The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 316

Later that same evening, the front page of TMZ featured a shocking video: Oscar-winner Charlize Theron being physically abused by her boyfriend. Public opinion erupted. Naturally, nearly everyone rallied to Charlize's side.

At the same time, Matthew's intervention, stopping Stuart Townsend from landing a second slap, was met with a chorus of approval.

The following day, the story exploded across all media outlets, from print to television.

After all, the video involved the reigning Best Actress and a popular actor from Texas.

Unsurprisingly, public sentiment was overwhelmingly in Charlize's favor, and Matthew's move to protect her was widely applauded.

Feminist groups, in particular, took to the streets, waving banners in support of both Matthew and Charlize.

Unfortunately, feminist organizations at the time didn't wield the same influence they would in the future.

As for the portion of the video where the TMZ paparazzi had been baiting Stuart Townsend with provocative questions, that segment was, of course, edited out. Following a detailed discussion with Helen, Ilana had the original footage completely destroyed.

TMZ was staffed by paparazzi, not professional journalists, and paparazzi operated without any ethical boundaries.

Meanwhile, Charlize's agent and publicist convened a press conference to formally announce her split from Stuart Townsend. They also declared that the assets currently in his possession, including vehicles purchased by Charlize, would remain his property.Subsequently, Helen, Charlize’s publicist, and Akiva Goldsman communicated closely, and a new wave of stories began to surface in the media.

TMZ then broke the story that Stuart Townsend had been financially dependent on Charlize for years, while Entertainment Weekly followed up with reports that this was not the first time he had been violent with her.

Another article surfaced in the press, claiming that Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keanu Reeves had long been displeased with Townsend's behavior and had been eager to give him a sound beating.

When a reporter approached the three for an interview, they all naturally sided with Charlize.

Curiously, most of the reports mentioning Charlize and Matthew also made a passing reference to their collaboration on the film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

Stuart Townsend, the other party in this drama, completely vanished from the public eye. According to information Matthew received, before their final split, Townsend had asked Charlize for their Malibu house. Determined to be rid of him as quickly as possible, she simply signed it over to him.

Even if Townsend had wanted to speak out, it would have been futile. The TMZ footage was damningly clear, there were two direct witnesses, and the entire cast of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" had rallied behind Charlize, condemning him as an abuser.

Townsend had likely taken his payoff from Charlize and, being shrewd enough, had decided to quietly lay low.

In an instant, the story of an Oscar-winning actress suffering domestic abuse and being rescued by the chivalrous Matthew Horner swept the nation. Consequently, the film they were co-starring in, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," was thrust into the media spotlight.

The film's production team and Summit Entertainment also invested heavily in fanning the flames of the incident, seeing the massive potential for free publicity.

And the results were exceptionally good.

Over the past week or so, most entertainment media outlets had dedicated their front pages to headlines about the story.

The internet was flooded with outrage, especially from Charlize's fans, who vehemently cursed Stuart Townsend and his entire family.

The crew of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" continued to monitor the story's development. While filming had been temporarily halted, the publicity and public attention they gained far outweighed any losses from the delay.

After a week of rest, Charlize gradually recovered. Once filming resumed, Matthew, Charlize, Akiva Goldsman, and their respective agents met several times to discuss and finalize a number of arrangements.

...

Due to the disruptions, the production of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" didn't wrap until early September, running nearly ten days behind schedule.

The day after filming concluded, Charlize flew to her native South Africa to recuperate from the very public breakup and to promote the World Cup, which South Africa would host in May.

In Matthew's view, Charlize held an extraordinary status and wielded significant influence in South Africa.

The Hollywood entertainment industry had evolved to the point where stars were no longer just actors in a film. Superstars were more influential than anyone could imagine, actively engaging in pursuits far beyond their on-screen work.

Matthew hadn't reached that level yet. According to Helen, it was an aspect of his career they still needed to develop, but she and the Angel Agency had already made initial contact with the United Nations.

But to secure a coveted role like a UN ambassadorship amidst a sea of competitors, Matthew's priority was to expand his sphere of influence.

Becoming an A-list star would give him a tremendous advantage in competing for such opportunities.

The day after "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" wrapped, Matthew headed over to the Disney lot and met up with Zack Snyder, who was still busy setting up equipment in a small, temporarily leased studio.

Matthew surveyed the green screens that lined the studio walls and asked, "How are the preparations coming along?"

Zack gestured to a large expanse of green screen before them. "By my estimates," he said, "we should be fully set up in another five days."

He let out a breath. "I've already contacted an equipment rental company. The cameras are ready to go. I'll be handling cinematography myself, so we just need to hire a gaffer."

"Right," Matthew said. "I spoke to a stylist I know. She's agreed to step in as our makeup artist for now."

"That's great." Despite his words, Zack still looked tense. "It's not easy to find a professional makeup artist on a tight budget."

He gestured toward a storage room adjacent to the studio. "We're keeping the temporary props in there. Want to take a look?"

Matthew nodded and followed Zack into the storage room, where he saw several sets of swords and shields that looked surprisingly familiar.

Zack seemed to notice Matthew's confusion and explained, "After they wrapped on 'Troy,' the production sold off a bunch of props as scrap metal to a recycling company owned by a friend of mine. I happened to be over there a while back, looking for cheap props, and I spotted these."

"No wonder they look familiar," Matthew murmured. He walked over to one of the sets, picked up the short sword resting on top of the shield, and gave it a few practice swings. "I remember now. Isn't this the sword Achilles used in 'Troy'?"

"I think so," Zack nodded. "We're just shooting a few test scenes. These will work fine."

Seeing Matthew swing the sword, he asked, "How does it feel?"

Matthew lowered the short sword, placing it back on the shield. "It's lighter than I expected," he commented.

With his strength, the prop weapons used on film sets always felt too light.

Matthew then asked, "Have you lined up a special effects company for post-production?"

Zack gave a cautious nod. "Digital Productions in Venice is willing to take on the work. They've already started creating some background CG based on my storyboards."

As Matthew surveyed the studio, he couldn't shake one feeling: Zack was far more dedicated to this project than he was.

"I've also reached out to a few stuntmen," Zack added. "Matthew, when it comes time to shoot, I really need you to star in it."

With Matthew's physique, he was undoubtedly the perfect actor to play Leonidas. Plus, bringing in a popular and bankable star like him would make it much easier to impress Frank Miller and any potential studio backers.

When he was looking into acquiring the film rights, Zack had heard that the Weinstein brothers were instrumental in getting the adaptation of Frank Miller's "Sin City" off the ground by promising to cast Bruce Willis or a star of his caliber in the lead role.

"I've already wrapped on 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'," Matthew replied. "You can call me anytime."

Zack reminded him, "The costume designer will be here in a few minutes. You should get your measurements taken before you go."

Matthew had nothing else on his schedule for the day, so he agreed. "Of course."

Zack went back to directing the workers setting up the equipment. Since this was only a test shoot, much of the work required his personal supervision and even hands-on involvement.

Finding a place to sit, Matthew watched Zack lead the crew. He had learned from Helen before he arrived that Zack had approached Frank Miller, but things hadn't gone smoothly. After selling the rights to "Sin City," Miller wasn't short on cash.

Of course, if Matthew was willing to shell out tens of millions of dollars for the rights, Frank Miller would undoubtedly sign a licensing agreement.

But that wouldn't be cost-effective, and one of the most practical problems was that even if he and Zack pooled their resources, they didn't have that kind of money.

While waiting for the costumer to arrive, Matthew grew bored. With Zack's permission, he went to the studio office and looked through the materials Zack had meticulously prepared.

In truth, both he and Zack understood perfectly well that Frank Miller's graphic novel was essentially an entertainment comic that deviated significantly from the historical record. To debate the veracity of such an entertaining comic based on historical evidence would be foolish.

America has a severe lack of ancient history, and most of Hollywood's epic genre films are set in Europe.

The advantage of this is that Hollywood screenwriters, often unconstrained by history, can always invent things on the fly and have no qualms about satirizing even their own presidents.

For instance, Matthew had once seen a film about Abraham Lincoln that portrayed him as a vampire hunter, with the American Civil War being fought over vampires.

Such extraordinary films could only be seen in Hollywood.

After waiting for half an hour, the costume designer arrived, took Matthew's measurements, and exchanged a few words with Zack.

According to historical records, Spartans fought naked, but that was impossible to film, as it would lead to a restrictive rating.

As far as Matthew recalled, Zack was clear that the Spartan warriors had to have dark red capes and loincloths.

Since the green screen wasn't fully set up yet and the costumes required time to design and produce, the preliminary shoot was still some time away. After the costume designer left, Matthew departed from the studio.

But instead of leaving the Disney lot, he made his way to the largest soundstage, Studio 2, and entered without any trouble.

The last time Matthew had been in Studio 2, they were filming the final scenes for "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Now, the treasure cave set was long gone, replaced by another typical Caribbean-style set under construction.

Although the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" film wouldn't start shooting until next year, and Matthew hadn't even received a script, both sequels were already in pre-production, true to producer Jerry Bruckheimer's usual style of building sets before the script was even finalized.

However, Matthew felt that Jerry might face some constraints in the future. The July release of "King Arthur" had resulted in one of his most significant losses since the nineties.

Because he had been preparing for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" at the time, Matthew hadn't attended the premiere, but he later looked up the numbers. The North American box office for the epic blockbuster could only be described as catastrophic.

On its opening weekend, "King Arthur" grossed just over $15 million, followed by a slew of poor reviews. It failed in terms of both word-of-mouth and box office, having only earned $50 million in North America by its tenth week of release.

Even more frightening was that its box office numbers had completely flatlined.

The silver lining was that the film's international box office wasn't as abysmal as its domestic performance, which would help Disney mitigate some of the losses. With a long post-theatrical run, it was even possible it might eventually break even.

But the film's box office failure had tarnished the aura of success that surrounded Jerry Bruckheimer, and Matthew suspected that Disney would be more cautious with him in the future.

Matthew didn't spend much time in Studio 2 and soon left.

In the following days, he resumed his regular routine of classes and workouts. Then he received a call from Zack; preparations weren't going well, and the shoot had been temporarily postponed.

Matthew was beginning to understand that Helen's assessment made sense. Even if he could secure the film rights from Frank Miller, it would likely be two years before the film could be released.

As October approached, Matthew met with Jerry Bruckheimer again to prepare for the promotional campaign for "National Treasure." The first order of business was to start spreading the story about the dollar bill.