The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 362

Perhaps the conversation with Matthew and Keira had worked. The crew quickly finalized the casting for Davy Jones, with British actor Bill Nighy landing the role without a hitch.

Casting director Mustafi also adjusted the order of the final auditions for the witch role. Eva Green was moved from the last makeup audition to the first, and according to Helen Herman, as long as there were no major surprises, Eva would secure the part once all the screen tests were complete.

After all, Eva Green's appearance and temperament were a perfect fit for a dark, mysterious role like a witch.

Her biggest problem was that her first outing as a leading lady in Hollywood had been a complete fiasco. Otherwise, she wouldn't be competing for a supporting role that didn't even have that much screen time.

And even then, it was unclear if she would have made it through the auditions without Matthew and Keira pulling strings for her.

Matthew later learned that the fiercest competition for the witch role had originally come from a black actress named Naomie Harris. She had been recommended by one of Jerry Bruckheimer's subordinates, but director Gore Verbinski had been against casting her. If not for his resistance, the black actress would have already won the role.

This seemed to hint at another power struggle brewing between Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski within the production. The film "King Arthur" appeared to have been a turning point for Bruckheimer's influence in general.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" was an exceptionally large production, with hundreds of people working behind the scenes alone. Any ripple of activity on a set that size quickly turned into a rumor that spread to the outside world. With stars like Matthew and Keira Knightley involved, the news naturally swept through the cast like wildfire and leaked beyond the studio gates.

"So, the chances of getting the role are slim?"

In the living room of an apartment, Naomie Harris looked at her agent and asked, "Ronald, is that true?"The young-looking agent named Ronald replied immediately, "The chances are slim, but that doesn't mean they're nonexistent."

Naomi bit her lip, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Although she was British, she was of Jamaican descent, a fact that had naturally placed many limitations on her career. To break into Hollywood from the British theater and television scene, she had fired her original UK agent last year and signed with this man from CAA.

Of course, with her track record, she wasn't going to be assigned to a major agent. This agent, Ronald, had only just graduated from the CAA mailroom at the beginning of last year. Technically, he was as much of a newcomer to Hollywood as she was.

But being a newcomer didn't matter, she thought. Having the mountain that was CAA behind her gave her a significant advantage over other actresses of her type.

After just over a year in Hollywood, Naomi had already managed to land a few modest supporting roles in films like "After the Sunset" and "A Cock and Bull Story."

As a junior agent fresh out of the mailroom, Ronald was hardly in a position to secure high-quality clients. He had initially been quite frustrated when the company assigned him Naomi, a black client of Jamaican descent. But it turned out the woman was far from useless; she was bold and fiercely competitive for roles. Coupled with the fact that some people in the industry seemed to be changing their tastes these days, his efforts as her agent had resulted in a few significant parts.

"Since there's still a chance," Naomi declared, rising from the armchair. "Ronald, who do I have to sleep with to get the role?"

Ronald wasn't surprised. They had been working together for over a year, and he had come to understand that Naomi's thinking was rather straightforward, influenced by the recent trend of so-called political correctness toward black performers in Hollywood circles. She was bold and audacious.

He also had to admit that the few roles Naomi had secured were largely due to this very strategy of sleeping with potential employers.

"Naomi, hold on, don't be so hasty." Ronald gestured for her to sit back down. Once she did, he said, "Let's analyze the specific situation, and then we'll see what we're up against."

"Eva Green is a white actress, right?" Naomi had benefited greatly from the politically correct attitude toward black people that had been growing in the industry over the past few years, and that climate had helped her land her previous roles. "I'm black. And if I remember correctly, there are no major black characters in 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' Aren't they afraid we'll go around saying they discriminate against black people?"

Ronald was momentarily speechless, but Naomi's words weren't without merit. Many black actors these days were fond of using that tactic, waving the banner of discrimination. It was hardly a rare occurrence in Hollywood.

He had worked in the mailroom for several years and knew that if this trend continued, any mainstream film without a significant black character—or even a black lead—would face an actor like Naomi jumping up to claim the filmmakers were disrespecting black people or something to that effect.

But then Ronald thought for a moment that this was actually a good thing. He couldn't change the overall climate of the industry, and now he held this invincible trump card in his hands.

"This isn't about discrimination right now," Ronald said slowly. "According to the intel I've received, the male lead, Matthew Horner, and the female lead, Keira Knightley, both put pressure on the director, Gore Verbinski, during the audition for the witch. When both leads speak up at the same time, even Disney Pictures has to take it seriously."

Naomi asked curiously, "Why do they want to help Eva Green? If Matthew were having an affair with her, that would explain it, but is Keira Knightley bisexual?"

Ronald was speechless again. Naomi's brain, he realized, was even more simplistic than he'd always thought.

"The situation is actually quite obvious," he had to explain yet again. "Eva Green and Matthew are both represented by Helen Herman's Angel Agency. Presumably, Matthew wanted to help Eva get the role, brought his ex-girlfriend Keira Knightley into it, and then convinced Director Gore Verbinski."

"So that's how it is," Naomi muttered, then said earnestly, "Can you find a way for me to sleep with Gore Verbinski before I audition?"

Ronald quickly stopped her. "No, Naomi, don't do that!"

He warned her gravely, "Gore Verbinski likes white blondes and has no interest in black women."

Naomi's eyes widened, and she raised her voice slightly. "So he's..."

"STOP! Just stop!" Ronald knew what she was about to say and hastily cut her off. "As I said, it's not that simple. Even if you sleep with Gore Verbinski, he might not cast you."

Naomi was perplexed, unable to grasp what Ronald was getting at.

Ronald was new and inexperienced, but he had seen plenty during his time at CAA. With a cast as enormous as the one for "Pirates of the Caribbean," news spread everywhere, and it wasn't hard to draw a few conclusions.

He added, "It's not as simple as it looks. The fact that Matthew and Keira both spoke up is a big deal to Gore Verbinski. His power struggle with producer Jerry Bruckheimer has gone cold, and as the director with a producer credit, he wants more control on set. Johnny Depp is behaving erratically, so getting Matthew and Keira on his side is crucial for Gore."

Naomi finally caught on. "You mean Matthew is the key person in all of this."

"Exactly." If she still couldn't understand, Ronald really didn't know what else to say. "Matthew influenced his ex-girlfriend Keira Knightley, and Director Gore Verbinski is trying to win him over. So if you can handle Matthew, you'll get the role."

Naomi stood up haughtily. "Then I'll sleep with Matthew."

Ronald nodded. "Matthew has an office on Southboro Street in Burbank."

...

In Matthew's office, located next to the Angel Agency, Bella Anderson sat at her computer, scrolling through an email from Universal Pictures with the latest box office figures.

She finished reading the email and looked up, about to speak to Matthew, who was sitting at another desk across the room. Her eyes first landed on the small surveillance camera on the wall—a sleek, oddly placed device positioned directly above a framed poster, looking at first glance like a decorative accessory.

The presence of a surveillance camera in one's workplace was more or less uncomfortable, and Bella was no exception. But it had been installed when they moved into the new office just recently, and she had been the one to purchase and oversee its installation. Matthew hadn't hidden it from her.

She was responsible for his affairs most of the time, and when she wasn't in the office, the space was empty. A lot of valuable items were stored here, and the camera had been installed just in case.

As a native-born American, Bella knew the security situation in her own country wasn't just bad, it was abysmal, considering any burnout could get their hands on a gun.

"Matthew," she said, "Universal Pictures just sent an email. 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' has surpassed $200 million at the North American box office."