The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 562

As evening approached, the lights of California's Disneyland began to sparkle.

After the premiere, Disney Pictures arranged for the film's creative team to exit the Hollywood Theater for an open-ended press interview. As the two biggest names in the cast, Matthew and Johnny Depp naturally became the media's primary focus.

The moment Matthew stepped out of the theater, he was surrounded by more than thirty reporters. Fortunately, Disney Pictures was coordinating the event and had staff on hand to maintain order, so the scene remained organized and the interview proceeded smoothly.

A female reporter from The Hollywood Reporter was the first to ask a question.

"Matthew, there's been a lot of talk recently about the film's staggering 300-million-dollar budget. What are your thoughts on that?"

This wasn't really a question for him, was it? What was the point of asking an actor instead of Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer? As the thought crossed his mind, Matthew opened his mouth to reply, "When you're sailing a yacht, you're not thinking about what it cost. You're focused on how it performs, whether it's reliable."

Matthew spread his hands and chuckled. "If all you thought about was how to save money on it, you'd probably just be hoping it doesn't sink."

A ripple of laughter went through the crowd at his words.

The press attaché from Disney Pictures laughed as well—it was an unexpected but exceptionally clever response.

"Mr. Horner!" a male reporter with a Weekly World News tag on his chest asked loudly. "Don't you feel that 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' is a bit superficial? Isn't it rather unambitious to present such a grand world in such a shallow way?"Matthew coughed and answered with a straight face, "That's an interesting question."

He looked at the journalist. "You pay ten dollars to go to the movies for entertainment, and that entertainment is the real reward. As long as a film tells an enjoyable story, it's worth any price."

A reporter from Entertainment Weekly wondered aloud, "Last year, there were a lot of complaints from audiences that 'Dead Man's Chest' was too long. Now, 'At World's End' is even longer. Have Disney Pictures decided to use some kind of reverse psychology?"

Hearing this, Matthew was tempted to say they should ask someone from Disney Pictures, but he was professional enough to answer, "Many viewers who saw 'At World's End' at the advance screenings didn't feel the film was drawn out."

Of course, even he, a lead actor, had found the film a bit long-winded, let alone the general audience. But he could only speak well of it. "The film is engaging and has a certain appeal. The two-hour-plus runtime isn't without reason; it allows for a more detailed exploration of what the characters care about most. As the plot unfolds, you become invested in the story and the fate of the characters."

Matthew thought for a moment before adding, "Everyone on the crew—the director, the screenwriters, the actors—we were all in agreement that we didn't want to fall back on clichés for an epic film. Whether a movie costs 30 million or 300 million dollars, the crew has to push forward. The question is, how far can we really go? And what must we do to keep the film from becoming a cliché? We're making a pirate movie, so obviously we have to discard some formulaic elements and pay homage to the genre while adding fresh elements at every turn."

Finally, a reporter from Premiere asked a question that was actually for Matthew.

"Disney Pictures has decided to make more 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films, with Jack Sparrow and Johnny Depp already confirmed to return for 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4'. What about you, Will Turner?"

This was one aspect Disney Pictures hadn't asked him to keep secret. Matthew replied immediately, "Will is the new Davy Jones, and he's a little too busy to be accompanying Captain Jack Sparrow on any more adventures."

"So does that mean you won't be in 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4'?" another reporter quickly followed up.

"Yes, I don't intend to make another pirate film," Matthew said slowly. "I'm going to challenge myself in a different arena."

The same journalist pressed, "So you're done with pirates?"

Matthew couldn't help but laugh. "You know, never say never."

The interview continued for over ten minutes, and it was nearing midnight by the time California's Disneyland finally quieted down and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" officially set sail.

This year, the summer movie season kicked off on the first weekend of May, and the market was already intensely competitive. It was shaping up to be a huge year for blockbusters in North America. "Spider-Man 3," which opened the season, grossed $150 million in its first weekend.

"Shrek the Third," which opened in mid-May, wasn't far behind, pulling in over $120 million in its first week and setting a new North American opening record for an animated feature film.

"Spider-Man 3" and "Shrek the Third," the two highest-grossing films so far, had one thing in common: massive box office numbers and terrible professional reviews.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" was no exception. The day after earning over $17 million in preview screenings, many media outlets and critics began to tear into the film.

The Walt Disney Company is powerful, and would only grow more so in the future, but it couldn't control every media outlet.

Before the film's release, many critics who had attended the pre-screenings had hailed it as one of the best "Pirates of the Caribbean" films ever made.

For instance, some critics praised it alongside "The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Dead Man's Chest": the first was lively and well-rounded, the best and most entertaining; the second had more characters and more fights, built a vast world, and was quite enjoyable; the third was a grand tale of death and rebirth, hilarious, with bigger special effects and more stunts than the first two combined.

With "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" under consideration, there was also a lot of praise for the cast, all of it focused on Johnny Depp. Critics lauded his otherworldly performance as Captain Jack, suggesting they wouldn't mind more sequels as long as he continued to play the role.

But as the film opened across North America and was seen by more and more people, it became impossible for Walt Disney to manipulate the word-of-mouth as they had before.

In the press, the buzz for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" plummeted instantly.

"Don't expect a well-organized, original, and tightly paced production; the film is weak in both plot and narrative." - New York Post

"It doesn't matter if you've seen the first two films, 'The Curse of the Black Pearl' and 'Dead Man's Chest'; you'll still be left confused." - The Hollywood Reporter

"It's not that hard to follow the film's synopsis, but over the course of two hours and forty-seven minutes, it becomes exhausting." - Los Angeles Times

"For nearly three hours, the film continues the unnecessary turn of 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' and loses the romantic charm of the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean'." - The Washington Post

This was no surprise; Matthew had expected it. Looking at all of Hollywood's franchises, there were very few series where the sequels got progressively better.

In reality, the film continued down the same path as "The Curse of the Black Pearl," just with more characters, a larger world, and more spectacular special effects scenes.

Why risk innovation when you have a successful formula? Hollywood producers were in the business of making money. Innovation was more likely to shatter the brand they had worked so hard to build.

Hollywood loves making sequels, and the appeal of a film's brand cannot be ignored.

For filmmakers whose ultimate goal is to make money, establishing a brand is extremely difficult. If the first film is a hit, a sequel in the conventional format is a more reliable way to generate attention, leveraging the brand and a good production team.

Today, apart from sequels and remakes of old films, Hollywood is becoming less and less original, and studios are increasingly cautious about investing in original films.

Starting with "Jaws" in the 1970s, Hollywood films officially entered the blockbuster era. Producers demanded sequels with a relatively high market return before they would invest corresponding funds into producing brand-new standalone films. Making sequels became an established Hollywood mentality and one of the main reasons for the longevity of Hollywood films.

Of course, sequels also depend on a highly developed film industry chain like Hollywood's.

Sequels can be considered a commodity, and their emergence requires a complete and mature industry chain, including copyright ownership, actor contracts, creative contracts, product quality control, and so on.

In this era, Hollywood is the only place in the world that can produce a constant stream of major sequels.

Although Matthew was leaving, and Disney Pictures no longer wanted to pay Will Turner's exorbitant salary, he could see clearly that no matter how well the film was received, as long as it was a box office success, "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" would never be canceled. In the future, there would be a "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" and even more.

As long as it's profitable, even if Johnny Depp can no longer star, the company can find young actors to participate in a "Pirates of the Caribbean" prequel or something similar.

It all depended on the box office performance of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End".