The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 614

After the New Year's holiday, the Hollywood writers' strike didn't end; it intensified. The conflict between employers and employees is never easily resolved, and following the cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony—with the results simply announced—a series of union awards, like the Screen Actors Guild and Directors Guild Awards, were also called off, their winners declared without a ceremony.

Countless stars publicly declared they would boycott the Oscars if the strike continued, showing solidarity with the writers' union, which also represented the workers' side.

But public declarations were one thing, and private actions were another.

Projects like "Angels & Demons," produced by and starring Tom Hanks, and "Valkyrie," with Tom Cruise, resumed work as usual after the New Year's holiday.

Much like their counterparts, the two projects Matthew had invested in and was producing—"Twilight" and "Fast & Furious 4"—also regrouped and continued with pre-production.

As for the writers striking outside, while the walkout certainly hurt management, many productions had hired non-union writers to work on their projects, as was the case with "Angels & Demons." Some even had writers who were officially on strike but secretly continued working.

Of course, there were A-list, big-name writers who earned a great deal of money, but such individuals were extremely rare. Over ninety percent of the writers' union members were minor writers who struggled to even get a line of credit on a film, and with the spending habits common in this city, going without a paycheck for several months would likely drive them mad.

These realities were plain to see, and even someone like Matthew could understand that the major and mid-sized studios, which formed the bulk of the producers' union, were well aware of them.

The writers' union was still demanding five percent of DVD and new media revenue, but dragging out the process would inevitably lead to a compromise.

The strike had already captured the nation's attention, and according to the latest news Matthew had received, the authorities in Washington might intervene to mediate.While the strike raged on outside, life at Disney Studios was bustling, with four mid-to-large-scale films simultaneously in production—an extremely rare sight for the Burbank-based studio in this day and age.

Since the beginning of the century, the exodus of Hollywood productions due to tax breaks and related subsidies in Canada, Australia, and several other U.S. states had led to a serious drain. Those willing to remain in Los Angeles, let alone all of California, were either extremely well-funded or too poor to afford the travel expenses.

However, the situation had improved over the past two years. To prevent a further outflow of Hollywood films, Arnold Schwarzenegger had enacted a series of measures, including tax incentives, that gradually increased the popularity of Los Angeles's previously underused studios, though there were certain quota limitations.

Matthew took a battery-powered cart from the studio entrance to the sets of "Twilight" and "Fast & Furious 4," passing the entrances to the soundstages already rented for "Cloud Atlas" and "John Carter."

As he passed, he noted that this area of the lot was also quite busy, with people coming and going.

The two projects involving Plan B Studios were already underway.

Matthew first stopped by the "Twilight" soundstage, chatting with Sean Daniel and Sofia Coppola, before heading across the lot to the stage for "Fast & Furious 4."

Both crews were holding auditions, though with different focuses. The "Twilight" auditions over the past two days had centered on smaller roles, with Sean and Sofia making most of the decisions.

Over at "Fast & Furious 4," however, two very important auditions were held today: the morning was for a male role of Chinese descent, while the afternoon was for a female role of Jewish descent.

Both roles had front-runners: the first was Daniel Wu, invited by Helen, and the second was an actress recommended by Goldsman.

The auditions were primarily a screen test to see how the actors looked on camera, and Matthew, Bearded Jack, and the director, Justin Lin, were pleased with Daniel's appearance.

Matthew asked him a few questions and had him deliver a long speech in English, mainly to test his fluency and grasp of American culture. It turned out to be just as Helen had said: Daniel had grown up and attended university in the U.S. and had no issues with English or his overall understanding of the country.

Daniel was being positioned for the future; before the film market on the other side of the Pacific exploded, he first needed to win over North American audiences.

However, his role in the fourth film, now in development, wasn't a major one; he would appear as a friend of Matthew's character.

At the end of the morning audition, Matthew conferred with Bearded Jack and Justin Lin. All three were satisfied with Daniel. He then notified Helen to discuss salary and other contract details with the series' regular producer.

Daniel had chosen Helen as his North American agent the previous year.

After lunch, Matthew met the other candidate for the first time, an actress from Israel.

According to the script, the Jewish woman was a firearms expert, so the fact that she had served in the military gave her a significant advantage over other candidates.

"I'm Gal Gadot, from Israel."

The slender, tall actress stood before the camera and gave a brief introduction: "I competed in the Miss Universe pageant, worked as a print model in Israel, and have appeared in several television shows."

Matthew looked at the Israeli actress, and from her name, he was certain this was the Wonder Woman from the movie he had watched countless times after downloading a pirated version.

The Israeli actress brought a rare, heroic quality to the female role.

However, the Gal Gadot of today hadn't yet trained to build muscle, and her entire figure looked especially slender.

This was particularly emphasized by the tailored suit she was wearing.

After her introduction, she posed for a series of video shots at the request of director Justin Lin.

Matthew watched the images transmitted from the camera to the monitor in front of him and nodded. Judged by conventional Hollywood standards, Gal Gadot had a tough look, both in her facial features and her overall demeanor.

But the female character in the script was sharp and a firearms expert—not just a pretty face, and certainly not the type of princess who waited for a prince to come to her rescue.

The screen test went well, and Matthew and Bearded Jack exchanged glances, each giving a nod.

"Let's move on to the next part," Matthew said to director Justin Lin.

Justin Lin stopped filming and asked directly, "Ms. Gadot, what are your thoughts on the role of Gisele?"

Gal Gadot replied, "I don't like the traditional female roles in Hollywood movies. I don't want to play the kind of woman who is always lonely and empty, waiting for a man to save her."

The crew had previously shown her the script for the role. "The character Gisele is independent, resilient, and doesn't need to wait for a prince to save her," she continued. "She can be her own hero."

Matthew couldn't help but tilt his head. She was undoubtedly a smart woman who had clearly prepared well for the audition, saying things that might not have been her true feelings but were certainly true to the character she was auditioning for.

He had told the writing team more than once, back when the script was being developed, that one of the female characters had to be independent.

Why? For the simple reason that the feminist movement was thriving.

A film like "Fast & Furious" would never lack a male audience, but to capture the attention of a broader female viewership, something had to be done with the female characters.

He had always been excellent at adapting to the social climate.

Justin Lin added, "What are your strengths for this role? Can you tell us about them?"

"I served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years." Gal Gadot projected an air of strength and confidence. "I was a fitness instructor in a women's unit, learned to fight and use various weapons, and was trained to handle and disassemble different types of standard-issue firearms."

She suddenly struck a pose, as if holding an imaginary pistol. "In the script pages the crew gave me for the role, the character has many shooting scenes. The highly specialized movements I mastered are better suited for creating that image."

"Good." Justin Lin announced a break in the audition and said,

"Ms. Gadot, we will inform you of the audition results in three days."

Gal Gadot replied, "Yes, thank you."

After she left the audition room, Matthew looked at Justin Lin and Bearded Jack and asked, "Your thoughts?"

"She's great," Justin Lin said immediately. "She has a completely different background from Hollywood actresses, and that's an advantage no one else has."

Bearded Jack said succinctly, "She fits."

Matthew nodded gently.

Having settled the two important roles, his work for the day was done. He left the audition room, exited the soundstage, and got behind the wheel of the battery-powered cart, heading for the studio entrance. As he passed the soundstage where the "Cloud Atlas" cast was based, he spotted Brad Pitt walking alone toward its entrance.