The My Hollywood System
Chapter 103

Manhattan, New York City.

In a dimly lit room, a man who at first glance looked like a nefarious necromancer was typing and drawing something on his computer angrily.

His current appearance, consisting of a loose black T-shirt, black trousers, disheveled hair, and an unkempt beard gave the impression that he was a beggar from the slums.

Carson Duckstein is an independent director who is almost 37 years old. His current appearance can be blamed on 2 things. First, lack of work, and second, lack of sleep. Even though he was workaholic, what was the point of him not having a job?

All this time, every film he made barely broke even. And worst of all, he never got the actors he wanted to work with, often ending up with half-and-a-half and fringe actors. Be it bad luck or misfortune, Carson can never get out of the pile of other independent directors, always stuck in a place he thinks he shouldn't.

Right now, Carson is creating a storyboard for the film that has just been offered to him. Normally, he would not sacrifice his sleep for such a thing and would only work during the day. But this time, the film and the company that offered the film were both special.

Carson was one of the directors invited to direct [500 Days of Summer] by Will. When he first received the invitation, he could hardly trust his own eyes and double-checked the letter just to see if it was spam or incorrectly sent to him.

After she wrote back to them, she got a confirmation email with a Dream Vision proof stamp, making her heart beat fast. Carson was convinced he wasn't the only one given the incredible opportunity and that's why he decided not to sleep to make the storyboard as good as possible. He was even given a movie script, which he could not help but admire every time he thought about it.

In Carson's eyes, even though he was older, he felt Will was far above his means. After all, he was someone who became famous in Hollywood based on his own abilities. And he was even younger than most directors, making him stand out among the crowd of normal directors.

After working in an independent film with a fringe actor, Carson did not want to miss this heaven-sent opportunity. That's why he was willing to sacrifice everything to seize this opportunity and direct the film, which might be his last hope to be able to rest in Hollywood.

*The ring**the ring*

As Carson's mind began to drift, his phone rang. He immediately picked up his phone and answered the call in a hurry.

– Is this Mr Duckstein? I'm Alexia, Mr. Evans' personal secretary.

Carson gulped. It finally came! The call he was waiting for.

“Y-yes. I'm Carson Duckstein.”

Carson replied while trying to sound as calm as possible, which backfired with him stammering at his first word.

– Mr Evans would like to meet you, when is a better time? I will arrange a suitable meeting.

Alexia, the secretary, asked Carson.

"When it's okay with me."

Carson said hurriedly, clicking his tongue again. He spoke so quickly that he would appear impatient and could eventually ruin his impression. He only prayed that Will at least talk to him once. He was confident in his directing skills, but just the thought of talking to big people made him anxious.

***

*tuk**tuk***swinger*

In his office, Will is currently playing a game similar to Temple Run from his precious world. Instead of bat-like monsters chasing him, there were various types of giant snakes chasing him with the characters running around and around, jumping and avoiding obstacles as he desperately continued to run, with no end in sight.

Somehow Will feels that many fighters in every type of industry play games like this with life. Just manage to avoid danger and make sure that they stay safe, without any real purpose in mind where they want a happy ending of their game.

*Tring**Tring*

At that moment, the phone on his desk rang. Will continued to play the game as he put the phone in his ear and held it with his shoulder as he answered the call.

"Yes what is it?"

The one who called was Alexia and she was currently telling him about the arrival of one of the directors she had chosen based on their own abilities that she had judged through their film.

Will suddenly recalls how Carson's direction for the film was great, but most of his films were marred by ordinary or bad actors. Even the plot of most of the film is average, and Carson's attempts to elevate a small scene into something nice are apparent, making him a valid choice among other directors of his calibre.

"Send him in." Will said as he stopped playing games and hung up.

*Tap***Tap*

Shortly afterwards there was a knock on the door, followed by the arrival of a shabby-looking Carson after getting permission from Will to enter.

As soon as Will saw Carson, he was confused. It is natural to look at your best self when going for a meeting or interview. But Carson here is dressed normally and his eye bags make him look like a sleep-deprived monkey who becomes closer to the panda.

"Please sit down."

Will signals Carson to sit in the seat in front of him, which Carson says is mandatory.

“Good morning….. Carson Duckstein's? Although your morning does not seem too good.”

will said as he looked at her appearance. Carson scratched her unkempt beard as she said shyly.

“I don't have much time to prepare and I have something to show, so I think I will do the treatment after getting the deal.” Will was surprised to hear his answer. It was not because he thought that the person was not too concerned with his appearance, but how he sounded when he talked about getting a deal. It seemed like he was so confident in his skills that he would get a deal. It was even stranger coming from a director who had yet to have a break in the industry.

But that's what increases Will's impression of Carson. After all, Will himself was no one to talk to. He carries himself around with confidence even when he is just a film school dropout with no film or any success to back him up. It's the same for everyone else.

The people who believe in their talent and are convinced of it are the ones who sooner or later make it big. Otherwise, there is no shortage of talented people, but they lack the confidence to bring out their talent and show it to the world while being confident about them. After scoring a few brownie points in Will's eyes involuntarily, Carson immediately pulled out some storyboards and began showing them to Will, even without him asking for them.

“This is some idea I have been working on since I got the script.”

Carson said as he continued on his own.

“This film talks about a basic concept called expectation versus reality. It starts with a typical rom-com setting and soon delves deeper, showing how this scenario is unrealistic and completely destroys the rom-com plot of happy go lucky, which in fact, is, it is the hook point of the story, not the bad part. But the problem depends on the director how he describes these scenes. I'm pretty sure I can work on this to my best level if I get the chance to direct this movie with some good actors backing it. ” Carson finally concluded and realized that he had spoken alone without giving the opportunity to talk to the other party. Realizing that he had made a mistake again, unintentionally, he cursed himself in his mind as he cleared his throat.

“Ehem…. So ... yeah. This is basically what I have thought so far. ” Will chuckles suddenly and laughs openly for a while. He had never seen someone so passionate about directing a movie and somehow he felt a connection to Carson as a fellow director.

In addition to Carson, three other directors have been invited to direct the film.

One is a longtime performer in the industry, with many hit films backing him, though he has not made any spectacular films in recent years. The other was a rookie who debuted with a recent hit movie, and the third person was someone recommended by Jeffrey. She is someone who has made a lot of thrillers and has made a rom-com hit last year.

Will has already met the first person and he thinks that the first person should retire, because he is not very optimistic and seems to have rusted by time. The other two people he had not met were taking the time to decide whether or not they should accept the invitation. Some parts are also waiting games meant to make Will desperate to hire them.

Power struggles are scattered in every nook and cranny of Hollywood.

In addition to the three, the fourth person is Carson, who managed to make Will very impressed, only with his fiery passion alone. Although there are some things Carson needs to improve on, especially his looks. But those are small things compared to how good a director he is.

“You know, I won't beat around the bush. You got the movie. Some of the things you need to pay attention to is that the actress of the film is already decided and she is someone who will make her film debut. He's from the DTA. We will get top actors to do the roles as male leads. Of course, you can recommend it if you have someone in mind, but the final decision depends on Dream Vision. With that, welcome to the ship. I look forward to a successful movie.”

As Will begins and finishes what he has to say, Carson first gets excited and then her expression turns so emotional that she seems like she will cry at any moment. Fortunately, he held back.

And so, Will managed to get the director for his second film right on the first day after the break.