Just as Matthew said, he would definitely pursue Charlize Theron, but not right now. He needed to wait a while. Even though Johnny Depp was his friend, there were some things he wouldn't openly state. After all, it involved many parties, and if word got out, it would only bring negative effects.
Once the time was right, he would publicly and grandly pursue Charlize Theron.
Due to the impact on the crew, mr. & mrs. smith was not completed until early September, taking nearly ten days longer than planned.
The day after filming wrapped, Charlize Theron flew to South Africa, preparing to heal her emotional wounds there while also promoting the World Cup, which South Africa had just secured in May.
According to Matthew's understanding, Charlize Theron held an extraordinary status and influence in South Africa.
With the development of the Hollywood entertainment industry today, stars are no longer simply actors who act. The influence of superstars is beyond imagination, and they also actively participate in work outside of their professional duties.
Matthew had not yet broken into the A-list. In Helen Herman's words, this area still needed development. However, Helen Herman and Angel Talent Agency also had plans in this regard and had already made initial contact with the United Nations.
But to gain the title of a United Nations Ambassador among a multitude of competitors, Matthew's priority was still to expand his influence.
Once he became an A-list superstar, he would have a huge advantage in competing for many things.
The day after mr. & mrs. smith concluded, Matthew arrived at Disney Studios, where he met Zack Snyder, who was busy setting up the scene in a small, temporarily rented sound stage.
Matthew looked at the green screens covering the sound stage and asked, "How are the preparations going?"
Zack Snyder pointed to the expanse of green in front of them and said, "I estimate it will take another five days to a week for all the green screens to be set up." He let out a breath. "I have already contacted the equipment rental company, and the cameras can be delivered at any time. I will double as the cameraman, and I am currently hiring a lighting technician..."
"Right," Matthew said at this point. "I've already spoken to the stylist, and she agreed to temporarily act as the makeup artist."
"That's great!" Zack Snyder looked very stressed. "It's not easy to hire a professional makeup artist at a low price."
He pointed to a storage room next to the sound stage and said, "Some temporary props are stored over there."
Matthew followed Zack Snyder into the storage room and saw several sets of shields and swords placed on the shelves, which looked quite familiar.
Zack Snyder seemed to notice Matthew's confusion and explained, "After troy finished filming, the crew sold some props as scrap to a recycling company owned by my friend. I happened to go there recently looking for cheap props, saw them, and borrowed them temporarily."
"No wonder they looked familiar," Matthew muttered, walking up to a set of shield and sword. He picked up the short sword resting across the shield, expertly swung it a few times, and said, "I remember now, isn't this the weapon Achilles used in troy?"
"It should be," Zack Snyder nodded. "We are just filming a few test scenes, so let's make do with these temporarily."
Seeing Matthew's excellent sword movements, he asked, "Does it feel comfortable to use?"
"It's alright."
Matthew put the short sword away, placing it back on the shield, and said, "It's a little too light."
Given his strength, the weight of the prop weapons used for filming was simply insufficient.
Matthew looked at the other weapons and asked Zack Snyder, "Have you contacted a post-production special effects company?"
Zack Snyder nodded lightly. "Venice Digital Production is willing to take on this job. They have already started building the background CG according to my compositions."
Matthew took a turn around the sound stage and had only one feeling: Zack Snyder was far more invested in this project than he was.
"Regarding actors, I've also contacted a few stunt performers," Zack Snyder added. "Matthew, I need you to be the lead actor during the shoot."
He had witnessed Matthew's skills and physique, making him absolutely the most suitable actor to play Leonidas. Furthermore, collaborating with a currently popular actor like Matthew, who had strong box office appeal, would make it easier to impress Frank Miller and the film production companies.
When determining how to secure the film rights to this graphic novel, Zack Snyder had inquired and learned that the Weinstein Brothers' initial promise to Frank Miller that Bruce Willis or an equivalent A-list star would serve as the lead actor was a crucial factor in Dimension Films obtaining the film adaptation rights for sin city.
"I have finished my work on mr. & mrs. smith." Matthew made a phone gesture to Zack Snyder. "If you need me here, you can call anytime."
Zack Snyder reminded him, "A costume designer will be here shortly. Please get your body measurements taken before you leave."
Matthew didn't have anything urgent today, so he said, "Okay."
He chatted with Zack Snyder for a bit, and then Zack Snyder went back to directing the workers setting up the scene. Since they were only filming test footage, many tasks required Zack Snyder to personally supervise or even operate things himself.
Finding a place to sit, Matthew watched Zack Snyder and his team work busily. Before he came, he had heard from Helen Herman that Zack Snyder had contacted Frank Miller again, but it was still not going well. Frank Miller was temporarily not short on money after selling the film adaptation rights for sin city.
Of course, if Matthew were willing to throw down tens of millions of US Dollars in rights fees, Frank Miller would definitely sign the authorization agreement.
But doing so was not cost-effective. The most realistic problem was that even if he and Zack Snyder joined forces, they didn't have that much money.
While waiting for the costume designer, Matthew was bored. After getting Zack Snyder's permission, he went to the sound stage office and looked through the materials Zack Snyder had meticulously prepared.
In fact, both he and Zack Snyder knew very well that Frank Miller's graphic novel was essentially an entertainment comic, with many discrepancies compared to historical records. It was like Investiture of the Gods, which uses King Wu's campaign against Zhou as a backdrop and then adds various embellishments.
If one insists on using historical research to discuss the authenticity of such an entertainment comic, it's like discussing whether Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods adhere to history.
The US side severely lacks history, and most of Hollywood's epic themes come from Europe.
This also has an advantage: Hollywood screenwriters are often not constrained by history and can always wildly fabricate stories, showing no mercy even when parodying their own presidents.
For example, a movie Matthew once watched about Lincoln actually depicted Lincoln as a vampire hunter, claiming that the US Civil War started because of vampires.
This kind of unique parody entertainment is often only found in Hollywood.
After waiting for about half an hour, the costume designer arrived at the sound stage. After taking the measurements, she discussed the design with Matthew and Zack Snyder.
According to historical records, Spartans fought naked, but filming couldn't be done that way, as it would immediately become R-rated... Just as Matthew recalled, Zack Snyder's view was clear: the Spartan Warriors must have dark red cloaks and tightly designed loincloths.
The green screen for the scene hadn't been set up yet, and the costumes required time for design and manufacturing, so the filming of the test footage would definitely have to wait a while. After the costume designer left, Matthew also quickly said goodbye and exited the sound stage.
Instead of leaving Disney Studios, he went to the largest Sound Stage Number Two. After a brief conversation with the staff at the entrance, he entered the sound stage without any obstruction.
The last time Matthew came to Sound Stage Number Two, it was the Treasure Cave set used for filming the final scenes of pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl. Now, the Treasure Cave set had long been dismantled, and another typical Caribbean-style set was being built.
Although the last two pirates of the caribbean films won't start shooting until next year, and Matthew hasn't even received the script yet, the two sequels being filmed back-to-back followed the consistent style of producer Jerry Bruckheimer: pre-building sets even before the script was fully finalized.
However, Matthew estimated that Jerry Bruckheimer might face some limitations in the future. The release of king arthur in July caused this star producer to suffer his most painful defeat since the 1990s.
Because he was preparing for mr. & mrs. smith at the time, Matthew did not attend the premiere. Later, he specifically looked up the data and found that the North America box office for this epic blockbuster could only be described as horrific.
king arthur only earned a little over 15 million US Dollars on its opening weekend, and then declined, suffering a complete failure in both critical reception and box office. After more than ten weeks in theaters, its cumulative North America box office was only 50 million US Dollars.
Even more frightening was that the film's box office revenue was no longer growing.
Fortunately, the film's overseas box office was not as disastrous as North America's, which would allow Disney to lose less money, and there was still a possibility of recovering the costs through long-term post-release operations.
However, the film's box office failure diminished the aura of success surrounding Jerry Bruckheimer, and Walt Disney would likely no longer place complete faith in him in the future.
Matthew did not linger in Sound Stage Number Two and left quickly.
Over the following days, he resumed his regular study and training. Then he received a call from Zack Snyder, saying that the preparations on his end were not going smoothly and filming was temporarily postponed.
Matthew realized that Helen Herman's estimate was very reasonable: even if they managed to secure the film rights from Frank Miller, the movie wouldn't be released until two years later.
As the time approached October, Matthew met Jerry Bruckheimer again, preparing to participate in the promotional activities for national treasure. The first thing he needed to do was promote the story about a US Dollar bill.