The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 259

After returning to Los Angeles, Matthew took a week off. He set aside his training and studies to completely unwind, feeling the need to decompress after being constantly on edge since the start of his faux relationship with Keira Knightley earlier that year.

During that week, aside from a couple of trips to the Beverly Hills Hilton for hotel-room rendezvous with Jessica, he mostly stayed at home. Jessica, for her part, was a perfectly agreeable temporary partner, always open to having a good time.

The two made no secret of their occasional dinners after "business meetings," and the tabloids inevitably picked up on the supposed romance between him and Jessica.

Gossip travels faster than anything in Hollywood. TMZ was the first to report the news, citing a source close to the Dawn of the Dead production who claimed that Matthew and Jessica were sleeping together, often lingering in her dressing room after filming wrapped.

Gossip-focused tabloids asserted that Jessica had replaced Keira Knightley as Matthew's new girlfriend.

This kind of gossip aligned perfectly with the buzz Matthew and Helen wanted to generate, and it was likely that Jessica, and perhaps even Sean Daniel, had a hand in fanning the flames.

Hollywood gossip scandals generally fall into two categories: those genuinely captured by the paparazzi, and those deliberately leaked to the public to fuel speculation.

Using gossip for PR was, without a doubt, effective.

The benefits weren't limited to Matthew and Jessica, the two parties directly involved; even Keira Knightley and the crew of King Arthur, all the way over in the United Kingdom, managed to piggyback on the publicity.

"Keira Knightley Pining for Lost Love, Cries Alone on the Set of King Arthur.""Jessica Blocks Matthew's Path Back to Knightley, Who Is Reportedly Depressed and Frequently Leaves the King Arthur Set in Tears."

Headlines like these appeared in the entertainment sections of numerous media outlets and websites, capturing the attention of Pirates of the Caribbean fans.

Clearly, King Arthur and Keira had successfully generated a wave of discussion.

"Being splashed across the headlines means you're popular again."

Sitting under a wide sun umbrella at an open-air cafe on the waterfront in Malibu's Paradise Cove, Ilana sipped her cold drink as she spoke to Matthew from across the table.

Matthew, wearing sunglasses, leaned back in his wicker chair and remained silent.

Ilana set down her glass, leaned in a little closer, and asked, "Is it true, about you and Jessica in the dressing rooms on set?"

"I don't know," Matthew replied.

Ilana asserted, "Knowing you, it must be true. You didn't even spare eighteen-year-old Keira, let alone Jessica."

Matthew said nothing.

"But what's in it for you?" Ilana shifted into her professional entertainment reporter mode. "Jessica's been in Hollywood since she was a kid, but she has no signature roles. The reception for Honey and Dark Angel last month was mediocre. Right now, she's a C-list star at best. She has no backing in Hollywood, her family background is ordinary... other than being a hot chick, what can she offer you?"

Ilana tilted her head toward Matthew. "Don't tell me you're just some good guy who volunteered to help her out."

Matthew gave a slight shrug and answered, "Jessica is genuinely sexy."

He changed the subject. "Why did you ask me here?"

"Nothing major, I just wanted to thank you." Ilana sounded sincere. "Thanks to your breakup story, I managed to get my foot in the door at TMZ, and late last month, they officially offered me an employment contract."

"Oh?" Matthew asked curiously. "What's the position?"

Ilana replied with a hint of smugness, "Deputy editor of the entertainment news section. Base salary of a hundred thousand a year, plus a bonus if I land a hot story."

Matthew said with deliberate calm, "I helped you land such a great position, and you thank me with a cold drink?"

"What do you want?" Ilana asked provocatively. "For me to be like Jessica? Want me to sleep with you? That might require some... consideration."

"No," Matthew countered. "You're overthinking it."

Ilana, however, mused aloud, "With your current fame and fortune, I could definitely capitalize on a romance between us."

Resisting the urge to give her the middle finger, Matthew said, "You'd probably rig the room with a hidden camera, then release the footage yourself, even if you were the one starring in it."

"Oh?" Ilana seemed to genuinely consider it for a moment before declaring, "You know me so well."

She dropped the playful tone and said with complete seriousness, "I asked you here, first and foremost, to confirm where you stand, because I want our collaboration to continue."

"Of course, we both want to keep working together." Matthew had no intention of changing his media partner. "Ilana, besides you, there isn't another entertainment journalist I can trust."

The two had been working together for several years. And while they were both practically bottomless pits of ruthlessness when it came to each other, a fundamental level of trust still existed between them.

Moreover, as his fame grew, Ilana stood to gain more benefits and opportunities.

She nodded. "If you ever have any explosive news, message me. I'm always happy to collaborate."

She knew perfectly well that Matthew was currently a B-list star, and in the future, he was very likely to break into the A-list. For an entertainment journalist, the value of such a star was extraordinary.

Matthew understood the inseparable link between celebrities and the entertainment media. He said, "In that regard, for me and Helen, you're our absolute first choice."

This time, the buzz surrounding him and Jessica wasn't as intense as the previous one with Keira, but judging by the results, Ilana had proven her professionalism.

Of course, no matter how much hype was generated, it was highly unlikely that Matthew and Jessica would ever become a real couple.

In fact, after that week-long break, the relationship between Matthew and Jessica quickly soured, which was the most natural outcome. Both were primarily interested in each other's bodies, and just as quickly as passion ignited, it tended to fade.

And once the vacation was over, Matthew returned to his structured life, focusing more on honing his acting skills, practicing his writing, and training at the gym in boxing and sparring. In his eyes, Jessica Alba's appeal instantly diminished.

Besides, he also had his blog to maintain.

After several years of consistent updates and the magnetic pull of his growing fame, Matthew's blog had reached a six-figure readership, with over ten thousand daily active users. He could be classified as a well-known blogger, and among Hollywood stars, his blog ranked in the top ten most popular.

Most A-list and B-list Hollywood stars had also started blogs, but in this era, not many people or companies took them seriously. Even fewer were like Matthew, who could foresee the future of social media and its power for a star to generate conversation on their own terms.

After all, others couldn't "see" as far into the future as he could.

...

By the end of October, the theatrical run of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came to a close. The film grossed $352.27 million at the North American box office, surpassing the Pixar animated film Finding Nemo to temporarily claim the top spot for the year.

However, that box office figure didn't guarantee Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl the title of the highest-grossing film of 2003 in North America, as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had not yet been released.

Everyone, from the media to the production companies, agreed that after the foundation laid by the first two films, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was poised for an explosive success.

Professional entertainment outlets like Premiere, Empire, Entertainment Weekly, and The Hollywood Reporter believed that Peter Jackson would not only achieve box office success but that audiences would also respond positively to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, provided he maintained the quality of the first two films.

Some optimists even argued that the Academy Awards might break its tradition of ignoring fantasy films and honor such a superb production with Best Director and Best Picture.

But the definitive results would only be known the following March.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was equally successful at the international box office, reaching a worldwide total of $752.7 million since its July release and temporarily holding the top spot in the global box office for the year.

And once again, the winner of the annual global box office would remain unknown until the arrival of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The film's box office triumph benefited director Gore Verbinski and its three leads—Matthew, Depp, and Keira—especially when it came to maintaining leverage in their sequel negotiations with Disney Pictures.

Negotiations for the sequel lasted from mid-July to the end of October, and after more than three months of tug-of-war, a gradual agreement was finally reached.