The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 264

In the audition room at Disney Studios, Matthew finished his performance for Jerry. He pushed his glasses up his nose, just as Helen would, and stood before the camera, waiting for his next direction.

Jerry, conducting the audition, looked composed. "Alright, Matthew," he said. "That's all for today. I'll let Helen know the results as soon as I can."

Without a word, Matthew turned and left the audition room, following a staff member toward the dressing room.

Back in the audition room, Jerry switched on the monitor and replayed the recording of Matthew's audition. Beside him, Anderson Martinez watched intently.

When the video finished, Anderson frowned slightly and muttered, "Something's not right."

Jerry didn't need to be told. In fact, he had already noticed something was off during the live audition.

Jerry played the footage again. Anderson scratched his head. "But what is it?"

His eyes glued to the screen, Jerry said nothing until the recording finished playing. Then he stood up. "Call Helen in a few minutes," he instructed, "and tell her Matthew Horner isn't right for this role."

Anderson froze for a moment. He knew Jerry had been leaning toward Matthew Horner for the lead role even before the audition.

He ventured, "What happened?"Since Anderson was one of his most trusted assistants, Jerry didn't hold back. He replayed the footage and pointed to the screen. "Have you noticed? Matthew has developed this masculine, almost commanding presence that matches his rugged features. Even in a suit and glasses, it comes through in his performance. It's an aura that makes him shine as a powerful blacksmith or a professional soldier, but not as a scholarly hero."

He shook his head. "The audition was obviously not what I was hoping for. Matthew isn't right for this part... he's more of a King Arthur."

Jerry sighed. Clive Owen's performance in King Arthur had only been satisfactory, falling short of expectations. It was a challenging role, and he mused that with Matthew Horner in the part, it might have been as brilliant as his performance as Will Turner.

It was clear now that Matthew couldn't be the male lead in National Treasure. Even dressed as a scholar, he just didn't have the academic air necessary for a code-breaking expert. And a scene where a villain threatens him with force? It wouldn't play as serious drama; it would become unintentional comedy.

Perhaps he had simply expected too much from Matthew. After all, the young actor's range wasn't quite that developed yet.

Jerry quickly realized that while Matthew could effortlessly play a tough-guy role that matched his own natural disposition, a part with the opposite temperament would feel forced and unnatural.

Since he wasn't the right fit, Jerry naturally wouldn't risk casting him. It wasn't difficult to find other suitable young actors in Hollywood.

With that, Jerry left the rest to Anderson and walked out of the audition room.

...

Helen was in her car, driving away from Disney Studios and back toward the Angel Agency, when her phone rang. It was Anderson.

"I see. Alright." Her voice remained level. "Thank you, Anderson."

Hanging up, Helen turned to Matthew, who had already pieced together the outcome from her tone on the phone.

Sure enough, Helen said, "Bad news. You didn't get it."

Matthew asked, curious, "Why not?"

Helen answered right away. "Jerry thinks you're too far from the scholarly type he's looking for."

Matthew nodded in understanding.

Helen considered for a moment, then added, "Anderson told me that Jerry and the writers have finalized the character profile and submitted it to Disney Pictures. They're not making any changes—he's a scholar type. The film is an action-adventure, but the male lead has very few action sequences."

Matthew was surprised. Isn't Anderson Jerry's right-hand man? he wondered. Maybe...

Helen seemed to guess what Matthew was thinking. "Anderson Martinez is one of Jerry's key assistants," she explained. "Even if we're on good terms, do you really think he'd risk Jerry firing him?"

Matthew shook his head slightly. "I'm just a bit bummed," he admitted. "We've been tracking this project since last year, and now it's all come to nothing."

"I'm disappointed, too," Helen said, though her expression didn't show it. "But this is Hollywood. Even when you're a B-list star, there are still plenty of people who can replace you."

A flicker of self-deprecation crossed her face. "You don't really think we can just snap our fingers and get any role we want, do you?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Failing an audition was never what you wanted, but it was a normal part of the business. He had heard other B-listers like James Franco, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell were also in the running, so it was no surprise that one of them had landed the role.

Still, it was impossible not to feel some disappointment. They had been tracking Jerry's new project since last year, and now that door was closed.

...

By the time he walked into the Angel Agency, the sting of disappointment had faded. He was, after all, just a B-list star, not Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise. And as Helen had pointed out, there were plenty of actors who could take his place.

"How are you?"

As they entered the Angel Agency lobby, Helen shot Matthew an unreadable glance. "You doing okay?" she asked, a flicker of concern in her voice.

Matthew shrugged. "Am I supposed to spend all day moping over one failed audition? I didn't get this one, so we move on to the next."

"Good attitude." Helen offered him a rare compliment.

The rare compliment made Matthew a little uncomfortable. He waved a dismissive hand. "You get to it. I'm going to the break room to play some video games."

As he spoke, he turned down a nearby hallway, deciding to take the rest of the day to relax and clear his head. Finding his next job was Helen's problem, so there was no need for him to stress about it.

At this stage of his career, he couldn't just jump at any advertising campaign or film contract that came along. He had to wait. It was crucial to be selective about the projects he accepted.

The Hollywood machine only cared about an actor's box office performance over the last three years. If those numbers were low, the star's stock would plummet—and not even an Oscar winner was immune.

Many superstars who had fallen from grace started with a single bad film. Take Nicolas Cage, for instance. He'd once been so broke that he stopped reading scripts and just took one bad movie after another, which led to the biggest problem of all: his market value plummeted with each new release.

In Hollywood, age didn't automatically equal skill, a higher salary, or more leverage.

It all came down to what the market dictated.

Opening the door to the break room, Matthew found a game console and started playing Super Mario and Contra.

...

A few days later, news broke that James Franco, who played the Green Goblin in Spider-Man, had been cast in the lead role for National Treasure.

Matthew wasn't surprised to learn the casting had changed; he was used to the fact that his very presence in this timeline was causing countless changes to films.

Since Matthew and Helen were sticking to a policy of quality over quantity when it came to choosing films, no other suitable productions or roles emerged before December, aside from that clone project at DreamWorks with Michael Bay.

Matthew wasn't in a rush. He went to the Dawn of the Dead set to do some post-production dubbing, and after lunch, he chatted with Zack Snyder. They discovered they were on the exact same page about using matte paintings and high-speed, slow-motion cinematography.

Of course, Zack did most of the talking while Matthew listened intently; after all, he knew very little about such specialized directorial techniques.

From their conversation, Matthew gathered that Sean Daniel had severely restricted Zack during post-production, preventing him from fully utilizing his signature style.

Matthew couldn't help but think about 300. He vaguely recalled it was about ancient Greeks fighting a Persian invasion, based on a novel or a graphic novel, he thought. Maybe he could look into it. Once Zack was done with Dawn of the Dead, perhaps the two of them could tackle that project together?

For now, it was just an idea. Getting a production like that off the ground without the support of a major studio would be incredibly difficult.

There was no rush, anyway. Dawn of the Dead hadn't even been released yet. It would be better to wait and see how the zombie film performed.

If Dawn of the Dead was a success, then all was well. But if it bombed, Zack would surely be blacklisted by studios and investors alike, making it impossible to even discuss a follow-up project.

In the meantime, Matthew had his own obligations to attend to. His contract with Disney Pictures included a clause for awards season. He and Depp, as the two acclaimed leads, were expected to champion Pirates of the Caribbean and help bring home some awards for the studio.