The negotiations between the Crew and Helen Herman lasted for over half a month. The focus of the dispute mainly centered on the salary and the right to participate in the female lead's audition.
The salary goes without saying; naturally, one side wanted to lower it while the other wanted more. But besides Matthew's salary, Matthew and Helen Herman also raised another requirement: the female lead's salary must be lower than his!
Generally speaking, in Hollywood commercial films, the female lead's salary is a good deal lower than the male lead's.
An actor's salary in a Crew represents more than just a figure of income; it also represents status and power within the production. As the lead actor, no one wants the female lead to have a higher status or more power than themselves.
As for the right to participate in the female lead's audition, the Crew wouldn't just give that to any actor, even if they believed the female lead they selected should first and foremost be compatible with the already finalized lead actor.
The Crew was quite cautious in this regard.
In some respects, negotiation itself is a process of mutual compromise. If both sides hold onto their conditions without budging, the negotiation will ultimately collapse.
By mid-June, Helen Herman, representing Matthew, had settled all terms with the "mr. & mrs. smith" Crew. Matthew signed his name on a contract over a hundred pages thick.
In the contract, Matthew was to enjoy the treatment of a near-A-list star in his daily work and life with the Crew. In Hollywood, as long as the budget isn't particularly tight, Crews won't mistreat actors. After all, the Actors Guild behind the actors is no decorative piece; if unnecessary trouble really arises and reaches the guild level, the Crew will be significantly affected.
In his few years in Hollywood, Matthew could fully feel the benefits of joining the guild. Although at his income level, annual guild dues amounted to tens of thousands of dollars, the protection provided by the guild was tangible.
The major guilds in Hollywood are not playthings of the studios, and going to war with the Producers Alliance, which represents the studios and investors, is nothing new.
Matthew had heard people say that organizations like the Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America, and Writers Guild had agreements with the Producers Alliance that were set to expire at the end of 2007. Currently, the major guilds are dissatisfied with the fixed percentage of residuals in their contracts with the Producers Alliance, seeking higher mandatory percentages in DVD sales and emerging online video-on-demand rights. At that time, a major strike like the one in the late 1980s might be brewing.
According to the agreements between the major Hollywood guilds and the Producers Alliance, positions like the lead actors, directors, and screenwriters of a film can receive a portion of the residuals from the film's later income.
This is a mandatory regulation among industry associations; although the percentage is very low, it is a stable long-term income.
During the 1988 Hollywood strike, the major guilds went to war with the Producers Alliance to secure residuals from home video sales and rentals.
A twenty-year agreement was signed after the strike, and now there are only a few years left until the agreement expires.
For star actors, that small amount of residuals isn't much, but once trouble starts, no matter how big a star they are, they must stand on the side of their guild.
Matthew vaguely remembered that a writers' strike seemed to have occurred in 2008.
Of course, such things would depend on the situation when the time came; his current main job was still "mr. & mrs. smith".
In the contract signed with the studio, Matthew could receive a salary of up to $10 million from the Crew in three installments. The salary did not involve residuals. Although the dollar was continuously depreciating and $10 million now was not worth as much in value as Johnny Depp's $10 million back then, it was still a salary figure for a high B-list or low A-list actor.
Additionally, after Helen Herman fought hard for it, and given the importance of the chemistry between the male and female leads in the film, Akiva Goldsman agreed to let Matthew participate in the female lead's audition, but only with advisory rights.
To get the right to participate in the female lead's audition, Matthew and Helen Herman compromised in other areas, no longer requiring the Crew to limit the female lead's salary to be below his.
After all, among the audition candidates were people like Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts, whose salaries and status were clearly a notch higher than Matthew's.
However, Julia Roberts soon declined the Crew's audition invitation because the female lead role was seriously inconsistent with her acting style.
Others who declined the audition invitation included Catherine Zeta-Jones and Cate Blanchett; the former didn't want to take it, and the latter was busy filming "The Aviator" and had a scheduling conflict.
Just like Matthew, when an actor is constantly successful and currently popular, they often receive a handful of audition invitations; it seems as if all of Hollywood is chasing you.
Conversely, after a star slides down quickly, their options become very, very small, even if they have achieved great success in the past.
After Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Cate Blanchett turned down the audition invitations, the Crew's choice for the female lead was temporarily limited to Nicole Kidman alone.
Because of Tom Cruise, Matthew remembered very clearly that ever since Nicole Kidman won the Oscar for Best Actress, she had become super box office poison, not only killing the film's box office but also causing the project's director and male lead to flop along with her.
Matthew didn't want to be killed directly by such box office poison.
But he was only the lead actor, and the audition hadn't been held yet, so he couldn't say anything.
Matthew knew very well that if he went to Akiva Goldsman for no reason and said Nicole Kidman wasn't suitable, it would only be a joke. It wouldn't be too late to wait until the audition and speak based on the actual situation.
Moreover, he subsequently received news that, given the withdrawal of several audition invitees, the Crew decided to release the news and expand the scope of the audition.
Clearly, the Crew also had doubts about Nicole Kidman.
The Crew had already signed the lead actor contract with Matthew; with a careful look, one could see that Nicole Kidman and Matthew weren't a particularly good match.
Matthew was also considering suitable candidates. Although he didn't have the final say, the choice of the female lead directly related to the success or failure of the male lead; otherwise, he wouldn't have had Helen Herman fight for that kind of power.
After some consideration, he suddenly thought of a post-apocalyptic steampunk-style film he had seen before, where Charlize Theron played an absolutely tough female lead. That powerful body and swift movements, like a female leopard, had left a very deep impression on him.
According to his understanding and consideration, since she was a highly skilled and tough female assassin, she certainly couldn't be the slender, fragile type that would blow over in the wind. Charlize Theron had a broad frame, even giving a bit of a sturdy, powerful feeling, though this was masked by her height and wasn't obvious.
She wasn't the slender, fragile type of actress.
Perhaps he could encourage Charlize Theron to submit an acting resume to the Crew?
Unfortunately, he couldn't decide on the female lead, otherwise, he would definitely kick Nicole Kidman out.
As for whether Charlize Theron would agree, and if she did, whether she could pass the audition, that wasn't up to him.
For some reason, Matthew felt like he wasn't a producer but was worrying on behalf of the producer. In fact, if it were any other film, like "pirates of the caribbean" or "dawn of the dead," it wouldn't matter who the female lead was, but the interaction between the male and female leads in "mr. & mrs. smith" was too important. If one of the characters had a problem, the whole film would be ruined.
A person like Matthew, of course, couldn't possibly think that he would be the one with a problem.
Besides, the Crew had already chosen him first.
Matthew then contacted Charlize Theron. It just so happened that Charlize Theron was also in Los Angeles, so he simply invited her out for a drink at the Black Mamba Bar.
"Haven't seen you for a few months."
In a booth at the Black Mamba Bar, Matthew looked at Charlize Theron, "You've completely regained your figure."
Charlize Theron raised her glass to Matthew and said, "I will never get fat for a role again! It's too painful!"
Matthew took a sip from his glass and said, "It's not good for your health."
"Yeah," Charlize Theron said directly, "but I also got what I wanted."
"Yes, yes!" Matthew deliberately put on a thinking face, "Let me think, how did Mandela describe you? Oh, right, South Africa's most brilliant diamond!"
He laughed, "Sally, you're a national treasure of South Africa now."
"National treasure?" Charlize Theron also laughed, "It's not as exaggerated as you say."
"The facts are even more exaggerated than what I'm saying," Matthew said seriously. "Didn't the American media say it? It's you who made South Africa truly become a part of the world."
Charlize Theron followed up, "South Africa was already a part of this world." She suddenly changed the subject and asked, "You asked me out, is there something up?"
Matthew didn't beat around the bush and asked, "Are you free lately?"
Charlize Theron felt it was a bit strange but still said, "I have a film starting at the end of the year."
"Have you heard of Summit Entertainment's 'mr. & mrs. smith' project?" Matthew saw Charlize Theron nod and said, "I've already signed the contract for the male lead with Summit Entertainment. Currently, the Crew is preparing to hold a wide-scale audition for the female lead. I think that role suits you very well, so I'm asking if you're interested."
"I know about that project," Charlize Theron said. "My Agent has also recommended it to me."
Matthew immediately said, "That's perfect then; we can co-star in a film."
Charlize Theron smiled and, continuing from what she just said, added, "My Agent has already submitted my information to the 'mr. & mrs. smith' Crew. If all goes well, I'll be participating in the audition for this film."
Hearing her say this, Matthew wasn't too surprised. After all, in this era, after most female stars win the academy award for best actress, they turn to commercial films to quickly recoup the high costs invested in chasing the Oscar. Compared to pure 'eye candy' roles in commercial films, the female lead's role in "mr. & mrs. smith" was much more significant.
The two then changed the subject and began chatting until ten in the evening before leaving the Black Mamba Bar to head to their respective homes.