The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 590

Matthew was cautious when it came to business collaborations. If the first film adaptation of *Twilight* failed, he could simply walk away. But if it succeeded, everyone involved—from the lead actors and supporting cast to the screenwriter—would inevitably demand a pay raise, just as he had done on his own sequels with Disney.

He was fortunate to have purchased the film rights to all four novels at once, while Stephenie Meyer was still only attached as a screenwriter.

Later, Stephenie requested an increased percentage of the dividends, which, as was customary in the industry, was bound to be granted.

Even if she had been a naive housewife author, her agent certainly wouldn't have sat idly by.

Beyond the financial aspect, to secure the rights for the entire series, Matthew and Helen had granted Stephenie a degree of creative influence over the future adaptations. This came in two primary forms: Stephenie would be one of the screenwriters, and she would also hold the title of producer, though that was more a symbol of her status and position within the team.

Having acquired the rights to the *Twilight* series, Matthew didn't linger in Phoenix, flying back to Los Angeles that same evening. Helen, who would return the next day, was accompanying Stephenie to Los Angeles to begin work on the first installment.

Matthew had previously discussed with David that he would simultaneously invest in the promotion of the *Twilight* project, and they had reached a tacit agreement. The adaptation would be primarily driven by Matthew’s studio, with an investment ratio between their two companies of three to one, which included the transfer of rights and the production budget.

The production budget for *Twilight* was set at $40 million, which meant Matthew needed to come up with $30 million before filming could begin.

He was more or less certain that the $40 million he invested in *Iron Man* and the $60 million he put into *Fast & Furious 4* were unlikely to see a return anytime soon.

If he couldn't raise enough money down the line, he could always take out a loan. With his current fame, securing a bank loan for several tens of millions of dollars would be no trouble at all.The $40 million for *Iron Man* was already locked in as a third-party production guarantee, and only $20 million of the $60 million for *Fast & Furious 4* had been invested as initial seed capital, with another $40 million he intended to invest in the production.

The production timeline for romance films is far shorter than that of the science fiction blockbusters so popular these days. And while *Twilight* featured werewolves and vampires, it required very few time-consuming computer-generated effects.

Matthew arranged the preliminary financing for the project and fully appreciated the difficulties a producer faced when they couldn’t devote all their attention to a single project. A dedicated, professional producer was essential.

On the directing front, he spoke again with Sofia Coppola, who, after much consideration, had essentially agreed to direct the film. However, she had requested to be both a screenwriter and a producer as well.

Sofia could be a contributing producer, but not the first producer. Matthew had no intention of giving a director that much power.

"Do you remember Sean Daniel?" Helen proposed a candidate to Matthew. "One of the first producers you ever worked with."

Matthew certainly remembered. "The producer of *The Mummy* and *The Scorpion King*. You want to bring Sean in as the first producer on this project?"

Helen nodded. After a moment, she explained, "Sean's abilities are solid, but he’s had some trouble picking projects in recent years. He’s released a string of traditional romantic comedies. As you know, that genre has become marginalized, and even if the films are of decent quality and get a good response, it's hard for them to achieve outstanding box office results."

As she said this, she couldn't help but glance at Matthew. Even now, she felt it was irrational to pour money into a romantic film project...

Matthew pondered this. "A few years ago, Sean offered me a role in a romantic comedy he was in charge of, but I turned it down."

Helen sighed and added, "After several consecutive films failed to perform at the box office, Sean has been inactive. He's been in a state of semi-retirement for the past year."

Matthew asked, "Can he handle it?"

Helen smiled. "Definitely."

Seeing her confident smile, Matthew made his decision. "Contact him."

That same day, Helen called Sean. The next day, she and Matthew met with him, and after a few discussions, it was quickly decided that he would officially become the first producer of the *Twilight* project.

Sean's first order of business was to negotiate and finalize a contract with Sofia Coppola, and then to organize the entire production with her.

With the first producer confirmed and the director mostly taken care of, Matthew requested information from Helen on many of the young actresses in their circle and began digging through files.

Fortunately, the Hollywood scene wasn't particularly large, and there weren't that many young actresses who had managed to make a name for themselves. It didn't take Matthew long to find the right photograph in the Angel Agency's records.

Her name was Kristen Stewart, a Hollywood child actress. The Angel Agency had a rather impressive resume on file for her: she had worked with the likes of Jodie Foster, David Fincher, Sean Penn, Meg Ryan, and William Hurt.

For a young actress under twenty, such a resume was absolutely remarkable.

Now that he had found her, Matthew intended to send her an audition invitation once casting was underway, but there was a potential issue: she wasn't yet eighteen, which would make filming any intimate scenes problematic.

First, he had to check Kristen Stewart's age. She would turn eighteen in early April of next year.

According to his vision, the film crew would start work as soon as possible. Romantic films were relatively simple to shoot. Early planning had already begun, the crew would be formally established in the next month or two, then move into the preparatory phase. Filming would start in February or March of the following year and be completed by May.

The intimate scenes with the female lead, Isabella, could wait until April of next year.

Four months of prep time was sufficient, and if everything went smoothly, the film would be ready for release during the holiday season next year.

As for the release...

The Walt Disney Company was in negotiations with Skydance Pictures to distribute *Fast & Furious 4* worldwide. They could potentially handle *Twilight* and *Fast & Furious 4* as a package deal.

Matthew thought it over and spoke with David, who was also an investor in the *Twilight* project and naturally had no objections.

Shortly thereafter, the *Twilight* project was added to the negotiations between Skydance Pictures and several distribution companies.

The distribution of *Fast & Furious 4* and *Twilight* was, of course, not exclusive to Disney. Several companies were now negotiating with Skydance Pictures. As before, it all came down to who made the best offer.

Matthew was busy until mid-October, when the project officially launched under his and Sean Daniel's leadership. Sofia Coppola formally signed her director's contract with the production and joined Stephenie Meyer in writing the script.

The previous script that Stephenie had pitched to various Hollywood companies had been rejected by Matthew. That draft contained a surprising number of action scenes, leaning more toward traditional vampire and werewolf films than pure romance.

The key to a film like this was a love-to-the-death romance; all other elements were merely embellishments.

Therefore, Matthew had vetoed that script, and both Sean and Sofia had thought the same as he did.

Once Sofia joined the team, the project was officially greenlit as *Twilight*, and the cast and crew were assembled as it moved into the pre-production stage.

Matthew could finally breathe a sigh of relief, as the production would be handled by Sean, a highly experienced producer.

Furthermore, Sofia would be responsible for selecting the main behind-the-scenes personnel for the production, while most of the actors were handed over to Helen for recommendations.

At the same time, Skydance's negotiations for the distribution rights to *Fast & Furious 4* and *Twilight* came to a close. Among the many interested parties, Skydance finally struck a distribution deal with Walt Disney.

The North American and international distribution of the two films would be handled by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista International, respectively. The distribution fee would be eight percent, two points lower than the prevailing ten percent in Hollywood.

More importantly, this distribution deal involved no rights or ancillary revenue, focusing exclusively on box office returns.

This meant that promotion and distribution costs had to be accounted for separately—otherwise, the distribution percentage wouldn't have been so low—and both parties would jointly hire a third-party accounting firm for oversight and auditing.