Dominate The Hollywood!

"It's now 10:44," Jenny Jane said as she sat elegantly in the visitor chair across from the office desk, legs crossed, one hand gracefully resting on the armrest. "There's still 1 hour and 47 minutes until 12:30. Mr. Vigeri, nice to meet you."

She lowered her voice, shifted her legs, and a subtle smile played on her lips as she stared intently at Chesare Vigeri, almost mockingly saying, "Now, you have 1 hour and 47 minutes to convince me that you're a great agent."

Chesare remained stoic, his demeanor unchanged, only a slight ripple on his nostrils and a barely noticeable flicker in his eyes. But Jenny knew she had successfully piqued his interest.

"Very well," Chesare said. "You have successfully caught my attention. Bonus points."

He pulled out an empty folder, opened it with a snap, and made a symbolic gesture, asking, "Now, can we officially begin?"

###

Three and a half months ago in Los Angeles

Jenny Jane - Chen Zhen stared at her reflection in the mirror, motionless, with a serious expression.

It was a beautiful face.

Jenny Jane, twenty years old, was in the prime of her life as a woman. Unlike her peers from the distant East, she had learned to apply makeup since seventh grade, and after six or seven years of practice, she had mastered the art of enhancing her appearance, adding the finishing touches. And even without makeup, Jenny Jane was still considered a beauty.

Her features bore strong Germanic traits - typical blonde hair, blue eyes, a high nose bridge, deep and captivating eyes, well-defined facial features. With her bright emerald eyes and long, straight golden hair, combined with her standard height of five feet six inches (1.67 meters) and a slim figure by Caucasian standards, Jenny Jane definitely turned heads on the street. She could even enjoy the privilege of being a beautiful woman and skip the queues at some popular local nightclubs.

Logically speaking, she had no reason to wear such a serious expression. Life couldn't possibly be devoid of joy for someone like her, a stunning beauty.

However, she appeared genuinely unhappy now. Whether it was her tightly pursed lips or her tense posture, it all reflected her mood. Jenny Jane, or rather Chen Zhen, was currently under immense pressure.

She wasn't without reason.

She had traveled back in time, from 2024 to 2001, from Beijing to Los Angeles, from being Asian to being white.

It was the year 2001, when computers were just becoming popular, and the internet was changing people's lives. The era of bulky mobile phones was gradually being replaced by sleek and compact ones, but Steve Paul Jobs had not yet introduced the revolutionary iPhone. Even the game-changing iPod had not been released and would only make its debut a few months later. Chen Zhen, who came from 2024, was not accustomed to life in the early 21st century. It was a time without Blog, Twitter, and Facebook. The mainstream communication tools were ICQ and MSN - names that had become outdated in the ever-changing world of technology. If it weren't for her time-traveling back to early 2000s America, Chen Zhen wouldn't even remember these terms or realize how much her life had been changed by these technologies and how inconvenient life was in the early 21st century.

Of course, that wasn't her biggest problem now.

Her biggest problem was that she fell asleep in her Beijing home, but woke up twenty three years earlier, reborn in the body of a white beauty, and with all of her memories intact.

Jenny Jane Jefferson, born in 1981, social security number 422-11-6742, comes from a disadvantaged family in Alabama. Her father is a convicted robber sentenced to over a hundred years in prison. Jenny Jane has been in prison since she was six years old. Her mother left the family and never had any contact with them. After her grandmother passed away, Jenny Jane entered the welfare system and grew up in multiple foster homes. She completed high school two years ago and came to Los Angeles to work. She wanted to pursue opportunities as an actress but was unsuccessful. Currently, she works as a waitress in a restaurant.

Her memories can be summarized in a few sentences. The rest of the personal information, such as her preferences and social relationships, has been filtered out as irrelevant information. In general, just like the aspiring actors in the Chinese entertainment industry, Jenny Jane is a common Hollywood hopeful. She hopes to find her place in Hollywood based on her beauty and youth.

As for Chen Zhen, who is currently trapped in Jenny Jane's body, her information is as follows:

Chen Zhen, born in 1982, from a middle-class family in Hangzhou. Her parents are both civil servants. She passed the college entrance examination and enrolled in the acting department of Beijing Film Academy. During her time in college, she had a relationship with a wealthy man five years older than her. After graduation, they got married and had a child. Due to ongoing conflicts with her husband, they are going through a divorce. Her in-laws have been gradually transferring power to her husband, who will inherit the family business. She also has several properties under her name, and it is estimated that she will receive an inheritance worth more than thirty million dollars.

At this point in time, their lives may not be too different, but in ten years, Jenny Jane is likely to become a person with nothing in the lower class of society, while Chen Zhen will be a wealthy single woman living without financial worries. The contrast between the two is significant. If she could go back to her original body by committing suicide once, she would have already been standing on a rooftop.

Going back to her original body is Jenny Jane's, or rather, Chen Zhen's most urgent desire.

The reason she hasn't attempted it is because she knows that even through suicide, she cannot go back.

Because her rebirth comes with a mission.

To dominate The Hollywood!!! (ᇂ_ᇂ|||)

It's just these vague five words. When Chen Zhen woke up in Jenny Jane's body, she naturally knew this: when the day comes for her to dominate Hollywood, she can choose whether to go back or not.

Setting aside the difficulty of dominating Hollywood, Chen Zhen immediately realized the logical conflict after regaining her senses - if one day she really dominates Hollywood, wouldn't she become a winner in life? If she has reached that point, why would she want to go back?

The following question is if she is here now, is there still a Chen Zhen living in Hangzhou at the same time? And if they were to meet, what would happen? Did Jenny Jane go to Chen Zhen's body?

Of course, she has no way to verify this now. First, just thinking about this question gives her a physical headache. Second, even if she can endure the headache, she doesn't have the money to buy a plane ticket to Beijing, let alone the possibility that her poor and unknown status might make it difficult for her to obtain a Chinese visa.

Jenny Jane graduated from high school with average academic qualifications. Her SAT scores were only half of the total points. Even if she had the opportunity to attend college, she couldn't afford the tuition. Graduating from such an unknown university, it would be difficult for her to find a high-paying job. She would probably earn more as a waitress in a coffee shop.

As for Chen Zhen, she was a performing arts student in college. After graduation, she married into a wealthy family and focused on keeping her husband happy and saving money for herself. Her work skills are close to zero.

Having acquired the memories and personality of two people - let's call her Jenny. Jane now has to consider not just going to China to find 'Chen Zhen', but also making a name for herself and living a life of her own. Of course, in her grand plan, she also wants to try to dominate Hollywood and return to her original life... Although she still doubts if she can really reach the point of dominating Hollywood, why bother going back?

After serving at the restaurant for two days, Jenny's desire to escape poverty became very strong. She couldn't wait to negotiate a film contract and start her acting career - no matter how tough and tiring it is for actors, it has to be better than standing for twelve hours at the restaurant.

The need to change her destiny was urgent and couldn't be delayed. Jenny took a deep breath in front of the mirror, glanced at her watch, and walked out to start her shift: her lunch break was over, and the afternoon shift began.

Yes, she is now just a restaurant waitress.

"Jenny, today's treat is on me." Johnny winked at Jenny from behind the bar counter. "A cup of coffee, a dessert, it's on the house."

"Thanks, Johnny," Jenny's shift was over, and after standing for eight hours, her legs were aching. "A black Americano with no sugar or milk, and a seagull salad without the oil and vinegar dressing, please."

Johnny looked at her curiously, "Are you on a diet? Jen, forgive me, but I don't see why it's necessary."

Jenny smiled and didn't explain anything. She just took the packaged meal from Johnny and waved at him. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Johnny waved back good-naturedly. "Take care of yourself, Jen."

Jenny walked out of the restaurant, bent down to unlock her bicycle, and hopped on it to ride back to her place.

Her home wasn't very far from the restaurant, and luckily, there were no hills on the winding roads of Los Angeles. Chen Zhen had discovered this on her first day of work after waking up, and she immediately spent a day's worth of wages at the flea market to buy a bicycle.

After a twenty-minute ride, she arrived at her rented place - a small one-bedroom apartment in a middle-aged building without an elevator.

Due to the high cost of labor in the United States, there isn't much difference in income between white-collar and blue-collar workers. Jenny worked as a waitress at the restaurant, earning a base pay of eighty dollars a day.

The restaurant she worked at also sold fancy coffee and had good business. If she worked two shifts in a row, she could make over two hundred dollars a day, but it was quite tiring. If she only worked one shift a day, she could still make around a hundred and thirty dollars including tips. With a monthly income of about four thousand dollars, this fifty-square-meter apartment was a rent-controlled unit. Although it was located near Beverly Hills, the monthly rent was only six hundred dollars. It could be considered the legacy that Jenny left for Chen Zhen.

The restaurant provided one meal. If someone like Jenny, who was beautiful and had a sweet smile, could attract customers, the boss, Johnny, would be more generous and often provide two meals or give her extra takeout. When calculated, Jenny didn't actually need to spend much money on food, and she could even get free meals at popular American coffee and hot dog restaurants.

After deducting the rent from her monthly income, she didn't have many expenses for everyday things like buying fruit, clothes, and cosmetics. Saving two thousand dollars a month was an easy task for her. However, Jenny, like most Americans, clearly didn't have a savings mindset, especially as a Hollywood dreamer who wanted to enter the entertainment industry with her looks. She couldn't possibly save money for the future by being frugal. Chen Zhen was just glad that she didn't have credit card debt, which was rare for American girls her age.

Of course, Jenny Jane did leave behind some 'legacy'. She used most of her salary to buy clothes and shoes. In this small one-bedroom apartment, the living room is actually a closet (Jenny Jane has at least a hundred pairs of shoes). The remaining portion of her salary is used to purchase performing arts courses.

When Chen Zhen occupied the nest, she still had an unfinished performance course at the community college. As for other expenses, there are basically none. Although she likes to go to nightclubs with her friends, as a beauty, she has her own privileges, and everyone understands that.

It must be said that Jenny Jane is actually a rare and aspiring girl. Although she holds unrealistic dreams of fame, she is still living seriously and accumulating bit by bit to achieve her dreams. If she also has a certain talent and luck to win big prizes, maybe she will have a place in Hollywood in the future. But now, the original her has disappeared, and the only person who can fulfill her dream of fame is Chen Zhenji.

As soon as Chen Zhen returned home, she changed into sportswear. She walked back and forth in the house, quickly completing tasks such as cleaning the room. Due to her speed, she did a simple warm-up and her body started to heat up. She turned on the newly purchased computer, opened Winamp, and started dancing Latin dance to the hot music.

After an hour of Latin dance, she did fifteen minutes of stretching and relaxation. Her body was probably at its limit. Chen Zhenji collapsed on the ground and took a nap for about twenty minutes until she was awakened by the cool breeze. She got up, took a shower, washed her hair, and then started her busy evening skincare routine.

Actually, Johnny is right. Her figure can be described as very symmetrical and fit. As a woman with a height of five feet seven inches and a D-cup, Jenny usually wears size 4 (S) clothes, which is already quite rare among white people. She doesn't need to exercise and lose weight so urgently as long as she doesn't overeat and follows the eight hours of standing every day, it is enough to maintain her figure.

But this is for ordinary people. Regardless of whether they are actresses, singers, or models, as long as they are involved in the entertainment industry and in front of the camera, ordinary fitness is never enough.

Due to the aspect ratio used in modern film and television, as well as the conversion between 3D and 2D, 'gaining ten pounds on camera' is not just a phrase used by overweight people to comfort themselves, but a real phenomenon. It is very likely that the visual effect after being filmed is more than just ten pounds overweight, because human eyes perceive in 3D, shadows and depth contours are processed. However, film and television images are 2D, which means that a person is flattened. Of course, the face and body will appear bigger than before. So, to achieve the effect of looking normal on camera, the face must be smaller than that of a normal person, which is common knowledge in acting schools.

Therefore, the more naturally round-faced or less distinct facial features an entertainer has, the more they have to force themselves to lose weight. On the other hand, lucky ones with deep and distinct facial features have to put in less effort, but it doesn't mean they can eat and drink as they please. Anyone who still has ambitions in the entertainment industry and doesn't want to play fat characters will almost never have a day of being full, the only difference is how to starve oneself.

Of course, there is a price to pay for this. Actors who look normal on camera or actors who are portrayed as thin on camera not only have terrifyingly small faces in reality, but they are basically just hangers without flesh. Not to mention the health risks, even dating becomes a challenge. After all, most normal people still want to be with normal people, at least in terms of appearance...

Chen Zhen is lucky. In her previous life, she lost four years of fat in order to fit in with the crowd because she had a boyfriend who liked his girlfriend to have a little bit of meat on her bones, so she didn't starve herself. After graduating, it was only natural for her to get married and become a wealthy housewife. Although she still wanted to maintain her figure, she knew that she couldn't compare to those in the entertainment industry.

As for this life, Jenny Jane should have pure German blood. This bloodline gives her deep facial features and distinct contours, but the disadvantage is that she looks older in middle age. However, the advantage is that she looks great on camera with a natural shadow effect, making her look very slim.

Getting older can be compensated for with makeup, but being overweight cannot. In terms of being on camera, it must be admitted that white people have a racial advantage. In addition, Western aesthetics does not excessively pursue thinness. Therefore, Chen Zhen doesn't need to go to extremes like her Chinese colleagues who strive to become extremely thin. She just needs to exercise a lot and get rid of excess fat to maintain a figure that is one size smaller than the average person.

--In another words, her short-term goal is to wear a size 2.

She doesn't have the energy to go to the gym multiple times or the money to hire a personal trainer, but luckily when she was a wealthy housewife in her previous life, she had the habit of exercising regularly to maintain her figure. As a personal hobby, she also danced Latin for many years, so she can exercise at home. As for not eating dinner, giving up sugary drinks, and saying no to oily dressings, these are all part of the weight loss process and have become almost instinctual for Chen Zhen. Even in her previous life, she rarely ate these things.

With an eight-hour shift and a 40-minute bike ride to and from work, Chen Zhen's body is almost at its limit. After taking a shower and briefly reading the news, she falls into a deep sleep. The next morning at 6 o'clock, when the alarm clock rings, she promptly wakes up, drinks water, goes for a morning run for an hour, and then takes a shower before sitting down to eat her most important meal of the day.

She takes out the salad she packed from yesterday, boils two eggs, adds a slice of poached chicken breast, and a large glass of milk. After devouring this hearty meal, she finally feels satisfied in her stomach. Chen Zhen feels that white people's bodies are resistant. After such high-intensity exercise, she feels energetic again after eating.

After breakfast, with an hour and a half before work, she doesn't waste time and sits in the living room, doing a yoga pose. She sets the alarm, takes a deep breath, and activates her "golden finger."

When her "golden finger" is activated, Chen Zhen suddenly falls into darkness.

In her previous life, Chen Zhen was always idle, spending a lot of time reading online novels, so she was very familiar with the concept of a "golden finger." Of course, she never dreamed that something like this would happen to her. As a reader, she often complained that the author gave the protagonist too powerful of a "golden finger," making them too strong and reducing the enjoyment of the story.

Now, Chen Zhen would never complain about her "golden finger" being too powerful. She would even want an unlimited money cheat. If this mysterious power was bold enough, she wouldn't mind having a time-traveling trading system. It would be even better if she had a system that unlocked more functions as she approached her goals...

Unfortunately, compared to many characters in books, her "golden finger" is extremely humble. It basically only has one function.

Activating it is simple, just close your eyes and concentrate. Chen Zhen named it the "Performing Arts Space." As long as she thinks about entering it, the next moment she will find herself in a pitch-black space with countless DVD discs flying around, and she can easily select one with her thoughts.

These discs are not all-inclusive. Chen Zhen does not have a global film library for the next ten or twenty years. Most of the discs come from movies, TV shows, and stage plays she has watched, while a small portion comes from famous ones she has heard of but never had the chance to enjoy. In short, the entire library does not contain any movies that she has not seen or has no impression of, mainly based on her memory.

Chen Zhen's first golden finger is to rewatch old movies to her heart's content.

She randomly selected the classic blockbuster "Titanic" released in 1998. In front of her eyes appeared a large IMAX-sized screen, skipping the production company information at the beginning and starting to play this classic blockbuster from the beginning.

The flow of time in the space is about 3 to 1 compared to the outside world, which means Chen Zhen has about 4 to 5 hours to comfortably enjoy this movie. However, she did not watch it from the beginning but directly skipped to the scene where Rose and Jack are floating in the water, rewatching the touching confession.

Then she muttered, "Start simulating."

With a splash, Chen Zhen immediately fell into the water.

The heavy Edwardian costumes became even more cumbersome after being soaked in water. Although the water temperature was not low, the large studio had to have a fan to help with air circulation. A gust of wind blew, and she still shivered, lying on the wooden board without even the strength to get up.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Young Leonardo - Leo DiCaprio leaned over the edge of the board and spoke to her. His extraordinarily handsome face was only a few centimeters away from Chen Zhen. "Damn, I'm freezing too. Luckily, James finally decided to let us shoot in warm water, otherwise we would have gotten pneumonia."

Around them was a large group of actors, all floating and sinking in the warm water. Seven or eight cameras of different sizes were aimed at this large pool, with a track on the edge of the pool, an underwater camera at the bottom, and staff walking back and forth outside the pool. Vividly - or as Chen Zhen suspected, perfectly recreated the filming scene of Titanic. In the distance, she could even see James Cameron, the "King of the World," and another man discussing something with a serious expression.

This is the second function of the golden finger: recreating the filming scene.

Chen Zhen took the place of Kate Winslet in this scene, gave Leo DiCaprio a quick smile but didn't answer anything. In the distance, a loud voice came, "Attention, scene 293, take 6, action!"

"I'm cold," she urged herself to quickly get into character, tears streaming down her face as she recited the lines, "I'm cold, Jack."

"Listen to me, Rose." Leo's acting was just like in the movie. "You will survive..."

A five-minute dialogue scene was quickly shot. The director didn't shout "cut," but when the time set by Chen Zhen was reached, she returned to the entertainment space. In the space, there was already a sofa and some basic furniture. She sat down on the sofa and replayed the scene she had just performed.

The classic scene appeared on the big screen again, but Rose's face had been replaced by Chen Zhen's.

This is the third function of the golden finger: turning the filming scene into a complete film.

This is not simply rewatching the original footage, but completing the editing, post-production effects, dubbing, and final version of the film. There is no difference from the theatrical release version. In other words, what Chen Zhen sees is the version of "What if Jenny played in Titanic." If she wants, she can act out the entire movie from start to finish and then watch the theatrical release version.

Jenny is a German beauty, and her figure at this time is even more graceful than Kate Winslet, who is known as "Fatty Winslet" (of course, this nickname is unfair. In fact, Winslet's figure was quite standard when she appeared in Titanic, just "10 pounds heavier on screen"). The on-screen effect is more beautiful, but as Chen Zhen watches her own performance, her eyebrows furrow.

"The performance was exaggerated, stiff, and unnatural. The dialogue skills were also very poor," she criticized her own performance, "I failed."

Of course, this is normal. No one can become a lead actress in a big film right away. For most actors, it is a gradual process. Although there are some talented geniuses who can shine and skyrocket to success, actors are ultimately just technicians who need to go through practice to reach a proficient level and advance in their careers. Without enough training, even if they wear the emperor's robe, they won't look like a prince.

Chen Zhen's performance was acceptable. She had studied acting for four years in her previous life and had some training during that time. However, after graduation, she completely neglected acting for ten years. Now, she has only been practicing again for less than a month, so her acting skills are lacking. However, she still has the presence of a female lead and can create a melancholic atmosphere. If it were someone else, they would probably end up acting in a comedy film and couldn't even finish their lines.

After watching the entire film again twice, Chen Zhen couldn't stand it anymore. She threw the remote control and said, "Simulated scene." She returned to the set of Titanic, and Leonardo DiCaprio smiled at her, saying, "Isn't it cold?"

"Just forget it," she replied irritably, then lowered her head to prepare herself. No matter how many times she repeated the simulation, Leonardo DiCaprio would only have those few lines.

This time, when she heard the familiar word "action," Chen Zhen muttered, "Memory injection."

With a loud bang, her mind was immediately filled with blurry and complex memories. It was as if she had instantly relived Rose's life in a dream, from the fallen youth and the oppressive and tense environment of her upbringing, to her mother's concern for money and power, and the vibrant love between her and Jack...

She was so cold, she couldn't stop trembling, both because of the cold and fear. She stared at her lover with all her strength, saying, "Oh, Jack, Jack, I'm so cold..."

"Listen to me, Rose," Leonardo DiCaprio held her hand, his eyes still shining. "You will definitely survive..."

The fourth function of the cheat code: simulating character memories and emotions. In Chen Zhen's opinion, this was also the core function of the cheat code.

Actors' performance styles can be roughly divided into "experiential" and "expressive." There is no definitive answer as to which style is better. Regardless of whether it's a black cat or a white cat, catching the mouse is what matters. However, most of what is taught in acting schools is expressive techniques, because experiential acting requires a higher level of talent and cannot be easily taught. This cheat code allows her to fully and completely immerse herself in the role, naturally expressing the character's emotions in the scene. In other words, it allows Chen Zhen to transform into the world's most authentic and versatile experiential actor. --Of course, in the world of entertainment, she is the only one like this.

She tried to summon this cheat code in reality but was unsuccessful. Chen Zhen couldn't read the script and instantly simulate the character's memories and emotions. However, this cheat code can still have an impact on reality. After simulating in the entertainment space and returning to reality, traces of emotions would still remain in her heart for a while before gradually fading away. In other words, as long as she carefully selects the films, such as those she had watched in her previous life, she can still use the experiential method to perform most scenes.

This is the most powerful card Chen Zhen has to try to "dominate Hollywood." Otherwise, she wouldn't even bother trying in this direction. She would just make herself look more beautiful and find ways to save money for a university course. During her studies, she would work hard to find a future husband from the law school, or else she could find another job after graduating.

So far, she has only discovered these four functions of the performing arts space, all of which revolve around one point - to help her perform well. Therefore, for Chen Zhen, her "golden finger" is only open in terms of acting, and there are many restrictions.

After watching the emotional performance again, she was still not satisfied with herself - even if she wasn't the director, she could feel that the performance after adding emotions was a bit too "loose". It didn't match Leonardo's performance. If before she couldn't let go and couldn't put emotions into it, this time it was overflowing with emotions, causing a mismatch in rhythm between Leonardo and her.

So, although this fourth function is the core, it cannot immediately turn Chen Zhen into an experienced performer. Being pure and being outstanding are two different things.

After trying four times, Chen Zhen finally felt satisfied with her performance in this crucial scene. She waved her hand and activated the combination of function three and function one, "Contrast playback."

Two frames appeared on the screen, one was the original version of Winslet and the other was the space version of Jenny Jane. Both said the same lines, "Oh, Jack..."

Although "Titanic" is a timeless classic, the acting requirements for the main characters are not high. In other words, acting doesn't determine the box office success. As long as it's above average, it's enough. So Chen Zhen believed that Jenny Jane's performance was already comparable to Winslet's. Although she is an actress of the highest level, her performance in "Titanic" is only this good because the film did not leave her much room to showcase her acting skills.

...However, she still felt a faint inconsistency in the Jenny version. It was this slight inconsistency that made her instinctively feel that the original version was more natural and excellent.

Where is the problem?

After watching the comparison three or four times, Chen Zhen finally came to a conclusion: the problem lies in bloodline and temperament.

Jenny Jane is a German beauty, but Kate Winslet is the English rose. In the role of Rose, the latter naturally has a higher degree of fit. Her pure aristocratic English, as well as her naturally classical temperament, add a lot of charm to Rose. But although Jenny Jane also had excellent makeup, she is from the United States and naturally has a kind of urban temperament unique to American girls. Fundamentally, it doesn't match the character of Rose.

Even with a "golden finger," it is impossible to overcome one's own limitations... Chen Zhen couldn't help but sigh: How difficult is it to make a name for oneself in the entertainment industry?

Chen Zhen can also hear the outside world's sounds in the performing arts space, such as phone calls and ringtones. After reviewing her performance a few more times, when she heard the alarm clock, she exited the performing arts space, drank the strong iced coffee from last night, tidied up, and rode her bike to work.