The richest actor in Hollywood.

While Matthew was focused on the progress of his two projects and the latest developments in the Hollywood writers' strike, a piece of news suddenly exploded across the nation in just a few days—Heath Ledger, the former Oscar Best Actor nominee, had passed away! The New York Times reported that Heath Ledger's body was found by his housekeeper and a masseuse who came to provide services. They knocked on the door but received no response, so they opened the bedroom door to find Ledger naked, lying on the bed, unconscious, and unresponsive...

A few days later, the police released the autopsy results, concluding that Ledger had died from an overdose of six different medications, including sleeping pills and prescription drugs.

Initially, this news was reported by some media outlets, but the narrative quickly changed. Warner Bros.'s media began to promote the idea that Ledger had been deeply affected by his role as the Joker, leading to depression and suicide. More online media followed suit, and soon the story had spread to almost all media outlets.

The media loved such stories, and the public loved reading them. Consequently, under Warner Bros.'s careful orchestration, the Joker became Ledger's swan song on screen. No one in Hollywood seemed to remember that Ledger had just finished a film called "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which wouldn't be released until 2009.

The shock of death is powerful, especially when a well-known star sacrifices himself for his art, instantly capturing the attention of the entire nation and even the world.

From the Harry Potter series, it was evident that Warner Bros.'s management had many flaws, but they were indeed strong in publicity and promotion.

The Joker was destined to become one of the most iconic characters in film history.

Matthew read these reports and felt a sense of emotion for a few minutes. Perhaps if he had accepted Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven's invitation to play the Joker, Heath Ledger might have had a different fate?

But all of this remained hypothetical. He didn't know Ledger and had never interacted with him. He wouldn't risk his health by losing dozens of pounds in a short time...

His only intersection with Ledger was being considered as one of the candidates for the Joker role.

Of course, in terms of acting alone, Ledger might have been far superior to him.

Recalling the high-definition pirated version of "The Dark Knight" he had once watched from across the Pacific, he was genuinely impressed by the film. At that time, he was in a difficult situation, often struggling to get paid, and the Joker's existence even made him believe that chaos might be the answer to everything.

Fortunately, he remained in the initial stage of daring to think but not to act.

The public's opinion of Ledger's performance as the Joker would never be completely free from the influence of his death. An actor playing such a manic and exaggerated character, delivering an eerie and supernatural performance, and then dying within six months would inevitably lead people to keep digging into his performance and the connections between the character he created and his death, making them inseparable.

In the highest level of acting within the industry, it's rare for anyone to objectively evaluate performances. It's like asking whether Al Pacino's performance in "Dog Day Afternoon" is better than Robert De Niro's in "Raging Bull." 

How can one distinguish?

Undeniably, Ledger's death indeed gave his performance as the Joker an unrepeatable, unique quality, making it even more cherished. Objectively speaking, this version of the Joker is indeed memorable and is a paradigm of villainous performances.

After all, in all the superhero movies he had watched, he hadn't seen a more outstanding villain than the Joker.

Perhaps because he narrowly missed the Joker role, Matthew paid particular attention to news about Ledger.

Ledger's death had far surpassed his own influence. As long as "The Dark Knight," set to be released in July, succeeded, this would surely become a textbook case of Hollywood publicity, potentially being referenced by other studios or companies in the future.

Matthew couldn't help but think of "Fast & Furious 7" and Paul Walker, planning to remind Walker to stay away from street racing outside of movies.

How did Walker crash? Matthew thought for a long time about the entertainment gossip he had read, remembering it had something to do with a Porsche 911, but he wasn't sure of the specifics.

Perhaps he could add something to the actor contracts. The crew was negotiating with Walker's agent, planning to sign a multi-film contract with him, and could include clauses such as prohibiting dangerous driving to ensure future film production.

It might help a bit.

Matthew would remind Walker within his means but wouldn't go around foolishly telling him about his future. Apart from possible chain reactions, he would at least be regarded as an idiot or a lunatic.

Amidst the clamor, Matthew received some good news: the prolonged writers' strike had finally ended. The writers of "Fast & Furious 4" and "Twilight" could return to work.

Regardless, not having dedicated writers on set was quite inconvenient.

In early February, during simultaneous votes by the East and West Coast Writers Guilds, members overwhelmingly agreed to end the prolonged strike with 3,775 votes in favor.

The Writers Guild signed a three-year interim contract with the Producers Alliance, stipulating that writers' annual earnings from new media would increase from 3% to 3.5%, and from now on, past works could also earn a portion from online revenues.

The writers would receive a unified subsidy of up to $1,200 for the first two years, with subsequent annual earnings drawn from a share of the total profits of distributors.

This was a mutually compromising agreement, falling short of the Writers Guild's initial goals.

With the agreement signed, the previously endangered Oscars ceremony was back on track, though Matthew had no plans to attend, having more important matters to consider.

Paramount Pictures and Stephen Sommers had hired writers to rewrite the "G.I. Joe" script, showing sincerity by beginning to discuss Matthew's pay with Helen Herman.

Matthew's demand was $20 million plus post-release profit sharing, with the exact percentage open for negotiation.

Apart from Paramount, Warner Bros. also reached out.

"Hello, Charles."

In the new office at Burbank Studio 13, Matthew welcomed renowned Warner Bros. producer Charles Roven, "Long time no see."

Charles Roven smiled and greeted Matthew, "The last time we met was at the 'I Am Legend' premiere." He praised, "The box office for 'I Am Legend' is excellent. Warner Bros. is considering making a sequel."

Matthew couldn't help but laugh, "You're not here to talk about the sequel, are you? If I remember correctly, you handle more superhero films at Warner Bros."

If Warner Bros. planned a sequel to "I Am Legend," he wouldn't be surprised. In Hollywood's sequel-dominated environment, Warner Bros. wouldn't easily let go of a big hit like "I Am Legend."

But contrary to his thoughts, Charles Roven shook his head, "I have nothing to do with 'I Am Legend' and won't be involved in that business. I'm here on behalf of Warner Bros. and director Christopher Nolan to invite you to star in Nolan's new project."

Before Matthew could respond, Roven continued, "Nolan is busy with post-production on 'The Dark Knight' in Chicago and specifically asked me to bring you his script."

"Oh?" Matthew was intrigued, "Christopher Nolan wants to invite me to star in his new film?"

"Yes, Nolan is very sincere." Charles Roven opened his briefcase, took out a script less than a hundred pages thick, and handed it to Matthew, saying, "Nolan has been looking for the right actor, and after watching several of your major films, he decided you're the one he wants."

Matthew took the script and smiled, saying, "I'd also love to work with a stylistically unique director like Christopher Nolan."

Roven saw Matthew browsing the script and briefly introduced it, "This script is just a draft, a rough outline by Nolan."

Matthew could see that. The scenes and descriptions were somewhat disorganized.

"In Nolan's conception, this will be a very special heist film," Roven explained the film's type and theme, "A commercial espionage team led by the protagonist invades unsuspecting people's dreams to steal their ideas for profit."

Hearing this and flipping through the script, Matthew felt a sense of familiarity.

But he didn't say much, and after reading the script, he didn't give a definitive response.

Roven didn't press further, preparing to leave. Before departing, he said, "I'll leave the script here. If you're interested, we can discuss it further later."

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