The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 194: Audition for the Blacksmith (1)

Out on the water, a small motorboat circled, tracing the edge of the shark net as it neared the hotel beach. The man at the helm carefully adjusted the speed, aiming for the smoothest possible approach. In the seat behind him, a short, bald black man raised a camera, its long lens focused on the man and woman standing motionless at the water's edge.

"Is that them?" the driver asked. "I paid a hundred and fifty bucks for that tip from the hotel."

"Easy, keep it steady," the photographer warned, then confirmed, "Yeah, that's them. The hero and heroine, and in their swimsuits, no less! They're the only couple on the beach. Are they on a date? No, wait... it looks like they're arguing."

He announced excitedly to his partner, "That hundred and fifty dollars was money well spent."

Then he muttered in frustration, "It would be even better if they were screwing. Photos and video of the stars of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' having sex on the beach? We'd make a fortune!"

The motorboat drifted along the shark net. His partner skillfully turned the boat around for another pass, and the bald man continued to snap photos of the couple.

"What a sight!" he called out to the driver. "Max, you've gotta see this!"

Without looking back, the man named Max shouted over the engine, "What are they doing? They're not getting it on right there on the beach, are they?"

"Unfortunately, no," the bald man raised his voice, the camera's shutter clicking rapidly. "But even so, I'm satisfied!"

He suddenly burst out laughing as he compared the distant figures. "Ha-ha-ha, what a fantastic contrast for a photo! The gossip rags are going to love this. We can sell these for a great price."It would be even more amusing, he thought, if the two of them could stir up a scandal. A woman with a smaller chest than her boyfriend—a couple like that was bound to become fodder for heated media gossip.

"Are you done?" Max asked.

"Yeah, they're heading back to the hotel," the photographer replied, lowering his camera.

Max reminded him, "Get a few shots of them walking back. We can spin a story about them spending the night together."

Although the entire cast and crew of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were staying at the same hotel, and no one would actually believe such a flimsy story, creating scandals and feuds out of thin air was exactly what paparazzi and entertainment tabloids did for a living.

...

"Were those two journalists?"

Keira glanced back at the beach, where the motorboat had shrunk to a black dot on the sea. "Are you sure, Matthew?"

Matthew didn't bother looking back, heading straight for the changing rooms near the hotel's back entrance. "I'm pretty sure. I saw they had cameras."

After they changed, they went to the bowling alley on the hotel's ground floor, where Keira was planning to teach Matthew how to bowl.

Meanwhile, in the hotel's coffee shop, Helen was waiting for Keira's agent.

"Hello, Jaime."

The two seemed to know each other. Helen stood and shook his hand. "We meet again."

Jaime Berndst pulled out a chair and sat down. "You wanted to see me?"

Helen smiled faintly. "What did you think of my proposal?"

"For Matthew and Keira to team up against Depp?" Jaime shook his head. "The three of them are very close on set, and that dynamic is good for publicity as it is."

"I don't want Matthew and Keira to team up against Depp," Helen clarified. "I'm proposing that I team up with you against Depp's agent. We would be fighting to get our clients the credit they deserve from this production, while doing our best to keep Matthew, Keira, and the others out of the political maneuvering."

Jaime said nothing, still weighing his options.

Helen added, "Opportunities like 'Pirates of the Caribbean' are incredibly rare. If the film is a success, with the right promotion, Matthew and Keira could firmly establish themselves as B-list stars. However, Johnny Depp is the biggest name, the best actor, and undoubtedly the most impressive in his role. And while he himself is a bit eccentric and doesn't care about many things, he has a powerful agent who is demanding that the production's promotional resources be focused solely on him. That will leave Matthew and Keira with far less attention."

Jaime remained silent, but he mentally conceded Helen's point. Depp's agent was indeed very influential and had been making excessive demands on the production team, cutting into the resources available to Keira.

After a moment of thought, he asked, "So what do you suggest?"

"Let's work on this from several angles," Helen said, deliberately lowering her voice as she began to lay out her ideas.

"Well, even if they find out, it can't be worse than the current situation," Jaime finally said, clearly agreeing with Helen's plan. He added, "There is one problem. Keira isn't eighteen yet. We'll need her family's permission."

Helen nodded smoothly. "Of course. You contact the Knightley family, and when the time is right, we'll approach Jerry Bruckheimer. I'm sure he won't refuse."

Jaime stood and extended his hand to Helen. "I look forward to a successful collaboration."

Helen shook it firmly. "As do I."

...

Five days flew by in an instant. After returning to the set, Matthew noticed that Keira seemed to want to talk to him about something, so he decided to ask her first.

In response, Keira handed him an American tabloid. It featured a photo of him and her standing on the beach in their swimsuits. The two were facing each other, and the tabloid had crudely circled their chests for emphasis—one with broad pectoral muscles, the other, flat.

The tabloid had even used a ridiculously exaggerated headline: "Hollywood's Most Mismatched-Chested Couple!"

Matthew didn't bother reading the accompanying article; he didn't need to. He was already burning with embarrassment.

For the next two days, whenever Matthew was coming or going from the hotel, he was constantly approached by paparazzi or reporters asking about his supposed romance with Keira Knightley.

He said nothing, having already consulted with Helen, who, as usual, had instructed him to neither confirm nor deny the rumors.

Matthew had also spoken to Keira, who had already talked to her agent and received the exact same advice from him: no reaction.

Since everyone advised silence, Matthew focused his energy on filming Will Turner's scenes.

"Dead men tell no tales."

Several actors leaned over the side of the Interceptor. Angus Barnett, standing next to Matthew, looked out at the sea and remarked, "I wonder how many good sailors' lives this channel has claimed."

Matthew gazed at the turquoise, tranquil sea and remained silent.

Barnett turned to walk away, and Matthew followed, a look of curiosity on his face as he asked, "How did Jack get the compass?"

Barnett took a swig from his flask. "Not many people know about that."

He turned back. "But I do know he was planning to go after the treasure of the Isle of the Dead."

An expression of disbelief and astonishment immediately crossed Matthew's face. "What? He never mentioned that."

The two then launched into a discussion about pirate treasure and Jack Sparrow's past.

It was a dialogue scene that ran for several minutes, and to Matthew's own surprise, director Gore Verbinski shouted, "Cut!" after just a single take.

For him, getting such a long scene in one shot was unprecedented.

Since he couldn't go and watch the playback, Matthew could only guess at the reasons for the smooth take. The main one was likely that Gore Verbinski wasn't overly strict, especially with his role, which was primarily about selling his physique and his face, not the nuanced performance expected of Depp. The standard for his lines was slightly lower.

Will Turner's scenes with Jack Sparrow had to meet a certain standard, but in scenes where he appeared alone, Gore Verbinski's requirements were a bit more relaxed.

Secondly, as David Astor had once told him, his progress as an actor was less obvious, but he was consistently improving and not just treading water.

With that scene completed, all of Will Turner's scenes in the Caribbean were finished.

The shoot in the Caribbean had wrapped up so quickly because the motorboat carrying Matthew, Depp, and Keira had been damaged on a reef. The crew had originally planned to shoot several night scenes in the Caribbean, but after the reef incident and a field survey revealing that night tides had been frequent in the area recently, Jerry Bruckheimer decided that some scenes would have to be shot in a studio.

Otherwise, if an accident were to happen to one of the actors, the production would face far greater problems than just having to adjust the filming schedule.

The next day, Matthew returned to Los Angeles on a chartered plane along with most of the cast and crew. Upon their return, the production didn't immediately resume filming but instead took a long break until early October, when they would reconvene at the Disney studios to begin shooting the remaining scenes.

After spending more than ten days in the Caribbean, even though the work hadn't been entirely frantic, Matthew took two days off to rest upon his return. After all, health was the foundation of a career.

Shortly thereafter, however, he received a call from a certain Rachel.