Hearing the voice, Matthew looked over. The little girl appeared to be about five or six years old, with fair skin, light blue eyes, a ponytail of light golden-blonde hair, and sharp features. She bore a striking resemblance to Charlize Theron.
At first glance, one might easily believe they were mother and daughter.
"Sweetie, where did you go to play?" Charlize Theron tidied up the girl's slightly messy hair.
The little girl, standing happily in front of Charlize, answered, "Aunt Anderson took me to the tour area. I saw dinosaurs!"
Charlize took out a handkerchief and handed it to her. "You've been sweating so much. Here, wipe it off."
The little girl obediently took the handkerchief, wiped her face, and then looked at Matthew with curiosity. "Mommy, who's this man? I often see him on TV."
Hearing this, Matthew stepped forward, squatted to be closer to her eye level, and smiled. "My name is Matthew Horner. Can you tell me your name?"
"Hello, Mr. Horner."
The little girl greeted him politely, then formally introduced herself, "My name is Amelie Miller Theron."
It seemed she was used to accompanying Charlize Theron to film sets; she was both polite and unafraid of strangers.
"She's six years old," Charlize Theron added.
Matthew praised, "What a sweet and adorable girl."
Charlize smiled but didn't respond directly, instead saying, "Take Amelie to rest." After the little girl left, she commented, "She's very well-behaved in public but quite mischievous at home."
From her tone, it was clear to Matthew that Charlize was filled with affection.
"Seems like most kids are like that?" Matthew guessed, lacking experience since he didn't have children of his own. "Amelie does look a bit like you."
He teased, "Charlize, is she your biological daughter?"
Charlize shot him a look, then retorted, "We've known each other for seven or eight years, since 2004, and you're the only person I've been involved with during that time. If Amelie were my biological daughter, who would her father be?"
"Uh..." Matthew was momentarily speechless.
A faint, hard-to-detect smile appeared on Charlize's lips, pleased to have left Matthew at a loss.
After his initial surprise, Matthew felt puzzled and a little lost. He quickly asked, "Are you serious?"
Charlize closed her mouth, saying nothing.
"Charlize, you can't joke about something like this," Matthew said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not mentally prepared for this!"
His mind raced back to their interactions six or seven years ago, recalling that back then, Charlize hadn't avoided him as she did now. They used to meet several times a month, and if she had been pregnant, it would've been impossible to hide.
"When I met Amelie, she was already four years old," Charlize explained, knowing she could only tease him for a moment before he put the pieces together. "Her original name was Amelie Miller, but after I adopted her, she took my last name."
Matthew nodded thoughtfully. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
If Charlize wanted him to be the girl's godfather, he would have no problem with it.
Charlize gently shook her head. "We're doing well, just the two of us."
After working so long in Hollywood, she didn't want Amelie to have too many ties with Matthew. Though he was her friend and mostly a good person to her, he could be ruthless with others.
Unaware of Charlize's thoughts, Matthew assumed she was simply comfortable with her lifestyle.
Maybe her childhood trauma from her biological father would never truly heal.
Having a daughter was surely better than being alone.
Charlize quickly changed the topic, asking, "About that role you mentioned, don't forget to send me the script when it's ready."
"The script is still being adjusted," Matthew replied, shifting to work. "It might take a while."
Soon, a staff member arrived to announce that shooting was about to resume. Matthew didn't linger any longer, bidding Charlize goodbye and leaving the set of Snow White and the Huntsman.
In the following days, he met with Justin Lin and Chris Morgan daily to discuss the villain roles for Fast & Furious 6 and Fast & Furious 7.
Charlize's role was especially important—they wanted it to bring something fresh to the audience.
Matthew also conferred with David Ellison, and the two agreed that after Fast & Furious 7, they would temporarily pause the series. Releasing a new movie every two years could lead to fatigue among viewers.
Not even a series like Star Wars could sustain endless high-frequency releases.
Taking a break would allow for a potential reboot later. Nostalgia isn't exclusive to one generation; as the current generation ages, they, too, will feel it.
A pause of five or six years, followed by a reassessment of the market, would be the safest approach.
Perhaps they could even consider a spin-off, focusing on one of the most popular characters from the racing family.
Only three characters were well-suited for this: his own character, Sean, Paul Walker's Brian, and Gal Gadot's Gisele.
Brian might be difficult to separate, as he'd been in the story from the beginning. But Sean and Gisele could easily star in standalone prequels.
Especially Gisele; according to market research, this character was highly popular among female viewers.
Once they wrapped up work on the scripts for the next two Fast & Furious films, he would discuss the possibility of a spin-off with Justin Lin. After all, it was a good opportunity to cash in.
Meanwhile, news came from across the Pacific: after thirty days in theaters, Fast Five officially ended its run there, with a final gross of 1.47858 billion RMB.
This surpassed Avatar's previous record of 1.42884 billion RMB, making Fast Five the new box office champion there.
Matthew understood that Fast Five benefited from a 70% increase in the number of screens compared to Avatar's run.
More theaters, more showings, and more screens allowed Fast Five to reach audiences in smaller cities, even small counties, attracting a wider audience.
Matthew anticipated that with the rapid pace of theater construction there, it wouldn't be long before a new box office champion emerged.
The fourth and fifth Fast & Furious films had cemented the franchise's popularity there, so it was likely that Fast & Furious 6 or Fast & Furious 7 might break the record.
Given local audience preferences, Matthew thought this was very probable.
It was currently the golden age of popcorn movies in that region.
In late July, Marvel Studios released Captain America: The First Avenger, the last film before The Avengers. Finally, the Avengers' commander had arrived.
This retro-styled film didn't receive the best response, and many fans even thought the post-credits scene teasing The Avengers was more exciting than the movie itself.
Fortunately, the box office wasn't bad given its $140 million budget. The North American opening weekend brought in $65.05 million, and industry expectations predicted around $180 million domestically, which wouldn't leave investors at a loss.
The gap between Steve Rogers and modern audiences was vast. Fans of Captain America comics were older now, and without Marvel's recent push, the box office might have been even worse.
Matthew wouldn't lose money on his investment, but he didn't expect to make as much as he had with the two Iron Man films.
Still, he planned to keep investing in Captain America sequels, especially after reading Marvel's recent Civil War comic series.
Featuring a showdown between Captain America and Iron Man, culminating in Steve Rogers' death, the storyline was powerful.
"Which side are you on?"
Matthew sensed the political undertones.
Of course, only those sensitive to politics would notice them—kids would just see a superhero brawl.
With Captain America: The First Avenger in theaters, Marvel's first cinematic phase was winding down, with The Avengers set for release next summer.
Matthew held a 40% stake in The Avengers project and was eager for it to be a huge hit.
If it could surpass Avatar and Titanic, all the better.
Despite mixed reviews, Captain America had reached $120 million domestically and nearly $70 million internationally by its second weekend.
It wasn't hard to imagine that it would surpass $350 million globally.
Even if this didn't cover all costs, including marketing, merchandise sales would make up for it.
Everything was building toward next year's mega-blockbuster, The Avengers.
In late August, Matthew temporarily set aside other work to join the final preparations for American Sniper, getting ready for the film's production.
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