The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 364: Political Correctness

The atmosphere in the office was stagnant. Matthew frowned, looking at Naomie Harris.

The media industry had more than its fair share of actresses like her, who had slept with countless influential people on their way up the career ladder.

Perhaps reflecting on what it was like to claw your way up from the very bottom, Matthew said nothing more. He simply watched her, waiting for the actress to leave.

However, Naomie Harris stood her ground.

In just a few seconds, an idea formed in her not-so-brilliant mind. Since the one weapon that had worked hundreds of times in the past had lost its effect, she devised another.

It was a weapon unique to a black actress, one that the whole of Hollywood bowed to.

Naomie let her smile fade, her expression turning serious.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat before speaking in a sincere voice, "Matthew, Eva Green is a white actress, and I'm black. That's why you turned me down."

How could Matthew fall for such a simple verbal trap? He replied, "Of course not."

"No?" Naomie asked sharply. "Then why did you just insult me by calling me a negress? You're clearly a racist!"Matthew stared at the black actress, momentarily speechless. Had he become a racist simply because he wouldn't sleep with her?

Naomie wasn't about to stop. "When I leave," she continued, "I'm going to contact my agency and the press, and I'm going to expose all your insults about me being black."

Matthew sighed. "Lies and tricks like that are useless. You don't have any proof. No one will believe you."

Naomie, who had recently moved to Hollywood from the UK, retorted, "I don't have proof, but I am Naomie Harris, an actress of color. The second I say this to the media, you'll be dragged into a nasty scandal involving racism, and given how Hollywood reacts to these things..."

She let out a cold snort. "You'll be canceled, plain and simple. They won't even bother to find out if I'm lying or not."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "You're right about that."

He paused for a couple of seconds, then asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Naomie immediately stated her demand. "Help me get the role of the witch."

She adopted a generous tone. "Don't worry, what I just said will be our little secret. My skills are first-class."

As she said this, she even shot Matthew a suggestive look.

When he saw the way Naomie was looking at him, Matthew suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

But then he thought about the political correctness surrounding black people, a trend that had been spreading through Hollywood circles for the past two years, and he managed to restrain himself.

They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but why is that? To put it bluntly, it’s because that wheel is spoiled.

One day, those who spend all their time screaming for political correctness for everyone, especially for black people, would get what they deserved.

Perhaps one day, a role that should have been theirs would be snatched away by a black actor due to so-called political correctness; perhaps one day, the Oscar that could have been theirs would be taken by a film vastly inferior in reputation, quality, and popularity, but which was extremely politically correct.

For some reason, Matthew was suddenly reminded of the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in which the perpetually sweaty black male lead had made him, someone not particularly interested in Star Wars to begin with, completely lose any desire to see the film.

Looking at Naomie Harris, Matthew extended a hand and pointed to a poster frame on the wall behind him. Adopting Helen's tone, he said quietly, "See that decorative cylindrical object on the frame?"

Hearing this, Naomie glanced over. She saw a cylindrical object on the frame, which was decorated with characters from Pirates of the Caribbean. Mentally estimating its size and shape, she gritted her teeth. She recognized what it was.

"It's a security camera I use to protect against thieves," Matthew explained. "It runs twenty-four hours a day and has a real-time recording function. Our entire conversation has been recorded."

Even if Naomie was simple-minded, she could grasp the meaning of that statement. Her face turned grim. She raised a hand and pointed at Matthew. "What's wrong with you? How dare you put something like that in your office!"

Matthew was utterly speechless. He picked up the phone, about to dial security, but then he saw Naomie spin around and hurry out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

She must have given up.

With that thought, Matthew walked over to another computer connected to the surveillance system, found the footage that had just been shot, and saved it permanently on the hard drive.

Logically, she should keep her mouth shut now, but who knew what the future held.

He saved the recording just in case.

If she suddenly accused him of racism—not now, but maybe in the future—he would have proof.

****

After spending a little more time in the office, Matthew saw that Bella hadn't returned, so he left as well and drove to Nibora's gym to continue his training.

For the past few months, unless he was swamped with work and had no time, Matthew had stuck to his fitness regimen. In contrast, he was spending relatively less time reading newspapers and practicing his writing.

As for his acting practice, it had essentially hit a wall. On one hand, his current skill level was sufficient for commercial entertainment films. On the other, at this stage, it was impossible to improve simply by mimicking videos and practicing in front of a mirror.

He needed to hone his acting skills on actual film sets.

To be honest, he was much busier than before and didn't have as much free time. He had two commercial endorsements, a film scheduled two years out, he was helping Helen and Bella consolidate his fan groups scattered across the US, and Helen and the Angel Agency were in the process of setting up a charitable foundation for him.

Having one or even several charitable foundations in your name was crucial once you reached the status of a top star. It was a way to legally avoid taxes, build your reputation through philanthropy, and even attribute some of your personal expenses to the foundation.

The benefits were so numerous that, for now, Matthew only had a vague understanding of them, as they were still in the planning stages.

Even so, he understood why so many wealthy individuals and celebrities were willing to establish charitable foundations. While they could undoubtedly help many people, the benefits for their creators were also obvious.

As for the "naked donations" he’d read about online from rich and famous people in the United States, it was best to look at such things and not take them too seriously.

Maybe one day he too would donate his entire fortune to his own charitable foundation, and then he would be tax-free.

Matthew seriously considered it. Then he could travel the world, trick a few rich people into donating to his foundation. Through the operation and control of a charitable foundation in the United States, he could achieve the grand goal of spending other people's money and enjoying it with little effort.

Of course, he knew little about the laws and regulations of the United States, so he was just letting his mind wander.

However, the creation of a charitable foundation was indeed moving forward.

Early on, Helen had given him a list of three ways to boost his public profile. Becoming a superstar was incredibly difficult, and relying solely on films would likely take more than a decade. To continue climbing the ladder after becoming an A-list star, there were several ways to enhance one's prestige beyond the films themselves.

These were: becoming an environmental activist and working with environmental organizations; becoming an animal lover; and creating charitable foundations while serving as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

The first option was automatically nullified when Matthew became the face of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV. You couldn't drive a large SUV with a V8 engine and claim to be an environmentalist, could you? That would be ridiculous.

Therefore, both he and Helen had chosen the latter.

Currently, Helen was proceeding with the plans to make him a UN Goodwill Ambassador, which was no easy feat either.

What Matthew needed most of all was for his fame and influence to continue to grow.