Chapter 159: Revealing the True Face

After parking, the brunette in the driver's seat peered through her window at the three-story building down the road. She glanced at the address card in her hand to confirm she was in the right place, then pushed her door open, stepped out, and headed toward the building.

It was a small building housing a mix of companies and studios. Judging from the nameplates, most of the businesses operating here were in the film and television industry. This was a common sight in Burbank and across the Greater Los Angeles area; countless such companies were founded every day, and just as many went bankrupt and closed their doors.

Hollywood was home to far more than just actors. Dreamers from countless other professions flocked to the City of Angels. Screenwriters, cinematographers, costume designers, and makeup artists gathered from all over the world, chasing dreams of success and the desires fueled by fame and fortune. It was a hub for the absolute best film talent on the planet.

The brunette knew this well. She had moved all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles to chase her own cinematic dreams.

With several years of relevant experience under her belt, however, she understood that in a realistic place like Hollywood, realizing those dreams usually meant starting from the very bottom.

She took the stairs to the second floor, stopped at an office door to check the room number, and knocked gently.

A middle-aged Latina woman pulled the door open. The brunette's gaze drifted past her into the office beyond. It seemed to open into a larger inner suite, but the decor and furnishings were exceptionally shabby—no different from any other small film studio on the verge of bankruptcy.

"Who are you looking for?" the middle-aged woman asked.

"I'm here for an interview. I have an appointment with Miss Coppola."

The middle-aged woman let her inside, then knocked on the door to the inner suite. She slipped inside for a moment before stepping back out. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Elizabeth Tina Fey," she answered earnestly.

"Go on in." The middle-aged woman pointed toward the inner door. "Miss Coppola and Mr. Rosenberg are waiting for you."

Nodding, Tina Fey took two deep breaths. Clutching the folder holding her resume, she walked over and gave the door a soft rap. Only when she heard a flat, nasal "come in" did she push the door open and step inside.

The inner suite was just as sparse as the outer office. Aside from a few filing cabinets, two desks, and a small guest sofa, the only decorations were three framed pictures on the wall. They featured a bus launching out of a fireball, a small island engulfed in explosions, and an alien spaceship hovering above the White House.

Tina Fey didn't need a second glance to know what they were—these were the released masterpieces of the studio's owner. Action fans hailed the first two as classics, while the third had achieved global cultural impact, its worldwide box office having just crossed the $900 million mark a few days ago.

And the man who had achieved such spectacular success was the young director sitting behind the desk. He was exactly her age, and he was the biggest reason she had come to this studio to apply for a job.

Everyone wanted to follow in the footsteps of the successful, hoping to accelerate their own rise along the way!

Sitting on the small sofa, she exchanged a few quiet words with Sofia Coppola, who had conducted her preliminary interview. Subconsciously, Tina Fey's eyes drifted to the side. Duke Rosenberg appeared to be reading something, in no rush whatsoever.

She waited patiently. In Hollywood, every opportunity was precious. Although this was just an assistant position, it was for Duke Rosenberg, one of Hollywood's top commercial directors! From what she knew, hundreds of people had interviewed for the role over the past few days.

Just like Katherine Kennedy had been to Steven Spielberg, a position as an assistant to a major director was often a shortcut to success. Tina Fey wanted this job so badly that she had abandoned an opportunity to interview as a writer for Saturday Night Live. After all, that was just an ordinary role within a massive writing team, whereas this was the sole assistant position beside a top-tier director!

Besides, the person who had previously held this position was Sofia Coppola!

Before applying, Tina Fey had done her research. After serving as Duke Rosenberg's personal assistant for three years, Miss Coppola had now stepped up to become an assistant director and executive producer on his new movie, Saving Private Ryan. It was safe to assume that whenever the time was right, she would be launching her own projects.

Tina Fey wasn't quite that ambitious. She just wanted to become an excellent screenwriter and producer in the future—that would be enough for her.

But that required starting from the bottom and taking things step by step. If she wanted to speed up the process, her best bet was to leverage someone else's power.

Closing his financial report, Duke looked toward the sofa. The woman sitting there had medium-short hair and the sharp, structured features typical of a Western woman. From her appearance, she seemed to be right around his age.

This was the sixth and final assistant candidate he had interviewed since returning from France.

Duke didn't say anything, merely nodding to Sofia. These were all candidates she had handpicked from the preliminary interviews. Sofia offered a brief introduction, and the woman named Tina Fey began to introduce herself.

"I'm from Pennsylvania State, and I graduated from the drama program at the University of Virginia. Before coming to Los Angeles, I worked at the Second City Theater, gaining experience as a screenwriter, actress, stage manager, and production assistant..."

An hour later, the interview concluded, and Tina Fey walked out of Duke Studio with a smile. Although she hadn't been given a definitive answer, she could tell that Sofia Coppola and Duke Rosenberg were both pleased with her. It probably wouldn't be a long wait before she secured the job.

This was a job that could officially launch her Hollywood dreams!

Tina Fey never doubted this. Standing by the side of a top Hollywood director, the things she would see and the people she would interact with were far beyond what an ordinary studio employee could ever imagine.

"She's the one?"

Back inside Duke Studio, Sofia Coppola looked at Duke. "Elizabeth Tina Fey?"

"Do you have a better candidate to recommend?" Duke asked, looking at her.

Assistant positions were usually filled by newcomers who had just entered the industry. It was rare to find someone with as much diverse experience as Tina Fey.

"From our two interactions," Sofia said, shaking her head, "I have a very good impression of her. Out of everyone I've interviewed, she feels like the best fit."

"Make sure to notify her," Duke said, standing up and slipping on his jacket. "Also, don't forget to have her sign an NDA. Show her the ropes for a bit; if she works out, she stays."

"Got it," Sofia agreed. She packed up her bag and followed Duke toward the door. "The appointment is for 6:00 PM. The two of you can talk in person. If everything looks good, you can sign the PR contract, and if not..."

She rolled her eyes in feigned exasperation. "Well, she's the best option in my book anyway. My mom, my dad, and Nicolas all use her PR team."

In Hollywood, news concerning films, directors, and actors broke almost daily. Particularly around a movie's release, the media landscape would be saturated with magazine interviews, red carpet appearances, behind-the-scenes footage, or even carefully leaked relationship updates about the lead actors timed at critical moments to grab public attention. All of this media exposure was meticulously planned and controlled behind the scenes by an often overlooked but absolutely essential group: the publicity team.

Hollywood's Big Six studios all maintained their own PR departments to manage publicity for the films they produced and distributed. Two of the most important on-set positions were the Unit Publicist and the Unit Photographer, commonly referred to as PT and PR.

The former's main responsibility during production was to track the shooting process, gather any material that could potentially be used for promotion, and prepare bios for the key cast and crew, as well as the film's official synopsis and other PR copy. Many of the promotional campaigns for Duke's previous films had originated from them.

The latter did not have fixed working hours, typically dedicating anywhere from 7 to 16 weeks to a single film. Their main duty was still photography, providing high-quality images for the movie's marketing. In other words, the so-called "candid" street snaps or on-set photos of directors and lead actors published by the media during production were almost always taken by these photographers.

Beyond the in-house studio departments, Hollywood was also home to countless PR firms—both large and small—as well as independent publicists. Operating on an outsourced basis, they helped actors, directors, films, TV shows, and brands execute their strategic publicity campaigns.

Ultimately, their work could be summed up very simply: dealing with the media. This included managing their employers' public images, drafting speeches, arranging interviews, and more.

The person Duke met with over dinner was an independent publicist. Though branded as "independent," she actually had an entire team working under her.

She was a white woman in her fifties. After talking for a while, Duke felt they were both quite satisfied with one another.

She was satisfied because Duke was undeniably a premium, high-value client. Working for him meant she would collect a massive commission every single year.

As for Duke, his satisfaction stemmed partly from the Coppola family's recommendation, and partly because he knew exactly who Penny Kalis was—both who she had been in the past, and who she would become!

In the past, Penny Kalis had not only served the Coppola family but had also represented Clint Eastwood, Jane Fonda, Al Pacino, and others. It was under her management that these names had steadily climbed the ranks to become Hollywood superstars—a clear testament to her extraordinary abilities.

Duke didn't have many memories of Hollywood publicists, but he still remembered a little about Penny Kalis. In the other era he had lived through, Penny Kalis would soon become Tom Cruise's publicist, joining forces with CAA to shape the most glorious phase of the superstar's career.

After ending her partnership with Cruise, Penny Kalis would go on to sign a PR contract with Angelina Jolie. It was entirely thanks to her careful maneuvering that Angelina Jolie managed to shed her "bad girl" image and steadily ascend to the pinnacle of Hollywood.

And because it had happened relatively recently in his previous life, Duke still vaguely remembered Penny Kalis's most legendary PR campaign. Her client had been Robert Pattinson, and her opponent had been Kristen Stewart and her behind-the-scenes team.