The face-to-face discussion concluded, and Roy didn't linger any longer; he packed his things and left immediately.
Looking at the "Thor" script in his hands, Renly couldn't help but smile. He could sense Roy's goodwill; for a newcomer without an agent's care, Roy had provided him with valuable guidance during their meeting.
In fact, leaving aside the constraints of Marvel and the choices in commercial films, within the numerous series of Marvel's comic heroes, the "Thor" series had the poorest box office results and feedback. Not to mention characters like "Iron Man" and "Captain America", even the later "Ant-Man" surpassed "Thor" in terms of reputation, box office, and return on investment.
The 2011 release of "Thor", with a budget of $150M, only garnered $490M in the global box office. It not only failed to turn a profit, but also caused Paramount to lose nearly $20M. Then, the 2013 "Thor: The Dark World", benefiting from Marvel's rise, saw an improvement in box office, with a $170M investment yielding $640M in global revenue. However, due to exorbitant promotional expenses, Paramount only made a modest $3M.
It could be said that the "Thor" series had never achieved satisfactory returns, and its global appeal was quite limited. If it weren't for the overarching Marvel Cinematic Universe strategy for "The Avengers", Paramount might have considered abandoning it altogether.
From this perspective, the allure of "Thor" wasn't as significant as Roy had described.
However, being so picky as a newcomer wasn't a good thing. Missing out on the opportunity with "Thor," he would never know when the next chance might come. They had to seize every opportunity that came their way with all their might; Hollywood wasn't a realm fond of charity.
So, Renly earnestly began reading the script for "Thor". A script and a finished film were two entirely different things. The director's task was to transform the script into visuals, while an actor's task was to derive the character's depth from the script's words. In his past life, Renly had watched plenty of movies, but his exposure to scripts had been quite limited.
Over the next few hours, Renly hid in the backstage of Village Vanguard, silently flipping through the script.
Just as he remembered, the "Thor" script was indeed unremarkable, especially in its portrayal of Thor's character. It lacked the distinct characteristics of "Iron Man" and "Captain America". However, Loki was indeed an intriguing character. In the previous life's "Thor" series, Loki hadn't been given ample room to shine. Otherwise, he possessed the potential to become Marvel's ultimate supervillain.
But, that wasn't a decision Renly could make, was it?
Returning to his lodging, turning on the lights in the hall, he looked around. Chris Hemsworth still hadn't returned. His gaze fell once again onto the "Thor" script in his hands. Renly suddenly felt that fate was truly wondrous. In his past life, Chris had soared to fame through the role of Thor, propelling his acting career to its peak. If it hadn't been for Renly's interference, this world's trajectory probably wouldn't have seen much change either.
So, had Chris received an audition invitation for "Thor" now? Or had he already completed his audition and was waiting for the next round of notifications? If Renly decided to compete for the role of Thor, what kind of changes would that bring? Would he and Chris become rivals?
This was the first time Renly stood at the present moment, examining the trajectory of his past life's future so clearly and specifically. He was no longer an observer but a participant, a genuine participant. So, how much would the development of history change? How much of a hurricane could this little butterfly from China stir up? This was indeed something to look forward to.
Thinking about this, Renly chuckled softly, returned to his room, casually placed his backpack on the desk, and put the script in his hand on the nearby bookshelf. He walked into the bathroom to wash away the dust of the day. Although he had long grown accustomed to getting off work in the early morning hours, for Renly, sleep was a blissful thing. Even if he could spend a little more time under the covers, even just ten more minutes, it was all good.
Chris Hemsworth opened the door to his home, and the lights in the living room indicated someone was inside. He called out, raising his voice, "Renly? Renly?" This was New York; even though it was Manhattan, the security in the downtown area couldn't be described as peaceful. Break-ins were not uncommon, and incidents happened every so often.
"I'm in the bathroom," Renly shouted back in response, his voice piercing through the thin walls and echoing out.
Only then did Chris relax, leaning against the door. He started going through the mail in his hands. Renly was a 'don't care' kind of guy. Every time, the mailbox at home was stuffed, but Renly never remembered to pick up the mail. He could only rely on Chris to handle it.
Sorting out public mail like utilities bills, he placed them next to the TV cabinet. Then he separated his own mail from Renly's mail. The rest of the junk mail was all thrown away.
"When did you get back? The bedroom was still empty last night," Renly walked out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair, leaning against the bedroom doorframe as he chatted.
Chris lifted his head, glancing briefly, but his motion of picking out the mail didn't stop. "This afternoon. I just got back from Los Angeles," he said, collaborating with Sean Bean in the film "Ca$h" which just wrapped up, he had stayed in Los Angeles afterward, running around for his next project. Unfortunately, the gains were minimal. "How have you been recently? Is everything going well with your work?"
Renly shrugged. "No changes. I attended two auditions and didn't get the roles." There was nothing to hide, so he spoke the truth.
Chris chuckled. "That's why I refuse to do TV dramas." Pointing at Renly with the mail in his hand, he confidently said, "Even if TV dramas are successful, they still can't attract the attention of film companies. Once you're typecast as a TV drama actor, it's difficult to turn things around if you want to switch to films later."
"I remember you started with TV dramas too," a playful smile tugged at the corner of Renly's mouth.
"True," Chris nodded, then repeated, "True!" After saying it twice, he continued, "But those were things in Australia. After I came to the United States, I received many TV drama invitations, but I turned them all down. Because I know this very well." In fact, these were things his agent had told him, but for Renly, who didn't have an agent, it was his turn to pass on the experience. "Listen to me, even if you don't have audition invitations, never compromise unless you're planning to settle down in the TV drama industry. You're only twenty years old, you have countless choices."
Chris's rare seriousness was palpable in his words, which carried weight and gravitas. "Take "The Pacific", for example. I've been hearing quite a bit of news while in Los Angeles lately. It's undoubtedly a focal work, but all the attention is on Hanks and Spielberg. No one would notice the actors. That's the predicament of TV dramas."
Renly smiled, not refuting but not responding either. What intrigued him more was another detail. "You heard news about "The Pacific" in Los Angeles too? How is it?"
"Mainly positive, I would say. People think Hanks and Spielberg once again did an outstanding job." Chris was more than willing to share these behind-the-scenes tidbits, as they were inaccessible to Renly. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "Recently, I heard that HBO is launching a promotional campaign, hoping that "The Pacific" can make a splash at the Emmy Awards. However, the buzz isn't too high."
"Technical awards should be no problem," Renly offered his opinion. After all, the investment of $230M was there, and the production quality was worthy of recognition.
"Who knows," Chris said mysteriously, leaving his words half-hanging. He paused for a moment, attempting to see curiosity in Renly's eyes, but it ended in failure. Chris spread his hands out in exasperation, shaking his head, "You're not cooperating at all. How can this magic trick continue?"
Renly chuckled softly, then straightened his expression and inquired seriously, "So, what rumors are circulating in Hollywood?" He wore an expression as if he were cajoling a child.
Chris raised his chin slightly, wearing a satisfied smile. "Rumors say that HBO isn't optimistic about "The Pacific" this year. Although they have to promote it due to Spielberg's face, they probably won't put too much effort into it. So, the prospects for the Emmy Awards are dim."
Renly gently lifted his chin in understanding, but his tone shifted, "Chris, why do I feel like you're gloating?"
Hearing this, Chris nearly choked on his own saliva. He started coughing vigorously, and Renly couldn't help but burst into laughter. It was then that Chris realized Renly was joking. He clenched his fists, "Renly, this isn't funny! I'm just concerned about you!" In his haste, his Australian accent became muddled, almost indecipherable. "Like I said earlier, you shouldn't choose TV dramas."
Renly merely smiled, not responding, and turned to walk back into his room. "I'm going to do laundry now. Do you have anything to wash?" Then Renly paused, turned around, and added, "I mean outerwear or the like, don't toss socks and underwear to me."
Chris threw an envelope at him in response, prompting another bout of laughter from Renly.
In their apartment building, there was no washing machine; each floor was equipped with a shared washer and dryer. However, there was often a long queue for their use, so it was more convenient to go to a self-service laundromat. That's why Renly had developed the habit of doing laundry in the early morning hours.
Renly gathered up the dirty clothes from the past few days, lifted the laundry basket, and walked to the door. He kicked Chris's leg lightly, saying, "Move, Hulk."
Chris couldn't help but roll his eyes. He wanted to retort but couldn't find the right words. He could only watch helplessly as Renly walked out, swinging his fist in response. Then he slammed the door shut with great force, venting his frustration.
Turning around after sorting out all the mail, Chris walked into Renly's room, placed Renly's personal mail on the desk, and was about to leave when his gaze fell on the script on the bookshelf.
The cover was navy blue with only one word, "Thor", concise, clear, and dignified.