The richest actor in Hollywood.

As a novel written by a female author, Matthew considered the choice of director carefully. For works like this, the best choice would undoubtedly be a female director. So, upon returning to Los Angeles, he called Sofia Coppola to arrange a meeting.

In the reception room of the Horner estate, Sofia Coppola set down her book and, with a nasal tone, asked, "You want me to direct this?"

Matthew didn't beat around the bush and replied, "This is a typical female-centric story, and the film will mainly focus on romance. A female director is the first choice. Among the female directors in Hollywood today, I can't find anyone more suitable than you."

"Is there a script?" Sofia Coppola asked.

"Not yet," Matthew admitted. "My agency team is currently negotiating with the author. The contract should be signed in about a week."

After securing Stephenie Meyer, the negotiations in Phoenix were progressing very smoothly.

"Why choose me?" Sofia Coppola repeated the question.

Matthew thought for a moment and said, "Because of 'Lost in Translation.' That film was very unique as a romance, and it showed that you're very familiar with the conventions of romantic films. The impact of cultural conflict on inner emotions in 'Lost in Translation' is somewhat similar to the racial differences affecting emotions in this novel. You're skilled at handling these themes."

Sofia Coppola glanced at him, "You seem to know me well."

Matthew shrugged slightly, "We had an in-depth exchange, remember?"

"I'll take the novel first," Sofia Coppola stood up to leave, holding up a copy of 'Twilight' and waving it at Matthew. "We'll talk about the rest when you have the rights and a script."

Before leaving, she added, "One thing to mention in advance: if I'm directing, I want to be involved in the scriptwriting."

"Sure," Matthew agreed without hesitation. "We can discuss all this later."

After meeting Sofia Coppola, Matthew drove to a post-production studio in Burbank, not far from Marvel Studios. Now that 'Iron Man' had finished filming, the crew was deep into post-production. However, Marvel Comics was still struggling financially, and Marvel Studios, like many small film companies, could only rent studios for post-production work.

At the post-production studio, Matthew met Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige, who were extremely busy. They knew that this film would determine the future of Marvel Comics and were practically living in the studio.

Matthew only briefly checked the post-production progress and exchanged a few words with the two, not wanting to disturb the crew's work.

He had invested forty million dollars in the 'Iron Man' project and, like Marvel Comics, hoped the film would be a huge success.

Additionally, he learned from Kevin Feige that Marvel Studios was preparing a new Hulk film. Since the film was primarily financed and distributed by Universal Pictures, they were reluctant to involve funds and companies outside of Marvel. Through Kevin Feige, Marvel was probing whether they could defer the number of films in their investment agreement with Matthew and Ellison by one.

Matthew didn't oppose it in principle and planned to negotiate with Marvel once Helen Herman returned.

He didn't remember the exact box office numbers for each Marvel Cinematic Universe film but knew the entire series was highly successful.

Among them, the most famous was undoubtedly Robert Downey Jr.'s 'Iron Man.' From 'The Avengers,' it was clear that Iron Man and Captain America were the core of the Avengers.

If possible, he wanted Helen Herman to negotiate some changes to the supplemental clauses of their agreement with Marvel Comics, specifically altering the investment rights clause to give them priority in films where Iron Man had significant roles.

With 'Iron Man' still in post-production and a long way from completion, let alone release, they decided to have Helen Herman negotiate and maintain the original contract if necessary.

'Iron Man' had already been secured for distribution by Paramount Pictures, with a release date set for the first weekend of May next year, at the start of the summer blockbuster season. If all went well, it would mark the beginning of the Marvel superhero film era, which would eventually become a giant TV series of sorts.

Each era had its film genres, like musicals in the 70s and 80s, romantic comedies, and action films in the 90s. Perhaps this was the era of superhero movies.

Of course, just as musicals fell out of favor and romantic comedies and action films became marginalized, superhero movies would also have their day.

This had nothing to do with artistic value.

Even musicals, widely recognized for their high artistic value, eventually faded away. Despite the Academy's nostalgic gestures in awarding some Oscars, musicals had not seen a resurgence.

Anything unsuitable for the times would ultimately be eliminated.

Even teenage romance novels needed a veneer of vampires and werewolves to attract audiences.

Over the next couple of days, Matthew spent most of his time at Skydance Productions, discussing the filming and production of 'Fast & Furious 4' with David Ellison, Beard Jack, and Justin Lin.

They determined that the script, which was nearing completion after multiple revisions, would use the main characters as the framework, with the writing team filling in the appropriate content. Both Matthew and Beard Jack were satisfied with the script. However, a script was just the foundation; the success of a film depended more on its production and execution.

Matthew emphasized several times that the film's pacing had to be fast, with small action scenes every ten minutes and major ones every twenty.

In this era, if a film's pacing was like 'Heat,' no matter how excellent the plot, it would likely struggle commercially.

Investing in this genre of films was not just about the box office; thinking otherwise was foolish.

During this time, Matthew and David Ellison also met with Andrew Stanton to discuss the possibility of investing in 'John Carter of Mars.'

"My animated feature 'WALL-E' is nearing completion," Andrew Stanton said, sitting under a large parasol at an outdoor bar near Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California. "Once that's finished, I'll transition to working on 'John Carter of Mars.'"

David Ellison asked, "When do you plan to release it?"

"Hopefully by summer 2010," Andrew Stanton replied. "At the latest, summer 2011."

He looked at Matthew, "In my vision, this is a sci-fi action film, and Matthew is the best choice for the male lead."

Matthew, sensing the conversation had shifted to him, asked, "Andrew, how is Disney's support for your new film?"

Andrew Stanton smiled, "Walt Disney recently acquired Pixar Studios, so they're tight on funds. From my discussions with Disney executives, they're currently focused on 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4,' which has a budget of two hundred million dollars..."

He seemed somewhat resigned. "Disney's resources are prioritizing that sequel, so I need to secure external financing for most of the production budget."

Matthew nodded slightly, and David Ellison continued, "If we can reach an agreement, I can help with some of your funding issues."

But he quickly added, "However, you should know that Matthew and I just invested in a major project, so our available cash is limited."

"I see," Andrew Stanton frowned slightly, then smiled. "We can discuss this further later."

He had initially hoped that Matthew and David Ellison could help solve most of the budget issues, so the result was somewhat disappointing.

However, as long as he could get Matthew to star, funding shouldn't be a problem.

As long as the production funding issue was resolved, everything else could be worked out.

Matthew and David Ellison spoke with Andrew Stanton for nearly an hour before saying their goodbyes and leaving Emeryville. Andrew Stanton also headed toward Pixar Studios.

As he left the outdoor bar, a customer at a nearby table stood up and followed him.

When Andrew Stanton entered Pixar's gates, he noticed someone following him but didn't pay much attention. As a key figure at Pixar and an Oscar winner, he occasionally attracted paparazzi.

This person saw Andrew Stanton return to Pixar, immediately took their car, and drove straight to Burbank, soon arriving at the building where Plan B was located.

Matthew had already been informed by David Ellison that Brad Pitt's people were sniffing around a Disney project called 'John Carter of Mars.' Although there had been no formal contact yet, it seemed they had taken the bait.

David Ellison's team was closely monitoring the situation.

The day after meeting Andrew Stanton, Matthew returned to Phoenix and, representing the newly registered Thirteen Films, signed the rights agreement for 'Twilight,' 'New Moon,' 'Eclipse,' and the upcoming 'Breaking Dawn' with Stephenie Meyer.

The most crucial aspect of this agreement was undoubtedly Stephenie Meyer's various copyright fees. Besides the standard set by industry associations, Thirteen Films would pay a one-time fee of 12 million dollars for the rights to these four novels, plus a three percent share of the backend profits from each adapted film as royalties for the original author.

Helen Herman, following Matthew's instructions, had slightly increased the upfront payment to reduce the backend share. Matthew knew that once the first film was released, Stephenie Meyer's agency would likely push for a higher backend share, similar to what he and Depp had done with 'Pirates of the Caribbean 3.'

This negotiation strategy left room for future discussions.

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