"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Rex Reed."
In front of the merchandise area of a cinema lobby near Universal Studios, Matthew, holding a Mathayus figurine in his left hand and a Mathayus doll in his right, was answering a question from an NBC reporter. The reporter was asking about Rex Reed kissing the donkey's ass yesterday. He answered exactly according to the script pre-determined by the crew: "Mr. Rex Reed, as a famous film critic, is a man of his word, and I admire that very much."
The hype surrounding the donkey-kissing incident did not end with Rex Reed actually kissing the donkey's ass. This event caused a huge stir among the media and movie fans. Almost no one expected Rex Reed to actually kiss the ass of the donkey Matthew gave him. This unexpected act almost became a social hot topic Across America.
How could the crew and Universal Pictures give up on such a hot news story? However, they also knew that the event had been fermenting for nearly ten days, and continuing the same hype might lead to audience fatigue. While continuing to promote the matter, they pushed the plan a step further in another direction.
They arranged for Matthew, the most acclaimed lead actor in the film, and Rex Reed, who kept his word, to develop a mutual appreciation. The two, who were originally at loggerheads, gradually became admirers of each other, providing a new highlight for the curious onlookers.
Of course, this period wouldn't be very long, lasting at most until next weekend.
Matthew had no objection to this. He didn't even know who Rex Reed was, nor did he care who he was. After all, such promotion was beneficial for increasing the film's box office and his own popularity.
Speaking of which, looking across North America, there were very few film critics whose names he could accurately remember, seemingly only Roger Ebert.
When he used to live on The other side of the Pacific, Matthew had seen this name on his smartphone. It seemed as if Roger Ebert was the spokesperson for professional film critics in America.
Matthew then said a few more polite words about Rex Reed into the NBC reporter's microphone and to the camera behind him, and the interview concluded.
Subsequently, the autograph session officially began. Matthew sat in front of the merchandise area, signing each doll and figurine handed to him by movie fans.
This was his first official autograph session. Since he had only received temporary notice from Universal Pictures yesterday afternoon, he hadn't made much preparation for it.
A Mathayus figurine was handed to Matthew. Matthew signed his name on the back of the figurine and returned it to its owner with a smile.
It was a girl with chestnut medium-short hair. Seeing Matthew's smile, she said, "Matthew Horner, you're so handsome!"
"Thank you!" Matthew appeared very easygoing.
Then a boy came over, and after Matthew signed the doll in his hand, he asked, "Matthew, how can I get a physique as good as yours?"
Matthew answered seriously, "Long-term, extensive exercise."
The boy's face fell. "is there an easier way?"
"No," Matthew shook his head. "As far as I know, there's no easy way."
The boy left somewhat disappointed. Then a girl of fifteen or sixteen came over. After Matthew signed, she suddenly made a request.
"Matthew, I'm your fan. I've liked you since your last movie." She boldly asked, "Can I... can I touch your chest muscles?"
Matthew glanced at the female fan, somewhat at a loss for words. After a two-second pause, he said, "I'm very sorry."
A staff member immediately came over and politely asked the female fan not to hold up the line.
Throughout Sunday morning, Matthew was busy cooperating with Universal Pictures' merchandise release promotion.
Although the autograph session only lasted a little over two hours, the enthusiasm of the movie fans was somewhat beyond imagination. He roughly estimated that he signed at least four hundred figurines or dolls in over two hours.
This speed was not fast, a bit slower than Universal Pictures had expected, mainly because Matthew would generally have a simple conversation with the fans who came for autographs. Even if he didn't speak, he would look up and smile, rather than just signing continuously with his head down, not even looking at the fans.
He knew very well that he had just become famous, and those who were willing to queue for a long time for an autograph should be fans who particularly liked him or the lead actor. Moreover, most of them were teenagers in their teens or twenties. A smile and a greeting might just turn them into his die-hard fans.
Without the support of the audience, where would movie stars come from?
Matthew's mindset was quite well-adjusted; he didn't become arrogant and self-important just because he became famous.
Having been in this industry for three years, he was more mature than when he first arrived here.
After the morning's promotional activities ended, Matthew left the cinema, got into the crew's nanny van that had picked him up, and prepared to return to Burbank. Before leaving, he specifically asked the crew assistant in the passenger seat to buy a pile of newspapers.
During the event, he had learned from the crew that, for now, they hadn't been significantly affected by negative reviews. The boost from the promotional marketing was still very evident, with Saturday's box office increasing by thirteen percent from Friday, taking in 15.5 million US dollars. The cumulative box office for the first two days was already approaching the 30 million US dollar mark.
Everyone, from Matthew to every crew member, was in a good mood.
Especially Matthew, he knew very well that once the first weekend box office was released tomorrow, he, who was previously an ordinary actor occasionally seen in newspapers, would become a true star!
A third-rate Hollywood Star is still a star-level actor.
On the way home, Matthew opened the newspaper and began to read. After three years of continuous reading practice, he no longer had any obstacles in reading. Let alone easy-to-understand newspapers, even some relatively specialized English books were no longer difficult to comprehend.
The entertainment pages of the newspaper were full of news about The Scorpion King. He, as the lead actor, was mentioned very frequently, and more and more newspapers believed that The Scorpion King's great success was largely due to his excellent performance.
"It was Matthew Horner's almost perfect physique and swift, powerful skills that made The Scorpion King watchable."
Other newspapers stated: Without Matthew Horner, the film would be beyond salvation.
Even a movie fan, when interviewed, said: As soon as the movie screen moved away from Matthew Horner, I would chat with my friends, and only when the camera returned to him would I watch the movie again... Matthew didn't know if there was any crew PR involved, but he and Helen Herman did nothing, and as one of the three major newspapers in America, The New York Times would not be easily influenced by a small Hollywood crew.
In addition, many newspaper entertainment pages also focused on Rex Reed kissing the donkey's ass last night.
Sitting in the car, Matthew thought long and hard and felt that this hype and promotional marketing strategy was a stroke of genius. Analyzing the current situation, it seemed that all parties had gained huge benefits.
First, the person involved, Rex Reed. According to Helen Herman, film critics like Rex Reed want money and fame. Universal Pictures probably spent a lot to invite him, and in terms of fame, the continuous recent reports have truly made Rex Reed famous Across America.
As for Universal Pictures, the first week's box office greatly exceeded expectations, and they overachieved their initial goal.
Regarding the TV station, that NBC talk show had just launched not long ago, and after this special interview, it instantly became famous Across America.
As for him, it goes without saying that both the film's box office success and his verbal sparring with Rex Reed greatly increased his popularity.
The biggest beneficiary, of course, was The Scorpion King.
Back home, Matthew received a notification from Helen Herman, telling him to temporarily refrain from making any more statements targeting Rex Reed, as the crew was planning for the two to reconcile.
He readily agreed. If there was no profit to be made, why bother with the leisure to criticize someone?
However, Matthew felt that the path of an actor he chose seemed inherently opposed to professional film critics. His biggest advantage was his physique and action, which most film critics scoffed at; the action-type roles he and Helen Herman had positioned would certainly not be liked by film critics; and the sophisticated acting and deep types of roles or movies that film critics appreciated would probably be something he wouldn't touch for a long time in the future.
Just think about how those film critics treated Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. If his future development goes smoothly, he will probably endure a lot of criticism from film critics, right?
Fortunately, he didn't need to care too much about them. After all, even if these film critics criticized them harshly, it didn't prevent Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis from becoming top Hollywood superstars.
Matthew estimated that perhaps sometime next week, Universal Pictures would arrange for him and Rex Reed to meet, followed by a final round of hype. By then, the remaining value of the donkey-kissing incident would probably be almost completely squeezed out.
News has a shelf life, and two weeks would be enough for it to cool down.
Before going to bed that night, Matthew called Britney again, but it went unanswered. He sent a text message and, not getting a reply immediately, decided to go to bed early, as a lot of things were waiting for him tomorrow.
In his dream, he saw The Scorpion King's box office explode, raking in 100 million US dollars in its first week in North America, with global box office exceeding 1 billion US dollars. He became a Hollywood superstar, even more famous and wealthier than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis combined... When he woke up on Monday morning, Matthew still remembered this dream, so he immediately checked the first week's box office for The Scorpion King.