The Greatest Showman

Chapter 64

The meeting ended, and Roy didn’t stay for long after that. He packed up his things and left immediately.

Looking at the “Thor” script in his hand, Renly couldn’t help but smile. He could feel Roy’s good intentions. For a newcomer without an agent to take care of him, Roy had given him a lot of guidance, which was all very valuable information to him.

In fact, putting aside the constraints of Marvel and the choice of a commercial film, “Thor” is actually the worst-performing series in terms of box office and word of mouth feedback among Marvel’s many comic book heroes. Not to mention the likes of “Iron Man” and “Captain America”, even the later “Ant-Man” has achieved a comprehensive overtaking in word of mouth, box office, and return on investment.

The 2011 release of “Thor” had an investment of 150 million and only earned 449 million in global box office, not only it did not make money, but also caused Paramount to lose nearly 20 million; later in 2013, “Thor 2”, thanks to the rise of Marvel, saw an improvement in box office, with a cost of 170 million yielding 640 million in global box office, but because of the high publicity costs, Paramount only made a small profit of 30 million.(T/N – Thor 2 or the full name, Thor: The Dark World)

It can be said that the return on investment of the “Thor” series has always been unsatisfactory, and its global appeal is also very limited. If it were not for the overall Marvel universe layout of “The Avengers”, Paramount would have already given up on it.

From this perspective, “Thor” isn’t as attractive as Roy has said.

However, as a newcomer, being so picky is not a good thing. If he misses the chance to act in “Thor”, he might never get this kind of big opportunity again. He should do his best to seize every opportunity that comes his way. Hollywood is not a circle that is keen on charity.

Therefore, Renly seriously started to read the script of “Thor”. The script and the finished movie are two completely different things. The director’s task is to turn the script into a visual work, while the actor’s task is to derive the character’s depth from the script’s words. In his previous life, Renly had watched a lot of movies, but had limited exposure to scripts.

For the next few hours, Renly was hiding backstage in the Pioneer Village and was silently reading through the script.

Just as he remembered, the script of “Thor” was really mediocre, especially in terms of Thor’s character development. It lacked the distinct characteristics of characters like “Iron Man” and “Captain America”. However, Loki was indeed an interesting character. In the previous “Thor” series, there was really not enough room for Loki to fully display his potential to become the ultimate villain in the Marvel series.

But that wasn’t something Renly could decide, was it?

When he returned to his place, Renly turned on the lights in the hall and looked around. Chris Hemsworth still hadn’t returned. His gaze fell once again on the script of “Thor” in his hand, and Renly suddenly felt that fate was truly strange. In his previous life, Chris had become famous after playing the character of Thor and had reached the peak of his acting career. If it weren’t for Renly’s interference, the development curve of this life probably wouldn’t have changed much either.

So, has Chris received an invitation to audition for “Thor”? Or has Chris already completed his audition and is waiting for the next round? If Renly decides to participate in the competition for the role of Thor, what kind of changes will occur? Will he become a competitor with Chris?

This is the first time Renly stood at the present time node, examining the future direction of his previous life so clearly and specifically. He was no longer a bystander, but a participant, a real participant. So, how much will the trajectory of history change? How much of a hurricane can this little butterfly from the ancient Asian country of China stir up? This is truly something to look forward to.

Thinking of this, Renly smiled wryly, as he returned to his room, casually placing his backpack on the desk, and stuffed the script in his hand onto the nearby bookshelf. He walked into the bathroom to wash away the dust from the day. Although he had long been accustomed to getting off work in the early hours of the morning, for Renly, sleeping was a very happy thing. Being able to stay in bed for a little longer, even if it was just ten minutes more, was good.

Chris Hemsworth opened the door to his house, and the lights in the living room indicated that someone was home. He called out, “Renly? Renly?” This is New York, Manhattan, and although it is downtown, the safety of this place is not that good. Thieves breaking in through the door could be encountered every three to five days.

“I’m in the bathroom,” Renly shouted back in response, his voice penetrating the thin walls and spreading out.

Chris then relaxed, and as he leaned against the door, he began to read the mail in his hand. Renly was a guy who didn’t care about anything, and every time the mailbox at home got stuffed, he would still forget to pick up the mail, so Chris had to handle it for him.

He selected the public mail such as water, electricity, and gas bills and placed them next to the TV cabinet. Then he picked out his own mail and Renly’s mail and threw away the remaining junk mail advertisements.

“When did you come back? The bedroom was still empty last night,” Renly walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair, and leaning on the bedroom door, casually asking.

Chris glanced up and continued to sort through the mail in his hand. “I just got back from Los Angeles this afternoon,” he said. After wrapping up his work on “Cash” with Sean Bean, he stayed in Los Angeles to promote his next project, but unfortunately, the results were not satisfactory. “How have you been lately? Is everything going well with work?”

Renly shrugged. “Nothing’s changed. I auditioned for two roles but didn’t get either of them.” There was no need to hide the truth.

“That’s why I refuse to do TV series,” Chris chuckled. He pointed to Renly with the mail in his hand and said confidently, “Even if TV series ends up being successful, it still won’t attract the attention of movie companies. Once you become a TV actor, it is difficult to make a comeback as a movie actor later.”

“I remember you started as an TV series actor too,” Renly’s smile curled up at the corners of his mouth.

“That’s a fact,” Chris nodded. “But that was all in Australia. After coming to the United States, I received many invitations to do TV shows, but I refused them all because I knew what would happen.” In fact, it was his agent who told him all this, but for Renly, who doesn’t have an agent, it was a moment to impart his experience. “Listen to me, even if you don’t get invitations for audition, don’t compromise, unless you’ve already decided to settle down in the TV series industry. You’re only twenty years old, so you have countless options.”

Chris was unusually serious, and his weighty words carried a lot of meaning. “Take ‘The Pacific’ for example. I’ve heard a lot of news about it while in Los Angeles, and it was really a project that was in spotlight. But all the attention was focused on Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, and no one had payed attention to the actors. That’s the predicament of TV dramas.”

Renly smiled but didn’t refute or respond. He was more curious about another detail. “Did you also hear about ‘The Pacific’ while in Los Angeles? How was it?”

“It was mostly positive, with people thinking that Hanks and Spielberg have once again done an excellent job,” Chris was very willing to share those insider news because they were something that Renly couldn’t access. The smile on his lips couldn’t help but lift up. “I heard recently that HBO is launching a promotion, hoping that ‘The Pacific’ can compete for an Emmy Award, but the odds for that aren’t high.”

“Technical awards should be no problem,” Renly shared his opinion. After all, with an investment of 230 million dollars, that kind of hard power was worth recognizing.

“Who knows,” Chris said mysteriously, stopping midway through his sentence. He paused for a moment, trying to see the curious look in Renly’s eyes, but failed. This left Chris speechless as he opened his hands and shook his head in frustration, “You’re not cooperating at all, how can this magic trick continue?”

Renly chuckled and then composed himself, putting on a serious expression while asking, “So what rumors are there in Hollywood?” His demeanor was as if he was coaxing a child.

Chris lifted his chin slightly and revealed a satisfied smile, “The rumor is that HBO isn’t optimistic about the prospects of ‘The Pacific’ this year. Although they have to promote it because of Spielberg’s face, they probably won’t put too much effort into it. So, the outlook for the Emmy Awards is bleak.”

Renly nodded lightly to show that he understood. But then he changed the subject and said, “Chris, why do I feel like you’re gloating?”

Upon hearing this, Chris almost choked on his saliva and coughed violently. Renly couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Chris finally realized that Renly was joking and clenched his fists, “Renly, this is not funny! I’m just concerned about you!” He got so worked out that his Australian accent became garbled and almost incomprehensible. “Like I said earlier, you shouldn’t choose to act in TV shows.”

Renly just smiled and didn’t respond. He turned around and was about to head back to his room, “I’m going to do the laundry now. Do you have anything that needs to be washed?” Then Renly paused, turned back and said “I mean things like jackets and coats. Don’t throw your socks and underwear to me.”

Chris raised his hand and threw an envelope at Renly as a response, causing Renly to burst into laughter again.

There is no washing machine in their apartment, but each floor is equipped with a washing machine and a dryer. However, people who usually use them have to stand in line for a long time, so it is more convenient to go to a specialized automatic laundry shop. That’s why Renly has developed the habit of washing clothes early in the morning.

Renly packed up the dirty clothes from the past few days, picked up the laundry basket, walked to the door, and kicked Chris’s leg, “Move aside, Hulk.”

Chris rolled his eyes, he wanted to retort but didn’t find the suitable words. He could only let go of his frustration and wave his fist as he watched Renly leave. Then he slammed the door hard to vent his anger.

After sorting out all the letters, Chris walked to the Renly’s room and placed Renly’s personal mail on the table. As he was about to leave, his gaze fell on the script on the bookshelf.

The cover was navy blue with only one word on it, “Thor,” simple, clear, and elegant.

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