receive a film After a few plays, you can try to play a supporting role in a small production, then a leading role in a small production or a supporting role in a large production, and finally the leading role in a large production. ——Unless the star luck is very strong and you skip a few steps when you meet a nobleman, most of the Hollywood movie kings and queens also climbed up like this step by step.

And then the vicious cycle came back: To get a movie audition, you had to find a better agent, and a better agent had more demanding clients. Her current qualifications are not enough to attract the attention of others, even if she wants to show off her acting skills with golden fingers, she will not get this opportunity.

It’s like the vicious circle of the Screen Actors Guild—the Screen Actors Guild provides many benefits, such as insurance and minimum wage negotiations, as well as performance opportunity introductions, agent introductions, etc. If you want to join the Screen Actors Guild, you need a higher amount Acting contract, but if you don't join the actors union, it is difficult to get a higher-paying acting contract.

For outsiders without relevant background and connections, the entertainment industry is very closed, and it is extremely difficult to break into the industry.

Of course, this is also normal. If it were so easy, the circle would have been overcrowded. The higher the return, the higher the threshold for the circle. This is especially true for the film circle as the top of the entertainment circle. If Jenny Jane is willing to be a model now If it's not, it's much simpler, just take a few photos and send her resume all over the world, and there will always be magazines that want her.

The restaurant ushered in a small peak of dining at 12:00 noon. Jenny Jane was holding the plate, with a business smile, harvested a circle of tips, and was still counting herself in the gap between serving dishes and paying the bill The way to go. Her golden finger is only added to her acting skills, and from the current point of view, she is not at the level of a wizard. If she wants to enter the showbiz, sorry, she really can't do it with confidence.

If it doesn't work, I won't go back... From a model to a TV drama, it's not impossible to earn a living by relying on golden fingers. Although her son's side is the source of motivation for her to go back, objectively speaking, her ex-husband still loves this precious lump very much. With his grandparents around, money and love cannot be treated too badly.

Of course, this is just the last. If there is really no way to comfort herself, if possible, Chen Zhen still wants to climb to the top as soon as possible and go back as soon as possible. But now she doesn't have a good way to break the situation. She can only exercise her body to a level suitable for being photographed, and then wait for the right opportunity.

If it doesn’t work, start with community theaters. Although the competition for stage plays is fierce, but because the pay is relatively low and the threshold is relatively low, first get small roles in community theaters, and then go to big theaters. Looking for a supporting role does not necessarily require the leading role, the exposure of the supporting role is enough for her to make some friends...

After the lunch period ended, Jenny Jane also ushered in her own lunch break, but it would not be very long, because guests would come in for coffee and snacks throughout the afternoon. She can sit and rest behind the bar, but she also needs to come out to serve customers from time to time.

She still eats chicken salad for lunch, and she stays away from vinaigrette and salad dressing. Many women who want to lose weight think that eating salad is a diet, but they don’t know that vinaigrette and salad dressing are actually no more calories than a large piece How much less red meat, since Jenny Jane has decided to lose weight, she will not let her suffering be in vain.

Not only that, but now she is still deliberately controlling her taste, giving up all sweetened drinks-because corn syrup is very cheap in the United States, the sugar in the drink is very fierce, and the drink contains sodium, drink it down Salt intake will exceed the standard if you are not careful. Therefore, the health of people who often drink sweet drinks is very easy to lose balance. In the United States, there are many people at the bottom of the "food desert". Because of ignorance and greed for petty gains, they buy a lot of sweet drinks that are cheaper than water, and eventually gain weight. If you are not in shape, it will be difficult to move, and then there will be three high problems.

Of course, the middle class can understand the disadvantages of consuming sweet drinks, but the eating habits and physique formed over the years make them easy to get fat and difficult to lose weight. Live the life of an ascetic monk.

At least Johnny always shakes his head when he sees Jenny Jane's recipes, "This extreme diet will make you pass out, Jane, what's wrong with you, you used to have a piece of my devil's cake every day , just say that this is the meaning of your life, but let alone cake now, you don’t even eat hamburgers.”

On the first day of work after time travel, she did eat a piece of devil cake, which is the most popular dessert among Hollywood stars, but Chen Zhen couldn't even eat half of it—because white people's taste is not so sweet Insensitive relationship, Hollywood stars, or desserts in the whole of America are at least half sweeter than Chinese ones, and Chen Zhen should have brought her own taste system, she won't be able to eat half of this cake I'm about to throw up.

As for hamburgers, the mustard and mayonnaise in them are super high in calories, and almost all sauces have excessive salt and sugar. The pasta sauce sold in supermarkets contains more sugar than two oatmeal. Leo, Jenny Jane smiled, "I might have an audition, John, so I'm on a diet."

Johnny sighed and patted Jenny on the shoulder, "I don't know whether to wish you success or failure."

He was not surprised that Jenny Jane wanted to enter Hollywood. This is not surprising in Los Angeles, especially in the neighborhoods close to Hollywood.

Because Jenny's body has inherited Chen Zhen's sense of taste, she is quite used to a light diet, and the kind of hunger that almost follows her everywhere and makes her stomach ache... She has long been used to it. Jenny ate up a plate of salad with great care, and when she saw a customer coming in through the delivery window, she patted her skirt, stood up and said to her colleagues, "Kevin, I'll bring this customer."

Kevin, her partner's waiter, hasn't finished eating yet, but just gives Jenny a thankful glance for her care.

Jenny Jane didn't care about this. She picked up the menu, adjusted her smile to the mirror column, and walked to the window, "Hi, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon." Her guest looked up and gave her a smile too, he seemed in a good mood.

"Still the same?" Jenny Jane asked.

This is the seventh consecutive afternoon he came here for coffee, and Jenny Jane has already kept his order in mind, which is a must for the waiters to tip.

"It's still the same." The guest said.

When Jenny brought a cup of mocha with no sugar added, double milk and whipped cream on top, sprinkled with a lot of cinnamon powder, she said, "The weather is nice today, and you seem to be in a good mood."

"I had a very pleasant day, how about you?" There was a happy light in the guest's eyes.

Chatting with guests is also a skill for tipping, but today Jenny Jane didn't talk to him for this reason, she shrugged, "There will be an audition in two days, I'm a little nervous these days, don't Everything is fine."

The male customer was stunned for a moment, but soon realized and nodded, "He came to Los Angeles with a dream, didn't he?"

"So far, my dream has not been very smooth." Jenny pouted, compared the uniform on her body, and then smiled at the male customer, "Anyway——"

"My name is Dave." The male customer said.

"OK, anyway, Dave, have a nice day." Jenny winked at him and smiled again, "If you need anything, just call me."

She picked up the tray and walked away, observing Dave through the mirrored decorative columns that can be seen everywhere in the restaurant.

He was staring at her back.

Good sign. Jenny thought: I'd better work the day shift for the next week.