The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 763

With two consecutive box office hits under his belt, Matthew had more than enough confidence and capital to negotiate freely with any production team or studio. Companies that had previously been hesitant were now making swift decisions.

Helen entered a second round of negotiations with Hasbro and Paramount Pictures. As soon as the talks began, representatives from both companies bluntly informed her that, after careful consideration, they felt Jon M. Chu was not the right fit to direct the 'G.I. Joe' sequel. They added that they would soon begin official discussions with Stephen Sommers about helming the film.

Maintaining a stable creative team was a non-negotiable condition for Matthew to continue in the lead role.

The sequel was definitely happening, but the negotiations promised to be lengthy. Helen had put a deal on the table for a base salary of twenty million dollars plus a twenty percent share of the box office gross.

This figure did not include his share of merchandise revenue from the use of his likeness on products like toys.

There were numerous variables to consider, including a full fifteen points Helen was fighting for regarding the distribution of merchandise revenue. It was clear that reaching an agreement would take months of persistent negotiation.

Matthew left the sequel negotiations entirely in Helen’s hands. For now, his primary focus was on preparing for 'Fast Five'.

After more than two months of intense work, Justin Lin and Chris Morgan had completed a draft of the script and a preliminary production plan. Following initial discussions with Jack Beard, they immediately presented their work to Matthew and David Ellison.

In the conference room at Skydance Pictures, Matthew and David Ellison sat at a large table, the first draft of the script lying before them. They had just finished reading it.

"Excellent script," David Ellison declared, closing the document. He looked at Matthew. "What do you think?"Matthew considered it for a moment before replying. "I think it's quite good. The story connects well with the previous film, it's tense but still straightforward and easy to follow. It also expands the world of the franchise, and the action sequences and car chases are on a much larger scale."

David nodded in agreement.

"However, there's one thing that isn't emphasized enough," Matthew added, turning to screenwriter Chris Morgan. "Family. The concept of the crew as a family needs to be more prominent."

Chris Morgan quickly responded, "I'll make sure to strengthen that aspect in the next draft."

Matthew was generally pleased with the script and added, "The skills of the various characters are much clearer now. Everyone has their own specialty that the audience will recognize at a glance."

"And... as for the female characters," he continued, "focus on Gisele."

Justin Lin and Chris Morgan exchanged a look. "No problem," they agreed.

In this first draft, aside from the two leads played by Matthew and Paul Walker, the most substantial role belonged to Gisele, played by Gal Gadot.

This wasn't a creative choice by the team, but a direct result of market research.

For the past two months, Skydance Pictures had been continuously conducting market research on 'Fast & Furious.' Unsurprisingly, Matthew was the most popular character, followed by Paul Walker and Gal Gadot.

Perhaps it was because her character was a strong heroine who didn't need a man to rescue her and was more than capable of taking action herself in critical moments. Whatever the reason, Gal Gadot's portrayal of Gisele was immensely popular, especially among female fans, with her support numbers rivaling those of Paul Walker's character.

Due to the character's independent nature and formidable skills, she was far more than just eye candy and could be counted on to come through in a clutch. Gisele, as played by Gal Gadot, appealed strongly to audiences of both genders, and her popularity was on par with Paul Walker's.

Since audiences loved her, it was only natural that the sequel should expand her role accordingly.

"Matthew, David, there's one issue I hope you'll both consider carefully."

Jack Beard, the producer, spoke up. "A one-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar investment might sound like a lot, but for a film of this scope, it's actually a bit tight."

Matthew glanced at David Ellison. The investment decision was one they had made together.

David Ellison nodded. "Regarding the budget, we'll evaluate it once you present a more detailed plan."

After several years in Hollywood, he was no longer the type of person to throw money at just any project.

"I agree with David," Matthew affirmed.

Any additional investment could run into the tens of millions, and even though they trusted Jack Beard, they weren't going to commit to that kind of money without a solid breakdown.

A major commercial blockbuster could be a bottomless money pit, and even the most accomplished directors and producers had to think twice before committing.

In truth, Matthew and David Ellison had set the investment budget on the low side, especially considering Matthew's twenty-five-million-dollar base salary for the sequel—which consumed a huge chunk of it—plus Paul Walker's salary of nearly ten million.

The rest of the cast wasn't paid nearly as much; their combined salaries didn't even match what Paul Walker was making.

When it came to big action sequences, there were no shortcuts. If you wanted impressive visual effects, you had to spend money—a lot of money.

The meeting concluded quickly. After the others had left, Matthew and David Ellison spoke for a little longer about the cast, particularly about the addition of a new female character of Chinese descent.

Studio No. 13 and Disney China would handle the matter. Auditions were already being prepared and were expected to begin in mid-August.

The new Chinese-American character was slated to be the girlfriend of the hero played by Daniel Wu.

Beginning with 'Fast Five,' the cast of the series was set to become fully international.

Factoring in the return of co-star Tyrese Gibson, the main cast would feature white, African American, Latino, Jewish, and Asian actors.

As he left Skydance Pictures, Matthew was still pondering whether they should add a character of Arab descent later on.

It was a long-term plan, and not an immediate necessity. The countries in the Persian Gulf region were wealthy, but the size of their film market was extremely limited.

In countries like Saudi Arabia, for instance, movie theaters had been banned since the 1970s and 80s, and the market still hadn't been liberalized.

Rather than targeting audiences, it might be wiser to attract commercial sponsorships from the region. The UAE seemed to be a more open market and was keen on promotional opportunities, so perhaps they could establish contact with a business consortium there.

As long as money was involved, filming in a location like Dubai in the future wouldn't be a bad idea.

Mulling over this idea, Matthew entered a cafe. Karolina had asked to meet with him a few days ago, a meeting they had postponed until today.

"Sorry, KK."

Finding Karolina in a quiet corner of the cafe, Matthew pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "I had a meeting that ran late," he apologized.

Karolina smiled. "Don't worry, I just arrived myself." She asked, "Would you like some green tea?"

Matthew nodded.

Karolina signaled a waiter and ordered a cup of green tea for Matthew, then pulled an invitation from her handbag. "This is a VIP invitation to this year's Victoria's Secret show. I haven't officially re-signed with them yet, so this is the best I could get."

"You're back with Victoria's Secret? Congratulations!" Matthew said, accepting the invitation.

"Not yet," Karolina said, shaking her head. "Matthew, I have to thank you."

She looked particularly earnest. "Without your help, I never would have been able to return to the runway. Without you, my career wouldn't have had this revival."

Matthew offered a small smile. "You're being too formal, KK."

Just then, the waiter brought his tea. Matthew thanked him before turning back to Karolina. "You earned it."

If Karolína Kurková hadn't given him an opening this year, how could he possibly have promoted a supermodel of her caliber?

And how could he have pulled it off without her own efforts, without her willingness to let him do whatever he wanted with her this past year?

Karolina waved it off graciously. "Let's not talk about that." She looked at Matthew, her expression turning curious. "I heard that Paramount and Hasbro recently had a disagreement with you over the director for the 'G.I. Joe' sequel? Are they planning to bring in someone new?"

She had heard the rumors as well. After her agent caught wind of it, he had contacted her again. His tone was completely different from their last conversation; he advised that if they brought on a new director and Matthew pulled out, she should voluntarily withdraw from the project too.

The risk of working with an unproven director was too high. If the film failed, the small amount of fame she had managed to reclaim would be lost all over again.

"It's all been settled," Matthew said, seeing no reason to hide it. "I've already reached an agreement with Paramount and Hasbro. The core creative team for the sequel will remain the same."

Hearing this, Karolina eagerly asked, "So, will the Baroness still be in the sequel?"

Matthew gave a slight nod. "Only if you agree to play her."

"Matthew, I... I was thinking... we got along so well before, and the way we... got along was very exciting. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I miss that time... especially the moments we shared together..."

She gave him a subtle, knowing smile. "Maybe we could continue?"

"There's no need for that, KK," Matthew declined. "As long as you want it, the role of the Baroness is still yours."

Karolina nodded, not pressing the issue further.

Matthew had no intention of getting entangled with Karolina again. For one thing, he had tried just about every trick in the book with her over the past year, and the novelty had long since worn off. For another, he knew that Hasbro and Paramount would insist on adding another major female character to the sequel, which meant the Baroness's role would inevitably be reduced.

Hasbro's idea was to introduce the famous Lady Jaye as the new female lead in the 'G.I. Joe' sequel.

Furthermore, likely seeing the massive success of 'Fast & Furious' in the Chinese market, and knowing that China and the U.S. were about to hold new WTO negotiations that included film quotas, Paramount and Hasbro were also intent on strengthening the promotion of the 'G.I. Joe' series across the Pacific.

To that end, they also planned to introduce a Chinese-American female character in the sequel.

Matthew wasn't sure of the exact details, as all of this was still in the preliminary planning stages.