Cameo

It was another typical day, with traffic bustling on the streets. A Volkswagen sedan pulled over, and two individuals stepped out.

One of them carried a briefcase and, after glancing at the business building in front of them, identified Firefly Films on the third floor from among the many nameplates. Satisfied they had the right place, he turned to the other person and said, "It's on the third floor. Let's go up."

They had a prior appointment with the front desk, and a staff member escorted them to a meeting room.

The two of them exchanged glances, finding themselves in an empty room, and decided to take a seat.

These two individuals were none other than Christian Bale, the chosen lead actor for "Train to New York", and his agent, Mike, who had accepted the invitation.

Shortly after, an assistant brought in two cups of coffee.

They politely accepted the drinks, finally feeling relieved.

Upstairs in the office of Lyman and Zack, they were in the middle of meeting with a few other people.

In the original "Train to Busan", there was a couple role, and they had chosen two popular stars to play it. This approach provided both publicity and saved costs. Therefore, they had decided to cast two singers for these roles.

One of them was a young girl, also a newcomer in the spotlight, whom Def Jam was planning to promote. The other was a member of Coldplay, a band they had collaborated with before. Their song "Yellow" had even been used as a background track in the film "Effervescent", so they were familiar.

"Miss Rihanna, right? Please have a seat," Lyman said with a smile.

She stood there, looking a bit reserved.

With her fresh appearance and doll-like face, she looked even more youthful and striking at the age of 17.

Rihanna glanced at her agent before taking a seat. She curiously observed Lyman and Zack.

She was just an ordinary girl who loved singing. Her entry into the American pop music industry had been quite accidental.

At that time, a well-known music producer from the industry had gone on vacation to a small island in the Caribbean, which happened to be her hometown. One of her relatives took her to meet this producer, and he thought her voice was impressive and that she had a natural talent for singing. This led to her signing with her current record label.

In essence, she was a complete newcomer in the music industry. She hadn't even released an album yet, only two singles.

Although the company had decided to help her launch a singing career, they didn't know when she'd be able to release her own album.

Just yesterday, she had received an invitation from a film company to star in a movie. She had accepted the offer without hesitation.

Of course, Lyman had no knowledge of this. He had simply sent collaboration requests to several record companies in the industry simultaneously, and Def Jam was the one that responded positively.

Def Jam was eager to promote Rihanna. The promise of a $70M budget production and Lyman's reputation were essential bargaining chips. Perhaps they also saw an opportunity to enhance Rihanna's on-screen exposure in tandem with the film's release.

This was the hidden value of successful individuals. Many were eager to seek mutually beneficial collaborations.

"Miss Rihanna, here's your copy of the script."

As she received it, Lyman turned to her agent and asked, "If everything goes smoothly, "Train to New York" is expected to start filming at the end of April and finish in mid-July. Do you foresee any scheduling conflicts during these months?"

"No problem at all," her agent nodded vigorously.

"When it comes to compensation, considering that Miss Rihanna lacks previous acting experience and her role isn't too extensive, we discussed and decided to offer her $15,000. Of course, her filming tasks won't be too demanding; it's mainly because her scenes are scattered," Lyman explained.

"$15,000?" Rihanna, who had been pretending to read the script while secretly eavesdropping on the discussions between her agent and Lyman's team, couldn't help but feel delighted.

Well, as a complete newcomer, regardless of the industry, her salary wouldn't be high. Even though her music company was willing to invest in her development, she hadn't generated any profits for the company before this opportunity. Life hadn't been easy for her.

As for her agent, they were thinking quite simplistically. After all, they didn't plan to have Rihanna develop in both fields simultaneously, so the amount of money didn't matter much. They promptly had Rihanna sign the acting contract.

As for Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, although he had a successful career in music, this was his first time trying his hand at acting. Besides the novelty of the experience, he didn't need the money, so he was quite generous. He signed the contract for only $20,000.

The original actors for these roles were nowhere near as high-profile as the ones chosen now. This also helped reduce the overall cost of the cast, freeing up more budget for other aspects of the production. It was truly a win-win situation.

After finalizing the contracts, Lyman was in a great mood. He called in an assistant, who politely escorted the newcomers out.

A while later, the assistant returned with a report, saying that the actor they had invited was here and waiting in the meeting room. They asked Lyman if he wanted to meet with them.

Lyman nodded and, accompanied by Zack, followed the assistant to the meeting room on the third floor.

Upon entering, they saw Christian and his agent sitting on the couch. As soon as they noticed someone entering, they stood up.

Christian curiously sized up the individuals, while his agent, Mike, nodded politely and greeted them with a smile.

"Indeed, a good presence," Zack leaned in and whispered, showing his satisfaction as well.

Clearing his throat lightly, Lyman began, "I assume you're aware of the role in our new film."

He then pointed to Zack, introducing, "This is the director of this project, Zack Snyder."

"Hello, Zack. I'm Christian, and this is my agent," Christian extended his hand and greeted them warmly.

After a handshake, Lyman continued, "If you're joining the cast, you'll need to work on bulking up in the coming weeks. You're too thin."

At this moment, Christian had recently finished "The Machinist". For that role, he needed to portray a severely emaciated character suffering from severe insomnia. He had lost over 50 pounds in just two weeks, which was more than one-third of his original body weight, considering he was nearly 170 pounds at the time. Even though the film had been completed for over a month, he hadn't fully recovered yet.

So, he looked much thinner than the average middle-aged man of his height.

"I will. I've been working on bulking up lately, so regaining my physique won't be a problem," Christian quickly reassured them.

He cherished this hard-won opportunity and wondered why he was the only one in the meeting room earlier. Was it just good luck? He didn't know.