Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Chapter 391: Finalizing Captain America (2)

I’ve given it some serious thought, and the answer is definitely yes," Taylor said. "Even if you become a notorious woman in the future, or even a failed singer, I am willing to accept you. I realize I really can’t forget you, you willful and stubborn wretch."

"You’re the wretch, the lecher, the scumbag! I won’t become a notorious woman, nor will I be a failed singer, and you will never witness that day."

"I hope so, keep it up!"

"Screw you! Wretch!"

Link smiled gently. In the past, seeing Taylor angry made him nervous, considering how to comfort her. Now, he found it quite enjoyable, which is probably the difference between a girlfriend and an ex-girlfriend.

—

During the release of "Scandal Plan," he also attended the second round of character auditions held by Marvel Studios. Eight people participated in this round, mainly to evaluate the actors’ performance abilities and command of dialogue.

In the auditions, Link performed the farewell dialogue between Captain America and his superior, Agent Carter, on-site.

It was the end of the movie, where Captain America decides to crash the uncontrollable, nuclear-armed plane into the Arctic Ocean to save the city of New York.

The plot was very touching.

Because he had practiced well in the crew of "Midnight in Paris" during this period, and was very good at performing emotional drama, he also excelled in this scene and delivered his lines well.

He scored well in the performance aspect of the second round of auditions.

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He successfully entered the third round, along with Will Smith, Chris Evans, and Channing Tatum.

Seeing that four more people were shortlisted, the third round might not be the final one, and through Ms. Mandy, he announced he was giving up the role and would not participate in the next round.

After becoming famous, the film companies were clear about what type of actor he was: good looking, great temperament, popular, skilled acting, strong box office draw.

Based on these external conditions, when film companies had a role that suited him, they would deliver the script directly to his agency, even discussing the remuneration in advance, eliminating the need for auditions.

Yet, Captain America, an unimportant role, required multiple auditions—not worth his time or patience. Moreover, he disliked the feeling of being selected by others.

However, on the same day he announced his withdrawal from the auditions, "Captain America" producer and director Joe Johnston called, saying he wanted to have a talk.

Link asked if the other party had the power to decide the casting. If so, then they could talk; otherwise, there was no point.

Director Johnston affirmed he did have that power.

Link agreed to meet and the next day at noon, he met Director Johnston and another producer, Stephen Brussard, who had been a producer of "The Incredible Hulk," at an Italian cafe on Hollywood Boulevard.

The three of them greeted each other.

Link, looking at the two producers sizing him up, said, "Gentlemen, may I ask a question?"

"Please, ask!"

"With my top-grade image, consummate acting skills, box office appeal comparable to A-list movie stars, not to mention my strong combat abilities, representing the American Dream and a national idol, and I don’t demand a high fee, what’s the difficulty in letting me play Captain America?"

Link asked seriously.

Director Johnston and Producer Stephen were momentarily taken aback, exchanging glances, somewhat surprised.

After meeting Link, they had been thinking about how to ease into the conversation and create a better atmosphere for the meeting.

But Link got straight to the point, directly addressing the central issue, asking why he couldn’t be Captain America?

This question had also been a topic of repeated debate within the "Captain America" production team recently: What were the disadvantages of casting Link as Captain America?

On the production team’s whiteboard, Link’s disadvantages were mainly three:

First, he wasn’t a professional actor but a top singer, with significant influence in the music industry and worldwide. Casting a singer as Captain America came with certain risks.

Second, he was a part-time actor, having so far only been in three movies—"Fighter," "Deep Sea Quest 2," and "Scandal Plan," plus the unreleased "The Expendables." Among these films, with the exception of "Fighter," which he did quite well, the performances in the others were mediocre at best.

In this respect, he couldn’t compare to Hollywood’s top stars like Will Smith, or Chris Evans, who had starred in multiple comic book movies.

Third, although he was very famous, apart from "Fighter," which had a global box office of over a hundred million, the performance of his other starring films was average, without showing his box office drawing power yet.

Besides these three main issues, there were other secondary issues: his hair wasn’t golden brown; he was a Playboy; his looks were too handsome and beautiful, etc., all of which were considered detriments.

Despite all these issues, the "Captain America" production team still regarded him as their first choice.

Because the guy was just too exceptional.

First of all, he was famous around the world.

The artistic film, "Fighter," released at the end of last year with an investment of 32 million US Dollars, had currently reached 156 million USD in global box office revenue, with over 92 million contributed from overseas. According to surveys, many viewers went specifically for Link.

If an artistic film starring Link could earn over a hundred million USD at the box office, a commercial film portraying a character with numerous book fans would undoubtedly achieve even higher figures.

Casting him as Captain America would raise the box office figures even if the movie was subpar, thanks to his music fans.

This was a box office guarantee.

Next, Link was an exceptionally physically fit guy.