The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood! Chapter 10

"Allow me." Seeing that the two sides were on the verge of a full-blown argument, the bearded man took it upon himself to intervene and defuse the situation. "Gore, how about a sincere apology?"

He was the executive producer on the project and definitely didn't want the situation to go public. "Helen, and..." he said, looking over.

"Matthew," Matthew offered with a faint smile.

"Helen, and Matthew," the bearded man continued. "We're all working on the same team. There are no conflicts that can't be resolved."

Matthew understood perfectly well that if this became a public issue, he would offend Ridley Scott and even Universal Pictures, who was backing the film. That would be both disadvantageous and foolish.

"Yes, of course," Matthew immediately agreed with a nod.

Seeing that Matthew had accepted the idea of an apology, Helen naturally didn't object.

The bearded man turned to look at the two Englishmen. "Gore, what do you say?"

Hearing this, Gore glanced at Mason, who had tears welling in his eyes. He knew that pressing the issue would only harm his client's career.

Mason, however, asked resentfully, "You want me to apologize to him?"

Gore shot Mason a heavy look. Before this, he had only known the young man to be impulsive. Why hadn't he noticed before that he was as thick as a brick?

"I..." Mason hesitated, still unwilling to apologize.

"Well?" Gore moved closer and warned in a whisper, "If this goes badly, Ridley's team will never use you again."

Mason gritted his teeth and looked at Matthew, who stood opposite him with a smirk on his face.

"Sorry," Mason forced the word out through clenched teeth.

"What was that?" Matthew cupped a hand to his ear. "You said that so quietly, I couldn't hear you. Speak up, don't mumble."

Mason nearly exploded with rage. He could feel the bruises from the punches on his face throbbing even more intensely, and he was tempted to just turn around and walk away. But he didn't dare. Spouting discriminatory insults in the heat of the moment and then starting a fight would be extremely problematic if a formal complaint were filed with the actors' guilds in both the UK and the US.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to say, "I'm sorry. It was all my fault!"

"It's alright," Matthew said with a magnanimous air, waving his hand dismissively. "It was just a small misunderstanding."

Mason's chest swelled. A small misunderstanding? The man had beaten him up!

Having apologized, he had no desire to stay a moment longer and turned to leave.

But Matthew suddenly called out, "Wait, where are you going? We're not finished yet."

Unsure of what Matthew was planning, Helen took a step toward him and said in a low voice, "We're on Ridley Scott's set. Don't push it too far."

"Don't worry," Matthew winked at her.

"What else is there?" Mason instantly regretted ever speaking to him. "I've apologized to you."

"Yes, but you haven't apologized to them," Matthew said, gesturing to the extras. "Your discriminatory words offended them."

"That's right," the quickest-witted of the extras exclaimed. "Apologize to us!"

Several other extras chimed in mockingly, "We're all members of the actors' guild. If you don't apologize, we'll go to the union and file a complaint."

"Apologize right now."

"You're a British 'gentleman,' so act like one!"

Mason looked helplessly at his agent. Gore had no choice but to nod.

"I'm sorry. I apologize."

Apologizing to these people, whom he considered insignificant nobodies, weighed heavily on Mason's heart. His eyes watered as if he might burst into tears at any moment. "I sincerely apologize to all of you for my inappropriate comments."

One extra waved his hand with a broad grin. "Apology accepted."

Another adopted an air of importance. "I forgive you."

Seeing this, Helen decided the farce had gone on long enough and said to Matthew, "Let's go."

Having achieved his goal, Matthew saw no reason to linger. He followed Helen and they headed off the set.

As they left the filming location and started back toward the city, Helen suddenly asked, "Did you have fun humiliating him?"

"What?" Matthew paused, then realized what she meant. "I was just defending myself. If he'd kept his mouth shut, none of this would have happened."

Then he asked, a little uncertainly, "I'm not going to get into trouble, am I?"

Helen slowly shook her head. "What kind of trouble? It wasn't your fault, and you didn't go too far."

"I guess so." Matthew added deliberately as they walked, "I bet you wanted to slap him yourself, but you held back."

"Heh," Helen laughed. "You're a sharp one."

Matthew looked at the city in the distance and said, "I'm not educated and I'm not exactly smart, but I'm not stupid."

They entered the city together, and Helen unexpectedly turned into a coffee shop. Matthew had no choice but to follow. They found a table by the window, sat down, ordered coffee, and continued their earlier conversation.

Matthew asked again, "The production team won't do anything?"

"No." Helen shrugged. "You're just two minor actors. As long as you don't make a mountain out of a molehill, they don't care."

Matthew figured as much. A production this big couldn't possibly have time to worry about such trivial matters. Conflicts were bound to arise when so many people were in one place; if they had to manage every little squabble, they'd never have time to actually shoot the film. Still, he was a little curious. "Big stars must have conflicts during filming too, right?"

He'd seen the tension between Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder with his own eyes. "What does the production team do then?"

"That's a tough one," Helen replied, thinking for a moment. "I forget if it was 1990 or 1991, but Julia Roberts was acting so brazen and arrogant on set that Steven Spielberg made her life a living hell."

Matthew immediately asked, "Did Julia Roberts get blacklisted in Hollywood?"

Helen shook her head. "Who knows, but for years after that, Julia didn't have a single major hit, and for a while, she even disappeared from the film industry."

"But she's still famous," Matthew exclaimed.

It was no exaggeration to say that in this era, Julia Roberts was Hollywood's number one actress, the very definition of a female movie star.

"That's why," Helen Herman said, picking up her coffee cup and taking a sip, "in the entertainment industry, connections and opportunities are crucial."

Matthew took a sip of his own coffee but, unaccustomed to the taste, felt that tea suited him better.

He set his cup down, ready to get to the point. Surely, Helen hadn't brought him to this quiet coffee shop just to gossip about old Hollywood stories.

"Did you want to ask me something?" he asked directly.

Helen nodded and set her cup down as well. "I think you have the potential to become a real actor."

Matthew smiled and said impassively, "Thanks, a lot of people think so."

Helen looked at Matthew, quickly summarizing the impression he'd made on her: cocky, but smart enough to know when to be; ruthless, uneducated but perceptive, and, most importantly, completely shameless.

That was a vital quality for getting ahead in this business.

Talent could be developed, but a person's core principles—or lack thereof—were ingrained.

Of the dozens of extras who had come to her, Matthew Horner was the only one who had managed to make an impression. In fact, Helen had decided to be his agent the moment she recommended him for the role of the barbarian chieftain.

Looking at Matthew, Helen said quietly, "Sign a long-term contract with me."

Matthew nodded without hesitation.

Before they signed, however, Helen needed to clarify a few more things. "Tell me your background in detail," she requested.

"I was born in a slum near Dallas, Texas," Matthew began, naturally using the personal history of his predecessor. "My mother died of a drug overdose, and my father disappeared when I was fourteen. I dropped out of school after that. I was mostly on my own, delivering papers, collecting trash, working as a repairman. The longest job I held was as a construction worker."

"Sounds bleak," Helen interjected.

Matthew shrugged and continued, "Last year, someone decided I looked like a star and said Hollywood was a good bet, so I came to Los Angeles and signed with an agency called Starlight, but I never got a chance."

He summarized, "Eventually, I met an agent who said he could make me a big star, and I signed a contract to shoot a film."

"What kind of contract?" Helen asked, her expression extremely serious.

"Ahem." Matthew looked embarrassed. "To star in an adult film. The lead role."

Helen frowned. "You haven't shot it yet, have you?"

She wouldn't sign him to a long-term contract if he had appeared in a film like that, let alone commit her resources to him. It would be a complete waste of time.

"No." Matthew shook his head in frustration. "I ran away before filming started."

Helen nodded. "And they didn't come after you?"

Matthew tapped the table lightly. "To this day, their lawyer is hounding me for breach of contract."

He felt awful about it and speculated, "I think they won't give up on me. They'll want to drag me back to continue shooting adult films! Especially that agent!"

"You're overthinking it." Helen had her own assessment. "They just want money. What's the penalty for breach of contract?"

"Fifty thousand dollars." Matthew looked at the female agent, thinking he might as well ask for her advice. "You've seen a lot. Help me figure out what to do."