The Box Office King of Hollywood

In the private makeup room, Matthew had just finished his makeup and sent his makeup artist and assistant Mira Wang away, leaving only him and Helen Herman in the room.

"About that call at noon..." Matthew turned to look at Helen Herman, "You said Jerry Bruckheimer is planning a new project again?"

The speed was astonishing. He asked, "Is it a collaboration with Disney?"

Helen Herman pulled up a chair to sit down and said, "Currently, Jerry Bruckheimer is a key collaborator for Disney."

Matthew was quite moved, "His speed is just too fast."

But then he thought about it. After 2000, the films initiated by Jerry Bruckheimer included "Pearl Harbor," "Black Hawk Down," "Bad Boys II," and "Pirates of the Caribbean." This speed seemed normal.

After that night, Helen Herman gathered more information and learned, "It's not just fast; Jerry Bruckheimer's ambition is huge. He wants to collaborate with Disney on two projects at once!"

This even surprised Matthew, "'Pirates of the Caribbean' hasn't finished filming, and Jerry Bruckheimer is planning two more projects?"

For Hollywood, this was nearly at the speed of light.

Fortunately, Jerry Bruckheimer was a producer. If he were a director, all of Hollywood would go crazy.

Matthew then asked, "Are they big productions?"

Helen Herman nodded lightly, "Each project's investment budget is said to be no less than a hundred million dollars!" She didn't wait for Matthew to continue asking and added, "I asked people related to Disney, and one project is a period piece, the other a modern drama, both action commercial films."

If it weren't for this genre, she wouldn't be so interested.

Matthew understood what Helen Herman meant and thought for a moment, saying, "Let's focus our efforts on competing for one of them."

Having had the experience with "Van Helsing" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," Helen Herman also knew that trying to compete for the lead role in two major projects simultaneously was unrealistic.

"Mm." This time she agreed with Matthew's opinion, "That's what I think too."

"Do you have any more specific news?" Matthew asked.

"The period project, Jerry Bruckheimer has already confirmed the script. He had Walt Disney purchase a new script from star screenwriter David Franzoni."

Matthew knew this screenwriter because he was the writer of "Gladiator," in which he had acted.

Helen Herman didn't stop there, "Only a few people know the specific content of the script. I haven't found out the details, but it's related to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, an epic type of script."

Matthew scratched his head, trying to recall related content. He vaguely remembered Madonna's ex-husband had made a movie about King Arthur, but unfortunately, he hadn't downloaded it from the internet before he came here.

Considering the timing, it was now 2002, and with Jerry Bruckheimer's crazy speed, it was impossible for it to premiere a decade later.

He felt like he hadn't seen such a film, only vaguely remembering that many films related to kings or emperors were difficult-to-watch flops.

"The other project is similar to 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' currently only a concept."

Helen Herman hadn't been idle these days, making many connections. "The content of the concept is still unknown. I only found out that the idea was originally conceived by Buena Vista International's marketing department head, Oren Aviv, and his creative partner, Charles Segars, who later approached Jerry Bruckheimer for refinement. Last week, Jerry Bruckheimer took two screenwriters to Washington, D.C. I specifically had someone inquire, and they visited the National Archives in the capital, specifically reviewing a lot of documents from America's independence."

"Could this project be related to the American independence?" Matthew wondered, continuing to search his memory for clues but coming up empty.

Helen Herman shook her head, "We can't be sure yet." She thought for a moment and said, "I'll find out more about the situation and notify you as soon as I have news."

"Mm." Matthew understood her meaning, "Don't worry, I'll be the most reliable actor in the crew."

Helen Herman still reminded him, "Jerry Bruckheimer likes to use actors he has worked with before in new projects, remember that."

Matthew tapped his head with a finger, "Got it."

"If 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is successful..." Helen Herman added, "For your next job, I'll have the confidence to negotiate a super high salary for you!"

Matthew joked, "Twenty million dollars?"

Helen Herman glanced at him, "You wish."

She didn't bother to say more, just as she received a text message on her phone and started looking at it.

Matthew, dressed as Will Turner, sat in front of the makeup mirror, carefully recalling the movie-related conversations with Helen Herman.

As the lead actor, enjoying far higher treatment than the supporting roles, he also had to bear corresponding high risks. A failure in a big-budget film meant the supporting roles could brush off and continue in another project, while the lead had to directly take responsibility for the failure along with the film's director and producer. Many people never recovered from the failure of a big-budget film.

When he was a minor supporting role, it didn't matter much, but now as a leading man, especially one climbing the ladder, Matthew realized how precious the memory of watching pirated movies was. Although he hadn't watched many pirated films, mostly shallow commercial entertainments, they matched his current positioning and could help him avoid some disastrously bad films.

He really had no recollection of an epic film related to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table around this era.

From a risk-avoidance perspective, this project wasn't a priority.

What about the other project? Matthew stroked his chin in thought.

Strictly speaking, he had worked with Jerry Bruckheimer twice. Competing for the lead role in a Jerry Bruckheimer project was relatively easier. Without a better target, Jerry Bruckheimer's projects were of course a priority.

Matthew frowned, thinking about the project related to Independence Day...

The first thing that came to his mind was the alien invasion movie that America tried to promote as a global holiday, but that movie was already made, and he had watched a rerun on TV a year ago.

He also remembered watching a movie where Abraham Lincoln became a vampire hunter, though he couldn't recall if it was related to Independence Day.

Could it be about the founding fathers of America, turning into action heroes, riding horses across battlefields, and making the British colonizers flee in terror?

With Hollywood's tendencies, as long as there was money to be made, they would definitely do it.

After pondering for a while and still not coming up with any films related to American independence or Independence Day, Matthew simply gave up thinking. He would wait for Helen Herman to get more information. With more hints, maybe he would remember.

After resting for a while, someone knocked on the makeup room door. After Matthew said to come in, his personal assistant Mira Wang entered and said, "Your scene as Will Turner is about to start filming."

"Alright, let's go to the set." Matthew didn't bother with Helen Herman, who was busy with her phone, grabbed the aluminum prop sword hanging on the rack, and left the makeup room.

Mira Wang carried Matthew's work bag and followed.

In Studio No. 2, the pirate cave for the final scene had been constructed, with golden ancient coins scattered everywhere on the ground, and treasures piled into a small hill in the depths of the cave.

The production team specially ordered these shiny, golden treasures from a company that makes replicas of ancient artifacts.

Unlike the morning shoot focusing on Matthew and Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, who hadn't been on set in the morning, joined the filming. The shoot was mainly divided into two parts: Matthew and Keira Knightley dealing with a group of uniquely looking pirates, and Johnny Depp dueling with former Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush.

After arriving on set, Keira Knightley, taking advantage of the time the lighting team was adjusting the lights, came over.

"Was this your bad idea?" Keira Knightley tapped Matthew's elbow.

"No." Matthew knew what she was referring to, "It has nothing to do with me. It was my agent, Helen Herman, and your agent, James Baines, who came up with this bad idea."

"Since it's a bad idea," Keira Knightley lowered her voice, "why didn't you refuse?"

Matthew didn't even look at her and said, "Why didn't you refuse?"

"I..." Keira Knightley paused and said, "It's just for publicity, not for real. Since it benefits me, why should I refuse?"

Matthew shrugged, "So, I didn't refuse either."

Keira Knightley pouted, "Just so you know, there's nothing between you and me."

"You're breaking my heart saying that." Matthew turned to look at Keira Knightley, "I always thought we were friends."

Director Gore Verbinski then called the actors over to discuss the scene, and Keira Knightley was the first to head over, with Matthew following behind.

The ending scene was mostly action, which was Matthew's forte, making it relatively easy to film, but not very smooth. According to the script, Will Turner had to fight the pirates while protecting Elizabeth Swann.

With Keira Knightley by his side, incidents kept occurring, and the cave scene took nearly ten days to shoot.

Then, the production moved to Studio No. 4 to film the battle between the Interceptor and the Black Pearl, continuing until December before the filming of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was nearly complete.

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