Leaving the media area and walking into the El Capitan Theatre, Matthew looked at Brendan Fraser. By the end of the interview, he had noticed that Brendan Fraser's expression was a bit gloomy.
"I don't know anything about fashion," Matthew took the initiative to explain. "I just paid a Stylist to put this together."
The gloom on Brendan Fraser's face instantly vanished, and he raised his hand to pat Matthew's shoulder again. "Don't take what the reporters say seriously."
Matthew nodded in agreement. "They're just a bunch of guys who want to see the world in chaos."
"Right you are!" Brendan Fraser suddenly changed the subject. "I see an acquaintance up ahead; I'm going to go say hello."
Without waiting for Matthew's reply, he sped up and soon entered the screening hall.
Watching Brendan Fraser walk away, Matthew shook his head slightly; he wasn't a fool.
Rachel Weisz walked over from behind at that moment, having likely seen something, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Matthew shook his head slightly. "It's nothing."
"Don't take it to heart," Rachel Weisz said with a smile. "Brendan loves the limelight and has always considered himself the leader among the cast."
Matthew smiled but didn't respond, entering the screening hall together with Rachel Weisz.
Perhaps by coincidence, Matthew's seat was right next to Director Stephen Sommers, and when he arrived, Stephen Sommers was already seated there.
"Hello, Director Sommers..." Matthew greeted him proactively.
Stephen Sommers nodded to him. "Long TIME no see, Matthew." He paused slightly before adding, "Have you stopped your fitness and boxing training?"
"No." Matthew subconsciously wanted to flex his arm to show off his muscles, but remembering he was next to a director, he quickly stopped and said, "After leaving the Crew, I participated in Ridley Scott's 'black hawk down', playing a heroic Delta Force sergeant..."
It suddenly occurred to him that Stephen Sommers might have an ulterior motive for asking this, so he added with a bit of exaggeration, "I was undergoing military training throughout the shoot until I left the Crew in February. Since coming back, I've been working out five TIMEs a week, and my boxing training is the same."
"Good," Stephen Sommers said, his words sounding as if they had a deeper meaning. "That's beneficial for an actor, especially those leaning towards the action genre."
Although Matthew didn't understand Stephen Sommers' specific meaning, he followed his lead and said, "I will keep it up long-term."
Pure fitness was indeed a bit dull, but when paired with boxing training, he could easily find the fun in it.
Sitting there, waiting for the film to start, Matthew was still pondering the meaning behind Stephen Sommers' words. But after thinking it over and over, he still couldn't figure it out, and since the movie was about to start, he temporarily gave up.
The massive El Capitan Theatre was packed with people; looking back, the ordinary audience seats were also full.
This was, after all, the sequel to 'the mummy'. With the foundation of the previous film, 'the mummy returns' was able to attract a large audience.
The lights on the ceiling of the screening hall went out one by one, and the big screen lit up. This was followed by the Universal Pictures intro and then the opening credits. Among the Crew and cast, Stephen Sommers' name was the first to flash by.
Following him were the lead actors Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, then the child actor Freddie Boath, John Hannah, Oded Fehr, and Arnold Vosloo. The name Matthew Horner appeared eighth!
Compared to being an extra in 'girl, interrupted' and having his name only appear in the end credits of 'Gladiator', this was an absolute leap forward for Matthew.
Opening credits weren't just a simple list of names; the order of appearance and the font size were all closely related to an actor's status and importance in the film.
Matthew knew very well that with his name appearing in the opening credits, he had completed the transformation from a character actor to a regular actor.
The next goal was to become a minor star.
But the distance from a regular actor to a star was quite large. The vast majority of actors in Hollywood who frequently appeared in movies, landed several roles a year, and even became familiar faces to the audience, could never cross that step in their entire lives.
This required ability, and even more so, the right opportunity.
Where was his opportunity? Matthew had no clue. All he could do was increase his own raw strength as much as possible so that he could seize an opportunity when it arrived.
Competition in Hollywood was incredibly fierce. Most of the TIME, just because an opportunity appeared before you didn't mean it belonged to you; it required the corresponding ability to seize it.
The movie entered its main feature, and Matthew was the first major actor to officially appear on screen.
He had inquired before; the scorpion king's scenes were concentrated at the very beginning and the very end of the film.
In 3067 BC, the scorpion king led a great army in an attempt to conquer the world, but his ambitions were thwarted in a seven-year campaign. His defeated remnants entered the desert of Ahm Shere. The harsh environment caused the once-valiant warriors to die one after another. On the brink of death, the scorpion king offered his soul to the god of death, Anubis, in exchange for the power to defeat his enemies.
After this, the scorpion king and the Army of Anubis from hell were invincible. Following their total victory, the Army of Anubis returned to their slumber underground.
Matthew also saw his longest screen TIME in a movie to date. The opening lasted for more than four minutes, and the entire content revolved around his character. He was the only protagonist in the frame, and close-up shots appeared constantly.
The purpose of this character, besides background introduction, was to show off his physique and skills. His body looked quite powerful on camera, and a fight scene on the battlefield was also very brilliant after editing.
Finally, the scorpion he swallowed in the desert was the finishing touch that would leave a deep memory.
Of course, these were all Matthew's thoughts as he watched the film.
How other audience members viewed his character and performance was still unknown.
Overall, this was a competent entertainment film. Perhaps because his portrayal of the scorpion king saved some costs, the special effects looked fairly good. The fierce images of Imhotep, the scorpion king, and their loyal followers were very vivid.
The battle between humans and beasts in Thebes 5,000 years ago, the mummy chase through the streets of London, Imhotep using magic to blow up the river water to hunt the hot air balloon, and the final grand scene of the clash between the scorpion king's Army of Anubis and the Egyptian cavalry—by the standards of special effects in this era, it was top-tier.
However, in Matthew's eyes, there was still a slight suspicion of "cheap effects." After all, he had lived through an era of near-manic bombardment of movie special effects.
Compared to the special effects, the film's plot could only be described as average. Rachel Weisz had once said that plot was never Stephen Sommers' forte.
In this kind of typical commercial entertainment movie, the plot was never the main selling point.
Matthew basically had no scenes in the middle of the film. It wasn't until the final climactic battle that the scorpion king appeared again. However, this TIME, unlike the human image at the beginning, he had become The Scorpion King with a human head and a scorpion body, looking quite cool.
It was just that while The Scorpion King's appearance was formidable, his combat power didn't show much strength, and he quickly became a sacrificial lamb to set off the male protagonist.
A commercial entertainment movie would certainly have a happy ending where the family rejoices, all the bad guys die, and the good guys escape danger at the last second... Even through Matthew's not-so-professional eyes, 'the mummy returns' was an industrial assembly-line blockbuster that was above the standard line and was quite brilliant where it needed to be.
The lights on the ceiling came on, the screen went dark, and enthusiastic applause rang out in the screening hall. Everyone in the Crew stood up to applaud.
Matthew also stood up and glanced back. The ordinary audience seats were too far to see, but the people in the guest seats a few rows back also stood up and applauded.
This kind of applause was more out of politeness; it didn't necessarily mean the film was outstanding.
Matthew, however, was applauding vigorously, both for the film that could make people happy and for himself.
In this film, his screen TIME was over ten minutes, and there were more than ten close-up shots alone. Stephen Sommers had completely set aside his previous prejudices and given him enough opportunities to show his face.
He hoped he could leave a deep impression on the audience and that the media would pay a little more attention.
These were Matthew's current hopes. This character was already the most significant one he had ever played. By his guess, it was impossible for Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer to give him so many opportunities to show his face in the final cut of 'black hawk down'.
Matthew suddenly felt uneasy; this kind of thing was completely out of his control.
A minor actor, or even a regular star, had no say in front of directors and producers.
The applause faded, and the screening hall gradually became quiet. People in the ordinary audience seats began to leave, while no one in the front left for the TIME being. Most people came over to the Crew to offer their routine congratulations.
This was also an unwritten tradition of Hollywood-style movie premieres.
However, the guests mostly congratulated Sean Daniel, Stephen Sommers, and the lead actors. Matthew was basically ignored.
"Hi, Matthew!"
Paul Walker walked over at that moment, shook Matthew's hand, and said, "Good job! the scorpion king character was impressive!"
He added, "I didn't realize your physique was so good without clothes."
Matthew laughed and patted his arm. "Thanks!"
"Don't be so formal with me." Paul Walker leaned in and whispered, "I heard you had another conflict with Vin Diesel?"
Matthew said quite helplessly, "He's the one who sought me out. I couldn't avoid him even if I tried."
He could feel that Vin Diesel's resentment towards him was deepening. Unfortunately, with his current status and ability, there was nothing he could do about Vin Diesel. He couldn't exactly kill him and hide the body, could he?
After chatting with Paul Walker for a while, Matthew followed the main group into the press room at the prompting of the Crew's Publicist. To his surprise, after watching the movie, the media reporters actually paid considerable attention to him.