The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 628

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Matthew signed a new endorsement deal with Rolex to represent the brand across all media. He then spent two days shooting a new commercial which, according to the agreement, officially made him the number one Rolex ambassador in North America, second only to Roger Federer.

He then met with Christopher Nolan at the Warner Bros. studios, and unlike their previous meeting, Nolan presented him with a finished script.

Matthew read the script and was absolutely certain it was the film that would become Leonardo DiCaprio's *Inception*. He immediately took the script and shooting schedule from Nolan, leaving it to Helen to formally open negotiations with Warner Bros. to finalize the deal.

Warner Bros. agreed to a $20 million salary and a share of the box office gross, though the exact percentage would have to be negotiated over time.

There was no rush. Christopher Nolan still had to finish *The Dark Knight*, and pre-production for his new project wouldn't begin until after the film's release in July. Filming itself wouldn't start until the following year.

This left plenty of time for the two sides to negotiate.

In contrast to the efficiency of Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros., there had been no word from Paramount Pictures. Matthew wasn't holding out much hope anymore, guessing that the studio's relationship with Hasbro would make it difficult to overhaul the script and start fresh.

In a project where Hasbro was a major investor, their priority would undoubtedly be selling action figures. The approach he had proposed—centering the story entirely on a single protagonist with the rest of the cast in purely supporting roles—would be fantastic for the lead actor, but terrible for merchandise sales.

But Matthew was not about to sacrifice his own interests just to make the other characters more marketable.

If Duke couldn't be the absolute protagonist, there was no need for further discussion between the two parties.He set the matter aside for the time being. If Stephen Sommers didn't take the initiative to contact him, his side wouldn't be reaching out to either Sommers or Paramount Pictures.

In any case, it wasn't as if he was short on film deals.

Besides, he currently lacked the time and energy to focus on the toy-based film franchise. *Twilight* had moved into post-production, and although he had producers Sean Daniel and Sofia Coppola overseeing it, he still needed to check in on its progress from time to time.

Moreover, the release of *Iron Man* was just over two weeks away.

Considering he had invested $40 million in the film, he was definitely going to keep a close eye on it.

In the run-up to the release, Matthew threw himself into promoting *Iron Man*, joining the cast and crew for various press junkets and promotional events.

"The most important thing about this film is telling people that Robert Downey Jr. is back in the movie business!"

At a press conference, Matthew stood before the reporters and didn't hesitate to praise Robert Downey Jr. "In an age without heroes, people have never lacked for fictional figures to worship. Comic book heroes have leaped from the pages onto the big screen, and now the most popular comic book hero of all, Iron Man, has finally made it to the big screen too!"

He was full of praise. "Robert Downey Jr. has endowed the character with so many qualities, all of which we'll see in this spirited Iron Man."

The announcement was met with applause as Matthew and Robert Downey Jr. sat together, projecting a warm, friendly rapport.

One reporter asked, "I was told you recommended Robert Downey Jr. for the lead role. Is that true?"

The question was directed at Matthew, but Downey Jr. answered for him. "Yes, it was Matthew who recommended me, and I'll always be grateful to him for that."

When another reporter asked him about his past drug use, Downey said, "In 2003, my career hit rock bottom because of drugs. Then one day, something happened that made me decide to quit them for good."

Hearing this, Matthew couldn't help but look at Robert Downey Jr. with curiosity. As far as he knew, getting clean was incredibly difficult, and before 2003, Robert Downey Jr. had tried to quit several times, all ending in failure.

And Robert Downey Jr. not only had to give an answer, but he had to frame that answer with enough compelling twists and turns to be entertaining enough to help promote *Iron Man*.

"One day in 2003, I was driving with a car full of drugs, and when I got hungry, I stopped at a Burger King."

Downey Jr. spoke with a candidness that suggested he'd been given a new lease on life. "I have to thank Burger King. I ate a burger there and felt so awful afterward that I thought I was having an overdose. I threw out all my drugs and decided to get serious about my addiction."

Matthew nodded discreetly, guessing that this anecdote would become an inevitable part of Robert Downey Jr.'s story from now on.

Of course, Burger King wasn't mentioned for nothing; they were one of the film's sponsors.

"What made you choose this role?" a reporter from Entertainment Weekly asked. "It seems very different from your previous on-screen persona."

Downey Jr. handled it with ease. "A lot of my friends are involved in this film. Making a sci-fi movie or a comic-book adaptation isn't the taboo it once was. My old disdain for comic book movies was clearly misguided. Even my friends were shocked to see me show up on set at my scheduled call time."

He was in high spirits. "When they saw me, they'd ask, 'What's wrong with you? Are you trying to raise money for drugs again?'"

The comment drew a few laughs from the audience.

Matthew smiled as well. Someone else might not have succeeded as Iron Man, but Robert Downey Jr. was naturally quirky and a perfect fit for the character of Tony Stark.

A reporter from TMZ asked a question that was very characteristic of the outlet, "To get into character as Tony Stark, did you go out and date a lot of women?"

"I have an expert in that field right next to me," Downey Jr. quipped, turning to Matthew. "He's more popular with the ladies than Tony Stark."

Matthew played along smoothly. "I just told Downey that the most important thing is to have a sense of humor."

Of course, this was all banter. Everyone knew why a character like Tony Stark was popular with women, and it could be summed up in a single sentence.

For instance, if someone were to ask him what Iron Man's true superpower was, he'd say it wasn't the awesome suit. It was the money.

***

The interview was over and soon published, receiving a particularly positive reception.

The public worldwide buys into stories of people who fall and get back on their feet, and the marketing team had developed a similar strategy for Downey Jr.

Paramount Pictures' promotional campaign for *Iron Man* was also in full swing, with headlines like "Iron Man Battles F-22 Raptors in Mid-Air!" and "Leaked *Iron Man* Scene Reveals Stunning Special Effects!" splashed everywhere. New footage from the film was constantly being released.

Even lead actress Gwyneth Paltrow's recent illness was spun as a health problem caused by overexertion during the filming of *Iron Man*.

Hollywood companies had more than enough PR and promotion tactics to dazzle the public, as long as they didn't cross any legal lines.

Finally, the North American summer movie season kicked off in May with the grand premiere of *Iron Man* at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.