The richest actor in Hollywood.

"Cut!" Zack Snyder's voice echoed through the studio. He walked over to Eva Green in front of the green screen and said, "Your expression and feeling are off!"

Opposite Eva Green, Matthew moved slightly. This was the fourth time Zack Snyder had called for a cut, and each issue had been with Eva Green. She had just joined the shoot today and clearly hadn't adjusted to the state required. Her performance wasn't up to par with the actors who had been continuously filming.

This was understandable. Zack Snyder patiently explained the scene to Eva Green, "You are the Queen of Sparta. You know that your husband is marching into battle against hundreds of thousands of Persian soldiers, facing almost certain death. What should the Queen feel at this moment?"

Eva Green nodded, "I understand."

Zack Snyder gave her a glance before turning to walk off set. Frankly, he didn't think this French actress was ideal for the role of Queen Gorgo, but both Matthew and Helen Herman had strongly recommended her. Matthew was crucial to the project's success, and Helen Herman had provided excellent services for the project, so he didn't voice any objections.

After all, even though the role was nominally the female lead, it didn't have enough scenes to be considered even a supporting role.

"Don't be nervous," Matthew whispered to Eva Green on set. "You'll find the feeling bit by bit."

Eva Green smiled at Matthew, "Mm."

Beside them, the young actor playing their son tugged at Eva Green's hand and said understandingly, "Eva, I think you're doing great."

Eva Green reached out and gently patted the child's bald head. Matthew couldn't help but laugh and said, "Kid, you're doing great too."

Though the child looked young, he was actually twelve or thirteen years old and was already a somewhat well-known child star in Hollywood.

The younger the child, the harder it is to control during filming. In Hollywood, there are two universally acknowledged uncontrollable factors in filming: child actors and animals.

Filming quickly resumed, and the three actors returned to their positions.

"300 Spartans!" The assistant director placed the clapperboard in front of the camera lens and said, "Scene 111, Take 12, action!"

As his voice fell, the set instantly fell silent.

Matthew walked towards the green screen backdrop. Eva Green bit her lip hard as she watched his tall and strong back, a hard-to-express sorrow seemed to well up inside her. Finally, unable to hold back, she called out in a slightly trembling voice, "Spartan!"

Her voice carried far. Matthew turned his head, his brows slightly furrowed, but his face was as hard as a rock, as if nothing and no one could stop his advance.

He turned around and stood there, "Yes, my Queen."

Eva Green stared deeply at Matthew as she walked over, taking off the wolf tooth necklace from around her neck and putting it on him, saying, "Come back with your shield, or on it!"

"Yes, my Queen!"

Matthew looked at Eva Green's slightly pale face. According to Hollywood conventions, he should say, "I love you," at this moment, but he didn't. Spartans could not be weak or be swayed by emotions. Only the strong could call themselves Spartans, and only the strong could be the King of Sparta!

Regardless of historical records, in the film, the 300 Spartans went to war to defend their homeland, to protect their people, and for the eternal theme of mainstream Hollywood movies—freedom!

Freedom is Hollywood's greatest theme and excuse. As long as it is profitable, Hollywood dares to make any kind of film, even if it means tarnishing other countries and peoples.

Zack Snyder stood up from behind the director's monitor and said loudly, "Good! Well done!" But he didn't call it a wrap; instead, he said, "Eva, you can do even better! All departments reset, we'll go again in five minutes."

As the crew prepared for another take, David Ellison walked into the studio with a girl.

As the sole investor of this film, David Ellison also held the title of producer. However, he knew little about the specifics of filmmaking. Besides hiring a dedicated team and a third-party overseer for the crew, he had barely intervened in the shooting. Coming from a business family and having studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, he knew that interfering would only create chaos.

In fact, his third-party oversight team sent a daily summary to Skydance Productions, and the reports showed the crew was running smoothly.

David Ellison's way of doing things might seem too high-profile, not earning him many friends in Hollywood. But it's clear that with elite education and Larry Ellison's financial backing, even if he wasn't very capable, he definitely wasn't a fool.

"All green screens?" Standing on the edge of the set, the girl who looked somewhat like Larry Ellison said, "Are you crazy, David?"

David Ellison shrugged, "Investing in movies is a crazy business." He looked at the girl and said, "Megan, if you're not crazy, you shouldn't come to Hollywood."

The girl was David Ellison's sister, Megan Ellison, another wealthy second generation interested in the film industry. She shook her head and said, "I think your strategy is fundamentally flawed. Betting most of your money on one project is extremely foolish. What if this project fails?"

"Big investments in big productions can lead to great success," David Ellison said directly, "and prove that I'm a great film investor."

Megan Ellison shook her head repeatedly, "The risk is too high. Instead of investing in such big productions, you should invest in indie films. The $80 million production budget could fund ten indie films. As long as a third of them succeed, you can make a profit."

David Ellison scoffed, "I heard you want to work with someone like Harvey Weinstein." He put his hands on his hips and said, "People like Harvey Weinstein, who are domineering and self-righteous, could be finished at any moment."

Megan Ellison, despite her young age, had a sharp business mind typical of the Ellison family. "But there's no sign of his downfall yet, and he still has a lot of value. He has resources in Hollywood and at film festivals, and I have the money. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. If he does fall, I wouldn't mind kicking him while he's down. With the right operations, Weinstein Company..."

She didn't finish, but David Ellison understood. He knew that while his younger sister was a few years younger, she had always been much smarter than him.

Even their father, Larry Ellison, had said that Megan's only flaw was her youth and relative lack of experience.

As the filming resumed, Megan Ellison lowered her voice and said, "Take this project of yours, for example. An inexperienced producer and a director who has only made one film, you threw in $80 million. Are you that confident in them?"

David Ellison's answer surprised Megan, "I'm not particularly confident in the producer or the director. I didn't invest in this film because of producer Jack or director Zack Snyder."

"What?" Megan Ellison looked at David in confusion. "Then why did you invest?"

David Ellison pointed to the tall, athletic figure on set, "I invested $80 million because of him, Matthew Horner!"

Megan Ellison looked over and was immediately struck by how statue-like the man appeared.

David Ellison continued, "Because Matthew Horner is the lead actor, I dared to invest this $80 million."

Megan Ellison questioned, "Is he worth $80 million?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" David Ellison seemed very confident. "Megan, do you know how much box office revenue his last five films made after their release?"

Megan Ellison, more focused on the indie film scene, though she knew a bit about commercial films, hadn't specifically researched it. She shook her head slightly, "I only know that 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' was a box office hit, but the main star was Johnny Depp, right?"

David Ellison didn't deny it and said directly, "The five films starring Matthew Horner have grossed over $2 billion worldwide!"

Hearing this figure, even Megan Ellison, coming from a super-rich family, couldn't help but be amazed. "Five films, $2 billion in box office revenue? How is that possible?"

David Ellison smiled, "It's over $2 billion!" He looked at Megan. "You should know that box office revenue is only part of the income a film generates. The merchandise revenue from the five films starring Matthew Horner is almost as high as the box office revenue."

Megan Ellison fell silent.

David Ellison continued, "Many in the industry say that Matthew Horner has a unique ability to pick scripts, similar to Tom Hanks. I don't trust Zack Snyder, but I trust Matthew Horner. If he chose this project, he must be confident in its success."

Megan Ellison remained silent for a while before saying, "Father once said that someone who has continuously achieved success is far more likely to continue succeeding than others."

"Exactly." David Ellison folded his arms, looking at Matthew on set. "He will definitely succeed again."

Zack Snyder's voice carried over, "That's a wrap for this scene! Moving on to the next."

"Let's go," David Ellison reminded Megan, "The next scene is a love scene between the leads, not suitable for minors."

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