Made in Hollywood

"Sit down, Martin."

Taking off his sunglasses, Duke sat at the round table with him, "I didn't expect you to come to Fiji too."

The two have met on other occasions before, Martin Miller is not yet William Morris' top agent, Duke can remember him only because the Jewish man used to be Natalie Portman's agent .

"I'll come and see Miss Portman." Martin Miller took a can of beer from Duke, said thank you, turned his head to look in the direction he was looking at, and continued, "I want to ask you too. Does this great director have a role suitable for her in the future?"

"I heard Nat say she wants to focus on her studies." Duke smiled lightly, "I need Ken's highly focused actors."

Having said that, Duke raised his hand to interrupt what Martin Miller wanted to say, obviously not wanting to continue the topic.

Martin Miller opened the beer, took a sip, and took the initiative to change the subject, "Duke, have you thought about switching to another agency?"

"Change to a brokerage firm?"

Looking up, Duke looked at him and asked tentatively, "Martin, is this what you mean?"

"No, no, no..."

Shaking his fingers, Martin Miller said very seriously, "I am here on behalf of the entire William Morris Company! We are very sincere..."

Duke is not surprised by Martin Miller's words. It is normal for several major Hollywood brokerage companies to poach each other, and with his current status, he has encountered many times in the past, and there will be more in the future.

Of course, it is also normal for directors and actors to change agents. Like the rumored CAA, in the gossip media, it seems that they are really the masters of stars. Unfortunately, Hollywood stars fire CAA a lot of times, such as William Morris. . Duke had also heard a month ago that they poached Whoopi Gordon and Sylvester Stallone from CAA.

Duke looked at Martin Miller, but never said anything.

Martin Miller is also very clear, saying that future plans and other things are illusory and useless, and cut directly to the most practical topics. "It is said that in the last management contract you signed with Nancy Josephson, her commission was seven percent of your income as a director, writer and producer?"

There are not many secrets in Hollywood, and the contracts of top directors and actors are the focus of attention. Duke nodded slowly.

"William Morris can reduce the scope of the commission to your director's income." Martin Miller said directly without evasive, "Reduce the commission to five percent!"

Five percent is already the lowest level in the industry. William Morris is really sincere.

However, these alone cannot impress Duke. He does not trust the new agent Nancy Josephson like the two former assistants Sofia Coppola and Tina Fey, but Nancy and her team He has done a very good job in the past few years, and he has not done any harm to his interests. Not to mention the money problems caused by changing brokerage companies, trust alone cannot be established in a short period of time.

In Hollywood, if someone jumps out and says a bunch of promises, who's going to believe it outright?

The question of lowering the percentage of the commission raised by William Morris. On the contrary, it is not in Duke's consideration, and the commission of two points is nothing to him. And it's just a movie-related business.

Seeing that Duke has not spoken, Martin Miller understands that if he really wants to impress such a heavyweight, it will take long-term work. He said slowly, "Duke, the whole of William Morris is looking forward to your joining, and we will show our sincerity."

"I will think about it."

Duke smiled and nodded, in fact, this was already a polite refusal.

Martin Miller is a smart man. He knows that what he says is superfluous now. After talking to Duke a few more words, he left voluntarily. He didn't go back to Natalie Portman. "A few actors walked over, obviously wanting to continue their poaching action.

"Nate, why did you accept the invitation?"

Under the umbrella on the other side, when Natalie heard her mother's question, she couldn't help rolling her eyes and said, "Mom, you think too much! I'm only 16 years old, I don't have the time or energy to fall in love now, and……"

She looked over at Duke. "That's a famous playboy."

"You've been a little closer to him recently!"

"He is Jewish, we are Jewish, he is the strength I can use in Hollywood in the future." Natalie's words were completely inconsistent with her age and innocent appearance, "Mom, even if Dad objected, I Nor will I give up acting.”

There is no one else here, and Natalie has no scruples in saying, "I need to befriend someone who can help me!"

Mrs. Shelly nodded lightly and said nothing. She will always be her daughter's manager, so she doesn't have to worry too much about some things, and her daughter is smart and precocious enough to know how to take advantage of the situation, otherwise she would not be in George Lucas. When I visited Michael Mann on the crew of "Pirates of Fire", he easily won his favor.

It is true that the advantages of Jewish identity have given them a lot of convenience, but how to use the advantages subtly requires a good mind.

The night slowly fell, and the beach was lit with a roaring bonfire. The vegetables, fresh meat and beer were transported here. In the afternoon, men and women who did not know where to hide and were happy walked to the beach, a large barbecue party. kicked off.

Grabbing a handful of kebabs and a few cans of beer, Duke turned around and quickly saw where Natalie Portman was, and walked over directly.

"Hi Nat," Duke greeted her and asked, "Can I sit here?"

"Of course," Natalie packed up and took the beer from Duke's hand, "Just sit down."

Sitting cross-legged on the beach, away from the crowds and quieter, Duke asked, "Why are you sitting here alone, where's your mom?"

"Mom was too noisy, so she went back to the room to rest." She pointed to the lively crowd on the left, "There is a barbecue party over there, almost all meat, I'm a vegetarian."

"I wanted to share my barbecue with you." Duke gestured to the skewer he was holding in his left hand, "Looks like you can only smell it."

Natalie shrugged, picked up a can of beer, pulled it open and took a sip. "I have this enough."

"Wait a minute!"

Duke stood up, walked quickly back to the crowd, specially made roasted fruits and vegetables without animal fat, and found a small plastic table, holding the food tray in one hand and the table in the other. walked back.

Fixing the table and placing the tray on the table, Duke sat cross-legged across from Natalie. "This is vegan food."

"Thank you." Natalie took an unopened can of beer and handed it to Duke. "This is your reward."

Opening the beer, Duke took a sip, then picked up a bunch of toasted breadfruit, "Try it, I didn't do it, but I made a lot of comments."

Natalie grabbed one, took a big bite, chewed it slowly, swallowed it, and said, "It's really good."

Her eyes flickered, and she suddenly asked without warning, "Duke, why are you trying to please me? Don't deny it, you know, I'm not stupid."

The girl opposite sat a full head shorter than him, her brown eyes shone against the background of the bonfire not far away, and the whole person looked very imposing.

But she was only a sixteen-year-old girl after all. Duke smiled and looked down at her, "What if I wanted to pursue you, Nat?"

He looked at Natalie with burning eyes, and seemed to be really attracted to her.

Natalie turned her head slightly, avoiding Duke's gaze, "Please, I'm just a middle school student."

Duke looked at her and smiled, but said nothing.

Natalie seemed a little angry, grabbed the beer can and took two sips, "Don't think I don't know you're a dude! If I believe you, you'll definitely find a way to get me to bed tonight, and then use In a few days it will throw me aside like any other actress..."

She turned around and looked at Duke without fear, "Am I right? A man wants to please a woman, and the ultimate goal is to put her to bed!"

"Going to bed is just a way of expressing intimacy and a means of communicating feelings." Duke deliberately avoided the important.

Natalie snorted, "Have you ever been in a formal relationship with anyone? Don't tell me it's Catherine Zeta Jones, I'm also an actor, and I can understand some things."

"Why should I tell you?" Duke touched her beer can, and the two drank the rest of the beer. Natalie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said, "Well, in exchange, I'll say it first. Myself."

She threw a can of beer over again, "When I was in eighth grade, I had a crazy crush on a boy who had very beautiful curly chestnut hair, tall and thin, and looked very sexy."

"You confessed to him?"

In Duke's impression, this should be a very courageous girl, grabbing a boyfriend or role without any mercy, "He agreed?"

"No!" Natalie put on a depressed expression, "I'm not popular at school, I've always been excluded, he never spoke to me."

"So..." She took another sip of beer, "My first love ended before it even started."

Natalie rolled her eyes, "I said mine, to be fair, now it's your turn to say it?"

"What do you want to hear?" Duke raised his head, looked at the night sky, and said frankly, "I haven't formally dated anyone since I entered Hollywood."

"It's not fair!"

Probably a work of alcohol, Natalie was a little more excited than just now, and shouted loudly, "I said so much, you can't just say one sentence? Why don't you talk about your first love, or say you dated The first girl." (To be continued~^~)

PS:  What, can you come to count the votes?