The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 766: The Resource Advantage

The Angel Acting Agency moved with remarkable speed. Within just a few days, a stack of profiles for young actors landed on Matthew's desk. Helen had instructed the agency to select candidates who all had at least some prior acting experience.

While the Angel Acting Agency couldn't yet compare to the industry's titans, it had already established itself as a top-tier mid-sized firm. Sourcing promising talent was hardly a challenge.

Matthew took his time reviewing the profiles, and several of them immediately caught his eye.

The first to capture his attention was a familiar face: Kaia Gerber, the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, whom he had met several times before.

Born in 2001, the second-generation star was now eight years old, perfectly fitting the age requirements for his upcoming films. Kaia Gerber was not only a regular on the showbiz circuit, often accompanying her mother to events, but had also been a brand ambassador for a children's clothing line since the age of six, starring in numerous print ads and television commercials.

It was safe to say Kaia Gerber had a wealth of experience in front of the camera, far more than most children her age, meaning she wouldn't be the least bit camera-shy.

The only potential issue was that Cindy Crawford and her husband were incredibly wealthy. Winning over Kaia Gerber's guardians with money alone would be a challenge.

Therefore, while Matthew intended to send an audition invitation to Cindy Crawford and her husband, he didn't discount the other candidates.

There were three other candidates that Matthew considered promising.

The first was a young actress named Mackenzie Foy, who was a year older than Kaia Gerber. She had been modeling for children's print ads since 2004 and, earlier this year, had a role in the sitcom 'Til Death, where, according to the Angel Agency's report, she gave a very heartfelt performance.That was her key advantage: filming for television and movies was a world apart from posing for commercials.

Elle Fanning had a similar advantage, with even more extensive acting experience. As the younger sister of the famous child star Dakota Fanning, she had begun her Hollywood career in 2001 and had since appeared in over ten films, though her fame hadn't yet reached the level of her sister's.

The issue was her age. Born in 1998, she was now eleven, and since girls in the West tended to mature physically at a younger age, she might not be convincing in the role of an eight or nine-year-old.

The last name on the shortlist was Morgan Lily. Her parents had pushed her in front of the camera almost from birth, and by the age of four, she was already a well-known child model. She began breaking into Hollywood in 2005 and had since landed roles in three or four television shows and films.

Matthew called James Wan and Sofia Coppola, forwarded the candidates' information to their email inboxes, and had audition invitations sent out to the guardians of each of the young actresses.

After reviewing the information compiled by the Angel Agency, Matthew realized there was a surprisingly large pool of young actors. Hollywood's massive global market provided ample opportunities for them, which in turn attracted countless parents eager to see their children succeed.

After all, if their children became famous, the financial rewards could be enormous.

Children like Kaia Gerber had a natural advantage. Their chances of succeeding in the industry were far greater than anyone else's, and their parents had likely been grooming them for this path from a young age.

Then, Matthew suddenly remembered someone else. Johnny Depp had once mentioned that his daughter, Lily Depp, was interested in acting and modeling.

It hit him suddenly—he was her godfather!

Matthew immediately called Johnny Depp, explaining that both the "Twilight" project and his new film needed child actors around ten years of age. Johnny couldn't make the decision alone, however; he needed to discuss it with Lily and her mother, Vanessa.

As for an audition slot, Matthew would of course hold one for Lily.

Besides, if Lily Depp wanted to pursue a career in Hollywood, she had an enormous advantage. You could say she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

Her father was the famous Johnny Depp, her mother Vanessa was a renowned French singer, her godfather was the superstar Matthew Horner, and her godmother was Keira Knightley...

Kaia Gerber might have an edge over Lily Depp in the modeling world, but when it came to acting connections, there was no comparison.

Thinking about it, Matthew could appreciate the depth of Johnny's fatherly love. When he had first asked Matthew to be Lily's godfather, he was likely already thinking about her future.

And in the end, Johnny Depp had helped him just as much over the years.

The next time he was in France, he decided, he should definitely pay a visit to his almost-forgotten goddaughter.

***

Throughout August, Matthew was busy preparing for several investment projects. "Fast & Furious 4" and "The Hobbit" were top-tier, large-scale productions; "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" series were mid-level investments; and James Wan's project was a standard low-budget production.

His studio was managing or co-investing in five projects simultaneously, which stretched its staff a bit thin.

Fortunately, Bella Anderson returned to Los Angeles from her project in the Pacific just in time for September, and she immediately dove back into managing the studio's affairs.

Casting auditions on the other side of the Pacific had already begun, and early promotion was underway. The project would be officially announced in November, with the final cast to be selected before the New Year.

James Wan's project had received its funding from the studio, and crew assembly was in full swing. In mid-August, Matthew met with Warner Bros., where he enthusiastically pitched the horror film.

Given the massive success of "Twilight" and Matthew's proven instincts, Warner Bros. paid close attention to the project he was recommending. They assigned a team from their distribution department to monitor its progress. Once both sides signed a distribution deal, Warner Bros. quickly set a release date.

The film was officially scheduled to hit North American theaters the weekend before Halloween of the following year.

For a horror film, this was undoubtedly prime real estate.

Of course, a prime slot also meant it would be one of the most competitive weekends for horror films.

It was traditionally the best time of year for North American horror releases, and every year, a dozen or more horror films vied for a release date around Halloween.

Most of these were small, independent productions.

Occasionally, a horror film made for just a few million dollars would go on to gross over $100 million at the North American box office.

But such breakout hits were extremely rare. They required strong initial word-of-mouth from audiences, which then had to be amplified by a significant push in marketing and distribution.

This meant that low-budget films with very low production costs but a box office take of over $100 million weren't actually low-investment projects in the end. More often than not, their marketing budgets ran into the tens of millions of dollars.

Studios wouldn't commit to that kind of heavy advertising spending unless the film was already a proven hit with audiences.

Once September arrived, "Fast & Furious 4" officially concluded its North American theatrical run after more than four months. Its final domestic box office total settled at $368.5 million.

Although its overseas run had not yet ended, the numbers were trickling in. After the worldwide box office reached $777.8 million, the pace slowed to a crawl.

It was clear to Matthew that the final global box office for "Fast & Furious 4" would top out at around $780 million.

While it hadn't crossed the $800 million mark, the film was still a massive success.

While the film's buzz was still strong, Skydance Pictures, in partnership with Studio 13, entered into licensing negotiations with several parties.

Walt Disney's ABC network, for instance, acquired the exclusive television broadcast rights for "Fast & Furious 4" for the next ten years for $15 million.

As for streaming rights, Netflix acquired the online streaming and rental rights for ten years for $13 million. On top of that, Matthew and David Ellison, as the rights holders, would also automatically receive a five percent royalty on every stream or rental.

For DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals, Matthew and David Ellison negotiated a packaged deal, selling the North American license to Walt Disney for ten years for a sum of $40 million, plus a ten percent dividend.

Although the box office revenue had yet to be fully paid out, the global gross was more than enough for Matthew and David Ellison to recoup their investment. The income from these ancillary rights was almost pure profit.

And that was only a fraction of the ancillary revenue from North America alone.

By Matthew and David Ellison's private estimates, the net profit from "Fast & Furious 4" could exceed $100 million.

Of course, the profits officially declared by Skydance Pictures would be much lower. Hollywood had its own special way of calculating costs and profits.

Meanwhile, the theatrical run for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was also winding down. Its domestic box office had crossed the $300 million mark, and as the buzz faded, Paramount Pictures projected a final domestic total of around $315 million.

The film's global box office had already surpassed $600 million, with all parties forecasting a final worldwide gross of about $700 million.

Either way, both of Matthew's films this year had been enormous successes.