The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 288

Infidelity was rampant in Hollywood; countless people cheated on each other every day. How many of the world's top stars hadn't cheated, separated, or divorced at least once? But what others did was nothing compared to the scandal that had erupted around Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the time. Matthew once thought it was a media frenzy that naturally arose from Brad and Jolie's fame, combined with the involvement of another major star, Jennifer Aniston.

Now that he was a part of Hollywood, he looked back on the gossip from back then and saw that it was far from simple.

With his current mindset and his knowledge of Hollywood publicity and marketing, he realized the drama staged by the trio of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston had definitely ignited a firestorm of interest in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

It was a textbook marketing campaign for a film, Matthew thought to himself.

His attention then returned to the script itself. He began to review it for a second time, paying closer attention to the main plot points now that he had already read through it once.

After his second read-through, he had a much clearer picture of the script, which was typical of a commercial Hollywood entertainment screenplay.

It could be said that, like most Hollywood scripts, the story's framework was thin—light on plot and heavy on special effects, heavy on explosions and light on logic. It was like a palace balanced on the tip of a needle. A couple living together for two years without discovering each other's true professions was, in itself, hardly convincing.

However, as Matthew reread the opening, combining it with his own memories of the film, he felt there was another angle from which to approach the script.

Perhaps it wasn't so rare for a hero and heroine to fall in love and get married without fully understanding or trusting each other.

In this world, everyone concealed their secrets and carefully guarded their own space. Just like in the film, they each had a secret arsenal, until one day, by a twist of fate, that masquerade began to crumble. Both sides grew unsettled by the other’s new image, making friction, arguments, and conflict inevitable.Then, just like any married couple on the verge of divorce, the hero and heroine proceeded to tear the house apart—only they used weapons.

Although he had never been married, Matthew had observed many celebrity couples in Hollywood over the years. They were very similar to the characters depicted in the script, deciding to marry in a rush of emotion, without truly knowing each other, and with many secrets hidden deep inside.

Matthew closed the script and placed it on Helen's desk. She glanced at it and asked, "What do you think?"

"A standard, Hollywood-style script," Matthew replied.

"An accurate assessment," Helen agreed, then added, "It's precisely this kind of script that's the safest bet."

Matthew nodded without saying anything.

Reverting to her usual serious and professional manner, Helen said, "I spoke in detail with the screenwriter, Simon Kinberg, to get a general sense of this project's style and philosophy. The concept for his script originally came from Hong Kong cinema, borrowing many of the dynamic and romantic elements of their action films. The finished movie is intended to be a blend of action, romance, and humor."

Listening to Helen, Matthew tried to recall what he remembered about the film, which had left a relatively deep impression on him because of Brad and Jolie.

"That's the big picture."

At that, Helen seemed to remember something else and said, "And there are a few others besides us who have learned about the new project. For instance, Brad Pitt's agent informed Goldsman that they're interested."

Matthew lightly scratched his head. "Brad Pitt? That's some serious pressure."

Helen, however, clearly saw it differently. "You're not as famous as Brad Pitt, but you have an advantage: over the past three years, the films you've starred in have performed well at the box office and achieved an extremely high return on investment. You're positioned as an action star and have a solid track record. Plus, your asking price is much lower than Brad's, but he doesn't necessarily have more appeal than you among action movie fans."

Matthew understood what Helen was saying. If it were just a matter of acting skill and popularity, he was clearly behind Brad Pitt. But the film market wasn't divided that way. His strong suit was the action genre, which was a perfect fit for this project. Brad Pitt had practically never starred in a pure action film before, and the only one he had done, Troy, hadn't even been released yet.

Helen seemed to guess what Matthew was thinking. "Troy comes out in May. We'll only have a serious problem if the film becomes a box-office hit on the scale of The Lord of the Rings trilogy."

"And what if Troy doesn't live up to expectations?" Matthew asked.

"Then Brad Pitt won't have any advantage over you," Helen replied confidently. "He'll even be at a disadvantage."

As he climbed the career ladder, his chances of competing for roles against established top stars or superstars would inevitably increase. If he came up against someone he couldn't beat, he could always fall back on the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Helen added, "Brad Pitt is just one of the contenders. The auditions will be held in late May. I can't say for sure how many actors Goldsman and Doug will send invitations to."

Matthew nodded and stood up, script in hand. "If that's everything, I'll get going."

Helen just waved him off.

Matthew turned and was about to leave when he suddenly asked, "The property the National Treasure crew used for filming today... it seems to be for sale. Can you find out the price?"

Helen replied, "Alright, I'll look into it."

After that, Matthew left the Angel Agency.

...

In the days that followed, he focused on studying the script and the characters. Analyzing the screenplay and the films he had seen before, he saw that the importance of the two lead characters completely overshadowed the plot. One could even say it was a commercial film driven entirely by star power and character charisma.

It was no wonder that Goldsman and Doug were only considering established stars and weren't even looking at newcomers.

Besides studying the script and thinking about the role, Matthew went to the gun club where he usually trained and hired a more professional firearms instructor for a high salary. He also increased the frequency and duration of his weapons training, adding a mobile shooting program in particular. Since he was determined to fight for the lead role, he had to be 200% prepared, regardless of success or failure.

Additionally, Matthew went to a video rental store and found a variety of assassin films to watch, especially those made in the Hong Kong style, like Black Mask, The Killer, and so on.

The assassin protagonist was a bit different from his previous action roles—less realistic and more romantic and comedic.

In a way, it was a challenge for him.

However, Matthew wasn't afraid of challenges. Action films were a prime category in Hollywood, the very backbone of commercial cinema, and he couldn't limit himself to a small niche within that broader category.

In the period leading up to the summer season, Matthew spent nearly all his time in seclusion, preparing for the auditions. But a recent call from Orlando Bloom had reminded him not to forget to attend the Van Helsing premiere in early May.

Following that, Matthew received a formal invitation from Universal Pictures and Stephen Sommers, with whom he had previously worked and maintained a good relationship, to attend the North American premiere of Van Helsing.

Exactly two years had passed since the project was greenlit. And while big-budget, large-scale productions were constantly emerging in Hollywood, Van Helsing's massive $160 million price tag, which had been publicly announced, was still as top-tier as any of the other "premier" productions in Hollywood today.

Universal Pictures seemed confident in the film, investing heavily in a massive premiere attended by many of Hollywood's leading stars.

On the list of names revealed by the media, Matthew's fame and renown were only moderate.

On the day of the Van Helsing premiere, the nation's media turned its attention to a Hollywood theater on the Walk of Fame. It was the first film of the annual summer movie season and was eagerly anticipated by movie fans.