Hollywood: Behind The SpotLight Chapter 1

Behind The Spotlight Chapter 1

"Looks like everything here is done."

"Yeah, thanks for that. You always know how to find the right people."

Collin East gave a weak smile when he received the praise. He knew it was just a simple complint that didn't an much. Complints were hollow in this industry, an industry where people lied all the ti. This was the entertainnt industry, after all.

He had been working in showbiz for almost three years now. Yes, he could find the "right" people, people with diocre talent and even more diocre salaries.

Being a talent agent was not that simple. So far, he only had three real clients he was truly responsible for. As for the "right" people, they were just freelancers hoping to hit it big in the industry. They were drifters and drears in Hollywood.

Collin found them while driving and walking around Los Angeles. He sotis found them in restaurants, sotis in night bars, and even in alleyways.

The makeup artist he found was just a hairstylist who had been fired from a salon.

The props master he discovered was a geek who was into dolls... adult dolls.

Even the costu designer he brought in was an ani nerd who was deep into cosplay or so other weird obsession.

The year was 1995, and Collin didn't know how his life would turn out. However, he didn't have a choice but to take a step forward, or else he would be left behind. He didn't want that to happen again.

For soone like him, who had been left behind, not taking a step was the most painful thing. Because it ant he remained stagnant.

Collin East had been a model three years ago. He had been the center of the cara lens once. He experienced photoshoots, modeled for clothes and colognes, but he wasn't that well known. Just like the "right" people he found, Collin was also diocre. His earnings weren't even stable.

After experiencing heartbreak and a harsh wake-up call, Collin realized that modeling wasn't for him.

"Collin, you have talent."

That was what the producer, Henry Greyson, had told him. Henry had been Collin's partner whenever he needed manpower for a movie project.

Henry was a producer, so of course, it was his job to manage the production crew. Whenever there were missing positions to fill, Henry would contact Collin to find soone. So far, Collin hadn't disappointed him.

Even though Collin's people were socially awkward, they got the job done, and they never made trouble. In fact, the "right" people Henry referred to were those who didn't cause problems. These "right" people worked at a lower pay grade, which made them perfect for production crews looking to cut corners and save money.

Hollywood could be considered the City of Sin, even though Las Vegas already had that title. Technically, Hollywood wasn't even a city, it was just a part of Los Angeles.

But symbolically, Hollywood represented both the dreams and the dirtiness of the entertainnt industry.

Many people in the business used drugs. So were sex addicts. Others had disturbing fetishes.

So, hiring socially awkward workers instead of drug addicts was a much better choice in any situation.

In Henry's last project, one of the casting directors recomnded to him had almost did a bad thing to a small-ti actress.

That incident nearly cost them the entire production. Thankfully, the actress didn't press charges and settled for money instead. It was a nightmare Henry didn't want to relive.

It was fortunate that one of the talent agents he knew, Collin East, was soone he could trust. The two had been working together for three years, and Collin had never failed to provide the "right" people.

At the very least, the people Colin recomnded had never caused any problems for Henry. For this particular deal, Collin earned around three thousand dollars. Not bad for a small-ti agent like him.

"By the way, thanks for hiring my client."

"You shouldn't thank . Wyatt has a promising future, so Director Esteban hired him."

One of Collin's clients was Wyatt Bray. He was a new graduate, fresh from UCLA's Departnt of Film, Television, and Digital dia.

Wyatt had been assigned to Collin after the new graduates signed contracts with his agency.

For this project, Wyatt was hired as Esteban's assistant director. That position was hard to co by for a fresh graduate like him.

The assistant director was responsible for scheduling and planning, coordinating the crew, managing the set, and handling many more tasks. It was a heavy responsibility, but also a promising one.

It ant that Wyatt would experience firsthand what it was like to manage a production crew. Wyatt's dream was to direct his own movie, so becoming an assistant director was a blessing for him.

This was also a good thing for Collin. That was why he felt thankful to Henry. At last, Collin had a promising client, a prospect worth cultivating.

His two other clients, a struggling actor and actress, had failed their auditions for Director Esteban's project. They were currently working part-ti as a waiter and waitress just to get by.

"Please take care of Wyatt."

Collin bid farewell after introducing the workers to Henry. He wasn't needed anymore. His responsibility was only to find people to fill the jobs.

He left the studio and hailed a taxi. He didn't have a car, he had sold it because he needed money.

The taxi brought him to the apartnt complex where he lived with his sister and mother. It was a small apartnt with a single bedroom. He slept on the couch while his sister and mother shared the room.

He paid the driver and thanked him.

As he walked into the complex, he suddenly realized his surroundings had turned golden. No, his vision turned golden. It was a unique sensation, but a terrible one.

"Huh... What is happening?"

A wave of nausea hit him hard. He felt dizzy, and his stomach churned violently. The golden vision beca more intense. It was blinding. His eyes began to throb with pain.

He instinctively touched his nose and found that it was bleeding. Blood was gushing out.

"...Ugh."

After that, Collin East lost consciousness and collapsed.

Fortunately, a few people witnessed what had happened.

The people who saw him faint and fall to the ground imdiately called for help and requested an ambulance.

The golden vision dimd, until everything went black.