Chapter 439: Codename "The Devil"

Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Codename "The Devil"

Anne took a deep breath, suppressed the surging excitement and nervousness in her heart, and responded earnestly:

"I still have a movie shooting job before May in the first half of the year. After it wraps, my schedule for the entire second half of the year is completely open with no other arrangements. I can reserve all of that time entirely."

Irene nodded slightly, a look of scrutiny and evaluation in her eyes. Her tone was casual yet she gave clear requirements and expectations:

"Then clear your schedule for the second half of the year and await my audition notice at any time. Take this time to settle down, read more, refine your temperament, and try to make yourself look smarter, steadier, and more layered.

The character I am going to shoot next does not need a naive, sweet, and clueless princess-type female lead like Mia. What I want is a brand-new persona with high intelligence, brains, resilience, and an unyielding spirit."

This sentence was like a reassuring pill, fiercely slamming into the depths of Anne’s heart, making her whole body tremble as she could barely suppress the surging ecstasy in her heart.

Without waiting for her to say anything more, Irene had already turned her head to look at George Lucas beside her, continuing to discuss matters related to the acquisition. Her posture was calm and nonchalant, effectively ending the conversation.

Anne sensibly bowed in farewell and gently retreated to the side, not daring to disturb the two of them talking, but a monstrous wave had already risen in her heart, unable to calm down for a long time.

She forced herself to remain calm, steadied her expression, and stood quietly in the corner to settle her emotions. Only until she thoroughly confirmed that she had not misheard and had not missed the opportunity did her fingertips begin to tremble slightly.

For the rest of the party, Anne was somewhat trance-like, her mind repeatedly echoing Irene’s injunction to "reserve your schedule, wait for the audition, and become smarter," filled entirely with anticipation and anxiety.

Until late at night, the Warner Bros. party finally came to an end, and all the guests left.

Anne got into the van for the return trip, shutting out all the outside hustle and bustle. The emotions that had been tightly strung all night finally completely broke down, and excitement and ecstasy swept through her entire body. She was still in a daze and state of high excitement, leaning blankly against the car window with her gaze empty, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

Her agent Cole, seeing her dazed and absent-minded appearance, mistakenly thought she had drunk too much at tonight’s social event and was feeling unwell, so he quickly asked with concern:

"What is wrong? Did you drink too much tonight and feel uncomfortable? Your complexion looks a bit off."

Anne snapped back to her senses abruptly, dazzling light instantly lighting up the depths of her eyes. With unconcealable trembling and excitement in her voice, she immediately told Cole word-for-word about her entire conversation with Irene tonight, the audition opportunity she had obtained, and the requirements the other party had put forward.

The moment he finished listening to the complete process, Cole, who had been relaxing against the seat, instantly straightened up.

His gaze turned sharp abruptly, his expression extremely solemn, and in his heart he was even clearer than Anne herself about the gold content of this opportunity.

Having roamed the Hollywood agency industry for many years, he understood far too well the weight Irene Coppola currently held.

A project personally prepared by her, personally named by her, personally reserving the schedule, and personally enjoining to settle the state, would definitely not be an ordinary assembly-line piece of junk.

It would inevitably be a top-tier resource with solid quality, blockbuster potential, and the ability to help actors complete a class transition.

This was simply not a simple audition invitation, but an exceptional opportunity for Anne to break through years of career stalemate, completely tear off the princess label, achieve a class leap, and squeeze into the front-line mainstream circle. It was her long-awaited, sought-after chance for a comeback.

With a determined gaze and a steady tone, Cole immediately began planning and layout:

"I will immediately mobilise all my interpersonal resources to thoroughly investigate all new projects currently filed and in preparation under Irene’s hands! Rest assured, since she specifically enjoined you to reserve your schedule and polish your state, it proves that in her heart, you are already one of the core candidates for this role, and your priority far exceeds everyone else’s."

"For the next half year, you must strictly follow her requirements: read more, settle your temperament, polish your acting skills, completely abandon the sweet princess feel on you, and train a high-IQ, cold, and independent aura. I will definitely do my utmost to help you win this role, and I will never waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

The night passed in a flash.

Early the next morning, Cole immediately activated his networking web, mobilised all industry resources, pulled strings, and found channels to comprehensively probe all publicly filed and confidential script projects under Echo Pictures and Future World Pictures in Irene’s name.

Relying on his years of accumulated connections deeply ploughed in the industry, coupled with specifically connecting and opening up the personal relationship with Shelly Ovitz—which was the networking channel of Irene’s exclusive ace agent—Cole quickly obtained the latest and most accurate project list.

Holding the detailed project materials, Cole found Anne at the first instance and analysed them rigorously one by one:

"I have checked it out clearly. Irene currently has a total of three script projects filed and reserved in her hands, two of which are confirmed to start shooting within this year, while the third is confidential throughout with no public information whatsoever."

"The first project is a biographical theme, and the male lead has already been finalised as Will Smith in advance. Filming will officially start in March. The overall script revolves around the male protagonist, and the female character has limited screen time and a thin persona, which completely does not match what Irene asked you to do, so it is definitely not this one."

"Of the remaining two projects, one is codenamed ’Juno,’ and its content is highly confidential. From the title, filing information, and creative lineup, it is completely impossible to see any storyline and genre type, so it cannot be judged temporarily. The other is codenamed ’The Devil,’ which is currently the project with the highest probability."

Hearing this, Anne frowned slightly, her eyes filled with confusion, and she asked perplexedly:

"’The Devil’? Listening to the name, it leans towards dark, crime, or suspense themes, but Irene specifically enjoined me last night to become smarter and cultivate a high-IQ temperament, which does not match the persona of traditional dark themes. Besides, the fragmentary news I checked said this is a fashion drama? Fashion dramas and high-IQ talents simply have nothing to do with each other."

Cole pondered for a moment, combined the fragmentary information he probed from Shelly’s mouth, quickly sorted out the logic, and guessed the opening core and story background of the entire film in one word:

"You might have misunderstood the core of a fashion drama. It is not necessarily the story of a fashion circle tycoon. Most likely, it is the story of an ordinary girl who is inherently clever, smart, and high-IQ, who originally knew nothing about fashion or even held slight resistance to it, but was ultimately completely subdued by the fashion industry and counterattacked all the way to grow."

"Only with such a persona would you need to shed your sweet childishness, cultivate a clever, calm, and sober high-IQ temperament, completely shake off Mia’s princess shadow, and complete a thorough image transition."

Cole, having guessed the plot outline correctly, had an increasingly firm gaze and solemnly enjoined:

"No matter what the final plot is like or what the character details are, this is your only chance to turn things over. Over the next half year, you must go all out and polish yourself with single-minded focus.

I will continue to maintain my relationship with Shelly, keep a firm eye on project dynamics, and ensure we get the news at the first instance.

You must also actively build presence from time to time to show your state and sincerity, and absolutely cannot let Irene forget about you before the opening audition."

Anne nodded heavily, all confusion and anxiety fading from the depths of her eyes, replaced by full determination and fighting spirit.

Trapped in the princess label for years, she had finally waited for an opportunity truly belonging to herself that could completely rewrite her acting destiny. This time, she would inevitably hold on tightly and never let go.