Candidates

Irene reached out for her water glass, only to find it was already empty.

Vera, sitting by the door, saw her movement and quietly hurried to her side to take the glass.

"So, everyone is currently hesitant about two roles: the 'Queen Bee' Regina and Janis," Irene said, sitting expressionless behind the monitor.

The sun had already set outside, and today's auditions had concluded. Most roles had been cast, but these two remained points of contention.

"I still think Janis is better suited for Lucy Liu. Her performance in Ally McBeal was charming, and Charlie's Angels is coming out next year, which would be great publicity for us," said the supervisor sent by 20th Century Fox.

Irene's fingers tapped rhythmically against the table: "But her age..." She held no ill will toward Lucy Liu; on the contrary, she admired how she managed to thrive in Hollywood despite her distinctly Eastern features.

"Although Lucy Liu doesn't have an age advantage, Easterners naturally look younger. As long as the hair and makeup are on point, I believe she can fully handle the role."

"Fine, what about Regina?" In truth, there weren't many options for Janis, and the reason it hadn't been finalized was that she didn't want to focus all the conflict on Regina.

"Sarah Michelle Gellar has audience appeal, she's willing to lose weight for the role, and she and Reese Witherspoon worked together very happily on Cruel Intentions..."

"She was the lead and Reese was the supporting actress before. Is she willing to swap roles now? And how much is she asking for?"

Two questions killed the conversation instantly.

In terms of appearance, Rachel McAdams was much more youthful and vibrant than Sarah Michelle Gellar, but the latter's fame was incomparable to the former, so each had their own advantages.

Neither had played such a "bitchy" role before, so they were on equal footing in terms of experience.

Now, regarding the salary: as a famous, mature actress, Sarah's fee was at least in the millions, and if she were invited to play a "supporting role," she would only demand more to maintain her status.

If the supporting actress's salary was too high, the lead would start making comparisons.

This would infinitely inflate the film's budget regarding actor salaries, which was detrimental to building a "united and friendly" team.

"500,000 dollars. That is the highest price I am offering for the role of Regina. You can go negotiate; if it works out, she plays it, if not, we replace her." Having said that, Irene stood up without giving them another chance to speak. "That's it for today. For the actors already set, go coordinate their filming schedules. For those still being considered, I need an answer within three days."

Before the three days were up, news came from Fox that Sarah Michelle Gellar had voluntarily withdrawn from the audition due to "ill health." That was the official statement; in reality, the salary negotiations had failed, allowing Rachel to pick up the role.

With all actors confirmed and Irene's funding in place, CAA and Fox jointly organized a signing ceremony before the official start of production.

Unlike the low-key start of Legally Blonde, where no one paid attention, Fox and CAA specifically invited nearly fifty reporters to hold a press conference, all for the sake of publicity.

"Reese has always been my first choice. When we first worked together, her sincerity and diligence deeply moved me. So, when I created my second work, I didn't hesitate to weave Reese into it. She even cleared her schedule for me; we are the best partners..."

Before going on stage, the PR team had prepared her for potential questions, allowing her to handle them with ease.

"This is a cruel history of struggle in high school. I believe everyone will see similar experiences within it."

The atmosphere at the scene was enthusiastic, with questions coming one after another. Aside from Irene, Reese was also surrounded by various inquiries.

While things were lively on their side, some people were not very happy.

In the conference room of the MGM marketing director, the ashtray in front of Julia Roberts was nearly full. Ulysses Mayer stood up to open the window.

Just then, an assistant walked in and placed the weekly box office data on the table.

Julia picked it up first, quickly finding the numbers she wanted to see.

Before Ulysses could even turn around, he heard a "slap!"—the sound of paper hitting the table.

Newspapers and A4 sheets were scattered all over the table and floor. He signaled for the assistant to leave, and only after the office door was closed again did he resign himself to picking them up.

The first report he picked up from the floor showed that Runaway Bride had grossed 11.03 million dollars last week, ranking fifth, followed immediately by Legally Blonde with 8.56 million dollars, ranking sixth.

Even though Runaway Bride had made 2.47 million dollars more, it was only in its fourth week of release, while Legally Blonde was already in its sixth.

No wonder Julia was so angry.

"Darling, at least you are still in the lead, aren't you?" His comfort was pale and powerless.

"Do you know how that bitch Nicole Kidman is laughing at me behind my back? Saying I'm old and that it's normal for me to lose to two young girls," Julia gritted her teeth and shoved her cigarette butt hard into the ashtray. "She and her short husband got 68 million dollars at the box office on a 70 million dollar investment, and she has the nerve to mock me?!"

"Why do you care what she thinks? Aside from having the title of Mrs. Cruise, she's worth nothing."

Ulysses sat beside her, gently stroking her back, trying to help her calm down.

"Can you bear to see me being humiliated and ridden over by them?" Julia pushed his hand away in dissatisfaction.

She had originally thought that after Ulysses refused to work with Irene, it would deal her a blow, but she hadn't expected her to climb onto 20th Century Fox so quickly.

Even CAA had asked her through her agent to stop these petty tricks.

It meant that all her painstaking efforts had only scratched the surface, which made her refuse to accept defeat.

She had to do something to let them know the world didn't revolve around them.

"They have CAA protecting them now, and today Fox held a signing ceremony for the new film. There are some methods we can't use." Ulysses was helpless.

His title as marketing director sounded good, but everyone knew MGM was on the decline, and even their only bankable 007 series had been receiving constant criticism lately.

He didn't know who had leaked his refusal to work with Irene to the board of directors, and he had been overwhelmed with trouble lately; he truly couldn't think of a way to help Julia.

"If unconventional methods won't work, I'll defeat them with a film. Have you received any valuable film projects on your end?"

"I don't have any good projects on hand right now, but I know someone who does. I'm just not sure if it's suitable for you."

"Who?" Julia asked urgently. Every high-quality project in Hollywood was fought over; God knew how hard she had worked to get the role in Runaway Bride.

"Your old friend, director Garry Marshall. He recently adapted a script; I heard it's a romantic comedy. I've only heard about it, I haven't seen the script."

"Garry? I'll call and ask."