The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 575

Walking from the Death Star building toward the Century City Mall, Francis Lawrence and Paula Patton found a spot that gave them a clear view of the entire temporary set. They stood on the high steps, observing the activity below.

Francis could see Akiva Goldsman and Matthew.

His mind drifted back to everything that had transpired on the set of "I Am Legend" and what had become of his good friend, Spike Lee.

Is there no justice in this world that a champion for minority rights could be so maligned? Are the media and the public across America completely blind?

Francis sighed heavily; the memories were too exhausting.

He was particularly incensed by what had happened to Spike Lee. A leading director in the film industry was now in such a dire state that he couldn't even find work. He was forced to drink his sorrows away each day, escaping reality with marijuana and cocaine.

The last time Francis visited Spike Lee, he had even found heroin and syringes.

If this continued, Spike would be destroyed.

But he and Paula together couldn't convince him. Every time good news about Matthew Horner appeared in the media, Spike Lee would drink more and take more drugs.

"He looks so pleased with himself," Paula said, glaring at Matthew, who was laughing and joking on the set. "Damn bastard!"Francis glanced at her but didn't respond. Paula was clearly speaking out of anger, and any discerning person knew that no matter how you looked at it, Matthew was exceptionally talented.

"I was thinking about Spike Lee," he sighed.

Paula, unconcerned, replied, "A string of bad luck brought his career to a crashing halt."

Pointing at Matthew and Akiva on the set, she declared, "But Francis, you have a chance to prove to those two that they were wrong to reject you and me!"

Francis remained silent, his thoughts drifting back to the day he lost the director's chair for "I Am Legend."

Paula pressed on, "Considering that both 'Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem' and 'I Am Legend' are coming out in December, and our movie opens just a week after theirs, we can cause their box office to drop significantly the following weekend."

Francis still said nothing, but his brow furrowed slightly. Even now, he couldn't understand why Warner Bros. had scheduled "I Am Legend" for the weekend right before "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem."

"20th Century Fox planned the release of 'Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem' a long time ago," Paula said, gripping his arm. "Warner Bros. didn't announce the release date for 'I Am Legend' until much later. There must be some machinations involving Matthew and Akiva! They're deliberately targeting us!"

"There is..." Francis nodded slowly. "A possibility of that."

Although he knew the two films weren't in the same league—from their budgets to their creative teams—he didn't consider himself inferior to that Mexican fellow, Guillermo del Toro.

If Guillermo del Toro messes up while he achieves great success, it would undoubtedly be a slap in the face to Matthew and Akiva.

"I'm sure Spike Lee would be happy with that outcome, wouldn't he? It might just revive his spirits, and the great cause of fighting for black freedom needs him to carry on," Francis thought to himself.

Instead of leaving right away, Francis and Paula stood there, continuing to watch the shoot until the crew finally wrapped for the day. Only then did they return to the parking lot near the Death Star building and drive away.

***

As the crew finished their work, the audience began to disperse. Reporters and paparazzi prepared to continue their stakeout, while fans flocked to the temporary exits of the set, ready to ask their favorite actors for autographs.

Phyllis Beretta was among the fans, but she had no intention of asking Matthew for an autograph. She had collected far too many already: at premieres, on set, at promotional events, through the fan club, and more.

She found a slightly elevated spot, took a camera out of her backpack, attached a telephoto lens, and prepared to take a few photos. She planned to post them on the fan support website for Matthew's new film to help spread the word.

After his day's work was done, Matthew headed to his makeup trailer to remove his makeup and take a quick shower. After a long day of filming in the August heat while wearing a snug-fitting Kevlar suit, his body was drenched in sweat.

Having showered and changed into dry clothes, he took a glass of water from Bella and quickly drank a few gulps.

"An hour ago, I stepped outside the set to take a call and saw two people," Bella said, not waiting for Matthew to ask. "I saw Francis Lawrence and Paula Patton. They seemed to have just come out of the Death Star building."

Matthew nodded. "I remember when Will Smith was competing with me for the lead in 'I Am Legend,' Francis signed with CAA. And now CAA has moved into the Death Star building, so I guess they were coming from there."

Bella added, "I kept a close eye on them. The two of them stood there watching the shoot until it was over."

"Don't pay them any mind," Matthew said with a wave of his hand. "There's nothing they can do."

He would have completely forgotten about Francis and Paula if Bella hadn't brought them up; they were too insignificant compared to Will Smith.

Matthew lifted his glass and took another big gulp. As he set it down, Bella continued, "David Ellison called. He said someone from Paramount Pictures Distribution officially approached SkyDance Pictures with an offer to handle the North American and overseas distribution for 'Fast & Furious'."

"That's good," Matthew mused. "That makes four companies now—Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Lionsgate—all competing for the distribution rights to 'Fast & Furious 4'. The more competitors, the better for us. We can drive down the distribution fees."

Bella, however, cautioned, "The members of the 'Big Six' have a long-standing unspoken agreement. They have a minimum distribution percentage for the films they handle."

The "Big Six" Hollywood companies stood at the very top of the industry's food chain, simultaneously competing and cooperating, sometimes with very tacit agreements to suppress their rivals.

"I'll talk to David about it later," Matthew said impassively.

"Since several companies want the distribution rights, have SkyDance negotiate for the lowest possible distribution percentage."

This was directly tied to his investment returns, so of course, he was paying close attention. "It's also very beneficial for us that Lionsgate Pictures is in the running."

Hollywood had never suffered a shortage of people willing to challenge the established order. After the decline of DreamWorks, Lionsgate had become ambitious, eager to break into the top tier of Hollywood studios.

Matthew checked the time. "Come on, let's head straight to Beverly Hills."

He stepped out of the trailer first, waited for Bella to follow, and added, "Contact David. Find out what day he's free."

Meeting up with his bodyguard to leave the set, Matthew was immediately surrounded by fans and a throng of reporters and paparazzi snapping pictures. This was the other side of stardom, beyond the glitz and glamour—an endless stream of people would follow you until the day your popularity faded.

It was a fair trade: you gain something, you lose something. He wasn't complaining.

Matthew had always been kind to his fans. Despite his fatigue after a long day of filming, he patiently signed autographs for them until, ten minutes later, he was able to leave.

Seeing the black Mercedes-Benz pull out of the Century City Mall, Phyllis Beretta aimed her camera at the back of the car and snapped one last photo. She then detached the lens, carefully packed her camera and lens into her backpack, and prepared to find a place to upload the pictures to the support site.

She hoisted her backpack and headed toward the Century City Mall, where there was a computer area with a reasonably cheap hourly rate, perfect for her needs.

Besides, there were a couple of fast-food joints nearby that stayed open all night. She could buy some cheap fast food and save a ton of money by spending the night there.

Her home was far away in Queens, New York, and she had no place to stay in Los Angeles, so she had to plan her living expenses carefully and save enough money to buy a plane ticket back home.

Entering the Century City Mall, Phyllis quickly found the computer area and selected a few of the photos she'd taken today to upload to the site. Only then did she head to the fast-food restaurant next door.

She was just about to order a hamburger for dinner when her cell phone unexpectedly rang in her pocket.

Phyllis pulled it out and looked. It was an unfamiliar number, but she answered it anyway.

"Hello, is this Miss Phyllis Beretta?"

A voice came through the phone, and Phyllis replied, "Yes, this is she."

She then heard a few more words from the other end, and her mouth fell open in astonishment, her face etched with disbelief. "How is that possible? My parents were in an accident?! Yes, I'm coming back now."

Forgetting everything else, Phyllis bolted from the burger joint, rushed out of the mall, and raced toward the airport.