The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 113

"Hello, Miller. Are you back in Los Angeles?"

Having just arrived in Paris on a flight from Los Angeles, Matthew had barely left the airport when he got a call from Jonny Lee Miller. "A videotape? What videotape? Oh, right, now I remember. Sorry, Miller. It's a shame I'm not in L.A. right now. I just landed in Paris and haven't even stepped out of the airport."

He held the phone up so the airport announcements would be audible, then continued, "Did you hear that? That's right, I'm in Europe. No, no, I'm not avoiding you. You know I was filming 'Band of Brothers,' right? The premiere is in Normandy, that's why I'm here."

Matthew fell back on his usual tactic, stalling for time and improvising as he went. "HBO sent me an invitation signed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. I couldn't exactly turn it down, could I? Miller, be reasonable. I'll get in touch with you the moment I'm back in Los Angeles."

"What?" As Matthew started to hear Miller's enraged shouts through the receiver, he resorted to an old but devilishly reliable trick. "Hello? I can't hear you. Sorry, I have to go."

With that, Matthew hung up.

After retrieving his luggage from Charles de Gaulle Airport, he found a rental car. He didn't linger in Paris, instead telling his driver to head straight for Normandy. He had just wrapped filming on "Black Hawk Down" and had to deal with financial and tax matters in Los Angeles, which meant he could only arrive the day before the premiere.

It was already completely dark when Matthew arrived in Carentan. He headed to the hotel where the cast and crew were staying and immediately went to sleep, knowing he had a long couple of days ahead of him.

Early the next morning, he saw James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in the restaurant; they had also received invitations.

Then Matthew spotted other familiar faces: Michael Cudlitz, Eion Bailey, and many others.Matthew not only greeted them all but embraced them warmly. During filming, they had all become like brothers-in-arms, and though there had been occasional conflicts, they were few and far between.

The time they had spent filming felt fleeting, but Matthew knew he would likely remember these people for the rest of his life.

After dinner, they changed into black formal attire and boarded a bus provided by the production team, which took them to the Normandy Cemetery. A memorial service was scheduled for the morning, followed by the premiere in the afternoon.

The Normandy Cemetery was swarming with journalists. DreamWorks and HBO had put on quite a show, inviting not only veterans who had participated in the Normandy landings but also a U.S. Army honor guard, making the whole affair feel like a major state event.

As the actors stepped off the bus, they each took a bouquet of flowers from a basket by the door and proceeded solemnly toward the cemetery square, their path illuminated by the constant flashing of press cameras.

Matthew had arrived in Carentan late and hadn't been briefed on the proceedings. Thankfully, he didn't have to go alone; he figured he couldn't go wrong if he just followed the group and did whatever everyone else was doing.

At events like these, a single misstep could have far more damaging consequences than usual.

The square in front of the monument at the Normandy Cemetery was filled with people. American military honor guards stood on either side of the steps leading up to the monument, and a group of soldiers stood in an open area to the left, ready to perform a gun salute.

He followed the procession up the steps to the memorial, his expression solemn and unusually serious. He placed his bouquet at the base of the monument and then slowly walked away.

As he was leaving, he saw Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg off to the side of the memorial, giving an interview to a group of reporters.

Matthew returned to the square with the others. They had all been instructed beforehand not to speak amongst themselves, and the entire square felt exceptionally quiet and solemn.

After they had stood for some time, a memorial service began. A one-star American general stood before the monument and gave a short speech. Then, the mournful sound of Scottish bagpipes filled the air, followed by a gun salute from the soldiers.

Matthew wasn't sure what to do, so he simply followed the procession and went with the flow. In any case, the whole ceremony felt more like a promotional event than a genuine memorial.

But as he was swept up in it all, he had to admire the sheer ingenuity of Hollywood companies when it came to publicity and marketing, and the incredible influence they wielded.

This was an event that went far beyond the scope of entertainment news.

Before returning to the hotel at noon to rest before the afternoon's activities, Matthew changed into a different dark gray formal suit, carefully putting away the black one. Just like the last time he'd attended the "Gladiator" premiere, the suit was rented. He had intended to rent only one, but Helen had vehemently opposed the idea, refusing to let him wear the same outfit to both the morning and afternoon events.

Matthew was also beginning to understand why suit rental companies were so prevalent in the Los Angeles area. If an actor had to buy a new tuxedo for every event he attended, he'd likely go bankrupt.

The premiere for "Band of Brothers" was held at the Utah Beach memorial square, where DreamWorks and HBO had spent a considerable sum to erect a massive tent, complete with the usual long red carpet and hundreds of journalists gathered on either side.

However, the journalists were focused on the main cast and crew, like Tom Hanks, Spielberg, Damian Lewis, and the World War II veterans.

Matthew couldn't find an opportunity to make his presence known to the press, so he simply entered the tent early like everyone else. After a while, the red carpet event finally concluded, and "Band of Brothers" began playing on the big screen.

HBO screened the first two episodes of the series, along with a few short clips from the next eight. Matthew watched intently, not only because he had a role in it, but also because this type of military drama was very new to him.

Although he had participated in the filming of "Band of Brothers," watching it unfold on set with his own eyes was a completely different experience from seeing the final product.

After watching the first two episodes, Matthew was thoroughly impressed that a television series could be made with such quality. Besides the battle scenes, which were in no way inferior to those in a feature film, the costumes and sets were so flawlessly executed that he could almost smell the mud in the trenches and the blood on the ground through the screen.

And the episodes were free of slogans and sermons. Both the direction and the script strove to recreate the joys and sorrows of an ordinary soldier in a terrible war as authentically as possible.

After the premiere, Tom Hanks took the stage to answer questions from the press. Matthew couldn't help but feel a wave of boredom. Gazing at the promotional posters for the series in front of him, he let his mind wander.

"What are you thinking about?" Michael Fassbender asked, sitting beside him.

Matthew shook his head. "Just nonsense. Amusing myself."

Michael reminded him, "Come on, it's time for the interviews."