The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 241: The Letter

Hollywood had never been short on creative ways to grab attention and make a buck, and the kind of publicity stunt fueling the rumors about Matthew and Keira's romance was just another tool in its well-worn playbook.

At the Angel Acting Agency, Matthew walked into Helen's office, looked around, and asked the woman behind the desk, "Why haven't I seen Amanda the past two days?"

Helen replied coolly, "She went back to New York."

Without asking any more questions, Matthew pulled out a chair, sat across from Helen, and admitted bluntly, "Keira and I couldn't resist. We slept together."

Helen wasn't surprised. A young, attractive man and woman at the peak of their impulsiveness, living under the same roof... sleeping together was practically inevitable. It wasn't like Matthew was some saint, and was Keira any better? What kind of "good people" would agree to a fake romance just to get more attention anyway?

She considered this for a moment, then asked, "You and Knightley aren't planning to make this a real relationship, are you?"

"Well, I hope we keep sleeping together."

That part was purely personal, Matthew thought, before adding aloud, "But yes, the relationship is completely fake, of course."

After a slight pause, Matthew added, "Keira's more level-headed than I thought. We're just enjoying..."

He cleared his throat, unable to go into detail with someone as conservative as Helen. He quickly changed the subject. "You don't need to worry about it. We stick to the original plan with Keira, just as we laid it out."Helen replied, "Understood."

She then picked up a letter from her desk and placed it in front of Matthew. "This came from one of your fans," she explained. "She sent it to Disney, and they forwarded it to me."

"You want me to read it?" Matthew asked, intrigued.

It wasn't that he'd never received fan mail before, but the Angel Acting Agency had staff to handle all of it, so he never had to bother with it himself.

Instead of answering, Helen simply gestured toward the letter.

Matthew unfolded the letter and began to read.

"Dear Matthew Horner, or Will Turner."

The letter was written in a fine, neat script—far better than his own crooked scrawl.

Matthew read on.

"I'm just a normal girl at Harvard-Westlake School, but ever since I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl last weekend, I've become your biggest fan! You have to be the hero who shows up in a flash of light to save me from the villain!"

Reading this, Matthew couldn't help but scratch his head. It was straight out of a Disney fairytale: a princess in peril, waiting for her prince to come.

"There's a mean principal at my school who's always picking on me. And not just me—he threatens all my classmates, too. We've talked about fighting back, but we've never been brave enough."

"Matthew Horner, you're the mighty blacksmith Will Turner! You can take on a dozen pirates all by yourself. I wish you could come to my school and defeat our bully of a principal."

The further he read, the more Matthew wanted to laugh. It was clearly a letter from a young girl, full of dramatic descriptions of his fighting skills and the principal's wickedness. She was desperate for him, the strong and handsome blacksmith, to rescue them from their 'misfortune' and vanquish the evil principal once and for all.

Matthew figured the school must be incredibly strict, with a principal who got his kicks from catching students breaking the rules. The girl had probably been caught doing something wrong, gotten resentful, and wanted revenge but didn't have the guts to do anything about it. So, she did the next best thing: suffered in silence and appealed to her on-screen idol for help.

The letter ended with another sentence that made Matthew snort with laughter.

"If you can defeat the principal, I will love you forever!"

The letter was signed, "Lily, your fan."

Matthew finished reading and set the letter down on the desk. "Why did you show this to me?" he asked.

He was certain that with the massive success of Pirates of the Caribbean, he must be getting plenty of fan mail. Yet, she had chosen to show him this one in particular.

A rare, bright smile suddenly spread across Helen's face. It was a sight he seldom saw.

Matthew was unsettled by her unusual expression. "It's just some little girl's fantasy. What's the big deal?" he asked. "Didn't you have daydreams like that when you were a kid?"

"Me?" A flicker of memory seemed to cross Helen's face. "I did," she said, "but not quite like that."

Helen's smile vanished as she proposed, "What if you went and helped make this girl's dream come true?"

"What?" Matthew asked, suspecting he'd misheard. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me correctly," Helen replied calmly.

Matthew scratched his head. "Are you seriously asking me to go take down a school principal?"

"Not me," Helen clarified quickly. "After getting this letter, Disney's publicity department planned a whole campaign around it. They want you to help this 'naive girl' deal with the principal who's been 'oppressing' her."

A small smile touched her lips, clearly amused by the PR stunt Disney Pictures had cooked up. "Of course," she added, "the press will be there the whole time. Cameras from Disney TV and ABC's entertainment channel will be following your every move."

Matthew smiled back. "Disney is really..." He'd been about to say "insane," but then he realized how appealing and beneficial this kind of publicity would be for him. He changed course. "...They really have some clever ideas."

The personal benefits of a campaign like this were obvious. It was an easy way to win over new fans and create the public perception that he genuinely cared about them.

"Finding the principal won't be a problem," Matthew said with a slight frown. "But what am I supposed to do? Fight my way past security?"

Helen waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about that. Disney Pictures has already contacted Harvard-Westlake School. The principal has agreed to the whole thing."

Matthew's surprise grew. "The principal agreed?"

He'd gotten the impression that the principal was a nasty old stick-in-the-mud, the kind of person even the teachers had to tiptoe around.

Helen explained, "The principal of Harvard-Westlake officially confirmed to Disney Pictures that he's calling an all-school assembly in the auditorium this Wednesday. You'll show up then and 'vanquish' him in front of everyone."

Matthew was utterly bewildered. "But why?" he had to ask.

"It's quite simple, really. Harvard-Westlake School is a prestigious private school." Seeing that Matthew still didn't get it, Helen elaborated. "The school is run very strictly. While strict rules create order, they also cause students to push back. According to the principal, an event like this will help ease the students' rebellious attitudes and actually make them easier to manage in the long run."

That logic made sense to Matthew. When kids are already on edge, piling on more pressure just makes them snap, which only leads to more trouble. A bit of calculated fun would be good for both the school and the students, especially those navigating the storms of adolescence.

Then another thought occurred to Matthew. By collaborating with Disney Pictures, Harvard-Westlake School would get its name plastered all over the media. It was a massive wave of free publicity, riding on the coattails of Pirates of the Caribbean.

No doubt about it, the school had a smart principal.

Helen added, "The event is set for this Wednesday. I've already contacted Ilana, so she'll be there. The story can break online Wednesday, then hit Disney TV and ABC news that evening. The print media will pick it up on Thursday. Having a couple of days for the buzz to build will be great for the movie's third-weekend box office."

Matthew nodded. "What about Depp and Keira?"

Helen replied, "Disney has arranged separate campaigns for them. We just need to focus on ours."

"The faster the domestic box office crosses the $200 million mark, the more leverage I'll have in my negotiations with Sean Daniel," she said. "Sean has already proposed a budget increase to Universal Pictures for Dawn of the Dead. I'm sure he's already mentally prepared to offer you a massive salary for it."

"I'll handle it," Matthew assured her.

Helen gave a slight nod. When it came to his work, Matthew was exceptionally reliable; he hadn't made a single major misstep yet.

"That's all for now." Helen put the letter aside. "Go home and start preparing. And don't forget to bring that prop sword the crew from The Scorpion King gave you."

"Got it." Matthew stood up, ready to leave.

Helen called after him, "And don't mention any of this to Knightley."

Matthew knew it was just a basic precaution on Helen's part. "Right," he said.