Behind The Spotlight Chapter 293
"So Amelia successfully closed the deal, and it's $1.8 million? That's great." Collin nodded as he listened to Lila's update. He was currently out of town, so Lila had reached out to him by phone.
"Is there anything you want me to pick up for you? Do you want some souvenirs?" Collin asked.
"No, I'm fine. I just want you to get back as soon as possible... I miss you."
"I miss you too." Collin smiled. Even though Lila claimed she didn't need any souvenirs, he still intended to find her something special.
After a brief chat, they ended the call, as both had pressing matters to attend to.
"Well then, will I strike gold here?" Collin muttered to himself as he surveyed the bustling festival grounds. To be precise, Collin was currently in Toronto attending the Toronto Film Festival, where numerous indie filmmakers gathered to showcase their work.
His primary objective in attending was to scout fresh talent to sign to the agency. Whether it was a promising director or an actor, so long as the prospect was profitable, Collin was ready to offer a contract.
In fact, he was already spotting plenty of yellow and white-tier talents floating above people's heads. Since conversations throughout the festival heavily revolved around cinema, film-related aptitudes were naturally visible.
Collin scanned his surroundings, hoping to catch sight of a rare golden talent amidst the crowd. He decided to target the smaller screening sections featuring modest seating setups for audiences. These tents typically showcased rookie directors who hadn't yet been snapped up by major agencies.
The larger theaters, by contrast, were mostly dominated by established names. Even if he spotted genuine brilliance in those venues, there was a hundred-percent chance those creators were already signed contracts with talent agencies.
He headed toward the nearest small tent currently screening a noir film, glancing at the front-row occupants whose facial expressions revealed them to be members of the production crew.
'Hmm, that guy's okay, but not quite special.'
He spotted someone carrying the yellow talent of "Comedy Director."
However, he didn't bother approaching him. He had already crossed paths with a director who possessed superior comedic instincts, Wyatt Bray, and he had no interest in settling for mediocre talent. Though to be fair, the mediocre director he was currently belittling of would eventually helm a box-office hit five years down the road, by which time Collin would have long forgotten him.
He decided to move on to the next tent. Along the walk, he kept a sharp eye out for anyone displaying exceptional talents, but nothing caught his eye.
Inside the second tent, the feature playing was a heist thriller. Collin quickly checked the director and confirmed he only carried a white-tier talent.
Then came the third tent, the fourth, the fifth.
By the twelfth tent, Collin decided to take a brief rest. So far, he hadn't encountered anyone worth offering a contract.
'... Is finding a golden talent really this difficult?'
After all, he had been operating in the industry for over a decade now, and across all that time, he had only ever laid eyes on a few dozen individuals blessed with top-tier gold talents, and some of those had turned out to be utterly useless, like "Ultimate Drug Addict" or similar oddities.
"We need to handle these film reels carefully, they cost thousands of dollars, and I only have three physical copies."
While sitting on a wooden bench and drinking a bottle of cold water, Collin heard a conversation from a pair of men walking right behind him. They were hauling a heavy box, which Collin deduced contained film reels.
"When is our screening scheduled, and which tent is it in?"
"Tent number three. We need to be there before two o'clock to set everything up."
Out of pure curiosity, Collin turned his head to look at the two men hauling the heavy box. Based on their distinct accents, they appeared to be from either Australia or the UK.
Yet the very first thing that registered in Collin's vision wasn't their faces, but the glowing golden text hovering above their heads!
'... What the hell? Is scouting top-tier talent this effortless? There are two of them right in front of me!'
To be precise, the two creators were walking past the back of his bench while lugging their equipment box.
Forest Atkins
-- Horror and Thriller Director (Gold)
-- Vision to Scare (Yellow)
Dong Zamora
-- Writer of Plot Twists (Gold)
Collin was utterly dumbfounded. Before they could move out, he stood up and hurried to intercept them.
"Hey, excuse me. Do you mind sparing five minutes of your time? I'm Collin East, CEO of Golden Spotlight Group. I'm here at the festival looking to invite promising creators to my agency. Would you be interested?"
He didn't bother crafting a polished pitch and simply blurted out whatever came to mind.
"Collin East?" Forest Atkins halted and stared at him skeptically.
"Golden Spotlight Group?" Dong Zamora also stopped walking, turning to eye Collin up and down.
"Yes, that's the agency I run. It's a talent representation agency based in Hollywood," Collin affirmed.
"... Have you ever heard of it?" Forest asked, glancing at Dong, who gave a quick headshake.
"Nope, never heard of them."
Their accents were quite thick, confirming Collin's suspicion that they hailed from Australia.
The two men exchanged a doubtful look before giving Collin a critical stare... Collin was tall and undeniably handsome, but they weren't particularly impressed by superficial charm, so the pair started walking away.
"Golden Spotlight Group? Sounds like a nobody," Forest muttered under his breath.
"I was honestly hoping we'd catch the eye of someone from ANT or AAC, but instead we get approached by some shady person," Dong added.
"Are we even certain anyone from ANT bothered showing up to this festival?"
"Of course they do. They love poaching indie directors at festivals. Remember Director Wyatt Bray? Rumor has it he was originally spotted by his agent at Cannes Film Festival."
"I thought that was just PR marketing? I heard Wyatt Bray actually submitted his film directly to ANT's offices in Los Angeles and scored a contract that way. Why don't we try submitting to them directly instead?"
[Thank you for reading this novel.]