The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 308

"And the winner of the Favorite Male Star award is..."

Onstage, Anne Hathaway opened the envelope she was holding and announced, "Matthew Horner!"

A wave of applause rolled through the hall. Matthew stood up to accept the award, feeling no surprise. Based on Helen's negotiations with the organizers, he was one of the biggest names in attendance and was confident he would win.

Passing the actors from Mean Girls, he hugged Rachel and Amanda, who stood up to congratulate him, then walked onto the stage. He took the oddly shaped black trophy from Anne Hathaway and stood before the microphone:

"Oh, this is heavy."

Matthew glanced down at the award, continuing, "I'm so happy to receive this award. It's the greatest recognition I've ever received. Thank you to all the fans who supported me—you're the best, and I will always love you!"

He didn't drag out his speech by thanking everyone for everything; there was no need for it.

Matthew then headed backstage. The Favorite Male Star award was one of the last of the evening, followed only by the Fan Favorite Movie award, after which the Junior Hollywood Awards ceremony drew to a close.

However, Hollywood awards ceremonies, big or small, tend to follow the same format as the Oscars.

Following the ceremony, there was a grand after-party. Guests didn't even have to leave the theater; the party was held in an adjacent hotel, accessible through a special passageway.Since he had arranged to meet Amanda at the after-party, Matthew didn't leave right away as some others did. Instead, he walked through the long corridor and entered the hotel's ballroom.

Just like at the Oscar after-party, there was an abundance of delicious food and drinks.

Most of the stars, especially those meticulous about their image and appearance, had eaten little to nothing before walking the red carpet. Now that the ceremony was over, they were all ravenous.

One of Matthew's most lasting impressions from the Oscar party was how inelegantly the celebrities ate.

After finishing half a steak, his empty stomach felt much better. He glanced toward the front of the room, where many people were seated, and saw the Olsen sisters again. This time, however, their younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen, was not with them.

He heard the click of heels, and a woman in a red evening gown approached his table. She was tall, likely in her thirties, with a face that could be described as beautiful.

To Matthew's surprise, the woman walked right up to him.

"Hello, Mr. Horner."

The woman in red gestured to the chair to Matthew's left. "Is this seat taken?" she asked.

There didn't seem to be any assigned seating, so Matthew picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and replied, "It's free. Please, have a seat."

Once the woman in red was seated, she extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Horner."

She introduced herself, "I'm Claire Wilkinson."

Matthew shook her hand. "Hello, Ms. Wilkinson."

As they shook hands, he studied the woman, Claire, making sure he didn't recognize her. The name didn't belong to any Hollywood star he could recall.

Matthew glanced at his watch; Amanda hadn't arrived yet.

Claire smiled at him and suddenly lowered her voice. "I just saw you looking at the Olsen sisters."

"Hm?" Matthew frowned slightly, not understanding what she meant.

"Are you interested in the Olsen sisters?" Claire's voice was quiet, but her words were startling. "I can introduce you, if you'd like."

Matthew was no naive teenager, and it didn't take him long to figure out what Claire meant by an "introduction."

"Ms. Wilkinson..." His expression didn't change. "Are you joking?"

"Of course I'm not joking." Claire's expression was dead serious as she whispered, "I'm sure you've heard that organizations like ours exist, both in Hollywood and in the modeling world."

Matthew remained silent. It was hardly a secret in Hollywood circles; some minor starlets, models, and even television hosts sold themselves through intermediaries for huge payouts.

It was relatively rare among actors, but supposedly rampant in the modeling world. He remembered James McAvoy once saying it wasn't that difficult to arrange a "date" with certain high-profile British models, as long as you were willing to pay the exorbitant price.

This applied not only to women, but to a large number of men as well.

The kind of "modeling" services Red Penguin offered were only for the low and middle tiers.

This was different from trading your body for a role—and that practice was certainly nothing new in Hollywood.

For instance, Matthew had recently seen some old stories about Brad Pitt surface on TMZ.

The story claimed that Brad Pitt had arrived in Hollywood with very little money and had used his handsome face and humble demeanor to win the favor of a gay actor. This actor hired Pitt as his manservant, and in addition to running errands, cleaning, and walking the dogs, Pitt was also expected to satisfy certain "other needs." In the end, Pitt allegedly used the man as a stepping stone to launch his Hollywood career.

But TMZ's revelations weren't always a hundred percent accurate, and there was no way to verify these old tales.

Claire, seeing Matthew's silence and assuming he was intrigued, added, "If you're willing to pay a small fee, Ms. Olsen would be happy to spend a night with an attractive man like you."

Matthew turned to look at the Olsen sisters, who were still eating, then turned back to Claire. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth; according to every media report, the Olsen sisters were immensely successful and wealthy.

Instantly, his guard went up.

Hollywood wasn't just made up of formal professions like actors, directors, and agents; there was also a handful of people who used the industry as a hunting ground for their scams.

Besides, this was the Junior Hollywood Awards dinner, not an Oscar party, so the barrier to entry wasn't nearly as high.

Matthew asked, "What's the price?"

Claire held up one finger. "One million dollars to start."

Matthew raised an eyebrow at the figure. Before he could respond, Claire added, "Three million dollars for both of the Olsen sisters together."

Matthew resisted the urge to retort that they weren't made of diamonds and certainly weren't worth that much. He held his tongue.

But Claire wasn't finished. "And the three million isn't just payment for one night," she continued. "We'll also provide you with merchandise of an equivalent value."

This completely baffled Matthew. The words "pyramid scheme" floated through his mind.

Claire elaborated, "The Olsen sisters have just become the presidents of the Twin Star Entertainment Group, which owns numerous brands covering everything from clothing and books to furniture, videos, and cosmetics. We'll give you three million dollars' worth of their branded merchandise. Of course, we would both need to publicly state that you're such a big fan of the Olsens' brands that you purchased their products in bulk."

Now Matthew more or less understood. Assuming Claire wasn't a con artist, the Olsen sisters were using this very method to promote and sell the brand they had created.

He glanced over at the Olsen sisters again.

At that moment, Claire asked, "Mr. Horner, what do you say?"

Just then, the Olsen sisters stood up. Matthew had absolutely no interest in them; they weren't tall, had poor posture, and were rail-thin.

"Is the payment upfront?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Claire replied with a smile. "A minimum of one-third as a deposit."

Matthew had heard enough. For one thing, he had no interest in the Olsen sisters. For another, who knew if this woman was actually their agent or not?

Perfect timing. He saw Amanda walking into the ballroom, gestured in her direction, and said to Claire, "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in a deal like that."

Claire frowned slightly. She turned, saw Amanda approaching, and said politely, "Excuse me, Mr. Horner."

She stood up and walked away, heading toward another male star who was sitting alone in the distance.

Amanda came over to Matthew, watched Claire's retreating figure for a moment, and asked curiously, "Who was that?"

Matthew answered frankly, "A salesperson. When she saw I wasn't interested in what she was selling, she left."

"They let salespeople in here?" Amanda cooed, then suddenly leaned close to Matthew's ear. "I got a room upstairs."

At her words, Matthew immediately lost all interest in the party. "Can I see the room?" he asked.

"Of course," Amanda replied with a very seductive smile.