The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 592

In the office of the Angel Acting Agency, Matthew’s brow furrowed. He looked at Helen and asked, "Kristen Stewart turned it down?"

"She did," Helen answered calmly. "She took three days to think it over, then called me herself."

Matthew scratched his chin. "Did she say why?"

Helen picked up the novel. "Kristen said she read Twilight and found the story to be tedious and shallow."

"So..." Matthew pressed, "what about your theory about her?"

Helen shrugged. "I didn't mention it. There's no point in bringing it up now."

Matthew got up and paced the room, muttering, "This is a problem."

So, the purist had refused, completely against his expectations. Wasn't she supposed to have been banking on this movie becoming a hit?

"That's not surprising," Helen said, overhearing him.

"Kristen Stewart has been acting since she was a child. Her mother's a producer, she's worked with plenty of famous directors and actors, and she's well-regarded in the industry. She's not short on roles or opportunities. It makes perfect sense that she'd pass on a terrible story."Matthew sighed. He couldn't deny it—this Joan of Arc-esque tale, with all its vampire and werewolf trappings, was truly awful.

Helen continued, "I called her again today, but Kristen just repeated that she's not interested in the story."

Matthew continued to pace. How the hell did she get the role of Isabella Swan?

He wracked his brain for a moment but came up empty. He'd never watched the Twilight franchise all the way through, much less followed any of the behind-the-scenes drama.

"Matthew," Helen said, her voice sharpening slightly. "Why are you so set on Kristen Stewart?"

"Uh..."

For a moment, he couldn't answer.

Helen asked bluntly, "Do you want to sleep with her?"

Matthew immediately shook his head. "I'm not interested in her at all."

"Then," Helen pressed on, "if Kristen has turned it down, we can consider other candidates. For a teen movie like this, it hardly matters who the lead actress is, as long as she's pretty and looks good on camera."

Matthew frowned, considering her words. She had a point.

Helen added, "And frankly, I don't think Kristen was the ideal choice for Isabella in the first place. Even Stephenie had her doubts."

"Let's not worry about Stephenie's opinion. She knows next to nothing about the film industry or actors," Matthew countered instantly. "Her suggestions were all wrong."

Stephenie's taste in actors, particularly actresses, was questionable at best.

Stephenie had previously suggested Rachael Leigh Cook for the role of Alice. He'd agreed to let her audition, but then he got a recent photo of Rachael to show Sean and Sofia. They both shot the idea down based on her looks alone.

Later, Stephenie had suggested the Australian actress Emily Browning for Isabella Swan. He'd looked her up only to reject the idea immediately; Emily's unconventional looks simply didn't align with mainstream appeal.

As for her recommendation of Henry Cavill for the lead role of

Edward, he had rejected that as well.

Henry was undeniably handsome, but he was too old for the part. As he'd already explained to Stephenie, an actor in his mid-twenties simply couldn't pass for seventeen.

Of course, Henry Cavill could be a backup option if they couldn't find a more suitable actor.

"I've had a few conversations with Nina since she signed with the agency," Helen added. "She has an excellent profile, her face and body are top-notch, and she's smart. I think she'd be a good fit."

Matthew had given Nina an audition opportunity precisely because she was so naturally gifted. He nodded in agreement. "Nina is genuinely talented, which is why I had her audition for Alice Cullen."

Helen said seriously, "I think we should have her audition for Isabella

Swan."

After a moment's thought, Matthew nodded. Helen, unlike him, had no personal connection to Nina and was making the suggestion for the sake of the project's success.

"Alright, Helen," he decided. "Keep reaching out to Kristen Stewart. In the meantime, bring Nina in to audition for the lead role, and don't turn away any other suitable candidates. If Kristen's camp refuses again, we'll decide on the role through the auditions."

He'd seen too many successes and failures in Hollywood to be stubborn about it.

No one wanted to see their investment go down the drain, and he would do everything in his power to ensure the film succeeded.

Auditions for the cast would be held after the New Year. After Matthew told Nina she could audition for the lead role of Isabella, Nina not only treated him to another special, unforgettable evening but also informed him that she wanted to pass on the small supporting role in the upcoming Fast & Furious 4 to fully prepare for her Twilight audition.

The girl was undoubtedly smart, decisive, and knew when to make sacrifices.

Matthew agreed. There was no shortage of actresses for that small part; the Fast & Furious 4 crew could easily find a replacement.

***

Auditions for Fast & Furious 4 were scheduled for after the New Year, and preparations for filming were in full swing. Sponsorship deals with Mercedes-Benz and Dodge were already signed, and the directors, Justin Lin and Jack Beard, had gone to Texas and Arizona near the Mexican border, respectively, to scout for suitable locations.

In Hollywood, as long as the funding was secure, a production crew's efficiency was practically guaranteed.

The second installment of funding from Matthew and David had been transferred to the third-party completion bond company handling the Fast & Furious 4 production.

The Twilight production was also well-funded. By early November, after just six weeks of work, Sofia and Stephenie, collaborating with a team of professional screenwriters, had finished the adapted screenplay for

Twilight.

The new script largely aligned with Matthew and Sofia's vision for the film. The messy action elements were stripped down to a minimum, with every scene dedicated to the central theme: the hero and heroine's death-defying love.

Meanwhile, preliminary promotion for both films had begun. Matthew hired a professional team specifically to create official websites for both projects. Fast & Furious 4 and

Twilight were not original stories and both had established fanbases which, combined with Matthew's fame, drew significant attention.

Within a day of the two websites going live, the number of comments had easily surpassed ten thousand.

Compared to the massive investment and large-scale production of

Fast & Furious 4, Twilight was a mid-to-low-budget film at best, which meant it required a much greater focus on promotion.

Therefore, Matthew decided to piggyback on the publicity for I Am Legend. The promotion for that film was in full swing, and after a discussion with Goldsman, a link to the official Twilight website appeared on the official I Am Legend site.

As planned, Matthew made sure to mention Twilight during an Entertainment Weekly interview that was supposed to be about I Am Legend.

"I was an early reader of Ms. Meyer's novel, so it's a tremendous honor to be part of adapting it for the screen."

Facing the reporter's microphone, Matthew outlined the project's foundation. "To ensure a high-quality adaptation, I brought Sofia Coppola on board to direct."

He quickly added, "Sofia wrote the first draft, staying very true to the source material. After Stephenie read it, she and I discussed some potential changes, and we went through another five or six revisions to get to the final script. The screenplay is a faithful adaptation of the novel's core story. At the same time, Sofia and Stephenie worked together to make some additions and modifications to better suit the cinematic medium. I'm confident that fans of the book will be pleasantly surprised by the results."

When asked for his thoughts on Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight

series, Matthew replied, "Fantasy novels have been at the height of their popularity in recent years, led by Harry Potter, and this series is certainly a standout in the genre."

He declared with a flourish, "The Twilight series is every bit as compelling, and I believe Stephenie

Meyer is America's J.K. Rowling."

This was, of course, a gross exaggeration. While both were successful commercial authors, Stephenie Meyer was nowhere near the same league as J.K. Rowling.

The biggest difference between them, without a doubt, came down to the movies.

David Heyman, the producer who brought Harry Potter to the screen, once said that without the promotional machine of Warner Bros. and the massive impact of the films, the book series would never have reached its current heights.

Similarly, without the films driving its "love-unto-death" narrative, Twilight would never have become the cultural phenomenon it was.

Matthew hoped to adapt the entire series, but that decision wasn't his to make. It all came down to the market—the audience would be the ultimate judge.