The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 207

"'Pirates of the Caribbean' stars Matthew Horner and Keira Knightley have fallen for each other on set and were spotted shopping together, with Horner buying Knightley a black pearl necklace from Tiffany's as a token of his affection."

Yahoo Entertainment was the first to break the story, complementing it with a series of photographs of Matthew and Keira on their shopping trip.

In this day and age, the internet's response time was lightning-fast, far exceeding that of traditional newspapers and magazines. Moments later, another website published photos taken by a different paparazzo, detailing how Matthew and Keira's characters in the film were a romantic pairing of sorts.

The rumors about Matthew and Keira continued to circulate in print and online for some time, strategically woven into the promotion for "Pirates of the Caribbean." However, both actors stuck to the script, never officially confirming the relationship. Even when they appeared together at a press event for the film, they simply stated they were very good friends, just as they had planned.

In April, aside from cooperating with the various publicity stunts, Matthew made a special trip to see his lawyer, Wilson, who filed his tax returns on time.

The American tax filing system, with its infamous April 15th deadline—Tax Day—is notoriously complex and difficult to understand, not just for the vast majority of Americans, but especially for an outsider like Matthew, who relied heavily on professionals in the field.

It was rumored that Intuit, the financial software provider for the IRS, spent a significant amount of money each year lobbying in Washington to prevent the implementation of a simplified tax filing process.

In the United States, personal income tax is filed annually, with April 15th being the final day to submit the return for the previous year. Since personal income tax accounts for more than half of all tax revenue in the country, getting caught for tax evasion wasn't as simple as just paying it back; it meant inviting endless trouble.

Of course, there were also various policies in place, like consumption tax rebates.

Matthew couldn't make heads or tails of it anyway and left that aspect of his life entirely to the professionals.Furthermore, most Hollywood stars engaged in legal tax avoidance. The accountant Matthew had hired had discussed this with Helen, and the most effective method was to establish a charitable foundation—but only after he achieved a much higher level of fame.

Hollywood productions operated differently from those on the other side of the Pacific, where many stars received their salaries post-tax after the production company had paid their personal income tax on their behalf. Hollywood had long established a practice where, whether you were in the $20 Million Club or earning any other amount, it was all pre-tax. If you wanted to pay your taxes, you had to declare them yourself.

This also had the advantage of making Hollywood actors' salaries seem enormous, while keeping them within a reasonable percentage of the total production budget, which in turn allowed more money to be invested in the actual filmmaking process.

As May rolled in, kicking off another summer movie season in the North American market, the internet and newspapers were flooded with film-related news, and the buzz around Matthew and Keira reached a new peak.

In the latest photos published by Yahoo Entertainment, the two were seen attending a screening of "The Matrix Reloaded" and leaving hand in hand, seemingly confirming their romance.

Entertainment gossip, already a significant part of the public's leisure time, gradually garnered a huge amount of attention.

Even Johnny Depp, in an interview arranged by the publicity team, brought up Matthew and Keira.

"Matthew and Keira were close when they were on set," he stated in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. "And if the rumors about their relationship are true, I'm nothing but happy for them."

...

It was another picturesque day when Matthew and Keira arrived together at the Staples Arena in Los Angeles to watch the Western Conference semifinals, where the Lakers were playing the Spurs.

Just a week before the game, Helen had managed to secure tickets for the section where Hollywood stars frequently sat—the very area the cameras focused on during timeouts. Since the Lakers were the most dominant NBA team in Los Angeles, a large number of local celebrities followed them.

Matthew and Keira were in the second row. The seat next to them was temporarily empty, but less than ten seats to his left, Matthew spotted several big names.

Leonardo DiCaprio, not yet heavy enough to sink the Titanic, was engaged in an intimate conversation with his supermodel girlfriend, Gisele Bündchen. Directly in front of him sat Denzel Washington, a recent Oscar winner. Nearby, forever hidden behind sunglasses, was Jack Nicholson. And the two blondes sitting together were apparently Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz.

Glancing around, Matthew could only sigh inwardly. Among this crowd, he and Keira were practically nameless second-stringers.

The recent "romance" between them had become a hot topic of speculation, largely because Disney and the film's production team were backing it. His appearance here would undoubtedly generate another wave of news.

On the court, the players were warming up. The only ones Matthew recognized were Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, whose faces were plastered all over Los Angeles newspapers, big and small.

As for the Spurs, he didn't know a single one.

"Do you know anything about basketball?" Keira asked from beside him.

"Not much," Matthew admitted, shaking his head and pointing to a line on the court. "I just know that if you score from behind that line, it's three points, and inside it, it's two."

Keira chuckled. "I know that much, too."

Both were complete basketball novices, here for the sole purpose of being seen.

"Hi, may I get through?"

A clear, girlish voice sounded next to Matthew. He immediately stood up to let her pass, and Keira did the same.

"Thanks."

The girl offered her gratitude and squeezed past Matthew and Keira to take the seat next to Keira.

She was dressed in skinny jeans and a white t-shirt that hugged a curvy figure. Beneath long brown hair was a sweet, pleasant face, and her skin was a lovely shade of mixed chocolate, not quite pale.

The girl looked familiar. Matthew was sure he had seen her in a movie somewhere, but she wasn't an A-list star, or he would have remembered her.

She was very beautiful, and Keira looked at her with interest.

Probably noticing Keira's gaze, the girl glanced back and, recognizing her, asked, "You're... Keira Knightley?"

"Yes," Keira replied politely. "Hello."

The girl's face lit up as she introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Jessica Alba."

With that, she looked at the young man beside Keira.

Keira made the introduction. "This is Matthew Horner, a friend of mine."

Matthew extended his hand, and Jessica Alba shook it lightly. "Hello. I saw your movie, 'The Scorpion King.' It was great."

Matthew had no idea what films she had been in, so he could only say, "Thank you."

He vaguely recalled the name Jessica Alba. He thought she was the one who played the Invisible Woman in a "Fantastic Four" movie he'd once seen.

He certainly couldn't remember any of her other work.

The game started quickly. Matthew watched for a while before his attention drifted to Keira Knightley and Jessica Alba. The two women were chatting—or more accurately, Jessica Alba, who was a Lakers fan, was explaining some of the rules of basketball to Keira as the game progressed.

Whenever she saw a camera turn their way, Keira would deliberately whisper to Matthew, acting very intimate.

"Are you two dating?" Jessica Alba asked Keira curiously, noticing their closeness. "The press has been speculating so much about your supposed romance lately."

Keira glanced at Matthew, who gave her a subtle look. She simply smiled at Jessica without saying a word.

Matthew was still a cautious person. Who knew what Jessica Alba was really like?

Disney Pictures, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" cast, and both of their agencies had already laid out a plan. The official public debut for their relationship was set for the end of May, the following week, when he and Keira would walk the red carpet hand-in-hand at the premiere of Disney's animated masterpiece, "Finding Nemo."

To be more precise, they were planning to steal some of Pixar Studios' thunder.

Just like their appearance today, Matthew and Keira's "dates" weren't just about shopping, eating, and drinking. The ever-escalating scandal had to be managed carefully, lest the media and the public grow bored.

Throughout the game, aside from playing the part of a loving couple with Keira, Matthew paid no attention to the action on the court. It was only after it ended that he looked up at the large screen and realized the Los Angeles Lakers had lost.

In contrast to the dejected Lakers fan Jessica Alba, Matthew and Keira left the arena as soon as the game was over, ready to head to their next publicity spot.

Before they could, however, Matthew received a script sent to his agency from Sean Daniel.