The next day, producer Enrico and agent John Harris sat opposite each other at the negotiating table, officially commencing a new round of talks.
The two went back and forth, engaging in a battle of wits for a full two hours before finally reaching an agreement—Ed Helms's salary was ultimately set at 1.7 million.
To be honest, this amount was truly not small.
It's worth noting that in the United States, families with an annual income exceeding one million only account for the top 10% of national household incomes, squarely placing them in the privileged class.
When Ed Helms learned that he had not only successfully landed the role but would also receive a salary of 1.7 million, he immediately let out a long sigh of relief, feeling a huge weight lift from his mind.
However, according to industry rules, half of the salary must be paid upfront—this is a standard practice explicitly stipulated in contracts, the purpose of which is to prevent actors from abandoning the project midway.
If an actor breaches the contract, he must pay the corresponding liquidated damages as specified in the contract.
But Ed Helms patted his chest and assured everyone that he would definitely finish the film smoothly.
As for WMA's original intention to trip up Kazir, it didn't really cause much of a stir. As long as Ed himself was determined to join the crew, WMA truly had no way to stop him.
Even his agent, John Harris, felt that this deal was very worthwhile, as he would receive a 10% commission according to the contract, making it worth the slight risk.
"How is it?"
Salvatore pointed to the Korean man performing stunts in the field, then turned to ask Kazir beside him. This Korean actor was agile and clearly skilled in combat.
Most of the crew members were carefully recruited by Salvatore.
Moreover, CAA also helped to connect them with various technical staff, such as makeup artists and cinematographers.
Therefore, many of the crew members were from CAA.
Kazir was very surprised—in just one short month, the crew had rapidly expanded from an initial 15 people to 40, an astonishing level of efficiency.
What pleased him was that everyone Salvatore brought in was very reliable, especially this Korean guy, who actually knew Kung Fu Hustle.
"This person looks skilled, what does he study?" Kazir asked curiously.
"To be precise, he is a fifth-degree black belt in Taekwondo," Salvatore explained.
"I see!"
Although Kazir didn't fully understand the belt ranking system in Taekwondo, he knew that a black belt signified a master level.
He watched the clean, powerful movements of the Korean man named Han Eun-yoon, secretly admiring him, clearly seeing that he was a true martial artist.
"Salvatore, have you mentioned changing his stage name to him?" Kazir suddenly remembered something and asked.
"I'm thinking about it, but I haven't come up with a suitable name yet," Salvatore scratched his head, looking a bit troubled.
"How about Enzo?"
Kazir had originally intended to say Bruce, because the Korean actor's movements reminded him of the legendary martial arts star.
"Enzo? Alright, I'll talk to him about it later."
Salvatore nodded, thinking the name was quite good.
The two specifically came to watch the Korean man's performance because there was a scene in the hangover script where a shirtless Asian man suddenly bursts out of a car trunk and quickly beats up the three protagonists, leaving them battered and humiliated.
That's right, the role of the Asian gang leader was to be played by this Korean man.
"It's just a shame he's not an Eastern movie star," Kazir sighed slightly.
Originally, this character was just meant to be a comedic role in the initial setup, but Salvatore felt he could be given a more prominent appearance. After hearing this, Kazir revised the script, making the character much cooler—especially since the man had a classic handsome East Asian face, his fighting scenes would undoubtedly be very impactful and eye-catching for the audience.
This character had a lot of action scenes, and Han Eun-yoon wanted Kazir to see his true abilities firsthand, to prove he could handle the role.
His older brother worked as a stunt coordinator in Hong Kong, and under his brother's influence, his skills were indeed quite impressive.
"Tell him to stop, that's enough."
Kazir watched for a while, felt he had achieved the desired effect, and said to Salvatore.
"Okay."
Salvatore acknowledged, then walked over and signaled Han Eun-yoon to stop his performance.
Han Eun-yoon walked over and respectfully greeted Kazir: "Director Gray."
"The action scenes are in your hands. You need to maintain your current condition and make sure nothing goes wrong," Kazir looked at him expressionlessly, giving him serious instructions.
"Don't worry, Director," Han Eun-yoon understood how difficult it was for Asians to make it big in Hollywood.
Because of his Asian identity, many good roles simply didn't come his way.
Although no one explicitly said it, racial discrimination did exist to some extent in Hollywood.
Once, he went to audition for a small supporting role, and the producer immediately started cursing at him, even saying that Japanese people shouldn't have been allowed in after World War II—he was a genuine Korean, but the person wouldn't listen to his explanation and simply kicked him out.
So, having gotten this opportunity, he secretly vowed to seize it, even if it meant risking his life.
Although his salary this time was only 25,000, he felt it was all worth it—as long as the audience remembered him, there would be more opportunities in the future.
"Alright, see you at the script read-through tomorrow," Kazir nodded and said.
"Understood, Director," Han Eun-yoon bowed respectfully, then turned and left.
"Who exactly is that assistant director you recommended?" Kazir looked at Han Eun-yoon's retreating back, suddenly remembered something, and turned to ask Salvatore.
"You know him," Salvatore smiled mysteriously and said.
"Hmm?" Kazir raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit puzzled. He couldn't recall anyone he knew who would be suitable as an assistant director.
The scale of this project was much larger than the previous napoleon dynamite, and Kazir indeed needed an assistant director to help out.
The assistant director's job was extensive, including managing filming progress, arranging logistical support, scheduling shooting notices, coordinating work between actors and colleagues, and so on. It was a lot of diverse work, even more deeply involved in the filming site than the producer.
Kazir knew he couldn't handle it all by himself.
"He's a recent graduate from UCLA Film School, and he interned on The napoleon dynamite set before."
Seeing Kazir's puzzled expression, Salvatore directly revealed the answer.
"...You mean that..." Kazir frowned, trying hard to recall.
"Yes, it's him. He signed with me and is determined to become a director, but he lacks experience, so he wants you to mentor him," Salvatore explained.
"You're really recruiting all the future directors, aren't you?" Kazir chuckled, teasing him.
"The more the merrier! Who knows, maybe he really will become a great director someday!" Salvatore said with a laugh.
"Let me meet him first!"
Kazir nodded, feeling it would be more prudent to meet the person in question before making a decision.
[PS: Bruce is the protagonist of Die Hard, who recently made headlines for losing his ability to live independently. He was very handsome when he was young.]
[UCLA Film School: UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, one of the 'Big Three' film schools in the United States, along with the USC School of Cinematic Arts (USC SCA) and NYU Tisch School of the Arts (NYU Tisch).]