At the Santa Monica Commercial Plaza, on top of a building, a group of workers had just finished changing an advertisement. The previous Motorola phone poster had been replaced by a brand new movie poster. On the poster, a muscular man stood with a sword, his bare upper body sculpted like marble, particularly eye-catching. Next to him, the caption "Matthew Horner as the Scorpion King" complemented the figure perfectly.
This was a huge billboard advertisement for "The Scorpion King." Universal Pictures chose such a location for hard advertising because the Santa Monica Commercial Center is a hub of activity and one of the most important business centers in the entire Los Angeles area.
In a coffee shop near the commercial plaza, a handsome young man sat by the window, leisurely sipping coffee and reading a newspaper, seemingly in a very good mood.
"Hey, Paul!" Someone came over to greet him. "There's a party this weekend, are you going?"
"This weekend? No, I don't have time."
Just after he declined, a young girl entered the coffee shop. As she passed by, she glanced at the young man, her face immediately showing surprise, and she walked over in two steps.
"You… you're Paul, right?" The young girl looked at the man, seemingly very excited. "I'm your fan! Your movie 'The Fast and the Furious' was amazing!"
Paul Walker flashed a bright, sunny smile and looked at the girl. The girl took out a notebook and a pen from her bag, handed them to him, and asked, "Can I have your autograph?"
"Of course!" Paul Walker readily signed his name in the notebook.
The girl's cheeks flushed red. She took the pen and the disc, and quickly left.
Although he always remained humble, Paul Walker wouldn't deny that being a star felt incredibly good. Since the success of "The Fast and the Furious," he had become a prominent actor in the industry, and it was common for female fans to approach him for autographs.
What pleased him most was that the second installment of "The Fast and the Furious" had already been greenlit, and that troublemaker Vin Diesel had been completely excluded by Universal Pictures.
Taking a sip of coffee, Paul Walker stopped thinking about that obnoxious guy and continued to flip through the newspaper, landing on the entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times.
"Universal Pictures' upcoming film 'The Scorpion King' has received unanimous praise in internal screenings, especially the action scenes of lead actor Matthew Horner, which have been widely acclaimed. This $40 million adventure action blockbuster is set to premiere on April 9th, and will be widely released in North American theaters starting April 12th…"
In addition to the text report, there was a large picture next to it. The picture showed an exceptionally familiar face. Although dressed in ancient costume, Paul Walker recognized him at a glance: it was Matthew Horner.
"This guy, he's a leading man now too,"
At this point, Paul Walker pulled out his phone and called Matthew. When the other end picked up, he said directly, "It's me, Matthew. It's Paul. is your new movie's premiere coming up soon? Yes, yes, yes… Even if you didn't invite me, I was planning to go to the premiere! Alright, it's settled then! If the crew doesn't mind, have them send me an invitation!"
He hung up the phone and left the coffee shop. As he got into his car, he saw a giant "Scorpion King" poster being set up on the building directly opposite the front of his car. That poster also featured that familiar face!
"If he's lucky," he muttered, "Matthew's going to be famous too."
On a street in Burbank, Matthew put away his phone, exited a cold drink shop, carrying a large paper bag, and walked forward in the direction they had agreed upon earlier.
On the other side of the street, the side door of a black MPV opened, and the tall Yelena Boyar stepped out of the car. She chose a spot and an angle, picked up her camera, aimed the lens at Matthew, and continuously pressed the shutter.
Matthew struck a pose as if he had suddenly encountered paparazzi, even raising a hand to cover his face, seemingly not wanting to be photographed further. elena Boyar remained unmoved,
She continued to take photos until Matthew turned a corner, then she stopped.
She put away her camera, got back into the car, and began to review the photos. After a quick look, she couldn't help but nod slightly. Matthew Horner had naturally good looks, and with his later efforts in fitness, his on-screen presence was simply perfect.
Although this was a pre-planned street shoot, such street shoots could also achieve the effect of posed shots, which few people could do.
elena Boyar was not modest, believing that this effect was achieved partly because Matthew Horner had good natural conditions, and partly because of her outstanding photography skills, which were absolutely top-notch in the industry.
The other side door of the black MPV opened, and Matthew also got into the car. He glanced at Yelena Boyar and asked, "How are the results? Do we need to do it again?"
"That's enough," elena Boyar disassembled the camera lens and carefully packed the camera. "The effect is very good, let's go."
Matthew's phone rang then. He pulled it out of his pants pocket, glanced at it, saw it was a spam text, and put it back.
elena Boyar asked, "is Helen rushing us?"
"No," Matthew shook his head. "It's an advertisement text message."
Recently, these spam messages had been on the rise.
In the passenger seat, a staff member from "The Scorpion King" crew's publicity department turned around and said, "So, shall we head back?"
The funding for this shoot was provided by "The Scorpion King" crew and was part of the crew's internet promotion.
The staff member first asked Matthew, "Where are you going?"
"Drop me off at Angel Agency," Matthew pointed to the left. "My car is still parked at the agency."
"How about you?" the staff member asked elena Boyar.
elena Boyar finished packing her camera and said, "Just drop me off at the editorial department. I need to process the photos as soon as possible."
The black MPV started and turned out of the street. In just a few minutes, it stopped by the roadside in front of Angel Agency. Matthew and elena Boyar greeted each other, opened the car door, and got out. Watching the car drive away, Matthew then turned and walked towards Angel Agency.
Before he even reached the agency entrance, seven or eight reporters came over to interview him. The security guards at the Angel Agency immediately rushed out, escorting Matthew into the company.
This situation had been going on for some time. Now, it was the critical stage of pre-release publicity for "The Scorpion King." Universal Pictures had invested considerable resources in him as the lead actor, and with the trailer already released, Matthew was now receiving the treatment of a semi-celebrity.
After staying at Angel Agency until the afternoon, Matthew and Helen Herman went to Universal Studios to attend a publicity briefing for the crew.
Not many people attended the meeting. On the actor side, it was just him and the female lead, Kelly Hu, along with their respective agents. On the crew side, there were four people: Sean Daniel, press officer Belt, Stephen Sommers, and director Chuck Russell.
"Let me first talk about the next phase of the plan," Sean Daniel began. "The crew will increase its investment in television. Kelly Hu's focus will be on gossip, which we'll discuss in more detail later. Matthew, you need to prepare for an exclusive interview with Yahoo Entertainment."
He further emphasized, "Universal Pictures will mobilize the entire group company's platforms to promote the film. We hope everyone will cooperate fully, just as in the previous stage."
Similar to other major Hollywood companies, Universal Pictures was part of a large media conglomerate, the NBCUniversal Group.
Press officer Belt then interjected, "After your respective plans are executed, we will mobilize the media to push for hype and let the news fully ferment!"
"Okay," Helen Herman nodded.
Matthew remained silent; he just needed to listen in on such matters.
"Alright, from next Monday to next Friday, we will fully promote positive news about Matthew," Belt had clearly devised a detailed plan. "Our goal is to portray Matthew as a model of someone who worked hard from humble beginnings to achieve success and fame, thereby attracting more teenagers."
Since there had been sufficient communication between both parties before, Matthew had no objections to this. It was beneficial for raising his personal fame.
Helen Herman had already discussed it in detail with Matthew. She glanced at him, and Matthew nodded slightly, still maintaining that expression.
These things would not harm him; in fact, they were beneficial, so there was no reason to object.
The specific plans had been discussed many times before. What was said today were all matters that needed attention and consideration. These plans of the crew received full support from Universal Pictures. After all, an investment of forty million dollars was not a small sum for Universal Pictures, and Universal Pictures had also invested certain resources.
With Universal Pictures' strength and a meticulous plan, the publicity effects would not be worse than films of similar scale invested by the six major studios.
After discussing some details of implementation, the brief meeting concluded, and Matthew and Helen Herman walked out of Universal Pictures.
Arriving at the parking lot, Helen Herman warned Matthew, "You will be under a lot of pressure before the release. Be careful not to say anything carelessly. Follow the plan set by the crew, don't act on your own initiative, and contact me immediately if anything happens."
Matthew nodded, "I know, don't worry. I'm not a newcomer to the industry anymore."
The recent pressure from public opinion, even though he knew most of it came from the crew and Universal Pictures hyping the film, it was impossible for it to not affect him at all.
When all the news, both true and false, that he saw in newspapers, magazines, and websites was about himself, how could his emotions not be affected? He also had to constantly monitor the latest developments and couldn't afford not to look.
Moreover, he was alone, and when he felt emotional, there was no one to confide in. Talking on the phone with Britney, they could only speak for a few minutes in total, and she was busy with work, so it wouldn't be good to bother her with such matters.
These were things he could only bear silently by himself.