Hollywood's powerful women

Chapter 4

Jenny Jan worked at a restaurant called "Hollywood Star," which was, as the name suggested, close to Hollywood. Although the place was low-end, with almost no chance of big stars dining there, it had been open for a long time, and the food was good. The walls of the restaurant even had a few photos of celebrities. Chen Zhen believed that Jenny Jan chose to work there partly because she hoped to be in the right place at the right time.

As for Chen Zhen herself, she stayed on after time travel because the restaurant offered decent pay. Although she had encountered two self-proclaimed talent scouts trying to chat her up within a month, Chen Zhen had no interest. As someone who had studied at a film academy and stayed in touch with many industry peers after graduation, she knew that almost all stories of being "discovered by a talent scout on the street" were just hype.

Perhaps in the early days of the film industry, when people hadn’t realized how much becoming a movie star could benefit them, production companies did send talent scouts to discover promising young men and women on the streets. But in 2001? Even in the adult film industry, there was fierce competition. At least in the movie business, talent scouts were no longer needed. Instead, record companies under various labels might still be scouting for fresh talent, and of course, the advertising and modeling industries maintained the traditional talent scout system. However, legitimate talent scouts always left a company phone number and handed out business cards. The so-called talent scouts who approached her in the restaurant were just looking to hook up, and if things went further, they might even try to scam money.

Such scams, though old-fashioned and dating back to the 1920s, are still prevalent today—like in the upcoming movie "Chicago," where the main character Roxie naively falls for the advances of a self-proclaimed relative of a producer, only to be deceived. But even in the present day, these scams remain popular. In Los Angeles, there are too many self-important men and women harboring star dreams while waiting tables, just like Jenny Jan. In fact, another leading waitress at Hollywood Star also had aspirations of breaking into the entertainment industry, though her goals were more realistic: she wanted to start in advertising, working as a model first, and then aiming for TV roles.

It’s a good idea, but it’s meaningless to Chen Zhen for a simple reason—she doesn’t have that much time left.

She traveled back from 2014 to now, 2001, giving her a total of only 14 years. After those 14 years, she would lose her greatest advantage—knowing which films would be hits and which would flop. To make the most of this foresight, she couldn’t start in TV and then transition to the big screen. After all, there were hardly any actresses who dominated Hollywood after starting in TV. A successful show like "Friends" would have a shooting cycle of seven to eight years, and it would cement an actor’s image in the audience’s mind, which is detrimental to an actor’s career. Not to mention, transitioning from TV to film was extremely difficult.

Of course, no one has ever dominated Hollywood by being a model, acting in adult films, participating in reality shows, or singing.

To dominate Hollywood, the only path is through movies. She could only start with films if she had any hope of completing at least 70% to 80% of the task within 14 years. As for how to reach the top... Chen Zhen hadn’t even thought about it yet, nor did she know how to quantify that goal.

Even the short-term goal of "acting in movies" was already a significant challenge.

Jenny Jan served a few customers, earning generous tips with her sweet smile. Seeing that most of her customers were eating, she temporarily leaned against a cabinet near the organizing counter, resting her aching legs while mechanically analyzing her next steps.

To become an actress, she would need to find an agent. Agents have access to audition opportunities, know about various casting calls, can submit audition requests on her behalf, and arrange acting opportunities. If she was someone the agent believed in, they might even go to great lengths to recommend her, which could get her special consideration during auditions. However, the problem is that the more capable the agent, the pickier they are about their clients. At her current level, the best agent she could find might only be able to get her minor TV roles, and that’s if she was particularly lucky and the agent believed in her. Otherwise, she might be started off with modeling gigs or small roles in TV shows.

It’s not that Chen Zhen was too picky, but in the entertainment industry, the first project is crucial. Even if it’s an independent film that will never be released, as long as you’re acting in a movie, your chances of landing another film role are much higher. After a few films, you can try for supporting roles in small productions, then leading roles in small productions or supporting roles in big productions, and finally, leading roles in big productions. Unless someone has incredible luck and meets a benefactor who helps them skip a few steps, most of Hollywood’s best actors and actresses have clawed their way up like this.

And then there’s the catch-22 of the actors’ union—the union provides many benefits, such as insurance, minimum wage negotiations, and introductions to acting opportunities and agents. But to join the union, you need a well-paying acting contract. However, without joining the union, it’s difficult to get a well-paying acting contract.

For someone without the right connections or background, breaking into the entertainment industry is extremely difficult.

But that’s normal too—if it were easy, the industry would be overcrowded. The higher the rewards in an industry, the higher the barriers to entry. The film industry, as the top tier of the entertainment industry, is especially so. If Jenny Jan were willing to become a model now, it would be much simpler. She could just take a few photos and send her resume everywhere; some magazine would want her.

The restaurant experienced a small lunchtime rush at noon. Jenny Jan carried her tray, wearing a professional smile, collecting tips around the tables. In between serving dishes and cashing out checks, she was still calculating her next steps. Her "golden finger"—her special talent—only applied to acting, and it wasn’t even at a prodigy level right now. Breaking into the entertainment industry was impossible with absolute confidence.

If it didn’t work out, she might just not go back... Starting as a model and transitioning to TV could still provide a living with her talent. Her son, although the reason for her motivation to return, wouldn’t be neglected. Her ex-husband doted on the boy, and with his grandparents around, he wouldn’t be deprived of money or love.

Of course, that was only a last resort, a comforting thought if all else failed. Ideally, Chen Zhen still wanted to reach the top as soon as possible and go back as quickly as possible. But right now, she didn’t have a good plan to break through. The best she could do was to train her body to be camera-ready and wait for the right opportunity.

If that didn’t work, she could start with community theater. Though competition in stage plays was also fierce, the lower pay made the barriers to entry lower as well. Landing a small role in community theater, then seeking supporting roles in bigger theaters, didn’t necessarily require leading roles. Supporting roles had enough exposure to help her make connections...

After the lunch rush, Jenny Jan finally got her lunch break. It wouldn’t be long, though, as there would be customers coming in for coffee and snacks throughout the afternoon. She could rest behind the bar, but she would need to serve customers occasionally.

For lunch, she had chicken salad again, avoiding oil, vinegar, and dressing. Many women who want to lose weight mistakenly believe that eating salad is dieting, but they don’t realize that oil, vinegar, and dressing have as many calories as a large piece of red meat. Since Jenny Jan decided to lose weight, she wouldn’t let her suffering go to waste.

Not only that, but she was also consciously controlling her taste, avoiding all sweet drinks. In America, where corn syrup is very cheap, drinks are loaded with sugar, and because these drinks contain sodium, it’s easy to exceed your salt intake without realizing it. So, those who regularly drink sweet beverages often find their health out of balance. In America, many people living in "food deserts" buy sweet drinks that are cheaper than water, resulting in obesity, difficulty moving, and the inevitable health issues of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

Of course, the middle class understands the downsides of consuming sweet drinks, but years of dietary habits and their physiology make it hard to stay slim. In this dietary environment, maintaining a good figure requires a lifestyle akin to that of a monk.

At least Johnny always shook his head when he saw Jenny Jan’s diet. "This extreme dieting will make you faint, Jenny. What happened to you? You used to say my devil’s cake was the reason you lived, and now you don’t even eat burgers."

On her first day at work after the time travel, she did eat a slice of devil’s cake, the most popular dessert at Hollywood Star. But Chen Zhen couldn’t even finish half of it—because white people’s taste buds are less sensitive to sweetness, desserts at Hollywood Star, or rather across America, are at least twice as sweet as in China. Chen Zhen, who seemed to have brought her taste buds with her from her past life, felt so sick that she almost threw up after eating just half of it.

As for the burger, the mustard and mayonnaise in it are extremely high in calories, and almost all sauces are overloaded with sugar and salt. A tablespoon of store-bought pasta sauce even