Chapter 2 Assistant Agent
In Beverly Hills, on the west side of Beverly Boulevard stands a 10-story building, with its exterior walls and atrium all covered in glass. It is the headquarters of CAA, the hottest artist agency in Hollywood.
This building is also known as the Death Star Building in the industry. The "Death Star" is praised as invincible in "Star Wars"!
After Aaron Anderson reported in, he was quickly assigned to Paula Wanger, one of CAA's ace agents, and became one of her five assistants.
Paula Wanger, now 43 years old, can be called the number one female agent at present, because she holds an absolute trump card in her hand, Tom Cruise, whose original name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.
She personally discovered Tom Cruise in the early 1980s, and then the movie "Top Gun" that became popular all over the world was released a few years ago, making Tom Cruise a national idol, unparalleled in the limelight!
"Aaron Anderson, 19 years old, you have been able to stick to the mailroom for half a year, you are already very good;"
"Now you are an assistant agent, and if you can find clients next, you can become a formal agent!"
CAA originally did not have any clear job divisions, but this kind of internal invisible hierarchy is definitely indispensable. Assistant agents are actually licensed agents, but they don't have any formal clients, and the work they do is not much different from that in the mailroom.
The mailroom is a probationary period, and now that the probationary period has officially passed, I can go find clients myself!
As Paula Wanger spoke, she patted Aaron on the shoulder and said, "Our two bosses of CAA, Michael Ovitz and Ronald Mayer, both came out of the mailroom of WMA (William Morris Agency);" "
And the current chairman of 20th Century Fox Entertainment Group Barry Diller, chairman of Disney Group Michael Eisner, and chairman of Disney Film Jeffrey Katzenberg all came out of the mailroom of WMA!"
Aaron Anderson looked at Paula and couldn't help but said, "And David Geffen of Geffen Music Group also came out of the mailroom of WMA."
After all, he has been in the mailroom of CAA for six months, aren't these things very clear to him?
CAA, WMA and ICM (International Creative Management) are the three major entertainment agencies in Hollywood. As the oldest agency, WMA has dominated the artist agency business in Hollywood for half a century.
The five founders of CAA are former WMA generals. In 1975, they "defected" from WMA and founded the current CAA. The package deal made CAA a major force in Hollywood. Another ICM was also established in 1975!
Paula smiled and looked at her watch. "Very good, then go to the Starbucks downstairs and buy me two cups of cappuccino, and then send them up as quickly as possible."
Isn't the assistant agent used to do these jobs? There are no artists to take care of. Do you know how to choose scripts or arrange activities for artists?
Taking care of the daily life of artists is already very good.
Aaron Anderson nodded, then turned around and left.
Soon, Tom Cruise, with a bright smile on his face, came to the CAA headquarters building. After kindly returning the greetings to some people, he came to Paula Wanger's office!
"The family drama "Rain Man" that you and Dustin Hoffman collaborated on has received unanimous praise from film critics and the media. You will definitely gain something at some of the upcoming award ceremonies."
Paula Vagla sat in a chair. She has been paying attention to "Rain Man" which has been released for two weeks, and the box office trend is also good.
At present, the cumulative box office of the movie has exceeded 20 million US dollars after ten days of release!
"By the way, is there any problem with the filming of "Born on the Fourth of July"?" Paula Wanger asked.
Tom Cruise shook his head, "Everything is going well, and the film will be closed soon."
"Born on the Fourth of July" is the second part of Oliver Stone's "Vietnam War Trilogy".
Oliver Stone's "Vietnam War Trilogy" is a series about opposing the Vietnam War. The first one is the famous "Platoon", which won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director!
"Regarding Tony Scott's racing action film "Days of Thunder", producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer are scheduled to start filming in June or July next year;"
"The leading actor has signed a contract with you, and this time Paramount has given you a budget of 60 million US dollars!"
Paula Wanger was talking about Tom Cruise's next movie.
60 million US dollars is a safe top blockbuster in this era, and Days of Thunder is also a pure commercial movie.
And Stallone's new movie "Rambo: First Blood 3" released this summer cost 63 million US dollars, which is currently the most expensive movie in Hollywood!
"Rain Man" and "Born on the Fourth of July" are both dramas and art films. The commercial work of "Days of Thunder" is also indispensable. Hollywood always looks at the box office."
"Don't worry, of course I know!" Tom Cruise is not against commercial films, but he is now yearning for the Oscars;
since "Top Gun", he has devoted himself to literary dramas. He wants to prove that handsome guys can also have acting skills!
After a while, Aaron Anderson knocked on the door with coffee, took a look at Tom Cruise, and left the office.
"Tom Cruise, who is less than 30 years old, has such a great appearance," Aaron Anderson had to sigh. If the future Leo didn't have the blessing of the movie "Titanic", he really couldn't compare to him.
"Hi, Aaron," after coming to the office next door, he met his colleague Jack Wells who was sorting out documents. They were also assistant agents!
"Are they all scripts?" Aaron picked up a few and flipped through them. The important work of the mailroom was to unpack these things that were sent.
Jack Wells nodded, "Now the company receives hundreds of scripts every month. CAA has become a script factory in Hollywood!"
Aaron shrugged, "The package deal made by CAA is a one-stop service from screenwriters, producers, directors and actors. The script is the beginning."
The recently released "Rain Man" is a complete package deal work. From the screenwriter to the director and actors, it is all handled by CAA;
even the marketing plan for the release was formulated by CAA for MGM United Artists.
"Aaron, we need to find suitable young people to train in the streets, shopping malls, parks, and universities as soon as possible;"
"Otherwise, we will have to repeat some of the work in the mailroom and run errands!"
Jack Wells reminded Aaron.
Aaron patted the other's shoulder, "Let me help you sort out these scripts first."
Well, for Aaron Anderson now, he is still willing to do this. After all, many good movies in his memory are in his mind, and the script is the beginning of the movie;
coming to this era, it is not to serve tea and water for others, run errands and drive, and be an office clerk.
END OF THE CHAPTER....