The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 124: We're Just Going to Film Something...

As he slowly packed his bag, Arnold remarked to Rachel, "It looks like there's some tension between Brendan and Matthew."

Rachel shrugged. "It's not just tension, there's an actual conflict. The situation is obvious. The Scorpion King has been a huge hit with the fans and the press, and that's getting to Brendan."

Arnold asked uncertainly, "Maybe we should try to mediate? Matthew isn't a bad guy."

"Not a bad guy?" Rachel suddenly laughed. "Arnold, do you think someone who managed to get almost the entire cast to say he's a good person could possibly be a simple man?"

Arnold immediately recalled their time filming at Pinewood Studios. The vast majority of the actors considered Matthew Horner a good actor; even the director, Stephen Sommers, who had been prejudiced against him at first, later changed his mind.

Rachel shook her head. "Brendan has an excellent reputation, but unfortunately, he lacks self-control..."

She didn't elaborate, saying instead, "Either way, this project has nothing more to do with me. They can stir up whatever drama they want, but what do I care?"

Hearing this, Arnold was at a loss for words. He remembered last year when Matthew was leaving London, and they'd all had a farewell drink together, acting like true friends.

But he wasn't a novice either; he knew there had been no conflict of interest back then. Now, Matthew had stolen the spotlight that originally belonged to Brendan—and possibly the lead role in the next film. Naturally, everything had changed.

Rachel gathered her things and said, "I'm heading out."She wasn't short on work and had no desire to get involved in this kind of mess, which wouldn't do her any good.

Though Matthew Horner was a genuinely nice guy who could always get a laugh, she was no fool.

He was very masculine, but unfortunately, he was still too unknown and had no real power. He was one of those guys with no backing in the industry, which wouldn't do much for his future. Otherwise, it would have been great to get involved with him.

...

Matthew was the last to leave the Luxor hotel. He got into his car and rubbed his face with his hands; his cheeks were numb from smiling so much.

From the start of the event to the very end, he had done exactly as Helen instructed, whether he was in front of regular fans or being interviewed by the press, always putting on his best face.

Now that The Mummy Returns had recouped its budget at the box office in its opening weekend, the voices within Universal Pictures pushing for a third installment of The Mummy series had grown even louder. According to Helen, this faction believed the franchise had already established itself as a brand and that they could easily find new writers and directors to produce it, even without Sean Daniels and Stephen Sommers.

This past weekend, The Mummy Returns had grossed over $68 million, not only topping the box office charts but also setting the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend of 2001.

Typically, Hollywood studios were guaranteed to green-light sequels after such a success. Matthew believed that if it weren't for Sean and Stephen, the new Scorpion King project would stand no chance of competing with a third Mummy film.

After getting out of his car and entering his hotel, Matthew didn't go back to his own room. Instead, he dialed Helen's number and headed to her floor, where she had just arrived that afternoon.

After knocking on Helen's door, he walked in and immediately poured himself a glass of water, having had nothing to drink since the premiere began.

"Did everything go well?" Helen asked.

Matthew drained the glass of water before answering, "Couldn't have been better."

He glanced around the suite's living room and asked, "Where's Amanda?"

Helen sat down on the sofa. "I sent her away. The less she knows about what's coming next, the better."

Matthew moved to the sofa opposite her. "What are the results?"

"I met with Sean Daniels and Stephen Sommers this morning. Both are skeptical about a Mummy sequel." Helen got straight to the point. "And Stephen Sommers has absolutely no plans for another installment."

"That means," Matthew caught her meaning, "that even if Universal decides to make a third film, Stephen won't know what to shoot?"

Helen nodded. "Essentially."

She paused, then added, "Universal's biggest doubts about The Scorpion King spin-off come from the skeptics who don't believe in you or your appeal to a mainstream audience."

Matthew was aware of this. If he were half as famous as Brendan, Universal wouldn't have bothered with market research and would have likely already started filming the spin-off.

Helen continued, "For now, we're taking a two-pronged approach. First, we diminish our competitor's advantage. Second, we increase the leverage we hold."

Knowing Helen was more of an expert in this area than he was, Matthew asked, "Do you have a plan?"

"For the first part, we're targeting Brendan." Helen had clearly done her homework. "His agent is currently lobbying Universal's executives, and Brendan himself is the most active proponent of a Mummy sequel, where he would also star."

Matthew declared, "Let me handle Brendan."

Helen didn't object, but she cautioned, "Don't start a public fight. Don't give him any ammunition."

Seeing Matthew nod, she added, "Ilana will cooperate with us, continuing to post negative stories about Brendan online."

Speaking of which, she reminded Matthew, "But it's not for free."

Matthew knew the rules of the game. "Ask Ilana to name her price, but don't go overboard. I'm broke."

In truth, he knew Ilana likely wouldn't even name a price before taking action, probably because they already knew each other well.

"And the second part?" Matthew asked.

Helen had her answer ready. "You need to build momentum for The Scorpion King. After just one weekend, the character has been well-received—audiences rank his popularity second only to Rachel Weisz's character, Evelyn, and even above Brendan Fraser's O'Connell—but it's not enough!"

Her tone intensified. "We need The Scorpion King to make a bigger impact. Get more positive word-of-mouth from audiences. We need to give Universal Studios the confidence that The Scorpion King spin-off has a large potential audience and can be profitable in the future."

Matthew considered this seriously as he listened.

"Sean and Stephen let me know that the first draft of The Scorpion King spin-off script is finished. They'll do everything they can to secure Universal's support." Helen knew an opportunity like this was rare.

She looked at Matthew. "This is going to require a very large investment, possibly over $200,000."

"That much?" Matthew's face twitched involuntarily.

Knowing Matthew's inexperience in this area, Helen explained, "I need to contact the media and buy PR articles to build momentum for you and The Scorpion King. You've just started the North American promotional tour with the cast and crew, and you have many cities to visit. Will there be a huge crowd of fans waiting for autographs at your hotel? Do you want local media to single you out in their coverage of The Mummy Returns? All of this has to be done through a reliable agency."

Matthew fell silent, as if $200,000 wasn't actually a lot of money—and might not even be enough.

"All of this creates a bandwagon effect," Helen explained. "If we create the impression that The Scorpion King was a huge hit and that you, as an actor, are extremely popular with fans, it will draw more people and media attention to you and the character! It will also give Universal Pictures the confidence they need."

"Alright." Matthew relented. $200,000 was a lot of money, but not enough to leave him high and dry. "I'll deposit $100,000 into the company account."

Helen nodded, looked Matthew in the eye, and said, "This is a rare opportunity for both of us. You have a real strength in the action genre, and this film can ride the coattails of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, two box-office monsters. The risk of failure is exponentially lower, and both Sean the producer and Stephen the director still admire you. I couldn't ask for a better opportunity than this!"

"Understood," Matthew replied with equal seriousness. "I'll do everything I can."

He knew that if he could clear this hurdle, he could become a leading actor. And if that future film was also a success, he could, at the very least, climb from being a minor actor into the ranks of B-list stars.

A Hollywood superstar—that's what he wanted to become in this industry!

...

Helen ordered some food, and over the meal, she and Matthew discussed the finer details. They agreed that undermining their competitors would be up to Matthew.

Additionally, a portion of the budget would be allocated to Ilana.

At the same time, they had to maintain contact with Sean Daniels and Stephen Sommers to stay informed of their positions.

After staying in Helen's suite until midnight, Matthew left to return to his own room. A long promotional tour awaited him.

And just as surely, an encounter with Brendan awaited him as well.