The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 417

"Hollywood's Newest Member of the $20 Million Club: Matthew Horner!"

In an ice cream parlor in Westwood, Maria set down a copy of the LA Times and announced to Brian from across the table, "Matthew's going to be making twenty million dollars per movie now!"

Brian paused, his spoon hovering over his ice cream. "For 300?"

Maria shook her head. "Not for 300. It's for a movie called I Am Legend."

She slid the newspaper across the table. Brian picked it up and began to read, his eyes scanning the article carefully.

"According to a reliable source inside Warner Bros., Matthew Horner has officially signed on to star in I Am Legend, a new film project being produced by the studio. This marks the second collaboration between Warner Bros. and Horner in a short period, following their work together on 300. For his role, Warner Bros. has paid a colossal fee of $20 million."

"Twenty million dollars!" Maria repeated, taking a large bite of her own ice cream. "That's enough to buy me all the ice cream I could ever want!"

Just thinking about the twenty-million-dollar figure made her head spin.

Brian, still reading the paper, commented, "I think Matthew will make the Forbes celebrity list this year."

Although they were both Matthew's fans, Brian was in a different league from Maria. With the help of the Angel Agency and Bella Anderson, he had become the leader of a hardcore fan group in the Los Angeles area, often organizing members to turn out and support Matthew.Moreover, he was one of the few fans who actually got paid for his work.

With this budding career, Brian began to pay more attention to managing the fan club and, with his father's help, started taking a closer look at other Hollywood stars.

The $20 Million Club was a recognition of a star's status, audience appeal, and overall value.

While not the absolute highest tier of Hollywood stardom, it was still among the most elite ranks.

Maria swallowed her ice cream and asked, "Brian, how many years has it been since we saw the first movie where Matthew was the star?"

Brian took a moment to think, then replied, "The first film where Matthew had a true leading role was The Scorpion King. I think it came out in 2002, just four years ago..."

He couldn't help but shake his head as he said it. "An incredible pace."

"Yeah." Maria took another bite of her ice cream and cooed, "Just like Tom Cruise."

Brian nodded and continued reading the paper, because the report mentioned more than just his salary.

"Warner Bros. appears to be building a long-term relationship with box-office star Matthew Horner. In addition to offering him a substantial fee, the studio has also agreed to let Matthew Horner serve as a producer with considerable authority on both 300 and I Am Legend."

Reading this, Brian suddenly felt that Matthew could truly become a superstar like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.

With his father's help, he had recently begun to study Hollywood more deeply and knew that the $20 Million Club represented a level of income, not a spot on Hollywood's power list.

The producer-centric system was always the key link in Hollywood's value chain; actors would always be a tier below. The producers and senior marketing executives were the primary forces that made the magnificent Hollywood machine run.

That was why countless A-list actors strived to get a "producer" credit on the films in which they starred.

That seemingly simple line item could change everything. An actor gained more power when they were also a producer, even if it was only a title.

Based on this article in the LA Times, Brian could easily tell that Matthew had already started down that path.

****

The San Fernando Valley, much like Burbank, was dotted with numerous studios.

However, these studios were rarely used by Hollywood film crews; they were primarily the domain of the local production houses native to the San Fernando Valley.

Inside one of the studios, on a set designed to look like an ordinary living room, a meticulously made-up Kayden Kross sat in an armchair, flipping through the day's Los Angeles Times. She soon found the entertainment section and saw Matthew Horner's name in a headline.

The porn parody she was filming today was connected to Matthew Horner; it was called Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and she was playing the female lead, Jane Smith.

Seeing the $20 million mentioned in the headline, Kayden couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. She might be considered a top-tier actress in the adult film industry, but she couldn't earn $20 million even if she worked until she was old.

She had once naively believed that the San Fernando Valley was a back door to Hollywood, but only after entering the industry did she realize that wasn't the case at all.

"Hey, Michael!"

Hearing a greeting from the set, Kayden looked up from her newspaper and turned to see Michael Sheen, the actor playing the male lead, John Smith, walking toward her.

He was a stylish, handsome man with a big name in the industry.

Michael strode around the set with purpose, as if he were the biggest star in the entire cast, and nowadays, he definitely had the credentials for it.

Thanks to the production of the Mr. & Mrs. Smith porn film, he had secured an excellent income of over $50,000 and squeezed his way into the top echelon of male actors in the business.

Thanks to this film, his total earnings for the year had shot past $200,000 in one go!

That was $200,000. Looking around the entire studio, the only people who could earn that kind of money were the directors and the leading ladies.

Michael was planning to get a new car at the end of the year. He had his eye on a luxury BMW SUV, which would be very prestigious to drive.

"Hey, Kayden."

Michael greeted her first, then sat down in the armchair beside her. Kayden nodded and smiled in return. "Hey, Michael."

"What's the news?" Michael asked, gesturing to the newspaper in her hand.

Kayden shrugged slightly. "Hollywood has another member in the twenty-million-dollar club."

Michael, who had once been on the fringes of Hollywood himself, couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who is it?"

Kayden pulled out the front page of the entertainment section and handed it to him. "Read it yourself."

Michael took the newspaper, and the first thing he saw in the headline was a long-forgotten name: Matthew Horner.

At the sight of the familiar name, his eyes quickly scanned the article. His hand trembled slightly, certain that it was the same Matthew Horner he had known.

Even if the story was wrong, there was no mistaking the man in the accompanying photograph.

Had it only been a few years? And Matthew Horner was already in the club of stars getting paid $20 million for a single role?

Michael was in disbelief, but he was holding the Los Angeles Times, not some tabloid.

He let out a long sigh. Just moments ago, he had been feeling smug about earning over $200,000 a year, but how vast was the gulf between $200,000 and $20 million?

Michael understood perfectly well that he would never catch up to Matthew in this lifetime.

Then, the other news he'd read about Horner flashed through his mind, and a bitter smile formed on his handsome face.

He earned $200,000 a year, while Matthew Horner earned $20 million for a single film!

He wanted to spend a small fortune on a very respectable luxury BMW SUV, while the car Matthew Horner drove was a Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, provided for free by Mercedes-Benz and custom-made for him...

As the actor cast in the lead for the porn version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Michael often kept tabs on Matthew Horner.

At one point, he had tried to do something about it, but no one believed a porn actor from the San Fernando Valley. The more serious media outlets wouldn't even grant him an interview, and while a few gossip tabloids published his baseless attacks on Matthew, they failed to create even the tiniest of waves.

Over time, Michael had lost his nerve on the matter, gradually becoming convinced that it was futile for someone in his position to attack a star as popular as Matthew Horner had become.

The industry had given him the financial rewards he wanted, but not the glamorous facade he craved.

Matthew, on the other hand, had more than just fame and wealth; after the hit film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, he had become a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and transformed into a true figure of American high society.

An uneducated, unskilled kid from a tiny town in Texas had become a huge celebrity...

When a company offered him the lead role of John Smith in the Mr. & Mrs. Smith porn parody earlier this year, Michael agreed without hesitation.

Because he understood perfectly well that it was impossible to stop Matthew Horner now. If the difference between them were only a tier or two, he might have had hope, but the gap between them had grown far too wide.

He was still standing on Earth, while Horner had already landed on Mars.

After many years of working in the San Fernando Valley, Michael had come to understand many of society's realities.

Michael handed the newspaper back to Kayden. "It would be great to get $20 million for a movie."

Kayden shook her head sharply. "That's just a dream."

She stood and walked toward the set. "Filming is about to start."

Michael stood up as well, his eyes landing on the porn parody poster for Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It was yet another confirmation that he could never compare to Matthew Horner.