The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 733

The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills was buzzing with life tonight. A throng of paparazzi and entertainment reporters had staked out the entrance, their camera lenses trained on the high-society celebrities arriving for a gathering organized by the Los Angeles Charity Organization.

Many Hollywood stars known for their philanthropic work were also in attendance.

Matthew’s Mercedes-Benz pulled right up to the hotel entrance, giving the reporters and paparazzi no chance to swarm him. After stepping out of the car, he merely glanced toward the street before heading into the hotel.

Since his previous car had been riddled with bullets, Mercedes-Benz had recently supplied Matthew with a new one.

This vehicle was also a specially modified version with superior bulletproof plating, capable of stopping most commercially available assault rifles at close range.

After the shootout, sales of the same Mercedes-Benz model that had kept Matthew safe had skyrocketed, and the company had become even more partial to Matthew as their brand ambassador.

Although Matthew’s contract with Mercedes-Benz had not yet expired, Helen had been notified that they were ready to begin negotiations on an extension.

By now, Matthew had grown more cautious about commercial endorsements. He certainly wasn’t short on offers, and he knew that accepting a questionable brand deal could tarnish his reputation and affect his earnings in other areas.

Entering the main banquet hall, Matthew saw a sea of familiar faces. Hollywood stars had turned out in force—Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and others were all chatting and laughing with guests.

A charity dinner like this, organized as a reception, was as much a networking event as anything else.Matthew moved through the hall, greeting familiar and unfamiliar faces, occasionally stopping to exchange a few words but never lingering long, until he ran into Julia Roberts.

"There will be several auctions tonight."

The final item on the reception’s agenda was a charity auction. Julia Roberts asked, "Do you have your eye on anything?"

Matthew shook his head. "I just glanced at the list. If nothing catches my eye, I'll just bid on a random lot."

Since he had come to a charity reception, making a donation was a given.

Julia Roberts pursed her lips into a smile. "I still haven't thanked you for what happened in London."

Matthew smiled back. "Don't mention it. It was nothing. Emma and I are friends; of course I was going to help her."

"I've spoiled her." Julia Roberts looked like she had a headache. "She acts far too impulsively."

Matthew nodded, then asked, "Where is Emma, anyway? I don't see her around."

Julia Roberts gestured vaguely to the north. "She's been filming at Warner Studios lately. She still has a lot of scenes to get through."

"I haven't been on a set recently," Matthew explained. "I'm not joining my next film crew until next month."

Julia Roberts saw an acquaintance approaching and said, "We'll talk later. I need to greet an old friend, so I'll be going."

Julia Roberts went to greet a middle-aged man, and Matthew was about to move on when someone suddenly grabbed his left arm.

A pleasant female voice followed. "Darling, why didn't you tell me you were coming to the reception?"

Recognizing the voice, Matthew turned to see Taylor Swift smiling up at him.

"I didn't know myself until the last minute. And you're back already," Matthew replied.

Taylor Swift stepped forward, took a firm grip on Matthew’s arm, and leaned in to whisper, "I'm your girlfriend. You're supposed to report your whereabouts to me."

Matthew raised a finger and wagged it, saying nothing.

"Alright, alright," Taylor said. "But I'm still pursuing you, and you haven't said no."

Matthew didn't want to get stuck on the topic, so he changed the subject. "Aren't you on a world tour? What brings you back to Los Angeles?"

Taylor answered half-jokingly, "I missed you, so I came back."

Matthew didn't buy it and pressed on. "Is the tour over?"

Taylor shook her head, her expression turning a little more serious. "No, I took a few days off and decided to come and see you."

Matthew smiled and nodded to a person walking past before adding to Taylor, "When are you leaving?"

"Monday." Taylor leaned close to his ear and murmured:

"I just got back this afternoon. I knew you'd be here, so I came straight over. Time is short, let's go back to your place right now!"

"Don't worry, we have the whole night." Matthew smiled, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. "Since you're here, let's just wait until this is over."

The reception would only last two or three hours, and the Four Seasons Hotel was in Beverly Hills, not far from Matthew's house.

Matthew led Taylor Swift through the banquet hall and soon ran into more acquaintances—Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara and Universal Pictures President Ron Meyer.

Meeting two figures at the level of "Big Six" studio heads, Matthew naturally had to exchange a few words. He also introduced Taylor Swift.

After some pleasantries, the conversation quickly turned to "The Fast and the Furious."

"Everyone on the board at Universal Pictures is kicking themselves now. How did we ever sell the rights to that series to you and David?" Ron Meyer lamented.

Matthew answered modestly, "David and I just got lucky."

But when he and David Ellison had traded the rights to the "300" sequel for the rights to "The Fast and the Furious," no one had considered it a loss for Universal; in fact, plenty of people were calling him and David fools.

Ron Meyer sighed softly and said, "Matthew, I hope we'll have a chance to work together."

"Definitely, if the right opportunity comes along," Matthew replied.

Kevin Tsujihara chimed in, "Ron, 'The Fast and the Furious' series would never be what it is today without Matthew."

Ron Meyer acknowledged this. The "Fast & Furious" franchise would have simply continued to languish if it had stayed with Universal Pictures.

Universal Pictures had already begun preparations for a sequel to "300," and although King Leonidas died in battle, making it impossible to bring Matthew back, they had already signed a contract with Eva Green for the Queen of Sparta to continue her story.

A sequel to such a blockbuster was practically guaranteed to be another box office hit.

After chatting for a while, Ron Meyer excused himself.

Matthew had a long history of close collaboration with Warner Studios, and with Ron Meyer gone, Kevin Tsujihara felt free to speak more candidly.

"You should give the distribution rights for the 'Fast & Furious' series to us. Warner Bros. can do a job just as good as Disney."

Matthew didn't beat around the bush. "We discussed that back then."

When selecting a distributor, Skydance Pictures had negotiated with several companies and ultimately chose Disney because they offered the best terms.

Kevin Tsujihara spread his hands. "I wasn't in my current position at the time, and my predecessor was... well..."

He just shook his head.

Matthew smiled back. "Kevin, aren't we collaborating right now? Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' is still in production."

"Kevin Tsujihara first nodded, then said with regret, "It's a shame you aren't starring in 'Green Lantern'."

Hearing "Green Lantern," Matthew's mind conjured the image of a cesspool, but his expression remained unchanged as he smiled. "Didn't you choose Will Smith? I think he'll make an extraordinary Green Lantern."

Kevin Tsujihara smiled. "Let's hope so." He seemed to ponder something for a few seconds before speaking again. "I believe we have an opportunity for a much closer collaboration."

Seeing his serious tone, Matthew didn't hesitate to ask, "What kind of opportunity?"

"You've seen Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, right?" Kevin Tsujihara saw Matthew nod and continued without pausing, "Warner Bros. is preparing to make a prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings'—'The Hobbit'—with Peter Jackson, and it will likely be two or three films."

Matthew didn't interrupt, waiting for Kevin Tsujihara to continue.

As someone who had once loved "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, he was well aware of "The Hobbit" series.

And then there was Peter Jackson, who had become a first-tier director thanks to the trilogy and had won an Oscar for Best Director.

He had seen "The Hobbit" a long time ago, and his most vivid impression of it was an aging elf.

Would Peter Jackson bring Orlando Bloom back for "The Hobbit"?

Matthew hadn't heard anything about Orlando Bloom in several years and wondered where the elven prince had disappeared to, and if he was even still acting.