It was a story written by a woman, with a distinctly feminine sensibility. As Matthew mulled over his choice of director, he concluded that the best person to helm such a project would undoubtedly be a woman.
So, upon returning to Los Angeles, he dialed Sofia Coppola’s number and arranged a eting to discuss it in more detail.
In the living room of the Horner Estate, Sofia set down the book she was holding and asked, "You want
to direct?"
Matthew answered without hesitation. "It's the quintessential female-led story, a film that will be completely focused on romance. A female director is the obvious choice, and I can't think of anyone better suited among Hollywood’s female directors today than you."
"Is there a script?" Sofia inquired.
"Not yet," Matthew admitted honestly. "My agency's team is currently in negotiations with the original author. I expect to have a contract signed within a week."
After he had personally smoothed things over with Stephenie yer, the negotiations in Phoenix were proceeding well.
"Why ?" Sofia was still curious.
Matthew thought for a mont before adding, "Because of *Lost in Translation*. It's a unique romance, and it shows that you have a deep understanding of the genre’s formula. The way the cultural conflict in that film affects the characters’ hearts is, in so ways, similar to how the clash between species impacts the characters in this novel. You know how to handle that kind of dynamic."
Sofia gave him a knowing look. "You seem to know
quite well."
Matthew gave a slight shrug. "We've talked about it more than once."
"I'll take the novel." Sofia stood, picked up her copy of *Twilight*, and waved it at Matthew. "The rest will have to wait until you have the rights and a script."
Before she left, she added, "Just so you know, my decision to direct will depend on the screenplay."
"Of course," Matthew agreed easily. "We'll talk again later."
***
After his eting with Sofia, he drove to a post-production studio in Burbank, not far from Marvel Studios. With filming on *Iron Man* now complete, the team had moved into post-production. Marvel Comics was in a precarious financial position, and like many smaller studios, Marvel had to rent post-production facilities.
In the editing suite, Matthew t Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige. Both n were swamped; this film would determine the entire future of Marvel, a fact they were keenly aware of. They were practically living and breathing in the post-production suite.
Matthew simply observed the progress, exchanged a few words with them, and didn't linger. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt the crew's work.
Having invested forty million dollars in the *Iron Man* project, he was just as anxious as Marvel for the film to succeed.
He also learned from Kevin that Marvel Studios was preparing a new Hulk film. Since Universal Pictures was handling the majority of the investnt and distribution, they were unwilling to bring in other financiers besides Marvel. Consequently, Marvel, through Kevin, was trying to see if they could adjust the terms of their multi-picture investnt agreent with Matthew.
In principle, Matthew had no objections and would have Helen negotiate with Marvel upon her return.
He couldn't recall the specific box office numbers for every superhero film in the Marvel universe, and he had never bothered to look them up, but he knew the entire series had been wildly successful.
And the most famous of them all was undoubtedly *Iron Man*, starring Robert Downey Jr. It was clear from the Avengers films that the heart of the team was Iron Man and Captain Arica.
If possible, he would have Helen use this opportunity to negotiate so changes to their agreent, altering the investnt rights in the original morandum to prioritize his investnt in films where Iron Man played a significant role.
*Iron Man* had already secured a distribution deal with Paramount Pictures and was scheduled for release on the first weekend of the sumr season next May. If all went well, it would usher in an era of comic book superhero films that would gradually evolve into sothing resembling a gigantic television series.
Every era had its genre. There were the musicals of the seventies and eighties, the romantic codies and action films of the nineties, and now, perhaps, the ti had co for superhero movies.
Of course, just as musicals had fallen out of fashion and romantic codies and action films had beco niche, the superhero film would also beco dated one day.
***
For the next two days, Matthew spent most of his ti at Skydance Pictures, discussing the filming and production of *Fast & Furious 4* with David Ellison, Bearded Jack, and Justin Lin.
With the main characters established as the foundation, the screenwriting team had filled the film with the necessary content. After a few revisions, the script was in its final stages. Both Matthew and Bearded Jack were generally satisfied. The script was just a blueprint, after all; it didn't determine a film's success or failure. The shooting and production were far more crucial.
Matthew discussed the film's rhythm with Bearded Jack and Justin Lin several tis, urging them to maintain a brisk pace.
During this ti, Matthew and David also t with Andrew Stanton to discuss the possibility of an investnt.
"Production on the animated feature I'm directing, *WALL-E*, is in its final stages," Andrew Stanton told Matthew and David Ellison. They were sitting under a large sun umbrella in the middle of an open-air bar near Pixar Studios in Eryville, California. "As soon as *WALL-E* is finished, I'll move on to the new film."
David asked anxiously, "When are you planning to release this movie?"
"Sumr of 2010, if everything goes smoothly," Andrew replied. "But I think no later than the sumr of 2011."
He glanced over at Matthew. "I envision this film as a science-fiction action epic, and Matthew is the perfect choice for the lead actor."
Seeing the conversation had turned back to him, Matthew asked, "Andrew, what's the level of support for your new film from Disney?"
Andrew laughed. "Disney just acquired Pixar and is a bit strapped for cash. I've spoken to people at Disney Pictures, which is also launching *Pirates of the Caribbean 4*, a film with a two-hundred-million-dollar production budget..."
His expression was troubled. "Disney Pictures' resources will definitely be prioritized for that sequel. I'll have to rely on external financing to cover most of the production budget."
Matthew nodded cautiously as David picked up the conversation. "I can take on so of your financial burdens, if we can establish a partnership."
But then he added, "You should know, Matthew and I just co-invested in a major project, and we have very little liquid capital to help you with."
"I see." Andrew frowned slightly, then smiled and said, "We can talk about this later."
He'd heard Matthew ntion David Ellison before and had hoped the super-rich heir would solve most of his budgetary problems, but the outco was sowhat disappointing.
Still, as long as he could get Matthew for the lead role, would he really have to worry about finding funding?
As long as he could solve the issue of production financing, everything else would fall into place.
Matthew and David spoke with Andrew Stanton for nearly an hour before saying their goodbyes. Afterward, Andrew headed back toward the entrance of Pixar Studios' headquarters.
Just as he was leaving the open-air bar, a custor who had been sitting at a nearby table stood up and followed him.
Andrew walked through the doors of Pixar, sensing soone behind him but paying it no mind. As a Pixar employee and an Oscar winner, he occasionally attracted paparazzi trying to get a candid shot.
The man saw Andrew return to Pixar, imdiately retrieved his car, and drove straight to Burbank, soon arriving at the office building that housed Plan B Entertainnt.
Matthew had already learned from David that Brad Pitt's people were eyeing the Disney project. Though no official contact had been made between the two parties, it seed the fish had taken the bait.
David Ellison's people were keeping a close watch on the situation.
The day after eting with Andrew, Matthew returned to Phoenix to sign the rights agreent for *Twilight*, *New Moon*, *Eclipse*, and *Breaking Dawn* with Stephenie yer on behalf of the newly established No. 13 Film Company.
The most crucial aspect of the agreent was, of course, the series of royalties for Stephenie yer. In addition to the standard industry guild rates, No. 13 Film Company would pay her a one-ti fee of twelve million dollars for the rights to the four novels, as well as three percent of the profits from each adapted film as the original author's share.
Just as Matthew had requested, Helen had increased the upfront paynt for the rights, thereby lowering the back-end percentage. Matthew knew full well that after the first film beca a hit, Stephenie yer's agency would inevitably demand a larger share of the profits, just as he and Depp had for *Pirates of the Caribbean 3*.
This also left room for future negotiations.
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