When Sarah woke up, she grabbed her phone and saw a flood of messages, most of them from actors she knew in the industry.
Crystal: “Sarah!!!”
Crystal: “Wow, girl, you actually got that ridiculous account to apologize! They once posted a picture of me dining with my uncle and accused me of being his mistress. They deleted it but refused to apologize!”
Crystal’s uncle was a high-ranking official in City N, and after that marketing account posted their nonsense, he got reported by political rivals. In the end, nothing came of it, but the marketing account deleted the post, scared of retaliation. Even then, they never apologized.
Sarah glanced at Holden beside her.
Crystal: “By the way, did you go audition for that drama series I recommended? I’ve heard from some people in the industry that you’re likely to land the lead in ‘Drug War.'”
Sarah had auditioned once before, back when “The Mysterious Family” hadn’t even aired yet, and her fame from “Heart Throb” wasn’t enough for her to secure such a big role. After that, the production team hadn’t contacted her, so she wasn’t sure what would happen next. However, the news from Crystal was probably true.
Now that “The Mysterious Family” was a huge hit, if the casting for the drama hadn’t wrapped up yet, they might still consider Sarah. After all, her popularity and achievements were now top-notch.
Sarah replied, “I’ll just wait for the team to reach out to me.”
A lot of scripts and endorsements were coming her way, and she was carefully sorting through them. If “Drug War” worked out, she wanted to take that role first.
A few days later, another marketing account announced that Sarah was set to star as the lead in the drama “Drug War.” With the buzz around “The Mysterious Family” still going strong, both fans and casual viewers were eager to see what would happen.
Sarah was a bit puzzled about how the marketing accounts knew about this when she didn’t.
Butler Ted called the production team for the drama.
The production team was playing coy, saying Sarah wasn’t really suited for the lead role and that they were still considering options. However, there was a supporting role that hadn’t been cast yet, and if Sarah was interested, they could sign a contract right away.
Butler Ted was starting to get a little frustrated.
As Sarah’s agent, Butler Ted had a lot on his plate, and he had always been passionate about his work. In a short time, he had figured out all the ins and outs of the industry.
It wasn’t that Sarah couldn’t play a supporting role; if the storyline was compelling and the character was well-developed, it didn’t have to be about the lead. But the fact that the production team was using Sarah’s name to hype up the lead role only to offer her a supporting one-what did that mean?
If Sarah actually agreed to it, wouldn’t her fans be furious?
Plus, Sarah was already a star with two blockbuster films under her belt. Who would take on the lead if she was relegated to a supporting role?
Butler Ted firmly turned down the production’s invitation and quickly posted a statement on Sarah’s account, saying she had no plans to film a drama anytime soon and that all the rumors floating around were false.
Fans and casual observers were a bit disappointed; they really wanted to see Sarah in something new.
Then the “Drug War” crew announced that they had cast Grace, a hot new star, as the female lead.
Grace’s fans had recently clashed with Sarah’s, and now that Grace landed this big role, all her supporters were feeling pretty smug.
“Some people are only suited for supporting roles. No one would watch her as the lead,” one fan commented.
“A newbie with just a year in the biz thinks she can play a narc? I’d rather see Grace; I’m following every one of her leading roles,” another added.
Grace and her agent were feeling quite pleased with themselves.
“Drug War” was backed by Pineapple TV, but with Sarah repeatedly snubbing them lately, they weren’t about to let her star in this show.
In fact, one of the male executives at Pineapple TV had a soft spot for Sarah’s looks. If she agreed to participate in some of their variety shows and built a rapport with him, she might have had a shot.
Unfortunately, Sarah had offended too many people and wasn’t about to give anyone the time of day.
In comparison, Grace was just more agreeable.
Butler Ted was still cursing the damned production team for treating them like a joke, while Sarah couldn’t even be bothered to lash out. For her, this kind of drama was just part of the business.
Honestly, she was much better at acting than at stirring up controversy. Instead of wasting time feuding with the production team, she preferred to sift through scripts and choose the right project, waiting for a success that would make them regret not casting her as the lead. The investors and producers could cry into their handkerchiefs later.
At that moment, Director Colby reached out to Sarah again.
“The Mysterious Family” had been a massive success, raking in profits for investors and theaters alike, which solidified Director Colby’s status in the industry.
Initially, he wasn’t very impressed with Sarah, thinking she was too pretty and just an eye candy,” as some viewers put it. But over time, his perspective shifted, and he wanted to dust off a script he had long wanted to make into a film.
That script was something he had written back in college for his thesis, telling the story of his grandmother’s life. She had been a writer and translator, living a tumultuous life that left a mark on some artistic souls, so it wasn’t just anyone who could play her. Given Colby’s personal attachment to the story, he wasn’t about to cast just any actress as his grandmother.
Now, Director Colby thought maybe Sarah could be the one.
Sarah listened to Director Colby ramble on the phone for over half an hour, and her eyebrows slowly furrowed. “Director Colby, you hardly ever directed art films before, right? Are you sure your college work can achieve the effect you want?”
Director Colby had always favored visually stunning and imaginative commercial blockbusters, which meant his films usually raked in high box office numbers. Each of his movies seemed to surpass the previous one, and “The Mysterious Family” had become the highest-grossing film in the past two years.
Realistic art films didn’t seem to be his thing.
Sarah’s main concern was whether he could pull it off. After all, even masters have their weaknesses.
Nowadays, art films didn’t typically bring in big box office returns. While quality and reputation were the goals, not every art film managed to get a good reception after release. If both ended up flopping, the losses would be significant.
Facing Sarah’s doubts, Director Colby wasn’t angry. In fact, he appreciated her straightforwardness in expressing her concerns. He had little respect for those who flattered him on the surface but talked behind his back.
Plus, he wasn’t entirely confident himself; he couldn’t guarantee that this would be an outstanding film. He wasn’t making it for the money; it was more about the nostalgia from his youth and wanting to fulfill a dream he once had.
“I’ll send you the script; take a look,” he said.
“Sure, I’ll get back to you after I read it,” Sarah replied.
After receiving the script, Sarah spent a few hours going through it, and the more she read, the more excited she became. She called Director Colby the next afternoon.
“Director Colby, I can’t believe you were once an art student too!”
“Thanks,” he chuckled.
Sarah was pleased with the script; compared to some of the projects she’d seen lately that were either overly cliched or absurd, Colby’s script was high quality. If he switched to screenwriting full-time, he’d definitely be a top-notch writer.
“I’d love to play the role. When do you plan to start filming?” she asked.
Director Colby was notorious for being a workaholic, churning out one film after another without seeming to take a break.
“I’ll start filming once I have enough funding,” he said.
Sarah thought for a moment. If he were making a commercial film, securing funding wouldn’t be a problem since investors were eager to jump on board. But for an art film… well, that was another story. She wished him luck.
“Is the budget low?” Sarah inquired. “If there aren’t too many investors, how about I put in eight million?”
Director Colby paused. His films were known for being expensive and often required a lot of funding. Even when making an art film, he still wanted high production value and a bit of flair, not to mention he wanted the war scenes in the film to feel authentic.
When he first started making movies, he nearly drove his investors to bankruptcy, worrying day and night that they might send someone to take him out.
After a moment of silence, Director Colby asked, “Could you get your husband to invest?”
Sarah replied, “Don’t think I don’t know this is a risky venture. You think he’s some kind of fool? He’d never agree to that! Director Colby, I’ve already agreed to play the lead! You handle the funding as the producer! I can put in eight million.”
Director Colby was speechless. Fine, that worked.
But Sarah’s husband was actually sitting right across from Director Colby when she made that call.