The richest actor in Hollywood.

After the New Year holidays, the Hollywood screenwriters' strike showed no signs of stopping, but rather intensified. The conflict between labor and management has never been an easy problem to solve. Following the cancellation of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony and the direct announcement of the results, a series of guild awards such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards also canceled their ceremonies and switched to announcing the results via notices. Numerous celebrities, including Matthew, the two Toms, Big Mouth Julia, and George Clooney, publicly declared that they would not attend the Oscars ceremony in support of the striking screenwriters.

However, public statements were one thing, and private actions were another.

Projects like "Angels & Demons," produced and starred by Tom Hanks, and "Valkyrie," led by Tom Cruise, resumed normal operations right after the New Year holidays.

Like their peers, Matthew's two projects, "Twilight" and "Fast & Furious 4," also regrouped and continued their pre-production preparations.

As for the ongoing screenwriters' strike outside, let it continue. Eventually, either side will have to give in.

The strike would undoubtedly cause some losses for the producers, but many crews, like the "Angels & Demons" project, hired many non-union writers to work. Some writers even secretly continued to work despite officially being on strike.

The high-earning star writers and major writers wouldn't be affected by a few months without income, but these were the minority. Over 90% of the members of the Writers Guild were lesser-known writers who rarely got credited in films. Given the consumption habits of this society, a month without income could drive them crazy, let alone several months.

These realities were evident, and even someone like Matthew could see them. Medium and large film companies that formed the main body of the Producers Alliance surely understood this as well.

The Writers Guild was still insisting on a 5% share of DVD and new media revenues, but they would eventually have to compromise.

This strike had attracted national attention, and according to the latest information Matthew received, Washington might step in to mediate.

While the strike outside was in full swing, Disney's studio was bustling with activity. Four medium to large crews were simultaneously preparing there, a rare sight for the studio still located in Burbank.

Since the new century, tax breaks in Canada, Australia, and other US states had caused a significant outflow of Hollywood crews. Those that remained in Los Angeles or California were either very well-funded or too broke to cover travel expenses.

However, in recent years, the situation had improved. To prevent the continued outflow of Hollywood crews, Arnold Schwarzenegger had pushed a series of policies, including tax rebates, albeit with some limits. As a result, the previously deserted studios in Los Angeles started to see more activity.

Matthew took a golf cart from the studio entrance to the sites for "Twilight" and "Fast & Furious 4," passing by the rented sound stages for "Cloud Atlas" and "John Carter."

He specifically checked out the sound stage area, which was also bustling with people.

The two projects involving Plan B Entertainment had already started actual operations.

Matthew first visited the "Twilight" set, chatted briefly with Sean Daniel and Sophia Coppola, and then headed to the "Fast & Furious 4" set across the street.

Both crews were holding auditions, with a large number of actors arriving at the sound stages. However, their focuses differed. The "Twilight" crew was mainly auditioning for minor roles, decisions primarily made by Sean Daniel and Sophia Coppola.

For "Fast & Furious 4," there were two crucial auditions today: a Chinese male role in the morning and a Jewish female role in the afternoon.

The first choice for the former was Daniel Wu, recommended by Helen Herman, and for the latter, an Israeli actress who had served in the military, recommended by Akiva Goldsman.

The auditions were primarily to see the characters' appearances. Matthew, bearded Jack, and director Justin Lin were all satisfied with Daniel Wu's look, and Daniel even performed a martial arts routine on the spot, which was quite impressive.

Matthew asked Daniel Wu a few questions, specifically having him give a lengthy speech in English to assess his language skills and understanding of American culture. As Helen Herman had understood, Daniel Wu, who grew up and attended university in the USA, had no issues with his English or cultural knowledge.

Choosing Daniel Wu was a strategic move for the future, so he needed to appeal to North American audiences before the movie market across the Pacific exploded.

In the fourth installment being prepared, his role wasn't significant and would appear as Matthew's character's friend.

After a morning of auditions, Matthew exchanged opinions with bearded Jack and Justin Lin. They were all satisfied with Daniel Wu and notified Helen Herman to negotiate the contract and salary with the dedicated producer.

Daniel Wu had already chosen Helen Herman as his agent in North America last year.

In the afternoon, Matthew met the other candidate for the first time, the Israeli actress.

The Jewish female role in the script was set as a firearms expert, so her military background gave her an edge over other candidates.

"I am Gal Gadot from Israel."

At the audition, a tall, slender woman stood before the camera and introduced herself briefly, "I participated in the Miss Universe pageant, worked as a model in Israel, and appeared in several TV shows..."

Matthew glanced at this Israeli woman with a strong face and, given her name, confirmed that this was indeed Wonder Woman. He had downloaded and watched the film showcasing her beauty from various angles many times.

This Israeli actress brought a rare heroic spirit to the female role.

However, Gal Gadot hadn't yet undergone the extensive fitness training to build muscle, so she appeared particularly slender, even somewhat frail.

Wearing a well-fitted costume further emphasized this point.

After her self-introduction, she struck a series of poses as directed by Justin Lin.

Matthew watched the footage transmitted to the monitor and nodded slightly. By Hollywood's usual standards, Gal Gadot's face and aura were a bit too tough.

However, the Jewish female character in the script was a shrewd and strong firearms expert, not a damsel waiting for a prince to rescue her.

The screen test effect was quite good. Matthew and bearded Jack exchanged a look and nodded.

"Let's move to the next part," Matthew said to director Justin Lin.

Justin Lin stopped the shoot and directly asked, "Ms. Gadot, what do you think of the character Gisele?"

Gal Gadot smiled and said, "I don't like the traditional female roles in Hollywood movies. I don't want to play the common types in Hollywood films where women are lonely and waiting for men to save them."

The crew had shown her the role's script, "This character is independent and resilient. She doesn't need a prince to save her; she can be her own hero."

Matthew couldn't help but look at her, realizing she was a very smart woman who had clearly prepared thoroughly for the audition. Whether her words were genuine or not, they aligned with the character she was auditioning for.

In this film, there was already a purely supportive female character like Mia. So during the script's framework setting, he repeatedly emphasized to the writing team that the other female character must be an independent type.

Why this setting? The reason was simple: the feminist movement was booming.

A film like "Fast & Furious" would naturally attract male viewers, but to garner broader attention from female audiences, the female roles needed some substance.

He had always been good at adapting to societal trends.

Justin Lin continued, "What advantages do you have for this role? Can you introduce them?"

"I served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years," Gal Gadot said with a noticeable aura of independence and confidence, "I was a fitness instructor in the women's unit, learned combat skills, and trained with various weapons. I underwent regular training in the army and can handle and disassemble multiple types of standard firearms."

She suddenly posed as if shooting, "The character in the script has many shooting scenes. My highly professional actions will better establish the character's image."

"That's it for today," Justin Lin called off the audition, "Ms. Gadot, we will inform you of the audition results within three days."

Gal Gadot politely replied, "Thank you."

After she left, Matthew looked at Justin Lin and bearded Jack, asking, "What are your opinions?"

"Very good," Justin Lin said, "Her unique background gives her an advantage that other Hollywood actresses don't have."

Bearded Jack directly stated, "Let's go with her."

Matthew nodded slightly, "Then we'll choose her."

Having finalized the choices for two important roles, Matthew's work for the day was done. Leaving the audition room and exiting the sound stage, he drove a golf cart towards the studio gate. Passing by the "Cloud Atlas" crew's sound stage, he noticed Brad Pitt walking alone towards the studio gate.

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