The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 164

"What's going on between you and Orlando Bloom?" Helen asked Matthew in a low voice. "I get the feeling you're up to something."

Matthew quickly shook his head. "Nothing. We're just regular friends."

It wasn't that he didn't trust Helen, but explaining everything was impossible. At best, Helen would only have her doubts for now; an explanation would just create bigger problems.

They reached the entrance to the screening room. Helen went inside, while Matthew stopped and waited outside for a while with Kelly, who had been waiting there earlier. He was waiting for the rest of the cast and crew to gather so they could enter the theater together.

As soon as the cast and crew appeared, a thunderous round of applause erupted from the grand auditorium, seeming to go on and on.

Producer Sean Daniel led the way, followed by director Chuck Russell, and then Matthew, who for some reason felt an extraordinary surge of excitement upon hearing the applause.

He had fought hard for three years and was finally appearing before an audience as a leading man! He was finally in the spotlight!

He knew he was very close to his first small goal—becoming a C-list Hollywood star.

If the film was a box office success, he would become a C-list star at the very least; if it failed, turning his career around would be incredibly difficult.

Everything was on the line.Sitting in the front row, Matthew felt a mix of anticipation and trepidation, sensing that The Scorpion King would be a turning point in his life.

...

In the good seats near the general entrance in the center of the theater, Lister asked his son, "Brian, do you really like Matthew that much?"

"Yeah!" Brian nodded vigorously.

He sat down, muttering, "I haven't seen a more masculine guy in Hollywood than Matthew!"

Lister could only shake his head; he was nearly forty, and the gap in cinematic taste between him and a sixteen-year-old boy was vast.

However, he had to admit that Brian had a point. Matthew was indeed a very masculine actor, not just in his films, but in real life as well.

The Universal Pictures logo lit up the screen, and a hush fell over the theater—the screening of The Scorpion King had begun.

As with all Hollywood action films, the opening scene was a mandatory fight sequence, designed to establish the hero and hook the audience.

People who pay to see this kind of movie are looking for handsome men, action, muscles, and beautiful women; no one cares about depth, meaning, philosophical reflections, or any of that nonsense.

In Matthew's view, people who went to see a film like The Scorpion King were just there to have a good time.

These audiences didn't even have high expectations for the actors' performances; it was enough that they didn't feel out of place.

The first scene in The Scorpion King was a traditional Hollywood action sequence, with Mathayus storming a barbarian tent to rescue his brother.

The action director had tailored Mathayus's fight scenes to his strengths. They weren't the somewhat clumsy-looking brawls typical of wrestling, but rather an aesthetic blend of power and speed.

The barbarian warriors inside the tent were like lambs to the slaughter, unable to withstand a single blow.

The five-minute opening sequence was a showcase of Mathayus's power. Though Matthew was an average actor, the film's decent action scenes, which he used to define his character, allowed him to easily make a strong impression.

"The action scenes are good," Lister found himself getting interested.

"Awesome!" Brian was completely engrossed in the film. "I want a body like that too! Dad, can you sign me up for training?"

In front of them sat a pretty young woman whose eyes sparkled whenever Matthew appeared on screen. The moment the camera cut away, she instantly lost all interest.

Obviously, the girl was a complete fangirl.

She stared dumbfounded at Mathayus on the screen, muttering, "He's perfect for the role."

The film's pace couldn't be called slow compared to The Mummy Returns, nor was it as breakneck-fast as the internet era that would follow, but it was strung together by one magnificent action scene after another.

Of course, compared to the impressive action, the plot was average—a Hollywood staple.

First, there was the highly contrived and unverifiable backstory of the city of Gomorrah, predating the pyramids by over 5,000 years—an infamous city destroyed by the gods for the sins of its people.

Then came the villain, whose behavior was despicable to the core—naturally, only in the context of the film—the great Memnon.

Next, there were the forces of good aligned against the villain.

Memnon's lust for power made the other tribes feel threatened. To survive, several tribes united and vowed to fight Memnon to the death, but after repeated clashes, the tribal alliance suffered one defeat after another, leaving everyone bewildered. This was all due to a mysterious figure skilled in sorcery who advised Memnon, a figure who could foresee the future and guide Memnon's battle plans.

Therefore, the alliance decided to send an assassin to kill the sorcerer.

The male protagonist, having demonstrated his valor and skill in the opening scenes, logically joined the main story.

Mathayus, the sole survivor of the warlike Akkadian tribe, was strong, brave, and a highly skilled warrior. But when Mathayus infiltrated the enemy camp and discovered that the mysterious sorcerer was, in fact, a beautiful woman, he hesitated.

On one hand, Mathayus was captivated by Cassandra's beauty and couldn't bring himself to harm her; on the other, he learned that Cassandra was not working with Memnon willingly but was being coerced and pressured by him.

Thus, Mathayus ended up doing nothing.

In the end, the beautiful sorceress was destined to side with the heroic protagonist, and the war between good and evil naturally ignited between Mathayus and Memnon.

In less than an hour and a half, the film drew to a close. The climax featured a long-take fight scene between Matthew and Steven Brand, and Matthew saw that not a single frame of his performance had been cut.

This made the entire action sequence look exceptionally seamless, realistic, and powerful—it looked fantastic.

"Aaaargh!"

A cry of agony echoed from the screen.

Brian broke out in a sweat watching Memnon's agony on the screen; he couldn't even imagine how much that must have hurt!

"Good thing it's just acting," he thought, impressed by the on-screen performance. The villain was too good.

At the end of the film, the lead actor, Matthew Horner, and the lead actress, Kelly, made a perfect couple, especially in the moonlight. They were so eye-catching, a well-matched pair for their roles.

Then Brian scratched his head and realized there was a small problem... what did the plot of the movie have to do with scorpions?

...

With that, the screening of The Scorpion King was over.

In the front row of guests, Orlando sat in his seat with his arms crossed, shaking his head slightly in disapproval. Could this film be compared to The Lord of the Rings, or Matthew's character to Legolas? Obviously not.

"This is Matthew's first film as a leading man?" He snorted with disdain. "A desert, a pretty girl, sorcery, assassination... these are all well-worn Hollywood tropes."

For a film like this to be watchable, audiences would first have to lower their IQ from thirty to fifteen.

With a film and a role like this, would Stephen still consider Matthew a candidate for the lead in his movie?

"What do you think?" Stephen whispered to Sean Daniel. "This version of the film is even better than the pilot. It fully showcases Matthew as a leading man. He's even better than I expected."

Sean nodded slightly. "Matthew is a natural athlete. It's a shame he wasn't born in a different era."

If this had been the 1980s or 1990s, the market for an actor like Matthew Horner might have been much larger.

Stephen added, "The final scene was fantastic."

Matthew's athletic and agile movements added to his charisma and made the battle between hero and villain even more thrilling, providing a fitting conclusion to the film.

If Universal didn't object, he would make Matthew his number one choice for Van Helsing. But... if The Scorpion King became a box office hit, Universal's objections should be much weaker. After all, it was Matthew's fame and box office draw that concerned them most.

The credits rolled, and applause filled the air, but the ovation in the large hall instantly grew louder when Matthew rose from his seat. This time, unlike before, he was one of the absolute main attractions.

Congratulations came one after another, and his face quickly grew stiff from smiling.

The subsequent press conference also made him the center of media attention, but this was only the beginning.