The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 137

After heading into the locker room, the three men showered and changed their clothes. Instead of leaving right away, they lingered, sitting together to chat.

"Why does Matthew get his own private dressing room?" the portly Clark asked enviously. "And why do the three of us have to cram into this tiny one?"

Duff shrugged. "Because he's the lead in The Scorpion King, and we're all supporting characters."

He sat cross-legged on a wooden stool. "Plus, he's the top client at the Angel Agency. He gets first pick of all the available resources before it's our turn."

"The Angel Agency is a small agency," Steven said, his expression still serious. "The resources are very limited and mostly come from Helen. When someone else takes the lion's share, we're left with the scraps."

"But it's not bad this time," Duff said, looking pleased as he smiled. "We've got supporting roles in a mid-level production."

Steven said nothing, turning his head to glance at the adjacent dressing room, the one Matthew was using all by himself.

Duff's smile faded, and he reached out to pat Steven on the shoulder. "Don't let it get you down. One day, you'll have a private dressing room too."

Without another word, Steven followed Duff and Clark out of the locker room.

The three of them rode a four-wheeled electric cart to the entrance of Warner Studios, arriving just in time to see a dozen reporters and paparazzi swarming Matthew.As they watched him bathed in the spotlight, their eyes swam with undisguised envy.

With a single role, that lucky son of a bitch Matthew Horner had gone from being just another actor to a star in the eyes of the press.

...

Matthew finished with the reporters, found an opportunity to dash to his Ford, and drove off immediately, ready to head home. Mira had declined his invitation and left earlier.

Pulling onto Interstate 5, Matthew glanced in his rearview mirror and faintly saw someone on a motorcycle catching up to him, likely a paparazzo, but he didn't worry about it.

He had been attracting more and more media attention lately, thanks to the advance publicity for The Scorpion King. But he was well aware that most of this attention was fueled by the promotional budget thrown around by the crew and the weight of a $40 million production from Universal Pictures, not his own personal fame.

The moment The Scorpion King bombed at the box office, all of this would be a thing of the past.

From an actor's perspective, all he could do was perform his role as best as he could; the rest was out of his hands.

The direction, post-production editing, special effects, the use of the soundtrack—as the lead actor, he had no way to intervene in any of it.

In that respect, his fate was once again in the hands of others.

After his lunch break, Matthew went to the Angel Agency and spoke with Helen about this very issue.

"Most actors are in the same boat," Helen said, treating it as a matter of course. "In fact, it's not just actors. Many directors face this problem too. The final film can be drastically different from what they envisioned, and some shots they thought were great don't even make the final cut."

Matthew went to pour himself a glass of water and asked, "Isn't there a solution?"

Helen glanced at him. "The solution is simple: as long as you have enough influence and your box office numbers are high enough, the producers will naturally respect your opinion. Tom Cruise, for example, has been a producer on his own films since the mid-nineties—and not just in name only, but a producer with real power."

"That's a long way off for me," Matthew replied, not imagining he'd reach Tom Cruise's status anytime soon. "Isn't there another way?"

"There is one other way," Helen added, offering an example. "Take The Fast and the Furious, which you worked on. Vin Diesel brought in a lot of money, and the entire crew listened to his opinions, from top to bottom. Even though everyone knew he was a nightmare on set, they still had to listen to him."

Matthew rolled his eyes helplessly. How could he possibly attract investors at this stage?

"Right now, you need to focus on choosing the right role and script," Helen said, her tone shifting. "It's best not to dwell on the rest."

She stood up and declared solemnly, "When you become a superstar, you'll naturally have the capital to demand power on set."

Matthew drained his glass of water. "Those supporting actors you recommended for the cast... some of them don't seem like the straightforward type."

Helen didn't deny it. "They're all trying to become stars, just like you."

She suddenly asked, "Are you having trouble with them?"

Matthew said pointedly, "If I were having trouble with them, I'd be asking you to replace them."

"Replace them?" Helen crossed her arms and looked at Matthew. "It's useless. Replace them, and the next ones will still have a problem with you."

Matthew thought for a moment and nodded, admitting she was right.

Helen continued, "With the limited resources we have, the 'profitable' actors have to be taken care of first. The others get very little, so whoever joined the cast of The Scorpion King would see you, the agency's top client, as a thorn in their side and think you're standing in their way."

"You've got a point," Matthew said, not joking. "Helen, you always manage to convince me."

"Because I tell you the truth, which you can't deny," Helen shook her head and added, "These are minor players, clever at best. If you can't even handle them, you have no business being in this dirty industry."

Matthew set down his water glass and prepared to leave. "Yeah, I get it. I'm off to collect my money."

That was the main reason for his visit today. Due to a staffing change in the Angel Agency's finance department, the paperwork for his $200,000 film salary hadn't been signed.

"Remember what I told you before," Helen reminded him. "Give it your all on set, and don't forget that Stephen and Universal Pictures have a magnificent production lined up."

Matthew knew she was talking about Van Helsing and gave a wave as he headed for the exit.

If he hadn't seen the film and had no memory of it, he would have given his all for the lead role. After all, it was a massive production with a potential budget of over $150 million.

In this day and age, that was undoubtedly a top-tier Hollywood investment, and countless people, he feared, would have succumbed to the temptation.

To jump into this pit or not? He was in a bind: he had a rare opportunity to play the lead in a major production, but his memory was a nagging voice, warning him that it could be a pit he couldn't climb out of.

To be frank, Matthew was clinging to a sliver of hope that if he joined the project, maybe it would change something. Maybe it would work? The film didn't have to be a massive success; as long as it turned a profit, his future career path would be much smoother.

Matthew reached the finance department door and made a decision. The monster-mash project was still on Stephen's and Universal's drawing board, and it would take time to move into the planning stage. It was best to wait until The Scorpion King was finished.

Besides, Stephen might not even want him as the lead. After all, he wasn't very famous or influential.

After knocking and entering the finance office, Matthew signed for the $180,000 that would be deposited into his bank account after the agent's commission was deducted. It felt damn good to be rich again, to walk with his head held high.

What could he say? You just can't get by without money.

...

When another $200,000 arrived before the start of filming, Matthew decided it was time for an upgrade, especially his car. The used Ford was getting too old; it was time to retire it.

He'd been thinking about cars for a while, and if he hadn't been so busy, he would have bought a new one long ago. Sometimes, during his downtime, he'd browse the latest car information online just to unwind, and he had already picked out the model he wanted.

After leaving the Angel Agency, Matthew drove straight to a BMW dealership near North Hollywood and bought the SUV that had recently been launched—the first-generation BMW X5 he had seen so often online.

As for the old Ford, he got rid of it immediately, selling it for a discounted price of $2,500.

Matthew set aside the rest of the money for a rainy day.

He felt no discomfort whatsoever switching from an exceptionally battered old Ford to a luxury vehicle like the BMW X5. He had earned the money through hard work, and naturally, he would spend it with pleasure.

Besides, wasn't this what he wanted when he first came to Hollywood?

Perhaps it was tasteless, even vulgar, but he wasn't an artist by nature. Like other Hollywood stars, he aspired to the glitz and glamour of that life and enjoyed it whenever he could.

What else was he working so hard for? To become a great actor? Matthew knew perfectly well that he lacked the ability and, more importantly, the desire for that.

For a while after that, Matthew spent his mornings training, studying his role in the afternoon, and rehearsing movements with the other actors. The small clique, as Helen called them, didn't cause too much trouble—after all, he was the leading man with the full support of the two producers.

It wasn't until early September, as the film entered its final stages of preparation and shooting was about to begin, that Matthew received news of Britney's return to Los Angeles. She had been stuck in Nashville after shooting a music video for a song from her upcoming album due to a copyright issue. Only now had she finished her work and was ready to come back for a very short break.