The richest actor in Hollywood.

Inside Warner Bros. Studios, on a set arranged to look like a laboratory, the crew of "I Am Legend" was busy filming. Director Guillermo del Toro, seemingly fully recovered from his injury, sat behind the director's monitor, intently watching the shots being transmitted live from the camera.

Matthew, dressed in a white lab coat and wearing laboratory goggles, opened the medical freezer in front of him, took out a tray holding vaccines, and carefully carried it to an examination table that resembled a hospital bed.

On the examination table lay a female actress who had been meticulously made up. Her hair was shaved off, and her skin was painted a strange grayish-white, making her unrecognizable.

After placing the tray down, Matthew carefully examined the female Darkseeker, lowering his voice as he narrated his experiment.

"The subject is female, between eighteen and twenty years old. The required sedative dose is about six times that of a normal person." The actress, cooperating well, breathed rapidly, her chest heaving, "Body temperature 106 degrees Fahrenheit, heart rate 200 beats per minute, rapid breathing."

Matthew then looked at the medical monitor, the camera behind him also turning to the monitor as if it were his eyes. "Blood oxygen level about three times that of a normal person."

He pulled out a flashlight and examined the actress's eyes. "Pupils fully dilated, no response to light."

At this point, Matthew put away the flashlight and suddenly tilted his head, bending down to examine the female Darkseeker's shoulder with great concentration, as if discovering something intriguing.

On the director's monitor, Guillermo del Toro saw Matthew's finger brush over the butterfly mark on the female Darkseeker's shoulder and nodded slightly. Despite the long interruption in filming, Matthew was still in top form. After a brief adjustment this morning, he had found his character's feeling again by the afternoon.

"If an actor like Matthew can be nominated for a Razzie for Worst Actor, then eighty percent of Hollywood actors are unqualified." Guillermo del Toro thought the Razzies were completely nonsensical, which indeed they often were.

It wasn't hard to understand, though. Matthew's films had high box office returns, significant influence, and great profits, yet he didn't follow the traditional route of immersing himself in acting techniques. His success naturally invited envy and resentment.

So, some people, unable to suppress him in terms of box office and commercial success, simply used the Razzies to disgust him.

However, from their interactions, Guillermo del Toro could tell that Matthew had a very good attitude, caring little about awards, whether it was the Razzies or the Oscars. He appeared particularly carefree.

For a star actor, when someone is intent on finding faults, they can always find some, even for Hollywood role models like Tom Hanks.

Therefore, Guillermo del Toro believed that an actor's mindset was very important. It was crucial to maintain one's original intention amidst either praise or scorn and not lose oneself.

He had previously talked with Matthew about original intentions. Although he didn't know what Matthew's original intention was, he could tell from Matthew's words and actions that he never lost sight of it.

"The skin has a strong reaction to ultraviolet light." On set, Matthew continued his monologue while acting, "Symptoms and samples confirm... the subject is deeply infected with the KV virus."

Then he opened the syringe and the vaccine, "Vaccine test, GA-391 serum compound number six, beginning human trials now."

Soon, under the camera's watch, the experiment ended in failure. After pushing the female Darkseeker into the isolation room of the laboratory, Guillermo del Toro announced the end of this long take.

"Half-hour break!" Guillermo del Toro shouted loudly.

Although the long take lasted only a few minutes, it had exhausted both the actors and the crew members behind the scenes.

Matthew walked off the set, exhaling a long breath, took a cup of water handed by Bella Anderson, drank a sip, took off the white lab coat and handed it to the makeup artist who came up to him, stretched lazily, feeling a bit tired. Today's shoot consisted entirely of his scenes, and so far, the film was almost a one-man show.

Such scenes required him to be more focused and occasionally burst forth with extra effort, sometimes even surpassing his usual performance.

Matthew had never shied away from action scenes with long takes, but completing a long take of monologues in one go was quite rare for him.

After drinking some water and resting for a while, director Guillermo del Toro also came over, and Matthew went to chat with him.

"Tired?" Matthew asked.

"No problem," Guillermo del Toro shook his head, "I'm fully recovered."

He turned to Matthew, "Your performance just now was excellent. Long takes require a lot from an actor. Even a small mistake means a retake."

Matthew, always good at making connections, said, "It was mainly because your morning directions were great, helping me quickly find the character's feeling." He had come to Guillermo del Toro with a question, so he directly asked, "In a commercially successful film based on the real world like ours, what do you think is the most important aspect of production?"

"There are many," Guillermo del Toro didn't quite understand what Matthew was getting at but replied, "Actors, directors, music, editing are all important... uh, the script can also be considered quite important."

Matthew's question stemmed from his involvement with the "Fast & Furious" series. Guillermo del Toro's answer wasn't what he was looking for.

"Guillermo, you might have heard, I and others have bought the rights to the 'Fast & Furious' series and plan to invest in continuing its production." Matthew decided not to beat around the bush, "I'll be the producer. From a director's perspective, what should a commercial blockbuster like this focus on?"

"Oh, I see." Guillermo del Toro suddenly understood, thinking for a while before saying, "Matthew, every film is different. I can only talk about 'I Am Legend' and my thoughts on it. I can't guarantee it will help you."

Matthew, a genuine novice in production, said immediately, "Please go ahead."

Guillermo del Toro pondered for about half a minute before slowly speaking, "When I took on directing 'I Am Legend,' I convinced Akiva Goldsman to follow my vision, blending the fictional elements of sci-fi with the real world to give the film both entertainment value and aesthetic appeal."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "For a commercial film like this, which doesn't stray from the real world, the relationship between fiction and reality must be handled well."

Matthew listened intently, hoping to glean something useful for the "Fast & Furious" series from Guillermo del Toro's words.

The "Fast & Furious" series would be his first real foray into production, giving him the ultimate power over a film. While this power seemed significant, using it required caution.

Guillermo del Toro added, "I always believe that the success of a blockbuster can't rely solely on grand production and spectacular special effects. It's more about properly handling the fictional and real elements."

Seeing Matthew deep in thought, he slowed his pace, "Matthew, creating a film is never easy, especially a large-scale commercial film. It's ten times more complex and difficult than making an independent art film. You need to discover the nuances in the film that resonate with the audience and present them on screen."

Matthew slowly nodded. Guillermo del Toro made a lot of sense.

With the conversation flowing, Guillermo del Toro continued, "Take 'I Am Legend,' for example. Akiva Goldsman and I approached its concept and production similarly. The film undoubtedly needs a lot of fictional elements. However, these fictional aspects are mostly inspired by real life. Like novels, films are derived from reality but transcend it. The use of fictional techniques must not detach from reality."

He gave a concrete example, "Take your character, the protagonist. The film essentially showcases Robert Neville's life, spanning four years, where he persistently fights in solitude, accompanied only by his dog. This brings a sense of real-life atmosphere. The film seems to be showing how one person spent four years of their life, with many stories and life fragments. This connection to real life, combined with engaging plot portrayals, makes the film appealing."

Listening to this, Matthew furrowed his brow in thought. Guillermo del Toro's words sparked some ideas, though he couldn't quite grasp them yet. A notion kept flitting around in his mind, playing hide and seek.

Guillermo del Toro decided to stop there, recognizing that commercial films have both common and unique elements.

Matthew gradually grasped the idea in his mind. Guillermo del Toro's words could be summed up in one point, using a phrase from his time living across the Pacific: "grounded."

For a commercial film like "Fast & Furious," based on the real world, it must be grounded!

Such films don't need lofty presentations. The characters are former low-level society figures, allowing the average audience to find something relatable in them...

The protagonists seem to be just like you, me, and everyone else, coming together in their high-powered cars, living lives that mirror ordinary people or how ordinary people imagine, doing what the audience dreams of but can't achieve.

"Thank you, Guillermo."

Just as Matthew finished saying this, he suddenly thought of another good way to ground a film in the North American social structure.

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