The richest actor in Hollywood.

In a large conference room at the Warner Bros. building, thick black curtains blocked out the sunlight, plunging the room into darkness. On the white screen suspended in the dark room, the image was equally pitch black, like thick ink. Batman was fleeing in the dark, taking all the darkness with him, intending to leave the light for Gotham.

Commissioner Gordon issued a warrant for Batman's arrest, destroyed the Bat-Signal, and bestowed upon Batman the title of the Dark Knight...

Since the film had not yet added the opening and closing credits, the screening ended there.

The small camera was turned off, the curtains were pulled back, and the more than twenty viewers, including Matthew, Helen Herman, Charles Roven, Akiva Goldsman, and various Warner Bros. executives, all turned to look at Christopher Nolan and then applauded.

Although "The Dark Knight" was only about ninety percent complete, it did not detract from it being a deeply impactful and brilliant film.

If Matthew had to say, "The Dark Knight" was on a completely different level compared to all previous superhero movies.

As the applause subsided, Helen Herman whispered to Matthew, "This film is every bit as good as the Wachowski brothers' 'The Matrix.'"

Matthew nodded lightly and said in a somewhat pretentious manner, "The Joker said everything that should and shouldn't be said, and Batman did everything that should and shouldn't be done. Life is about choices; the age of heroes has passed."

Soon, a Warner Bros. staff member distributed feedback forms, which was common practice at screenings.

The purpose of the screening was to minimize any issues or elements that might be sensitive to the market.

Matthew only wrote one sentence on the feedback form: "Not a second was wasted!"

In fact, he couldn't come up with any suggestions. Aside from some awkward lines, there wasn't much to criticize about the film. Christopher Nolan was quite talented, even making a superhero movie like this.

Thinking back to the few Christopher Nolan films he had seen before, without discussing other aspects, in terms of balancing art and commerce, he was undoubtedly much better than the equally renowned Wachowski siblings.

After the screening, everyone dispersed, but Christopher Nolan stopped Matthew, wanting to chat with him privately.

Since Christopher Nolan had to courteously see off the attendees of the screening, Matthew waited a few minutes before joining him in a nearby meeting room.

"Not a second was wasted..." In the meeting room, Christopher Nolan said politely, "Matthew, you're too kind."

Matthew smiled and said, "This 'Dark Knight' is a great work."

Christopher Nolan hadn't expected Matthew to say that and felt a bit embarrassed. "I just wanted to make a non-traditional superhero movie." He then directly asked, "Why do you say that?"

He wanted to know why this unreleased work was considered great by someone like Matthew.

Matthew didn't hesitate, "Its greatness lies in its ability to convey an idea, especially to those who look down on commercial films."

"Oh?" Christopher Nolan didn't quite understand what Matthew meant and asked, "Why?"

Matthew was also using this opportunity to probe Christopher Nolan's thoughts, "Rather than striving in art films, it's better to elevate the quality of commercial films like 'The Dark Knight.'"

Christopher Nolan couldn't help but laugh, "Many of my film ideas require substantial funding to realize."

"Warner Bros. is a good investor," Matthew said with a smile. "Haven't you always been working with Warner Bros.?"

"Warner Bros. has always wanted to work with you," Christopher Nolan replied.

After a few comments about Warner Bros., they got to the point. Christopher Nolan said directly, "The script I asked Charles Roven to deliver, have you read it?"

Matthew nodded lightly, "I've read it." He thought for a moment and added, "The script is a bit scattered, complex, and ambiguous were my biggest impressions."

"This is just the initial version," Christopher Nolan said calmly. "My brother Jonathan wrote down the general idea I described. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we didn't have time to refine it before sending it to you."

"Unforeseen circumstances?" Matthew keenly caught the key point.

Christopher Nolan explained, "Your schedule is very full. You're filming and producing two movies, and Paramount Pictures plans to invite you to star in their new film. Your work will be very busy for the next two years, so I wanted to notify you in advance to avoid scheduling conflicts if we work together."

Matthew asked immediately, "When do you plan to shoot and release this film?"

"Start filming next summer," Christopher Nolan clearly had a plan, "and release in the summer of 2010."

"Timing shouldn't be an issue," Matthew nodded again, then looked at Christopher Nolan and asked, "My educational background isn't very high, and the script is chaotic. I haven't figured it out yet. Can you explain the project specifically?"

Although he saw some familiar elements, he needed to confirm if it was the movie he had seen before.

At Matthew and Christopher Nolan's level of collaboration, both parties undoubtedly needed to be sincere. Matthew had already expressed his willingness to cooperate.

Christopher Nolan also knew that the script hastily faxed to Los Angeles and delivered by Charles Roven was a bit messy. After a moment of thought, he said, "The main subject and plot of this project are about an elusive dream."

He smiled and continued, "The things I wanted to convey in the script were ideas I've been pondering since I was sixteen. I had the rough concept about seven or eight years ago, but the story progressed much further than I imagined. It touched on the relationship between real dreams and the half-awake state."

Matthew nodded lightly, not interrupting.

"I often have many strange ideas. At night, I naturally wake up and then fall into a light sleep state, where I often believe I'm dreaming," Christopher Nolan explained further. "Then, more strange feelings follow, and I can remember and dissect the stories in my dreams."

At this point, Matthew joked, "I also have such feelings. Sometimes..." He pointed around, "I think now is a dream, and everything about Matthew Horner in Hollywood is a wonderful dream."

Christopher Nolan laughed and said, "Indeed, Hollywood is a beautiful dream that those deeply involved don't want to wake up from."

He returned to the main topic, "The human brain can accommodate all real-world scenes. In my research, I haven't encountered the limits of this behavior. It's like walking on a beach, you can look around and pick up a handful of fine sand. I try to verify this through 'lucid dreaming.' My script is based on these common yet simple principles. So my idea is that technology allows people to invade other people's minds and share the same dream at the same time."

Matthew had also seen this point in the script.

"After Charles Roven delivered the script to you, I had new ideas for the film," Christopher Nolan continued. "Initially, I planned to shoot a heist movie where the protagonist invades unsuspecting minds to steal ideas."

He slowly said, "But a good director should aim higher. I'm always interested in penetrating someone's psyche. Merely taking something from there isn't attractive enough."

Matthew honestly said, "I think that's already a good idea."

Christopher Nolan shook his head slightly and shared his latest idea, "So, I set a bigger goal for myself. In my vision, the protagonist's new task is to implant an idea in someone else's mind, an idea that the person would normally resist. But through their plan, this idea takes root and grows, ultimately leading the target to act according to their employer's wishes."

Hearing this, Matthew remained expressionless but gradually confirmed in his heart that this should be the movie called "Inception."

Wasn't that film about Leonardo DiCaprio's character, along with others, entering someone's dream to plant an idea to dismantle their company?

If it was this film, Matthew could definitely take on Christopher Nolan's project.

"You need to place something in someone's consciousness and let it grow in a specific way. You must first foresee how it will grow chaotically..."

Christopher Nolan continued, "Of course, there are many challenges in the story and script, such as designing the dream to be visually and sensorially realistic so that the dreamer doesn't realize it's just a dream. In that subconscious state, a person's deepest, most precious secrets are laid bare."

Matthew nodded slowly and then said very seriously, "This is a genius idea."

"So..." Christopher Nolan said again, "I want to invite you to join and turn this idea into an outstanding film."

Matthew honestly exaggerated, "I like this idea." After a moment of thought, he added, "Christopher, my agent isn't here, so I can't promise you anything specific, but I really like what you've said."

Christopher Nolan, understanding the industry's rules, said, "I'll finish the post-production of 'The Dark Knight' and then move on to this project. Once the new script is ready, I'll have it sent to you."

"When will your crew be established?" Matthew also showed sincerity, "I'll notify my agent to contact you."

The two reached an agreement in this meeting and then left the room with smiles.

_________________________

[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!] 

[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]

[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]