**Chapter 94: A Salary Worth Screaming About**

With Eva Green expected to sign with him, along with other actors who could be slotted in for minor roles in the movie, this project would earn him at least over $100,000.

In this era, $100,000 is no small sum for an agent.

And compared to other agents, he was earning this money much more easily.

After recording all the names, Mike immediately called Zhang Ziyi after hanging up.

At this moment, in a two-bedroom apartment near Sunset Boulevard with a monthly rent of about $2,000, Zhang Ziyi was feeling anxious.

The unexpected success of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* had pleasantly surprised her. From a disastrous debut in just 16 theaters, the movie had now grossed nearly $100 million, an achievement that any actor would be proud and excited about.

But reality quickly hit her hard.

There were no film offers, no commercials, and no endorsements—nothing at all. This was completely different from what she had imagined.

Unable to figure it out, she later took the initiative to visit WMA to seek confirmation from Mike. There, she received survey results from Cinema Score, WMA, and Sony Classics, the distributor of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*.

After reviewing the survey, she suddenly realized that the North American audience's love for the movie wasn't focused on any particular star. Instead, they were drawn to the kung fu culture and the mysterious atmosphere and beautiful cinematography created by *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*.

So the movie's success ultimately boiled down to director Ang Lee.

Although her role as Jen Yu had gained her considerable fame, it wasn't nearly as much as she had imagined.

Moreover, since she was only the second female lead and a newcomer with no proven box office draw, it was completely normal that production companies weren't seeking her out.

After all, in Hollywood, there were plenty of actresses with similar fame and pricing as hers, so production companies had no reason to take a bigger risk by casting an Asian actress.

After listening to Mike's explanation, Zhang Ziyi felt deeply disappointed.

What she didn't know was that she had also lost the role of the female martial artist villain in *Rush Hour 2*, which was originally supposed to be hers.

Just like in her previous life, Jackie Chan had become quite interested in her after watching *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. If things had gone as they originally did, Jackie Chan would have invited Zhang Ziyi to a party through Ang Lee and Yuen Woo-Ping.

At that party, she would have made a bold move, throwing herself into Jackie Chan's arms, which would have landed her the role in *Rush Hour 2*.

But this time, Jackie Chan already knew that Zhang Ziyi was signed with Mike and had latched onto Wayne, a much bigger name than himself.

Considering Hollywood was American turf, he had no choice but to give up his interest in her.

So, all that was left for Zhang Ziyi now was a shot at auditioning for the second female lead in *Resident Evil*.

Although she had done her best to impress Wayne before, and had been diligently practicing with the guidance of professional teachers Mike had found for her, nearly a month had passed with no news about the *Resident Evil* audition, leaving her worried as a lonely foreigner in a strange land.

Luckily, Wayne wasn't the kind of person who would abandon someone after using them.

Receiving Mike's call and learning that her role would be Ada Wong, Zhang Ziyi was overjoyed.

During this time, she had forced herself to stave off boredom by playing through the entire *Resident Evil* series. She had thoroughly studied the game's story and all the character backgrounds, so she knew that Ada Wong, with her mysterious and morally ambiguous nature, would be an important figure in the *Resident Evil* series.

Although she would only appear in the first film, if the franchise continued with sequels, there was a good chance she would appear again.

Then, when she learned from Mike what her salary for playing Ada Wong would be, she was so excited that she almost jumped up from her yoga mat, nearly screaming out loud.

"One million dollars?!"

"That's just an estimate. It won't be less than $800,000, so after taxes and the agency's cut, you'll take home at least $500,000."

Zhang Ziyi's breathing quickened after getting confirmation.

Taxes? Well, you have to pay them everywhere, and she definitely wasn't considering tax evasion.

As for the agency's cut?

Her deal with Mike only took 9%, which was far lower than the typical 60-70% cuts in China.

Most importantly, $500,000 converted to Chinese yuan was over four million! Earning over four million from one movie—this would surpass every actress in China at the time.

"Great! Should I thank Mr. Wayne?"

"You can give Wayne a call to see if he has time, but based on my experience, now that the script for *Resident Evil* is finalized, it won't be long before auditions start. Your main focus should be preparing for that. If your audition is terrible, no one can save you, unless Wayne personally intervenes."

Despite Mike's advice, Zhang Ziyi still called Wayne after hanging up, only to receive a response similar to Mike's.

Wayne didn't need her to fly over to thank him; he just told her to focus on preparing for the audition.

Still, there was some good news. Through that conversation with Wayne, she became more confident that she'd secure the role of Ada Wong.

She also confirmed that her salary would indeed be one million dollars, an amount that could keep her excited for days.

After Wayne hung up, she couldn't help but share the good news with a few of her "best friends," including Liu Yifei, who had just returned to China after attending the *Gifted* screening.

As expected, both the role of second female lead in a multi-million-dollar production and the million-dollar salary left Liu Yifei green with envy, while Liu Xiaoli, standing nearby, looked downright jealous.

At that moment, Liu Xiaoli had only one thought: If only her daughter were 16 instead of 14.

"Sisi, even though Mr. Wayne has already planned out your career path, telling you to develop here for a couple of years to gain popularity and improve your acting, don't forget to occasionally call or message him to check in, alright?"

Liu Yifei blushed and, pretending to be calm, agreed. 

(End of Chapter)