The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 538

A film's future depends on its relevance, and in a society as diverse as North America, the best way to be relevant is to represent its major minority groups. In other words, the team needed to be multi-ethnic.

Latinos, African Americans, Asians, and so on—they could all be included.

The next day, he had lunch with David Ellison and Bearded Jack and shared his ideas.

Matthew's ideas were supported by Bearded Jack, and given the current social climate in America, making a proactive adaptation was inevitable.

The news spread quickly among the pre-production planning team for the Fast & Furious franchise. Some people immediately put themselves forward for roles, and David Ellison, confident in Matthew's continued success, allowed him to make almost all the decisions in this area.

The entire concept for the film was overhauled before a single word of the script was written. Since Hollywood rarely gives screenwriters much creative freedom, the theme was determined by synthesizing Matthew's earlier suggestions. First, the main characters and their relationships were defined, and then the story was built around them.

This was the typical Hollywood assembly-line approach.

With an expected investment of $100 million or more, Matthew and David were determined to follow the model of past successes. If any actor suggested a revolutionary innovation, Matthew would be the first to kick them off the cast.

As for the cast, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster were definitely returning, and Matthew would take one of the most prominent roles.

For the minority roles, Paul recommended Tyrese Gibson from the second film as the African-American candidate. Screenwriter Gary Scott Thomas suggested bringing back Han for the Asian role, but Matthew rejected the idea, citing the character's death.There was also a need for a Latino character, and after a reminder from David, Matthew realized he had overlooked one of the most influential forces in Hollywood—the Jewish community.

Since this was a multi-ethnic drag-racing crew, a Jewish character was essential.

Of course, these characters wouldn't necessarily appear in the fourth film. If it proved successful, they would be introduced one by one in the sequels of the new trilogy.

***

Filming for "I Am Legend" continued. The crew spent February shooting at Warner Studios before moving to New York in March to film the final exterior scenes in Washington Square and on the banks of the East River.

The German Shepherd from last year's shoot was gone from the set, as the dog had been openly hostile toward Matthew. Instead, all shots involving Sam were being created by the crew in post-production using CGI, which wasn't particularly difficult with modern Hollywood film technology.

"Matthew! More grief!"

On the set, which was dressed as a laboratory, Guillermo del Toro shouted to cut the scene. He told Matthew, "You can't be so calm when your only companion is dying!"

He raised his voice. "Let's do it again."

During the script development stage, Matthew had suggested not killing Sam to avoid unnecessary backlash. But after discussions with the crew and Warner Brothers, it seemed his concerns were unfounded; the vast majority of people involved had no strong opinion on the matter.

Director Guillermo del Toro believed that Sam's death would add tension to the film's plot, and in the end, the crew decided that Robert Neville would have to kill Sam himself.

Matthew said nothing, just nodded. The scene had already been shot four times, his emotional delivery lacking the necessary intensity.

Guillermo del Toro gave him fifteen minutes. Matthew, now a seasoned actor, sat in silence for a while, slowly clearing his mind and gathering his thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, at Guillermo del Toro's command, filming resumed.

Matthew's hands trembled as he picked up the model dog. Leaning against the lab table, he slowly sank to the floor, his face a mask of not just sorrow, but also fear.

He hugged the model dog tightly, as if trying to warm Sam's gradually cooling body.

His hand shook as he stroked the model's head. The anxiety of losing Sam was palpable in his voice, his words trembling:

"Don't worry... about anything..."

His voice grew choked. "And soon everything... will be okay..."

He held out his hand, his palm stained with the dog's fur.

Matthew hummed a tune incoherently. He pried open the model dog's eyes and then its mouth, checking the pupils and fangs. His breathing grew labored as he realized the most terrifying thing had happened.

Without looking at the monitor, Guillermo del Toro stood behind the main camera, his eyes fixed on Matthew. When he saw Matthew's widened eyes and anguished expression, he immediately told the cameraman, "Get a close-up on Matthew's face. Don't let the camera drop to the dog."

Without another word, the cameraman did as he was told.

Matthew pressed his lips together, his expression grim and pained, as his hands closed around the model dog's neck.

Finally, he stopped and released the model dog, two silent tears tracing paths down his cheeks.

"Yes! Perfect!" Guillermo del Toro shouted with a hint of inexplicable excitement, exclaiming toward Matthew, "Well done! A brilliant performance!"

Matthew got up from the floor, waved to Guillermo del Toro without a word, and walked over to the rest area on his own.

Once he was on his feet, he seemed perfectly fine, not at all like someone trapped in deep grief from which he couldn't escape.

"By industry standards..." Matthew leaned back in his chair and laughed quietly to himself. "It seems my acting skills still aren't up to par."

Just then, Bella approached and said, "Miss Theron is here to see you."

"Charlize?" Matthew asked immediately. "Where is she?"

"She went to producer Akiva Goldsman's office with her agent." Bella gestured toward a makeshift office in the corner of the studio. "She said she'd come see you after she's done talking with Akiva."

Matthew nodded. "Got it."

After a break of less than ten minutes, he returned to the set to continue filming the day's remaining scenes. The crew quickly moved to a video store set, and with what was perhaps the most difficult scene out of the way, the rest of the shoot went so smoothly that Guillermo del Toro called a wrap before four in the afternoon.

Charlize Theron and her agent were still talking with Akiva. Matthew went to the dressing room, removed his makeup, and changed clothes. When he returned to the studio, Charlize, dressed in jeans and a white top, was chatting with Bella.

"Hey." Matthew walked over to Charlize. She turned her head, a bright smile on her face, and nodded. "Long time no see, Matthew."

Then, like old friends who hadn't seen each other in a while, they hugged.

Regardless of what had happened in the past, they had always remained good friends who stayed in touch.

Of course, they had occasionally crossed the line of "good friends," but things had always settled back to normal.

"Let's take a walk," Matthew said as they left the studio together. He then asked, "How did it go with Akiva?"

Walking toward the studio entrance with Matthew, Charlize explained, "He gave me a script. I need to read it before I decide whether I'll do it or not."

She turned her head to look at Matthew. "I thought you had already signed on."

Matthew shrugged. "The main reason I haven't signed is that the salary hasn't been negotiated yet. It has nothing to do with the script."

"It's a pretty mediocre script," Charlize said bluntly. "No wonder it's been floating around Hollywood companies for ten years with no one willing to invest in it."

Curious, she asked, "How did you even find out about this project?"

"Well, bad scripts like this are used in big commercial films all the time." Matthew was telling the truth. "The script was only a small part of why I was willing to take on the project. The most important factor is Akiva Goldsman."

Charlize certainly understood the logic of choosing a film where the director and producer could outweigh the script.

They reached the studio doors, and Charlize politely declined Matthew's dinner invitation. "I need to think it over and talk with Akiva again before I can make a decision," she said.

Matthew replied, "I'd really love to work with you again."