The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 495

Just as a sharply dressed Zack Snyder finished his walk down the red carpet, the air was suddenly filled with the thud of powerful, coordinated footsteps. The fans gathered before the Los Angeles theater gasped, their eyes shooting upward as two squads of towering Spartan warriors burst from the side doors. In perfect unison, they charged down the passages flanking the theater walls, converging on the main entrance.

Clad in dark-gold helmets and flowing red capes, their exposed muscles looked as if carved from solid rock.

Fans scrambled to raise their cameras, desperate to capture the incredible spectacle.

The journalists' cameras swiveled away from the red carpet, focusing instead on the approaching warriors.

As they neared the main entrance, the lead warriors on both sides came to an abrupt halt. The rest of the Spartans stopped in perfect sync, turning to form two disciplined ranks against the granite walls flanking the doorway.

Then, as one, they thrust their swords forward and smashed them against their dark-gold shields. The resounding clang echoed like a war drum.

Then, every Spartan warrior opened his mouth in unison.

"RAH! RAH! RAH!"

The three powerful roars instantly electrified the crowd, transporting them to the heart of a battlefield.

Finally, a blank billboard atop the theater suddenly rotated, revealing a massive image of a man who looked like a god of war, a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.The moment the image snapped into place, Matthew's powerful roar erupted from hidden speakers.

"This is Sparta!"

His cry was answered by another earth-shaking roar from the warriors on both sides of the theater.

David Ellison stood on the stone steps at the theater's entrance and turned to Megan beside him. "What do you think?"

"A whole lot of testosterone flying around," Megan remarked, rolling her eyes impassively. "You've certainly staged quite the macho spectacle."

David grinned, clearly pleased. Judging by the crowd's reaction, this unique premiere was guaranteed to make plenty of entertainment headlines.

Megan nodded. "It's definitely more effective than a simple red carpet walk. Whose idea was it? Surely not yours. Warner Brothers?"

"No," David said with a sigh of admiration. "Matthew came up with the concept, and I just found the people to execute it."

Megan frowned. "I see."

David watched as the main cast and crew finished their interviews and gathered for a group photo in front of the sponsor wall. He adjusted his bow tie and asked Megan, "Joining us for the picture?"

"No." Megan shook her head firmly. "I'll have plenty of photo ops when the movie I'm investing in is released."

Hearing that, David didn't press the issue. He descended the steps to the photo area, spotted Matthew, and squeezed in between him and Eva Green.

Matthew turned his head, and when he saw it was David, he asked, "Why didn't I see you walk the red carpet?"

"I got here early." David gestured toward the theater entrance. "I was hiding in there, enjoying my role as the man behind the curtain."

He turned to Eva. "Hello, my queen. Do you mind if I borrow your king for a moment?"

Eva, still pale-faced in her black gown, managed a faint smile. "Not at all."

In truth, she had been back in Los Angeles for some time and had participated in numerous promotional events for the film, but her contact with Matthew had been strictly professional.

Their short-lived affair had ended the last time she left the Horner Estate.

As the group posed for pictures, David leaned in and whispered to Matthew between camera flashes, "I heard you cast Robert Downey Jr. in that film you're investing in. Is that true?"

Matthew replied, "That's right. His asking price is low, and he agreed to a multi-picture deal. If the film's a hit, we've got him locked in for sequels, which also caps his future salary."

David, however, looked concerned. "Aren't you worried he'll screw it all up?"

Matthew put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light pat. "Don't worry. Even if the movie loses money, I still have the payouts and dividends from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I won't go broke."

The larger group gradually broke apart, with actors posing for photos in pairs and small groups. Matthew beckoned James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender over and formally introduced them to David.

After David left to take photos with some people from Warner, Matthew said to James and Michael, "He's the money, guys. The kind of money that can back major A-list productions. It never hurts to be on good terms with big investors."

James grinned. "I've already told Michael he should go after David's sister."

Michael gave James a light punch on the shoulder. "Don't talk nonsense."

A few moments later, another photographer approached, and the three men stood shoulder to shoulder for a picture, a clear display of their camaraderie.

As actors, they were all busy building their own careers and traveling the world, seeing each other only a few times a year. But the friendship forged before any of them were famous remained strong.

After the photos, Matthew started toward the theater with James and Michael, then gestured in a different direction. "Megan's over there. You two should go say hi."

The three were used to joking around, so he added deliberately, "Think about it. Marry her, and one of you could skip a lifetime of struggle."

Of course, he was only kidding. By the time they looked over, Megan had already gone inside.

Entering the theater's VIP lounge, Matthew waited for the main audience to be seated before greeting Depp, Keanu Reeves, and others who had come to show their support. A short while later, Amanda approached him.

She came up to Matthew and whispered, "Good news. The interview team we sent to Africa sent back the video footage of the refugee interviews."

"Where is it now?" Matthew asked, concerned.

"The footage was delivered to the foundation's office," Amanda replied. "An assistant just called to tell me it's been received. We have three copies, stored in three separate locations."

"When are you planning to release it?"

Matthew thought for a moment. "I don't think we'll need it right away. Depending on how the movie performs at the box office, I'll talk to David and the team at Warner about finding the right time to release the footage for another wave of publicity."

Amanda nodded cautiously. Then, remembering something, she asked, "How are the advance ticket sales looking?"

"Not too bad." Someone passed by to say hello, and Matthew exchanged a smile with them before answering Amanda. "Tracking for about twenty million dollars for the opening weekend."

"That's much lower than Pirates," Amanda muttered.

Matthew reminded her, "That was a PG-13 sequel. This is an R-rated film. You can't compare them..."

As he spoke, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure across the room: a middle-aged black man in glasses. It was Spike Lee, the very man he'd had a run-in with just last week.

What was he doing here?

Matthew found David and asked him about it. David glanced over at Spike Lee and said, "I imagine Warner Brothers invited him."

It was the only explanation that made sense.

Spike wasn't causing any trouble, and Matthew certainly couldn't have him thrown out in front of everyone. So, he decided to simply ignore him.

"Is there something between you two...?" David asked curiously.

Matthew was vague. "I attended the premiere of Clint Eastwood's new film last week and had a... less than pleasant run-in with him."

Seeing Matthew downplay it, David assumed it was a minor issue and changed the subject. "Flags of Our Fathers didn't do too well at the box office. Only ten million on its opening weekend."

Matthew nodded.

He had seen Flags of Our Fathers, and its style was very different from Saving Private Ryan—far more artistic and literary in tone.

In his opinion, the film, now in its second week, stood no chance against the debut of 300.

Just as Matthew moved on to greet other guests, Spike made a call to Francis Lawrence, who hadn't attended the premiere, choosing instead to check out other advance screenings in the area.

Time passed quickly, and at the staff's prompting, the guests in the VIP lounge began filing into the theater, ready for the screening of 300.

Besides the red-carpet guests, a large number of professional film critics had also filed into the theater.

Among them, Rex Reed was one of the most recognizable.

****

Two men arrived late, approaching the check-in desk at the theater.

It was quite late, but after a quick glance at their tickets, the security guard let them pass into the auditorium.

"We could have easily gotten an invitation to the premiere," a man named Donadoni grumbled. "Instead, we had to buy our own tickets."

Giovanni Salvatore, however, replied with a serious expression, "We are here on behalf of Armani to witness the film's reception firsthand."

Donadoni sighed. "I know. That's why I made a point of coming with you."

As they walked, Giovanni continued, "The principle is the same. The underwear brand needs to appeal to both the high-end and mass-market consumer. We need to see for ourselves how the audience reacts to Horner's physique."