The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 606

On Saturday morning, after attending a TMZ event, Matthew focused his attention exclusively on "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem".

The film's reviews were overwhelmingly negative: a 12 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and comments like, "The movie sucks, you won't even understand why you went to see it," and "A sluggish action flick that feels like a video game." The reviews were amateurish, and their scathing sarcasm only made Matthew feel that, by comparison, the critics still treated him rather well.

But poor critical reception and a low Rotten Tomatoes score wouldn't have mattered much on their own. After all, it wasn't uncommon for a film with a dismal rating to do surprisingly well at the box office.

"The movie has terrible audience reviews."

In the editing room, Ilana placed a cup of coffee in front of Matthew and remarked, "You were incredibly lucky that 'I Am Legend' managed to avoid the magnificent Francis Lawrence."

Matthew replied casually, "Not necessarily. He might have directed 'I Am Legend,' and it could have worked out. 'Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem' was just a mid-tier project, and Francis had some influence over production. But on a major, top-class film like 'I Am Legend,' he would have been just a director on set. With Goldsman around, he wouldn't have had much room to push his own ideas."

Ilana couldn't help but laugh. "In any case, he's not as good as Guillermo del Toro."

"That's true," Matthew nodded in agreement, then added:

"Bad reviews from critics are one thing, but bad reviews from the audience? That's a death sentence."

Ilana agreed. "I got a copy of the CinemaScore survey data, and what can I say? It's a disaster. Moviegoers couldn't even be bothered to give it a 'B-.' The highest it got was a 'C,' and most gave it a 'D.' It's safe to say the audience has completely lost patience with it."At this, she couldn't help but shake her head. "Yesterday, the film grossed just over 3.3 million dollars, which isn't even a fraction of what 'I Am Legend' pulled in."

The two films weren't even remotely comparable.

In terms of both box office and audience reception, "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" was no match for "I Am Legend." Even a typical B-movie like "My Pet Dinosaur," which opened the same weekend, was earning money faster than "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem".

***

Just after the weekend, a large number of "Alien" and "Predator" fans gathered outside the Fox building in Century City, holding signs and staging protests with slogans like, "Don't let Alien and Predator fight anymore, we can't take it!"

Some of the more extreme fans even burned a portrait of the director, Francis Lawrence.

Jim Gianopulos, the chairman of 20th Century Fox Films, stood at his office window, watching the scene unfold in front of the Fox building.

"John Davis!" he called out, his voice sharp, without turning to face the film's producer standing behind him. "Have you seen the latest box office numbers?"

The man behind him, John, nervously wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yes."

Jim turned around. "Only 9.1 million dollars in its opening weekend! What are your thoughts on that?"

Before the producer could answer, he continued in a harsh tone, "A sixty-million-dollar production budget and thirty-five million for marketing, and this is what you give me?"

John hadn't expected the box office to be this disastrous, not with two of Hollywood's most famous monsters, Alien and Predator, in the lead roles.

"You were the one who recommended Francis Lawrence and suggested giving him some authority." Jim knew someone had to take responsibility for this failure. "John, cancel the third 'Alien vs. Predator' movie."

"Alright," John nodded.

Jim continued, "And from now on, 20th Century Fox will not be hiring Francis Lawrence to direct any of its projects."

"Understood," John nodded again.

In truth, Jim didn't even need to say it. No one would be hiring Francis as a director again.

Jim's tone softened slightly. "You will present the report to the board of directors yourself."

John nodded. He was the film's lead producer and the one who had pushed to hire Francis. There was no shirking his responsibility.

He left Jim's office and shook his head, blaming himself for misjudging Francis so badly.

***

As the new week began, the fate of many of the previous weekend's debuts was sealed. For some of those films, the directors and lead actors would have no future in Hollywood.

Francis Lawrence and Paula Patton were certainly among them.

Playing in over 2,800 theaters across North America, "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" grossed a mere 9.1 million dollars in three days, landing it in sixth place on the latest North American box office chart.

Forget comparing it to "I Am Legend"—even a typical indie darling like "Juno" was outperforming it.

In stark contrast, Matthew's film, "I Am Legend," continued to steal the show over the past weekend, pulling in $49.5 million in three days and maintaining its top spot at the North American box office. In second place was "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with $21.08 million, followed by "Charlie Wilson's War," starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, with just under $12 million.

The fourth and fifth spots went to "Juno" and "My Pet Dinosaur," respectively, with both films grossing just under $10 million.

"I Am Legend" led the market and was clearly the dominant film.

Two weeks after its release, the film had surpassed the $200 million mark at the North American box office, earning a total of $211.63 million and rapidly approaching the $300 million milestone.

Simultaneously, "I Am Legend" opened in over fifty international markets. Bolstered by its explosive North American success, it was also performing exceptionally well abroad, nearing the $100 million mark in just a few days.

The worldwide box office for "I Am Legend" had already surpassed $300 million, making it the biggest breakout hit of the holiday season.

There was no doubt that "I Am Legend" was on a trajectory for massive success, while "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" was in a straight nosedive off a cliff.

At the start of the new week, the average theater occupancy for "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" plummeted to less than five percent. Many smaller theaters had even relegated it to a single daily showing—in the morning, when audiences are smallest.

CinemaScore also released another public forecast, projecting that "I Am Legend" would reach $350 million domestically, while "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" would cap out at no more than $30 million.

The failure of "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" would be devastating for everyone involved, from the director to the lead actor, and it would also impact 20th Century Fox's future development of the two monster franchises.

Meanwhile, the flop also had repercussions for some seemingly unrelated companies.

Matthew received a message from Zack Snyder while attending the Warner Bros. Christmas party.

Zack had been planning "Watchmen," and Warner Bros. had spoken with him several times about the feasibility of a Batman versus Superman battle. However, the failure of "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" immediately soured them on the idea, as they now considered the risk of pitting two classic characters against each other on screen to be too great.

Hearing this, Matthew said nothing, only sighing inwardly that Warner Bros. had missed an opportunity.

Perhaps after the release of "Iron Man," Warner Bros. would change its mind.

Matthew had interacted extensively with the executives at Warner Bros. They were ambitious and exceptionally capable people, with brilliant producers like Charles Roven in their ranks, yet they consistently made decisions that screamed of foolishness.

And yet, to this day, Warner Bros. remained the most successful studio in Hollywood.

With an attitude like that, one had to wonder how long they could hold on to that position.

According to Goldsman, the leadership at Warner Bros. was sometimes overly distrustful of the producers and directors they worked with and had a tendency to interfere directly in film production.

Although Matthew didn't have a college education, he knew that a balance of power was an art form. If not managed properly, the results could often be disastrous.

The year 2007 was drawing to a close, and 2008 was just around the corner.

As Matthew boarded David Ellison's private jet bound for London, Hollywood was already in chaos. The writers' strike had, as predicted, begun.

Just as Helen had foreseen, once the agreements with the actors' and directors' guilds expired, the producers' guild didn't wait for them to strike. They quickly secured a new, mutually acceptable profit-sharing deal, while the writers' guild's similar demands were rejected without hesitation.

As a result, the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West sent emails to their members, calling for a strike.

For the first time since 1988, a major writers' strike had hit Hollywood.

The consequences of the strike were immediate. Numerous projects had to be halted, and major productions in development, like "Angels & Demons," "Quantum of Solace," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," "The Hobbit," and "The Adventures of Tintin," were all temporarily shut down.

Both of Matthew's film crews had finished their scripts but were still affected to varying degrees. With Christmas and New Year's approaching anyway, he and David simply gave both crews an extended holiday, postponing all work until after the new year.

He and David arrived in London, ready to watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Before heading to the show, however, Matthew contacted Emma Watson.