The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 350

Matthew stood before the master bedroom's enormous glass wall, phone in hand, gazing out at the glittering expanse of Beverly Hills and the City of Angels. From his vantage point high above, half of Los Angeles shimmered in the night.

Behind him came the soft, unmistakable sound of footsteps. Charlize, clad in a short nightgown, was slowly approaching.

Matthew turned his head to look at her. "Did I wake you?" he asked.

Instead of answering, Charlize asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Couldn't sleep," Matthew admitted honestly. "It's just too difficult."

"Is it because of the box office?" Charlize asked directly.

Matthew nodded and confirmed, "The box office."

He then added, "Unlike you, I'm an actor who survives on commercial appeal. If the movie bombs, I'm totally screwed."

"You're exaggerating," Charlize scoffed. "Your career isn't going to end just because one movie doesn't perform well."

She knew perfectly well that the films Matthew had starred in—"The Scorpion King," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Dawn of the Dead," and "National Treasure"—had all been box office hits. Even if "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" were to fail, he could take the hit."You can't sleep either?" Matthew asked, looking at Charlize.

"No," Charlize admitted freely. "It's the box office for me, too."

She smiled. "Ultimately, I have more to lose than you do if this movie fails."

Matthew knew she was right. Hollywood producers weren't running a charity. Even with an Oscar win and a Dior contract, if "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" flopped, it would be years before she'd get an offer for another A-list role.

Her status might not suffer, but Hollywood producers would automatically blacklist her, making it nearly impossible to land a leading female role in another major production.

Matthew put his arm around Charlize. "You saw the advance ticket sales. There's no way it's going to fail."

Charlize gestured to the phone in his hand. "No messages yet?"

"Not yet." Matthew raised his hand and looked at his phone. "Bella is monitoring the results. She'll text me when they're in."

He gestured to the sofa. "Let's sit."

Unable to sleep before the results from the advance screenings came in, Charlize sat on the sofa with Matthew and waited patiently.

To break the silence, Charlize asked, "How are the preparations for our engagement coming along?"

"The sponsorship money from Dior and Mercedes-Benz came in."

Matthew was in charge of the engagement party preparations, so he answered, "Mercedes-Benz is providing a special motorcade to pick up important guests from both sides, and every guest will receive a small gift from us after the ceremony. Dior has prepared a perfume gift set."

Charlize pressed a hand to her forehead in mock despair. "This is turning into one big commercial."

Matthew remarked, "Dior and Mercedes-Benz covered two-thirds of the cost of the engagement party, so of course, they have to showcase their products properly."

The rest of the expenses were covered by the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" production team.

Charlize thought for a moment and asked, "Have you thought about how we'll break up in the future?"

"Well... no," Matthew said suddenly, half-serious, half-joking. "But maybe we could just stay together?"

"I've never thought about marriage," Charlize said, almost instinctively. Before Matthew could respond, she added, "We were good friends from the start. I know you well enough to know you wouldn't be a faithful husband."

Matthew wasn't sure what to make of that and simply looked at her.

There was no smile on Charlize's face; she seemed serious. "Matthew, would you give up other women for just one woman?"

Matthew knew himself. After Britney, after seeing countless relationships in this town fall apart, he had no illusions.

To him, Charlize was completely different from Scarlett Johansson, Rachel McAdams, and Jessica Alba.

Unwilling to lie to her, Matthew hesitated before letting out a long sigh and answering, "No."

Charlize spread her hands. "Instead of turning against each other in the future, let's stick to the plan. We'll still be good friends."

Matthew, however, pressed the point. "Good friends who can sleep together from time to time?"

Charlize gave him a strange look but didn't object. After a moment, she said, "To be honest, I was never very interested in that side of things until I met you, and—"

Ding!

A text alert chimed from his phone. Charlize's focus shifted instantly. "Check your message," she urged.

He pulled out his phone, looking at the screen.

"How much?" Charlize asked. "More than five million dollars?"

Matthew grinned broadly. "More. $8.8 million from the advance screenings. Almost four million more than expected."

"This means the hype between us is working wonders!" he immediately concluded. "Our hard work wasn't for nothing."

There was another point he considered but didn't mention to Charlize. Since being hired, Bella, with Helen's help, had contacted the leaders of his fan groups in many North American cities, gradually organizing his once-spontaneous fanbase into official groups under the Angel Agency's guidance.

According to the data Bella had provided, about twenty of his fan groups had gathered for the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" advance screenings in Los Angeles alone.

Although he had paid out of his own pocket for the printing of t-shirts with his logo, which amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars across the United States, it was worth it if he could build a stable fan association or something similar.

The fan groups must have made a significant contribution to the advance ticket sales, which had far exceeded expectations.

And those expenses, of course, would eventually be covered by the fans themselves once the base was stable.

In principle, every big-name star has a dedicated person or team managing their fanbase. It might not be that common now, but Matthew knew that for stars, the power of a hardcore fanbase was immense.

These were matters concerning his own power base, and even with a woman like Charlize, whom he admired and liked very much, Matthew wouldn't bring it up.

"What do you think the opening weekend box office will be?" Charlize asked.

Matthew stood up, walked over to her, and answered, "It'll definitely be more than the expected fifty million dollars."

As he spoke, his eyes roamed up and down Charlize's body, as if he were sizing up his prey.

Charlize asked warily, "What?"

Matthew bent down and scooped her up. "Don't you think we should celebrate?"

...

Matthew and Charlize weren't the only ones awake late that dark night. In a small apartment in Burbank, Bella was sitting in front of her computer, still working.

She had just texted Matthew and was staring at the box office numbers in her email, unable to believe they were real.

But the emails from Universal Pictures, Summit Entertainment, and Helen all showed identical figures for the advance screenings; there was no room for error.

Thinking about the campaign she had been involved in since taking the job—everything that had happened around Matthew and Charlize—Bella felt a sense of relief that "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was proving so successful, that the on-screen partnership had transitioned into reality, and that the media and the public were buzzing about them.

Next, Bella began to gather reviews and word-of-mouth buzz from online, then summarized them and sent the report to her employer.

First, the website Rotten Tomatoes had already collected 12 reviews from professional critics: 7 positive and 5 negative.

"'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' is a stupid and uninteresting romantic action-comedy."

That was the latest negative review, followed by a positive one.

"'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' might seem a bit pretentious at first glance, but there's no denying its appeal. The romantic chemistry between Matthew and Charlize, combined with a brilliant and hilarious plot, makes for an enjoyable popcorn flick. Look closer, and you'll find sincerity beneath the outlandish story—a reflection on marriage, family, love, and honesty."

Bella, after reading the reviews and adding her own feelings about the movie, concluded that the film would definitely be polarizing.