Doesn't matter

The intense battle of the 2011 summer box office had come to an end. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" had triumphed as the undisputed champion, with a total of $366M. While breaking the $400M mark seemed unlikely, it still firmly closed the series and remained the strongest contender for the year-end box office crown.

Following that, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Fast 5" secured second and third place in the summer box office, marking the biggest surprises of the year.

Comparatively, works like "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", "Captain America: The First Avenger", "Thor", "X-Men: First Class", and "Cars 2" failed to live up to expectations. While their box office performances were far from disastrous, they still couldn't generate the anticipated energy. Especially disappointing were the abysmal failures of "Green Lantern", "Cowboys & Aliens", and "The Green Hornet", which left everyone astonished.

The unexpected success of comedies "Bridesmaids" and "The Hangover Part II" injected some much-needed levity into an otherwise dull summer.

After the summer season, a gloomy autumn followed, with theaters falling silent. In contrast, all eyes were turning toward Venice and Toronto, gearing up for the award season's prelude. In the blink of an eye, it was the most active time of the year in Hollywood.

Art films made their grand entrance, low-budget indie productions began to gain recognition, and commercial movies gradually quieted down. In such an environment, any news related to commercial films always seemed to carry more explosive power, especially since the echoes of the summer box office battle still lingered in the air.

For example, news about the sequel to "Fast & Furious".

First, there were rumors that Universal Pictures was preparing a spin-off centered around Luke Hobbs, a character who had only just made his debut in the fifth installment of the series. This news naturally garnered a wave of applause, and fans on the internet became increasingly active.

Following that, it was rumored that negotiations and preparations for the sequel had officially begun, and Universal Pictures displayed sincere intentions, hoping that all the actors from the previous five installments could return to create a true visual spectacle.

Soon after, there were reports of breakthroughs in the contract negotiations with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Gal Gadot.

Then came the news that Paul Walker and Renly Hall's contract negotiations had hit a snag. Rumor had it that Renly had different views regarding his compensation, creative ideas, and character development for the sequel. The production team was actively engaged in communication to resolve the issues.

Once this news spread, discussions on the internet erupted.

Some believed that Renly was overestimating himself, that he had only appeared in one commercial film and had not yet reached the level to make such unreasonable demands. Others thought Renly had become arrogant and overly greedy. They argued that after gaining relative popularity, he was pushing his luck too far.

Various opinions were boiling in the corners of the internet. Thanks to the outstanding performance of "Fast 5" in the summer box office, people's expectations for the sequel began to rise. This included the spin-off movie, Renly's contract renewal, and the preparations for the sequel. Hot topics were abundant, and once again, Renly found himself at the center of the whirlwind.

Industry insiders could see that these rumors likely originated from Universal Pictures, and most of them were smokescreens. Their aim was clear: to leverage the residual heat of the summer box office to lay a solid foundation for the sequel. The credibility of these rumors was questionable, a mix of truth and falsehood.

The most direct evidence was that Renly, as well as Paul Walker, had not responded to any of these claims.

If the rumors were true, it implied that the salary negotiations had indeed hit a deadlock. Universal Pictures had intentionally released these rumors to harness the power of public opinion and pressure Renly into compliance.

The reason was simple. For a newcomer like Renly, he was at a disadvantage. Especially to the layperson audience, Renly's demand for a higher salary could be perceived as greedy and potentially affect his image.

To avoid potential negative repercussions, Renly had to respond. He could either respond directly to the doubts of the netizens, indirectly ridicule the false rumors, directly address Universal Pictures' pressure, or negotiate with the production team through his agent. In both hidden and public ways, Renly needed to make a statement.

But there was complete silence, no news whatsoever. Not only Renly but even his agent, Andy, had remained inactive. Andy had been shuttling between Los Angeles and New York, extremely busy, but he seemed unconcerned about the rumors and showed no signs of contacting Universal Pictures.

Such behavior indicated one of two possibilities: either the negotiations had indeed reached a deadlock, and both sides refused to compromise, or the whole thing was baseless, and Andy and Universal Pictures didn't care about it at all. It was just a spectacle to keep journalists and netizens entertained, having no impact on actual negotiations.

The prevalent opinion in the industry was that the latter was more likely.

From any perspective, Renly couldn't possibly leave the "Fast & Furious" franchise, especially with the Luke Hobbs spin-off already in progress. Exiting the series at this point wouldn't make sense in terms of commercial value, career development, or project selection.

Unless he were to sign a deal like Chris Hemsworth, who signed a three-movie agreement with Disney for "Thor", there was no better project outside of Universal Pictures and the "Fast & Furious" series. However, even such an agreement as "Thor" couldn't promise a substantial boost in Renly's status within the series, which "Fast & Furious" was capable of providing.

The fact was that paparazzi had captured Renly's latest whereabouts: he was studying deep-sea diving on the Caribbean coast, accompanied not only by Paul Walker but also by Ryan Gosling and Rami Malek.

The group of them enjoyed their vacation leisurely under the clear blue sky and ocean. It was a time filled with joy and relaxation, featuring activities like diving, surfing, and even renting a yacht for some deep-sea fishing. They had stayed for nearly half a month and showed no intention of leaving. It seemed like they were completely oblivious to the ongoing negotiations for the "Fast & Furious" sequel, and they might not even be aware of what was happening in North America.

One thing was certain: this was a publicity stunt by Universal Pictures, and it had no substantial connection to the negotiations themselves. Even if it did, the situation was far from as dire as the rumors suggested.

Reporters lost interest quickly, unwilling to play along with Universal Pictures' stale tricks. On the other hand, internet users became increasingly engaged in discussions. They started speculating about what the Luke Hobbs spin-off would be about, how the plot of the sequel would unfold, and what sparks would fly in the next installment between Hobbs and Dom, and Brian...

The so-called "hot topic" boiled for a few days and then subsided, disappearing without a trace. Universal Pictures might have wanted to keep stirring the pot, but they eventually ran out of steam. The buzz around the topic had died down.

When Renly returned to New York, two weeks had passed since September had begun. More than half of the reporters had gathered at the Venice Film Festival to witness the year's cinematic events. The other half had gone to Toronto to prepare for the upcoming film festival. Only a small cluster of reporters remained scattered in major cities like Los Angeles and New York.

Whether it was a psychological effect or not, Kennedy International Airport seemed considerably quieter without the long-range lenses and flashlights. Even the streets of Manhattan appeared deserted. It wasn't until Renly saw the first hint of red on the treetops in Central Park that he realized autumn had arrived.

Pushing open the front door of his home, everything was just as neat, orderly, and dust-free as he had left it three weeks ago. It was as if he had gone out for a brief morning errand and returned in the afternoon. However, there was a small, unopened box on the living room coffee table.

Could it be a delivery?

During his vacation, Renly had cut off all forms of communication, leaving only the landline number of the villa he was staying in. Unless it was an emergency, Andy, Roy, and Nathan could contact him through that number. Renly had temporarily put both work and life aside to fully enjoy the leisure of his vacation.

Renly had not only acquired a diving license during his vacation but had also become adept at surfing. He had even managed to catch his first sea bream while fishing. Now, Renly finally understood Paul's passion for the sea and the protagonist's dedication and obsession with it in "Into the Blue".

After returning to New York today, Renly hadn't contacted Nathan yet, and he was unaware of the situation at home. However, Renly didn't rush to open the package. Instead, he took a shower, found a box of cherries in the fridge, popped a few into his mouth, turned on the stereo, opened the curtains, and fired up the coffee machine. He gradually adjusted to the feeling of returning from nature to society.

Then, the front door opened once again, revealing Matthew. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be working today?" Renly exclaimed with surprise as he tossed another cherry into his mouth.

"Today is Saturday," Matthew replied with a hint of resignation.