Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 117: Preliminary Planning

"Buried"?

Renly was somewhat surprised. Andy's three visits today were clearly driven by the Emmy Awards, just like Fisher, but Andy didn't bring up the Emmy Awards at first, instead focusing on "Buried Alive." It was indeed an unconventional approach. However, this was also one of the reasons Renly chose Andy.

Renly began to talk about the work "Buried," and Andy listened attentively, even asking detailed questions about the script and some shooting details. Then, with his hands crossed over his stomach, he sank into deep thought, like a Buddha lost in contemplation. Even in his contemplation, the smile still lingered on his lips, as if it had become a habit.

"To sum up the situation, this is an independent work, your absolute solo performance, occupying ninety-nine percent of the screen time; then, you continuously challenged yourself during the filming process, with the performance difficulty even surpassing 'The Pacific,' is that correct?" Andy summarized, and Renly nodded in affirmation, saying, "I have nothing to add."

"By the way, how long was the shooting period?"

"Eight days."

Andy pondered again, carefully considering. Renly wasn't very curious about these things because they were the domain of the agent. Since he had already hired an agent, he preferred to leave these professional and tedious matters to the professionals. However, this was the early stage of their collaboration, they needed to adjust, understand, and build trust. Otherwise, how could Renly be sure that Andy would fully support him to fight for roles in independent films like "Buried" in the future?

"What are your thoughts on this work?" Renly didn't beat around the bush, getting straight to the point.

Andy lifted his head, not answering immediately but nodding slightly. "A good thing, to be precise, a joyful occasion. The situation is far better than I imagined."

Now, Andy was somewhat relieved that Renly had signed with him instead of Fisher. In terms of selecting roles and career planning, Renly was firm and wise enough. Perhaps working with such a person might be troublesome as they couldn't be simply maneuvered like a "vase," but once the collaboration succeeded, the ultimate potential was worth looking forward to.

"Remember our conversation last time? I believe you'd better start with independent films, establish a public image of outstanding acting, and then strive for a nomination at an awards ceremony. Next, we can try some distinctive commercial scripts and explore different possibilities." Andy's words flowed smoothly, showing that he had already stored Renly's career plan in his mind, although Renly only agreed to it today.

The confidence revealed behind this was quietly revealing its sharpness—Andy was so certain that Renly would sign with him.

Andy showed a big smile. "So, here we are now. You've won an Emmy nomination first, then starred in an independent film where you showcase your acting skills to the fullest. My god, we couldn't pray for a better situation." Before this, Andy's understanding of Renly had always been a guess, a speculation. But after hearing the details of "Buried," he finally confirmed his thoughts and plans.

"Next, if all goes well, 'Buried' should land in Toronto—let's pray at least that the quality of the finished product reaches such a level. Then we head to Telluride, then see the film festivals in New York, Rome, and Europe. Oh, you're British, right? Maybe we can go to London..."

Andy's simple words revealed too much information. Each of the places he mentioned had its own film festival, and each film festival was a carnival for movie lovers. Among them, the Telluride Film Festival was a festival Renly had always wanted to visit. Surpassing the Sundance Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival, the former was the highest stage for independent films, while the latter was the oldest film festival in history. Renly's desire for the Telluride Film Festival was evident. Just imagining being able to participate in it made him start to feel excited.

Unlike ordinary film festivals, the Telluride Film Festival was a true celebration for movie lovers. The board of directors didn't set any awards or red carpets, completely opening the festival to all movie lovers, allowing film enthusiasts to enjoy the beauty of cinema in this small town to the fullest.

For Renly, it was a place of worship, a dream come true. In his previous life, he had watched thousands of movies but had never truly found a loyal and seasoned film enthusiast to exchange ideas with. Telluride was the ultimate embodiment of abandoning commercial publicity, professional authority, and viewing thresholds, truly giving the power of choice to the general public.

"If things go well after December, perhaps we can expect your first Golden Globe nomination. Then, your choices will be completely different." The ambition revealed between the lines was impressive, especially as such strong words came from a face that had always worn a smile, causing a sense of discord.

Andy cut off his words before continuing. Because he knew it wasn't time to be too happy yet. The annual awards season was like a chaotic battlefield where anything could happen until the last moment. Moreover, the quality of "Buried" and the level of Renly's performance were still unknown factors.

After that, Andy changed the subject. "Let's leave future matters to time. First, we need to start with Toronto." If "Buried" couldn't even make it to the competition list in Toronto, then all the thoughts just now would be just wishful thinking. "No, we should start with the director first. Give me the director's contact information. He's also a producer, right? We need to communicate and plan with him."

Renly had also come back to his senses by now. In his previous life, "Buried" didn't receive any recognition during the awards season, not even a nomination. It practically disappeared from the scene. So, how this life would unfold was also a huge unknown.

"I didn't expect an actor's agent to interfere with the distribution of the film." Renly calmed down, teasing with a smile.

Andy was calm. "If it's an independent film, and it's a film where my actor is carrying the entire weight, then yes, I will intervene in the distribution and promotion of the film. Maybe not directly involved in those tasks, but at least I can facilitate and connect them to find more reliable distribution companies."

The agent's network was unimaginable; the power of a top agent was unimaginable.

"Before Toronto, we have another major task to handle." Andy organized his thoughts. He had just taken over Renly's agent contract, and everything had to start from scratch. "The Emmy Awards."

Renly smiled and nodded. Finding out about his Emmy nomination just a few hours ago, he hadn't fully grasped the reality yet. "I just heard the news this afternoon."

" 'The Pacific' definitely stole the show," Andy summarized with just one sentence. With this introduction, Renly finally understood this year's Emmy nomination situation.

In the mini-series and television movie department to which "The Pacific" belonged, this year's competition was somewhat unbalanced. The competition in the mini-series category wasn't fierce at all, with only "The Pacific" and "Cranford" making it to the nominations. But the competition in the television movie category was particularly intense, with a total of six productions nominated: "Temple Grandin," "You Don't Know Jack," "The Special Relationship," "Moonshot," "Endgame," and "Georgia O'Keeffe."

Thus, while "The Pacific" had an absolute advantage in overall projects and technical categories, sweeping the board, it would face a tough test in categories where mini-series and television movies were combined, such as directing, writing, and acting.

Nevertheless, "The Pacific" biggest breakthrough undoubtedly came from its nomination for Best Actor. Standing out among the likes of Judy Dench from "Cranford," "The Pacific" became the pillar of this year's mini-series—there were a total of twenty nominations in the acting category, with only two for mini-series and the rest for television movies.

Even among these twenty nominees, Renly was the most eye-catching anomaly. At just twenty years old, with a debut performance in a mini-series primarily focused on war scenes, where ensemble cast dominated the theme, Renly, through his subtle, solid, profound, and profound performance, successfully won the judges' love, earning his first nomination in his career—a remarkable debut!

A truly remarkable debut.

"You'll definitely be the center of attention when you attend the awards ceremony. Before this, you were just a nobody, a nobody, and your name was completely unknown. But now, you have the qualification to compete on stage with Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges. Regardless of the outcome, you have already succeeded."

Andy didn't hesitate to express his admiration. Looking at Renly before him, he suddenly had an idea and asked casually, "Do you want to win?"

"Yes." Renly's answer was straightforward and clear, without any hesitation or reservation.

Andy's smile reached his eyes as he nodded. "Then we'd better start by picking out suits. The red carpet is where everything begins."