By July, some unsubstantiated rumors began to surface in the media.
Well-informed reporters, having caught wind of something from within Universal Pictures, published reports suggesting that Universal Pictures might spin off The Scorpion King into a standalone film.
However, the impact wasn't significant.
There's too much daily gossip in Hollywood, and without confirmation from Universal Pictures, it wouldn't attract much attention.
But Matthew knew it was true.
The project had already completed the review process within Universal Pictures and was temporarily named "The Scorpion King."
Since some details were still being discussed internally at Universal Pictures, it hadn't been publicly announced yet.
According to the news from Helen Herman, if the financing for this fantasy action film goes smoothly, the production cost will be around 40 million US dollars.
If it doesn't go smoothly, it might be cut by 10 million US dollars.
Universal Pictures won't directly invest too much money in this project; the production costs will mostly be covered by financing.
Matthew is no longer the rookie who knew nothing about Hollywood; he has learned a lot over the past two years.
Most commercial blockbusters in Hollywood don't come from a single company; they are often a combination of investments from multiple parties.
Hollywood has numerous film funds and investment institutions that often invest in promising film projects to generate profits.
The investment model is similar to other commercial investments, with the difference being that the product being invested in is a film.
Films, especially big-budget commercial films, are often high-risk commercial products.
Before a film is released, no one can guarantee its success.
A failed big-budget film can ruin a film company, and even large studios, despite having stronger risk resistance, try every possible way to avoid risks.
If possible, everyone wants to make money without taking on risk.
After the Independence Day holiday, Helen Herman brought good news: neither Universal Pictures nor Sean Daniel and Stephen Sommers had any objections to him continuing to play the Scorpion King.
Furthermore, the film crew was officially established.
Although it hadn't been publicly announced yet, Sean Daniel had already begun negotiating Matthew's acting contract with her on behalf of the crew.
According to Helen Herman, to fully capitalize on the buzz generated by The Scorpion King in "The Mummy Returns," the film needs to be released as soon as possible.
Universal Pictures plans to release the film next summer or even earlier, making the timeline quite tight.
There was also a piece of news that surprised Matthew a little.
Stephen Sommers is not planning to direct this film, but rather serve as a screenwriter and producer, much like Sean Daniel, overseeing the general direction and finding another suitable director.
As for Stephen Sommers's reason for not directing, on one hand, it's considered a small production compared to his current fame and status.
On the other hand, he has reached an agreement with Universal Pictures to plan a super blockbuster, also a fantasy adventure action film, following his string of successes in that genre.
"Stephen Sommers is very ambitious right now."
In the Angel Agency office, Helen Herman told Matthew, "He wants to put Universal Pictures' famous monsters into the same movie.
Apparently, he's asking Universal Pictures for a 150 million dollar budget for it, and Universal Pictures is quite tempted right now."
Matthew frowned in thought; he seemed to recall seeing a monster mash-up movie that included werewolves, vampires, Dracula, and many other strange creatures.
Helen Herman continued, "Stephen Sommers has a very good impression of you right now.
Keep working hard, and if you succeed, we'll have a chance to contend for the male lead in this super blockbuster."
If he failed, then this kind of thing would be out of the question; a new actor whose first commercial blockbuster male lead role failed would essentially have his future ruined.
"150 million dollars…" Matthew paused slightly, "That's a top-tier blockbuster, isn't it?"
Helen Herman nodded.
"That's right."
Matthew didn't express a clear attitude, "Let's just finish The Scorpion King first."
By this time, he gradually recalled the monster movie he had once seen.
He remembered the male lead was Hugh Jackman, who played Wolverine, and the female lead had been the lead in "Van Helsing."
The movie wasn't very good, and it seemed to have flopped at the box office.
One could imagine, if he succeeded with "The Scorpion King," gained some fame, and then took on the male lead role in this major production, which should be called "Van Helsing," and the film then bombed at the box office, he, as the male lead, would likely fall into an irreversible predicament.
The former Hugh Jackman had Wolverine as a foundation, giving him the capital to bounce back, but he had nothing.
Just think about that female lead; it seemed after the failure of "Van Helsing," she never appeared in Hollywood's A-list productions again, becoming completely cut off from Hollywood's A and even B-list.
It's also possible he misremembered, as at that time he was only interested in pure entertainment films and didn't know the status of art-house films.
The only movies he remembered starring that actress, besides "Van Helsing," were the "Underworld" series, so he wasn't sure if she had transitioned to the art-house genre.
However, this female lead could be seen as a cautionary tale.
An actress capable of starring in consecutive top-tier blockbusters like "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and "Van Helsing" must have had stronger upward momentum than he currently did, and was probably highly regarded by many.
Yet, she failed...
Matthew could imagine that if he secured the male lead in "Van Helsing" and the film bombed at the box office, he would likely fare even worse than that actress.
Perhaps he'd only be able to play bit parts in Hollywood from then on.
Of course, these are all hypotheses, as it's extremely difficult to secure the male lead in a top-tier blockbuster.
Aside from anything else, Universal Pictures would lean towards using more bankable star actors.
Helen Herman glanced at Matthew and didn't discuss the topic further.
Instead, she said, "My negotiations with Sean Daniel have just begun, and I've quoted a million dollars for you."
Matthew nodded, knowing this was just an offer.
Helen Herman continued, "Sean Daniel has already started all the planning work.
For actor salaries, he has only budgeted 500,0000 US dollars, which also includes the director's and other behind-the-scenes crew's compensation.
It's unrealistic for you alone to take one-fifth of that."
She thought for a moment, "The actual salary on the contract will probably be around 500,000 US dollars."
Matthew was quite satisfied with that price; compared to the money invested, there was still a significant profit.
He also knew that Helen Herman was using him as leverage in her negotiations with the crew, utilizing his connection to The Scorpion King to encourage the crew to use more clients from Angel Agency.
For example, the female lead and several other important supporting roles.
Angel Agency was putting so much effort into making him the male lead not just for the ten percent commission.
But Matthew didn't inquire; this was part of the business, and Helen Herman and Angel Agency provided him with many conveniences and resources, they weren't doing charity work.
Helen Herman's ambitions in this project went beyond just securing a male lead.
This was also why she temporarily prevented Matthew from having private contact with Sean Daniel and Stephen Sommers; a single misstep from Matthew could create many problems for subsequent negotiations.
"Do you have any special requests regarding your treatment?" Helen Herman asked.
Matthew shook his head, "You handle that part."
As long as the salary is right, he's generally not too concerned about other aspects of treatment.
Although asking for money right away and haggling over every penny might make him seem overly greedy and like a parvenu, he knew that what stars truly care about is money, unless there's the temptation of an Oscar.
Only then might they consider a pay cut.
In all acting contracts, the amount of the salary is always the most crucial point, because it is the trinity of status, popularity, and vanity.
That afternoon, after Matthew left Angel Agency, Helen Herman returned to Universal Studios and met with Sean Daniel.
Since Stephen Sommers had begun preparing another project with Universal Pictures, Sean Daniel was in charge of the crew.
Currently, "The Scorpion King" has been officially greenlit, but due to timing issues, it has not been publicly announced.
However, the crew is currently just a shell, with the only confirmed part being the production team led by Sean Daniel.
"Helen, your requests for Matthew to have a personal assistant, chauffeured transportation, a private dressing room, and travel expenses are all not a problem."
Sean Daniel had no objections on this front, and Helen Herman's conditions were not excessive, aligning with Matthew's situation as an ordinary actor taking on a male lead role.
"But your demand for his salary is too high."
He said very seriously, "A million dollars… Matthew Horner is a good actor, but he's not worth that much."
"But he's the male lead!" Helen Herman emphasized, "He created the very popular Scorpion King character."
Sean Daniel shook his head, looking like he didn't want to talk much more with Helen Herman, "500,000 dollars, otherwise I'd rather replace him."
To his surprise, Helen Herman didn't refute, "I can accept that, but on one condition."
"Condition?" Sean Daniel frowned slightly, but he didn't want to replace the actor for The Scorpion King, as that would double the risk.
He asked, "What condition?"
Helen Herman adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, "I hear the crew also needs a female lead and several supporting roles.
Could you prioritize considering actors from my agency?"
Originally, she wanted to emulate CAA, but reason told her that Angel Agency didn't have that kind of power.
This condition wasn't too excessive.
Sean Daniel thought for a moment and said, "If the conditions are similar, I can prioritize them."
The negotiations between the two sides gradually became smooth, and in the following days, agreement was reached on many aspects.