The gist of that passage was that, after the Don had Khartoum's head cut off, Woltz was forced to put Johnny back in that war movie. But Woltz wasn't going to spend any money to help Johnny win an Academy Award for his performance. Hagen was in Hollywood with Johnny to assure him that the Don would support his winning the Award by using influence. Then Johnny said he wanted to be a producer. Hagen told Johnny to plan to produce 3-5 pictures, and when he needed money, to call Hagen, who would give him the name of a bank (influenced by the Don) that would finance the pictures. "Is there anything else?" asked Johnny. "Do you mean, do you have to do anything in return?" replies Hagen. "Of course you do, but it wouldn't be anything that you wouldn't do for your Godfather if he asked you anyway." So, Hagen was telling Johnny three things: That his godfather had faith in him; that his godfather had vastly more power in Hollywood than Johnny imagined; and that there'd be a quid pro quo for the help. That came later, when Michael asked Johnny to sign a contract to appear at the Corleone-backed hotel several times a year to bring in gamblers.