Losing sight of one another

The journalists watched as Hugo and Joseph left the banquet hall, as if they were being bid farewell in a parade. The journalists hesitated and struggled in their place: Should they interview Anthony or Hugo?

Nicholas didn't have such concerns. He almost followed closely behind Joseph, leaving the banquet hall one after another, then caught up with Hugo walking ahead. "Hugo, Hugo!"

However, Hugo didn't stop his steps and continued walking forward. Joseph turned around and, upon seeing Nicholas, spoke with a serious expression, "Nicholas, we've said everything we needed to say. We won't give any more interviews."

"Oh, Joseph, be a little friendlier," Nicholas said with a smile, clearly in a good mood. After witnessing the brilliant confrontation just now, it was hard for him to conceal his smile.

But Joseph obviously didn't share the same good mood. He gritted his teeth in retort, "You should be the one being friendly!" Although Joseph and Hugo hadn't read any newspapers before they left today, which led to their passive position at the beginning, they adjusted their moods in the restroom before entering the banquet hall. However, they unexpectedly overheard discussions about the Seasons Hotel and learned that the Los Angeles Times had once again criticized Hugo. It was definitely not pleasant news!

In such moments, Hugo needed allies even more. They had originally thought that the Los Angeles Times would be an ally, but it turned out not to be.

Nicholas understood what Joseph was referring to and helplessly raised his hands in surrender. "Take it easy, I need to make a living too." His words made it sound as if Joseph was forcing him to do something morally wrong, leaving Joseph speechless.

"Hey, Joseph," another journalist gasped as he caught up, hastily handing over his business card. "I'm James Rudd from Us Weekly. I hope to write an exclusive interview with Hugo, allowing him to express his views on this incident from his perspective." Joseph didn't take the business card, which made James a little anxious. "I've written two articles about Hugo before. You can take a look. I'm genuinely interested."

Joseph hesitated for a moment. "You're... the journalist who highly praised Hugo after the premiere of "Final Analysis", right?" After Hugo participated in the premiere, Us Weekly published related articles, instantly making Hugo the center of attention. Joseph remembered this, but it had been almost a year, and his memory was a bit fuzzy, so he hesitated.

"Yes, yes!" James appeared very happy, nodding vigorously to express affirmation.

Joseph pondered for a moment. Us Weekly was a comprehensive magazine, but its content mainly focused on gossip and was considered a leading figure in gossip media in the United States. Although artists still need to maintain a professional image, gossip is an inseparable part of it. Therefore, Joseph accepted James's business card, intending to go back and take a look at the articles James had written about Hugo before making a decision.

"Joseph, I made the appointment first!" Nicholas immediately became displeased. He was the first to catch up and was overtaken by his competitor.

Joseph raised an eyebrow. "You should have spoken up earlier." Although Nicholas had caught up directly, he didn't say anything, so Joseph was teasing him. This left Nicholas dumbfounded. Joseph had no intention of staying and continuing the conversation, and he turned around and left.

Nicholas and James stood in place, wearing different expressions as they watched Joseph catch up to Hugo, and the two of them left the Four Seasons Hotel. At this moment, a large group of people also rushed out of the banquet hall. Although the conversation just now lasted less than half a minute, the reporters were still late in chasing after them. It would be troublesome to interview Hugo again. This made the reporters feel annoyed, and they had to return to the banquet hall to continue interviewing Anthony, hoping to dig out more information about the incident.

Hugo and Joseph returned to their car. Joseph saw Hugo gently rubbing his temples and asked, "What's wrong?"

Hugo shook his head and said, "Nothing. It's just that dealing with these reporters is more tiring than acting or creating." He used to think of reporters too simply. He thought that after rolling in the underground rock scene for ten years and seeing countless reporters' tricks, he would have no problem dealing with them. But obviously, he was wrong. Not only the events from last night, but also Anthony's quick thinking today. It really surprised him time and time again. It made him feel exhausted. He even missed the times when no one paid attention to him in the days of Death or Glory.

Thinking of this, Hugo smiled bitterly. It was a contradiction. When no one paid attention, he hoped to carve out his own sky. But when the spotlight truly shone on him, he felt tired because of the excessive attention and chaos. The path in the entertainment industry was long and difficult, and Hugo had only just begun.

"So, what should we do next?" Hugo asked, feeling a bit lost.

Joseph contemplated for a moment and said, "We've said everything we needed to say. Now, it depends on the media's moves. We can only hope that last night's incident will make people see clearly and that someone is willing to speak up for us." Joseph paused for a moment and continued, "I will contact several media outlets to test the waters and see how they respond."

At this critical moment, Joseph's limited connections once again came into play. If it were someone like Ron Meyer or a professional public relations agent, they would undoubtedly be able to reach out to some authoritative media and have them speak positively about Hugo. A heavyweight ally could often change the course of events. Although Joseph's network wasn't extensive enough, he still knew many media professionals, so there were still many things he could do.

Hugo couldn't help but sigh. He was now grateful that the internet hadn't developed yet. If it were the 21st century, he wouldn't have had a chance to catch his breath. It was likely that the incident from last night would have already caused a huge uproar online, and Hugo and Joseph wouldn't have had time to discuss or strategize. They would have felt immense pressure from public opinion, further complicating their situation. But now, with print media still dominating and even mobile phones not fully ubiquitous, the speed of information dissemination was relatively slow. This provided Hugo with an opportunity to fight back.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, I completely forgot!" Joseph frowned and gave himself a hard tap on the head, scolding himself. "You have an audition at ten o'clock." Joseph closed his eyes. Although he knew that self-blame wouldn't solve any problems at this moment, he couldn't help but think that as a talent agent, he still had so much to learn. Not only that, but he also needed an assistant, and Hugo needed a manager, or else things would only get worse. But at this moment, Joseph didn't have time to blame himself or feel down because he had to hurry to Universal Studios.

"An audition? What are you talking about?" Hugo felt completely bewildered. He had no idea what was happening. "When did you get an audition opportunity?" He had never heard Joseph mention it before.

Joseph drove quickly toward Universal Studios while explaining, "Last night."

"I met Arnold Koppelson backstage yesterday, the producer of "Platoon"," Joseph explained briefly. "He is currently preparing a brand new film, and he thinks you would be suitable for the lead role. We had a long conversation, and I believe the script and character are really good. You can give it a try." Remembering the situation at that time, Joseph added, "Oh, by the way, I was talking to Arnold before Anthony's incident happened. That's why we had to stay in the corner."

Hugo recalled that Joseph was indeed talking to someone in the corner before he and Uma went to find him, so he nodded in understanding. Joseph continued, "He said he could make time this morning to see your audition. If it goes well, he can gather the director, writer, and us for lunch to discuss the possibility of you joining the cast."

Indeed, it was a sincere offer, which explained why Joseph agreed. "But I didn't expect so many things to happen. I almost completely forgot," Joseph said, hitting the steering wheel hard to express his frustration.

"Come on, Joe, none of us knew things would turn out like this, did we?" Hugo tried to remain optimistic. "After all, we had to attend this press conference, even if we remembered the audition. We couldn't change it. After all, auditions can be rescheduled. Even if we miss this one, there will be other opportunities in the future. But this unexpected incident needs to be dealt with immediately."

Joseph knew deep down that Hugo was right. If Anthony's situation wasn't handled properly, it was likely that Hugo wouldn't find work for a long time. However, even so, Joseph found it difficult to control his anger. He was mostly angry at himself. Since the end of last year, one thing after another had piled up, from family matters to work, and he hadn't handled them well. It was truly terrible.

Hugo knew that Joseph was blaming himself, and he knew that Joseph had been in a restless state since Thanksgiving, with family issues mixed with work matters, always causing him stress. Hugo patted Joseph's shoulder and said, "Joe, you've done a great job. At least you've won me a rare audition opportunity. That's something to be grateful for, and it's the only good news amidst the chaos of these past few days."

Hugo's words made Joseph's lips twitch involuntarily, finding some amusement in the situation. Hugo laughed lightly, "Alright, do you feel like talking to me about this audition now? I have absolutely no preparation, so at least let me know what kind of film it is."

"Oh, yes!" Joseph nodded. "It's a high-intelligence action thriller called "The Fugitive". The story is about..."

While Joseph was giving a brief introduction, Hugo's eyes suddenly lit up. "What? "The Fugitive"? That's the first Hollywood profit-sharing film to be imported domestically!"