The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 755

When news broke that the director and lead actor for the G.I. Joe sequel might be replaced, fans were instantly furious, and many couldn't sit still.

Early in the morning, just as employees were arriving at Paramount Pictures, representatives from four Wall Street investment firms—Merrill Lynch, Allianz Venture Capital, Marathon Structured Finance Funding, and Nova Financial Investments—marched into the company's headquarters. With disgruntled expressions, they approached the executives from Paramount Pictures and Hasbro in charge of the G.I. Joe project.

"Andre, I hear you're planning to replace lead actor Matthew Horner and director Stephen Sommers on the G.I. Joe sequel?"

Bruno from Merrill Lynch asked bluntly, "We've come here today to get the full story from Paramount Pictures and Hasbro."

Andre of Paramount Pictures exchanged a glance with the Hasbro representative, Wells, before replying, "We only intend to replace the director. Stephen Sommers's salary for the sequel is too high, and we want to bring in a less expensive director to control costs."

Wells from Hasbro chimed in, "The new director was recommended by Woody Allen, so his competence is not a concern."

"And the lead actor? What about Matthew Horner?" Bruno pressed. "Can you guarantee that if you replace the director, Matthew Horner will still star in the sequel?"

They had accounted for a significant percentage of the investment in G.I. Joe and were set to contribute the same share to the sequel. If Matthew were to leave the project, likely causing it to become a box office bomb, their investment would turn toxic.

Therefore, Bruno stated flatly, "Matthew Horner's agent, Helen, has already been in negotiations with you, correct? The word is that if Stephen Sommers is replaced, Horner will walk from the project as well."

Andre quickly replied, "We are negotiating with Matthew and Helen. Nothing has been finalized yet.""Rest assured," Wells, the Hasbro representative, declared. "We've only spoken with Helen once. These kinds of negotiations are bound to take some time."

The representatives from the four investment firms exchanged glances, and Bruno spoke for them. "In that case, we want only one thing." His tone grew sharp. "Matthew Horner is the single greatest guarantee of this film's profitability. We demand that Matthew appears in the G.I. Joe sequel. Otherwise, Merrill Lynch will reconsider its investment!"

Andre and Wells were powerless. Before they could even respond, the other three representatives voiced their support for the demand.

"Allianz Venture Capital will also be carefully reconsidering."

"As will Marathon Structured Finance Funding!"

"And Nova Financial Investments will be closely reviewing its investment as well!"

As the representatives from the four firms finished speaking, a cold sweat broke out on the faces of Andre and Wells.

If they pulled their capital, Paramount Pictures would have to find new external financing. With the financial crisis still lingering, it was needless to say how difficult raising that kind of money would be.

"Both of you, convey our position to your companies' boards of directors!" Bruno stressed again. "I expect Paramount and Hasbro to take our position very seriously."

Andre quickly replied, "Absolutely."

The two of them saw the four representatives out and returned to the lounge, where Wells couldn't help but shake his head. "It's going to be difficult to replace the director."

Andre shrugged helplessly. "Who would have thought Matthew Horner would side so completely with Stephen Sommers?"

They both knew perfectly well that unless they were prepared to recast the lead and completely refinance the film, Paramount Pictures would inevitably have to compromise with Matthew Horner and Stephen Sommers.

***

As July drew to a close and G.I. Joe was heading into its third weekend in North American theaters, Matthew made a point of calling Emma Watson. She had arrived in Los Angeles a day before the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and had reached out to him as soon as she got in.

He had also been keeping in touch with Rachel Weisz to stay updated on Natalie Portman and the developments with the film Black Swan.

Sometimes, he had to admire Natalie Portman's drive and capability.

It had only been a little over a month since the premiere of Cloud Atlas, yet Natalie Portman had already secured Darren Aronofsky and ousted Rachel Weisz from the project. That wasn't something an ordinary woman could pull off.

In fact, Natalie Portman had accomplished much more in that month. After successfully teaming up with Darren Aronofsky, she had convinced the William Morris Agency to throw its full support behind them and had even taken on many of the pre-production planning tasks herself.

With the help of William Morris, Natalie and Darren had essentially finalized the deal. The film was to be co-financed and co-produced by Cross Creek Pictures and Fox Searchlight Pictures, with Fox Searchlight also handling distribution.

Their goal was singular: the 2010 awards season!

According to Rachel's latest update, Natalie had even locked in two key supporting actresses, casting her friend Mila Kunis in one role and Winona Ryder in another.

Clearly, Natalie and Darren had immediately gotten on the same page, and the film was shaping up to be a major production.

Matthew could understand Natalie's reasoning, at least in part. The failure of Cloud Atlas had stalled her progress as a mainstream commercial star. With the future of John Carter still uncertain, she was returning to the world of independent film, planning to make a run at the Oscars.

As long as she could win an Oscar, her career wouldn't take a hit, even if John Carter flopped at the box office.

After all, a Best Actress Oscar still carried immense weight with studios and audiences alike.

That way, even if her path as a commercial star didn't pan out, Natalie still had a fallback.

What was truly interesting, though, was how Rachel Weisz would react. After their last meeting, Matthew had gotten the distinct impression that she was determined to get her revenge.

Of course, he would lend Rachel a hand wherever he could.

Not to mention, it would be a way to repay the favor she had done for him during the filming of The Mummy Returns.

Natalie Portman's aggressive pursuit of the Black Swan project was also, to some degree, a consequence of the box office failure of Cloud Atlas.

Perhaps that wasn't entirely accurate—after all, in another timeline, Natalie Portman had starred in this same film and won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.

But the failure of Cloud Atlas had undoubtedly strengthened Natalie Portman's resolve to snatch Black Swan away. So, in a way, Matthew was partly responsible.

Just this week, after a run of just over a month, Cloud Atlas had been pulled from major North American theaters due to abysmal daily ticket sales, officially ending its short theatrical run.

The final North American box office for Cloud Atlas was $22.37 million.

Not only did the domestic gross fail to cover the production costs, but the final box office total was a mere fraction of the budget.

Abroad, the results for Cloud Atlas were just as dismal. Because its North American run was so poor, the number of foreign countries and regions that screened the film was small—fewer than sixty.

As a result, the film's overseas box office was extremely limited, amounting to less than $25 million overseas and less than $50 million worldwide.

According to several agencies and Disney's internal forecast, Cloud Atlas would struggle to gross more than $60 million worldwide.

In fact, from the moment the North American box office numbers came in, Disney stopped investing any more resources into Cloud Atlas, knowing the film was a guaranteed loss.

However, the lack of sufficient late-stage advertising and promotion was also a significant reason for the film's abysmal box office performance.

The film itself was not audience-friendly. It had good reviews from critics but a very poor reputation with audiences.

Matthew had also heard rumors about Plan B and Brad Pitt. Word was that several banks were practically banging down the doors at Plan B every day, demanding that the company and Pitt repay their loans. Pitt simply didn't have the liquidity to settle the debt and could only vow to postpone the repayment date until after John Carter was released.

Clearly, Brad Pitt was still confident in John Carter, hoping the film would be a box office smash and plug the financial hole left by the failure of Cloud Atlas.

The flop of Cloud Atlas also served as a warning to many people investing in major commercial projects, including Matthew. It was a clear sign that overly complex and incomprehensible films were simply not suited for large-scale commercial production at this time.

Even if the professional word-of-mouth was overwhelmingly positive, it would be difficult for audiences to accept it.

In the age of the internet and spectacle, a guarantee of quality praised by the media was no longer a box office panacea.

The mainstream audience went to the movies for relaxation and escapism. They wanted popcorn and spectacle, they sought sensory stimulation and pleasure. They were not looking to have their worldview updated, nor did they intend to let a film challenge them to change themselves.

This was especially true for commercial science-fiction films, whose high production costs dictated that they could not be a tool for a director to experiment with their ideas. And when an ambitious director wanted to present their worldview in its entirety, they had to invest even more money.

If that gamble failed, the losses would be in the tens of millions.

As films that failed to meet expectations faded from the box office, new ones naturally arrived to take their place. And just one day before the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Matthew received a call from Emma Watson.

"Please, you have to come!" Emma cried into the phone. "I've gotten into a fight!"