It was early August, and "Pirates of the Caribbean" was still enjoying a hot run in theaters.
Media outlets began to circulate news that negotiations between Disney Pictures and the three main stars of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were not going smoothly, especially with Matthew Horner, who was already preparing to star in Universal Pictures' upcoming remake, "Dawn of the Dead."
Two or three days later, this news appeared in numerous media outlets.
"Matthew Horner is set to team up with Universal Pictures to remake the zombie classic 'Dawn of the Dead'!"
"Renowned producer Sean Daniel confirmed that a contract has been finalized with Matthew Horner, and the mighty blacksmith Will Turner will embark on a zombie-slaying spree!"
"George A. Romero angrily criticized Universal Pictures for arbitrarily altering his creative vision and expressed his disapproval of Matthew Horner in the lead role…"
There were many similar reports.
Sean Daniel, an experienced first-tier producer, was clearly leveraging the popularity of "Pirates of the Caribbean" to kick off an early wave of publicity.
On the morning of August 4th, the production team held a signing press conference at Universal Studios, where Matthew officially signed his acting contract.
Sean Daniel represented the production team in signing with Matthew.
The production team had previously invited George A. Romero, but George A. Romero was quite displeased with the team's rejection of his idea to have a female as the absolute protagonist and directly declined the invitation.
Some media reports about George A. Romero's remarks were not baseless fabrications.
However, George A. Romero was not George Lucas, and "Dawn of the Dead" was not "Star Wars."
Like most directors, George A. Romero did not hold the copyrights to his previously filmed movies; all copyrights belonged to the film company.
With Universal Pictures having acquired the remake rights, there was nothing the old man could do but vent his frustrations.
"I've worked with Matthew twice before, and he's an excellent actor!"
Facing numerous media reporters, Sean Daniel naturally showered Matthew with praise.
"I am very happy to work with him again.
Matthew's involvement is the most significant positive news for the production."
He then spoke about the film's investment scale, approximate filming schedule, and North American release date, all of which aligned with what Matthew had previously learned.
The publicly announced production cost of the film was $28 million, with filming from late August to mid-October and a release in mid-April of next year.
Then, reporters directed their questions to Matthew, many of whom were quite puzzled by his decision to star in such a niche film.
"When Zach and Sean approached me, I was immediately struck by their fresh ideas," Matthew naturally disguised himself as a fan of this genre.
"I've been fascinated by zombies since I was a child.
All these ideas stem from a curiosity about what happens after death.
What would the world be like if death wasn't eternal, if it was just a half-death where the body still lived?
That's how I fell in love with Director Romero's films."
At the signing press conference, Matthew didn't say much.
It was currently during the hot run of "Pirates of the Caribbean," and the rumors with Keira Knightley and the hype surrounding the Harvard-Westlake School incident were still brewing.
His presence and signing were news enough; there was no need for him to ramble on with too much miscellaneous talk.
When a star reaches a certain level of fame, they inherently generate news.
Not just scandals and gossip, but even their daily life—what they eat, wear, and where they live—becomes a point of interest for the media and audience.
At the end of the press conference, Matthew and Sean Daniel signed the contract.
Of course, like all signing press conferences, this was merely a ceremony; the official contract had already been signed beforehand.
After several rounds of intense negotiations between Helen Herman and Sean Daniel, they reached an agreement on the most contentious issue of his salary.
To reduce upfront costs, Universal Pictures also agreed to his participation in the backend box office split, though the percentage was very small.
The base salary was finally set at $5 million.
Both parties agreed to use the film's production cost line of $28 million as the trigger point for the revenue-sharing clause.
If "Dawn of the Dead" reached $28 million at the North American box office, Matthew, as the absolute lead, would receive one percent of the North American box office as a bonus.
This percentage would increase to two percent at $50 million, three percent at $70 million, four percent at $90 million, and five percent at $100 million.
Five percent was also the capped percentage.
This is a common Hollywood method for reducing upfront production costs, incentivizing key creative personnel, and sharing risk, and it's not uncommon among second-tier stars.
After the press conference, Sean Daniel specifically sought out Matthew to give him a few instructions.
"Filming will take place in Toronto…" he briefly told Matthew, "The crew has found a shopping mall there that's scheduled for demolition.
You should prepare in advance."
Matthew nodded, "I have no problem with that."
Sean Daniel then asked, "Helen told me your personal blog has a lot of followers?"
"Some, I suppose," Matthew thought for a moment and roughly estimated, "There are tens of thousands of active followers."
As "Pirates of the Caribbean" became a blockbuster, his blog followers surged, exceeding 100,000, though active users were relatively fewer.
Helen Herman had once suggested that his agency manage his personal blog, but he hadn't agreed yet, feeling it wasn't the right time.
"Alright…" Sean Daniel continued, "I've received news that in September, Three Rivers Press will be publishing a book called 'The Zombie Survival Guide.'
This book will be very beneficial for the film's promotion.
You should recommend it on your blog when the time comes."
Matthew considered it briefly and said, "Okay, just give me a heads-up beforehand."
Apparently, he had seen the title "The Zombie Survival Guide" on a smartphone once.
He remembered reading an article about the "Resident Evil" movie at the time, and the editor who wrote the article mentioned that the author of Brad Pitt's "World War Z" was the same person as the author of "The Zombie Survival Guide."
After chatting with Sean Daniel, Matthew quickly left Universal Studios in Helen Herman's car.
In the car, he also mentioned Sean Daniel's suggestion.
"Matthew, your personal blog is becoming a very good platform for self-promotion and publicity," Helen Herman didn't object; instead, she said earnestly, "You need to manage it properly, and if possible, it's best to have a dedicated person handle it."
"I know," Matthew didn't want to hand over everything to the agency to operate, as that would be very disadvantageous to him.
"I can still handle it now; we'll talk about it when I get too busy."
As before, he had been posting about three blog entries a week recently.
Even if he didn't have time to write text, he would post a few new photos.
His blog had become a gathering place for his loyal fans.
Over the past month, the focus of his blog posts had primarily been on "Pirates of the Caribbean," his public displays of affection with Keira Knightley, photos from Harvard-Westlake School, and "Dawn of the Dead."
Although not a professional, Matthew was not foolish and knew how to leverage current trends on his blog.
After they talked about the blog for a while, Matthew shifted the conversation to Helen Herman's negotiations with Disney Pictures and asked, "How are the negotiations for the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' sequels going?"
"Not very smoothly," Helen Herman said directly.
"Disney Pictures is offering $14 million to package your salary for both sequels."
The two sequels to "Pirates of the Caribbean" were being filmed back-to-back, but no one would be so foolish as to calculate the salary as if it were for only one film.
Matthew frowned, "They're not being sincere enough."
Given his current standing, a salary of $7 million per film was certainly not low; in fact, it was quite high among all second-tier stars.
The problem was that "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" had been a massive success, and the salaries for the next two films couldn't be calculated in this manner.
Sequels to hit movies usually carry much less risk.
If the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" also exploded at the box office, then a $7 million salary for the third film would not be high, but very low.
Helen Herman understood this logic, and Matthew could see it too.
"Even if split, a $7 million salary for the second film might seem like a lot, but it's actually not much at all," Helen Herman snorted.
"Disney Pictures is deliberately ignoring that this is the lead actor's salary for a major production sequel film in their negotiations!"
Matthew was not in a hurry at all.
"Just take your time negotiating with them.
We have plenty of time."
With the film's massive success, even the least prominent of the three lead actors, Keira Knightley, saw negotiations with the production team and Disney Pictures turn around.
Now, the actors held all the cards; no production team or film company would dare to rashly replace the leads, as it would undoubtedly lead to enormous risks.
Moreover, Will Turner was no longer just the former blacksmith, but the widely popular mighty blacksmith.
Helen Herman added, "According to industry practice, it's normal for a lead actor's salary in a sequel to increase by 20 to 30 percent based on their market value.
For two sequel films, if Disney Pictures doesn't offer $20 million…"
She didn't continue, but Matthew knew this was Helen Herman's bottom line.
As the car entered Burbank, Helen Herman thought of something else and cautioned Matthew, "Never sign a contract for more than one movie with any film company at any time."
Matthew nodded, "I know.
I'm not stupid."
He was no longer a desperate or little-known third-tier star, so he would certainly be cautious in this regard.
Arriving in front of the Angel Agency, Matthew got out of the car but didn't go in.
He planned to switch to his own car and leave to pick up Keira Knightley, who was training at the Disney studio.
Seeing no reporters around, Helen Herman asked, "How are your discussions about breaking up going?"