The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 805

Matthew woke and turned his head, his gaze settling on the blonde woman beside him.

Scarlett Johansson was still fast asleep next to him. Careful not to wake her, Matthew slipped out of bed, washed up, and headed outside for his usual morning run.

By the time he'd finished a lap, Scarlett Johansson was awake. They had breakfast together before he drove her over to the ABC studios.

"Iron Man 2" had just premiered, and they were in the thick of the promotional tour.

The film was a visual spectacle, and building on the foundation of the first movie, the public response was overwhelmingly positive.

Most importantly, with "Iron Man 2," Marvel Studios was steadily defining its own unique identity and cinematic formula.

The formula was clear: characters responsible for comic relief, others tasked with being the eye candy, and still others dedicated to expanding the universe's lore. Add to that villains who looked the part but were ultimately just foils for the hero.

It was all familiar to Matthew, and it confirmed that Marvel Studios was on the right track.

Matthew couldn't recall if Kevin Feige had been the one steering Marvel Studios in his past life, but judging by the current state of things, the man was an excellent commercial producer.

That's why he'd made a point of calling Robert Iger to personally voice his support for Feige.The box office numbers for "Iron Man 2" certainly backed up that assessment.

The film opened wide in North America, grossing an impressive $131.3 million across 4,380 theaters in its first three-day weekend!

The Marvel cinematic universe had taken another confident stride toward success.

Thanks to the success of the "Iron Man" franchise, the future would likely see more and more superheroes revealing their true identities to the public.

What made "Iron Man" so popular? Among superhero films, its most thrilling moment was the refusal to hide. The final scene of the first movie, where he publicly declares his identity, made audiences erupt. Compare that to Batman, who conceals his identity from all of Gotham, or Spider-Man, who hides his face to protect his girlfriend. Tony Stark was a true iconoclast.

Audiences were accustomed to tragic heroes burdened by family feuds and personal drama. Then, finally, along came a suave, witty, middle-aged playboy flaunting his wealth, charm, and genius. How could anyone not be captivated?

There was no doubt about it: Matthew's investment had paid off spectacularly once again. It wouldn't be long before he could sit back and count his earnings.

For a bank teller, counting money might be a tedious chore, but for someone in Matthew's league, it was the most enjoyable game in the world.

Money wasn't just a numbers game; money was entertainment.

In just two weekends, "Iron Man 2" surpassed $200 million at the North American box office and soared past $500 million globally.

A success like that was bound to stir things up.

Matthew, for one, was riding high. His immense wealth and fame gave him the power to make some serious waves.

For instance, the folks over at Warner Bros. and DC Comics were getting nervous.

While the rivalry between DC and Marvel wasn't the all-out war their respective fanbases made it out to be, they were certainly old competitors. Seeing Marvel basking in such glory was bound to provoke a reaction from DC.

After all, back when DC's Superman and Batman dominated the big screen, Marvel's heroes were still struggling for relevance.

That kind of massive reversal of fortune would be galling for anyone.

Thanks to his close relationship with Warner Bros., Matthew was privy to a lot of inside news about DC's superhero projects. And the success of "Iron Man 2" was having a major impact in two specific areas.

First, the new Superman project helmed by Zack Snyder was officially on the docket and had entered early planning. All three parties involved—Snyder, Warner Bros., and DC Comics—had simultaneously reached out to Helen, wanting Matthew to star as Clark Kent.

Matthew didn't even have to think about it; he simply told Helen to turn them down.

In this day and age, audiences had little patience for near-perfect saints, whether in real life or on the big screen. Playing a paragon of virtue was a thankless job, and Clark Kent was the ultimate boy scout.

Maybe the comics had explored more complex storylines for Superman across different universes and timelines, but a feature film would undoubtedly play it safe.

Besides, having worked with Zack Snyder before, Matthew knew he was a die-hard DC Comics purist.

Lifting the story straight from the comic book panels and recreating it frame-for-frame on the big screen was exactly what Snyder had done with "Watchmen."

Why would he walk into that kind of creative minefield, especially when he had Kevin Feige's successful, adaptive model to compare it to?

Let Zack Snyder pave the way for DC's superhero films, he thought. Someone had to.

That was the only way Matthew could look at it. He and Zack Snyder had worked together before, but that didn't mean he was obligated to obediently sign on for every project Snyder offered.

The second major impact was on "Green Lantern." In response to Marvel's success, Warner Bros. and DC Comics had doubled down on their commitment to the project.

"Green Lantern" was a project of massive importance for Warner Bros. and DC Comics; in many ways, it was meant to be their "Iron Man."

It was intended to be the launching pad for the entire "Justice League" cinematic universe that Warner Bros. and DC were planning.

If the very first film to kick off the universe was a dud, how could any of the subsequent movies succeed? A "Green Lantern" failure was simply not an option.

The film's $250 million production budget was already more than enough to create dazzling visual effects, so every additional dollar Warner Bros. and DC poured into it went toward distribution and promotion.

According to the intel Matthew received, the global advertising and marketing budget for "Green Lantern" was projected to hit $200 million, and Warner Bros. was prepared to throw even more money at it if needed.

A $200 million marketing budget was nearly on par with "Avatar."

All in, the total investment from Warner Bros. and DC in "Green Lantern" might even rival, or possibly surpass, that of "Avatar."

The conventional wisdom in Hollywood was that the more money you poured into a major commercial production, the better its chances at the box office.

Of course, everyone also knew about the countless big-budget commercial films that yielded disastrously low returns—some of which were capable of bankrupting a mid-sized production company.

From what Matthew remembered, "Green Lantern" had been a legendary flop. He had no idea if even Will Smith's star power would be enough to plug that massive hole.

A certain kind of cinema was rearing its ugly head—a trend Matthew could neither deny nor reverse.

As productions featuring black leads became more politically correct—and profitable—a new wave of black superstars had risen, and some had already fallen.

It was just another inevitable cycle in Hollywood's evolution. And again, he knew one man alone was powerless to change it.