**Chapter 18: What’s the Big Deal About an Oscar-Winning Actor? He’s Not That Expensive Anyway**

Although Wayne said they were having a discussion, the entire "casting meeting" was basically him calling all the shots.

"The female lead, Teri, and the male lead, Carter, will be played by Jessica and me, respectively."

"The second female lead, Lori, will temporarily be Liv Tyler, the actress from last year's *Armageddon*."

Liv Tyler is best known for her role as the Elven princess Arwen in the *Lord of the Rings* series, which won't come out until next year. But before that, she had already starred in several independent films and earned a few award nominations.

However, her fame mostly stayed within the industry. In terms of popularity and media presence, she was nowhere near Natalie Portman at this point.

Her normal asking price was about $1 million, much lower than Portman's, but her image and demeanor suited this role perfectly.

She had the essence of a classic beauty, like a clear spring, exuding an elegant, gentle aura. She didn't seem like a villain at all, which is why casting her as one would make the performance even more intriguing.

It's like how Zhang Zifeng's character, Sinuo, in *Detective Chinatown* caught everyone off guard—no one expected such a sweet and innocent little girl to be the mastermind behind it all.

Liv Tyler's acting skills were enough to carry this role.

Natalie Portman would also be a great fit for the role—she appears innocent and serene but has a calculating, ruthless side. However, since Natalie achieved fame at a young age and had always enjoyed smooth sailing in her career, her pride was too high for her to take a supporting role alongside Jessica, someone she didn't consider her equal.

"For the third female lead, Danielle Stephanie, who loves fitness, avoids sweets, and lives in the same dorm as the female lead, I'm thinking Charlize Theron."

No introduction was necessary; the mere mention of Theron's name was enough for everyone to understand.

Although Charlize Theron hadn't yet won an Oscar, she had already starred in several big-budget films. While she hadn't carried a movie on her own yet, her pay as a lead actress had already reached $5 million. Even for a smaller supporting role with limited screen time, which could be filmed in three or four days, her fee would still be at least $2 million.

In fact, if Jessica weren't his girlfriend, Wayne would have preferred to cast Charlize Theron as Teri, the female lead.

After all, Jessica's acting was rather mediocre, and he wasn't entirely sure she could pull off the role. But as she was his girlfriend, he had to give her some leeway, so he didn't replace her.

"As for the roles of the professor and the killer, I'd like to approach Willem Dafoe and Anthony Hopkins."

Willem Dafoe, best known as the Green Goblin in *Spider-Man*, had already been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but since he frequently played supporting roles, his fee wasn't very high.

Anthony Hopkins, however, was a bona fide Academy Award-winning actor, having won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1992 for *The Silence of the Lambs*.

Hearing Hopkins' name left everyone at the table stunned.

"But... does it really make sense to cast Anthony Hopkins for such a small supporting role?" Mike couldn't help but ask.

This was Anthony Hopkins, an Oscar-winning actor! While he rarely appeared in commercial blockbusters and his asking price was only around $6-7 million, for a minor villain role with limited screen time, they could likely get him for around $3 million. But still, he was Anthony Hopkins!

Was it really necessary to go all out for a mid-budget horror movie?

Wayne smiled faintly and replied, "It's not like he's that expensive, right?"

His casual remark left everyone speechless.

Sera was the first to snap back to reality. "If we hire all of these people, the production budget will likely reach around $11 million."

"No problem. We can pull the extra million from another project," Wayne said.

"Then we're good. But for Charlize Theron, Willem Dafoe, and Anthony Hopkins, we'll likely need to go through WMA to contact them," Sera added.

These three were too high-profile for their production company to approach directly.

Wayne turned to Mike, who looked stressed. Mike was just a regular agent with almost no track record, but through WMA's channels, he could still reach out to the agents of these big stars.

"I'll reach out to them as soon as I can!" After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Mike took on the task, feeling the pressure but knowing it was his way of proving his value to Wayne.

"That's all for now. We'll cast the other roles after we have the full script and can hold auditions. Let's get to work!" Wayne concluded.

Under normal circumstances, even roles like the third female lead and the professor would wait for the full script to be completed before final casting decisions were made.

However, since Wayne already had the original film as a reference in his head and knew who he wanted for the roles, he, as the sole investor, had the final say.

After the meeting, James Wan and Mike hurried off. Time was short, and the pressure on them was immense.

Sera lingered for a moment to talk to Wayne privately. "This morning, I contacted Robert Ludlum as you requested and inquired about the film rights for *The Bourne Identity*. He got back to me by midday: $2 million plus 3% of future box office earnings, or $5 million for a complete buyout."

Wayne immediately dismissed the 3% option.

"Are you kidding? The *Bourne* series might not gross as much as *Mission: Impossible* or *James Bond*, but the first three films still made over a billion dollars globally. Three percent of that is $30 million!"

The $5 million buyout was no small sum either. After all, when Marvel sold *Spider-Man*, one of the most iconic superheroes alongside Superman and Batman, to Sony, they only got $7 million.

While *The Bourne Identity* was a bestselling espionage novel, it didn't come close to *Spider-Man* in terms of value.

"What a rip-off."

Wayne was a bit annoyed, but after checking with the system and confirming the price was reasonable, he agreed.

"Fine, haggle with them a bit and then accept the buyout offer. We're in a hurry, after all."

Time, after all, was the most valuable resource.

Getting *The Bourne Identity* done quickly would allow him to secure new investment, even if the film wasn't released yet.

With a $50 million production budget for *The Bourne Identity*, the next round of funding could reach a staggering $150 million, allowing him to snap up the rights to a bunch of superheroes for *The Avengers*.

If he worked fast enough, he might even invest in the *Pirates of the Caribbean* series.

At its inception, Disney wasn't very optimistic about the *Pirates of the Caribbean* franchise, thinking pirate films were outdated. And due to the high production budget, Disney's initial stake in the first film wasn't very large, giving him a potential opening.

"Sweetheart, are you done working? How about a swim?" Jessica asked, clinging to him with fiery passion.

"Sure!"

After Sera left, Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck. Wayne hesitated only for a moment before agreeing.

As for reminding Jessica to get an acting coach to improve her skills...

"I'll tell her later!"

The night was short, and Wayne was far from a king, but he finally got a taste of the simple joys of the wealthy life.

In the following days, Mia was busy with two projects, and Jessica started taking acting lessons at Wayne's request.

Jessica usually came back by dinner, but Mia was often tied up until the early hours of the morning.

With two days of downtime, Wayne decided to keep himself busy.

*Bang bang bang—*

At the shooting club Mike introduced him to, Wayne didn't bother with ear protection. He adopted a perfect isosceles stance, firing off rapid shots, emptying the clip in less than eight seconds.

His performance left the nearby female instructor visibly impressed. 

(End of Chapter)