When Matthew left in large strides, apart from his agent Morris, few people in the crew paid attention to him, including the previous director and producer. It seemed they were accustomed to such situations and didn't find it strange at all.
Pushing open the door and stepping out of the temporary set, Matthew saw the blue sky, white clouds, and the wide, quiet road outside. He let out a long sigh, feeling a strange sense of relief, not only from the inexplicable experience of crossing the entire Pacific Ocean but also from the ease of escaping a romantic trap.
He didn't have a car; he had come in his agent's car. Now, Morris definitely wouldn't give him a ride back. So, relying on his memory of the direction, he walked along the wide road.
The temperature in Los Angeles in January wasn't low. After walking a short distance, Matthew took off his jacket. The breeze blew through his long-sleeved shirt, making him feel much more comfortable.
There were tall palm trees planted on both sides of the road. Every time Matthew passed one, he would look up. Previously, he had always been in the north, busy with the most basic necessities like meals, without any time to visit the south.
Now, he finally didn't have to swing a sledgehammer, but he still had to worry about his livelihood.
The memories left by the previous person told Matthew that the few tens of dollars and a used cell phone on him were all his possessions.
Moreover, the crew and agent Morris would definitely not let him off easily. Fifty thousand dollars might not be much in Hollywood, but it wasn't a small amount in this industry. It wouldn't be long before he received letters from lawyers or court summonses. Even if they settled outside of court, he would still have to pay a large sum of money.
For him now, this amount of money was astronomical.
Just arriving, he might end up owing a large sum of debt, which he might not be able to repay in a short time...
Would they resort to debt repayment by force? Forcing him to continue filming porno?
Judging from the attitude of the crew, it didn't matter much. Morris, the agent, probably wouldn't let him off easily.
"Sigh..." Matthew sighed, feeling troubled. "Changed places, still an unlucky person."
Although he was a bit worried, he didn't blame heaven or earth. He had gotten used to the hardships of life.
There was a long bench under a palm tree ahead. After Matthew approached, he didn't care about the dust on the chair. He sat directly on it, leaning against the wooden backrest, as he looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, and wondered about what to do in the future.
Should he continue struggling at the bottom, with the goal being only the most basic survival?
"Don't you like money and beautiful women?"
The words of the agent Morris suddenly flashed through Matthew's mind. He couldn't help but think of the blonde beauty, although her face wasn't as attractive as her figure, she still made him restless all over.
Should he strive to climb to a higher level? Wasn't it obvious?
Matthew gradually clenched his fist. "I want a better life! I want to roll in piles of money! I want to party with a group of beautiful women!"
He didn't have much education or training, just a small figure struggling at the bottom. His goal or rather his ideal was so vulgar and practical.
With a goal in mind, the only question was how to achieve it? Matthew lowered his head and looked at the wide road, realizing that while the goal could be lofty, the path to it must be taken step by step.
Although the road to achieving the goal could be as high as the sky, to approach it, one must take one step at a time and find a suitable path!
For example, becoming the President of the United States could also be an achievable goal, but he obviously wasn't cut out for it.
This path wasn't easy to find. The hardships of the past made Matthew understand that the phenomenon of class solidification in this world was very serious. Anyone who wanted to cross their own class and climb to a higher level was not an easy task.
Although he didn't understand Americans, the society he had previously been in was highly informationized. With a smartphone, one could access countless pieces of information. Therefore, Matthew believed that Americans in this regard might be more difficult than his own country.
Even if there were opportunities, they were left for those who were prepared and capable, not for someone like him who had no skills.
Matthew wasn't belittling himself but had experienced the hardships of struggle. He understood that while goals could be grand, the path to them must be taken step by step.
After sitting for a while, Matthew stood up and continued walking forward. As he walked, he analyzed himself, trying to find his most proficient aspect at the moment. After all, his brain stored the memories of two people, so he could surely find something useful.
High technology? He knew nothing about it.
Finance and economics? How could someone who worried about his three meals a day care about these things?
Write novels adapted into Hollywood movies to earn royalties? He only graduated from junior high school with average grades, and the previous person didn't even finish high school. Understanding complex and profound articles was a problem for him, let alone writing.
Apart from having a good physique and strength, and excluding driving, he really didn't seem to have any skilled skills.
After analyzing it all, Matthew sadly found that even with the combination of what he and the other person had learned, he couldn't do those high-paying intellectual jobs.
At this moment, he felt that the saying "If a young man doesn't work hard, he will be miserable when he is old" was quite reasonable.
Matthew stopped under a palm tree, suddenly feeling that the guy before him coming to Los Angeles to pursue the Hollywood star dream wasn't just an impulse. Considering his own abilities and the environment he was in, the opportunities to emerge in Hollywood seemed to be a bit more reasonable than in other high-end industries!
Most importantly, the entry threshold for Hollywood was relatively low. Among the information he had collected, Jim Carrey had worked as a janitor, Madonna had worked as a salesperson in a fast food restaurant, Brad Pitt had dressed as the McDonald's promotional mascot, Johnny Depp had worked as a telemarketer selling pens, and Harrison Ford was a carpenter. Even the famous James Cameron had worked as a truck driver...
These Hollywood big names, before they became famous, were just like him, genuine losers.
However, these former losers were now both famous and wealthy, the kind of bastards that made people envious!
There were too many similar examples, too numerous to mention. Hollywood seemed to be the best industry for losers to counterattack and become rich and handsome.
But he felt that things definitely wouldn't be as simple as they seemed. He just didn't know.
After much thought, Matthew realized that Hollywood seemed to be the most realistic and likely path to success.
Where a person stands determines the limits of their vision. Matthew stood at the bottom of society, looking up, and saw only this ladder called Hollywood.
"Hollywood..." Matthew lifted his head and looked in the direction of the Hollywood Hills in his memory. "It's you!"
Thinking of Hollywood, scenes of success immediately appeared before his eyes: living in the most luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills, parking limited edition cars in the garage, dozens of golden-haired beauties frolicking in the pool in front of the villa, countless media reporters queuing up for interviews...
That's life! That's the life he wants!
Since he couldn't think of any other opportunities to change his fate, Matthew decided to continue the former dream of becoming a Hollywood star and see if he could also transform from a loser to a rich and handsome guy!
With a goal in mind and a path to it, he suddenly felt much more relaxed, even though he knew the road ahead would be very difficult.
The previous person, after coming to Los Angeles, also registered with a specialized agency for temporary acting jobs but never got the chance to participate in Hollywood movies, let alone talk about income. He could only work part-time as a driver in a party service company and then be fooled by another agent, getting a pizza that looked delicious but tasted extremely bitter.
Recalling all the memories related to Hollywood, Matthew realized that he couldn't find an opportunity for now. He could only, like those rumored big stars, first get a job in Los Angeles and then try every means to find the right opportunity for himself!
Thinking about work, Matthew felt that the job of the driver he had previously quit wasn't bad. He would work in the evening to send people, and in the early morning or late at night, he would pick them up. He would rest mostly during the day, which was very suitable for an actor looking for opportunities.
Moreover, this job might also allow him to come into contact with people in the Hollywood industry. It's just that the previous person had bad luck and didn't persist, deciding to take the so-called backdoor to Hollywood.
After weighing it, Matthew thought it was necessary to continue this job. He took out his second-hand phone, searched for a while, and dialed a number.
"Hello..."
A humble male voice sounded, "This is Red Penguin Company. How can I help you?"
"Hello, Mr. List." Matthew had been in society for many years and knew how to speak now. His voice carried a hint of flattery. "I'm Matthew, Matthew Horner. I'm coming back to you."
The voice on the phone immediately became arrogant, "Oh, it's you? What do you want from me? If there's nothing, I'll hang up."
"Don't, don't, don't!" Matthew hurriedly said, "I just want to come back to learn from you and make a living."
"Weren't you resigning?" The voice on the other end didn't show mercy at all. "Weren't you going to become a big star and make big money?"
"I was naive, I was deceived, but you have insight. You saw through the scam at a glance." Matthew continued to lower his posture. "That's why I want to continue learning from you."
"Haha, I told you so, kid." The person sounded much more comfortable. "You lack experience, so you should learn more from me."
"I just want to come back and continue learning from you." Matthew immediately followed his words. "Thanks for being good to me, Mr. List."
"Okay, stop saying these useless things." The voice on the phone softened. "Do you want to come back and work? I'll give you half an hour. If you can make it to the company in half an hour, you'll work tonight!"
"I'll definitely make it there on time!" Matthew assured.
Matthew's determination to change his life direction is clear. Despite the challenges ahead, he's resolved to pursue his dreams in Hollywood, hoping to transform his life from one of struggle to one of success.