The richest actor in Hollywood.

The future street racing team must be grounded. In a multicultural society like North America, a good way to achieve this is by ensuring that most minority groups can see their representatives among the characters. In other words, the members of the racing team should be composed of multiple ethnicities.

Whites, Latinos, African Americans, Asians, etc., should all be represented in the street racing team.

Matthew immediately thought about the market across the Pacific. Future films of this type might do well there, so it might be worth laying the groundwork early by selecting a suitable actor from across the Pacific to join the racing team.

However, after thinking it over, Matthew decided against having scenes of the team racing in cities across the Pacific. The idea of safely escaping after a high-speed chase in those cities seemed unlikely to pass censorship.

Matthew then called Bella Anderson over, asking her to note down his thoughts and relay them to David Ellison to prevent forgetting them later.

The next day, he had dinner with David Ellison and Big Beard Jack, discussing their ideas.

Matthew's suggestions received strong support from Big Beard Jack. Given the current social climate in America, it was essential to actively adapt.

News of these ideas quickly spread to the pre-production team of the "Fast & Furious" series. Some people rapidly recommended candidates for various roles. Due to their confidence in Matthew's continuous success, David Ellison allowed Matthew to make most of the decisions in this area.

The entire script of the film hadn't even been written yet, but it was already being overturned and rewritten. As is typical in Hollywood, where screenwriters rarely have much creative freedom, the script for "Fast & Furious" became a standard assigned project.

The script's theme, based on Matthew's earlier comments, was already determined. Key characters and their relationships were outlined first, and the story was built around them.

This was typical Hollywood assembly-line operation.

Matthew and David Ellison expected to invest over $100 million, so they would follow the successful models of the past. If anyone in the crew suggested revolutionary innovations, Matthew would be the first to kick them out.

Regarding the cast, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster would definitely return, and Matthew would play one of the most significant roles.

For minority characters, Paul Walker recommended Tyrese Gibson from the second film as the African American candidate. Screenwriter Gary Scott Thompson suggested bringing Han back as the Asian representative, but Matthew directly rejected this due to Han's character being dead. He planned to find a Chinese actor or a tough guy from across the Pacific.

Additionally, they needed a Latino character. David Ellison reminded Matthew not to overlook the most influential group in Hollywood—Jewish people.

Since it was a multicultural racing team, a Jewish character was also a must.

Of course, these characters might not all appear in the fourth film. If the fourth film succeeded, they would gradually appear in the new trilogy sequels.

Filming of "I Am Legend" continued. The crew would spend the entire February filming in Warner Bros. Studios and then move to New York in March to shoot the final outdoor scenes at Washington Square and the East River.

Since filming began last year, the German Shepherd named Carl had disappeared from the set because it showed obvious hostility towards Matthew. All the scenes involving Sam would be created using CGI in post-production, which wasn't difficult given Hollywood's current technology.

"Matthew! Sadness! Anger!"

On the set designed as a laboratory, Guillermo del Toro stopped filming and loudly instructed Matthew, "Your only companion is dead. You shouldn't be so calm!"

He raised his voice, "Let's do it again."

During the script preparation phase, Matthew had suggested not having Robert Neville kill Sam to avoid unnecessary controversy. However, after investigating, Warner Bros. and the crew found that most related organizations didn't have strong objections.

Guillermo del Toro believed that Sam's death added more tension to the story, so the crew decided to have Robert Neville kill Sam himself.

Matthew didn't speak but nodded. This scene had already required four takes, with his emotional expression consistently lacking intensity.

This was largely his own issue. Guillermo del Toro gave him fifteen minutes to adjust his mindset. As an experienced actor, Matthew quietly emptied his mind, gradually calming himself.

Fifteen minutes later, at Guillermo del Toro's command, filming resumed.

Matthew's arms trembled as he held the model dog, leaning against the examination table and slowly sitting on the ground. His face showed not just sadness but fear, as if afraid of losing his last relative.

He hugged the model dog tightly, seemingly trying to warm Sam's gradually cooling body with his own body heat.

A large hand trembled as it brushed over the model dog's head. He spoke in a quivering voice, "Don't worry, don't worry about anything."

At this moment, the fear of losing a loved one was evident in his voice, "Everything will be fine, it'll be okay..." His voice gradually choked up, "Don't worry..."

He opened his hand, which was covered in dog hair.

Matthew stopped sobbing and started humming a tune unclearly, first opening the model dog's eyes and mouth, checking its pupils and teeth. His breathing became rapid as the worst he feared had happened.

Guillermo del Toro didn't look at the director's monitor but stood behind the main camera, watching Matthew closely. Seeing Matthew's wide eyes and painful expression, he immediately instructed the cameraman, "Shoot a close-up of Matthew's face. Don't focus on the dog."

The cameraman complied without hesitation.

Matthew's mouth tightened, his facial expression both fierce and sorrowful. His arms squeezed the model dog's neck so tightly that the prop dog's resin bones even made cracking sounds...

Finally, he stopped, releasing the prop dog as two lines of tears silently fell down his cheeks.

"Good! It's a wrap!" Guillermo del Toro's shout carried a trace of inexplicable excitement, "Well done, Matthew! That was a great performance!"

Matthew stood up, giving Guillermo del Toro a thumbs-up without speaking, and walked towards the rest area.

As he stood up, he returned to normal, not falling into deep sadness.

"By industry standards..." Matthew said with some self-mockery while sitting in a chair, "My acting is probably still second-rate."

Bella Anderson walked over, saying, "Miss Theron is here to visit the set."

"Sally?" Matthew immediately asked, "Where is she?"

"She's with her agent in producer Akiva Goldsman's office." Bella Anderson pointed to a temporary office in the corner of the studio, "I greeted Miss Theron, and she said she would come find you after talking with Akiva Goldsman."

Matthew nodded, "Got it."

After resting for less than ten minutes, he returned to the set to continue filming the remaining scenes for the day. The crew quickly moved to the video store set. Perhaps because the most challenging scene had been completed, the remaining scenes were shot smoothly. By 4 p.m., Guillermo del Toro announced the end of filming.

Charlize Theron and her agent were still talking with Akiva Goldsman. Matthew went to the makeup room, removed his makeup, changed clothes, and returned to the studio. Charlize Theron, wearing jeans and a white top, was chatting with Bella Anderson.

"Hi, Sally." Matthew walked over quickly. Charlize Theron turned to him, smiling brightly, and nodded, "Long time no see, Matthew."

They opened their arms and naturally hugged.

Regardless of what had happened before, they always remained good friends.

Of course, they occasionally crossed the line of friendship, but they quickly stepped back.

"Let's walk and talk." Matthew invited Charlize Theron. They left the studio together, and he asked, "How did your talk with Akiva Goldsman go?"

Charlize Theron walked with Matthew towards the studio entrance, saying, "Akiva already gave me the script. I'll decide after reading it." She glanced at Matthew, "Haven't you signed on yet?"

Matthew shrugged, "My reason for not signing is mainly due to temporary disagreements over pay, not the script."

"It's a very average script," Charlize Theron said bluntly, "It could even be called a bad script. No wonder it bounced around Hollywood studios for ten years without anyone investing."

She curiously asked, "What made you interested in this script?"

"Sally, didn't you study it carefully? Scripts like 'Him and Tonight' are the typical ones used for commercially successful films," Matthew stated the facts, "The script is just a small part of why I took on this project. The most important reason is Akiva Goldsman. This is his project, and I'm certain of one thing: Akiva Goldsman is in the prime of his career, just like Jerry Bruckheimer a few years ago."

Charlize Theron understood this reasoning. When choosing a film, the director and producer often take precedence over the script.

They reached the studio entrance, where Charlize Theron declined Matthew's dinner invitation, saying, "I need to think it over and talk to Akiva Goldsman again before deciding."

Matthew nodded, "Sally, I'm really looking forward to working with you again."

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