As the new week began, Helen Herman rushed to the production office at Walt Disney Headquarters to negotiate with Jerry Bruckheimer. Matthew, of course, wouldn't go to a place where verbal clashes might occur; he only needed to wait for the final outcome.
Although Jerry Bruckheimer was a golden producer and a top-tier big shot in the industry, Helen Herman would certainly fight for what Matthew deserved.
His agent also served as a buffer between him and the production team.
Helen Herman had also hinted to him that with "Spider-Man" having just finished its run, grossing $100 million in North America and $200 million worldwide, his salary for a new film as the absolute male lead wouldn't drop below seven figures.
Matthew, meanwhile, arranged to meet someone at a coffee shop diagonally across from Angel Management Company. Now that he had secured the role of Will Turner, he was preparing to find an assistant for himself. Last week, Mira Wang returned to Los Angeles from London and, after contacting him, agreed to meet today to discuss details.
"We've worked together twice," Matthew said to Mira Wang, who was sitting across the table in the coffee shop. "Mira, I also want to find someone I'm familiar with, someone reliable. Besides you, I can't think of a better candidate."
Mira Wang remained silent, clearly considering Matthew's words. She had worked on more than one set, serving as a temporary assistant for many actors. When it came to faults and quirks, Matthew was definitely one of the least problematic and the kindest to her.
"Do you have a job right now?" Matthew asked.
"Yes," Mira nodded, saying, "I'm temporarily working as a gopher on Stephen Sommers' set."
Like an actor's assistant, these were low-status and not very well-paying positions on a film set.
"Tell me about your compensation package," Matthew knew this was the key. "A monthly salary of $2,500, a double salary at the end of the year, and if you join a guild in the future, I'll cover the membership fees."
This kind of compensation was only average among Hollywood celebrity personal assistants, but it was much higher than what Mira Wang earned while working on "Spider-Man."
Matthew couldn't start with a high salary; he definitely needed to leave room for future raises. Moreover, his search for an assistant was a typical business move, not charity.
"I'd like to ask," Mira seemed somewhat tempted, "Am I going to be your personal assistant only during the filming of your new movie?"
"No," Matthew explained, "I'm looking for a long-term personal assistant. As long as you're willing and I don't go broke, you can do this job for a long time."
Mira Wang thought for a moment, still not making a decision. "Matthew, I need to think about it."
Matthew was patient. "When can you give me an answer?"
If she thought it wasn't suitable, he could then recruit others.
"Three days," Mira Wang held up three fingers. "No more than three days at most."
"Alright," Matthew nodded in agreement.
The two talked for only half an hour before Mira Wang excused herself. Matthew then went to the Screen Actors Guild to renew his membership for the coming year. This amount of money wasn't much for him now, but it was mandatory. The SAG protected the legal rights of its members and offered many conveniences, so paying dues was naturally an obligation.
At noon, Helen Herman called. Her negotiations with Jerry Bruckheimer were relatively smooth, and both parties had basically reached an agreement. There were still some minor clauses to discuss with another producer in the afternoon, and the contract was expected to be finalized today.
This was also related to Matthew and Helen Herman's clear positioning of himself, and the production team's relatively ample budget.
Among the matters already agreed upon, the primary one was naturally the remuneration. His pay for playing Will Turner had quadrupled, reaching two million dollars.
The payment would still be made in three installments, and aside from the mandatory union-stipulated amount, it did not involve any backend profit sharing.
Then there were the routine clauses, such as an independent dressing room. Generally, Hollywood commercial film crews would not make things difficult for actors regarding food, clothing, accommodation, transportation, and safety. These were all consistent with his status as one of the film's two male leads.
In addition, Helen Herman also secured the right to review and suggest changes for things like promotional posters and opening/closing credits. According to her, the film had three main characters and an Oscar-winning actor, so there would definitely be fierce competition for promotional resources, and this right had to be fought for.
Overall, Matthew didn't make any excessive demands; after all, his star power was what it was, and he didn't have much capital to ask for more.
Besides these, Helen Herman also gave him two pieces of information: first, the production team had officially confirmed the female lead, with seventeen-year-old British actress Keira Knightley playing Elizabeth Swann; second, she had inquired about Johnny Depp's salary, which was five times Matthew's, a full ten million dollars.
This price was normal, and Matthew wasn't surprised. Johnny Depp wasn't considered an A-lister at the moment, at most a high-end B-lister. However, he rarely starred in purely commercial entertainment films, and his past salaries had never reached the ten-million-dollar level, with his highest being five million. The production team likely offered a high price specifically to entice Johnny Depp.
As for the female lead, since the production team had just confirmed Keira Knightley for the role, her salary was naturally not yet discussed. Matthew, having nothing else to do, made a rough guess: even with the most optimistic estimate, Keira Knightley's salary wouldn't exceed his.
He remembered Keira Knightley had a movie released around the same time, the title of which seemed to be "Bend It Like Beckham," and its North American box office also exceeded ten million dollars.
However, unequal pay for men and women is a common phenomenon in Hollywood, so her salary couldn't be very high.
That afternoon, Helen Herman and the production team completely finalized Matthew's acting contract. On Tuesday morning, she, Matthew, and lawyer Wilson went to the office in the Disney headquarters building and signed the actor's contract for Will Turner with the production team.
Matthew officially became a member of the production team.
According to the contract, he would join the crew in July to participate in the necessary pre-production work.
To make "Pirates of the Caribbean" look more authentic and believable upon release, Jerry Bruckheimer mandated that all actors playing pirates and British Navy personnel undergo five weeks of training. The production team hired top industry professionals such as action stunt designer George Marshall Ruge, sword master Robert Anderson and his disciple Mark Ivie, to design action sequences and routines, and to guide the actors' training and filming throughout.
Matthew also had a general understanding. Robert Anderson, though unknown to the outside world, was a legendary sword master within Hollywood circles, having worked in the industry for fifty years. Before filming "The Mask of Zorro," he trained Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and a host of stunt performers, and the resulting effect was evident.
He was also the former boss of Matthew's previous sword instructor.
Although contemporary swordsmanship, like what is seen in sports competitions, requires high skill and precise movements, which are vastly different from the fight scenes in movies, mastering certain fundamentals, such as how to hold a sword, how to attack, and how to defend, is necessary both on and off screen. These are precisely the contents Robert Anderson would teach.
These were also the main contents of Matthew's training.
He believed that once training began, he would get into shape faster than other actors.
On the same day he signed the contract with the production team, Matthew also received a reply from Mira Wang. Mira Wang expressed her willingness to be his personal assistant, but needed a few more days as she was currently still working on a set and needed to resign and complete the handover.
Matthew was not in a hurry and told Mira Wang she could report to him before July.
Seeing that Matthew had found an assistant himself, Helen Herman didn't say much. Being so smart, she naturally could guess some things.
Leaving the Disney headquarters building and returning home, Matthew was in a pretty good mood, thinking about whether to throw a party to celebrate. Then he remembered that such good news should first be shared with Britney, so he immediately dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail until it automatically hung up.
Lately, this situation had gradually become the norm. The frequency of his calls with Britney was decreasing; sometimes it took three or four days to get through. Moreover, after Britney finished her overseas promotional tour, she didn't return to Los Angeles, but went directly to Nashville to start preparing for a new concert tour.
Matthew also felt that there was a bit of a problem between them, but he had been busy with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" audition recently and didn't have time to go to Nashville.
In the past six months, he and Britney had met too few times.
Subsequently, he called Britney several more times and sent text messages, but there was no response from her side.
Matthew lost the mood to party and simply called to book a flight to Nashville. Taking advantage of the fact that he didn't have to go to the set yet, he decided to go see Britney.
Around eight in the evening, he received a text message from Britney: "I'm in closed training for the concert, so it's not convenient to answer calls."
Matthew immediately edited a text message in reply, telling Britney that he would take a flight to Nashville on Thursday.
He specifically called Helen Herman to inform her of his itinerary, to avoid any emergencies where he couldn't be reached. Helen Herman knew about his relationship with Britney and didn't say much, only reminding him to return to Los Angeles before July and not to delay his regular work.
Early Thursday morning, Matthew boarded a plane at Los Angeles International Airport, heading to the famous music city of America.