The Box Office King of Hollywood

"Rumors about you and me?" Matthew shook his head, "Those guys really have nothing better to write about."

Then, he thought that perhaps this was a move by the "Scorpion King" crew. As long as it could attract eyeballs, Hollywood crews wouldn't care about using low or high tactics.

As long as the profit was substantial, even the CEO of Universal Pictures, Ron Meyer, getting personally involved wouldn't matter.

Irina Poliar wasn't too worried either. She had thick enough skin and knew that Matthew, the rascal, had even thicker skin. Such so-called leaks were nothing to him.

Matthew pulled out his phone, composed a text message, and routinely notified Helen Herman.

Soon, his phone vibrated. Looking down, he saw a reply from Helen Herman.

"I got it."

The reply was just a short line. Clearly, Helen Herman didn't place much importance on it either.

"Let's start," Irina Poliar reminded.

Matthew put away his phone and said, "Sure."

Although it was an online interview, it was still conducted in the form of a dialogue, with a professional transcribing.

Before asking questions, the photographer took a photo of Irina Poliar and Matthew sitting opposite each other and then uploaded it to the chat room.

The online interview then began.

"The trailers for 'Scorpion King' have been released, featuring a lot of action scenes," Irina Poliar didn't relax just because the interviewee was Matthew. She seriously asked, "We can see that the action scenes have risen to a higher level than in 'The Mummy Returns'. How challenging was this shoot? Were you surprised by your performance?"

Matthew answered seriously, "If the challenge wasn't significant, I wouldn't have been interested in it or invested so much time and energy. Most of the challenges were physical. I'm fascinated by this type of script. I've seen many great Hong Kong films where the story is told through fight scenes, not just for the sake of fighting. Such scripts attract me to try."

The question was pre-arranged with the crew, and the answer was essentially predetermined by them. Matthew was just rephrasing the answers according to the crew's promotional needs.

"The crew had great ideas, but good ideas need a lot of work to realize. You have to walk the right path and be different from others."

Then, Matthew began to ramble, aiming to resonate with potential viewers, telling them 'look how much effort I've put into this film'. "So many times, I couldn't even get out of the car when I arrived on set in the morning. Then the parking attendant would patiently wait beside me, waiting for me to slowly move out of the car, because my limbs hurt too much."

These answers were designed to highlight his role as the male lead. "But once I got through that period, I found that my body really changed a lot. I felt stronger and more agile. When I realized this, I immediately had the confidence to increase the intensity, making the movie even more spectacular."

Irina Poliar and Matthew went back and forth, seriously and honestly cooperating in their lies. Many in the chat room were influenced by their interview.

A user named "Loves The Mummy" commented, "This actor really gives his all. He was the same on 'The Mummy Returns' set. It's a pity that film only had two action scenes, not satisfying enough. But this time it's good, can't wait to watch!"

Another user, "Lily Loves Strong Men," said, "Have you seen Matthew Horner's stills and workout photos? This is a real man! I like!"

Irina Poliar asked another question, "It's well known that you specifically practiced mixed martial arts for this film. Is that true?"

"To be precise, I've been practicing mixed martial arts for a long time before shooting."

This time Matthew didn't fib, speaking truthfully, "I started practicing boxing before the auditions for 'The Mummy Returns'. I found I had a talent for it and was very interested in these sports."

"No wonder you're so agile in the trailer," Irina Poliar timely praised Matthew, then asked, "Did you train with a group of fighters?"

Matthew nodded, "Yes, they are all well-trained and excellent teachers. They each have their own skills which they wholeheartedly passed on to me."

The chat room grew more crowded. Matthew glanced at the online numbers, which had exceeded fifty thousand.

Irina Poliar continued, "Was there a particularly memorable moment during the shooting of 'Scorpion King'?"

"A long-take fight scene designed by the crew was incredible!" Matthew gestured towards the camera, waiting for the photographer to capture the moment before continuing, "I got hurt in that scene, injured my teeth."

He shrugged, continuing his tall tales, "Actually, my teeth were damaged during rehearsals for the action scenes in this film. Luckily, the injury wasn't too severe."

Of course, he couldn't just talk about getting hurt. Matthew added, "The entire crew had great ambitions, designing several minutes-long continuous action scenes, unheard of for many. Normally, fight scenes are shot in two to three-second clips and pieced together in post-production. But these scenes, not relying on post-editing or speeding up slow motion, depended on near-real combat and performance between actors. The crew did this because they trusted my training results."

"Must be difficult to shoot such scenes?" Irina Poliar asked appropriately.

"Extremely difficult!" Matthew exaggerated, "To get a good long-take fight scene, the actor must keep moving and ensure not to show their back to the camera. So, I had to do almost everything myself, no stunt doubles. I was very expressive because the crew ensured my safety."

They continued discussing the crew and the film before it was time for viewer questions.

The first viewer asked, "Your physique looks great. Is it enhanced with special effects?"

Matthew, seeing the question, told the transcriptionist, "No enhancement. My physique in the camera is the same as in real life."

Another viewer asked about Matthew's acting career, "I just looked up and found that since your first role, you've been working with stars and famous directors. Do you have a special background?"

"I'm just an ordinary actor," Matthew humbly told the fans, "I'm from rural Texas. I've always felt honored to work with so many people. If there's a reason, it's probably just good luck."

Another person asked a more pointed question, "There are rumors about casting couch practices in Hollywood, like providing special services to directors in exchange for roles. Is this true? Have you encountered it?"

"This indeed exists."

Such matters are widely rumored in North America, not exactly a secret. Matthew didn't deny it, but he wasn't foolish enough to mention specifics, "I once encountered it. A director invited me to his hotel room to discuss a role and then revealed some unsavory intentions. After realizing this, I immediately left."

Sensitive as the topic was, the technical staff then selected an insider from Yahoo Entertainment to ask questions, mostly related to "Scorpion King." This interview was primarily for the film's promotional marketing.

The interview ended smoothly, with the cooperation of Yahoo Entertainment and Irina Poliar. Matthew didn't face too many difficult questions.

The interview's content, besides being published on Yahoo Entertainment, was also pushed to some print media by Universal Pictures. With the release of "Scorpion King" approaching, Universal's promotional efforts continued to intensify.

Both Universal Pictures and the crew knew that the box office meant everything for "Scorpion King." While Hollywood films have multiple revenue streams, a mindless action film like this needed a solid box office foundation to hope for high earnings from TV rights, DVDs, and videotapes.

That was simply impossible.

The crew also organized a media and critic screening. Matthew didn't attend, but the response was overwhelmingly positive. Almost every media journalist and professional critic praised the film.

However, Matthew wasn't as optimistic as the screening results suggested. Helen Herman had clearly told him that most of these Hollywood screenings were just business.

Since it was business, money naturally played a key role.

He didn't meddle in these matters. Firstly, as an actor, it wasn't necessary, and secondly, his status was far from sufficient.

It's not an exaggeration to say that in the entire pre-screening promotional plan for "Scorpion King," he was just a puppet in the hands of the crew and Universal Pictures. Considering his current status and the film's investment and production, this relationship isn't hard to understand.

Matthew and Helen Herman had no complaints. At this stage, nothing was more important than "Scorpion King" achieving blockbuster status at the box office.

The promotional tactics of the "Scorpion King" crew didn't stop there. Ten days before the premiere, after reaching an agreement with Matthew and Helen Herman, a professional publicist was hired by the crew to rush to New York to persuade a key figure in the upcoming promotions.

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