"Jurassic Park 3"

"Star in a film, and have its worldwide box office surpass The Mummy Returns?"

Seeing the task issued by the system, Lin Yuan was speechless...

As an Asian and a newcomer, landing a leading role in Hollywood was already a pipe dream.

And the film's box office had to surpass The Mummy Returns?

After all, The Mummy Returns ranked sixth at the North American box office in 2001, with a worldwide gross as high as $430 million.

Even the boosted smash hits Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Fast and the Furious could not compete with The Mummy Returns at the box office.

How was he supposed to complete a task with hell-level difficulty like this?

"If they hadn't run into trouble, why would anyone doing well hire a Chinese-American actor?" Lin Yuan grumbled.

Yet those offhand words woke Director Cohen up.

"That's right! We can try looking for film crews that have run into some minor difficulties."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Come on, follow me. He's in New York today too."

With that, Director Cohen pulled Lin Yuan away and hurriedly drove off.

On the way, Director Cohen briefed Lin Yuan on the situation:

They were going to meet Joe Johnston, the director and producer of Jurassic Park 3.

This film was also a major sequel produced by Universal Pictures, and Director Johnston and Director Cohen were old friends.

Director Cohen had not recommended this production to Lin Yuan first because its current situation was not ideal. He had hoped Lin Yuan could join The Mummy Returns crew instead.

After the stunning debut of the first Jurassic Park film, the series' second installment had already shown signs of fatigue in both box office performance and critical reception.

But Universal Pictures did not want to give up on this IP just yet. With a let's-give-it-a-try attitude, it had launched production on Jurassic Park 3.

The first two Jurassic Park films had both been directed by the acclaimed Spielberg, but for the third, they had switched to the far less prestigious Director Johnston.

That was clearly a sign that the film was not highly regarded.

Now, that signal was gradually being proven true. The entire production was in a rather dire state.

After nearly half the film had been shot, the footage produced had been judged poorly in an assessment by the internal review committee, with a bleak outlook.

That meant Universal Pictures had begun to lose faith in the film and would strictly control costs such as post-production and marketing budgets.

As a result, the entire crew had suffered a severe blow, and morale had sunk.

Perhaps only at a time like this, when he was overwhelmed with problems, would Director Johnston consider using a Chinese-American actor like Lin Yuan?

"Lin, maybe this is your chance. I'll do my best to persuade Director Johnston," Director Cohen promised after explaining the situation.

Through the light inside the car, Lin Yuan looked at this man, who could be considered the first benefactor of his acting career, and felt a whirlwind of emotions.

Director Cohen was already in his fifties. He was not exactly old, but aside from his shiny bald crown, wrinkles covered his entire head.

The weariness and hardships of life could not be concealed.

Tonight, he had truly spared no effort to give Lin Yuan a hand.

How could he ever repay such kindness?

"No matter the outcome, I'm grateful that you're working so hard for me."

"Lin, don't be so formal. Excessive politeness is also a sign of distance. Aren't we good friends?"

Americans really did not care much about seniority. Eighteen-year-old Lin Yuan and fifty-one-year-old Cohen would practically be separated by two generations back home.

But Director Cohen did not care at all. Once he accepted you, you were a friend.

"Of course. It's my honor," Lin Yuan replied.

Lin Yuan smiled on the surface, but his heart was filled with worry.

When Lin Yuan learned that Director Cohen was introducing him to the Jurassic Park 3 crew, his heart skipped a beat.

Because he knew this film would fail in the future timeline. There was no way it could beat The Mummy Returns.

Jurassic Park 3 had barely recouped its costs at the box office, and its reputation was terrible as well.

With both its reviews and box office performance failing, even the Jurassic Park IP fell into a slump, with no further sequels made for more than a decade.

It was not until Universal Pictures rebooted the franchise with Jurassic World in 2015 that it recovered and returned to the public eye.

That was right—the one starring Star-Lord, the king of awkward dancing.

Lin Yuan had already foreseen Jurassic Park 3's failure. Even if he managed to win a leading role, what would it change?

Making a name for himself in Hollywood was truly too difficult!

On one hand, Jurassic Park 3 failed because audiences had grown tired of the formula. On the other, its script was far too shallow.

The first Jurassic Park achieved such tremendous success not only because of its breathtaking visual effects, but also because its core theme of reverence for life made it more memorable.

Even the mediocre script of the second film explored themes of environmental protection and living in harmony with nature.

By the time Director Johnston made the third film, all that substance was gone. Only straightforward scares and escape scenes remained.

And after the first two films, audiences were no longer easily frightened by dinosaur effects.

On top of that, the escape scenes offered no new tricks and had nothing worth watching.

All of that left the film flashy but hollow. How could it not fail?

Lin Yuan knew that if he wanted to save this film, he would need to make major changes to the script, strengthen the story's core, and find ways to make the escape scenes more compelling.

Would Director Johnston possibly do as he suggested?

Hard, hard, hard. Thinking about the two obstacles he would have to overcome tonight gave Lin Yuan a headache.

Fortunately, strictly speaking, the true protagonists of Jurassic Park 3 were the dinosaurs. The human characters were merely embellishments, giving Lin Yuan a sliver more possibility of landing a leading role.

But he had no better option. He could only do everything in his power to achieve his goal.

"Hey, Joe. Long time no see, old friend."

When they arrived at Director Johnston's residence, Director Cohen greeted him with a smile.

Clearly, the friendship between these two was far better than Director Cohen's relationship with Director Sommers of The Mummy Returns.

"I've really had rotten luck lately. I'm glad to see you," Director Johnston said, rising to his feet and coming forward to give Director Cohen a hug.

"Your bad luck is about to end. Tonight, I've brought you a miraculous young man from the East. I believe he can solve your troubles," Director Cohen introduced.

"This young man is very handsome. Chinese-American? What's your name?" Director Johnston asked with a smile, extending his hand to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan smiled and shook his hand, carefully observing the director.

Director Johnston had been born in 1950 and was fifty years old this year.

He was also tall, standing four centimeters taller than Lin Yuan, who was 1.83 meters.

Lin Yuan could not help but marvel. He was not short himself, so why were Hollywood directors all so tall?

"Director Johnston, my name is Lin Yuan. I'm Chinese-American."

"Amazing Chinese Kung Fu! I love it!"

At least on the surface, Director Johnston was much friendlier than Director Sommers.

But Lin Yuan knew that tonight's negotiations had only just begun. They would never be so simple.