The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 230

The premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean" was set to take place at California Disneyland, in the same grand theater and cabaret venue that had previously hosted the premiere of "The Lion King," with a capacity for thousands of spectators.

On the day of the premiere, Matthew picked up Keira early in the morning. It was part of his duty as her boyfriend, and since they had already performed their kissing and romance routine for the media and the public, he had to look the part.

After picking Keira up, they headed to the stylist's studio together.

Matthew was already in great shape, so the stylist focused on accentuating the sharp lines and masculinity that were already so apparent.

The only slightly more challenging aspect was his hair, which he had kept long since filming "Pirates of the Caribbean." His dark brown, almost black hair fell nearly to his shoulders and had a natural wave, making it tricky to style.

Matthew simply asked the stylist to cut it short, returning to his old medium-length style.

In contrast, Keira's look took much longer. It was a massive undertaking—from makeup and her outfit to her hair and accessories—that required at least six hours.

None of the glamorous looks actresses sported on the red carpet were natural; they were all the result of hours spent with stylists.

According to the stylists, it was rare for an actress to spend less than five hours preparing for a red carpet appearance.

Male celebrities want to look handsome, and female celebrities want to look beautiful, so naturally, they have to pay the price for it.Matthew's black suit was tailored to showcase his superb physique and muscle tone, while Keira's dress also featured a slim-fitting design to highlight her slender figure.

On their stylists' advice, Matthew and Keira ate a small breakfast and only a tiny amount for lunch. After lunch, they stopped drinking water altogether to avoid any bloating.

Drinking too much water inevitably meant frequent trips to the restroom, which was never convenient during a premiere or any other red carpet ceremony.

For female celebrities, most evening gowns were either incredibly intricate or perfectly tailored, and once they were maneuvered in a restroom, getting them back to their original, flawless state was a monumental challenge.

The vast majority of actresses, whether at premieres or award ceremonies, tried to avoid using the restroom at all.

To achieve a perfect silhouette, a price inevitably had to be paid.

So, as Matthew and Keira rode in the car to Disneyland, they sat perfectly upright, careful not to even lean back against the seats to avoid wrinkling their clothes.

Of course, if your status was high enough, you could ask the organizers to provide a dressing room near the venue, which would spare you the whole ordeal.

But Matthew and Keira didn't carry that kind of weight.

As Matthew and Keira walked hand in hand down the red carpet at Disneyland, the sight of the handsome man and the beautiful woman together brought the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

The reporters went into a frenzy, their cameras flashing, and the fans lining the carpet roared with excitement.

There were countless posters featuring images of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann.

This was a moment for Matthew and Keira to bask in the kind of treatment reserved only for A-list stars.

"Did you see that, Dad?" On one side of the red carpet, Brian Lister held up a poster of Will Turner and shouted excitedly to Lister Sr. beside him. "That's Matthew! Matthew Horner!"

Lister felt a little awkward watching his son's face flush with excitement. "I know," he said. "No need to shout."

He had only asked Matthew for tickets to tonight's premiere because of Brian's constant pleading.

"He's so handsome!" Brian was completely swept up in the fanatical joy of seeing his idol. "And he's tougher than Arnold Schwarzenegger!"

A girl next to him overheard, turned her head to look, and exclaimed, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Compared to Matthew, Leonardo, Bloom, and the others look terrible!"

Brian instantly felt like he'd found a kindred spirit and nodded enthusiastically.

He took the initiative to introduce himself. "I'm Brian, a fan of Matthew's."

The girl smoothed down her bleached hair and said, "I'm Maria, also a fan of Matthew's."

"Look!" Brian suddenly pointed at the red carpet. "Matthew's coming this way!"

The two of them let out a wild shriek in unison.

Matthew savored the feeling, the sensation of being the center of attention, as if he had become the center of the world.

People were screaming his name. The journalists were going crazy for him.

Of course, he knew it was the halo effect from the movie, amplified by the constant media frenzy surrounding him and Keira.

When they reached the press area, Matthew and Keira put on a loving display, letting the reporters take their pictures. They gave a short interview to a reporter from ABC Television, and when Depp walked over, the three of them stood shoulder to shoulder for another round of photos.

It wasn't that the three of them were without conflicts or competing interests, but any disagreements were handled at the agent level. Personally, they had always maintained a good relationship with one another.

In response to questions from the press, Depp, Matthew, and Keira heaped praise on their co-stars and repeatedly mentioned how much they'd love to work together again.

The truth was, all three of them were hoping for a sequel—or any kind of follow-up—if they wanted to make serious money.

This was a very realistic concern. Despite their fame, Matthew and Keira were definitely among the less wealthy of Hollywood's stars. Depp was in a better position, but even he wasn't exceptionally rich.

If "Pirates of the Caribbean" became a big hit and Disney wanted to make a sequel, it would be almost impossible for them to replace the main cast unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, the three leads could naturally command as much money as possible.

Since the audience had to be seated first, the cast and crew, along with some of the red carpet guests, waited in a lounge area for a while.

Matthew greeted a few people he knew, put his arm around Keira, and went to find Helen, who was standing with Amanda, who had flown in from New York especially for the occasion.

"Keira," Matthew said, gesturing to Amanda, "this is Amanda, a good friend of mine."

Then, turning to Amanda, he said, "Amanda, this is Keira, my girlfriend."

The two young women exchanged polite greetings.

Amanda still had her short hair and hadn't changed much overall, but to Matthew, she seemed taller—probably because of her heels.

"Back for the summer?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, life in England was getting boring, so I came back to New York. Just in time for your premiere," Amanda grumbled lightly. "The weather in England is awful. I can't even remember the last time I saw the sun."

Keira overheard and couldn't help but chime in, "New York's weather is awful too. It's torture going outside during a blizzard."

Amanda glanced at Keira, then said, "Matthew, you're about to become a huge star."

Matthew, falling into their usual playful banter, replied casually, "I told you a long time ago this would happen."

Even though they hadn't seen each other in a long time and had barely spoken, Amanda felt no awkwardness at all. She added, "Don't forget, I helped make you a star, too."

"Of course," Matthew replied with a smile. "How could I forget your help?"

Keira suddenly tapped Matthew on the shoulder and whispered, "The lead from King Arthur is here. Want me to introduce you?"

Matthew turned his head to look and nodded.

He exchanged a few more words with Amanda and Helen, then followed Keira over to another circle of people, which was filled with British actors—the entire main cast of the film King Arthur.

However, both Clive Owen and Ioan Gruffudd were unfamiliar to Matthew. He couldn't recall their names, guessing that neither of them had made a name for themselves in Hollywood yet.

This only made him more certain that the chances of King Arthur being a flop were very high.

Even so, Matthew couldn't say anything more to Keira, who, after all, had already signed an official contract as its lead actress.

Thanks to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series, even if King Arthur failed, it wouldn't be a catastrophe for Keira.

That, perhaps, was the advantage of a film series; the main cast could still weather failures and live comfortably.

Matthew chatted with the British actors for a while, but it was clear they weren't on the same wavelength, as the British and American acting circles were sometimes quite distinctly separate.

The back rows were packed to the brim with audience members, while the seats in front of them were occupied by the press and critics invited by Disney Pictures.

A few notable figures were also seated there, including the great Roger Ebert and his partner, Richard Roeper.