As soon as Keira Knightley spoke, Matthew understood her meaning but didn't interrupt her.
"Bill Nighy is auditioning for Davy Jones."
At this time, there was no one else in the conference room, which was the perfect time to say these things. Keira Knightley said, "He's a friend of my parents and approached me, so I couldn't really refuse."
The name was unfamiliar to Matthew, and he didn't know if he was the actor who previously played Davy Jones.
Seeing that Matthew didn't speak, Keira Knightley added, "Currently, the Davy Jones audition is down to the final round. Ian Glen, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, and Bill Nighy are all candidates, and Bill Nighy isn't guaranteed to win."
Matthew had already thought about it. Since it was the final round of auditions, Bill Nighy must at least meet the Crew's requirements for the role.
"Keira, what do you want me to do?" Matthew asked straightforwardly.
Keira Knightley was noticeably more mature than a few years ago. "I'll say hello to director Gore Verbinski and casting director Mustafi. If you could also say hello to them, Bill Nighy's chances of winning would be much higher."
The pirates of the caribbean Crew had some sharp disagreements a while ago. producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski had several disputes over the distribution of power within the Crew. It was only after Walt Disney Pictures' coordination that the differences were temporarily put aside.
However, with the massive success of the curse of the black pearl, director Gore Verbinski's say would inevitably increase. Ultimately, Jerry Bruckheimer made concessions under the intervention of Walt Disney Pictures. The casting for new roles in the Crew would primarily follow Gore Verbinski's opinions, and the casting director was also replaced by Gore Verbinski's recommended candidate.
This was also related to the failure of king arthur. The epic masterpiece was a box office disaster, which made Walt Disney Pictures no longer completely believe in Jerry Bruckheimer's reputation as a golden producer.
If not for the failure of king arthur, Walt Disney Pictures would have suppressed Gore Verbinski.
Matthew had been following the Crew and had a relatively comprehensive understanding of its dynamics.
A lead actor, plus a female lead, saying hello to director Gore Verbinski would have some effect.
Perhaps for extremely important roles like Davy Jones, the effect would be smaller, but for roles of the next tier, the effect would undoubtedly be more obvious.
"Okay!" Matthew readily agreed. "After this is done, I'll go say something to Gore Verbinski and the casting director."
Anyway, it was just saying hello; he wasn't guaranteeing success or failure.
Keira Knightley immediately smiled. "I'll treat you to a drink another day."
"No need for the trouble of drinking." Matthew had already thought it through before agreeing. "Keira, I also happen to need your help with something."
"You..." Keira Knightley could only shake her head. "You rascal, did you plan this all along, waiting for me to ask for your help?"
Matthew looked innocent. "I didn't know you needed my help." Just as Keira Knightley wouldn't be polite with him, he wouldn't be polite with Keira Knightley. He said, "Helen has a client named Eva Green..."
"That name sounds familiar." Keira Knightley was sure she had heard it somewhere.
"She starred as the female lead in Bernardo Bertolucci's 'The Dreamers'." After attending the premiere of kingdom of heaven, Matthew specifically sought out and watched the film. The scene where Eva Green was dressed as the Venus de Milo was truly impressive. "Then she came to Hollywood to develop and starred as the female lead in Ridley Scott's 'kingdom of heaven'."
Keira Knightley muttered, "They're all collaborations with famous directors."
Matthew leaned back in his chair,
reminding her, "kingdom of heaven flopped, and she was affected, temporarily unable to find work. Helen recommended her to try out for the witch role here."
He said straightforwardly, "When you say hello to Gore Verbinski and the casting director, add Eva Green."
Keira Knightley readily agreed. "Alright." Then, she asked curiously, "is Eva Green your secret lover?"
"What are you thinking?" Matthew reached out and gently pushed her, saying, "I have no relationship with Eva Green; I'm just helping Helen Herman."
Keira Knightley believed Matthew's words. It wasn't uncommon in the industry for star actors to appropriately help their Agents.
The conference room door was pushed open again, and people began to walk in one after another. Most of the main cast and Crew were familiar faces they had worked with before, such as Geoffrey Rush, who would continue to play Captain Barbossa.
Then producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski also walked in one after another.
The last person to arrive was Johnny Depp. Captain Sparrow squinted, looking as if he hadn't fully woken up.
He walked directly to Matthew and sat down, smiling and greeting Matthew and Keira Knightley. The three of them, along with Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski, formed the highest structure of the Crew.
"Did you party last night?" Matthew glanced at Depp and asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you invite me?"
Johnny Depp seemed to have already entered the state of Jack Sparrow, making an orchid hand gesture and saying, "I just arrived from France last night and haven't adjusted to the time difference yet."
Matthew added, "is France that good? So good you don't want to come back?"
Johnny Depp seemed to have some complaints, lowering his voice and saying, "What can I do?"
Keira Knightley chimed in playfully, "The prodigal son has finally returned."
Everyone knew that Johnny Depp's decision to settle in France was entirely the idea of his French girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis.
"I want to be a good father." Johnny Depp seemed to remember something and said, "Matthew, I plan to ask you to be my daughter's godfather."
"Lily-Depp?" Keira Knightley asked.
Johnny Depp forced his sleepy eyes open. "How many daughters do I have?" He then added, "Keira, you can be the godmother."
Hearing him say it so casually, Keira Knightley was a bit unsure how to respond.
Matthew then said, "Lily must be six years old by now, right? is it appropriate to be a godfather at this point, especially since I'm not religious?"
Someone like Johnny Depp wouldn't care about such things. "It doesn't matter, if we think it's appropriate, then it's appropriate."
Matthew had long known that godfathers, especially in Hollywood, were no longer godfathers in the traditional sense, so he readily agreed. "Alright then, I'll go see Lily another day."
"Mm." Johnny Depp nodded. "Lily is in France now. When I come back next time, I'll bring her over."
Then, he looked at Keira Knightley. "What about you?"
Keira Knightley spread her hands. "I have no problem either."
The three of them huddled together, whispering. The others, let alone joining in, sat at some distance. As early as during the filming of the curse of the black pearl, the three of them had formed a small team within the Crew.
Matthew thought being a godfather should be a novel experience and muttered, "I don't have any experience with children."
"A godfather like you," Keira Knightley scoffed directly, "would spoil the child."
Matthew was about to retort when he noticed Johnny Depp next to him had fallen asleep, leaning against the back of his chair. Even though Johnny Depp had just acquired a private jet, long-haul flights and jet lag were still a torment, especially since his health wasn't very good.
During the last filming, Matthew had sparred with Depp multiple times, so he had some understanding. In his own words, Depp was rather frail.
At the head of the conference table, Jerry Bruckheimer had already begun discussing some key matters for this filming. Johnny Depp continued to sleep soundly, undisturbed. Matthew had no intention of waking him. As the Crew's top star and the most popular actor playing Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp had such privileges.
In fact, even if he and Keira Knightley were sleeping, no one would disturb them.
During the filming of these two sequels, the power of the three protagonists was considerable. It wasn't impossible for them to gang up and override director Gore Verbinski, but they wouldn't do so without reason.
Matthew listened for a while. What Jerry Bruckheimer said was basically about the Crew's plans, such as filming exterior scenes in Dominica and respecting local customs.
To be frank, these kinds of meetings are often quite boring, but fortunately, they don't last too long. About forty minutes later, the meeting concluded.
"Wake up, Depp."
Seeing Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski leave the conference room one after another, Matthew patted Johnny Depp. "Go back to sleep."
Johnny Depp rubbed his eyes and asked, "is it over?"
Matthew nodded slightly. "It's over."
Johnny Depp stood up and said, "Matthew, Keira, I'll treat you to drinks another day. I'm leaving now to get some sleep; I'm exhausted."
Matthew waved his hand, admonishing, "Don't drive yourself."
"The driver brought me today."
Leaving these last words, Johnny Depp also left.
Most of the people in the conference room had left. Matthew looked at Keira Knightley. "Gore Verbinski probably hasn't gone to the studio yet. Do you want to go first or should I?"
"I'll go first." Keira Knightley checked her wristwatch. "You go in fifteen minutes."
Matthew nodded. After Keira Knightley left, he waited fifteen minutes, then went to Gore Verbinski's office, and then to casting director Mustafi's office. It went as smoothly as expected. Although Gore Verbinski didn't explicitly say anything, he did mention that as long as the audition performance wasn't bad, they would definitely prioritize the candidate.