The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 197

"Come on, I want you to meet a few friends."

Inside the Viper Room, Johnny Depp gestured for Matthew to join him. Matthew set down his glass and followed Depp up to the second floor.

He had called Depp before heading over. They'd hit it off on set, and since Depp had a free evening, he'd agreed to meet for a drink.

Matthew followed Depp upstairs and into a relatively quiet booth occupied by a man and a woman.

The man was about his height, dressed in old clothes and a pair of clearly worn-out boots. Long, unkempt black hair framed a thin, gaunt face, giving him the overall appearance of a street vagrant.

The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, with delicate, pretty features and a slender figure.

Matthew recognized them both from their films.

Depp made the introductions. "Charlize, Keanu, this is Matthew Horner. He's a friend and my co-star on Pirates of the Caribbean."

He then turned to Matthew. "Matthew, this is Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves. Both good friends of mine."

Matthew stepped forward to say hello.He recalled James McAvoy mentioning, during his first visit to the Viper Room, that Depp, Keanu Reeves, and the late River Phoenix—who had died of an overdose—were once known for being part of a pot-smoking circle.

It was River Phoenix's death that had supposedly scared Depp and Keanu Reeves away from cocaine.

Matthew didn't know them well, and since they were both established celebrities—with Keanu Reeves being one of the biggest stars in the world—he was initially reserved. After a few drinks, however, the conversation began to flow more freely.

"I don't know what Warner Brothers is thinking."

Keanu lamented, "They scheduled the next two Matrix films for May and November of next year. The gap between them is too short."

Charlize offered placatingly, "They must have their reasons."

It wasn't as if Keanu could do anything about it. Despite being the star, he had no say in the film's distribution strategy.

"It's more likely a cash grab," Matthew said bluntly.

Keanu nodded in agreement. "Warner Brothers is probably just desperate to recoup their investment and turn a profit as quickly as possible."

Charlize glanced at Matthew, who added, "As actors, all we can do is watch what the studio decides."

"Forget about it!" Depp clapped Keanu on the shoulder. "The movies are gonna be huge, so who cares? You'll get paid either way."

Keanu opened another bottle of wine. "Right," he said. "Let's just drink."

The four of them continued drinking. At one point, Charlize pulled out a cigarette case and turned to Matthew. "You mind?"

Everyone else at the table was an old friend, but Matthew was new, so she felt she should ask.

Matthew smiled. "Not at all."

Charlize lit a cigarette and passed the case and lighter to Depp, who also smoked. After lighting his own, Depp offered the case to Matthew, but he just shook his head, indicating he didn't smoke.

Charlize Theron was nothing like her delicate on-screen persona. She drank, she smoked, and she had a somewhat masculine, no-nonsense air about her.

At first, Matthew had assumed she and Keanu Reeves were a couple. But as they drank and talked, it became clear—if Depp's drunken ramblings were to be believed—that the two were just good friends.

The four of them stayed in the booth until one in the morning, leaving the bar thoroughly intoxicated. Realizing none of them were in any condition to drive, Matthew arranged for four valets to take them home.

A valet drove him back to his place in Burbank. Matthew had drunk far too much and passed out on the sofa without even showering. Luckily, he didn't have much of a headache when he woke up the next morning, but the hangover was still unpleasant, leaving his head feeling heavy and clouded.

"I can drink," he muttered, grimacing as he headed for the shower, "but only in moderation."

After his shower, Matthew found his phone and saw that he'd exchanged numbers with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron at some point during the drunken haze of the previous night. In a way, he mused, alcohol could be a useful social lubricant, quickly breaking down barriers between people.

Matthew didn't go out drinking with Depp again in the following days. After taking a day to recover at home, he fell back into his regular routine until the holidays ended and it was time to return to Disney Studios to resume filming.

All the remaining scenes for Pirates of the Caribbean were scheduled to be shot in Los Angeles, so there was no more overseas travel required. On the day filming resumed, Helen made a special trip to the studio to see him.

...

In his private dressing room, Matthew finished with his makeup and dismissed his artist and his assistant, Mira, leaving him alone with Helen.

"So," Matthew began, turning to Helen, "you're saying Jerry Bruckheimer is already planning a new project?"

The man's work rate was astonishing. "And he's working with Disney again?" Matthew asked.

Helen pulled up a chair and sat down. "Right now," she replied, "Jerry Bruckheimer is one of Disney's key partners."

Matthew was impressed. "He moves incredibly fast."

Then again, Matthew considered, since 2000 alone, Jerry Bruckheimer had launched Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, and now Pirates of the Caribbean. A pace like this was probably normal for him.

Helen had clearly done her homework. "Bruckheimer is so ambitious, he's apparently planning to work with Disney on two projects simultaneously."

Now even Matthew was surprised. "Pirates of the Caribbean hasn't even wrapped, and he's already planning two more movies?"

In Hollywood terms, that was practically light speed.

Thank goodness Bruckheimer was a producer. If he were a director, the rest of Hollywood would never keep up.

Matthew asked, "Are they big productions?"

Helen nodded. "The budget for each project is rumored to be at least a hundred million dollars."

She didn't wait for Matthew's next question, continuing, "I spoke to a contact at Disney. One project is a period piece, the other is a contemporary action film. Both are big-budget commercial movies, right up your alley."

Matthew understood her implication immediately. He thought for a moment, then said, "Let's focus on landing one of them."

After her experiences with Van Helsing and Pirates of the Caribbean, Helen knew it was unrealistic to go after the lead roles in two A-list projects simultaneously.

This time, she agreed with Matthew. "That's what I was thinking, too."

"Any more specific news?" Matthew asked.

"For the period piece, Bruckheimer has already finalized a script. More accurately, he had Disney buy a new screenplay by a writer named David Franzoni."

Matthew recognized the name; Franzoni had written Gladiator, a film he'd had a small part in.

Helen wasn't finished. "Only a handful of people know the specifics of the script right now, and I couldn't get deep into it. All I know is that it's an epic revolving around King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table."

Matthew scratched his head, trying to place it. He vaguely recalled that Madonna's ex-husband had directed some kind of Arthurian film, but unfortunately, he'd "arrived" in this life before he ever got around to downloading it.

He was pretty sure he'd never seen that particular movie, and he had a vague memory that most blockbusters about the "great and mighty King Arthur" had been unmitigated disasters.

"The other project is in a similar stage to where Pirates was at the beginning—it's just an idea right now."

Helen had clearly been busy working her contacts over the past few days. "The details of the concept are unknown at this point. What I've learned is that the initial idea came from Oren Aviv, the head of marketing at Bovis International, and his creative partner Charles Segars. Jerry Bruckheimer then picked it up to develop it further. Last week, Bruckheimer took two screenwriters to Washington, D.C. I made some calls. They were at the National Archives, specifically to review materials from the American Revolutionary period."

"Could the project have something to do with American independence?" Matthew wondered, trying to search his memories again. But for the moment, he drew a blank.

Helen shook her head. "Nothing's confirmed yet."

She paused thoughtfully. "I'll dig up more details."

After a moment of silence, Helen added, "Bruckheimer likes to cast actors he's worked with before. You need to keep that in mind."

Matthew nodded.

"If Pirates of the Caribbean is a success," Helen said, "I'll be in a much stronger position to negotiate an excellent salary for you on your next film."

Matthew asked playfully, "Twenty million dollars?"

Helen shot him a look. "Don't push your luck."

She didn't elaborate, as her phone buzzed with a text message and she glanced down at the screen.

Matthew, already in his Will Turner costume, sat before the makeup mirror, racking his brain for any films that matched Helen's descriptions.

Being a leading man meant getting far better treatment than a supporting actor, but it also came with much higher stakes. When a major production bombed, the supporting cast could shrug it off and move on to the next project. The lead, however, shared direct responsibility for the failure with the director and producer. Many careers had been derailed by the flop of a single blockbuster.

It hadn't mattered when he was just a minor supporting actor, but now that he was a leading man climbing the career ladder, Matthew realized just how valuable his memories of future films were. He hadn't seen everything, of course—most of his knowledge was of meaningless, commercial popcorn flicks—but that was exactly his niche. It was a crucial advantage that could help him steer clear of some truly god-awful bombs.

He genuinely couldn't recall any successful epic from this era about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

From a risk-aversion standpoint, that project wasn't a priority.

So what about the other project?

Matthew rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

Technically, he'd already worked with Bruckheimer twice, which would make it relatively easier to compete for a lead role in one of his projects. Lacking a better target, a Bruckheimer production was definitely the top priority.

Matthew frowned, trying to recall any information related to American independence.

The first thing that came to mind was the alien invasion movie, but that was from years ago; he'd just seen a rerun of it on TV last year.

He also seemed to recall some absurd movie about Abraham Lincoln being a vampire hunter. He couldn't remember the plot, but that was also related to American history, wasn't it?

After wracking his brain for a bit longer, he still couldn't recall any other films about American independence. Matthew decided to drop it for now. Perhaps he'd remember something once Helen came back with more information and a few more clues.

He rested for a few minutes with his eyes closed until a knock came at the door. "Come in," Matthew called out. His personal assistant, Mira, pushed the door open. "They're about to start the scene with Will Turner."

"Alright, let's head to the set."

Ignoring Helen, who was still busy with her phone, Matthew grabbed the aluminum prop sword from its rack and headed out of the dressing room.

Mira followed close behind, carrying Matthew's gear bag.

Studio 2 had been transformed into a cave set for the final scenes. The floor was strewn with antique gold coins, and in the back of the cave, treasure was piled into a small mountain.

The glittering golden treasures had been custom-made by a company that specialized in prop antiques for film productions.

While the morning shoot had focused on Matthew and Johnny Depp, the afternoon session included Keira Knightley, who hadn't been on set earlier. The scenes were divided into two main parts: one where Matthew and Keira fought off a group of pirates, and another where Depp dueled with the Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush.

As soon as Matthew arrived on set, Keira came over to him.

"Was this your idea?" Keira asked, touching Matthew's elbow.

"No," Matthew said, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "I had nothing to do with it. It was something my agent, Helen, cooked up with your agent."

"If it wasn't your idea," Keira said, lowering her voice, "why didn't you turn it down?"

Matthew didn't even look at her. "Why didn't you say no?"

"I..." Keira hesitated. "It's just for publicity. Why would I turn down something that benefits me?"

Matthew shrugged. "Same reasons."

Keira pouted. "Let me remind you, there's nothing going on between us."

"Nothing going on?" Matthew turned to look at her. "I thought we were friends."

Just then, the director, Gore Verbinski, called the actors over to discuss the scene. Keira headed toward him, and Matthew followed.

The final scenes were mostly action, a genre in which Matthew excelled, so the filming should have been relatively easy. It didn't go smoothly, however. According to the script, Will Turner had to fight off pirates while simultaneously protecting Elizabeth Swann.

With Keira added to the choreography, Matthew kept running into problems. In the end, filming the cave scenes took nearly ten days.

After that, the crew moved to Studio Four to film the scenes of the Interceptor versus the Black Pearl. It wasn't until December that principal photography for Pirates of the Caribbean was finally completed.