The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 320

Once the premiere ended, Lily Collins didn't leave right away. Accompanied by her driver, she stood near the entrance of the Chieftain's Stone Theatre and waited. Due to an impromptu event, she had arrived late and missed the red carpet ceremony, catching no glimpse of Matthew's familiar figure. Feeling a little disappointed, she deliberately waited, hoping she might see him on his way out.

After more than twenty minutes, no one had emerged from the theater, and there was still no sign of Matthew.

"I think the press conference is still going on," her driver said persuasively. "It's getting late. Why don't we head back? Your mother will be upset if she doesn't find you at home."

Lily stood on her tiptoes and peered into the theater, but all she could see was a sea of lights.

"Alright," she conceded. Seeing that the cast and crew weren't coming out, Lily decided to head home.

She followed the driver to the car, feeling more than a little glum. Once the car was moving, she stared out the window at the passing streetscape, lost in thought. Her mind drifted back to the film she had just seen.

Matthew was so handsome and masculine! Especially when he took down that huge villain—he was so captivating!

And the code-breaking part was so cool. Matthew showed not just his strength, but his sharp intellect too, way better than the most handsome teacher at Harvard-Westlake School!

"Such a good movie," Lily muttered, propping her chin on her hand. "I don't get what the critics were thinking. Isn't having a leading man as cool as Matthew, watching him show off his incredible skills at just the right moment, enough?"

She shook her head. "Matthew is going to be even more famous after this film. If I could just interview him again, my column would be a huge hit."The last time she had interviewed Matthew was at the Junior Hollywood Awards. Her column had been published, and she had even won the Teen Red Carpet Journalist Award, which was a great honor at school and further solidified her high status at Westlake.

The car turned and pulled into the driveway of a mansion near Beverly Hills. Lily snapped out of her reverie, realizing she was home.

After getting out of the car and entering the house, she saw that her mother clearly hadn't returned yet. Lily kicked off her shoes and went straight upstairs to her room. She tossed her purse aside and sat down in front of her computer, waiting for it to boot up before immediately navigating to Matthew's blog.

The comments section was bustling with people, all praising "National Treasure." It was clear many of them had just seen the film.

"As a guy, I've gotta say, Matthew is hotter than the sexiest woman! Okay, I admit, I've strayed from the straight and narrow."

Lily rolled her eyes and kept scrolling through the blog.

"Great movie, Matthew. So glad I went to see it."

"The film is genuinely thrilling. In addition to the action scenes, it's also tightly woven with code-breaking, which is rare for an action movie."

After a while, she closed the blog and visited a couple of other movie review sites.

Thanks to her family background, Lily knew more about Hollywood than the average girl. After browsing a few sites, she found that the word-of-mouth for "National Treasure" was completely polarized.

The professional opinions were overwhelmingly negative.

"Matthew's performance is fine, and the plot is generally decent, but why was I never once thrilled, surprised, or refreshed while watching? This is a film that comes many years after 'Indiana Jones,' yet it offers nothing new and is certainly no better. It underestimates the audience's intelligence and simply follows a tired commercial formula."

Of course, she did see some critics who reviewed the film favorably.

"'National Treasure' is a film full of passion and drive, and it perfectly showcases Matthew Horner's signature charm."

The fan reviews were far better than the professional critiques.

"The story is interconnected and well-paced, the battle of wits between the hero and the villain is quite exciting, and there are humorous moments in the details to relieve the tension. And Matthew Horner lives up to his reputation as one of the best young stars of our time!"

Lily browsed several sites frequented by film fans and found that those who had already seen the movie approved of both the film and Matthew's performance as the lead.

She thought for a moment, then went back to Matthew's blog and left a comment of her own.

"The film has both mind games and thrilling chases and fights, the treasure-hunting scenes are spectacular, and even the villain who's there to keep things tense is super charming. And of course, it's hard to imagine any of it without Matthew in the lead role!"

After posting her comment, Lily shut down her computer.

...

Nearby, in another mansion, Robert Iger was still awake, sitting in his study and waiting patiently.

Disney was currently in a state of turmoil and internal strife, and he was poised to make his move.

Michael Eisner was facing scrutiny from shareholders and was in a precarious position. It was possible that at any moment, the shareholders' meeting would call for a vote of no confidence and oust him from his position as CEO.

And Robert was only too happy about it.

Although Michael had brought him over to Disney from ABC Television, and though he had always been Michael's right-hand man and loyal supporter, it would be a lie to say he wasn't thinking about becoming the boss himself now that such a perfect opportunity had presented itself.

For a professional manager like him, taking the helm of the Walt Disney Company was the ultimate dream.

Over the past year or so, he had already done a lot of work behind the scenes, gradually making inroads with the core of Walt Disney's board of directors. He was known within the group for his meticulous work ethic and his frank and fair style. As long as he could maintain the performance of Disney Pictures, which he effectively controlled, he stood a real chance of replacing Michael.

However, the catastrophic failure of "King Arthur" this summer had been a major setback. His plans would come to nothing if another mishap occurred with the equally large-budget "National Treasure."

How could the shareholders and directors believe he could restore Walt Disney to its former glory if he couldn't even manage a division like Disney Pictures?

To be honest, he was a little worried about "National Treasure." Jerry Bruckheimer's style was, to a certain extent, highly formulaic. While that style had been widely accepted by the market in the past, the fact that "King Arthur," produced with the same model, had flopped at the box office made one wonder if audiences had grown tired of this one-size-fits-all approach.

The poor word-of-mouth from the initial "King Arthur" screenings and the negative professional reviews for "National Treasure" were a worrying sign for Robert.

Even though the pre-sales and tracking numbers were good, he couldn't help but worry until he saw the actual box office figures.

After all, it wasn't rare for big-budget films to flop at the box office, and this year's "Van Helsing" was a prime example.

If "National Treasure" suffered a "King Arthur"-style fiasco, he would have to seriously reconsider the future of Disney's collaboration with Jerry.

Even if Jerry was a top-tier producer, the failure of two major films in a row would prove that the market was growing tired of his style, and Disney Pictures would have to consider parting ways with him and his studio.

And then there was the cast. If "National Treasure" performed poorly, the lead actor, Matthew Horner...

Just as he was thinking this, the fax machine in his study whirred to life, and a page slid out. Robert stood up, walked over, picked up the fax, and glanced at it. A slow smile spread across his face as he shook his head.

"National Treasure" had grossed $6.2 million in its Thursday night previews!

Based on past experience, it was ninety-nine percent certain that the opening weekend box office would reach the expected $40 million.

As for his earlier thought of parting ways with Matthew, Robert now found the idea absurd. In an audience survey conducted by a research agency hired by Disney, over sixty percent of those who had bought tickets in advance cited Matthew as the single most important reason for seeing the film.

In other words, at least half of the advance ticket sales were driven directly by Matthew.

Although the proportion of hardcore fans was much higher at early screenings than during the official release, it was a testament to the box office draw Matthew brought to the film.

And that draw translated directly into commercial gain for Disney.

Robert leaned back in his chair and looked again at the figures on the fax, which confirmed that Jerry still had value.

Suddenly, Robert remembered something. When Jerry had asked Horner to play King Arthur, he had declined due to a scheduling conflict with "Dawn of the Dead."

By the end of the year, "Dawn of the Dead" had become a box office success, while "King Arthur"...

With the kind of draw Horner had demonstrated, if he had taken the role of King Arthur, perhaps the film wouldn't have been such a box office disaster.

Robert sighed, a thoughtful expression gradually appearing on his face. Was Matthew Horner the most bankable actor of his generation?

It seemed that films he starred in never flopped.

Perhaps it was time to talk to Jerry about expanding Will Turner's role in the next two "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels, maintaining a dual-lead dynamic with Johnny Depp.