The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 818

After the Independence Day holiday, Matthew left North America and traveled with the film crew to the Far East to continue the publicity tour for "Inception." Due to a staggered global release, many overseas markets wouldn't begin showing the film until mid-July.

On the other side of the Pacific, due to new regulations, the release wouldn't happen until August.

Across the Pacific, there was no official rule known as a "protection month," but anyone with even a passing familiarity with the market knew it was a reality.

Measures like market protection are common; they exist in many countries and regions around the world and are by no means exclusive to that part of the globe.

Considering the rapidly expanding market across the Pacific, combined with the ongoing film import negotiations that were gradually reaching a consensus, no one investing in major commercial films could afford to ignore that enormous market of over 1.3 billion people.

"You see the value in that market," Helen remarked, turning her head to gaze at the clouds outside the plane window. She looked back at Matthew, who was seated across from her. "I do too, which is why I'm planning to open a branch there."

Matthew knew Helen already had business interests there, so this didn't come as a surprise. "Do you need my help?"

Helen slowly shook her head. "If I do, I'll let you know."

"Do you have a strategy for breaking into the market?" Matthew asked, then added a reminder, "Any outsider trying to enter a new market is bound to face some degree of resistance."

The entertainment agency business on either side of the Pacific operated in completely different ways. In Hollywood, agencies essentially provided a service, and thanks to the Talent Agencies Act, even powerhouses like CAA were sometimes powerless when dealing with A-list stars.After all, no agency could lock an actor into a long-term contract, and it was common for talent to switch agents and agencies frequently.

Even top figures like Tom Cruise, Martin Scorsese, and Leonardo DiCaprio no longer required the services of an agent, opting instead for more reliable and flexible managers.

Across the Pacific, however, celebrities were often completely at the mercy of their agencies. Some signed contracts that were more like indentured servitude before they ever became famous, leading to endless problems once they achieved success.

The Hollywood model was incredibly difficult to implement on the other side of the Pacific.

Helen said quietly, "Don't forget, I represent Ni Ni in Hollywood."

She had always been a pragmatist. "I'm not going to let the Angel Agency be a market disruptor. Instead, I'll take the initiative to integrate into their system. Representing Ni Ni has taught me one thing for certain: the allure of Hollywood is powerful."

Matthew understood her meaning.

Helen added, "I've heard you use the phrase 'export for domestic consumption,' and it's a brilliant strategy. As long as I can get actors into Hollywood productions, the new branch will never be short of clients."

"You learn fast," Matthew remarked, genuinely surprised.

There were countless people across the Pacific who dreamed of breaking into Hollywood. Even if they couldn't build a lasting career there, they were eager to return home and leverage their foreign experience for domestic success.

The reality was that many of these "imported" stars became exceptionally popular back home.

The private jet chartered by the production team suddenly lurched. A flight attendant's voice came over the intercom, reminding passengers to fasten their seatbelts. Matthew and Helen quickly buckled up, and once the plane stabilized, they resumed their conversation.

"I have some good news," Helen said, changing the subject. "Brad Pitt's Los Angeles home has been repossessed by the bank."

Matthew raised his eyebrows. "That is good news."

Helen added, "All of his bank accounts have been frozen by creditors who got a court order. The word is he can't even afford a decent hotel room."

"What about Plan B Entertainment?" Matthew asked.

"The bank and several creditors are in the middle of legal proceedings," Helen replied calmly. "It's expected to be settled in two or three months. If Brad Pitt can't repay the loan he took out against his shares by then, Plan B will have a new owner."

Matthew asked curiously, "Do you think he'll be able to pay it back?"

Helen stated the general consensus in their circle. "In a place like Hollywood, when someone is drowning, almost no one throws them a lifeline. They throw rocks instead."

Matthew nodded slowly. That wasn't just Hollywood; it was the way of the world. People loved to celebrate success, but few were willing to help someone in their time of need.

"Poor Pitt," Matthew sighed.

Helen glanced at Matthew but said nothing. She had long ago seen through his thick-skinned facade.

"The rumor is that Brad Pitt went crawling back to Angelina Jolie," Helen continued. "But she refused to help him."

Matthew nodded knowingly. "Sounds like he's digging his own grave."

Helen leaned back in her seat. "Jennifer Aniston, on the other hand, did help him. Apparently, she gave Pitt a few thousand dollars for living expenses and let him stay in her apartment in North Hollywood for a while."

Matthew sighed. "I wonder if Brad Pitt regrets any of it."

"Regret?"

Helen shook her head. "I heard from Aniston's agent that Brad Pitt asked her to help pay off his debts, or at the very least, to help him save Plan B."

"I remember Jennifer Aniston got remarried."

Matthew rubbed his fingers together. "She wouldn't be foolish enough to do that for him, would she?"

Helen's tone remained even. "We're talking about nearly a hundred million dollars. Who has that kind of cash lying around?"

Even someone in Matthew's position would find it incredibly difficult to come up with that much cash on short notice. Assets and cash flow were two very different things.

"Jennifer Aniston refused."

"Aside from offering him a temporary place to stay and a small amount for basic expenses, she wanted nothing more to do with him."

Matthew knew perfectly well that Brad Pitt's misery was just beginning. Right now, he was only dealing with the fallout from the "Cloud Atlas" loan. Once "John Carter" was released, the creditors for that film would inevitably come calling.

In his mind, a big red "X" was already drawn over the name Brad Pitt.

After gossiping about Brad Pitt, Matthew and Helen quickly moved on to "Inception's" box office performance. The $88.9 million opening weekend in North America was more than enough to satisfy everyone involved.

Although the opening weekend in North America didn't break a hundred million, that was still a rare achievement for an original film.

Of course, no one—not Matthew, not Helen, not the film crew, nor Warner Bros.—thought that "Inception" could surpass a film like "Avatar" at the box office.

The film crew and Warner Bros. had a more realistic goal: to claim the title of the highest-grossing film of the summer in North America.

That wouldn't be easy, as both "Toy Story 3" and "Iron Man 2" had already grossed over three hundred million dollars in their North American runs.

Not to mention, quite a few major films had already bombed during this year's summer season in North America.

The 2010 summer season had been something of a slog. Aside from "Iron Man 2," there had been no major sequels or comic book blockbusters, and ambitious would-be hits like "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and "John Carter" had fizzled.

Amid this peculiar box office chill, "Iron Man 2," "Toy Story 3," and "Inception" stood out. "Inception" was a particular phenomenon, as the pairing of Matthew and Christopher Nolan created a powerful superstar-director effect that had fans buzzing from day one. Warner's promotional efforts for this original work—from the ad campaigns to the ubiquitous viral marketing—were considerable, especially for a film that wasn't family-friendly and didn't rely on pure spectacle to attract an audience.

In truth, compared to the others involved, the film was merely icing on the cake for Matthew personally, allowing him to further solidify his status as one of Hollywood's top superstars.

The stakes, however, were highest for Christopher Nolan himself.

After all, this was his first original blockbuster, and its box office success or failure would directly impact his future filmmaking plans.

Nolan wanted to make more large-scale original films in the future, so "Inception" could not afford to fail. This was the main reason he had sought out a superstar with genuine box office draw to collaborate with.

He had once considered Leonardo DiCaprio, but now he had chosen Matthew, who held greater commercial value.

That alone proved that Christopher Nolan was a very business-minded director.

From the very beginning, Warner Bros. had set a minimum benchmark for "Inception": it had to earn no less than $250 million at the North American box office and a minimum of over $500 million worldwide.

Anything less could result in a loss, especially if ancillary sales were low.

Fortunately, "Inception" had a strong start. The next crucial task was to maintain a stable performance in the North American market while also conquering overseas territories.

These days, with the production budget for a top Hollywood film easily exceeding $150 million and distribution costs surpassing $100 million, relying solely on the North American box office was simply unrealistic.

Theoretically, for a film with a combined production and marketing budget of $250 million, it would need to gross around $500 million at the North American box office just to break even. Very few films could hit that number domestically.

Overseas markets were becoming increasingly important for Hollywood.