The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 655

Not everyone could get away with the kind of half-joking, half-serious remarks Clint Eastwood made about the black community. If Matthew had decades of experience in Hollywood under his belt, he might have voiced some criticism, but for now, he still lacked the necessary clout.

Besides, as a commercial star, it was in his best interest to pay attention to minority groups, especially given their growing share of the theater-going audience.

So, regardless of what others did, Matthew stuck to his established strategy: the three foundations managed by Amanda would continue to provide aid to Africans, minorities, women, and children.

Just this month, Forbes magazine had named Matthew one of the nation's top ten philanthropists, placing him alongside other ultra-wealthy individuals like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

At the same time, a number of women's and children's organizations across the U.S. had also listed Matthew as an active philanthropist, with some even naming him an honorary director.

Furthermore, Matthew announced millions of dollars in donations to several prominent charitable organizations.

All of this provided a tremendous boost to his public profile and influence.

Forbes magazine also conducted an interview with Matthew.

"It's a disgrace to leave a family fortune behind after you die!"

Facing the Forbes reporter, Matthew stated earnestly, "I believe that people on this earth are merely stewards of the wealth entrusted to them by God. They are not the true owners of that wealth; they can't take it with them when they're born, and they can't take it with them when they die. We must give what we can and be sure to help those in need."He also emphasized, "I am no enthusiast of wealth, especially when six billion people in the world are still so much poorer than we are."

Matthew loved money, a fact he never denied, but he also understood that money could offer a person so much more.

A number of Wall Street investors, many of them billionaires, were eager to present themselves not just as executives but as trustees of top schools like Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, or as board members of prestigious museums, arts organizations, and community groups.

Upon first hearing these titles, one couldn't help but be impressed by their apparent academic achievements. However, these individuals readily admitted that they were honorary titles acquired through donations, yet they cherished them all the same.

In the United States, you could own a great deal of property, but you had to give something back, and someone had to notice, or you would never become a truly influential person.

Even many American media outlets considered the generous donations of American billionaires an unwritten tradition, a standard by which a successful person must possess the qualities of a benefactor to gain social acceptance—an alluring display of high-mindedness.

Of course, the fact that wealthy people were eager to donate was also a testament to the U.S. government's policies encouraging such generosity through tax incentives.

In front of philanthropists and media reporters, Matthew would say things that sounded incredibly noble.

"It is vital for us to donate money to help those in desperate need." Matthew seemed to have truly transformed into a philanthropist.

"Donations are necessary because no matter which non-profit organization a person donates to, the act itself satisfies their need for self-actualization, allowing them to live for their ideals, their beliefs, and the best version of themselves. Then, every morning, people can see in the mirror the person they want or ought to be: a responsible citizen of their country, a caring neighbor."

Crafting a public persona is crucial these days, and for years, Matthew had been working to build a more complete identity for himself, one that extended beyond that of a playboy.

The truth was, the "playboy" label meant nothing. What young, rich man wasn't one? Society had long since ceased to care about it.

Donors like Matthew were essentially playing a game with their contributions, and the recipients were just as skilled at playing the game of accepting them.

During a conversation with Amanda, she told Matthew about a typical case that had occurred recently.

A while ago, Jim Harbaugh, the former head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, moved to the University of Michigan's football team for a hefty salary. His first-year pay would be $7 million. The news sent shockwaves through the American university and sports worlds. On what grounds could the University of Michigan justify paying a football coach such an astronomical salary?

Amanda explained to Matthew that the reason for the high salary was simple: if the school's football team won, overjoyed Michigan alumni would make generous donations to their alma mater, and those donations would far exceed $7 million.

The fame that came with his philanthropic efforts drew even more attention to Matthew, and he duly began promoting the film

Twilight through various channels.

Compared to major productions that often had budgets in the hundreds of millions, Twilight was short on selling points, aside from the book's rapidly growing fanbase.

As September approached, a number of matters involving Matthew began to fall into place.

Thanks to his recommendation and assistance, Carolina Kurkova secured the role of the Baroness after three rounds of auditions, though her salary was only $200,000.

For Carolina, however, landing the second female lead in a major Hollywood commercial production was far more important than the paycheck at this stage of her career.

The same evening that Carolina Kurkova passed her audition, Matthew invited her to his estate for a night in a well-prepared suite.

He helped Carolina unwind completely.

The result of that night was that she delayed reporting to the film crew by a full two days.

At the same time, the main cast of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was being finalized. Most of the actors, including Matthew and Sienna Miller, were scheduled to undergo two weeks of special military training.

For this type of film in Hollywood, pre-production training was mandatory.

Meanwhile, Helen had concluded her negotiations with Walt Disney. Matthew signed an agreement to transfer his shares, and though the deal wouldn't be officially finalized until the end of the year, both parties agreed to an exchange based on Marvel's year-end stock price.

Shortly after, Walt Disney officially announced the deal, which was tantamount to a public declaration that it was acquiring Marvel Comics.

Perhaps it was Matthew, the famous shareholder, who truly set an example. In the face of Walt Disney's advance, many of Marvel Comics' smaller shareholders fell in line. While Marvel's management showed some resistance, joining a massive entertainment and media conglomerate was not a bad thing for Marvel's development.

At the very least, the leadership at Marvel Comics did not refuse to open negotiations with Walt Disney.

Almost simultaneously, Walt Disney was also pursuing the acquisition of George Lucas's Lucasfilm, revealing the massive scale of Mickey Mouse's industrial ambitions.

It had to be said that while Robert Iger looked like a perpetually smiling Mickey Mouse, his abilities were no less formidable than his predecessor, Michael Eisner. His working style was more amicable, his professional ethics were well-regarded, and he was steering Disney onto a fast track of development.

Once this deal was complete, Matthew stood to gain considerably. In the short term, he would become a minority shareholder in Walt Disney; in the long term, the opportunity to invest in Marvel's superhero films would be incredibly rare.

At that moment, Walt Disney's leadership likely had no idea just how massive the Marvel superhero film phenomenon would become.

It was the Marvel Cinematic Universe that would ultimately propel superhero films into the commercial mainstream of Hollywood.

Meanwhile, the first box office payments from Iron Man's North American run had already been deposited into Studio 13's account.

The film had been pulled from major North American theaters the previous week after a run of more than four months, with its final domestic box office total reaching $335.6 million.

Its international run had not yet concluded, and the overseas box office had already surpassed the $400 million mark.

Matthew's first payment from the North American box office was $20 million. Although Paramount Pictures had retained its distribution fees and a portion of the upfront advertising and marketing costs, the remaining domestic box office share was limited, and the international profit share had not yet been calculated.

From the box office revenue alone, he would be able to recoup his $40 million investment and turn a profit, not to mention the substantial ancillary income from DVDs, television rights, and online streaming.

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that his $40 million investment would ultimately yield a profit of $35 to $40 million.

Even by the standards of Hollywood, or the entire U.S. business community, this was an investment with an exceptionally high rate of return.

In a world where traditional manufacturing industries might see a profit margin of ten percent or even less, the returns a big-budget Hollywood film could generate were truly staggering.

It was for this reason that so many people were eager to invest in films, despite the industry's notoriously high risks.

Often, a single blockbuster could offset the losses of three or four failed films.

Of course, this didn't even account for the films that became chart-topping phenomena.

Matthew planned to reinvest the proceeds from Iron Man directly into Iron Man 2 and Captain America. Preparations for the former had already begun, and there were concrete written plans for the latter.

As for the Thor film that Marvel Studios was planning, he had no intention of investing.

Meanwhile, Hancock's theatrical run in North America was also drawing to a close. The film's trajectory—a strong start followed by a steep decline—was very clear. More than two months after its release, its box office performance had completely fizzled out.

Currently, the film's domestic box office had exceeded $300 million, and its global box office had reached $700 million.

However, its daily earnings in the North American market had been under a million dollars for over a week, and its theatrical run was about to end.

Matthew turned his attention away from all this, his focus returning to the cast training for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In the midst of it all, he received an invitation from Lily Collins to accompany her to the finale of American Idol.