The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 235

Since the film was released on the same weekend as "Pirates of the Caribbean," Matthew looked up information on "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and realized that Van Helsing wasn't the only one with a monster mash-up; "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" also featured a whole host of famous characters.

There was Allan Quatermain from "King Solomon's Mines," Tom Sawyer from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," Captain Nemo from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," the vampiress Mina Harker from "Dracula," and Dorian Gray from "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

These figures answered the call of Queen Victoria of Great Britain to form a "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" to combat a maniacal phantom who was trying to turn the world upside down.

After reading the summary, Matthew had only one thought: wasn't this basically a Victorian-era Avengers or Justice League? It turned out Hollywood had the idea of forming a super-team to fight monsters much earlier than he realized, and the leading man was none other than the great Sean Connery.

Unfortunately, he'd never seen the movie and couldn't remember anything about it.

Matthew then read in the newspaper that pre-sale tickets for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" were less than half of what "Pirates of the Caribbean" had sold, totaling just under $3 million.

Based on pre-sales alone, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was no match for "Pirates of the Caribbean."

And that's exactly how it played out. After its first day on Friday, "Pirates of the Caribbean" had grossed $22.2 million, while "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" had only brought in $8.5 million. The two films weren't even in the same league.

The difference in word-of-mouth was even greater.

A day after its release, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" had a dismal 17% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while "Pirates of the Caribbean" was holding strong at over 80%.On IMDB, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" had an average audience rating of 5.9 out of 10, a straight-up failure, whereas "Pirates of the Caribbean" boasted an 8.3.

There was absolutely no comparison between the two films.

The abysmal reviews for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" led Matthew to dismiss it entirely. The consensus was that the Sean Connery film posed no significant threat to "Pirates of the Caribbean."

The media was also comparing the two blockbusters released at the same time, noting it was relatively rare, even during the crowded summer season, to see two films with budgets over $70 million open on the same weekend.

Even a major newspaper like the Los Angeles Times ran a review on it.

"As a commercial entertainment film, 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' is utterly incomparable to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'; the gap between them is comprehensive.

"First, the directors: Stephen Norrington took an extremely interesting concept for 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' and turned it into a mediocre and incredibly dull film. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' director Gore Verbinski did the exact opposite, breathing new life into the clichéd and decaying pirate genre.

"Second, the actors: Sean Connery, the star of 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,' still comes across as James Bond after all these years, even when playing an explorer. In contrast, Johnny Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is stunningly brilliant. Furthermore, there's a clear gap between the prominent supporting roles in the two films. Stuart Townsend and Matthew Horner are the respective faces of their films, both playing swordsmen, but Townsend is as wooden as a board, while Matthew manages to bring a seemingly stoic character to life."

Reading the review, Stuart Townsend slammed the LA Times down on the table, his expression souring. How could he be in a good mood? He'd woken up early Saturday morning to yesterday's disastrous box office numbers, and now this newspaper was comparing him to that nobody, filling its pages with mockery.

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was his first major production, a film that would directly shape the future of his career.

The sudden sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Stuart looked up to see his girlfriend, Charlize Theron, emerging from the gym. She had slimmed down even more from her once-curvy figure.

"What's wrong, honey?" Charlize asked, looking at him with concern.

Stuart recalled hearing Charlize mention Matthew Horner's name before and asked, "Do you know Horner?"

Although she sensed something was wrong from Stuart's expression, Charlize didn't want to lie to her boyfriend. "Yes," she replied. "I met him at Depp's place, The Viper Room, last year. Me, Depp, and Keanu had a few drinks with him."

"You should drink less there in the future," Stuart ordered, his face a mask of irritation. "And don't associate with Matthew Horner anymore!"

Charlize frowned slightly. "Why—"

"Because!" Stuart suddenly raised his voice, cutting her off. "Because I don't like him!"

As she opened her mouth to argue, Stuart snatched the copy of the LA Times he'd been reading and hurled it to the floor in front of her.

Stuart yelled at Charlize, "If you go to Depp's bar again, don't even bother coming back!"

Charlize kept her mouth shut. Even though she had bought the house, paid for the car in the garage, and covered most of their expenses, she tolerated his hysterical temper for the sake of a love she had fought so hard for.

Stuart stomped upstairs, cursing "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Matthew Horner.

...

In the Angel Agency office in Burbank, Amanda sat in Helen's chair, browsing a website on the computer.

"Helen, how much do you think the movie will make?" she asked curiously.

Helen was sitting on the sofa, sipping the green tea Matthew had given her earlier. "It won't make less than $50 million in its opening weekend," she replied.

After the midnight box office numbers for "Pirates of the Caribbean" came in, both Disney Pictures and several third-party professional forecasters had raised their minimum opening weekend projection to $50 million.

Amanda asked again, "So Matthew will become a full-fledged star?"

"As long as 'Pirates of the Caribbean' doesn't suffer a major drop-off in the coming weeks," Helen answered calmly. "But yes, Matthew becoming a B-list star is already a sure thing."

"You said that its long-term performance is directly tied to how well it's received by the audience," Amanda said, looking at the computer screen. "Judging by the buzz online, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is getting a great response."

She scrolled through page after page of positive audience reviews for the film. Unlike the reactionary reviews from critics on sites like Rotten Tomatoes, these reflected the opinions of the core market audience.

"The movie is original, the Captain is charismatic, the Blacksmith is cool, and those two are a perfect match! The only downside is Elizabeth Swann."

"The characters of Jack Sparrow and Will Turner are magnificent!"

"The plot, though a bit long, is wonderful, the sets and special effects are excellent, and most importantly, the film introduced me to a new actor, Matthew Horner."

Next, Amanda opened IMDB, where the site was filled with equally ecstatic praise.

"'Pirates of the Caribbean' will definitely become a classic. It has a smooth plot, spectacular fight scenes, and hilarious humor. With Hans Zimmer's classic score, the crazy, lazy, and perpetually drunk Captain Jack, a beautiful and rebellious noblewoman in love with a poor boy, a horde of skeletal villains walking on the seabed, cannonballs flying through massive waves between pirate ships, and a Captain rallying his men to set sail—it's full of Disney's undisguised love for the kind of fantastic adventures that thrill you to the core."

"I thought a pirate movie wouldn't have too many action scenes, but after watching it, the balance between action and drama was handled quite well. There are definitely a lot of exciting moments between the action and the story. Some very good special effects add to the viewing pleasure. If you love action, you'll love this movie. If you love comedy, you'll love this movie. It's a high-class entertainment film: drama, action, adventure, and humor are blended perfectly!"

After closing IMDB, Amanda returned to Matthew's personal blog. Unlike its previously quiet state, it was now so lively that the comments section was practically bursting at the seams.

"Matthew, you are such a MAN! I love you!"

There were also many humorous posts.

There were more rational fans, too, with messages that echoed the sentiments of most viewers, praising the film highly.

"Matthew and Depp hold the entire film together. The two of them radiate a brilliance that overshadows even the plot and special effects."

A very small number of people even left some inexplicable comments.

"I don't know why, but why would Matthew choose Keira as his girlfriend when they're so obviously a mismatch? Matthew, you have to break up with Keira. She's not good enough for you!"