The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 129

As the Ford entered Burbank, Matthew saw that the curb in front of the Angel Acting Agency was lined with greenery and landscaping, making it inconvenient to park. He simply found a spot farther down the street and walked the rest of the way.

As he walked, the question returned to him.

"Stay true to your original intention..."

Matthew knew what David had meant, but he knew his own original intention even better. His first intention was to become a Hollywood star and enjoy a glamorous life.

Therefore, he would not give up the opportunity to be a leading man, no matter what.

Entering the Angel Acting Agency, Matthew greeted the receptionist and headed straight for Helen’s office.

"Any news?" he asked, pulling out a chair to sit across from Helen. "What's the status on the film?"

Helen looked up from her computer screen, adjusted her glasses, and replied, "The project is still under review, but Sean and Stephen are overseeing it, so there's nothing to worry about."

Matthew was well aware of his own standing; he had no influence with Universal. All he could do was wait and see what the others were trying to accomplish, which, for now, was enough.

"How much will be invested in the film if it gets greenlit?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.He worried that a fantasy action film like this, with a smaller investment, would end up as nothing more than a B-movie.

"The budget shouldn't be higher than forty million dollars," Helen said casually. "And it shouldn't be any less than twenty million, at the very least."

Matthew was a little surprised. "Such a big investment?"

In his mind, he would have been happy with ten to fifteen million dollars.

Helen gave Matthew a pointed look. "The main benchmark for the investment isn't you—it's Sean Daniel and Stephen Sommers. Do you think a project they're collaborating on is worth that kind of money?"

"If the investment was using me as a benchmark," Matthew said with a shrug, "I'd be lucky to get a million dollars."

In reality, even a million would be hard to come by. A million-dollar film in Hollywood was no longer considered a small production, and the vast majority of movies released cost far less than that.

A budget of twenty to forty million dollars was considered a mid-range production.

Universal was basing its evaluation on the past success of Sean Daniel and Stephen Sommers, as well as the established popularity of the Scorpion King character.

"How much could I get paid for the film?" This was Matthew's main concern. He was on the verge of being broke.

Helen shook her head firmly. "The cast hasn't been finalized, and the investment amount hasn't been set. It's too early to talk about that."

Instead, she relayed a message. "Stephen asked me to tell you that it's best to start preparing for the role in advance."

Matthew dropped the subject of his salary. "I'm back to training five times a week," he told her. "I'm planning to add some sparring to my boxing workouts."

Helen was always confident in this regard. Matthew's motivation was never an issue, as long as he had an important role to strive for.

"So why did you ask me to come in?" Matthew inquired.

Helen pushed two copies of a document toward him. "This is the court's confirmation of the breach of contract for the adult film. Sign it so I can send the papers to the court and get this settled once and for all."

Matthew took the papers, glanced over the contents, and signed his name with a pen.

He had almost forgotten about that whole mess.

"And that's it, right?" Matthew handed the papers back to Helen. "Stop by my place when you're done with work."

"Your place?" Helen raised an eyebrow. "I live on the south side, you're on the north side—it's too far. And I don't want to go to your house."

Matthew rolled his eyes, understanding her reluctance. "Does it bother you that someone died there? Are you that squeamish?"

Helen didn't want to dwell on the subject and lowered her eyes back to her computer screen. As Matthew stood up, he asked, "Anything else? I'll head out if there's nothing."

Without looking up, Helen waved him away. Matthew took his copy of the document and left the agency. As he got into his car, he glanced back at the building, and the circumstances of his arrival in this world came rushing back to him.

He vaguely remembered that, at the time, he'd been taken with Jessica Drake, the adult film actress, and had impulsively considered doing a porn film for a moment. Fortunately, he hadn't gone through with it. Otherwise, how could he have pursued Britney? And given the media's insatiable appetite, they would never have let a story like that go...

Muttering to himself, Matthew started the car and drove north. He soon merged onto Interstate 5 and reached the turnoff for his house, but he didn't take it. He subconsciously continued north until he reached the San Fernando Valley.

This small valley town was a mecca for a certain kind of enthusiast around the world. Matthew drove through it, not seeing much difference from any other Los Angeles suburb, until he finally entered a district dotted with studios that were initially built for shooting adult films, and where film crews still occasionally worked.

Driving past one of the studios by the road, he saw a large poster with the title "Gladiator" and couldn't help but stop to take a closer look, confirming that it was, indeed, a porn version of the film.

However, as his eyes scanned the cast list, he was surprised to see a familiar name—Michael Sheen!

The name was prominently displayed, suggesting he was a major player.

"Well, I'll be," Matthew said, starting the car again to leave. "He's done well for himself."

Matthew had no desire to find out if this Michael Sheen was the one he knew; after all, that was all in the distant past.

...

Matthew went to a video store on the outskirts of the studio district and picked out a few new discs. As he paid and was about to leave, he noticed that the store also sold small DV cameras. They weren't too expensive and were well within his budget.

After working on several film and television productions over the past two years, he had developed an interest in camerawork and couldn't resist buying a portable Sony DV camera for personal use, intending to shoot things whenever he had free time.

He had asked the cinematographer, Slawomir Idziak, about it on the set of "Black Hawk Down," and according to him, the only way to achieve a certain level of skill was to shoot and practice constantly.

"When I go to the gym tomorrow," Matthew thought, immediately coming up with a use for the camera, "I can ask someone to help me film my training session with Nibora."

He was interested in both boxing and sparring and planned to continue training unless special circumstances arose.

Back home, Matthew filmed the yard. The DV camera technology of the era was nothing compared to the cameras that would later come standard with smartphones, and with his limited skills, the footage turned out mediocre.

"Looks like I need more practice," he decided, finding a new way to relax as a hobbyist.

No matter what work a person did, it eventually became tedious, so proper relaxation was essential.

...

The days passed one by one, and soon it was mid-June. "The Mummy Returns" was in its tenth weekend in the North American market, having earned $196.5 million at the domestic box office. While this seemed like a good result, its take for the tenth weekend was only $1.27 million, same as the week before, and it continued to drop significantly.

The word-of-mouth for "The Mummy Returns" had seriously impacted its box office performance, forcing Universal Pictures to repeatedly lower its expectations. Recently, they had come to view a final domestic gross of over $200 million as a victory.

The film was a hit, but it had inevitably fallen short of Universal's expectations, and there was no longer any talk within the studio of continuing with a third installment of the "Mummy" series.

According to information Helen had received, several people at Universal believed that the scandal over Matthew beating up a fan had caused the film's North American box office to fall short of even the revised $220 million target.

The good news was that "The Mummy Returns" had performed well at the international box office, and Universal Pictures would have no trouble turning a profit on the project. Then again, the film earned more than just ticket sales: in North America alone, hundreds of thousands of T-shirts featuring the Scorpion King had been sold.

This was clear evidence that the Scorpion King had been the highlight of the entire film.

Moreover, after conducting market research, Universal Pictures also released Scorpion King action figures and dolls based on Matthew's likeness. Like the T-shirts, they generated a portion of income for Matthew from his image rights. Although the percentage was very small, it was enough to cover his daily expenses.

News from Universal Pictures continued to trickle in, and Helen remained in close contact with them.