The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 465

If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have even listened. He had the vague feeling that Helen was rushing things a little.

For the most part, Helen was a quiet, composed woman. The last time he’d seen her like this was when she had been desperately trying to land him a major commercial production, pushing for the lead role in Van Helsing.

Back then, he had warned Helen and then managed to persuade Orlando Bloom to take the lead role instead.

“I wonder what this is all about.”

On his way back to Horner Manor from the Angel Agency, Matthew thought about Helen and pulled out his phone to send her a message. Her reply was swift.

“Nothing.”

The message was a single, simple word.

Helen wasn't some schoolgirl; she was an independent, self-sufficient businesswoman, and after seeing her response, Matthew didn't press the matter further.

Of course, no matter what Helen asked, getting back together with Britney was out of the question for him.

After a somewhat naive first romance, Matthew was no longer the young actor he once was; he had become more indulgent in both his thoughts and actions.Putting his phone away, Matthew's thoughts drifted to Orlando Bloom, whom he hadn't heard from or about in a long time.

After two consecutive major productions flopped, it was practically impossible for Bloom to land a leading role in a big commercial film again.

Though he felt a twinge of sadness, Matthew didn't feel guilty. He had climbed over many people to get where he was.

****

Over the following week, Helen remained silent on the matter, apparently having abandoned the idea of a so-called reunion with Britney. The Church of Scientology was also quiet, making no attempts to contact him, save for a single phone call from Tom Cruise asking to meet for tea at the Hollywood Celebrity Center.

He had gone there last time as a favor to Tom Cruise, and having done so once, Matthew had no intention of ever returning.

As August wore on, Matthew pushed all thoughts of Scientology from his mind, preoccupied by good news that, in his view, was far more important.

After four weeks in theaters, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest had confidently sailed past the $400 million mark. On the second day of its fourth weekend atop the North American box office, the film’s domestic total reached $412.2 million.

Although the film's popularity was clearly on the decline, with attendance and the number of screens dropping week after week, it was obvious to everyone, both inside and outside the industry, that its run in the North American market was far from over.

Disney's internal estimates projected that the film would gross around $470 million domestically, with a strong chance of cracking the top three all-time highest-grossing films in North America.

Internationally, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest had been released in over a hundred countries and had already earned more than $500 million overseas, making it the third-highest-grossing Hollywood film of all time behind Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Matthew and Depp had naturally become the biggest movie stars of the summer, not just in North America, but in every country where Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was playing.

However, just as Will Turner had never been as popular as Captain Jack Sparrow, Matthew was not as popular as Depp.

This difference was directly reflected in the negotiations Helen and the other two agents were having with Disney Pictures. Depp's agent had named the highest figure of the three when it came to a salary increase for At World's End.

Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was a box office smash, which was certainly good news, but Matthew had a feeling that because the film's reputation and quality were inferior to The Curse of the Black Pearl, it might burn through too much of the fans' enthusiasm. When At World's End was released, it might not generate the same fervor as Dead Man's Chest.

Of course, as long as there were no major issues in the final stages of production, At World's End was guaranteed to be a box office juggernaut.

Given the success of the first two films, Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer might as well jump off the Disney headquarters building if they somehow managed to screw up the third one.

Matthew had no authority over the post-production of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and knew very little about it anyway.

He had visited Warner Studios to check on the post-production of 300, but he hadn't offered any professional input.

Compared to the busy post-production team, he was a complete layman.

Even if he had seen the final cut, what difference would it make? He knew the film would get a wide release and that it was the project that would truly launch Zack to fame.

He remembered the general plot.

But that was of no use to him in post-production. The overall story was based on the script and the graphic novel, but he knew nothing about the technical details of post-production, like editing, rendering, and so on.

Who remembers those things when they watch a movie?

So, Matthew knew it was best not to interfere.

Fortunately, both Zack and the producer, Jack, were professional enough to keep the film on track. According to David Ellison, the movie would be ready for editing by mid-September at the latest, in time for the start of the holiday season in early November.

David Ellison and Skydance Pictures, along with Warner Bros. as the distributor, had deliberately adjusted the film's release date to capitalize on Matthew's popularity following Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Although both Warner Bros. and David himself had developed elaborate marketing plans for the film, its inevitable R rating meant that 300 was unlikely to get a release on the scale of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Initially, the budget for Dead Man's Chest was lower than that of The Curse of the Black Pearl. But after the first week in theaters, Disney executives saw its blockbuster potential and invested heavily in promotion again, resulting in massive box office returns that exceeded $400 million in North America and approached $1 billion worldwide.

As far as Matthew knew, Disney Pictures had spent $150 million on the film's promotion.

Hollywood had long since entered an era where you couldn't have a super-hit without super-distribution.

Many people talked about the terrible return on investment when a film cost millions, or even hundreds of millions, of dollars, but no one ever seemed to care about the high promotional and marketing costs behind the production value.

Even for a short film, around 90 minutes long, printed on a massive scale, the price per copy would rarely drop below $600.

In this digital age, many small studios that made a low-budget film they believed would be a hit and tried to distribute it themselves would be crushed by the amount of money needed for printing copies alone.

As for the distribution companies, they were definitely at the top of the food chain.

Even with David Ellison's financial resources, Skydance wouldn't be able to establish full distribution capabilities in a short amount of time.

Matthew didn't bother Zack. After visiting the film's post-production team, he became a regular visitor to the I Am Legend team at Warner Studios.

And there was more good news for him: after numerous interviews, Goldsman and Warner Brothers had confirmed the director for I Am Legend. The Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, recommended by Helen, had signed a contract to helm the sci-fi masterpiece.

Unlike his predecessor, Francis Lawrence, Guillermo del Toro was a quintessential commercial director who specialized in films with monsters and a creepy atmosphere.

Guillermo del Toro wasn't as stubborn as Francis, possessing a vibrant Latin American spirit.

Stylistically, he was also a much better fit for the film. According to Goldsman, Guillermo del Toro was not only obsessed with monsters and ghosts but also skilled at weaving elements of horror, science fiction, and magic into his cinematic worlds.

In terms of experience and previous directorial style, Guillermo del Toro was a far superior choice for director than Francis Lawrence.