Seeing Joseph and Hugo walking straight toward him, the male assistant sitting outside the office stood up immediately, leaning forward to block their path. "Sorry, Ron is busy right now. You can't go in."Joseph stopped and looked the male assistant up and down. He was wearing a standard suit, unremarkable in every way, but his slightly tucked-in chin and curled pinky finger clearly showed that not only did he lack masculinity, but he also seemed to possess an excessive amount of feminine traits.However, this was not surprising, as Hollywood, like the modeling industry, was one of the industries with the highest number of homosexuals.Hollywood is a place full of contradictions. On one hand, over twenty-five percent of insiders here are homosexual, and these people are eager to speak up when it comes to the grand principles of fighting for basic gay rights. On the other hand, in practice, it is extremely conservative and full of resistance; when the spotlight is on them, they often don't even dare to speak the most basic truths.The fight for equal rights for homosexuals in the United States began in the sixties, but the progress made over the past thirty years has actually been very limited.As the industry with the highest number of homosexual individuals, Hollywood has failed to use its immense media power to promote anti-discrimination and equal rights messages. On the contrary, Hollywood's unspoken rules regarding homosexuality have existed for a long time, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it oppression.It wasn't until the early nineties that programs portraying homosexuals realistically appeared in the United States.In recent years, a saying has circulated in Hollywood: to know who is not gay in the industry, look at whether they dare to play a gay character. The most famous example is William Hurt, who won the academy award for best actor for his role as an alluring and effeminate gay man in the 1985 film "Kiss of the Spider Woman," becoming the first male Actor in history to win an Oscar for a gay role.But everyone knows he is one hundred percent heterosexual.Of course, such sayings no longer fit the characteristics of the era after the twenty-first century. For example, after Jake Gyllenhaal starred in "Brokeback Mountain," rumors about him being gay have never ceased.In Hollywood, homosexuality should also be divided into two categories: front-of-house and behind-the-scenes. Behind-the-scenes workers basically don't need to hide; even ordinary directors, writers, or crew members won't be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, let alone the endless number of gay people in the makeup and costume fields.Front-of-house Actors should be further subdivided into stars and supporting Actors. If an Actor spends their whole life playing supporting roles or bit parts, it doesn't matter if they reveal their sexual orientation; audiences won't care about the private life of a supporting Actor. But if they are a star, let alone a superstar, then staying in the closet for a lifetime is the right path, because the unspoken rules of the Hollywood industry regarding homosexuality are dozens of times more severe than those regarding race or gender.The male assistant in front of them belonged to the behind-the-scenes group; he could express his sexual orientation without any scruples, and it wouldn't affect his work in the slightest.Joseph looked at him, displaying a puzzled expression. "Who are you?" Following that, Joseph added, "Where is Sherry?"Hugo looked at Joseph, vaguely guessing that Sherry must be Ron Meyer's former assistant."I am Gary Scott, Ron's new assistant." Gary flirtatiously smoothed back his short sideburns. He looked back at the office and lowered his voice, saying, "Kelly made a huge scene because of the thing with Sherry, and the whole company knows about it." Kelly was Ron Meyer's wife. This piece of gossip came so suddenly, but it was also incredibly explosive.Then Gary looked at Hugo and actually winked, which caught Hugo off guard. "Hugo, if I were you, I wouldn't go in right now. Ron has already had three cups of coffee today, and his temper has built up to a certain level."After Hugo realized what happened, he couldn't help but show a slightly shy and awkward smile. He had truly never encountered a man winking at him so blatantly.Obviously, Gary had recognized Hugo Lancaster, which was not surprising, and the person next to him was naturally Hugo's agent, Joseph Gibbs."Gary, tell Ron I'm coming in." Joseph's tone was still relatively firm, but after all, he was just a newcomer, and Ron was already one of the company's partners. Such a difference in status still made him feel somewhat constrained."Joseph! You know..." Gary was still trying to stop him, but Joseph shook his head, giving a firm look. "Make the call!" And Gary actually looked at Hugo for help.Hugo was momentarily amused, but he still offered a warm smile, soothing Gary. Seeing this smile, Gary nodded with satisfaction. "Fine, for Hugo's sake." Previously, Hugo had been quite shy, but now he was amused by Gary's sincerity and stood by, chuckling.Gary picked up the phone, pressed a button, and immediately said, "Ron, Joseph and Hugo are here together... He insists on seeing you, yes..." After hanging up, he looked at Hugo again. "He said you can go in."Joseph, seeing Gary's gaze locked onto Hugo, laughed instead. He patted Hugo on the shoulder. "Let's go in."Facing Gary's passionate gaze, Hugo nodded politely with a smile, then followed behind Joseph into Ron's office.This office was at least four hundred and thirty square feet (forty square meters), with spacious and bright lighting, neat and orderly arrangements, and elegant and comfortable furniture. Hugo felt it was even better than Joseph's home; the gap was not small at all.Ron was sitting behind the desk, legs crossed, with silver-white curly hair and wearing glasses. He didn't look as shrewd and capable as imagined, but rather more like a production assistant or assistant director on a film set.However, Ron's speaking rhythm was far more imposing than his appearance. "So, what do you want with me? I don't think we have any issues to discuss." Crisp and decisive, without any dragging, it also showed his terrible mood at the moment.Joseph was taken aback by Ron's presence, but it didn't affect him too much. He raised his voice and continued to ask in a steady tone, "Ron, Michael Douglas is your client, right? He has a movie coming out next week?"Michael Douglas's status in Hollywood right now is very special. On one hand, he won an academy award for best actor in 1987 for "Wall Street." On the other hand, he has an outstanding track record in the field of producer; his 1976 film "one flew over the cuckoos nest" is enough to make him go down in history.Of course, Michael Douglas's most widely known deeds are two things: one is that he married Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is two generations younger than him, in the new millennium; the other is that in 1992, he teamed up with Sharon Stone to star in "basic instinct."When Hugo heard Joseph's words, his first reaction was: "basic instinct" is coming out next week? His second reaction was: Michael is actually Ron's client; it seems he really is a big-name agent. But Hugo was completely unaware that his predecessor was also Ron's client.Sure enough, Ron continued, "Yes, 'basic instinct.' What about it? What do you want?" He spoke very crisply, without hiding his impatience at all, clearly not wanting to get entangled with Joseph too much.Only then did Hugo notice that after they entered the office, Ron not only didn't greet them, but also didn't let them sit down. Ron just sat in his executive chair, watching Joseph and Hugo stand there talking; this condescending feeling was really uncomfortable.Even if Hugo didn't know what happened before, he could guess that for a successful agent, an Actor like Hugo who was "falling" was obviously not worth spending too much effort on. Compared to Hugo, Ron had far too many important artists to manage. No wonder Ron transferred Hugo to Joseph after the contract expired. And at this moment, Ron's attitude was not positive at all, even feeling like charity. So why did Joseph come to see him? This made Hugo very confused—he still didn't understand the operation of the entertainment industry very well.Although Ron's attitude was very stiff, Joseph continued the conversation very calmly. "Ron, you know Hugo needs work recently. I was wondering, could you give Hugo an invitation to the premiere?"Joseph actually had his own calculations. March is the off-season for movies, and there are not many movies released, and works with topic and attraction are few and far between. Among them, the $49 million investment "basic instinct" is undoubtedly the only work that meets this standard. And as it happens, the male lead Michael is an Actor under Ron. Getting a premiere invitation from Ron is not a difficult task, because Michael will definitely get a pile of premiere invitations, and Ron can control at least one hundred of them.If Hugo could attend this premiere, it would definitely have a positive effect on both exposure and connections. Joseph hesitated again and again, but decided to prioritize Hugo's career. Even if he didn't want to go to Ron Meyer, he had to overcome it, because for an agent, learning to face people they hate with ease is one of the compulsory courses.As for bringing Hugo along, Joseph actually still hoped that Ron would provide some convenience for the sake of their past friendship. Especially thinking about the Golden Raspberry Awards in January, it was because of Ron's suggestion that Hugo fell into the mire that followed; Joseph hoped Ron could make some compensation.Hugo finally understood Joseph's calculation, but looking at the indifferent Ron in front of him, he sighed softly in his heart. Joseph was indeed still too new to the industry; he didn't think Ron was an agent with a conscience. Profit-first was the absolute principle.Sure enough, Ron verified Hugo's thoughts once again. He shook his head directly. "No, I don't think Hugo is suitable to appear on this occasion." Without any hesitation, Ron refused Joseph's request, with no intention of saving face at all.
