The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 334

In early April, National Treasure officially concluded its run in North American theaters. And though Matthew hadn't made an appearance at the Golden Globe Awards like Halle Berry, the film's critical reputation had already soured.

By the time the film left theaters, its Rotten Tomatoes score, a site dedicated to aggregating critic reviews, had dropped to forty-five percent, making National Treasure an outright failure based on critics' scores alone.

In contrast, the family-friendly film was a hit with audiences, grossing $225.6 million in the North American box office. It outperformed Twentieth Century Fox's The Day After Tomorrow, which earned $186.7 million, and Spy Kids 2 with its $172.64 million, ultimately landing the seventh spot in the 2004 North American box office rankings.

With a production budget of $100 million and a domestic gross of $225.6 million, National Treasure could be considered a massive success.

The film also performed well in the international market, releasing in nearly 100 countries and earning a total of $243.2 million overseas.

To date, National Treasure had grossed a worldwide total of $468.2 million.

Although the film had yet to be released in some foreign countries, the remaining markets—primarily smaller ones like the Faroe Islands and Haiti—were still showing it. The additional box office revenue to be collected there, while modest, was still better than nothing.

It was unlikely that the film would ultimately cross the $500 million mark worldwide.

But the $468.2 million figure was more than enough to keep everyone involved with the film smiling.

Even if National Treasure was underappreciated by critics, it didn't change the fact that the film was a commercial triumph, and Matthew had once again proven his bankability in the action genre.Disney was currently in a state of some turmoil and couldn't focus on a sequel just yet, but Jerry Bruckheimer, one of the film's producers, already had a National Treasure sequel on his agenda and had made initial contact with Helen.

Helen didn't mince her words. Citing Matthew's consistent box office successes and the standard bonus structure for sequels, she bluntly told the representative from Jerry Bruckheimer Films that there was no point in negotiating Matthew's contract for the sequel unless the offer started at a $20 million salary.

Subsequently, there was no further word from Jerry Bruckheimer Films. In Matthew's opinion, they were likely waiting for Disney's input before making any concrete plans.

The fact that National Treasure had earned nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office was certainly good news for Matthew, but there was more.

Zack Snyder, who was over in New York, called Matthew to report that the test footage he had prepared had finally been approved by Frank Miller. Thanks to the lobbying efforts of a PR expert Helen had hired, and bolstered by Matthew's recent box-office success in a leading role, Frank had agreed in principle to negotiate with Zack and Matthew about licensing 300.

"The negotiations won't happen immediately."

In the Angel Agency office, Helen adjusted her black-framed glasses and said, "I've received word from my people that Frank Miller won't start negotiations with us until the end of April at the earliest."

Matthew was a little surprised. "Why is that?"

"Have you been focusing all your energy on Charlize lately?" Helen prompted him. "Sin City just opened on April 1st, and the buzz around it has already exploded. As the film's box office numbers continue to climb, Frank will be in a much stronger position to demand a higher price."

Matthew slapped his forehead. "I completely forgot about Sin City."

Helen shot him a look. "You and Charlize had better be using condoms, or there'll be trouble if something happens."

"Don't worry," Matthew replied immediately. "She's more careful about safety than I am."

He steered the conversation back on track and asked, "What kind of number are you expecting?"

"It's hard to say." Helen mused for a moment and answered, "These days, original stories are becoming rarer in Hollywood commercial films. Adaptations are getting more and more attention from the major studios, and the licensing fees for popular novels, comics, or other adaptable properties have at least doubled since before 2000."

Matthew nodded. "The general trend isn't something we can change."

In modern Hollywood, if a screenwriter who hadn't made a name for himself approached a studio with an original script, the chances of it being picked up were practically nil.

Take Simon Kinberg, for example. Without a recommendation from Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar-winning producer and screenwriter, Summit Entertainment never would have touched a script like Mr. & Mrs. Smith unless they were out of their minds.

But with Goldsman's recommendation, the situation was completely different.

Helen added, "The rising cost of adaptations is a real headache."

She sighed softly. "His final price tag was $8 million, which was double what we expected."

Matthew frowned.

Helen wasn't finished. "Given the current state of the Hollywood industry, Frank will also ask for a back-end deal."

"A back-end deal?" Matthew suddenly felt as if he and Zack were about to go broke.

"Don't be surprised." Helen was calm. "Sin City has incredibly positive buzz right now, and not from critics, but from fans. In the past, the industry considered Frank's works too personal and not well-suited for film adaptation, which is why, despite being well-known, Sin City and 300 were never adapted by any studio."

Matthew understood what she meant. "Now the situation has changed. Sin City is basically guaranteed to be a success, and knowing how the major Hollywood studios operate, someone is bound to look into Frank's other works."

A thought suddenly struck him. "Zack approached Frank with the test footage a long time ago, and he's only now taking a stance. He must have been intentionally stalling, right?"

"Definitely," Helen said, certain. "Even if Frank didn't think of it himself, his agent would have advised him to."

Matthew, however, stood up, paced back and forth, and said with a frown, "Frank is in complete control of the situation, and there's nothing we can do to change that."

Helen nodded slightly. "True."

"A back-end deal is fine." Matthew continued to pace, his thoughts clarifying. "The problem is the increased licensing fee for the adaptation."

As he spoke, Matthew realized that he and Zack had absolutely no experience managing a film production. Even Helen had far less experience in this area and had overlooked many important issues.

Especially regarding the financing, they had only budgeted a total of four million dollars.

He turned to Helen. "As far as I know, Zack doesn't have much cash on hand. He was only paid a few hundred thousand for directing Dawn of the Dead, and all of that went into producing the test footage. Most of the salary he earned directing commercials and music videos before that became his initial capital."

Zack had mentioned this when they were discussing the production of the test footage.

Matthew pointed a thumb at himself. "I don't have much cash either; most of what I've earned has been converted into stocks. We originally assumed three to four million would be enough for the adaptation rights, but now..."

He shook his head. He could sell the Apple stock he was holding, but cashing out now... even if he knew nothing about investments or financial markets, he understood that would be beyond foolish.

The Apple stock was one of the guarantees for his future. Even if he ended up like Nicolas Cage, the king of bad movies, he would still be fine with those shares.

Helen stood up as well and, like Matthew, paced a few steps back and forth. "Actually, there is one way."

"Hmm?" Matthew looked at her and asked, "What is it?"

"We go to a film production company and negotiate with Frank alongside them," Helen said slowly. "Let the film company finance the rights to 300."

Hearing this, Matthew's initial excitement quickly faded as he sensed a problem. "If the production company gets the rights, they'll be in the driver's seat. If they object to Zack directing or me starring in it, we'd be in trouble."

"That's a possibility," Helen concurred.

She thought for a moment and added, "It's not that there are no checks and balances. For instance, if we negotiate terms with Frank first and get him to agree to stipulate in the rights transfer that Zack must direct and you must star."

Matthew considered this for a moment and said, "That would be difficult."

Helen nodded. "Frank knows that you and Zack simply don't have enough cash on hand. It's very likely he'll bypass us and negotiate directly with a studio."

With Helen's strategy, Matthew was confident that, given his recent box office performance, it was unlikely a production company and Frank Miller would push him out. Zack, however, wasn't such a sure thing. After all, he had only directed one film.

The film 300 was such a personal project that Matthew wouldn't dare make it without Zack.

Helen added, "There is another way! If we can find an investor, not a film company, the funding shortage would be solved, as long as they pay for it. Even the production costs could be covered."

"An investor?" Matthew's first thought was of the person who invested in Underworld, but that guy didn't seem particularly wealthy.

He then thought of another candidate, leaned in close to Helen's ear, and murmured something.

"Give it a try," Helen said. "If that doesn't work out, there's always a loan."