[Chapter 395: Half God, Half Beast]
Charlize Theron came to New York to shoot a new movie called The Devil's Advocate. It was her first time starring as the lead in a commercial blockbuster, so she couldn't help but feel nervous. She worried about not performing well and also about working with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino, fearing they might be difficult on set.
What made her the most anxious was the constant reminders from her agent, Sam Haskel.
Since signing her in 1995, Sam kept talking about Link and how he had risen from a loader to a Hollywood mogul.
At first, Charlize thought Sam was sharing Link's story to inspire her to learn from Link, work hard, and become a star actress sooner.
Because of this, she put on a cold facade, rejecting many men's advances. While filming, she committed seriously, striving to play her roles better. When others were out shopping, partying, or dating, she stayed home reading, honing her craft, never missing any chance to improve.
She thought this would make her a star and establish a foothold in Hollywood.
But after several failed auditions, she slowly faced the reality.
She believed she performed excellently in those auditions and fit the roles well but still didn't get the parts.
In 1994 and 1995, she played eight roles of varying importance, mostly obtained through her agent's resource exchanges rather than auditions.
This realization was very disheartening. She complained to Sam about the film industry being so dark and full of backdoor dealings and wondered why no one controlled it.
Sam told her that these setbacks happened because she didn't have much value herself and wasn't an indispensable resource to the production teams.
For example, the roles she auditioned for fit not only her but other young actresses as well. Hollywood was not short on beautiful women.
To avoid being subjected to such backdoor expectations, she needed to have scarce resources, like becoming a star with a high box office draw, becoming a seasoned actor around whom a film's quality revolves, or having strong connections beneficial to producers.
Without any of these, one was bound to face such pressures.
Charlize became even more discouraged after hearing this. Sam's words made all her previous efforts feel worthless.
However, Sam also pointed her toward a way out -- befriending Link.
Sam asked if she knew where the resources he traded came from.
Charlize guessed from the WMA agency.
Sam said no, explaining that the resources shared by agencies were very limited and couldn't support their many agents and clients.
Great agents in Hollywood had to network and find resources themselves. The bigger the agent, the more resources they controlled.
He was one of the top agents in the industry.
He then asked if she knew how he became a top agent.
Charlize said it was due to his abilities and effort.
Sam shook his head, saying it was luck -- because he met Link, who later became a Hollywood tycoon.
As Link's agent, even getting a bit of Link's resources each year resulted in hefty commissions and placement of three artists under him into productions.
This was why his clients never lacked roles.
Hearing this backstage truth, Charlize felt complicated. She had thought her roles came from her agent and agency, but now saw it was all thanks to Link.
Her feelings toward Link were ambivalent.
Before coming to Hollywood, she had heard Link's name and seen his films, having some understanding of him.
To the media, Link was an extraordinary man -- powerful, wealthy, brilliant -- a pinnacle in the movie industry and regarded as the 'king' and 'sun' by struggling actors.
In the past year through Sam, she met Link a few times and spoke with him, learning more.
As Sam said, Link was handsome, refined, approachable, with a charisma more like a great director than a wealthy mogul -- an interesting man.
That was Link's good side.
His bad side was also clear: he was notorious for excessive romantic escapades, rumored to have over fifty girlfriends. Almost every beautiful actress with some fame in the industry was said to have some connection with him.
He was rumored to live extravagantly in a palace-like villa, with a bedroom featuring a gigantic bed where he reportedly indulged with many women daily -- a disturbing image.
Charlize had heard both the great and debauched sides of Link. To her, he was a half god, half beast -- on one side a handsome, great icon; on the other, a ferocious beast.
After the conversation with Sam, he bluntly told her that if she wanted a shortcut to fame, she should seek out Link -- as his lover or friend; just knowing him would open up many resources.
Like Jim Carrey, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Renee Zellweger, Ryan Phillippe -- they all started unknown but grew into huge stars with Link's help, commanding millions in paychecks.
She was beautiful and shared an agent with Link, giving her an advantage others didn't have.
Charlize felt torn.
As a strong-willed woman, she wanted to grow slowly from a small actress to a star through her own effort, not by trading her body for resources.
Yet, she knew Sam was right -- in Hollywood, unless you had extraordinary luck or talent, it was rare for normal people to succeed only by hard work. Even then, the road was tough.
She didn't think she could endure such hardships, but taking the shortcut didn't fit her values either.
One was a shortcut to success; the other, an uncertain rough path.
Which to choose?
She agonized for three days and finally decided to try.
Her thought was simple: befriending Link didn't have to mean being his woman. She could be friends, like Sofia Coppola, Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer -- who reportedly weren't Link's lovers but had close contact.
She had met Link a few times and could become friends.
This was also why she proactively visited Link's film crew after arriving in New York.
---
"Sally, have you met Keanu Reeves?" Link asked while eating.
Charlize snapped back to reality, blinking. "Twice, at the company script meeting. He seemed cool and quiet."
"Keanu is introverted and not very warm to unfamiliar people. But he's a good guy, a friend worth having. Next party, I'll invite him so you can get to know each other, which will make filming easier."
"Great!" Charlize smiled, blinking. "Link, you seem better than the rumors say."
"Oh? What rumors have you heard?"
"Too many. You are a Hollywood legend, admired by everyone and the goal for many. The rumors are mainly about three things -- your movies, your fortune, and your private life. Which do you want to hear about?" she said with a sly look.
"I've heard a lot about the first two from newspapers, so I'd like to hear about the third," Link replied.
Charlize was surprised. His biggest successes were career and wealth, admired by all. But his private life was chaotic and heavily criticized, with many bad rumors.
Yet, Link wanted to hear about his private life -- did he want to hear people call him a player or womanizer?
Charlize smiled and said, "The rumors about your private life are many and mostly nonsense. Like that you have over fifty girlfriends, which must be fake, right? Sam said you're hardworking, with a packed schedule directing several movies a year and managing your company. You don't have time for so many women."
"Fifty girlfriends? Last year the tabloids claimed I had over thirty, now they add twenty more?"
"Well, you're hot right now. Whenever your name appears, people buy the papers to read about you. The media uses you as a ratings magnet, blowing stories out of proportion, real or fake."
Charlize hesitated, then joked, "Link, can I ask how many girlfriends you really have?"
Link thought for a moment. "Not sure. I don't keep count. Whenever I meet a woman I like, I talk and drink with her. If she accepts me, we date; if not, I move on. I don't count numbers because each relationship is unique and special; emotions can't be quantified."
Charlize felt strange on two fronts: first, Link really didn't know how many girlfriends he had; second, he was serious about these relationships.
The first could be explained by too many girlfriends to count; the second was probably wishful thinking on Link's part.
As a woman, she knew no woman would share a lover willingly.
These women stayed for his resources, not affection.
Link was likely being played by them.
Charlize shook her head, feeling sorry for Link. He excelled in many aspects but was clueless about love, mistaking a bunch of women leeching off him for true love.
Suddenly, she had another thought: Link said he chats and drinks with women he fancies, and she was currently dining and chatting with him -- did this mean he was interested in her?
Charlize blinked, lowered her gaze, and felt conflicted whether to accept Link's advances or not.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.