Back in Los Angeles, Matthew parted ways with the cast and crew of Inception to focus on other matters. He had a month-long break from filming and intended to use the ti to manage the affairs of Studio 13.
At present, Studio 13 had a total of four projects in various stages of planning and production.
Matthew's first order of business was to et with Jas Wan. Jas showed him the latest draft of his horror film project; with a constant stream of new ideas, he was continuously revising the script.
Jas Wan had also conducted so preliminary casting, extending offers for the male and female leads to Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Matthew vaguely recalled Byrne from her role opposite Brad Pitt in Troy.
As for the casting choices, Matthew didn't have much to say. He would have to wait and see how the on-set auditions went once the project officially entered pre-production.
True to his promise to Jas, Matthew had no intention of interfering too much in the director's work. That didn't an, however, that he would have no influence at all.
After so many years of hard work in the industry, Matthew understood that a director's authority had to be granted with certain limitations.
It wasn't just Jas Wan; even a powerhouse like Christopher Nolan had to operate within the constraints set by Warner Bros.
In any case, Matthew was eagerly anticipating a horror film from Jas that would surpass Saw.
And by "surpass," he was, of course, referring to its comrcial performance.
The day after his eting with Jas Wan, Matthew headed over to a post-production facility at Disney Studios. The Twilight Saga: New Moon was in the final stages of editing, and Sofia Coppola was overseeing the process.
The production pipeline for New Moon, from pre-production through to post, had run much smoother than the first film's, and Sofia Coppola was on track to have everything completed by the end of August.
Matthew and the distributor, Disney Pictures, had already discussed the release strategy. Once post-production was complete, Sofia Coppola would take the film to Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The goal was to build buzz for the North Arican release, slated for the Thanksgiving slot in November.
When the first film was in production, many had been skeptical about whether modern audiences still had an appetite for vampire stories. The box office results had answered that question decisively, proving that a significant portion of the moviegoing public adored this kind of vampire romance.
Matthew and Sofia Coppola had long maintained that Twilight was a distinct kind of film. It centered on a group of young people and had its own unique thes, setting it apart from the more juvenile fare common in other vampire movies.
In truth, the plot wasn't really about vampires at all; it was focused on showcasing the romance between the main characters.
For Matthew, Twilight had been a perfect beginning. Sofia Coppola had crafted a captivating debut, and it was clear to everyone that a second and third film were inevitable.
Matthew's goal for New Moon was to build on the success of the first installnt, aiming for higher box office returns and greater ancillary revenue.
He was projecting a profit increase of roughly 20% for the sequel.
This would be no easy feat.
Fortunately, Matthew had overseen the project from the start with sequels in mind. At his request, Sofia Coppola had laid plenty of groundwork in Twilight. The story had only just begun, giving the creative team a wealth of possibilities for the sequel, including where to take the main plot.
Moreover, during pre-production, the actors had taken into account the feedback from countless fans and viewers, and the original author, Stephenie yer, had also been involved. All of this provided a solid foundation of support for the next installnt in the Twilight saga.
The overall story of New Moon still largely followed the original novel, but to better suit the cinematic dium, Sofia Coppola had tightened the dialogue between characters, making it more concise and impactful.
The result was a second film that was far more atmospheric than the first, both in its plot and its setting.
Thanks to the success of the first film, Disney was taking the series very seriously. Even with post-production still underway, they had already begun the distribution push. The lead actors—Nina Dobrev, Liam Hemsworth, and Lily Collins—were currently touring the country for Twilight DVD and book signing events, all to build montum for the November release.
For its part, Disney Pictures had already confird a release in over 4,000 theaters in North Arica alone. Given the current montum, there was no doubt it could easily open in 4,200.
Furthermore, the number of overseas countries and regions set for a simultaneous release with North Arica had already surpassed fifty, and the final count of international markets was expected to exceed seventy.
All in all, the Twilight franchise was running smoothly. Matthew spent two days on set, making sure to instruct Bella Anderson that if New Moon proved to be another box office hit, they would need to renegotiate the distribution contract with Disney.
Not to ntion, their share of the distribution revenue would certainly have to rise above the lowest percentage tiers in the business.
Distribution companies typically sat at the top of the industry food chain, but for a popular series like Twilight, finding a distributor for subsequent films—especially after two consecutive hits—would be no problem at all.
In fact, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox had all contacted him behind the scenes, each hoping to secure the distribution rights for the future films in the series.
This interest from competitors would be his primary leverage in the negotiations.
Of course, Matthew's first choice was still Disney, as the studio truly understood the young adult genre. It could be said that Twilight had opened up the North Arican market for teen blockbusters, and now Matthew had The Hunger Gas in his hands.
The initial planning for that project was nearing completion, and a first draft of the screenplay was ready. However, the script would only be finalized after nurous revisions and adjustnts.
Furthermore, Patty Jenkins had high standards for her actors, especially for the actress who would play the lead role of Katniss.
She had discussed the matter with Matthew at length. The actress playing Katniss needed to perfectly embody the character from the novel, but she also had to be a genuine teenager. Finding soone who t both criteria was practically impossible.
As things stood, there were no teenage actresses who could et the demanding requirents for acting ability, appearance, and proven box office draw.
After several discussions, Matthew and Patty Jenkins reached a consensus: they would age up the character of Katniss for the film. Instead of a young girl, she would be portrayed as a young woman.
This significantly broadened their casting options.
Still, Patty Jenkins's standards for the lead actress remained high. Whoever played Katniss needed to be graceful and natural, yet possess a wild, untamable spirit.
Hearing her description, Matthew imdiately thought of two strong contenders. One was the actress who had so perfectly embodied the role in the original film, and the other was Gal Gadot.
The original actress had landed the role with great success, launching her career.
Gal Gadot was tall, and her military background gave her a rare advantage.
However, her age was a factor that couldn't be ignored.
After so thought, Matthew decided to send an audition invitation to both of them.
Incidentally, there was also Lily Collins. She had a decent chance as well, but her look was perhaps a little too sweet for the role.
There was still ti. He would see how their auditions went before making a final decision.
Having addressed the matters of these three productions, Matthew turned his attention to the publicity and promotion for Fast & Furious.
In contrast, the other principal cast mbers had already completed nurous promotional events in North Arica and overseas.
With less than twenty days until the film's release, Matthew needed to seize this final opportunity to capture the public's attention.
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