After seeing Charles out, Matthew reopened the script he had left and examined it more carefully. Thanks to "The Dark Knight," as well as his association with superstar directors like Jas Caron and Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan was one of the few Hollywood directors whose na Matthew had actually committed to mory.
The script—which, strictly speaking, was more of a rough draft—lacked a coherent plot. The scenes were rather chaotic, and the story itself was vague.
Still, Matthew recognized sothing familiar within its pages. The most striking elent was a technology that allowed soone to infiltrate another's mind and share the sa dream.
Recognizing this, he had a strong feeling that if this was indeed the film so many people praised so highly, he might consider accepting the role.
That evening, Nolan spoke with him over the phone, and they agreed to et in person once Nolan returned to Los Angeles.
Matthew set the matter aside for the ti being. Nolan was busy with the final stages of production on "The Dark Knight" in Chicago, and it would be a while before he could return to Los Angeles.
On his end, "Twilight" was about to begin filming.
"Sofia, at my request, Disney Pictures has confird that 'Twilight' will be released on November 21st."
At Disney Studios, Matthew told Sofia Coppola, "You need to manage the pace of filming and post-production."
"That's the weekend before Thanksgiving," Sofia replied. "I recall that the new Jas Bond movie, 'Quantum of Solace,' cos out on November 14th, right?"
Matthew nodded. "That's right, and Reese Witherspoon's 'Four Christmases' follows it."
Sofia remarked, "You're taking a risk."
"It's the holiday season!" Matthew declared. "Has there ever been a November that wasn't packed with films?"
Frankly, it was a gamble. Who knew if the "Twilight" series would still be successful after changing its directors, stars, and even its production and distribution companies.
But he had faith in the team he had assembled and in the appeal of romance films disguised with werewolves and vampires for a teenage audience.
Besides, he could afford to take the gamble.
Sofia assured him, "The filming location is confird, and my production design team is on-site. We'll be ready to start filming by early March at the latest and wrap by mid-April."
She added in her distinctive accent, "Forty days is plenty of ti to shoot a film like this."
Matthew nodded; that was one of the reasons he had chosen Sofia to direct.
She, however, suddenly changed the subject and said, "I was talking to soone from the third-party completion bond company yesterday, and as of now, the production hasn't received the other twenty million dollars in financing, in addition to the twenty million invested upfront."
She added, "Matthew, you need to sort out the financing as soon as possible. It'll be a problem if we have to halt filming due to a lack of funds."
Matthew imdiately put Sofia's worries to rest. "The remaining twenty million dollars will be fully funded by the end of this month at the latest."
Helen and his accountant were working through the final accounts with the team
from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Disney Pictures, and his share of the post-production
profits for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" was due to arrive soon. Even though April was tax season, with so funds on hand, covering the shortfall for the "Twilight" project wouldn't be a problem.
And with the new year underway, his endorsent fees from brands like Rolex, rcedes-Benz, and Armani n's Underwear were set to arrive by the end of the month at the latest.
This money would not only cover the funds previously diverted for "Fast & Furious 4," but he had also already contacted brokers to acquire shares of Marvel Comics at a premium price.
He had been buying up available shares of Marvel Comics ever since becoming involved in the "Iron Man" project. Unlike Apple, which had so few shares in circulation that it was difficult to buy in bulk, acquiring Marvel Comics stock was much easier.
To this day, Marvel Comics was not as popular as it should have been, and few believed that "Iron Man," set for a May release, would be a major success.
Amanda had approached several small Marvel Comics shareholders on his behalf to inquire about buying their shares. But these people were no fools; many of them were betting that the company's stock would soar after "Iron Man's" box office success. Acquiring their shares would be difficult and would require offering a price far above market value.
There was no guarantee they would sell, but the price Amanda's team offered was, for the mont, very attractive.
If these deals could be closed, he would beco a minority shareholder in Marvel Comics with a stake of about four percent.
Looking back from his current position, he realized he had effectively missed Marvel Comics' most difficult period. If he had only arrived in the late 1990s with enough cash on hand, he could have tried to beco the company's number one shareholder.
Unfortunately, back then he was struggling just to put food on the table, and his attention was hardly focused on Marvel. In his eyes, the most important thing was solving the practical problems of survival.
After a few more words with Sofia Coppola about the production side of "Twilight," Matthew left her makeshift office in the studio and headed to a small adjacent studio where the selected main cast mbers were working on their physical conditioning.
A young, beautiful cast was one of the film's main attractions.
Matthew stood outside the studio and watched as a dozen young actors and actresses, including Nina Dobrev and Lily Collins, went through posture and conditioning exercises under the guidance of professional trainers.
The actors here—the n tall and strong, the won delicate and beautiful—were a pleasant sight to behold.
Watching them on the training floor, Matthew felt old for a mont.
After lingering for a mont, he left and returned to the studio for the "Fast & Furious 4" cast. A section of the studio had been converted into a temporary training ground, where the main actors, including Paul Walker, Gal Gadot, and Daniel, were undergoing professional training under the director's supervision.
Matthew was also participating, and the training, which had been ongoing since casting wrapped up, covered many of the action sequences from the film.
The two of them, Gal Gadot and Daniel, were quite distinctive. Daniel was fairly agile, and Gal Gadot knew more than just talk when it ca to firearms. She had even competed with him in disassembling and reassembling an M9 pistol, and in that regard, she could be considered the winner.
Within the week, both "Twilight" and "Fast & Furious 4" received capital infusions from Matthew and David. With sufficient funding secured, preparations for both projects moved into full swing, with "Twilight" set to begin filming at Disney Studios by the end of February.
According to Sofia's plan, the interior scenes at the studio would be shot over two weeks, after which the entire crew would head to a rain-soaked town near Portland to film the remaining scenes.
As filming began, the first wave of publicity for the movie was launched. Matthew inford Disney that the advertising would highlight the fact that the film's director, producer, screenwriter, and the original author were all won.
In addition to directing, Sofia also served as a producer.
The goal, of course, was to make the film more appealing to a female audience, as the production team's research had shown that the "Twilight" fanbase was predominantly female.
As for attracting a male audience, that would depend on the appeal of the female characters.
As for the female lead, putting aside any mories of the original, nineteen-year-old Nina Dobrev was, by the aesthetic standards of the vast majority, far more beautiful than eighteen-year-old Kristen Stewart.
Beauty might not always be the key to success in Hollywood, but it was certainly an advantage.
***
A small ceremony was held for the premiere of "Twilight," and since the cast was largely unknown, the attention of the press was fixed on Matthew, the investor.
"I'm sure you've all read the original novel, and it wasn't easy for my company to acquire the adaptation rights to this bestseller."
Standing before the reporters' caras, Matthew was the picture of confidence. "From the casting and script all the way through the filming process, we've weathered quite a few storms. I hope this film will be embraced by audiences, and especially by the readers of the novel."
The film perford well, which put Matthew's mind at ease. Just as he was continuing his preparations for "Fast & Furious 4," he received a call from Charles Roven. He inford Matthew that production on "The Dark Knight" was complete and that Warner Bros. was preparing an internal screening, to which Nolan had invited him.
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