The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 622

Filming for *The Fast and the Furious 4* was underway at the Disney studios. The production schedule was split into three main segments: interior scenes shot on the soundstages, location shoots in downtown Los Angeles, and a trip to the Southern California-Mexico border to capture some of the drag racing sequences.

In fact, the entire production was set to film within California, thanks to an $8.6 million tax credit the state had granted *The Fast and the Furious 4*.

A key condition of the subsidy was that the production had to remain in California, thereby creating jobs for the state.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as governor had largely descended into farce, but it had produced a few seemingly beneficial economic stimulus measures.

The director who had come to visit Justin Lin on set turned out to be James Wan.

Over the next few days, Bella thoroughly researched James Wan and the current Hollywood landscape, and Matthew carved out time between shoots to review her findings.

James Wan was three years Matthew's senior, born in 1977. Of Malaysian descent, he had, by his own account, moved to Australia in his youth to study filmmaking.

Following Matthew's instructions, Bella had compiled all the necessary information with meticulous detail.

For instance, James Wan described his breakout debut, *Saw*, as a "psychological thriller," contrasting it with the gore, revulsion, and maniacal pursuit of victims that defined the later films in the series.

Wan had repeatedly emphasized his ambition to create films that genuinely unsettled people on a deeper level, rather than just delivering cheap scares. He frequently cited *The Shining* and *The Exorcist* as his primary inspirations, and the influence of both was evident in his later work.Then there was *Dead Silence*, which Wan referred to as a big-budget horror film at $20 million. He and his creative partner admitted they had faced production constraints, that the script and overall style were imperfect, and that they were determined not to repeat the same mistakes on future horror projects. They were even considering a return to low-budget, independent horror.

James had also told people that after *Saw*, he intended to explore themes of possession and exorcism, focusing not on "ghosts," but on "evil spirits"—a more complex subject tied to religion, history, and dreams.

In terms of filmmaking technique, he was known to reject the formulaic, "fast-food" approach common in American horror.

He disdained tired tropes, like the teenage protagonist who wanders into the woods, foolishly opens a forbidden book in some ruins against all advice, and summons a demon; or the group of kids who inevitably end up in a forest or desert with no cell service, only to be picked off by a psycho killer.

Thanks to Bella's research, Matthew was forming a much clearer picture of James Wan: a young director brimming with ideas for the horror genre.

It was common knowledge that horror was the easiest genre in the North American market for generating high returns on a small investment. Many smaller studios and production companies specialized in B-movie horror. Even with a theatrical run of just a few days, they could often recoup their costs and turn a profit through subsequent video and DVD sales.

And on a smaller production, the director's influence could be immense.

Could James Wan become one of the great horror directors of his generation? Could he continue to work the same magic he did with *Saw*, spinning a small concept into something massive?

That was the question that truly intrigued Matthew.

He then analyzed the North American box office numbers for the films directly associated with Wan: *Saw* had earned $56 million; *Saw II*, over $87 million; *Saw III*, just over $80 million; and *Saw IV*, more than $63 million. A fifth installment was currently in production.

While none of them had managed to break the $100 million mark domestically, those numbers were close to the ceiling for low-budget gore-fests.

After all, the audience for such ultra-violent films was inherently limited—an objective reality that not even a director like James Wan could change.

The $20 million *Dead Silence* had been a disappointment, grossing only $16.8 million domestically. Fortunately, it had earned a respectable amount from video and DVD sales.

Rumor had it that Universal executives had assigned a producer to specifically oversee Wan, severely curtailing his directorial authority.

After reviewing all the information, Matthew began to form a clear strategy: if he ever had the chance to work with James Wan, he would need to keep the budget low, stick to horror, and grant Wan the creative control he needed to succeed.

He wasn't entirely sure what Wan was capable of.

Still, a director who had started small and had a hit like *Saw* on his resume was bound to attract attention from production companies, especially if his next few films managed to make a splash.

In this business, it paid to get in early.

Besides, an investment of a few million dollars was trivial for Matthew. He could easily afford to lose it all. But if Wan could pull off another *Saw*-style success, turning a small investment into a massive return? The profits could be exponential.

For now, these were just ideas. He would have to wait until James Wan finished his current project. Still, Matthew was willing to take a calculated gamble on the director's future, so long as the stakes were affordable.

The film industry had always been a high-risk, high-reward business. While a ten percent profit margin was considered good in traditional manufacturing, a successful film could easily yield returns far exceeding that.

In the days that followed, he made time to visit the set of *Saw V* with James Wan to observe the production.

It was clear that Wan was just as interested in building a relationship with him.

Matthew easily surmised that Wan, being on good terms with Justin Lin, must be aware of his investment in the film. Just as with David Ellison, Matthew understood how crucial it was for a director to have a powerful financial backer.

After all, Hollywood was a world of commerce, and money often meant everything.

Matthew found himself daydreaming about producing a low-budget horror film that could gross more than ten times its production cost.

But it wasn't that simple. For now, it was just a vision, and he would have to wait and see how things developed, adjusting his plans accordingly.

***

In early April, after a long and successful run, *I Am Legend* officially concluded its theatrical release in North America. It left behind a domestic box office total of $363.2 million and an overseas gross exceeding $450 million, bringing its worldwide total to more than $815 million.

Although the film was still playing in a few smaller international territories, these were minor markets with limited potential. Warner Bros. projected a final worldwide gross of around $820 million for *I Am Legend*.

By any standard, it was a staggering commercial success, and the film's "one-man show" nature was definitive proof of Matthew's formidable box office draw.

For their part, Warner Bros. had already approached Helen to discuss the male lead in Christopher Nolan's next film. Although a detailed script wasn't available yet, Matthew had asked Helen to begin talks. He was fairly certain the project was one he'd heard about before: *Inception*.

According to Helen, Hasbro had expressed some reservations about scrapping the current script and starting from scratch. They had reportedly offered several alternate ideas for a new screenplay.

It was difficult to say what the future held for that project.

By mid-April, the cast and crew of *The Fast and the Furious 4* had left the confines of the Disney soundstages and begun filming on the streets of Los Angeles.