The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 170

"I appreciate Mr. Reed's compliment."

Near the entrance to the merchandise area in the lobby of the Universal Studios cinema, Matthew, holding a Mathayus action figure in his right hand, was answering a question from an NBC reporter. The reporter had asked about Rex Reed's remarks before he kissed the donkey's ass the day before, and Matthew recited the exact line the PR team had prepared for him. "Mr. Reed, as a renowned film critic, keeps his word. I admire that."

The media frenzy surrounding the donkey-kissing incident hadn't ended with the kiss itself. The event had created a massive stir among the media and the public, primarily because no one had actually expected Rex Reed to go through with it. Kissing the ass of a donkey gifted to him by Matthew was an unexpected act that became a nationwide social sensation.

How could Universal Studios possibly let such a hot topic go to waste? But they also knew the story had been simmering for nearly ten days, and milking the same stunt further could risk boring the public. So, the plan shifted, pivoting in a new direction while still capitalizing on the publicity.

Now, Matthew, the most acclaimed actor in The Scorpion King, was expressing his admiration for Rex Reed, a man of his word. The narrative was slowly shifting to frame the two men as mutual admirers, adding a new dimension for the audience to follow.

Of course, this wouldn't last long—until next weekend at best.

Matthew didn't mind. He had no idea who Rex Reed was and didn't care either way. This kind of publicity was good for the film's box office and for raising his own profile.

Then again, looking across all of North America, there were very few critics whose names he could actually recall. It seemed Roger Ebert was the only one.

Back when he lived on the other side of the Pacific, Matthew had seen that name on his smartphone, and it felt like Roger Ebert was the face of professional film criticism in America.

Matthew offered a few more polite words about Rex Reed into the NBC reporter's microphone and for the camera behind him, concluding the brief interview.Next came the autograph signing event. Matthew sat at a table in front of the merchandise area, signing the dolls and action figures his fans handed him.

This was his first official signing, and he hadn't had much time to prepare, as Universal Pictures had only informed him about it yesterday afternoon.

A Mathayus action figure was handed to him. He signed his name on the back and passed it back to its owner with a smile.

It was a young girl with short, medium-brown hair. Seeing Matthew's smile, she exclaimed, "Matthew, you were so handsome in the movie!"

"Thank you," Matthew replied, maintaining a very agreeable and modest public persona.

A boy came up next. After waiting for Matthew to finish signing a t-shirt, he asked, "Matthew, how can I get a body like yours?"

Matthew answered earnestly, "It takes a lot of training over a long period of time."

The boy's face fell. "Is there an easier way?"

"No," Matthew said, shaking his head. "There never has been."

The boy walked away, somewhat disappointed. A girl of about fifteen or sixteen approached next. Matthew signed her item, and she made an unexpected request.

"Matthew, I'm your fan. I've loved you since The Mummy Returns, and I..."

She took a brave breath and asked, "Can I touch your muscles?"

Looking at the girl, Matthew was at a loss for words, pausing for a couple of seconds.

Just then, a staff member who had been standing nearby and overheard her politely asked the girl not to hold up the people behind her.

Matthew spent the entire Sunday morning promoting Universal's merchandise. Although the autograph session lasted only two hours, the fans' enthusiasm was overwhelming. He roughly estimated that he had signed at least four hundred dolls and action figures in those two hours.

The pace of the signing wasn't particularly fast, certainly slower than Universal Pictures had anticipated. The main reason was that Matthew made a point to interact with the fans who came up for autographs. Even if he didn't speak, he would look up and smile at them instead of just keeping his head down and signing without a glance.

He was keenly aware that he had only just become famous. These people, willing to stand in line for his autograph, were his future audience. They were mostly teenagers between fifteen and twenty, and a simple smile and a greeting could turn them into his die-hard fans.

What was a movie star without the support of an audience?

Just because he had recently gained some public recognition, Matthew didn't think he was some big shot in the industry.

After three years in this grimy business, he was far more mature than when he had first arrived.

After the morning's promotional events, Matthew left the theater and got into the car the studio had sent for him, ready to head back to Burbank. Before leaving, he specifically asked the assistant sitting in the passenger seat to go and buy a stack of newspapers.

He had just learned from the crew that The Scorpion King hadn't been significantly hurt by negative word-of-mouth. The heat generated by the advertising and marketing was still going strong: Saturday's box office had seen a thirteen percent increase over Friday's, pulling in $15.5 million. The cumulative two-day total was already approaching the $30 million mark.

From Matthew down to every member of the cast and crew, everyone was in high spirits.

Matthew, in particular, knew that by the time the weekend box office numbers were released tomorrow, he would be a genuine C-list star.

On the way home, Matthew opened a newspaper and started reading. After three years of consistent practice, he no longer had any difficulty reading, let alone popular newspapers. Even more specialized English books were no longer a challenge.

The entertainment sections were filled with news about The Scorpion King, with numerous mentions of him as the lead actor. More and more, they were crediting his outstanding performance as one of the main reasons for the film's huge success.

"It's Matthew Horner's near-perfect physique and action scenes that make The Scorpion King worth watching."

Another paper wrote, "Without Horner, the movie would be hopelessly bad."

One fan was even quoted in the Los Angeles Times saying, "As soon as the camera moved away from Matthew, I'd start talking to my friend and just wait for it to come back to him before I started watching again."

Reading these, Matthew wondered if the comments were paid for, but he and Helen hadn't done anything. And a paper like the LA Times, one of the three largest in the country, wasn't so easily influenced by a small Hollywood PR team.

In addition, the entertainment pages of many newspapers were dedicated to Rex Reed's donkey-ass-kissing spectacle from the previous night.

Sitting in the car, Matthew reflected on the whole publicity and marketing campaign. It was simply brilliant. From what he could see, several parties had benefited greatly.

According to Helen, what a critic like Rex Reed needed was money and fame, and Universal Pictures had likely spent a hefty sum to get him on board.

For Universal Pictures, The Scorpion King had vastly exceeded their opening weekend expectations, and they had already surpassed their initial goal.

On television, the NBC interview show had been obscure until the segment with Reed, which had instantly made it famous nationwide.

As for himself, it went without saying that both the film's box office success and his feud-turned-friendship with Rex Reed had significantly boosted his popularity.

Of course, the biggest winners were the creators of The Scorpion King.

...

Back home, Matthew got word from Helen that he should refrain from making any more statements against Rex Reed for the time being, as the team was planning a reconciliation between them.

He brushed it off. Then again, Matthew felt that the path he had chosen for himself as an actor was naturally at odds with professional critics. His greatest strengths were his body and his face, things most critics had no interest in. He suspected he wouldn't have much to do with them for a long time.

He recalled what the critics had done to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. Weren't they all savaged for "flexing their muscles for the camera"? He figured that in the future, if things went well, he'd be getting plenty of that kind of attention from critics.

The good thing was, he didn't have to worry about it too much. After all, the critics had spewed their venom, but it hadn't stopped Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis from becoming Hollywood's brightest stars.

Matthew figured that next week, Universal Pictures would probably ask him to meet with Rex Reed for one last publicity stunt. By then, every last drop of value would have been squeezed out of the donkey-kissing incident.

News has a shelf life, and two weeks is about all it takes for a story to cool down.

Before going to bed that night, Matthew tried calling Britney, but there was still no answer. He sent a text message, but when he didn't get a reply, he decided to get some sleep. He had a lot to do tomorrow.

As he slept, he dreamed that The Scorpion King had shattered box office records, earning $100 million in its first week in North America and over $1 billion worldwide. He had become a Hollywood superstar, more famous and wealthier than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis combined...

Waking up on Monday morning, Matthew remembered the dream. The first thing he did was check the opening weekend box office results for The Scorpion King.