The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 784

Everyone else in the conference room swiftly departed, leaving Matthew alone with David Ellison.

"What's on your mind, David?" Matthew asked, meeting his gaze.

David Ellison considered for a moment before replying, "There are two things. One is about an investment, and the other is a favor I need to ask."

"We've been friends for years," Matthew said with a smile. "Just be straight with me, no need to be polite."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of being polite," David Ellison shot back, a grin spreading across his face. "Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise are gearing up for 'Mission: Impossible 4.' Have you heard anything?"

Matthew nodded cautiously. "I know. It's also been confirmed that Brad Bird from Pixar is directing."

He was one of Pixar's creative powerhouses, the director of two animated films, "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille," and an Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature. Like Andrew Stanton, after Disney acquired Pixar, Brad Bird started moving into live-action.

"This project is currently running into budget issues," David Ellison explained. "Paramount's main projects for the next two years are 'G.I. Joe 2,' which you're starring in, and then Tom Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' franchise. Since most of their resources are already tied up in 'G.I. Joe,' the budget for 'Mission: Impossible' has become a problem."

He added, "Due to the lackluster box office of 'Mission: Impossible 3' and some of Tom Cruise's personal issues, securing financing for 'Mission: Impossible 4' has been a challenge."

"So you're thinking of investing in 'Mission: Impossible 4'?" Matthew surmised."I'm considering it," David Ellison said frankly. "I'd like to invest, but I'm hesitant."

Matthew would, of course, help his biggest partner however he could. "What are your specific concerns?"

Under normal circumstances, a franchise film like this was a safe bet—it would almost certainly get made and succeed, or at the very least, not bomb.

But this particular franchise was different, far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

David Ellison had a great deal of trust in Matthew. After a moment of thought, he laid out his concerns. "'Mission: Impossible 3' was a significant step down from the first two. Is that downward trend going to continue with the fourth?" He rested his chin on his hand. "My main reservations are about Tom Cruise himself. His career has been in a slump for the past few years, he's been taking hit after hit, and the negative press is endless. Are his fans finally going to abandon him?"

Matthew heard him out and realized that Tom Cruise was at the heart of David's concerns. After a moment's thought, he asked, "David, where is most of the negative press about Tom Cruise actually coming from?"

"A small part of it is his unconventional beliefs and behavior. But the biggest source of the slander is his former agent, Pat Kingsley."

Matthew continued the thought, "Cruise lost his Oscar bid for Best Actor that year, blamed Kingsley, and unilaterally terminated his contract with her and CAA. Kingsley has been retaliating ever since."

David Ellison nodded. "Exactly."

"That was five or six years ago," Matthew pointed out. "And there's been far less negative press about Cruise lately, so I don't think her attacks will have much impact anymore." He added, "She's found a new target for her vendetta." Then he stated plainly, "Nicole Kidman also fired Pat Kingsley recently. I heard Helen mention that Kingsley is planning her revenge."

David Ellison laughed. "Nicole Kidman's had nothing but bad luck since she won her Best Actress Oscar."

Matthew sighed. "And her luck is about to get a whole lot worse."

Ever since she won that little golden statue, Nicole Kidman had become genuine box office poison. But under Kingsley's management, she still managed to cling to her A-list status. Now that Kidman had turned against her, you could bet the negative stories would start flooding the news.

For years, the narrative around her divorce from Tom Cruise had been heavily skewed in her favor. Now, the tides were about to turn. A lot of details from that divorce were going to be leaked, and they would be coming straight from her former agent.

Everyone in the industry knew that during that sensational divorce, Kidman had played the victim card perfectly, leveraging public sympathy to paint herself as a delicate, wronged woman.

Nicole Kidman fired her agent because every film Kingsley picked for her bombed, but things were about to get much worse for her.

Maybe the aging Pat Kingsley really was out of touch, but the woman was incredibly vindictive and knew far too many dark secrets.

In reality, Kidman's biggest problem wasn't even Kingsley. It was the fact that North American audiences had never really warmed up to her.

You could take a film with excellent market potential, cast Nicole Kidman as the lead, and her negative aura would drag it down to a box office loss. And that meant losing millions of dollars.

David Ellison rubbed his chin. "So what you're saying is, Nicole Kidman could inadvertently take some of the heat off Tom Cruise?"

"More or less, yeah," Matthew mused. "Tom Cruise's problem isn't the negative press. He's one of the most dedicated stars in this business. You can't question his professionalism or his passion for his work."

"Hmm..." David Ellison nodded slowly.

Matthew added, "David, I can only lay out the situation as I see it. Whether you invest or not is ultimately your call."

"Go on," David Ellison urged.

"The biggest problem with this project is still Tom Cruise, actually." Matthew raised a hand to stop David Ellison from speaking. He explained, "The rights to the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise are split. Tom Cruise holds the majority of them. Paramount only owns a small portion plus distribution rights, so Cruise has always maintained ironclad control over the series."

The "Mission: Impossible" series starring Tom Cruise was one of the successful franchises he remembered well. He had wanted to invest in it before, but after carefully studying the situation, he had voluntarily decided against it.

The internal politics of this franchise were far more complicated than outsiders realized.

Matthew continued, "Tom Cruise has had a lot of negative press in recent years and no real hits. You could say the 'Mission: Impossible' series is his last lifeline, so he's bound to take it very seriously. His level of control is good for the film's success, but it's bad for outside investors..."

David's brow furrowed slightly as he processed Matthew's words.

"Tom Cruise will have absolute control over the project," Matthew said slowly. "With that power, he'll take the lion's share of the profits, on top of whatever Paramount gets, which will make it very difficult for outside financiers to protect their interests. You could even end up taking a loss on a successful film."

This was the kind of Hollywood accounting they had dealt with before, so David Ellison had no trouble understanding the risk.

Matthew considered for a moment, then said, "Tom Cruise and Paramount have a lopsided cooperation agreement. Even if Cruise does nothing, Paramount has to pay him over ten million dollars a year just for a basic partnership on two joint projects. He gets a huge share of the dividends, on top of his producer's fee and lead actor's salary. After all that, there's no guarantee how much will be left for third-party investors."

David Ellison frowned. "So there's a chance that investing in this would just be making money for Tom Cruise and Paramount?"

"Not necessarily. But your return on investment will almost certainly be far lower than you'd expect."

David Ellison said gravely, "I understand. I'll have my people look into this further and weigh the decision carefully." He then shifted to his second point. "I also have a favor to ask."

Matthew smiled. "Of course."

David Ellison got straight to the point. "Megan invested in 'The Hurt Locker,' directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film is aiming for the Oscars next year. Megan is determined to campaign for Best Director and Best Picture, and she's already started the PR push. When the time comes, she's going to need votes."

Matthew understood what David was asking. "Megan's project will definitely have my vote," he said.

He had known for a while that David's younger sister, Megan Ellison, had chosen a similar path to her brother's, dropping out of USC's film school to start investing in the movie business.

The main difference between them was their focus: David invested primarily in commercial blockbusters, while Megan focused on independent and arthouse films.

And now, in what felt like the blink of an eye, she was already backing Oscar-contending films.

David Ellison added, "She'll need more than just one vote."

Matthew gave a slight nod. "I'll reach out to the Academy members I know. But David, I don't really have connections with the core establishment of the Academy, so I might not be able to help as much as you'd like."

David Ellison knew that. "Whatever you can do," he said. "Every single vote counts."

Matthew offered a piece of advice. "Megan should be prepared to campaign hard. In many cases, Oscar voting comes down to money."

They spent a while longer discussing Oscar campaign strategies before finally leaving the conference room one after the other.

There was only so much Matthew could do. Campaigning for an Oscar was completely new territory for him.

He didn't know what the future held for the Oscars, but as it happened, he had just received a premiere invitation from Kathryn Bigelow's famous ex-husband.