"Has Joe seen this proposal?" Hugo didn't worry too much, but joked with a smile, which immediately embarrassed Rick.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, both of whom were previously signed artists under Joseph, are good friends, and they are signed by Joseph bundle, and they are also the first newcomers he signed on his own - Nicolas Cage and Hugo were not "newcomers" before.

Unfortunately, both of them were very self-conscious, and when they saw that Joseph's condition was not good, they chose their position early - giving up Joseph and choosing an international innovation management company, and Nicholas made the same choice at that time, which became the last straw that crushed Joseph. Although their choice is understandable, they still have different positions after all, and Rick and Joseph don't like these two people very well.

In the past few years, Endeavour elite brokerage has risen strongly, but many newcomers want to sign here. However, Matt and Ben, two newcomers who entered the circle early, have been up and down, and have never had a chance to really stand out, and they are still nobodies in the circle. Even international innovation management companies don't spend much effort on them.

Who knows, they will appear in front of Rick and Hugo again in such a way today.

Screenwriter, this position is crucial for the Hollywood industry, but the literary skills and creative talent required by screenwriters need to accumulate over the years and the precipitation of time, which is why many actors in Hollywood like to make cameo directorships and producers, but few actors can succeed in the screenwriting position - so even if Hugo relied on "Before Sunrise" and "The Shawshank Redemption" to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Screenplay twice, it has never been taken seriously by the media.

Woody Allen, Emma Thompson, these are perhaps the two people who have achieved the greatest achievements in the two positions of actor and screenwriter in film history.

No one could have imagined that Matt and Ben would write a script that would be favored by the vicious-eyed Weinstein brothers - the script that Harvey Weinstein handed to Rick.

Matt and Ben would definitely not want Hugo to star in their own script, but Harvey didn't care at all, on the contrary, Harvey clearly knew Hugo's potential and ability, and Hugo was also willing to star in an independent script, even at the expense of only taking the carriage fee. Therefore, for Xavi, an excellent script can get Hugo to join, which is simply a pie-in-the-sky thing.

Hugo knew that no one had anticipated the follow-up, and the script was not only a success, but also allowed Matt and Ben to earn a place in the highly competitive Hollywood, and since then they have stood out and created a sky of their own.

This script, called "Soul Catcher", is the cornerstone of this miracle.

Twenty years from now, when people talk about Matt or Ben, there must be countless words to say. Matt followed his own unique path as an actor and made a solid breakthrough, and the "Spy" series allowed him to create his own path as an action actor, while "Invictus", "The Departed", "The Genius Ripley. Talented。 Mr。 Ripley" has earned him a lot of recognition for his down-to-earth performances.

Ben's acting skills have always been a "bright" landscape in Hollywood, and his unique facial paralysis acting skills have remained unchanged for thousands of years, almost becoming the laughing stock of the entire Hollywood. But after trying his hand at directing for the first time in 2007, he found his own path, "The thief in the city. Town)" and "Escape from Tehran (Argo)" and other works made him famous and rich, and carved out a world of his own.

But no matter what, all of this comes from the success of the script "Soul Catcher", which puts the two of them on very different paths in life.

A large part of the script of "Soul Catcher" comes from Matt's own ideas, and then teamed up with the script to promote the plot from the perspective of the actors, and complete the conception of the entire script. The story of a mathematical genius seeking salvation and liberation of the mind is not only Matt and Ben's first attempt at screenwriting, but also the first work in which they starred in a major role, which was a huge success and won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars the following year.

At that time, Matt was only twenty-eight years old, Ben was only thirty years old, and the story of the young talent's overnight fame began.

Objectively speaking, "Soul Catcher" is a good story, similar to this kind of story about the healing and salvation of geniuses' souls, Hollywood has always emerged in endlessly, from Hugo's famous work "Dead Poets Society" to the later stunning American "Beautiful Mind (A. Beautiful。 Mind), these works can always bring a breath of fresh air, integrating life's hardships, frustrations and tribulations into the lines, telling them eloquently, like a spring breeze.

Moreover, many of the scene settings and many dialogue settings in the script are derived from Matt and Ben's own experiences, and the portrayal is not only incisive, but also real and delicate. Matt was only twenty-four years old when the script was written, and Ben was only twenty-six, and their stories and experiences can relate to almost every Hollywood actor.

This is also the reason why Xavi thinks Hugo will definitely take over the "soul catcher". Not only because Hugo is only thirty years old this year, the most appropriate age; At the same time, because Hugo's experience has many similarities with the male protagonist in the story, Hugo's delicate and expressive performance is bound to add a lot of color to the script; Not to mention that this script starts from the perspective of an actor in the creation stage, and uses the characters to drive the story, which is definitely a work that Hugo will love.

But Harvey overlooked two things: first, Matt and Ben created the two main characters in the story entirely based on themselves, and they definitely wanted to be able to star in the story, which must have been a necessary condition for them to sign with the production company; Second, because of Joseph's relationship, Hugo is definitely reluctant to appear in this work.

What Xavi didn't know was that Hugo didn't like Ben Affleck, long before the crossing.

At first, it was because Ben and Jennifer Lopez were too high-profile in love, and the two almost treated love as a topic, and during the trough of their careers, they racked their brains every day and used all means to hype up the news, and this vigorous love affair was even more annoying than the Colombian eight-o'clock dog blood soap opera.

As an actor, Ben is not only incompetent, even derelict in his duties, his facial paralysis acting skills are a disaster, and he also uses hype up his private life to make profits, just like the Kardashian family, which is disappointing and boring. In fact, after Ben and Jennifer's high-profile relationship ended, there was a survey in the United States, and more than eighty percent of people applauded, and most people felt that these two people were too annoying.

Putting that aside, Ben's talent as a director is undeniable, but it's nowhere near the level of stunning.

The whole rhythm control and narrative rhythm of the movie "Escape from Tehran" are good, but there is no unexpected excitement, especially the story's excavation of the core idea can almost be said to be scratching the itch in the boot, which can be said to be above the level but not up to the outstanding level. But Ben went around the media with wild words and wild words, thinking that he had made a classic masterpiece and deserved the corresponding recognition, and even lost his temper and complained after the Oscar did not nominate him for best director. In the end, through a victory of public relations and a victory of political correctness, the mediocre work "Escape from Tehran" won the Oscar for Best Picture over "Lincoln", "Life of Pi", "Love" and several other works that deserved more awards.

Afterwards, Ben also showed a "taken for granted" look, which made people really not like it.

Of course, none of these issues may be a problem at all in Harvey's eyes, and in the face of interests, all differences can be unified and compromised. But for Hugo, he never intended to play "Soul Catcher". What's more, he never lacked options.

In turn, as Hugo said, it is impossible for Matt and Ben to let Hugo star in this film, not only because the two main characters of "Soul Catcher" were written for themselves, this is their chance to succeed, and they are impossible to give up; And because they naturally don't forget their betrayal of Joseph, they don't want to be reminded of it every day.

Therefore, the cooperation of "soul catchers" is simply impossible.

"Now Harvey is still thinking about whether to invest in this work, should I tell him?" After the embarrassment, Rick said lightly, but the simple words were full of decisiveness.

In fact, with Hugo's current status, it is not difficult to ban nobodies like Matt and Ben. In particular, the "Soul Catcher" directly hit Hugo's hand, and things are even simpler.

However, Hugo chuckled and shook his head, he didn't want to be attached to others in the past, and now he naturally doesn't want to use the power in his hands to cut off other people's lives, it's not that he is too kind-hearted, it's just that he disdains to do so. "If I really want to suppress them, I think it's good to go head-to-head, maybe I can create a better script and let their work be buried directly?"

The competition in Hollywood has always existed, yesterday it was Brad Pitt, today it was Matt and Ben, and tomorrow there will be others, and it is absolutely impossible to rely on means to suppress all the newcomers. Not only Hollywood, but also the whole society, if you want to survive in the fierce competition, doing yourself well and improving yourself is the most important and fundamental way.

Hugo's relaxed words also made Rick laugh, "Who knows, maybe you'll really face off at the end of the year?" ”

"Then Joe will be sweating profusely and shouting for me." Hugo said with a smile, and at the same time put aside the script of "Soul Catcher".