The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 175

The sprawling ballroom was lavishly decorated. The Scorpion King had been a box office success, allowing Universal Pictures to allocate a substantial sum for such a celebratory party. By all accounts, its North American box office had surpassed $100 million—a massive commercial success on a $40 million investment.

Following Sean Daniel, Matthew found himself standing before two middle-aged men.

"Philip, Jet, this is Matthew Horner." Sean made the introductions first, then turned to Matthew. "Matthew, this is Philip Cranston, the director of production at Universal Pictures. And this is Jet Brighton, the assistant director of production."

Matthew stepped forward and politely greeted them both.

Unquestionably, Jet Brighton and Philip were major players at Universal Pictures.

"Many people are saying you're the film's biggest draw," Philip said, his expression friendly. "And I happen to agree with them."

Matthew, however, remained humble. "Without a platform like Universal Pictures, The Scorpion King never would have succeeded."

Everyone present laughed.

In truth, Matthew was being honest. If it weren't for Universal's ingenious promotional campaign, he alone, the so-called star of the film, could never have generated such massive box office returns.

The main reason Jet Brighton and Philip were so cordial to him was that The Scorpion King had been a massive success.Philip added unexpectedly, "You're a very popular leading man, and audiences have received you very well. Would you be interested in continuing to work with Universal Pictures? Let's work together to turn The Scorpion King into a film series."

Hearing this, Matthew immediately recalled Helen's advice. Unwilling to agree too readily, he responded noncommittally, "It would be an honor to work with Universal Pictures."

Jet Brighton and Philip were busy men. After chatting with Matthew for a short while, they departed, and Sean went off to mingle elsewhere.

Matthew had just started to relax when Helen approached him, dressed in a black satin gown.

"What were you talking about?" she asked. She was in high heels, her height reaching Matthew's chin.

Matthew didn't answer, his eyes instead sweeping over Helen from head to toe. It was technically the first time he had seen her in anything other than a business suit. "You look wonderful," he said.

It was a simple compliment, and Helen responded casually, "Thank you."

Matthew gestured toward her black-framed glasses. "But those are ruining the look."

He had taken Helen's advice and hired a stylist for his recent appearances, and had even spent some time brushing up on fashion. But there had been too little time, and his expertise in that area was still quite limited.

"I'm not taking them off," Helen replied simply. "I have an astigmatism."

Seeing Helen pull out that ironclad excuse once again, Matthew dropped the subject. "Universal Pictures seems interested in turning The Scorpion King into a series. They extended an invitation to me."

Helen asked, "You didn't agree, did you?"

"No." Matthew shook his head. "I remembered what you said."

"The word-of-mouth for the film was mediocre." Helen glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to them, before adding, "The audience simply won't turn up for a sequel."

Matthew immediately understood her meaning. "The series has no future?"

Helen lowered her voice slightly. "Not unless there's a solid script and director."

She shook her head. "The risk is too great. If Universal elevates the series to the level of a top-tier production, we could consider it. Otherwise, the risk is completely disproportionate to the reward."

The chances of elevating such a poorly-received film to a top-tier production were very slim.

"Let's not commit to anything," Helen whispered. "We can wait and see what Universal Pictures plans for the sequels before making a decision. The ball is in our court now, and—"

Suddenly, she fell silent. She immediately put on a smile and said to the man approaching them, "Stephen, long time no see."

Matthew turned his head to see Stephen Sommers walking over, who also smiled in greeting.

Stephen stopped in front of them. "Matthew, you played a major part in making The Scorpion King so successful."

He smiled. "I always told the people at Universal Pictures you were a fine actor, and you didn't disappoint."

"Thank you, Stephen," Matthew said with genuine sincerity.

Without the strong endorsements from Sean and Stephen, there would have been no The Scorpion King, and he certainly wouldn't have landed the lead role.

"Keep up the great work, Matthew." Stephen's demeanor was completely different now, full of admiration. "I'll keep you in mind for my future films."

They had spoken for no more than a few minutes when Helen interjected, seeming not to have entirely given up on the idea of getting involved in Stephen's next project.

Matthew found it difficult to contribute to that conversation, so he simply looked around. The party was bustling with people, including several celebrities. Just then, he spotted Orlando Bloom entering the ballroom.

"What's he doing here?" Matthew's mind raced. "Did he come to congratulate me?"

As far as he knew, Orlando had no business with Universal Pictures whatsoever.

"I see a friend," Matthew said to Helen and Stephen. "I'm going to go say hello."

The two of them nodded, and Matthew made his way toward the ballroom entrance. Orlando was standing there, looking around expectantly, as if searching for someone.

Matthew soon appeared at his side. "Orlando!"

Orlando, who had been looking to his left, turned at the sound of his name. Seeing Matthew, a smile spread across his face. "Hey, Matthew."

"What brings you here?" Matthew asked.

Orlando was quick on his feet. "Your movie's a box office hit," he said with a bright smile. "I had to come congratulate you."

He opened his arms and gave Matthew a hug. "So, what's it like? To be the lead in a hundred-million-dollar movie?"

They pulled apart, and Matthew didn't try to hide his excitement. "It feels pretty damn amazing!"

He had been in high spirits since the film's opening week.

"Let's find a place to talk," Matthew suggested.

Orlando had spotted Stephen Sommers, but seeing that he was surrounded by people, he knew it wasn't the right time to approach. So he nodded at Matthew's suggestion. "Of course."

Naturally, he hadn't come to congratulate Matthew; he had come to talk to Stephen.

Orlando followed Matthew to an empty table. As they sat, Matthew continued, still riding the high, "This feeling... I don't know how to describe it. It's like you're the center of attention wherever you go."

Orlando nodded. "I felt pretty much the same way when The Lord of the Rings came out."

Matthew glanced at him. The truth was, he hadn't pulled Orlando aside just to gush about being famous. He primarily wanted to find out how far Orlando had progressed with Van Helsing. But he couldn't just ask outright.

After they talked a little more about the thrill of becoming famous, Matthew's tone turned conspiratorial. "Remember that big project I told you about? Now that The Scorpion King is a box office hit, I've told my agent to pull out all the stops to get me the lead role."

"Oh?" Orlando looked calm. "The Van Helsing project, if I'm not mistaken."

He and his agent had put in a lot of work over the past month, impressing both Stephen Sommers and the executives at Universal Pictures. After all, The Lord of the Rings had grossed over $800 million worldwide, and his portrayal of Legolas was widely acclaimed. Both of these factors gave him considerable leverage.

Not long ago, he attended an internal audition held by Stephen Sommers and the Universal executives and had all but secured the role of Van Helsing. His agent had even started negotiations with the production team.

Barring any major surprises, he would sign an official contract with the Van Helsing team by early June at the latest and begin preparing for the role of the monster hunter.

By then, the cast and crew would surely announce the results, and Matthew would naturally find out everything.

What would Matthew think then? He'd surely think that Orlando had used his tip-off to snatch the role, that he'd been used.

If it were just that, Orlando wouldn't have cared. Hollywood was rife with competition for roles. He himself had originally auditioned for Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings before a different set of circumstances landed him the part of Legolas.

What worried him was Matthew's relationship with Stephen Sommers. Orlando had been in contact with the director a lot recently, and Sommers had repeatedly expressed his admiration for Matthew. In fact, Orlando suspected he never would have been considered for Van Helsing if the financiers at Universal Pictures hadn't pushed for him.

If Matthew decided to use his relationship with Stephen to stir up trouble behind the scenes, there would likely be far more problems.

Orlando wracked his brain, trying to figure out how to neutralize the potential problem of Matthew, now that it was late May and the team would soon be announcing the lead actor.

At that moment, seeing Orlando's hesitation, Matthew deliberately asked in a joking tone, "Orlando, you're not interested in this project too, by any chance?"