The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 723

On a typical Saturday morning in early May, a large crowd gathered in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Throngs of ordinary citizens and media reporters alike waited in front of two separate entrances. Many people milled about, hoisting banners or holding signs in support of the event.

Nearby, fans of the X-Men were holding their own promotional event, but the turnout here was significantly larger, even though "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" had just been released that weekend.

Robert Barnes, a reporter for ABC, stood in the press queue, looking around and occasionally raising his camera to take a picture. With so many people in line, progress was slow.

The procession of ordinary citizens, the enormous banners draped over the convention center, and even the long line of his fellow journalists—all became subjects for his camera.

A nearby ABC Entertainment news van was broadcasting a live feed to thousands of homes.

Robert Barnes was well aware that, at the request of the Disney corporate office, ABC had recently assigned a van to follow Matthew Horner around the clock.

After taking a few more shots, Barnes finally reached the front of the queue. He looked up at a massive banner that read: "We Share a Planet with African Refugees."

He raised his camera and the shutter clicked again.

Afterward, Robert Barnes entered the convention center with a group of other reporters and was led by a staff member into a large exhibition area. Countless photographs were on display, depicting elderly black men, women, and children, all of them skeletally thin and exhausted.

Just then, a large screen in the exhibition hall flickered to life. A figure appeared, and Barnes instantly recognized him—the famous Matthew Horner, the organizer of this charity exhibition.Of course, he knew the event was jointly organized by the Matthew Horner Refugee Fund and the Matthew's Children's Charity Fund, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The involvement of the UNHCR naturally gave the event significant weight and reach.

"In modern society, the economy is developing faster and faster, more and more places are becoming prosperous, and people are starting to live good lives," Matthew's voice echoed through the hall. "However, in some areas affected by war and natural disasters, many people are still living in extreme hardship. Let's take a look at the people in an African refugee camp."

Listening to Matthew's introduction on the large screen, Robert Barnes paused, his eyes fixed on the images playing out before him.

Images of the refugees flickered across the screen, accompanied by Matthew Horner's voiceover.

"Due to the scarcity of food, people starve every day. Many children live in a state of constant hunger. This is a group of children sharing what little food they have."

Robert Barnes couldn't help but freeze. Was that filthy, gray, lumpy... thing... in the middle of those children really food?

The food was covered in dust and dirt, yet the children ate it as if they were sharing a rare delicacy.

Seeing this, Robert Barnes was deeply moved. He was a father of two, and if his own children were forced to live like this, he would be devastated.

A new image appeared on the screen: a black mother sat on the ground, breastfeeding, while a four or five-year-old child cried from hunger beside her.

Matthew's voiceover continued, "A mother breastfeeds her child, although she has little milk to give due to malnutrition. Still, the hungry infant tries to survive as best it can. The older child next to her hasn't eaten in a long time..."

Robert Barnes felt his heart clench. His gaze swept over the faces of the people around him. Most were stony-faced, while many of the teenagers' mouths were hanging open in disbelief, as if they couldn't fathom that such horrors existed in the world.

But the footage on the large screen wasn't finished. A long queue of boys appeared, so thin their ribs were clearly visible.

"This is a group of refugee children waiting in line for food. Even though they only receive a small amount in the end, they still have to rely on this little bit of aid to sustain themselves. Please show more concern for these refugees. Everyone has the right to a better life."

At that point, the video on the large screen began to loop. Robert Barnes looked away and walked through the exhibition hall, studying the photographs. Every photograph was shocking, a world away from the life of Los Angeles.

Robert Barnes raised his camera and continued shooting, determined to show these images to a wider audience.

Murmurs filled the air. While there were certainly a few skeptics, the vast majority of the crowd was deeply sympathetic.

After circling the gallery twice, Robert Barnes moved into the next one. It was similar to the last, but with more walls covered in photos, these taken by non-professionals, all focused on the children of Africa.

This exhibition hall also had a large screen, but this time it wasn't Matthew Horner who appeared. It was Paul Walker, narrating the survival conditions of some African children, followed by a video with his voiceover.

The first image in the video, that of a gaunt black child, made everyone present subconsciously cover their mouths. It was enough to make anyone with a fear of insects recoil.

Robert Barnes listened to Paul Walker's narration and felt nothing but sorrow.

"How can he be so thin? So thin you can count his ribs. Covered in mosquitoes and flies? Why doesn't he shoo them away? Is it because he's too weak from hunger to wave them away, or has he simply grown used to it? Or has he lost the will to even try? Perhaps they are the only companions he has known, day after day, in a childhood devoid of innocence and play. Perhaps he has simply accepted their presence."

The scene was enough to make one's skin crawl, to make one wonder if the insects would eventually consume him.

Robert Barnes practically shuddered as he left that gallery and entered the next.

He had never been to Africa, but he had heard stories from news reports and from colleagues who had. The conditions they described sounded like paradise compared to what he was seeing now.

If hell truly existed on Earth, these people were living in it.

They deserved better. They deserved to live a better life than this!

With that thought, Robert Barnes stood in one of the new galleries and looked around.

Soon, he noticed something: the people on the large screen in each exhibition hall were familiar. They were all Hollywood stars: Matthew Horner, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Daniel Wu, Gal Gadot, and Justin Lin.

Weren't they the main cast of "Fast & Furious 4"?

The thought didn't occur to him alone; people all around were murmuring about it, most of them recognizing the actors from "Fast & Furious 4."

As a journalist, Robert Barnes quickly realized that "Fast & Furious 4" was also using this event as a marketing opportunity.

But he found it hard to be indignant. The event, from start to finish, never once mentioned "Fast & Furious 4," yet it subtly brought the film to mind.

As he walked through the exhibition hall, Robert Barnes saw a huge donation box near the exit. No one was pressured; those who were willing to donate did so, and those who weren't were free to leave at any time.

Furthermore, staff members were taking down the phone numbers and contact information of donors, promising to notify them when their contributions reached those in need.

Moved by the photos and videos in the exhibition hall, many people made donations, and long lines formed at the eight donation stations. Robert Barnes joined one of the queues, left five hundred dollars, and then exited the exhibition hall.

***

"Amanda..."

On the second floor of the convention center, Matthew gazed through a glass window at the crowd near the exit. "This money is being donated in full compliance with the law, and all transactions will be handled according to regulations."

Amanda gently ran a hand through her short blonde hair and said:

"I know. Don't worry about it."

Matthew gave a slight nod. With this kind of large-scale momentum, and given the nature of their public service-oriented marketing, their intentions had to be perfectly clear.

This was a promotional event, meticulously planned by him and Amanda to boost both "Fast & Furious 4" and his own public image. The goal was to remind the public that when they went to see "Fast & Furious 4," they were helping the suffering people of Africa, they were helping women and children. It implied that they possessed a great spirit of internationalism, that they weren't racist, that they were good people who advocated for racial equality.

There are often subtle psychological factors that can directly influence a person's choice of movie.

While Matthew and Amanda continued to oversee the "We Share a Planet with African Refugees" charity event, a Latino man knocked on the door of an ordinary residential house in Los Angeles and stepped inside.

"How are things?" a bald man inside the room asked. "Is everything going according to plan?"

The unassuming Latino man replied, "We've confirmed it. His bodyguard is on vacation."

The bald man rubbed his head. "We've waited so long, and now we finally have our chance."