8. Six dollars an hour

Monday morning, Matthew had just finished washing up when his phone rang. His agent, Dennis Kurt, was already waiting downstairs in his car. Matthew quickly changed into a new suit he had bought and hurried downstairs, getting into the car with his agent and heading towards Universal Studios.

During the ride, Dennis Kurt reminded Matthew of many things to pay attention to, especially not to talk nonsense on set and not to be too curious. If he happened to see anything strange, he should pretend he didn't see it.

Matthew nodded superficially but didn't really listen. He felt that his starting point was too low, and he wanted to climb up as soon as possible. To do that, he needed to improve his skills, like acting, and he needed opportunities!

But opportunities didn't just appear out of thin air; sometimes, you had to create them.

Like helping Angelina Jolie catch her cheating spouse. If he hadn't made additional requests, would he have this opportunity now? Over the past few days, Matthew had thought a lot about the reasons why Jolie fulfilled her verbal agreement. It probably boiled down to a few factors: her unique personality and the fact that she really was going to divorce, not caring what others said.

Dennis Kurt drove to Universal Studios and entered the restricted filming area. After parking the car, he asked around and quickly found the studio where "The Soul Lady" was being filmed. Although it was still early, the studio was already bustling with activity.

Entering the studio, they found the office of the casting director. Dennis Kurt asked, "Do you want to say hello to Miss Jolie?"

"No need," Matthew guessed that Angelina Jolie probably didn't want to see him. "She asked us to go directly to the casting director."

There was a hint of disappointment in Dennis Kurt's eyes, but he didn't say anything else. Leading the way with his large body, he found the office of the casting director.

Knocking on the door, they heard a crisp "come in" from inside. Matthew and Dennis entered, and a man in his thirties or forties was sitting behind the desk, looking through some documents.

"Are you Mr. Rubin?" Matthew saw the man nod and quickly said, "Miss Jolie's assistant Vanessa informed me to come for an audition today."

"Oh..." Rubin remembered, "That's right."

Dennis Kurt had been listening attentively on the side. He quickly stepped forward, handing over his business card respectfully. "Hello, Director Rubin. I'm Matthew's agent, Dennis Kurt."

Rubin took the business card and placed it on the table casually, then looked Matthew up and down. "Alright."

He picked up the phone and pressed a button casually. "John, there's a temporary actor here. Come and take them to sign a contract."

Matthew looked at Rubin, then at Dennis Kurt. Was that it for the audition?

A young man walked in and gestured, "Let's go to the legal department."

Next to him, Dennis Kurt looked obsequious, flattering Rubin a few times before smoothly obtaining his business card.

Led by the young man, Matthew and Dennis Kurt left the office and headed towards the legal department responsible for contracts in the production.

As they walked, Matthew whispered, "Is that considered an audition?"

"What do you think?" Dennis Kurt said disdainfully, "It's just background work without any lines. He takes one look, and that's enough, as long as you don't look too strange."

Matthew nodded. This made a lot of sense, and he realized even more the importance of opportunities.

Entering another office, a legal advisor brought out a contract. Matthew took it and found it difficult to read due to his low level of education. If he wanted to develop in the future, he really needed to improve his reading and writing skills, at least.

He just glanced at the treatment section and handed the contract to Dennis Kurt. It was better to leave such matters to the agent. After all, there wasn't much pay, and he didn't have to worry about being cheated by legitimate production teams as a small fry.

Seeing Dennis Kurt flipping through the temporary contract, Matthew continued to think about his own matters. He decided to go out later and buy a few books on acting. Not only could he learn some professional knowledge, but he could also improve his reading level, killing two birds with one stone.

The agent just glanced through the contract quickly and called out to Matthew, "Come sign it."

Matthew went over and signed his name on the temporary contract. The young man who had brought them there said, "You can leave now. We'll call you when we need you."

"Let's go." Dennis Kurt beckoned to Matthew. Matthew hesitated for a moment, but still followed him out of the office.

"Why are you rushing me?" Matthew asked.

"You're not working today anyway. What's the point of keeping you here and paying you for nothing?" Dennis Kurt said impatiently, "Six dollars an hour isn't much, but every penny counts."

Matthew shrugged. He realized that the hourly wage for this temporary acting job was six dollars. He guessed it might be the local minimum wage standard. The hours the production team needed to pay wages included not only the shooting time but also the time he spent waiting for them to call him to set.

And the wages weren't paid directly to him; the production team would pay the agent, who would deduct ten percent at the highest rate before depositing the rest into his account.

In reality, this job didn't pay much at all.

Matthew also understood why actors had to work part-time to support themselves when they weren't famous. If he worked over twenty days a month, he could support himself, but how many temporary actors could get that many gigs in a month?

"Um, Dennis..." Considering the breach of contract incident earlier, Matthew really needed money. "When can this salary standard be raised?"

"Do you think it's too low?" 

Without waiting for Matthew's reply, Dennis Kurt continued, "Join the actors' union. At least your salary will double."

Matthew widened his eyes, "Really?"

Dennis Kurt didn't even look at Matthew, "Of course it's true. The actors' union stipulates that the minimum hourly wage for union members cannot be less than $10, and the minimum daily wage cannot be less than $120..."

Matthew wasn't stupid. He immediately sensed something was wrong. "Doesn't the production team dislike high-paying temporary actors?"

Just like when he was waiting for odd jobs in the labor market, which boss didn't like cheap labor?

"You're quite smart!" Dennis Kurt patted Matthew's shoulder with a touch of sarcasm, "People like you, once they join the union, may seem to have security, but they actually lose their only competitive advantage."

He snorted, "Also, do you think joining the actors' union is something you can just do as you please?"

Matthew blinked. He looked like an ignorant fool, "Isn't the admission threshold very low?"

"Well, the admission threshold for the actors' union is indeed very low!" Dennis Kurt walked forward confidently. When Matthew caught up from behind, he continued, "But low thresholds also have thresholds!"

"Oh, I see." Matthew needed to understand some basic rules of the game. "Can you tell me more?"

Dennis Kurt glanced at Matthew, showing a little impatience on his face, but considering that Matthew had used him as a stepping stone to enter the studio, he simply said, "It's not easy to join the actors' union. You must meet the qualifications for membership before you can apply to join."

He cleared his throat and continued, "Firstly, you must have served as a lead actor in a film, advertisement, or television production that has signed a contract with the union, and your salary must meet union standards. Alternatively, you can work for 30 days in another production meeting the same standards, but you must apply to join the union within these 30 days. Or, any extra who has participated in three independent workdays in productions recognized by the union, along with proof of income, also qualifies for membership."

Hearing this, Matthew immediately knew that he didn't qualify for union membership even if he wanted to.

Dennis Kurt snorted again, "It also costs a lot of money! The membership fee in Los Angeles is $3000, and someone like you needs to pay a semi-annual fee of $58."

"I'll just remain freelance for now," Matthew decided immediately.

Dennis Kurt said again with sarcasm, "Still as foolish as ever."

Matthew's eyes swept over his chubby face, but he didn't say anything.

The two stopped at the entrance of the studio. Suddenly, Dennis Kurt stopped and said to Matthew, "You can go back on your own. I have something else to do."

Before Matthew could respond, Dennis Kurt turned and walked back into the studio.

Matthew frowned slightly. If he couldn't see through this kind of trick to take advantage of him, he would be truly foolish.

From Dennis Kurt's series of actions, Matthew could easily tell that the agent was just using him as a stepping stone to enter this production.

He shook his head. He couldn't care about these things now. Both sides were using each other.

Ignoring Dennis Kurt, who was trying to ingratiate himself inside the studio, Matthew walked out of the Universal Studios filming area. As he looked for the bus stop near the entrance of the studio, he saw a large bookstore. Located on the road that all visitors to the studio had to pass through, this bookstore mainly sold books related to film and television.

He had been thinking about buying a few books before so he immediately walked over, and upon entering the bookstore, he found that there weren't many people inside, and there were only two staff members standing near the cashier.

As he passed by the cashier, Matthew casually glanced inside and noticed a monitor running behind the cash register, positioned somewhat discreetly. He couldn't help but sigh. Corruption was rampant even in such a bookstore, where they had installed surveillance cameras.

He then walked into the aisle where books related to acting were displayed. He pulled out a hefty volume, and as he did, he noticed that the opposite shelf was empty, creating a gap that allowed him to see into the aisle between the two shelves.

Matthew didn't pay much attention, just glanced subconsciously. But then, a woman caught his eye.

She had chin-length black hair, flawless features, and from this angle, she looked delicate, pure, and beautiful, exuding both feminine beauty and a strong, cool vibe!

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