No escaping from the rival

The Farmers Market, located between Beverly Boulevard and West Third Street, was established in 1934 as an idea from a group of farmers during the Great Depression. They gathered fresh fruits and vegetables from their farms and sold them directly to nearby residents at low prices. Over the decades, the market expanded and became a tourist attraction after the area declined in livability.

Due to the complex composition of the population, the market had a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere with a rural flavor mixed with exotic vibes. The market was full of boutique shops, restaurants, jewelry stores, and cinemas, and the warm and cozy feel of a traditional market was a unique and beautiful sight. Of course, no one could forget the freshly made toast, muffins, and golden crispy biscuits that filled the market with a friendly buzz.

From Sunset Square, it only took fifteen minutes to reach the Farmers Market. Joseph looked around and quickly found his destination, Knott's Berry. The production team had arranged to meet at the restaurant next to the main entrance of the Farmer's Market, and the two rushed over.

It took Joseph some effort to find a parking space, and after he parked the car, Hugo straightened his collar in the rearview mirror. Joseph expressed his concern, "Are you sure this is okay?"

Hugo was very calm, "I'm fine, really." After straightening his clothes, Hugo opened the car door and stood in the parking lot, spreading his arms towards Joseph, "Don't you feel good like this?"

Since Hugo didn't have time to unpack his suitcase, he ended up wearing Alex's clothes for the audition, which was why Joseph had asked him about his height and weight. Hugo was now wearing a light blue tennis shirt with light blue jeans, and a navy blue baseball jacket over it. He looked youthful and energetic, yet the sober colors and combination didn't seem too casual.

Joseph was still worried, participating in an audition without wearing formal clothes was already bad enough, but not even wearing a shirt made it hard to feel at ease.

Hugo seemed to sense Joseph's inner struggles and smiled, turning to point to Knott's Berry restaurant, "If you asked me to wear a shirt for this audition, not only would the interviewer feel uncomfortable, but I'd probably be uncomfortable as well, right?"

The Farmers Market was a traditional market, and one could even see a lot of farm-style outfits such as plaid shirts or work pants. Knott's Berry, on the other hand, was a well-known chicken restaurant, and wearing formal attire would seem out of place. In this sense, Hugo's outfit was actually quite in line with the theme, neither too casual nor too formal.

Joseph nodded, and since there was no way to regret it now, he locked the car door and pointed in the direction of the restaurant. "Let's go."

It was only six o'clock in the afternoon, and there was still some time before dinner. There weren't many people coming to eat, but there were still scattered people coming in and out of the door. Joseph suddenly pulled Hugo's arm and whispered, "A competitor has come."

Following Joseph's gaze, Hugo looked forward and saw two people stopping at the entrance of the restaurant. One of them, a man in a suit and leather shoes, was completely independent of the surrounding environment as if wearing leather shoes in the fields, making people laugh. This was a stranger. However, Hugo recognized the other person, Brad Pitt.

Today, Brad was wearing a light blue shirt without a tie. The top three buttons of the shirt were opened lazily and casually, revealing his healthy wheat-colored chest. Although he was also wearing a formal shirt and trousers, his casual and unrestrained temperament matched the surroundings in an unusual way, not too abrupt.

Seeing Brad, Hugo's first reaction was: "A River Runs Through It" is over? He thought there was still going to be some filming, after all, "A River Runs Through It" was going to be filmed in Montana, which was far more complicated than filming "Scent of a Woman".

The second reaction was: The enemy seems inevitable. He actually came to compete again after "A River Runs Through It".

Brad and the other man standing at the door only paused for a moment. The other man smiled at Joseph, as a way of greeting, but the smile seemed condescending. Then the two men walked straight into the restaurant.

It was then that Joseph explained to Hugo in a low voice, "That's Brad's agent, a bigwig in the industry. Martin Baum, one of the five founders of CAA."

Hugo immediately understood. No wonder Martin looked at Joseph with a sense of superiority, because he had the capital to do so. Not to mention compared to Joseph, even Ron Meyer would be inferior in front of Martin.

The origin of American brokerage firms could be traced back to the William Morris Agency, founded in 1898, which laid the foundation for the entire brokerage industry. However, in 1975, five young brokers who had not yet made a name for themselves within the William Morris Agency were dissatisfied with the seniority system within the company, so they left to start their own company. With a deposit of $21,000, a loan of $36,000, and two cars, these five young people stubbornly established their own company, which was now known as CAA. Martin Baum was one of the five young people who started the company.

CAA and ICM were both established in 1975 and were now among the top three brokerage firms in the United States. Therefore, they had always been competitors and partners. Today, Martin personally took action with Brad, obviously hoping to successfully secure the role of Lt. Daniel Kaffee to gain great momentum.

After Joseph finished explaining, he suddenly remembered something and his face darkened, "Tom Cruise is also an artist under CAA." It seemed that Martin was definitely determined to win. Internal transfers within the company were normal, and if the reigning Tom refused to take the role, Brad from the same company could take his place. This was a perfect transition.

However, Hugo did not look so nervous, "How do you know they are not competing within the company?"

Where there are people, there is competition, this is the truth. Even within the same company, brokers must compete with each other, just like Joseph and Ron. What if there was competition between Tom and Brad's agents? Then Brad's chances of winning were not as great as imagined, and he might even be obstructed by Tom's agent.

Joseph knew he was too nervous. Although what Hugo said may not be correct, the audition was about to begin, and worrying too much was useless, just like the audition for "A River Runs Through It". Even if it was destined to fail, at least he must try his best.

Although Hugo seemed calm on the surface, he was also nervous inside.

It felt like Hugo had many opportunities recently, but fundamentally speaking, before "Scent of a Woman" was officially released, the industry's attitude towards Hugo was still basically the same. In other words, today's audition difficulty was no less than the previous two times, and now there was also competition from Tom and Brad. Hugo was at a disadvantage, this was another opportunity that Hugo faced after crossing over, but it was also multiplied in difficulty. Therefore, it was impossible for Hugo not to be nervous.

After taking a deep breath, Hugo reluctantly took a step forward with Joseph and walked side by side towards the restaurant. Upon entering, Joseph began to scan the entire space. The environment here was similar to a family restaurant, and the atmosphere was relatively relaxed. Although there weren't many people dining now, one could still clearly feel the low murmurs that continuously warmed the air.

"Excuse me, sir, how many people are in your party?" the polite hostess at the door asked.

"I have a reservation for Mr. Reiner." Joseph said, and the hostess lowered her head to confirm before smiling and saying, "Please follow me."

The hostess led Joseph and Hugo through the restaurant and finally stopped in front of a long table that could accommodate eight people. Three people were already sitting at the table, and upon seeing them, all three stood up politely. The white-bearded old man sitting at the end of the table chuckled, "Welcome, welcome."

On the opposite side were Brad and Martin, who had arrived first, and the balding old man with a white beard was naturally the director, Rob Reiner.

Hugo couldn't help but keep his gaze on Rob. This actor-turned-director had made a name for himself with films such as "When Harry Met Sally...", "Misery", "The Bucket List", and "Flipped", all of which were movies that Hugo loved. Although Rob was not as well-known as many commercial directors, he was able to draw extraordinary passion from ordinary people and touch their hearts, making him a truly outstanding director.

Not long ago, Hugo had collaborated with Martin Brest, a director whose career had only produced two outstanding works: "Scent of a Woman" and "Beverly Hills Cop", which held the R-rated box office record in North America for 25 years until it was broken by "The Hangover" in 2009.

But Rob Reiner was clearly more outstanding, with works that had been consistently excellent from the 1980s to the second decade of the 21st century, making him a highly capable director.

"I hope you don't mind that I chose to meet here. I couldn't resist the thought of having chicken tonight, so even though I know this isn't a suitable place for a conversation, I stubbornly chose to come here," Rob joked with a smile on his face.