The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 401

The following week, Matthew dove into pre-production for "300." His primary responsibility was to oversee the fitness and sword training for all the actors cast as Spartan warriors. He also met periodically with the directing team to coordinate the choreography for Leonidas's fight scenes.

In February, word came from Akiva Goldsman that he and the investors at Warner Bros. had selected Francis Lawrence to direct "I Am Legend."

Matthew specifically tasked Helen with learning more about Lawrence. Like Zack Snyder, he was a relatively young director who had transitioned from directing commercials and music videos, having previously helmed projects for singers like Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, and Beyoncé. To date, he had only one feature film to his name: "Constantine," a DC Comics adaptation released by Warner Bros.

Most people simply knew it as last year's Keanu Reeves movie.

The film cost $100 million to produce and grossed over $70 million domestically and $230 million worldwide. From a purely box office standpoint, it wasn't considered a major success.

Matthew had no recollection of who directed the Will Smith version of "I Am Legend." Back then, it was the actor's name and the dog on the poster that had caught his eye, leaving no room to remember the director.

Matthew called Keanu Reeves and they spoke at length. Keanu's assessment of Lawrence was overwhelmingly positive, describing him as a serious and talented director.

Zack Snyder, who came from the same world of music videos and commercials, was also familiar with Francis Lawrence. When Matthew brought it up, Zack confirmed that Lawrence was very capable.

Akiva Goldsman and Warner Bros. clearly had their reasons for choosing Lawrence. The word was that the director had presented a comprehensive plan for the film that had deeply impressed them.

It was difficult for an actor to influence the choice of a director—even for an A-list star like Matthew—unless he had initiated the project himself, as was the case with "300."While both Akiva Goldsman and Warner Bros. were eager to cast him as the male lead, his involvement wasn't absolutely essential to them.

Of course, if Matthew was unhappy with their choice, he could discuss it with Goldsman and Warner Bros. If their differences proved too great, he could always walk away from the project entirely.

But Matthew wasn't displeased with Lawrence. His only real concern was that "Constantine" hadn't been a box office smash. He asked Helen to continue her discussions with Akiva, since "I Am Legend" was still in the early stages of development and a long way from finalizing its cast.

Although Helen's negotiations had just begun, Matthew was already giving the lead role a great deal of thought.

"I Am Legend" was, for all intents and purposes, a one-man show. In the original, Will Smith carried almost the entire film on the strength of his personal charisma alone.

A one-man show placed immense demands on an actor. If this were an arthouse film, a character study, Matthew would have passed without a second thought, knowing his acting skills weren't up to that particular standard. But a mainstream commercial film like this was an entirely different beast. Here, an actor's personal charisma and audience appeal were far more crucial than raw acting talent. And after years of honing his craft, he was confident he could handle the role.

He knew he wasn't a great actor, not in the classical sense. Even after years of headlining major films, he would only be considered moderately skilled by Hollywood standards.

But then again, neither was Will Smith's.

The man had earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Ali, but everyone in the industry knew that an Oscar nod wasn't always a true measure of acting prowess. Will Smith had never formally studied acting, yet he was an undisputed commercial superstar.

Putting aside the opinions of the press and critics, when it came down to pure acting ability, Will Smith probably wasn't much better than he was.

In every other respect, Matthew felt he was now on par with Will Smith. He had starred in five consecutive blockbusters, firmly establishing him as one of Hollywood's top-tier stars in terms of commercial value.