The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 565

After his appearance at the premiere of *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*, a blockbuster project with a budget exceeding $200 million, Matthew took the new screenplay so seriously that he called Alexandra to postpone their date. He returned to his estate, intent on giving Andrew’s script his full attention.

After brewing a cup of tea, he settled in front of the computer in his study. Matthew logged into his personal, encrypted email account, located the message, and downloaded the attached document.

He lifted his teacup and took a sip before clicking the document open.

The first page of the document displayed the film's title, and unlike Edgar Rice Burroughs's original novel, *A Princess of Mars*, this title page listed three options.

It was clear that Andrew had no intention of using the original title, *A Princess of Mars*.

The three titles were *John Carter*, *Battle for Mars*, and *Battle on an Alien Planet*.

But the name felt so familiar.

Matthew stared at his computer screen, quickly realizing the familiarity wasn’t from any current Hollywood project, but from something he’d seen before.

Suddenly, he recalled the vaguely familiar plot of the original novel...

Had he been mistaken before?As the thought crossed his mind, the sense of familiarity grew stronger. It seemed he had once downloaded a pirated copy of a certain movie from the internet.

With that in mind, Matthew quickly moved the mouse and clicked through the script. Andrew Stanton had already mentioned it would be a significant adaptation of the original novel, so maybe seeing the new plot points would jog his memory.

Many faded memories can be recalled with the right trigger.

Unlike his previous glance at *Cloud Atlas*, he was taking Andrew's script seriously.

This wasn't just about the massive investment, but also about the director. The Wachowskis' style was so deliberately profound and philosophical that he shuddered just thinking about it. As he recalled, besides *The Matrix* series, nearly all their other films had been box office flops.

He didn't remember much about Andrew Stanton, but Andrew's résumé, from his start at Pixar Studios to the present, was quite illustrious.

Andrew's directorial debut was the universally acclaimed *Finding Nemo*, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and ultimately took home the golden statuette for Best Animated Feature Film. Additionally, he had worked as a screenwriter and executive producer on films like *Toy Story*, *A Bug's Life*, *Toy Story 2*, and *Monsters, Inc*.

Although he had yet to work on a live-action film, Andrew clearly understood which genres were popular in the film market.

With this in mind, Matthew spent the better part of the evening studying Andrew’s script with extreme care.

As the plot of the script began to genuinely spark his memory, he recalled a few things and realized his assessment of Andrew might have been mistaken.

"A master of animated films..." he mused, looking away from the screen and leaning back in his swivel chair, "...doesn't necessarily make a good live-action director."

Like the vast majority of book adaptations, the screenplay was a new take on the original material. Andrew had adapted the plot into something that now seemed even more familiar.

The script told the story of John Carter, a traumatized former military officer who is accidentally transported to Mars during the American Civil War. There, due to the difference in gravity between the planets, he becomes a powerful, leaping 'superman' and is drawn into a conflict among the major native factions.

Wasn't this the very project Andrew Stanton had tried to get off the ground? The film that bombed so hard it was legendary?

To make sure he wasn't mistaken, Matthew took the trouble to read through the script again. The more he read, the more certain he became, and he even started to remember why the film had stuck in his mind.

A long time ago, in the age of smartphones, browser apps would often push articles based on a user's viewing habits. Back then, he used to read about movies to find new titles to download, and various websites always loved to create curated lists of films.

For example: the best war films, the best horror movies, the funniest comedies, and so on.

There was another genre that appeared particularly often on movie forums: lists of the world's most expensive films.

If he was right about which film this was, then it was, without a doubt, a magnificent flop of epic proportions.

Matthew suddenly recalled Andrew's words: the production budget for this project would be over $200 million...

If a film with that level of investment bombed, it wouldn't just affect him—even a star like Tom Cruise would take a hit, right? For an actor without a deeply established career or capital, it could be an outright career killer.

He closed the document and quickly decided to put Andrew’s offer on hold.

Helen had said that Andrew approached him because, on the one hand, he fit the type for a military action lead, and on the other, to attract investors.

Attract investors? Thinking about this, Matthew made a decision.

The production budget was over $200 million, Andrew needed money, and Brad Pitt was a perfect fit for the lead role...

Thinking this, he wondered how he could get Andrew to contact Pitt. And it would be even better if the two of them could be connected right before the release of *Cloud Atlas*.

Although Plan B hadn't announced a release date, based on the typical Hollywood production pipeline and the Wachowskis' previous speed, *Cloud Atlas* would require about a year of pre-production, and over a year for filming, post-production, promotion, and marketing. It likely wouldn't be released before the summer of 2009, though the film was so complex that its release might even be pushed to 2010.

Matthew shut down his computer, plunging the study into absolute silence. He even turned off the lights and sat in the darkness to think.

After half an hour, his thoughts crystallized. This wasn't something he had to do, but it was worth a try. If Pitt didn't walk into the trap on his own, Matthew couldn't just push him in. Therefore, the time and effort he invested had to be carefully managed.

Just like last time, there would be no direct contact with Pitt. He would simply dig the hole; whether Pitt climbed in was up to him.

Matthew stood up and left the study with a general plan in mind, but he was in no hurry. After all, there was no further concrete news from Andrew yet.

He would stay in touch with Andrew Stanton and then look for the right opportunity.

As for how the news would reach Pitt, that required some thought.

Leaving the study and returning to his bedroom, Matthew called Alexandra, who was still awake. They spoke on the phone for about ten minutes.

Then, unable to help himself, he went downstairs, got in his car, and drove straight to his residence north of Burbank to be with Alexandra.

***

Early the next morning, he drove Alexandra to Warner Studios himself to get the latest box office numbers for *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End*.

Just this past Monday, the film had maintained its extremely high attendance and number of screenings, pulling in another $20 million plus. Its North American box office total had reached $160.37 million as it continued its march toward blockbuster status.

Meanwhile, in the overseas market, *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End* had opened simultaneously in 73 markets worldwide, grossing $378.9 million in just one week.

Over the next two weeks, the film would be released in several more international markets.

However, due to a number of factors, including censorship reviews, the release of *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End* in the Pacific region would be about three weeks later than in North America.

After dropping Alexandra off at Warner Studios, Matthew hurried to David Ellison's Skydance Pictures, where an interview was scheduled to finalize the director for the *Fast and the Furious* franchise.