novelraw Chapter 534
Chapter 534
"Don't bother."
Inside the hospital room, Matthew stopped Guillermo del Toro, who was trying to get up to see him out. He waved a hand in farewell. "See you on set."
Matthew stepped out, closed the door to the room, and strode toward the exit, sighing as he went. Guillermo del Toro had finally recovered.
From late December 2006 to early February, Guillermo del Toro had been bedridden for over a month, rumored to have been infected with a strange bacteria that delayed his recovery. The setback had brought production on "I Am Legend" to a temporary halt, and producer Akiva Goldsman had even considered temporarily replacing the director due to the prolonged process.
But Guillermo del Toro had recovered just in time. Since "I Am Legend" was scheduled for a holiday release at the end of the year, there was still plenty of time, and Akiva wouldn't have to replace him.
Of course, plenty of rumors had been swirling around Guillermo del Toro lately. Many tabloids speculated that he had been hospitalized for a drug overdose, and TMZ had published a supposed medical report detailing a serious illness.
After leaving the hospital wing, he got into the car. Bella, sitting in the passenger seat, instructed the driver, "Back to Burbank. Warner Studios."
The driver started the car, and Bella glanced back at Matthew. "I have some good news and one piece of bad news."
Matthew closed his eyes. "Go on."
"I'll start with the good news." Bella opened her notebook and glanced at it. "The Oscar nominations just wrapped up, and Spike Lee's film, 'Inside Man', didn't receive a single one. Will Smith also missed out on a Best Actor nomination, and 'The Pursuit of Happyness' was shut out of the Oscars completely."Matthew smiled, not bothering to hide his satisfaction.
Bella continued, "And the bad news. The Golden Raspberry Awards, just like in previous years, announced their nominees. You're up for Worst Actor again."
Matthew wasn't bothered. "It's fine. It's not the first time."
Ever since he became a star, he'd been a prime target for the Golden Raspberry Awards. This was hardly the first time they had nominated him for Worst Actor.
Despite the so-called bad news, Matthew was in a good mood. They had tried to use him as a stepping stone to the top, but Spike Lee had plummeted to the bottom, and Will Smith had failed to achieve his goal. Meanwhile, he was still standing strong.
"By the way," Matthew suddenly recalled everything that had happened right after New Year's, "any news on Vin Diesel?"
He had a team of assistants who handled news gathering and other tasks, with Bella as their direct supervisor.
Bella flipped through her notebook, searching for a moment before answering. "Diesel lost out on several jobs he was vying for last month. He was also dropped from consideration before auditions even began for a few recent films, and three other production teams have refused to work with him entirely. What's more, the promotional activities for his already-filmed movie, 'Babylon A.D.', might not involve him directly anymore."
She closed her notebook. "There are tabloid reports that Vin Diesel has been spotted on the set of an independent film for a small company."
"He's going to star in an indie film?" Matthew stroked his chin. "The indie scene has a future."
Perhaps Diesel could hone his acting skills in the independent film scene, then hit the jackpot and win a Best Actor Oscar.
"He ought to thank me. How could he possibly hone his craft without my help?"
Arriving at Warner Studios, Matthew headed to a meeting with Akiva in the studio's office building to discuss the script for "Tonight, He Comes"—the original title for "Hancock."
"How is he?" Akiva asked.
Flipping through the script, Matthew answered, "Guillermo has recovered."
Akiva had called Matthew before the visit, wanting to know if del Toro was truly ready to return to work.
He had been reluctant to replace Guillermo del Toro, but after all, the film's production couldn't drag on forever.
Despite getting along well on set, the two maintained a clear professional division in their work.
Akiva nodded. "The project has been delayed too long. I hope he can make up for lost time."
Matthew didn't reply, instead reading the female lead's lines in the script for a few moments before looking up. "About the lead actress..."
He closed the script. "I think Charlize Theron would be perfect for the role. We've worked together before."
Akiva nodded cautiously. "I'll have someone reach out to her about it later."
It was fine to make the suggestion, but who knew if Charlize would agree. Besides, his own contract for the lead role was still in negotiations, far from being finalized.
Helen's negotiations with the production team had long since settled on his base salary of $20 million; that was his non-negotiable minimum. The main sticking point was the compensation beyond that base pay: whether Warner Bros. would pay it as a back-end percentage or a larger upfront sum, and exactly how much that would be.
Matthew's preference was for a base salary plus a cut of the box office gross, but Warner Bros. was no fool. They had looked at the performance of his recent films and determined that giving him back-end points was not in their favor. Instead, they wanted to pay him a higher upfront fee and cut him out of any box office participation.
The Fast and the Furious series was about to enter pre-production, and he and David were planning to turn it into a top-tier production. That would require a massive capital investment, half of which he would be financing himself.
Revenue from a back-end deal would trickle in slowly, not nearly as quickly as a direct film payout.
Of course, giving up a share of the back-end profits would only be an option if Warner Bros. could offer him and Helen an upfront fee that completely satisfied them.
Otherwise, Matthew would stick with the upfront fee plus a subsequent share of the box office.
After talking with Akiva about "I Am Legend" and "Tonight, He Comes," Matthew left the office. Akiva mentioned that the title "Tonight, He Comes" wasn't quite right and that he would probably change it soon.
Matthew then went to the Warner building across from the studio lot, where David Heyman, who had just returned from England the day before, had requested a meeting with him that afternoon.
"It's nice in Los Angeles. The bright sunlight is soothing."
Inside the lounge, David sat on a sofa and said to Matthew, who was seated next to him, "The weather in London this time of year is dreadful. So cold and damp, I can't stand it."
Matthew smiled. "This is the best place to spend the winter."
David sighed. "We're all out of our element. I can't just leave the 'Harry Potter' team."
Matthew recalled Heyman's current position and said, "You're the number one producer on the 'Harry Potter' series now, aren't you?"
"The higher the position, the greater the responsibility—and the pressure." David seemed genuinely worried. "If I mess up the 'Harry Potter' series, I think the fans all over the world will kill me."
Matthew knew perfectly well that the safest approach with the Harry Potter series was to simply not screw it up. As long as the films avoided any major flaws or mistakes, tens of millions of fans would naturally line up to pay for them. At the turn of the century, Warner Bros. had spent an almost insane amount on advertising, and now it was time to reap the rewards.
The "Harry Potter" series by Warner Bros. was perhaps the most iconic marketing case in the history of books and film.
However, Matthew had never considered the series particularly outstanding. Perhaps it was just his perception, as he wasn't a big fan of magic or anything of that sort.
David added, "Before I left, Emma Watson mentioned you. She asked me to bring back an autographed photo."
"Wow..." Matthew said with mild surprise. "Is Miss Hermione Granger a fan of mine?"
David shrugged slightly. "It's quite possible."
He added a reminder, "You'll have to send an autographed photo to the studio in London sometime."
Seeing Matthew nod, David suddenly changed the subject. "I asked you to meet today for the same reason as last time—at the request of the Warner Bros. executives."