novelraw Chapter 437
Chapter 437
In the dining room of a typical detached house in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, a family of three was having dinner.
Dinner didn't start until 8:30 PM, as the husband was late coming home from work.
They were a typical family of three: a middle-aged couple in their forties and their thirteen-year-old daughter. She had chestnut hair, a common sight in the United States, a light dusting of freckles across her face, and a cheerful disposition.
“Dad, can I watch a little more TV tonight?” the daughter asked, setting down her knife and fork and looking at her father expectantly. “One of my favorite shows is on Nickelodeon tonight.”
The middle-aged man looked up. “Yes.”
Before his daughter could even celebrate, he added, “But Suri, don’t stay up too late. You have school tomorrow.”
He said it sternly, but his eyes were full of affection as he looked at his daughter.
The girl, Suri, nodded. “I’ll be in bed before ten.”
Her mother, who knew her daughter best, asked, “Is it that show with Lily?”
“Yes!” Suri nodded and then elaborated, “I love Lily. Even though she had already graduated and left by the time I started at Harvard-Westlake, everyone knew she was one of the best students the school ever had.”“Aren’t you exaggerating?” her father asked.
Suri nodded vigorously. “She was the number one sensation at Harvard-Westlake for the last three years. She wrote columns for several newspapers and magazines while she was still a student, influenced all her classmates—from the way they dressed to how they acted—and was hired as a host on an international kids’ channel right after getting into the journalism program at USC.”
Her father considered this for a moment. “She sounds driven,” he remarked.
Suri added, “Lily did something amazing while she was at Harvard-Westlake. The principal introduced a bunch of restrictive rules for the students, so Lily wrote a letter to Will Turner. He ended up sneaking into the school and taking down the principal during a school-wide assembly.”
“Will Turner?” Her mother was puzzled.
Her father explained, “The hero from Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Suri glanced at her watch and shot to her feet. “The show’s about to start!”
She hurried from the dining room to the living room, switched on the television, and tuned it to Nickelodeon. Her timing was perfect; the show’s intro had just finished, and there was Lily—bright-eyed, beautiful, and standing playfully on the studio stage.
Suri adored Lily. The girl was only a few years older than her, yet she had already left behind a legacy of legends at Harvard-Westlake and was considered its absolute queen.
Ever since Suri had started watching her on the show, she had begun to copy Lily’s outfits and hairstyles. The program was aimed primarily at teenagers and had previously covered topics ranging from food and fashion to housing and education, occasionally touching on Hollywood.
A few moments in, Suri realized that tonight’s show wasn’t just about Hollywood—it was an interview with a major Hollywood star. Lily had brought on her good friend, the actor Matthew Horner!
“It goes without saying that a famous Hollywood actor commands a powerful aura. But with that fame comes a tsunami of pressure and controversy, of criticism, slander, and exploitation. These threats are like a beast in the night, ready to devour its prey at the slightest misstep. In a business like this, what kind of world does Matthew Horner live in to stay afloat?”
As she listened to Lily’s monologue, Suri felt a flicker of interest in Matthew. She had heard his name before but had never paid him much attention.
But once the interview began and she heard Horner’s first big answer, Suri couldn’t help but smile. The Hollywood star seemed like a pretty interesting guy.
Next, Lily and Matthew discussed his new film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
The segment began with a few clips from Pirates of the Caribbean, followed by a voice-over.
“A wanderer, an outsider to mainstream society, tenaciously facing life’s hardships and pitfalls—this is the essence of the film’s hero, Will Turner, and it carries echoes of Matthew’s own life.”
Then, Lily appeared on the screen, asking Matthew Horner a few more questions in the style of a friendly chat.
They talked a lot about Pirates of the Caribbean. Judging by the many clips played during their conversation, Suri found herself drawn to the tall figure of Will Turner. He was a character so strong, brave, and capable that it was no wonder Lily had turned to him for help back when she was in school.
If she were ever faced with a problem she couldn’t solve, the first person she’d think to call for help would be someone just like Will Turner.
The conversation about Pirates of the Caribbean went on for a long time, and
Matthew also commented on Johnny Depp’s performance as Captain Jack Sparrow.
“Depp’s career peak was a fairytale, and the brilliance remains. Now, the world has been introduced to a captain named Jack Sparrow, a man who commands everyone’s attention. It doesn’t matter that his soulful eyeliner is so wildly drawn, his mad gait so reckless and erratic, or his behavior so baffling.”
Hearing Horner’s words, Suri, who had never seen Pirates of the Caribbean, became intrigued by the character.
“He’s one of the most charismatic characters in film history. With his outstanding performance set against a whirlwind of breathtaking adventures, he’s sure to leave the audience with a resounding, epic sea saga.”
Suri decided she would find Pirates of the Caribbean at the rental store tomorrow.
On the show, the discussion about Pirates of the Caribbean came to an end, and the conversation shifted to Horner himself.
Lily asked, “Do you enjoy your work?”
“Of course. I love my job, and I’m proud of what I do.”
The man’s words, like his appearance, were full of confidence. “But I can be overly critical of myself. The psychological driver for that is the fear of not being good enough and a strong desire to improve or meet certain standards.”
“Do you know that half the teenage girls in America have a crush on you?”
Lily suddenly asked a question that Suri loved.
“I know.” On screen, Matthew was as confident as ever. “But I work hard to make sure they keep loving me!”
Hearing that, Suri couldn’t help but smile. After laughing for a moment, she glanced at the time. The show was almost over; it felt like it had gone by so fast.
Lily asked one last question. “Matthew, how would you describe your life?”
“My life is interesting. I’ve had a lot of hardships, but there’s always a way to deal with them. I’m trying to evolve and grow, and I don’t think there’s an end to my ambition. I have a passion for learning! I have a passion for life!”
As Horner’s voice faded and the show erupted in applause, Suri got up from the sofa and stretched. She watched Lily deliver her closing remarks, then turned off the TV and headed for her room. But instead of going straight to bed, she turned on her computer. She Googled Matthew Horner’s biography, looked up Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp, Will Turner, and Jack Sparrow. The more she read, the more interested she became, and she finally discovered that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was coming to theaters early next month.
Maybe she should buy a ticket then? Suri couldn’t shake the thought.
But the main thing she wanted to do was go to the rental store tomorrow and find the DVD of the first Pirates of the Caribbean.
From what she had just seen on the show, she could clearly tell that Lily really liked and admired Matthew Horner.
As a fan of Lily’s, Suri felt there had to be something special about a person Lily admired so much.
There were legends about Lily and Will Turner at Harvard-Westlake Middle School. Maybe she could do some special digging when she went to school next Monday.
****
Since the beginning of June, Disney Pictures’ pre-release campaign for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest had entered its final stage. The Nickelodeon interview was only the beginning, followed by a much more intensive promotional blitz that raged across the entire United States.