The richest actor in Hollywood.

Watching Natalie Portman leave, Brad Pitt returned to his desk, leaning back in his chair as he contemplated what she had just told him. "Andrew Stanton wants to direct a live-action movie," he mused, tapping his fingers on the desk. "And it's a top-tier production with a budget exceeding $200 million?"

No wonder Matthew Horner was regretful about "Cloud Atlas" but didn't pursue it further; he was eyeing a bigger project. However, Brad Pitt wondered if Matthew Horner and David Ellison could handle such a major production. While they might secure the funding, navigating a Hollywood blockbuster isn't just about money.

His finger-tapping slowed. "The novel 'A Princess of Mars' seems to be the work of the author of 'Tarzan,' and many major productions in the industry are said to have drawn inspiration from it. This alone makes 'A Princess of Mars' highly valuable for adaptation."

Moreover, Andrew Stanton was known for his creative vision in films, having been a producer and writer for several successful Pixar animated movies. His directorial work on "Finding Nemo" was both a critical and commercial hit.

From every perspective, Andrew Stanton was a highly successful individual, and projects involving him had a relatively high chance of success.

Natalie Portman had indeed proven herself to be one of the most cunning women in Hollywood, extracting valuable information from Matthew Horner. It's a pity her fame wasn't as significant as Angelina Jolie's; otherwise, he might consider replacing Jolie with her.

Sitting in his office, Brad Pitt instructed his assistant to hold all calls and spent half an hour pondering the situation. He then called in the head of the project investment department at Plan B, one of his most trusted confidants.

"Franco," he addressed the head of the project investment department, "Andrew Stanton from Pixar has a project in the works at Walt Disney, possibly titled 'A Princess of Mars' or 'John Carter.' The project is still in the early planning stages. I need you to gather more information, but do not directly contact Disney or Stanton."

Franco nodded seriously, "I'll have someone look into it right away."

As Franco was about to leave, Brad Pitt added, "Wait." He then explained the situation in more detail, emphasizing the need for discretion.

With such a massive project still in its early stages and a long way from actual pre-production, Brad Pitt felt no rush, demonstrating considerable patience.

Matthew was also patient. Besides his work and regular fitness routine, he was enjoying the novelty and excitement of "artistic gymnastics" every evening. A recently retired professional gymnast, fully accommodating him, could indeed be quite alluring.

Nina Dobrev had opened his eyes to new experiences. Being a professional, Matthew had already arranged with Big Beard Jack and Justin Lin to reserve a not-so-important female role.

"In the past few days, I've been probing Paramount Pictures," Helen Herman began, seated in the sitting room of the Hubble Estate. "I've also contacted the publisher of the 'Twilight' trilogy and gathered some basic information."

Matthew paced back and forth in the sitting room, urging her, "Let's hear the details."

"This series currently includes 'Twilight,' 'New Moon,' and 'Eclipse,' but it's not a traditional trilogy as the story isn't complete," Helen Herman continued calmly. "According to the publisher, the author, Stephenie Meyer, is working on a fourth book."

Taking a sip of her tea, she added, "Stephenie Meyer, aged 34, was a full-time mother of three with no prior writing experience. However, her debut novel 'Twilight' became a success upon its release. Since its launch in 2005, 'Twilight' has been on The New York Times Best Seller list for 56 weeks, including five weeks at the top."

Matthew nodded, inquiring, "What about the rights? Are they still available?"

This was his primary concern. He had recently learned that many books that dominated the New York Times bestseller list still hadn't sold their film rights, so he held onto a glimmer of hope.

"As for the rights..." Helen Herman teased, "There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Ms. Herman," Matthew said, looking at her with slight impatience, "This isn't like you."

Helen Herman dropped the playful tone and spoke plainly, "The good news first. The rights to the series are still with Stephenie Meyer. According to reliable information, Meyer has many ideas for adapting her novels into films. She hired a screenwriter to help adapt 'Twilight' and sent the script to several studios. Paramount Pictures was the only one among the Big Six in Hollywood to show interest."

She shrugged slightly, "However, a bestseller doesn't always translate into a successful movie. Meyer's manuscripts for the novel and screenplay reached the desks of several Paramount executives earlier this year. Now, over half a year later, the manuscripts are still lying in Paramount's script library, collecting dust."

Matthew exhaled in relief, as this meant he still had a chance. He then asked, "Why?"

"It's simple. Stephenie Meyer has no previous connections to the film industry, and the screenwriter she hired is also an outsider. Her current agency, which operates mainly in book publishing, lacks real-world experience in film adaptation," Helen Herman explained. "As a result, they only sent the novel and screenplay manuscripts to the studios, without even the most basic pitch or proposal. Such scripts are rarely picked up by studios."

She continued, "Moreover, Paramount executives with decision-making power think the vampire and werewolf love story is rather silly. They believe that such movies should be action films, not a young romance filled with melodrama."

Matthew nodded gently. If it weren't for Nina Dobrev's novel sparking faded memories, he might have dismissed the idea of vampires and werewolves in a love story as ridiculous, based on Hollywood's traditional success criteria. After all, why make a supernatural romance when action-packed fantasy was the norm?

Helen Herman went on, "Currently, there's a general consensus in the industry that the era of blockbuster romance films has passed. In the last five or six years, successful romantic films have been extremely rare. Even Julia Roberts, once the queen of romantic comedies, can't revive the genre. Why would studios be confident in this?"

She then turned to Matthew, "Are you sure you want to pursue the rights to this series? What I just mentioned isn't only Paramount's problem; it's a reality we have to face."

Matthew didn't waste words or provide much explanation. He said directly, "If there's a chance, I want to acquire the film adaptation rights."

"Alright," Helen Herman responded without pressing for more details, as was her usual manner. "Now, for the bad news."

At this, Matthew raised an eyebrow at her in mild irritation.

Ignoring his reaction, Helen Herman continued, "Stephenie Meyer and her agency haven't been idle. They've been actively seeking film adaptation opportunities. In July, they approached Summit Entertainment. Last month, Summit Entertainment expressed interest in the series and willingness to purchase the rights and invest in adapting 'Twilight.'"

Matthew interrupted, "Did they close the deal?"

"Considering the objective conditions I mentioned," Helen Herman explained calmly, "Summit Entertainment isn't willing to invest heavily. You've worked with Summit before, so you know they're a mid-to-lower-tier production company. They've gambled big this year, investing $110 million in Kathryn Bigelow's 'The Hurt Locker.'"

"The ex-wife of James Cameron?" Matthew gestured, "The one even more built than me?"

He remembered seeing Kathryn Bigelow early in the century; Charlize Theron was already quite large-framed among women, but Bigelow was even more so, with a six-foot height and a build broader than most men. James Cameron's taste seemed out of this world.

Helen Herman nodded, avoiding getting sidetracked, and said, "For a company like Summit, $110 million on 'The Hurt Locker,' along with smaller projects like 'Step Up 2: The Streets' and 'Never Back Down,' means they've reached their financial limit."

This was undeniable. During their collaboration on "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Matthew heard from Akiva Goldsman that Summit's total assets were only around $200-300 million.

Summit investing in these projects likely meant they had stretched their finances and pre-sales to the max.

Helen Herman took another sip of her tea, then continued, "Summit Entertainment offered only $1 million for the rights to 'Twilight,' with a film adaptation budget of around $8 million. This fell far short of Stephenie Meyer's expectations, and negotiations have dragged on since July without a resolution."

"Isn't that good news for us?" Matthew asked.

Helen Herman shook her head slowly, "Due to the lack of interest from other studios, Stephenie Meyer, under her agency's persuasion, is leaning towards a compromise."

Matthew immediately turned to her and said, "Arrange a meeting with Stephenie Meyer for me!"

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