"Li, this is Matthew."
In the reception room of Angel Agency, Helen Herman introduced a black-haired middle-aged man to Matthew, and vice versa. "Matthew, this is Ang Lee, an Oscar winner."
"Hello, Director Lee." Matthew stepped forward and actively shook Ang Lee's hand. Ang Lee shook Matthew's hand and said, "Hello."
After a few pleasantries, Matthew subtly observed Ang Lee. He had heard of Ang Lee's reputation before and, out of curiosity, had watched "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." At the time, many media praised Ang Lee as the most outstanding Chinese director.
From an Oscar perspective alone, Ang Lee certainly deserved such praise.
After only a few words, Matthew quickly realized that Ang Lee was different from what he had imagined. Although he still carried a hint of Eastern elegance, he was essentially Westernized. His way of doing things and speaking was not significantly different from that of ordinary Westerners.
Ang Lee directly said to Helen Herman, "Miss Herman, may I speak with Matthew alone for a moment?"
Helen Herman knew the purpose of Ang Lee's visit and wasn't worried at all that he would persuade Matthew. Based on her understanding of Matthew, unless Ang Lee could offer a salary of over 20 million US dollars, Matthew would absolutely not risk his future and career.
But could Ang Lee offer a 20 million US dollar salary?
"Of course." Helen Herman agreed and turned to leave the reception room.
Matthew looked at Ang Lee curiously. The director's appearance gave him a natural sense of familiarity. A Chinese director achieving such success in Hollywood was truly rare, almost unprecedented.
Of course, Ang Lee was currently at the lowest point of his career; the box office failure of "Hulk" was, to say the least, devastating.
"Mr. Lee." Matthew proactively asked, "Are you looking for me regarding the previous invitation?"
"Yes." Ang Lee spoke with the same directness as a Westerner. "I am currently planning a novel adaptation film with Focus Features, and I'd like to invite you to play the male lead."
As he spoke, he opened his briefcase, took out a script and a collection of short stories, and handed them to Matthew, saying, "I hope you'll take a look before making a decision."
Matthew took them, placed the story collection on the coffee table, and opened the script to read.
Ang Lee remained silent, simply waiting patiently.
After flipping through fewer than thirty pages, even with Matthew's average reading ability, he could tell that the story described love between men. He immediately closed the script.
"I'm sorry, Director Lee." He unhesitatingly declined, "This doesn't fit my acting range."
Hearing Matthew's refusal, Ang Lee wasn't surprised at all and said, "Matthew, could you just hear me out for a moment?"
"No, thank you." Matthew truly didn't want to star in such a film. "Director Lee, it's an honor to be invited by you, truly. I genuinely don't think I'm suitable for this kind of movie."
Regardless of whether Ang Lee's thinking was completely Westernized, his Chinese identity would not change, and Matthew respected him greatly.
Respect, however, did not mean he had to star in his film.
Matthew deliberately switched to Chinese, which he hadn't spoken in a long time, "Director Ang Lee, I've seen your 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' it's an excellent film."
Ang Lee looked at Matthew with some surprise. He had never expected that this rapidly rising young star could speak fluent Chinese.
"I am very fond of Chinese culture," Matthew displayed an Eastern humility, "especially fond! If you were to film a wuxia movie similar to 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' I would be there at your beck and call."
He politely returned the script and the collection of short stories to Ang Lee, "This type of art-house film really doesn't suit my acting range."
Ang Lee's surprise quickly faded. After all, there were many enthusiasts of Eastern culture in North America, and quite a few people could speak fluent Chinese.
"Alright." He took the script and the collection of short stories. Seeing Matthew's firm stance, he didn't try to persuade him further, but instead said, "That's a real shame."
Since he wanted to piggyback on the success of "Pirates of the Caribbean," Matthew Horner was his first choice, but not his only one.
As for the wuxia film the other party mentioned, there was no possibility of that. He wouldn't be filming that genre again anytime soon, and even if he were, would he cast a white person as the lead? How many of these native Hollywood actors truly understood the spirit and meaning of wuxia?
Ang Lee was not the type of person who was stubborn and inflexible. Seeing that the matter was unresolvable, he immediately stood up to take his leave. Matthew escorted him out of the reception room and didn't return until he had seen him out of the Angel Agency building.
His career development was still going smoothly. There was no need to take another path, and for him, that path could very likely be a dead end.
This wouldn't change just because Ang Lee personally came to invite him.
In the front office, Helen Herman watched Matthew return and asked, "You rejected him?"
"Yeah." Matthew stopped and stood near the front desk where she was, saying, "Even though he's an excellent director, his style doesn't suit mine at all."
"Excellent? He just wants to capitalize on your and 'Pirates of the Caribbean's' popularity." Helen Herman clearly didn't agree. "He just messed up 'Hulk.' If this new project doesn't turn things around, he won't be able to stay in Hollywood."
Matthew knew that Helen Herman was right; Hollywood always prioritized profit. Whether you were an actor or a director, as long as you could bring in revenue, you were the boss. If you couldn't, you were doomed.
And in this regard, similar to the other side of the Pacific, there were also regional differences. Domestic American directors and actors would receive some preferential treatment, while opportunities for outsiders, especially practitioners from outside the US and UK, were fewer.
The general environment of the entire industry was like this, and it couldn't be changed by one person. The reason for such an environment was driven by the acceptance of the North American market.
In this industry, the market clearly dictates output. For an individual, or even a company, to try and overturn the entire North American market's aesthetics and demands is nothing short of a pipe dream.
Matthew didn't continue the topic with Helen Herman. The reality was clear, and further discussion would be pointless.
He changed the subject and asked, "How are the negotiations going?"
"We're close to reaching an agreement," Helen Herman said calmly. "No need to rush; this project won't start pre-production until early November, and filming won't begin before February."
Seeing Helen Herman say this, Matthew didn't ask any more questions. Now was different from before; with concrete news, Helen Herman would surely inform him proactively.
Helen Herman moved closer, standing beside him, and said, "I have more good news. I just received notification from accounting that the final payment of your salary from the 'Dawn of the Dead' crew has been deposited."
Matthew nodded, "That certainly is good news."
With this money deposited, his entire $5 million base salary from the "Dawn of the Dead" crew was now in his account. After Helen Herman's commission and Actors Guild fees, a substantial sum of money would remain.
As for tax issues, professionals would handle them, and both consumption and investment could be tax-deductible. He planned to invest most of the money.
In late November and early December, Matthew called Amanda and discussed these matters. Amanda recommended a reliable stockbroker to him, who also managed some of her personal investments. He specifically met with that stockbroker and decided to purchase some stocks.
Limited by his past knowledge, he knew nothing about stocks and wasn't sure which companies' stocks would skyrocket. He only knew one thing: once, some crazy people would even sell a kidney just to buy a smartphone, earning Apple the nickname "Kidney Phone."
In the beginning, "Kidney Phone" was synonymous with high-end, sophisticated, and classy, but later it became increasingly common. Not to mention that some construction workers gradually started using "Kidney Phones." According to some co-workers with peculiar habits, even streetwalkers were commonly equipped with "Kidney Phones."
Even the most ignorant people knew the famous reputation of the "Kidney Phone," and Matthew, of course, knew it too.
He didn't understand other things, but Apple's "Kidney Phone" was so awesome back then, its stock must be very valuable. So, he had only one request for his stockbroker: invest the several million dollars he put in entirely into Apple stock.
Matthew completely disregarded other stocks recommended by the stockbroker that he didn't understand.
Of course, this purchase refers to acquiring shares on the securities market, not some so-called investment in Apple. Matthew wasn't that foolish; would Apple accept an investment from a Hollywood star? Steve Jobs's head should be fine.
After coming here, he once read a news article that when Steve Jobs, with the immense success of Pixar Studios, returned to Apple to steer the company again, he needed to raise capital. Countless investors flocked to him, but Steve Jobs preferred to accept the stringent investment terms from his arch-rival, Bill Gates, rather than the much more lenient offers from other investors.
The reason was simple: what Bill Gates could bring to Apple was something no ordinary person could provide.
Even if Matthew wasn't very knowledgeable, having been in Hollywood for these past few years, he could understand that investing in a company was never as simple as just throwing money into it.
Therefore, his stockbroker was acquiring scattered Apple shares from the market.
Besides, with Matthew's limited money, apart from buying some scattered Apple shares, what more could he expect to do?
Actually, Matthew didn't think too much. Coupled with his limited understanding of industries outside Hollywood, he was very cautious about investments. For example, he absolutely would not relax his oversight of the stockbroker just because Amanda introduced him. His goal in buying Apple stock was also very simple: the US dollar had depreciated too quickly in the past two years. Even if Apple stock didn't rise, with the future craze for "Kidney Phones," preserving value should not be a problem.
Just as Matthew and Helen Herman were talking, the company's glass door was pushed open from outside, and Alexandra Daddario walked in.