The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 237

From his office, Sean’s gaze drifted across the room to a poster for The Scorpion King. It featured Matthew Horner, the young actor from Texas who had risen to fame under his watchful eye and was now poised to join the upper echelon of Hollywood stars.

Hollywood production companies have a well-defined system for evaluating actors. The most critical metrics are box office performance and the popularity of the characters they’ve portrayed in their three most recent films.

These figures are a direct indicator of an actor's future bankability and, consequently, their salary.

Given the word-of-mouth buzz and the box office numbers for Pirates of the Caribbean in its first two days, it was guaranteed to surpass $100 million domestically. Hitting $200 million was a sure thing, and if the trend held steady, it could even reach $300 million.

A hit of this magnitude could elevate a relative unknown to the B-list, let alone an actor like Matthew Horner, who already had the successful The Scorpion King to his name.

Sean refreshed his inbox again, but no new messages had arrived.

He estimated that the opening weekend for Pirates of the Caribbean wouldn't dip below $60 million. With numbers like that and the widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Will Turner, Matthew Horner was sure to attract a massive fanbase—a following that would directly impact the box office of his next project.

The stronger the opening weekend for Pirates of the Caribbean and the more praise Will Turner received, the greater Matthew's future star power would be.

Accordingly, his salary would increase as well.

Sean was waiting for the final numbers so he could find the sweet spot for an offer and begin negotiations with Helen, that notoriously cool-headed agent.Any lingering doubts he'd had about casting Matthew as the male lead in Dawn of the Dead had now evaporated. The idea was set in stone. As long as the film was well-made, it was guaranteed to capitalize on the popularity Matthew had earned from Pirates of the Caribbean.

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to expand the male lead's role?" Sean seriously considered the question, making a mental note to discuss it with the director, Zack Snyder.

Suddenly, a notification for a new email popped up in the bottom-right corner of his screen. Sean wasted no time clicking on it.

The email opened instantly, revealing a string of numbers: $22.2 million on Friday, $23.8 million on Saturday, and $18.6 million on Sunday, for a three-day weekend total of $64.6 million!

Sean gave a slow nod, a wave of relief washing over him at the sight of the numbers. But that relief was immediately followed by a new problem. With Pirates of the Caribbean exploding at the box office, Matthew Horner's market value was about to skyrocket. A $2 million salary for his next film was no longer on the table.

He'd start with Helen. If he could secure Matthew for the lead role, he was confident that, given the circumstances, convincing Universal to increase the budget would be easy.

...

Monday morning in London, the sun was just rising. Preoccupied with preparations for his film King Arthur and dealing with the time difference, Jerry Bruckheimer had only just received the fax from Disney Pictures.

He glanced at the document and passed it to his assistant, Anderson, who broke into a smile as he read it. "Boss," he said, "we've done it again."

Jerry offered a faint smile. "I told the folks at Disney from the very beginning that a pirate film had potential."

He scoffed. "Michael Eisner... that idiot told me my project would be a total flop."

Anderson chuckled. "Clearly, Michael's judgment is slipping."

"He's lost his touch. He clearly can't keep up with the times," Jerry Bruckheimer said, speaking bluntly about the very man who had once brought him into partnership with Disney. "Walt Disney grew under his leadership, but now he's become an obstacle to its progress."

Anderson nodded.

In truth, Anderson didn't know much about Michael Eisner, other than the fact that he'd refused to commit significant funding to King Arthur and National Treasure. This refusal had stalled both projects, leaving National Treasure stuck in the script phase and making his boss furious.

He was well aware that Michael Eisner was no longer the industry titan he once was, while Jerry Bruckheimer's own power had only grown.

"Boss, there are two other statistics on the fax," Anderson said, after carefully reading the entire document. "You might find this interesting."

Jerry asked, "What is it?"

Anderson replied immediately. "According to a poll Disney conducted, the most popular character in the first week was Jack Sparrow, with Will Turner coming in a close second. Together, the two characters had an eighty-five percent approval rating from viewers. Jack Sparrow got forty-six percent, and Will Turner got thirty-nine percent. The gap isn't that wide."

"Recasting Will Turner was the right call," Jerry said, his expression turning serious for a moment. "Horner is a capable actor."

Anderson agreed. "He certainly is. And he's not as difficult to work with as Johnny Depp. He’s the kind of actor who puts you at ease."

Jerry gave a slight nod. He'd worked with Matthew Horner twice now and knew this to be true.

"It's a shame," Jerry sighed. "I had planned to cast him as the lead in King Arthur, but he'd already committed to another project."

"Boss," Anderson asked, "you have a lot of faith in Matthew Horner?"

"Not exactly," Jerry replied. "But the reaction to the film proves that Matthew has the potential to become an A-list star."

He added, "Matthew reminds me of when I was working with Don Simpson on Top Gun. It was after that film that Tom Cruise truly became a superstar."

Anderson hadn't expected such high praise from Jerry. "Boss, what about our other project? The male lead for National Treasure hasn't been cast yet, has it?"

Jerry considered it for a moment. "Get in touch with Helen about his schedule," he instructed. "And once the funding is secured, send Matthew an invitation to audition."

He paused briefly before adding, "The success of Pirates of the Caribbean and the relative box office underperformance of Black Hawk Down have taught me one thing: films that appeal to all ages have a much greater chance at commercial success."

Anderson agreed, "That's true."

"So, I've already spoken with the two screenwriters," Jerry continued. "The script for National Treasure won't have any overly complex plots. We're also lowering the ages of the main characters to better appeal to the teen demographic."

He had always produced films with the market and audience in mind, using the tastes of the vast majority as his standard, and the teenage audience had always been the cornerstone of the theatrical market.

...

Outside the Angel Agency building in Burbank, Matthew had just stepped out of his car when he was swarmed by reporters who had been following him and lying in wait.

Flanked by several security guards from the agency, he made his way to the entrance, answering questions from the journalists as he went.

"Of course, we expected it to be a success," Matthew answered a journalist's question with a smile. "I said at the premiere that Pirates of the Caribbean would be a hit."

Now that the film had blown up at the box office in its first week, with numerous media outlets and industry experts predicting a final domestic take of around $300 million, he certainly had the confidence to make such a statement.

The success of Pirates of the Caribbean had also spelled disaster for another major film in the same slot, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The 20th Century Fox production about a team of Victorian-era heroes had earned just over $20 million in its first week and was certain to fall short of breaking even at the North American box office.

"Mr. Horner, will there be a sequel?"

"A sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean?" Matthew was direct, shaking his head. "Sorry, I haven't heard anything about that. No one has ever mentioned a sequel to me."

Disney Pictures had yet to make a public announcement, and he certainly wasn't going to say anything foolish and disrupt their promotional rhythm.

Besides, at this stage of the game, it was up to Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer to push for a sequel, not a lead actor like himself.

A sequel was inevitable, but Helen had instructed him not to make any statements. A naive declaration like "I can't wait to star in the sequel" was strictly forbidden.

The situation was clear: the higher the North American box office for Pirates of the Caribbean, the stronger his negotiating position for the sequel would be, and the higher his salary could climb. There was no need to rush.

According to Helen, once Pirates of the Caribbean surpassed $200 million at the domestic box office, it wouldn't be difficult for him to secure a salary of at least $8 million for the sequel.

If for no other reason than those $8 million, he was happy to cooperate with Helen's strategy.

"Matthew, are the rumors true that you and Keira have broken up?"

Hearing this question, Matthew immediately shot the rumor down. "Absolutely not. We're in a great, stable relationship!"

With that question answered, he stepped into the Angel Agency to meet with Helen and discuss his next steps.