Hugo hesitated in place for a second. He was unwilling he had tried his very best, yet still couldn't make a breakthrough. He truly felt unwilling to accept it.
But then, looking at Martin and Bo in front of him, the expressions on their faces were no longer as serious as when they had first entered. Joy could be seen in their eyes and at the corners of their mouths. Hugo realized that, at the very least, his efforts had yielded some results.
Although he didn't receive a definite answer, Hugo knew that he still held onto hope. The final outcome would only be revealed after today's open audition ended. In truth, that was already a positive sign. Even if, in the end, he didn't get the role of Charlie, Hugo would still feel it was worthwhile because today's audition gave him confidence. He now knew that with his talent and hard work, he could carve out a place for himself. Even if he failed this time, he would continue striving.
What's more, he hadn't failed yet—Martin and Bo's expressions were the evidence!
Thinking of this, Hugo felt relieved. He smiled once again, turned around without any hesitation, and left the conference room. Seeing Ellen standing at the door, ready to notify the next candidate, Hugo nodded slightly at her, then held his head high and walked away confidently.
"Ellen, we've already decided, haven't we?" Martin looked at Hugo's departing figure. He could clearly feel Hugo's emotional shift from disappointment to revival. This kind of positive and optimistic Hugo made Martin like him even more.
Ellen chuckled softly. "Martin, there's no rush. We still have three hundred candidates to audition. No need to hurry."
Though she was also quite satisfied with Hugo, today's open audition had just begun. There was no need to make a decision so soon. This was Hollywood, after all a land never lacking in talent.
Martin naturally understood that, and he didn't say more. Instead, he turned to his left to look at Bo. "Hugo looks like a promising seedling. Though his acting is still immature and there's plenty of room for growth, his talent is indeed outstanding. Tell me, what exactly happened with this 'Hudson Hawk'?"
To be precise, what Martin was confused about was Hugo's last three works. One after another, they had flopped. Even if it was a downward spiral, it shouldn't have been this fast—especially after seeing Hugo's performance in today's audition, it made things even harder to understand.
Bo shrugged. "Bad script choices—you know, everyone makes mistakes. He's still young, after all."
A bad script could very well ruin an actor. Many times, it wasn't the actor's performance that was at fault, but rather the script and direction. When those were terrible, even the best actor would struggle to salvage the project.
Martin sighed. He hadn't seen "Desparate Moments" or "Hudson Hawk," so he didn't know just how bad those movies were. But one thing was certain: the Hugo who stood before them today was exceptionally impressive.
As they spoke, the next audition candidate had already entered. Ellen returned to her seat, and Martin and Bo's expressions returned to their serious state. After Ellen gave a brief introduction, she said, "Alright, you have thirty seconds to show us what you've prepared."
Hugo left the conference room and walked with a composed stride toward the crowd waiting inside the studio. What surprised him was that the originally bustling studio now had an eerie quiet.
Not that it was completely silent, but everyone was speaking in hushed tones, some even communicating with just their eyes. The whole scene was filled with a low, buzzing tension.
Hugo's first reaction was that someone important must have arrived. But after scanning the surroundings, he found nothing out of the ordinary. What's more, he noticed that people's gazes seemed to be subtly focused on him.
This kind of gaze was familiar to Hugo—he had felt it not long ago during the audition for "A River Runs Through It." However, back then, most of the looks were mocking and sarcastic.
Today, though, the gazes were filled more with curiosity and interest.
Hugo frowned slightly and looked down at himself. Sky-blue shirt, black dress pants, paired with a navy-blue uniform-style jacket—nothing unusual. Even the zipper on his pants was fine.
Then what was up with all these strange looks?
Thinking as he walked, Hugo continued to move forward. Amidst the crowd, he instantly sensed two particularly hostile stares. These gazes were so intense that it was hard for Hugo to ignore them.
Following that sensation, he turned to his right and quickly spotted George Wood and William Stone. Those burning eyes came from the two of them.
George held his chin up slightly, eyes narrowed, staring daggers at Hugo with a gaze that could almost set him on fire.
This look was different from the previous provocations—it was filled more with jealousy, anger, and… resentment.
George bit his lower lip hard so hard it seemed like it might break at any moment. His pale lips took on a faint red hue from his teeth, and his white teeth were tinged with blood. His inner turmoil was plainly visible.
Not to mention the veins bulging on his neck and forehead, making people wonder if he might explode right then and there like a human bomb.
Hugo couldn't understand George's reaction. If it was just mockery or envy, he could chalk it up to the aftermath of the Razzie Awards.
But this baseless fury and bitterness where was it coming from?
Beside George, William didn't look much better. His eyes were filled with a mixture of disdain and frustration. The conflict between his unease and ambition was clearly written across his face.
But none of this helped Hugo understand the situation. He still couldn't figure out what had happened.
What was certain, however, was that neither George nor William came up to bother Hugo again. Although Hugo wasn't the least bit worried about their provocations, being repeatedly harassed like this was still annoying—like an ever-buzzing green-headed fly. Hugo thought things were just fine this way. Even if they were imagining his body crushed to dust in their minds, he didn't care in the slightest. So he didn't bother probing further into the situation with the "stone" and "wood," letting his gaze linger briefly on the two before moving on as he began searching for Joseph.
Clearly, Joseph had been paying close attention to what was happening in the conference room from the start, keeping an eye on the progress of the audition. So the moment Hugo came out, Joseph immediately walked over to meet him. Threading through the dense crowd, Joseph waved cheerfully at Hugo, drawing Hugo's gaze toward him.
"How did the audition go?Did Everything go smoothly?" Joseph asked impatiently when he was still three steps away from Hugo. But before Hugo could respond, he glanced around, then quickly added, "Let's talk outside. There are way too many people here."
Hugo followed Joseph's gaze to scan the surroundings. Everyone quickly looked away guiltily, but clearly had their ears stretched, eavesdropping on his conversation with Joseph. This made Hugo chuckle. No doubt everyone wanted to know how the audition inside had gone, hoping it would help them prepare better. Unfortunately, Joseph immediately snuffed out that hope. Hugo even saw several people's faces fall in disappointment.
The two of them left the studio and headed toward the parking lot. Before Joseph could speak, Hugo took the lead and asked, "Joseph, what was going on just now? Why was everyone silent and staring at me curiously? Did something happen outside while I was auditioning?"
A small smile curled at Joseph's lips, but it was his eyes that truly gleamed with amusement. Hugo noticed that Joseph rarely smiled; even when he did, it was just a faint curve, revealing that he wasn't someone good at expressing emotions. But now, his eyes betrayed his excitement. "It's only natural," Joseph had to take a deep breath to calm his tone. "Do you know? You were inside for a full fifteen minutes. Everyone waiting outside was shocked. They were all guessing you'd already landed the role of Charlie, and that their own auditions were over before they even started."
"Fifteen minutes?" Hugo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I really didn't realize. I guess when people are nervous, they lose track of time and space." In fact, Hugo thought he had only been inside for five minutes at most. That had been one of the reasons for his restored confidence. Now, it seemed the situation was far better than he had imagined. No wonder those "wood" and "stone" guys looked so grim and didn't try provoking him again. That brought a smile to Hugo's face as well.
"So, tell me how was the audition? Did everything go smoothly? Have you already gotten the part?" Joseph tried hard to keep calm, but the quick pace of his words betrayed his anticipation.
Hugo shrugged. "I did my best. They told me to go back and wait for the news." That instantly drained the excitement from Joseph's eyes—definitely not good news. But Hugo quickly added, "Still, I could tell the interviewers were very satisfied with me. They said my performance was excellent. And I had some in-depth discussions with them. I think that's a good sign."
Joseph didn't speak. He slowed his pace, lowered his head in thought, and only after a moment did he nod. "Yes, that's a good start." Joseph had figured it out too. Today's open audition had only just begun, and the production team would definitely want to finish all the interviews before making any decisions. Judging by the current situation, Hugo not only stayed inside for fifteen minutes—longer than all the previous candidates combined—but from his account, the whole audition process went very smoothly. So this was definitely a positive signal.
"Phew, so what we need to do now is go home and wait for the news." Joseph let out a long breath, but there was still tension in his voice. Until the audition results were out, anything was possible. And the waiting—that was the most torturous part.
.....
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