The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 539: Matthew's Fans

Phyllis Beretta arrived just as the first rays of morning sun lit up the entrance to Warner Studios.

Since it was still early and the area was not yet crowded with journalists, she easily found the most prominent spot, dropped the large, worn backpack she was carrying, and took out an assortment of gear.

In the sunlight falling on her tanned skin, Phyllis, a young black woman from Queens, looked quite striking.

She had just finished setting up her equipment when the first of the paparazzi started to drift over.

In her hands was an old cloth poster bearing the image of a smiling young man—tall, strong, and handsome.

"Always a pleasure to look at him."

Phyllis gazed at the poster for a moment, then unfurled a pair of smaller posters with similarly prominent images.

Reporters began to converge on the entrance to Warner Studios. It was no secret that Matthew Horner was filming his new movie inside, and they were all confident they would get a good story.

One such story was Phyllis, a Matthew Horner fan who had become a fixture outside the studio these days.

Several reporters immediately snapped photos of her with the poster, her expression deep, serious, and determined, like a scientist meticulously conducting an experiment.As veteran entertainment journalists, they knew the industry had never lacked for obsessive fans, but the nature of fandom had changed dramatically in recent years.

Phyllis Beretta relished the media attention, occasionally finding herself featured in stories about Matthew—a thrill she had cherished for a long time.

She was only twenty-two and considered herself Matthew's most devoted fan. She had been following him for three years, ever since graduating from high school, and would travel thousands of miles for his promotional events just to set up her camera and capture his every step and every smile.

Last year, for example, she had visited over a dozen cities—including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Toronto—following Matthew wherever he went to promote *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* and *300*.

She had even attended the Australian premiere of *300* in Sydney, just to follow in her idol's footsteps and support Matthew. She knew a lot about him and shared information with other die-hard fans to quickly find out where he was flying, where he was staying, and much more.

Often, when Matthew traveled, she would opt to "escort" him, which meant buying a ticket for the same flight. Phyllis would sometimes spend hundreds of dollars just to get timely information about his travel plans, and though she was always short on cash, she felt it was worth it. On one such occasion, a problem with the first-class cabin forced Matthew to move to a seat in economy, just one row away from her. She nearly fainted with joy, feeling luckier than if she had won a multi-million-dollar lottery.

As the sun climbed higher and the time neared 8 a.m., more journalists converged on the entrance to Warner Studios. Phyllis spotted a few other fans like herself and exchanged greetings with them from a distance. They were all hardcore Matthew fans and knew one another well.

In front of Warner Studios, about a dozen of Matthew's fans made their presence known in various ways, creating a unique spectacle. The star had not arrived yet, but the entertainment reporters were happy to take pictures of his fans.

The long journeys, along with the expenses, were the most grueling part for her. Over the years, she had spent tens of thousands of dollars on airfare alone. Hailing from Queens, New York, she did not come from a wealthy family, and the money came from her part-time job.

However, Phyllis had developed such frugal habits that when chasing Matthew to film sets, she would sometimes squeeze into rooms smaller than 200 square feet and survive on a single loaf of bread a day just to follow the shoot. Whenever Matthew had an event, she did her best to be there.

Over the years, she had endured many hardships. Not all security guards on set were friendly. A few years ago, when she went to the Dominican Republic to see Matthew during a shoot, she hid in the grass for five hours to avoid being kicked out by local security, getting devoured by mosquitoes in the process. While there, she climbed halfway up a mountain to get a shot of her idol filming, nearly falling off a cliff when her foot slipped. She posted her photos on a fan support site dedicated to Matthew, and the best ones were compiled into an album for others to enjoy.

She suffered a lot for all of this, but Phyllis felt it was worth it. If there were more photos, Matthew could attract more attention or new fans. More importantly, it made him more popular and prompted the media and brands to notice his value.

"Hello, Phyllis." Someone beside her greeted her. "Could you make some room for me here?"

Phyllis turned her head, surprised. "Kristen? What brings you here?"

As she spoke, she shifted to the side to make room for Kristen.

Kristen also pulled a "Matthew" poster from her backpack and held it high above her head before telling Phyllis, "It gets too boring sitting in front of a computer screen all the time. I came out for some fresh air."

Although they were both ardent fans of Matthew, unlike Phyllis, Kristen was not a "front-line" fan, but a "screen" fan.

Kristen supported her idol mainly from behind a computer screen, driving traffic, boosting his popularity, and promoting Matthew through the internet and social media.

They had a special section on the support site, and if any list featuring Matthew appeared that could be voted on, they would actively answer the call, voting like crazy—even for the most pointless poll on a minor gossip site—just to get Matthew to the top of the list.

Kristen's group, far more numerous than the front-line fans like Phyllis, numbered in the hundreds of thousands at its peak, all of whom subscribed and voluntarily participated in the voting.

Once, by exploiting a special loophole, Kristen had single-handedly gathered thousands of votes for Matthew with seemingly little effort.

The support base had a dedicated tech specialist who updated Matthew's various online metrics every two hours in a spreadsheet, which clearly showed the rise and fall of his numbers over each period.

There were also special reports for "super-topics," like Matthew's participation in a new film or a contest for a project. She was touched by the patience of her teammates who kept score every day; she was never alone in this battle.

Of course, Kristen had heard whispers that Matthew's agency was actually behind all this support, but she did not care.

The support base was filled with people of different professions, positions, and ages who had spontaneously formed a division of labor, collaborating according to their specialties with a single goal: everything for Matthew.

For the fans, as long as they could help their idol—whether by topping charts, packing venues, or providing live support—they considered it all a rational choice. As the fans and entertainment reporters waited, Matthew's car drove into Burbank.

"You'll be dropped off in front of Warner Studios today."

Bella, sitting in the passenger seat, reminded Matthew, "There will be a lot of fans waiting. Don't forget to talk to them."

Matthew was reading the script for the day and, without looking up, responded, "Alright."

From Bella's side, as well as from Helen and the Angel Agency, the work of integrating the fanbase never stopped. This was not only thanks to a significant number of professional fans like Brian Lister, but also to a specially created support station that could coordinate his fanbase.

For any commercial star, fans were always a part of the equation that could not be ignored.

Just as a film's "word of mouth" could be managed, so too could a star's fans.

Matthew understood perfectly well that with the rapid growth of the internet and social media, the traditional celebrity economy was changing, and all he was doing was adapting to those changes.

And unlike the vast majority of stars, he was exceptionally good-natured and very deliberate in his interactions with his fans, having warned his staff on more than one occasion never to treat them rudely—with the exception of those who showed dangerous tendencies—in order to prevent any undesirable situations.

The Mercedes pulled up in front of Warner Studios, and the moment Matthew stepped out of the car, he was in the thick of it.