After careful consideration, Matthew briefly recounted to Helen Herman his encounter and dealings with Elena Boyar. When it came to understanding Hollywood and practical operational capabilities, Helen Herman was far superior to him, and after several consecutive jobs, the two had established a basic level of trust.
"So, you not only claimed to dislike Christina Aguilera..." Helen Herman paced back and forth in the dressing room, "but also slandered Michael Sheen as a fan of Christina Aguilera?"
Matthew raised a hand and said very seriously, "That's not slander! Maybe he really does like Christina Aguilera."
Helen Herman couldn't be bothered with such minor details. "You and Elena Boyar are not friends?"
"No," Matthew said truthfully, "I just happened to run into her outside Jonny Lee Miller's estate while I was working."
He said rather helplessly, "Michael Sheen offered his chrysanthemum to Martin Jackson. I felt that without finding another way, it would be difficult to win the audition in makeup. I had no resources, so I could only come up with this method."
"Jonny Lee Miller? Malibu estate? Your company provides special services for him?" Helen Herman clearly hadn't paid much attention to Matthew's words, instead pondering other things. "Jonny Lee Miller is Angelina Jolie's ex-husband, and Angelina Jolie even helped you."
She turned her head and stared at Matthew. "You didn't meet Angelina Jolie through this method, did you?"
Matthew shrugged, saying nothing, which was an implicit acknowledgment.
"No, that's not right!" Helen Herman frowned. "You provide special services for Jonny Lee Miller, so how could Angelina Jolie possibly help you?"
Then, she seemed to remember something. "Jonny Lee Miller suffered heavy losses from his divorce with Angelina Jolie. There are rumors in the industry that Jolie has a video of Jonny Lee Miller hosting a wild party in Malibu..."
Hearing Helen Herman say this, Matthew couldn't help but admire the woman's power of association.
Helen Herman walked over to Matthew and suddenly asked, "You weren't the one who filmed that video, were you?"
This could also explain why a star from an acting family like Angelina Jolie would help a helpless young actor from Texas.
"Cough..." Matthew clenched his fist and coughed into his hand. Perhaps it was the Eastern way of thinking at play, as he didn't answer directly, just gave a dry laugh and said, "Helen, you're thinking too much."
Seeing that Matthew didn't deny it, Helen Herman adjusted her glasses in surprise. "Matthew Horner, you truly are full of surprises!"
She then emphasized, "You're too bold!"
Matthew spread his hands. "Isn't this a last resort? Otherwise, how would I have gotten a role in 'girl, interrupted'?"
Helen Herman didn't know how to describe this guy. After thinking for a while, she pointed a finger at him. "You're truly bold, thick-skinned, and black-hearted. You're quite unique!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Matthew quickly argued, "is it really that exaggerated?"
"Someone like you..." Helen Herman also spoke frankly, "not striving in Hollywood, this Vanity Fair, would definitely be a waste of resources."
Matthew was instantly speechless. Compared to the paparazzi and entertainment reporters who had been harassing him recently, he was definitely a good person!
"Anything else?" Helen Herman, through observation, knew that Matthew was tight-lipped. Now that he had opened up, she wanted to extract all the secrets he was hiding. "Tell me everything."
Matthew was about to mention Winona Ryder's matter, but then realized he had signed a confidentiality agreement with her. It wasn't that his contractual integrity was necessarily strong,
but he was still wary of the huge penalty for breach of contract, so he shook his head. "No, I haven't been in Los Angeles for very long in total."
Just as he said this, he remembered something else. "The conflict between Britney and Christina Aguilera was something I told Elena Boyar. I once heard Britney's assistant grumbling about it."
Helen Herman nodded and instructed, "Don't mention this to anyone else except me. Your relationship with Britney is very good now, and you should try to maintain it for a while."
"Okay." Matthew nodded, then thought of another matter. "What about Elena Boyar?"
At the time, he couldn't think of any other way, so he resorted to that desperate measure. Looking back now, his actions were full of loopholes.
Helen Herman thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have her contact information?" Seeing Matthew pull out a business card, she took it and said, "Leave the rest to me. This reporter is bold and proactive; I'll see if we can develop her into a collaborator."
Matthew was a bit surprised. "Our collaborator?"
"Yes," Helen Herman said seriously, "You have a certain level of fame now. To maintain it, you need continuous media attention. If... I mean, if you develop smoothly in the future, you'll also need good collaborating reporters."
"Do all Hollywood Stars have them?" Matthew asked.
Helen Herman nodded. "Pretty much. Entertainment media and Hollywood Stars are inseparable." She looked at her watch and said, "The makeup artist will be here soon. I'll handle all these matters. Your current task is to shoot the MV well! It would be even better if you could win Britney over."
Matthew was noncommittal; he lacked experience in this area, and acting rashly might be counterproductive.
After the makeup artist arrived, Helen Herman left the temporary dressing room. Matthew then turned his attention to the upcoming filming. This was originally part of an Agent's job, and given his current situation, an excellent Agent was indispensable. At this stage, he couldn't find a better Agent than Helen Herman.
Perhaps large agencies like CAA and UTA had richer resources, but he knew that these large agencies would certainly have a plethora of so-called potential clients like him, and the resources he could share might not be as good as what he had now.
At the very least, his current job wasn't finished, and Helen Herman had already found him another audition opportunity.
An hour later, Matthew walked out of the temporary dressing room and, led by an assistant named York, arrived at the pier.
"Matthew, over here!"
On the side of the pier closer to the sea, Britney Spears was waving at Matthew. "Come here!"
Since the crew was using a panoramic shot to film the beach, the actor's resting area was moved to the pier. Matthew walked under the parasol where Britney was, unceremoniously pulled up a chair, and sat beside her.
"You took so long to come out." Britney had already treated him as a friend.
Matthew smiled, "That just means my makeup artist isn't as good as yours." His gaze followed Britney's smooth, fair legs, exposed by her shorts, down to her ankle. "is your injury okay?"
"It's fine." Britney even stood up and walked a few steps, then stretched out her arms and spun around in front of Matthew. "See, as long as I don't do strenuous movements, it's perfectly fine."
"Don't scare me." Matthew quickly stood up and gently pushed her back into the chair. "This kind of thing is not a joke."
Britney had a carefree expression. "What's there to be afraid of? At worst, you can just carry me to the hospital again."
Matthew casually replied, "The hospital is so far, and you're so heavy, I can't carry you there."
"Am I heavy?" Britney asked, widening her eyes.
Matthew suddenly realized he had said something foolish. Seeing a staff member approach, he quickly changed the subject, "It's time to start filming."
Britney seemed to forget what she said and echoed, "Okay, let's go."
Sure enough, the staff member came to inform Matthew and Britney to go down for filming. Due to Britney's injury, Zack Snyder had revised the MV shoot. Aside from the already completed dancing shots, all remaining dancing scenes were canceled in the subsequent filming. The shoot would primarily focus on showcasing the unspoken emotions between the female lead and the male lead.
The beach was already newly arranged. After Zack Snyder explained the scene, Matthew and Britney rehearsed their positions twice, and formal filming began immediately.
Because it was a panoramic shot, there were no cameras near Matthew. He stood barefoot by the sea, walking step by step along the sandy beach with the tide, his eyes gazing towards the distant horizon where the sea met the sky, as requested by director Zack Snyder.
Just as the script required, his lead actor seemed completely immersed in the beautiful scenery where the sea and sky merged into one.
The sea is beautiful, the beach is beautiful, and the blue sky is even more beautiful! In the clear blue sky, a few white clouds float. Walking on the beach and gazing at the blue sky, a breeze blows, making it so pleasant, so free, and so refreshing.
Perhaps his recent diligent practice paid off, or perhaps his good relationship with Britney made him excited. At this moment, Matthew felt as if he had merged with the beautiful scenery of Paradise Bay.
On the other side of the filming scene, Britney, like the female lead described in the script, stared intently at Matthew, her eyes never moving, looking very much like a girl with a crush who had encountered her desired target.
"Stop!" Zack Snyder's amplified voice boomed across the beach through the megaphone. "Excellent, that's a take!"
He then shouted, "Rearrange the beach, next we're going to film in the restaurant!"
No one could say the exact reason, but Matthew and Britney were both in excellent form. This good state continued for the next few days, and the crew, which had originally planned to finish filming in four more days, completed everything in just three days.
Filming concluded, and it was time for the MV crew to disband. Matthew had originally wanted to invite Britney to dinner, but Helen Herman informed him to hurry back to Los Angeles, as there was a lead on his new job, and they wanted him to attend an open audition the next morning.