Behind The Spotlight Chapter 284
"Is that so? I know a few good places in Portugal you can visit. My ex-husband took me there two years ago."
"That would be interesting."
Vanessa stared at Axel with a knowing gaze. She was still a bit confused as to why Collin had referred Axel to her. They weren't close enough for her to inherit such a profitable client out of nowhere.
'My type is actually Lawrence, but oh well, Axel isn't bad to manage. I can still make a lot of money off him.' She thought.
"Anyway, what do you think of the scripts I prepared for you? Now that you've won an Academy Award, plenty of studios are eager to cast you in their projects. I want you to pick two so I can negotiate with them quickly. You're fine with working on two movies at the same time, right?" Vanessa showed a greedy grin.
"I don't have a problem working on two projects, but..."
"What is it? You can tell me."
"All of the scripts you showed me are bad. I can't find anything good." Axel frowned slightly. He couldn't believe an executive like Vanessa had such poor taste in scripts.
"Huh? What do you mean? All the scripts I prepared for you are top-tier. They're written by talented screenwriters, and even the directors attached to the projects are well-known." Vanessa felt slightly offended. She had selected those scripts meticulously, making sure they were above average.
"I know, but when I read them, I don't feel any excitement or interest in playing any of the roles."
"..."
Vanessa couldn't believe Axel was being this picky!
'For God's sake, the scripts I chose for you are promising!' Vanessa screamed internally.
The primary reason she wanted Axel to star in two movies was for her commissions. She could pocket a 5% cut for closing a deal. With Axel's average salary hovering around $10 million now that he was an Academy Award winner, Vanessa was eager to make a fortune off him.
"Alright, I'll find other scripts for you to choose from." Vanessa had no choice but to compromise.
"Thank you, Vanessa. I appreciate it."
'At least he's humble instead of arrogant. He's easy enough to talk to,' the woman thought, nodding in approval.
"Alright, since you don't want to pick a script yet, how about we pick up where we left off last time?"
"Is this about my contract again?" Axel sighed.
"Of course. Just hear me out first. I can guarantee the agency's commission rate will drop to 8% if you renew your contract and sign with me. What do you think? That's not a bad deal, right?" Vanessa smiled.
She had heard that Collin and Lila had established a talent agency. That information alone was enough for Vanessa to understand what was brewing behind the scenes. CEO Claude had even personally reminded Vanessa that Axel's contract was set to expire next year.
ANT didn't want to lose someone as profitable as Axel. It didn't matter which internal agent he signed with, as long as he stayed under the ANT umbrella.
Because of that, Vanessa was somewhat anxious, aggressively pushing the topic of renewing Axel's contract under sweeter terms, like a reduced commission rate.
However, Axel's answer remained unchanged.
"Let me think about it. We still have plenty of time, so there's no need to rush."
'That's precisely why I'm trying to convince you now! I know what you're planning,' Vanessa thought, maintaining a smooth smile. She could see right through Axel's intentions. The actor might be adept at controlling his expression, but someone of Vanessa's experience was skilled at reading people.
'Do I have to resort to dirty tactics?' Vanessa asked herself.
There were many ways to keep a client. Aside from dangling perks, some agents leveraged blackmail to keep talent in line.
Talent agents naturally knew every dirty secret their clients possessed, after all, hiding those secrets was part of the job.
Whenever a client tried to walk away in search of greener pastures, an agent might use those secrets as leverage to force compliance.
At this moment, Vanessa contemplated hatching a plan to threaten Axel and coerce him into renewing... but after giving it second thought, she decided against it.
'Let's not go there. There are lines I won't cross, and blackmailing someone isn't my style,' she conceded in defeat.
This was the biggest reason Collin had selected Vanessa to take over Axel's management. Despite their differing philosophies, Collin was confident Vanessa wouldn't threaten or blackmail Axel. She simply didn't possess that kind of malicious streak.
It was ironic that Vanessa had no problems with casting couches, yet drew a firm line at blackmail.
Even after stepping away from ANT, Collin continued to subtly influence the company.
...
...
...
"We signed five clients today." Lila reviewed the resumes of the talent they had recruited.
"Hmm." Collin nodded in confirmation.
"Are you disappointed?"
"Not really." Collin didn't elaborate... but the truth was, he felt a slight pang of disappointment. Yesterday, they had held an audition showcase, and numerous hopefuls had turned up.
However, only a handful possessed yellow talents, and among them, only five had talents the agency could practically monetize.
Three young women had strong singing abilities. There were also an actor and an actress who demonstrated genuine potential.
Collin had selected them because the agency had clear path to cultivate their success. Even so, it fell short of his higher expectations.
What he truly sought was another client possessing a Golden Talent, like James Michael Kobe. James was someone truly worth building around.
'Still, now that I run an agency, picking up a few yellow talents isn't a bad move. I can let the other agents handle them.'
The plan for the three female singers was to form a girl group, meaning they could be managed collectively by a single talent agent.
As for the new actor, he excelled in action films, his talent centered around looking effortlessly cool while performing action stunts. He was well worth developing, and Collin intended to assign him to Arnold.
As for the new actress, since Arnold wasn't permitted to manage female clients, with the sole exception of Jolyne Robs, she was assigned to another agent on the team.
"Arnold will be showing up tomorrow, and I'll lay out our business strategy for the next two years," Collin muttered.
[Thank you for reading this novel.]