The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 380

In one of the rooms at the Angel Agency, Helen was welcoming a visitor: Mike Stein, a representative from Disney.

Seated on a wide armchair, Mike regarded Helen with an earnest expression. "Previously, due to some internal issues at Disney, the sequel to National Treasure was delayed. Now that Disney is back on track, we intend to put the second installment on the agenda."

"That's good to hear." Helen wasn't surprised by his visit; she knew Mike had been a production manager on National Treasure. "Matthew and I have been looking forward to this project as well."

Mike smiled. "National Treasure was a box office hit, and Matthew's personal star power made a significant contribution. That's why we're keen to bring back the original cast for the sequel."

Helen nodded gently. "Matthew enjoyed his experience with Disney and is keen to continue the partnership."

It was a perfectly diplomatic statement, but she followed it with a direct question, "Is the director returning as well?"

"Yes." Mike looked sincere. "We've been in contact with Jon Turteltaub."

"Right." Helen paused for a few seconds, then said, "Matthew wants to continue the series as well. He's very interested in this brand of intelligent action film."

Hearing Helen's words, Mike felt a wave of relief. It seemed this initial contact had been a success.

Disney had sent him because he'd served as a production manager on National Treasure and knew both Matthew and Helen. Furthermore, his position wasn't so high-ranking that an exorbitant demand from Helen would immediately shut down the conversation; there would still be room for negotiation.Moreover, he had an important objective: to gauge the demands of Matthew and his agency.

After all, today's Matthew was not the same man he had been before.

Disney was well aware of this and wanted to gauge Matthew's price first, hoping Mike could handle the initial negotiations directly with the Angel Agency.

So, after exchanging a few more pleasantries, Mike politely asked, "Helen, does Matthew have any particular requirements?"

"No special requests," Helen said, her tone level. "The same day-to-day considerations he received on the Pirates of the Caribbean set will be perfectly acceptable."

Mike smiled and nodded; none of that would be an issue.

Helen's voice remained steady as she continued, "As for his salary, we will be asking for an appropriate increase."

"Of course." Mike heard the word "appropriate" and took it at face value. "Helen, what kind of fee is Matthew asking for?"

"Twenty million dollars," Helen answered calmly.

Mike's eyes widened, and he almost shot up from his chair. "Twenty... twenty million dollars?"

That wasn't just 'appropriate,' that was the lion's share!

But Helen wasn't finished. "Twenty million is the base salary, in addition to ten percent of the worldwide box office gross!"

While it wasn't the top-tier "twenty-plus-twenty" demand, twenty million dollars plus a ten percent box office share was an extremely rare and high form of compensation in Hollywood.

Of course, Mike couldn't agree, and even if he did, Disney would never approve.

"That's impossible." Mike knew Disney's bottom line and refused categorically. "You're asking for way too much money!"

Helen, however, stated simply, "It's his sequel fee."

Mike retorted, "Even for a sequel, that's far too much."

"It's not high at all," Helen said slowly, ticking off the films. "Starting with The Scorpion King, then Pirates of the Caribbean, Dawn of the Dead, National Treasure, Mr. & Mrs. Smith..."

Her tone suddenly grew sharp. "Matthew has had five consecutive blockbusters at the box office. Even the lowest-budget of them, Dawn of the Dead, grossed over two hundred million dollars worldwide!"

Mike knew, of course, that she was stating facts.

Helen pressed on, "Tell me, what other star working in Hollywood today has a record like that? Who else has that kind of immense market appeal?"

Mike thought about it but couldn't come up with a single name to counter her point.

"Twenty million dollars," Helen's voice grew stronger, "plus ten percent of the worldwide gross. That is our bottom line."

Mike's smile was strained. "Ma'am, besides a few household-name superstars, no one can demand that kind of money."

Helen answered coolly, "For National Treasure, Matthew is the face of the franchise. And let's not forget the market research from several agencies showing that a third of the North American audience bought tickets to see National Treasure specifically for Matthew."

The star of a sequel holds a natural advantage in negotiations, and Mike understood that perfectly. But even so, the terms proposed by Helen Herman were exorbitant.

As a member of the production team, it was his job to try and talk down the price. "Miss Herman," he said, "I'm not quite feeling the goodwill you mentioned earlier."

Helen knew Mike didn't have the final say, so she didn't bother to haggle. She simply said, "Look, Mike, you can take my terms back to Disney."

Mike thought for a moment, then gave a cautious nod. "Alright. I'll convey your proposed price to the company accurately."

He stood and added, "Miss Herman, I hope we'll have the opportunity to speak again soon."

Helen gave a slight smile but offered no reply, simply shaking his hand to see him off.

After Mike had gone, Helen settled back into the armchair. The situation was now the polar opposite of when Matthew had fought tooth and nail for the lead in National Treasure. Now, the only way to convince Matthew to reprise the role of Ben Gates was with a massive payday.

In her opinion, the National Treasure sequel offered Matthew nothing but a hefty paycheck. With two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, the 300 project, and Goldsman's film on the horizon, Matthew was in no short supply of major roles and work.

Since the primary value of the National Treasure sequel was monetary, it was only natural for them to push the price as high as possible.

Once Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hit theaters and became a massive success, she would have the audacity to demand the top-tier 20+20 deal.

However, Helen understood perfectly well that Matthew was only just entering that A-list tier, and it would be no simple task to get Disney to shell out such a monstrous amount of money for a single film.

In any case, she and Matthew were in no rush, and she knew Disney Pictures wouldn't take the enormous risk of recasting the lead role unless it was absolutely unavoidable.

Now, she held a winning hand. The result wasn't just a better financial return, but also an elevated status in the industry and more power when negotiating with production companies.

In truth, Helen knew her most important task was figuring out how to hold on to Matthew and prevent him from being poached by other companies.

She had known Matthew since he was a dirt-poor kid, and after working with him for several years, she believed she knew him better than anyone in the world. He was a man best described by three things: a black heart, an impassive face, and a powerful profit motive.

If someone were to offer him a colossal sum of money, Matthew wouldn't hesitate to kick her to the curb and hire a new agent.

It wasn't just about Matthew; stories like that were all too common in the industry.

When an agent wanted to hold on to a star they had built from the ground up, it wasn't as if there were no solutions. Helen was weighing three strategies: first, the friendship she'd forged with Matthew over many years; second, her ability to secure better deals for him than anyone else could; and third, building an entire support team around him with her at its core, making it far too costly for him to jump ship.

Helen removed her black-framed glasses and rubbed her temples, thinking that being an agent was far from easy.

She recalled a magazine feature from the 1990s on Michael Ovitz that endlessly mythologized the Hollywood agent. It portrayed giants like Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, and Steven Spielberg as mere pawns in an agent's game, props to be positioned at will. The article painted Michael Ovitz as the "invisible hand" behind Hollywood, its de facto ruler.

If that were true, Hollywood wouldn't see so many stars firing their agencies and changing agents every year without consequence. And CAA would never have suffered the loss of high-profile clients like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise.

Not having a star client was an agent's headache; creating one was an even bigger headache.

Helen felt that agents were, in fact, the true outsiders in Hollywood.

Of course, that was just her perspective. When it came to the average actor, the agent certainly held the upper hand.

Perhaps Helen couldn't say for sure who the real outsiders in this town were, but even the smallest actors knew exactly who held the real power.