章 21: Career

"Jack, just wait for a moment. Once our TV series is filmed and becomes popular, we will have a wider direction in the circle. By then, we will introduce you to more characters and more opportunities. What you need is Filming; only filming can help you improve your acting skills. And improving acting skills will help you and me even more." Levi's explanation made Jack's smile a little bitter. What Levi said was simple, but it meant that he had to wait longer to have a chance. Levi said that he has a broader future. Still, before the arrival of a better future, the suffering of waiting is really uncomfortable.

"You have to introduce me to a good job. Also, I have no income during this time, so I will rely on you to support me. It's better to live with you than depending on women" Jack gave up his idea of wanting to be the leading actor in a TV series.

Watching Jack gradually accept his idea, Levi also felt a stone fall in his heart. What makes Levi happy is that although Jack is living a miserable life now, he understands this truth. He doesn't talk nonsense about actors' acting skills being unimportant.

"Who do I sleep with to get this role?" is a phrase that's pretty popular in Hollywood. Many people believe that this is the reality of Hollywood, that as long as you have sex, you can get a role. Many people in the industry, producers, agents, and others, even put it on different actresses. However, this is actually a line from the 1967 movie "The Producers." It would be too stupid to treat movie lines as reality.

Hollywood has many messy things, but to say that acting skills are unnecessary is to despise the whole circle. No matter how unappreciative the audience is, seeing Jessica Alba's acting skills and Meryl Streep's, one can't think they are equivalent. With or without acting skills, it is definitely different.

Levi doesn't think it will help improve Jack's level if he acts in a TV series. TV dramas do not require such a high-performance level as movies. Actors can often use exaggerated or single-expression techniques to interpret their characters. When acting in a film, if a character frowns, shakes his head, shakes his hands, and stares all the time from beginning to end, he will be considered poor at acting. But in a TV series, it can be regarded as good acting with only one or two good moves—actors who have been doing the same action for ten years in TV dramas; as long as the audience likes it, they can have a good income. Different requirements will cause gaps in actors' acting skills. The difference in wages is not without reason. There are many things in TV dramas that really cannot be compared with movies. If you want to hone your acting skills, it is the right path to go to filming movies.

He wanted to persuade Jack to obey his orders, but he actually had a lot of considerations. First, from the perspective of TV dramas, he is really not optimistic about Jack. American TV dramas are filmed for people with spending power. People aged 18-49 want to see more stories of some more mature men. Mature men can be liked by women of this age group and respected by men. Therefore, mature men have more opportunities to appear in American dramas than handsome men. The market determines this. American dramas need uncles, not young people. This is inevitable. Jack is just 21 years old this year. It is challenging for him to play a mature role. His own image is not suitable for the TV drama market.

Secondly, it is also because Levi himself still has hope for movies. He knows that his future still has to return to film production, and when it comes time to shoot a film, who doesn't want an actor who can understand his own ideas well?

Most directors like to work with fixed actors because people they are familiar with can better understand what their shots want to express, and they can realize their scripts. When acting, they can better follow the director's idea. Levi also hopes to have an actor who could understand his ideas, so he needs an actor who could cooperate with him and shoot the scene he wants. He was still determining if he would find a suitable actor in the future, so he might as well train Jack from scratch.

At least Jack is young enough now, and they are also old friends, and he can talk to him more casually. He will never quarrel with himself if he tells him how to act.

Jack was born in 1975 - Levi is well aware of how important an asset this age is. In the future of Hollywood, Levi is very aware of the collective downturn of actors born in the 70s. Because this group of people born in the 70s just caught up with the era of special effects in Hollywood. Compared with those born in the 60s and 80s, their popularity is much lower. The era makes them unable to rely on their acting skills to appeal to the box office like the older generation. In addition, they have yet to catch up with the Internet era. With the arrival of the new generation, there is no way to rely on the Internet platform to win immense popularity when you are young and handsome.

This generation has great potential to be tapped. In Levi's memory, among the stars of this generation, the few with the highest achievements, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Christian Bale, have been recognized in terms of box office appeal and acting skills and have their own masterpieces. With enough ability to lead a big show, Heath Ledger is also close to this level if you count the dead. Others, whether Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck, or James Franco, are much inferior. Although these people are somewhat famous, it isn't easy to single-handedly carry a movie. Orlando Bloom is hard to remember except for being handsome, Jason Statham is completely facial paralyzed, and Ryan Reynolds and his like, in addition to having exceptional skills in deceiving blonde beauties, are also nothing to remember.

[A/N: Please remember that protagonist only knows the future until 2014.]

Although it seems that Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Christian Bale are not bad, compared with Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr, and others in the 1960s, the gap can be seen, not to mention that in terms of artistic achievements, Sean Penn and others were still there in the 1960s. Nicolas Cage, who was willing to degenerate, and Jim Carrey, who took a slanted sword, were even rarely mentioned.

Where there is a comparison, there is a gap. In his memory, the two post-70s film kings, one is Adrien Brody and the other is Jean Dujardin. In fact, they have some gaps in their acting skills. What Levi wants are better actors.

Levi didn't know how Jack's acting skills were nor how far Jack's acting skills could improve. But he knew that the group of actors born in the 70s had too much room for manipulation. If Jack is self-motivated and his acting skills can be trained, he can find a way to make Jack the best actor. If Jack is not good at acting and only has a handsome face, Levi can guarantee that he will act in some superhero movies. Getting a salary of more than 20 million is not a problem. And even if he can't play a superhero well, shoot a B-grade film. With a handsome face, it's not difficult to steal Jason Statham's job.

There are so many good outlets to choose from, why do you have nothing to do to make TV dramas? Levi is down and out, so he can only go this path. As an actor, why doesn't he choose a better path? Actors need to make their career planning.

"If you really want to, you can make a cameo once or twice, as long as it doesn't have a big impact on your image and won't stereotype your image; there is no harm in playing a serial killer or something." Levi smiled.

"Come on. Someone as handsome as me won't become a murderer. If I have no money, I will just let a woman support me." Jack shook his head and laughed again.

"Then find more movies to shoot. Jack, we will definitely make movies in the future and still have to use you." Levi comforted him, "This time, we are shooting TV series and should be cooperating with SAG-AFTRA. We will also have cooperative brokerage companies and help you speak in these places at that time." Currently, in Hollywood, there are two main actor unions; one is SAG, The Screen Actors Union, which mainly deals with movie actors on the big screen. The other is AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which mostly has TV actors. These two major trade unions will provide various actors to the crew. They are responsible for negotiating with the crew on behalf of the actors, demanding various benefits and minimum wages. SAG is mainly in charge of movies, requiring slightly higher salaries, but they also have more high-level actors.

However, outside of these two major labor unions, some actors do not want to join the two major trade unions. The reason is also straightforward. These actors outside the union would instead be exploited more severely and earn less money in exchange for a chance to perform. Actors in the union have minimum wage requirements, and actors outside the union do not raise requirements. The crew can lower the price even lower. The guild requires a lot of formalities, while the actors outside the guild can only eat and drink, and their requirements are much lower. Sometimes, some crews with the low investment will choose these actors to save money.

Hiring actors in this way can save a lot of money. However, hiring actors like this is not suitable for developing your TV series. Good movie and TV stars will undoubtedly join the labor union. They all have opportunities and don't worry about being used by others. Naturally, they will form a group to fight for their interests. If the crew chooses to hire non-guild actors, it can save money, but it is hard to say what will happen in the future.

Levi didn't want to get a fortune and leave, so he naturally went back to the actors' union for auditions. If he can have a good relationship with the Screen Actors Union and the brokerage company, there won't be much difficulty in finding a role for his friend to play in a movie.

"If you don't let me shoot the TV series, I can accept it. But, Nick, you have to give me some compensation." Jack smiled, "I know the Oscars just ended, so there will definitely be a party at your brother's magazine. How about finding a way to take me to the party? I have dreamed of such parties for a long time!"

"What's wrong?" Levi replied immediately, "Actually, I want to see it too—the work has been quite tiring these days, and I also want to relax."

******

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