The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 262: Brokeback Mountain

"This should be it."

In her office, Helen told Matthew, "At the very least, it's a Jerry Bruckheimer action-adventure film involving the Declaration of Independence."

Matthew nodded. "I remember you telling me last year that Jerry was working on two new projects. 'King Arthur' is almost finished, but this one still hasn't been written."

Helen didn't find that surprising. "Without enough money, even Jerry has to wait. I heard from people at Disney Pictures that the script has been in development for nine months since it was first drafted. Jerry has rejected it at least six times, and it's still not finished."

She adjusted her glasses. "This time, you'll be going to the audition in character. The specifics of the audition are unknown, and at the moment, there isn't the slightest clue about who you'll be playing. I suspect even Jerry and those two screenwriters haven't decided yet."

Matthew nodded again.

It was bound to be a very strange audition. The project had been on the table for so long, and although it hadn't been publicly announced, some news must have leaked. Since it was an audition, it meant he wasn't the only one who received an invitation, and the current situation was very much to his advantage.

The others might be uncertain about the role, but Matthew remembered the general gist of it.

Among the films he had once seen, Nicolas Cage played a character whose family had been searching for treasure for generations until he finally uncovered some clues. The character himself was an expert in American Revolutionary War history and code-breaking.

With just over a week until the audition, he realized he needed to prepare and find more information about the American Revolutionary War."This is just one of our alternative projects," Helen said then. "The project has been delayed for a long time, so there's a lot of uncertainty about its future."

Matthew wondered, "Do we have other options?"

Based on Hollywood history, a film that was constantly being revised and postponed had a very high chance of ending up a failure.

Helen replied, "Of course."

"The outstanding box office of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and the fact that audiences really like Will Turner have attracted the attention of many directors and producers." Helen took a folder from a drawer and placed it in front of Matthew. "This contains information on the production companies that have sent you offers, along with the relevant details."

Before Matthew could look through the papers, she continued, "Michael Bay has invited you to audition for his new project, a film on the theme of human cloning. Ridley Scott called me to ask about your schedule; he's working on a major epic war production. Focus Features and the Oscar-winning director Ang Lee want you to play the male lead in their adaptation. Then there are small projects with budgets of a few million dollars, which don't even need to be considered as they don't fit your current career path."

As he listened to Helen, Matthew quickly scanned the file. The offers for small projects were indeed not worth considering. A reboot of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' for instance—what kind of role could he possibly play in a project like that? A brainless young man sawed in half by a maniac, or the masked killer himself?

He was a B-list star now, a B-list star who had never been in a teen slasher film before. Wouldn't playing a role like that be a step down?

He figured they were just taking a shot in the dark. After all, it cost nothing to send an invitation. What if the guy they invited was foolish enough to say yes? Even if he didn't agree, they lost nothing and could even spin a story like, "Matthew Horner was interested in our project but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts," and ride his popularity.

Anyone who could succeed in Hollywood either had to come from a very good family or be exceptionally talented. But Matthew noticed that from the moment he had moved beyond being a minor actor and became a star, the situation around him had changed radically.

Of course, his rise to fame had been relatively smooth. Since becoming a B-list actor, he had only starred in two films, "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Dawn of the Dead." In the former, he got along perfectly with Depp and Keira, and any conflicts or rivalries remained at the agent level. In the latter, he was the absolute lead, personally invited by Sean Daniel without even an audition, the biggest name in the cast, so there was naturally no competition or conflict there either.

In any case, Matthew felt he had to be one of the lucky ones.

After looking through the file, Matthew asked Helen, "So what's your take on these offers?"

"Most of them were sent just to test the waters and borrow some of the fame from 'Pirates of the Caribbean'." Helen saw it clearly. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' had just finished its North American run, grossing over $350 million, and a sequel had been officially announced. Matthew, as one of the male leads, was in the spotlight. Depp, on the other hand, had probably received even more offers than Matthew.

She said, "All the projects, except for the three I mentioned earlier, can be vetoed."

Helen added, "Of all the offers, these are the only three projects that have an initial budget in the tens of millions of dollars."

Matthew knew this was Helen's style; whenever a project came up, the first consideration was its commercial value.

"Are you sure about those three?" he asked again.

Helen's manner of dealing with Matthew had changed long ago, without her even noticing. The casual way of speaking, the simple and direct attitude, had completely disappeared. Once Matthew became a B-list star, even if she believed she was more professional and had chosen suitable projects, she would patiently explain her reasoning in detail.

In fact, Matthew himself was well aware that as he transformed from an unknown actor into a full-fledged star, Helen had subtly "transformed" as well, shifting from being the initial decision-maker to a service provider.

But this was something agents behind the stars had to get used to. California's Talent Agencies Act clearly stipulates that the maximum contract between an entertainment agent and a client shall not exceed three years. Stars have a wider range of choices, and an agent or agency cannot blacklist a star.

In Hollywood circles, you always hear about Jewish producers blacklisting certain stars, but never about CAA or agents blacklisting them. Because the maximum contract is only three years, the law is on the side of the stars in this regard.

Most stars listen to their agents because it's mutually beneficial—good for you and good for me, but nothing more.

As soon as a conflict of interest arises, stars will usually fire their agents without a second thought. For example, after this year's Oscars, Tom Cruise, who had failed once again, fired his agent. Despite the fact that CAA and the agent himself were quite upset and launched numerous smear campaigns against Tom Cruise in private—ranging from his beliefs and personal life to his sexuality—Tom Cruise remained Tom Cruise. His superstar status wouldn't change just because he fired his agent.

Not to mention someone at Tom Cruise's level, even Charlize Theron, a B-list star, had fired her agent to break away from her typecasting as a bombshell and make a bid for the Best Actress Oscar with the film "Monster."

You have to know, that agent was to Charlize what Helen was to Matthew—the agent who discovered her and made her famous, investing countless resources to advance her career.

But Charlize fired the agent without hesitation for the sake of greater profitability and personal benefit.

If his memory served him right, Charlize's career had indeed taken a huge step forward since then.

Of course, Matthew felt that he and Helen were perfectly aligned right now, both in terms of future career paths and the principle of selecting commercially oriented films. He had no thoughts of changing agents, at least for now.

Helen said, "The offer from Focus Features and Ang Lee can be eliminated first."

She gave a direct explanation. "First, the film has a very small budget, just over $10 million, so you'd have to take a pay cut to be in it. Second, director Ang Lee recently botched 'Hulk,' so working with him would be risky. And finally, most importantly, it's a film based on a novel by Annie Proulx, which is fundamentally about gays."

"Gays?" Matthew immediately thought of "Brokeback Mountain."

The film was so famous that even someone like him, who only watched popcorn movies, had heard the title. Back where he came from, "Brokeback Mountain" had even become synonymous with homosexuality.

Although he hadn't seen the film and didn't know any specific details about it, a film that had such an impact must have been a huge success.

If he were an outstanding actor, wanted to contend for awards, and was ready for a change, "Brokeback Mountain" would have been a very good choice.

Unfortunately, Matthew had a clear understanding of himself: he was an average actor, and an Oscar was optional for him. He wasn't even an A-list star yet, so there was no need to transition, and he didn't want to enter the indie arthouse scene.

Besides, he had absolutely no interest in doing a sex scene with a man, even for a film. The very thought of it made him shudder.

So, he immediately told Helen, "We're ruling that one out."

Helen saw that Matthew had followed her advice and, without pausing, continued, "Then there are the other two options."