Chapter 296: Ambition Unleashed

"It's been a while, Orlando."

Matthew opened his arms and briefly hugged Orlando Bloom. "You still look as handsome as ever."

Orlando, seeing Matthew, appeared in particularly high spirits and said, "I owe you one again, I really don't know how to thank you."

"What for?" Matthew responded casually, "You don't need to be formal with me."

"Really, I truly need to thank you." Orlando insisted earnestly, "I signed with the 'Kingdom of Heaven' crew last month. That call you made to Ridley Scott must have helped."

Matthew hadn't actually called Ridley Scott, but seeing Orlando so convinced, he didn't correct him and just waved his hand dismissively, "It's just a small thing, don't worry about it."

Orlando spoke again, "Matthew, if there's ever anything you need help with, just ask."

"I won't be shy about it," Matthew lightly patted his arm.

Having finished mingling with Stephen Sommers, Rachel Weisz called Matthew to join her heading to the screening room. Without lingering further, they moved towards the entrance, passing by the female lead, Kate Beckinsale, on the way. Matthew, not well-acquainted with her, didn't stop to greet her.

He and Rachel left the VIP lounge and joined others entering the screening room. Their seats weren't next to each other, but Matthew managed to switch with Edward Norton to sit beside Rachel.

"You don't know Kate Beckinsale?" Matthew asked.

"I do," Rachel said straightforwardly, "Just don't want to deal with her."

Matthew was quick on the uptake. Hearing Rachel's comment, he pieced together the likely scenario. The few famous British Roses of Hollywood were known for having similar roles, usually limited to that specific typecasting, and the fierce competition among them was palpable.

As the creators entered the screening room and the film 'Van Helsing' was about to start, Matthew and Rachel ceased their conversation.

With the screen lighting up, displaying the Universal Pictures logo, the super production, publicly budgeted at $160 million, began unveiling its mysterious veil.

Set in an era where darkness and evil gradually became personified, the movie depicted a chilling yet compelling world where supernatural beings ran rampant. Van Helsing, the protagonist, faced Universal's iconic monsters: vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein's creature.

Amidst a chilling sky with rolling black clouds and gusting winds, lightning split the night as malevolent creatures descended upon the ancient town of Transylvania. In this 19th-century Romanian town, horrific monsters terrorized the populace, claiming lives one after another.

Among these monsters was Dracula, a noble elder of the vampire clan who had haunted Transylvania for years, draining countless humans of their blood.

Under Dracula's malevolent influence, Frankenstein's creation was also summoned. It was a terrifying entity made by scientist Victor Frankenstein, composed of human muscle and metal, formidable in its killings.

Also stirring bloodshed in Transylvania were a hot-tempered werewolf and Dracula's three vampire brides.

To exterminate the evil forces in Transylvania, the Vatican enlisted monster hunter Dr. Van Helsing. Armed with his lethal weaponry, accompanied by his assistant Carl, he traveled to the ancient town.

Along the way, Van Helsing rescued another vampire hunter, Anna Valerious, who became both his lover and a valuable ally.

Unexpectedly, the townspeople of Transylvania were skeptical of him.

In their eyes, Van Helsing was just another monstrous creature, not the hero they hoped for. The enemies were far more ferocious and terrifying than he had anticipated, and he nearly lost his life to their fangs several times...

Of course, as Matthew saw it, the film could just as easily be interpreted from Count Dracula's perspective.

It told the sad tale of the pitiful vampire Dracula, murdered in life by Van Helsing and hunted in death after becoming a vampire. After barely escaping into a cold castle with plans to start a family, he discovered he was infertile; finally finding a cure and having children, only for Van Helsing to kill them, leaving none alive.

The poor vampire Dracula had no more aspirations, hiding in his castle to create offspring only to meet a tragic end.

The film concluded, and Matthew carefully reflected on it. The main plot aligned with his memory, though the details of such a film could be hard to remember after so many years.

Applause broke out in the theater, and he stood to clap along with the crowd.

Honestly, the film wasn't as bad as he had expected. Matthew knew his judgment on films was limited, and predicting market reactions was even more uncertain. He could only rely on his own senses.

'Van Helsing' boasted impressive special effects, clearly among the top of its era. Hollywood's formulaic approach was well-executed, although the pacing felt slow, much less tight than

 Sean Daniel's editing of the two 'Mummy' movies, which made the film seem a bit dragged out and overlong.

Matthew also considered another issue: Stephen Sommers had not had final editing rights previously, mostly serving as a shooting overseer. The huge box office success of the two 'Mummy' movies granted him more roles in 'Van Helsing', not just as writer and director but also as the lead producer.

This meant Stephen Sommers held nearly all power over the film, including final editing rights.

In Hollywood, having the director possess final cut rights isn't always beneficial. While there are cases where producers oppress directors in post-production leading to a film's failure, Hollywood's producer-centric system has its reasons.

Independent art films are one thing, but large-scale commercial blockbusters, neither investors nor distributors will leave the filming and editing entirely to directors. Most directors are thinkers with active, even erratic minds, full of imagination and creativity, which can be problematic for the streamlined production of commercial films.

Furthermore, most producers often care more about the film market than directors do, naturally having a better understanding of it.

Matthew had worked with Sean Daniel on three films, including 'Dawn of the Dead', which was still showing in less than a hundred theaters. With his deep understanding of a top producer from their collaborations on two 'Mummy' movies and 'Dawn of the Dead', he estimated that if Sean had controlled the editing, 'Van Helsing' wouldn't have exceeded 110 minutes.

This would have made the film much tighter and faster-paced.

It was uncertain whether fans would appreciate this somewhat slow pace and a mix of various monsters in one film.

Such matters were beyond his ability to predict; only time would tell.

However, from this film, it was clear that Universal Pictures was ambitious, aiming to rejuvenate its once-glorious monster stars.

Investing $160 million to feature the three classic monsters—vampire, Frankenstein, and werewolf—on the same screen, Universal obviously hoped these long-famous creatures would rejuvenate the box office.

The protagonist, Van Helsing, wasn't detailed in his origins or his amnesia in the first film, suggesting it was set up for a sequel.

Reflecting on it, the movie laid many foundations for a sequel, with Universal and Stephen Sommers clearly planning ahead.

Whether a sequel to 'Van Helsing' would materialize depended on the market's reaction.

As long as the box office was high enough, even if the critical reception was poor, a sequel would likely proceed.

But Matthew still felt it was a bit uncertain, partly due to his memories, and partly because he recalled a similar flop film.

'Van Helsing' wasn't the first action-adventure movie to mix well-known literary characters; 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', released around the same time as 'Pirates of the Caribbean' last year, was quite similar.

However, 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' flopped so badly that Sean Connery quit the film industry.

As the applause slowly died down, Matthew followed other guests towards the front row, greeting Stephen Sommers and Orlando Bloom—two acquaintances—as a basic courtesy before departing.

"Stephen, a fantastic movie!" Matthew approached Stephen Sommers, shaking his hand, "The style of this film is truly memorable!"

Stephen seemed in a good mood, "Thank you!" He smiled at Matthew, "We should collaborate on a project if the opportunity arises."

Matthew mimed a phone call, "You can call me anytime."

After speaking with Stephen, Matthew found Orlando Bloom, "A superb performance! Orlando, you must regret not snatching this role."

"It's too late to regret now!" Orlando's face bloomed with a smile, "It's been two years, and it's finally premiered!"

Matthew nodded, "Yes, indeed. Two years, and 'Van Helsing' has finally premiered."

From the lengthy preparation and post-production phases alone, it was evident that Stephen Sommers and Universal Pictures had thoroughly invested in the project.

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