The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 301

With Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie having left Los Angeles, the media frenzy surrounding the pair had finally subsided. In preparation for his upcoming work, Matthew made his way to the Wells Gallery in the business district of Santa Monica to attend a joint exhibition by three prominent young postmodern artists.

He had initially wanted to invite James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender to join him, but they were both too busy with work to find the time, so he had to come alone.

The Wells Gallery was an impressive marble-clad building with a highly artistic atmosphere. The entrance was a grand alabaster archway, with a red carpet laid out beneath it.

Admission to such a high-end exhibition was obviously restricted. Matthew approached the entrance and presented his invitation to a security guard, who promptly allowed him inside.

Upon entering the gallery, he found that, contrary to his expectation of a crowded and chaotic affair, the space was not overly packed and was remarkably quiet. The attendees' attention was focused primarily on the paintings hanging on the walls. Even when people spoke, they did so in hushed tones to avoid disturbing others.

In a public place like this, even someone with little appreciation for high art like Matthew knew the basic rules of etiquette.

Matthew crossed the spacious foyer and approached the display directly opposite the entrance, where three paintings were hung. With his level of artistic understanding, he couldn't make heads or tails of what they depicted, but the people around him were gazing at them with great interest, and some were even praising them aloud. He simply feigned admiration.

The postmodern art was rather abstract. After studying it for a short while, he averted his gaze and scanned his surroundings, noticing that quite a few celebrities had been invited. Leonardo DiCaprio was making his way to the left side of the exhibition, while Julia Roberts had just entered, accompanied by a few friends.

"Mr. Horner."

A polite voice came from behind him. "Glad to see you here."Matthew turned to see Robert Fernandez, the man who had given him the invitation. He nodded and said, "Hello."

Robert stepped forward and asked courteously, "Would you like me to show you the paintings? Some of them were—"

"No, thank you," Matthew declined directly. "I'll let you know if I need anything."

Robert stepped back and gestured toward the foyer. "I'll be over there. Please feel free to call on me at any time."

Matthew nodded and waited for Robert to leave before also moving away from that part of the exhibit.

He walked down a long gallery, observing the paintings on display as he made his way to the right side of the exhibition, occasionally stopping to look at a particularly striking piece.

Of course, he struggled to discern any of the beauty they might have held.

Eventually, Matthew stopped in front of an enormous oil painting. It wasn't by one of the three featured artists but clearly served as a decorative centerpiece for the gallery.

"Leonidas at Thermopylae."

Suddenly, a girl appeared beside him, looked at the painting, and said, "A work that took Jacques-Louis David fourteen years to complete. The original is in the Louvre in Paris. This is a replica."

The girl turned her head, her bright eyes fixed on Matthew. Her tone, no longer calm, was now tinged with excitement. "Hi, Matthew! It's so good to see you again."

Matthew turned to look, recognized her immediately, and replied, "Hi, Lily."

He looked her over. "You've gotten taller."

It was Lily Collins from the Harvard-Westlake School, the girl he had once saved from the "evil" principal.

"Really?" the girl exclaimed, her voice rising with excitement.

Matthew raised a finger to his lips in a gesture of silence. Lily immediately clapped a hand over her mouth playfully, then lowered her voice a moment later. "Right, I forgot we're in a gallery."

She whispered, "I almost couldn't believe you were the Matthew Horner."

Matthew smiled, glanced around, and asked, "Did you come here by yourself?"

"Yes," Lily nodded eagerly. "My mom was supposed to come with me, but something came up at the last minute, so she had the driver drop me off."

She paused for a moment before asking another question.

"Can we look at the exhibition together?" Lily blinked her bright eyes at Matthew. "You're alone, right? I'm alone too."

"Of course," Matthew didn't refuse. "It just so happens I don't know anything about paintings. I could use someone who does."

Lily leaned in closer, almost right next to his ear, and whispered, "To be honest, I've never been interested in art either. I just came here for fun."

Matthew grinned. "Well then, let's enjoy the indecipherable masterpieces together."

Lily flashed a brilliant smile, suppressed her excitement, and reached for Matthew's arm. "Let's go."

They continued on their way, looking at paintings and chatting. Since they didn't understand most of the art, their conversation became the main focus.

"I write to you often, almost once a month," Lily lamented. "But I never get a reply."

Matthew said, slightly apologetic, "The letters are always handled by the agency. They don't usually reach me."

They entered an exhibition hall at the end of the gallery. Seeing that it was quite crowded, they didn't bother trying to examine the future masterpieces and instead found an empty corner to continue their conversation.

Lily added, "I know, that's how all my dad's fan mail is handled. But I don't have any other way to contact you."

During their talk, Matthew learned from Lily that her father was the famous British singer Phil Collins, making Lily Collins a true starlet and a wealthy kid.

"Lily," Matthew said thoughtfully, taking a business card from his inner pocket. "Here's my phone number and personal email address. Don't call me—I usually don't answer—but you can email me."

Lily's eyes widened. "Can I really talk to you?"

Someone walked past and seemed to glance their way upon hearing Lily's voice, but then continued on.

Matthew saw more people entering the exhibition hall and told Lily, "Of course, you can. But you should know I'm often busy and might not reply right away."

"That's okay! That's enough!" Lily replied hastily. "As long as you can answer from time to time, I'll be happy."

Matthew smiled. "I'm glad to have met you too. You're a very vibrant girl."

Lily crinkled her nose. "Of course I am. I'm definitely a leader at school."

She seemed to think of something and asked, "It's been a while since you've been in a movie. The last one, 'Dawn of the Dead,' was too scary for me to watch."

"A movie I starred in, 'National Treasure,' will be released on Thanksgiving," Matthew considered for a moment and replied. "If you're interested, you can come to the premiere."

Lily nodded at once. "Of course."

They talked a little about the film, and then Lily asked, "Matthew, will you be attending the Young Hollywood Awards in July? 'Pirates of the Caribbean' got quite a few nominations."

Matthew shook his head slightly. "I haven't heard from Disney Pictures, so I can't be sure at this point."

"What a shame," Lily looked crestfallen. "I write a column for Elle Girl magazine and I'll be interviewing people on the red carpet at the awards. It would have been great to interview you."

"It's alright, maybe I'll go," Matthew assured her, then asked, slightly surprised, "You've started writing for a magazine? That's impressive."

Lily shrugged and said, a bit self-deprecatingly, "It's all because of my parents. They recommended me."

Matthew, however, said, "Elle Girl is a well-known magazine. Would they have asked you to write for them if you weren't good enough?"

Lily thought for a moment and smiled. "You have a point."

Then she added a reminder, "Matthew, if you do end up going to the Young Hollywood Awards, be sure to let me know in advance."

Matthew nodded.

The Young Hollywood Awards was a major summer event in the American film industry. Established in the late 1990s and known as the "Oscars of Young Hollywood," its winners were typically rising stars under the age of 25 who were making their mark and injecting fresh blood into the business. The ceremony was a significant media event.

That was why the annual Young Hollywood Awards ceremony attracted so much media attention.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" had been nominated for several awards, but Disney Pictures wasn't certain to win any of them.

Matthew also had to prepare for the filming of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," so he wouldn't necessarily have the time. He couldn't make the trip just for Lily's sake.

Lily gave Matthew her number and was relieved to see him save it in his phone.

Matthew put his phone away and chatted with Lily for a little longer. He was about to leave when, before he could even turn around, he noticed a little girl run past, with a woman chasing after her, shouting for the girl to stop.