Matthew Horner

Keira Knightley (dated. 2003)

Charlize Theron

(engaged. 2005)

Margot Robbie

(dated. 2015-2016)

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)

300 (2006)

I am Legend (2007)

Hancock (2008)

Fast and Furious Franchise

G.I. Joe (2009)

Inception (2010)

American Sniper (2013)

Interstellar (2014)

The Martian (2015)

**Matthew Horner** is the protagonist of the novel "**最佳影星**."

## Background

### Pre-Transmigration

Matthew Horner was a young man from the Dallas, Texas who had just turned 19 and had come to Los Angeles, home to Hollywood, with the dream of becoming a Hollywood superstar. During his time in Texas, he worked on construction sites as he had been an orphan since his teens when his mother died of a drug overdose and his father abandoned him soon after. Due to having no parents, he had to support himself and was forced to dropout which lead him to have little education such that he even struggled with reading and writing basic sentences.

Soon after he arrived to Los Angeles, he was tricked by Morris, an unscrupulous talent agent, into starring in a porno called *Taboo Tarot*.

### Post-Transmigration

In China, a man is his thirties died due to a freak accident. To his surprise, his soul didn't go to heaven or hell. Instead, it entered the body of Matthew Horner and forced the original soul into dormancy, effectively seizing control of the body. This took place when Matthew Horner was in the middle of participating in a porno.

## History

### **Getting Started**

* Matthew Horner's new soul awoke and realized that it needed to get away from this porno set or else he would end with a stain on his name like Sylvester Stallone.
* He withdrew despite the $50,000 liquidated damages he would have to pay for breaking the contract.
* He got a job as a driver at Red Penguin Service, a company that provided full range of party service, and, even, high-class escorts; he was on the night shift and earned $1,700/month.
* One night, he drove the escorts to Johnny Lee Miller's mansion.

### **Golden Opportunity**

* Angelina Jolie entered his van and offered him $5,000 if he managed to record Johnny Lee Miller, her soon-to-be ex-husband, partaking in sex acts with the escorts.
* He did the job and got the recording, however, in addition to the $5,000, he also asked her to get him a small role in her movie. She agreed to get him a small role and left.
* Next day, Matthew went to Westwood, a residential neighborhood, where he rented a small apartment for $400/month.

### **First Role**

* Next Monday, Matthew arrived at Universal Studios in north Burbank with his new agent, Dennis Coulter, a small-time talent agent whose clientele only included extras.
* He met Rubin, the casting director of *Girl, Interrupted* got Matthew to sign the contract for an extra with a pay of $6/hour with his agent taking a 10% commission.
* During the filming, Winona Ryder, the female lead of the film, caused trouble for him since she was at odds with Angelina Jolie and he entered the crew thanks to her recommendation.
* Angelina Jolie appeared and the two fought about Ryder using her status as named-producer to delete Jolie's scenes.
* Matthew secretly informed Angelina Jolie that Winona Ryder was a kleptomaniac, thanks to his previous life's knowledge; Jolie obtained footage of Ryder stealing from a library and she used it to blackmail Ryder into helping highlight her own scenes and, also, upgrading Mathew's role to an extra with lines.
* Matthew's new role had two lines and a closeup; his pay was also increased to $200/day.
* Matthew made many rookie mistakes but managed to film his scenes thanks to the patient director, James Mangold.
* Matthew met Matt Damon, Winona Ryder's boyfriend, who asked him as to what happened between the Matthew and Ryder; having signed an N.D.A, Matthew couldn't reveal anything.

### **New Agent**

* Matthew decided to find a new agent unlike an incompetent agent like Dennis Coulter so while returning home, he bought some newspapers with advertisements about talent agencies.
* Next day, he picked up his $180 after a 10% commission when his agent asked him to sign a long-term contract; Matthew fired him and left.
* He went to Angel Agency where he met a young mover who introduced himself as Michael Sheehan, an actor from Nevada; he also met a beautiful, young woman who introduced herself as Helen Hermann, the owner of Angel Agency.
* Matthew became her first client; he then contacted Angelina Jolie's P.A. to get her recommendation letter to join a performing arts school.
* He decided upon the Los Angeles Performing Arts School which had connections to Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and William Morris Endeavour Agency (WME), the top two talent agencies in Hollywood.
* Next day, he went to L.A. Performing Arts School to sign up; after paying the $2,000 advance, he returned home where he found a letter from the porno production company that demanded $50,000 in liquidated damages.
* Later, Helen Hermann called and informed him to visit her agency the next day as she had found a job for him.

### **Crew of Ridley Scott's *Gladiator***

* Matthew learnt that he had gotten a role as an extra in the crew of Ridley Scott's *Gladiator* with a pay of $200/day.
* He asked for a leave from his boss Liszt as the extras were required to stay in the crew for an entire week.
* He decided to keep his eye on Helen Hermann so that she would continue to find good roles for him in the future.
* He roomed with Michael Sheehan during the week-long stay; the first three days were spent on rehearsing.
* On the fourth day, Ridley Scott appeared to personally shoot the big war scene.
* Matthew learnt that Helen Hermann's father is an old friend of Ridley Scott's; as a result, Matthew got the role of the brigand leader after the previous actor proved to be a hassle.
* Michael Sheehan was inwardly jealous and resentful of Matthew for getting such a good role.
* Matthew began shooting his scenes and somehow managed to give a decent performance.
* The next day, Matthew signed a one-year long exclusive contract with Helen Hermann.
* She also advised him to take a language class at his acting school to fix his slight Texan accent.

### **Los Angeles Performing Arts School**

* Matthew met Rachel McAdams at the acting school and was even paired up with her to perform small skits.
* By the end of the day, he learnt that he was the worst performer among all the students.
* Later, he met Rachel McAdams at the language class as her agent had also advised her to fix her Canadian accent; soon, the two became good friends.
* Next day, while on his job, Matthew met an entertainment reporter named Jelena Boyar.
* She had made a deal with the previous driver to provide her with compromising photos of the celebrities where he dropped the escorts, however, he took the money and left town.
* She attempted to lure Matthew into doing it but he immediately refused.
* At that time, Matthew's phone rang and Helen Hermann informed him that she had gotten him an audition in Britney Spears' new MV - *Sometimes*.
* Jelena Boyar offered to hype Matthew as Britney's boyfriend by secretly taking photos of them standing together; in return, she asked for compromising photos of Britney; Matthew didn't accept or decline her proposal.

### **Audition for Britney Spears' MV - *Sometimes***

* Next morning, he rushed to Walt Disney Studios where Jive Records would hold the audition.
* Only Matthew, Michael Sheehan and another guy named James Brandt passed the screen test.
* When Matthew was leaving, he got a call from the director, Martin Jackson, who asked him to come to a hotel room at night to "talk;" Michael Sheehan, standing nearby, was able to hear everything due to Matthew' old phone leaking sound.
* Matthew went to the director's room but immediately left when he became sure that he would have to sell his body for the role.
* During the day, Matthew had learnt from Amanda that Britney Spears had the biggest say in the choice of actors since Jive Records was eager to please her to get her to sign a contract extension; in contrast, the director, Martin Jackson, didn't have much say.
* In the lobby, Matthew saw Michael Sheehan go up the elevator; shocked, he waited.
* Almost an hour later, Michael Sheehan awkwardly walked out, clearly unable to stand straight.
* Matthew realized that he had gained the favor of the director; still, he wasn't too anxious as he had a plan to get in the good graces of Britney Spears.

### **Scheming for Britney Spears' MV - *Sometimes***

* A few days later, Matthew called Jelena Boyar and asked her to report false news about Michael Sheehan being a fan of Christina Aguilera.
* In exchange, he informed her that Spears and Aguilera had hated each other since their days on the *All-New Mickey Mouse Club* together when the two competed to gain the spotlight.
* Matthew asked that the report be published within a week and Jelena Boyar agreed.
* On the decisive day, Matthew arrived early and left a newspaper with the news about Michael Sheehan at the doorsteps of Britney Spears' private van.
* Soon, as Britney walked out, he and Amanda did a skit where he threw away a record album of Christina Aguilera that she attempted to give him; he also loudly badmouthed Aguilera to ensure that Britney heard him.
* After James Brandt's audition, it was his turn; during the audition, Martin Jackson tried to quickly shoo him off but Britney asked him to continue performing before finally choosing him after she was sure that he was the one she heard badmouthing Christina Aguilera in the morning.
* Matthew even hoped that Michael Sheehan would self-destruct so he told him that Martin Jackson had given him the role.
* While Helen Hermann was negotiating his contract, they heard a scream and learned that Michael Sheehan had attacked Martin Jackson who had barricaded himself inside a room.
* Soon, the police arrived and arrested Michael Sheehan but not before he revealed that he had slept with Martin Jackson for the role before the crew.
* Due to being injured, Martin Jackson was unable to participate in the shooting and was replaced with Zack Snyder.
* Matthew got the role with a pay of $1,000/day for a total of $4,000 for the four days of shooting.
* Next day, Matthew told his agent about the tricks he used as she had already been suspicious; she didn't reprimand and just reminded him to inform her next time and not involve Amanda.
* Later, Matthew called Liszt to get a few days of leave during the shooting but was informed that he couldn't take any more leaves; as a result, he resigned.

### **Britney Spears' MV - *Sometimes***

* During the shooting, Matthew became good friends with the naive Britney by catering to her thoughts by badmouthing Christina Aguilera.
* Over the next couple of days, he filmed a lot of his scenes; one day, Britney got injured while dancing so Matthew quickly picked her up and rushed to take her to the hospital when a few paparazzi took their photos.
* Due to Britney's injury, the shooting was postponed.

### **Sudden Fame**

* Next day, many articles connecting Matthew and Britney as a couple came out.
* Helen Hermann informed him to keep quiet on this matter and became unavailable for a few days due to a "business trip."
* Two days later, Matthew visited Britney at UCLA School of Medicine where she had been shifted; the two talked for an hour before he decided to leave.
* Matthew stayed home during the next few days and attempted to imitate great actors such as Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Daniel Day-Lewis and Dustin Hoffman while watching their movies.
* Next week, Helen Hermann returned and Matthew and Britney held a press conference to publicly clarify their relationship, however, it didn't prove to be very effective as Britney was tricked into speaking about her intimacy with Matthew.
* Later, Matthew informed his agent about his reporter friend, Jelena Boyar, and decided to get in touch with her for a long-term partnership.

### **Preparation for Roland Spiers**

* After completing all his scenes, Matthew went to Warner Brothers Studios for a screen test for a miniseries called *Band of Brothers* created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
* Matthew only got the chance to audition thanks to Helen Hermann's friendship with one of the crew's smaller producers, Erik Bork.
* After passing the screen test, Matthew spent all his time studying the information about the role of Roland Spiers, a brave, decisive and iron-blooded soldier which would be very suitable for him.
* On the advice of his acting coach, David Astor, Matthew decided to hire a recently retired or active soldier to give him private military training for a few weeks.
* That night, he went on dinner with Britney Spears and helped fix her sour mood due to Christina Aguilera.
* Next morning, Matthew hired a recently retired soldier who had been training recruits for three years for a ten-day intensive military training course; he would be paid $1,200 to train Matthew at Helen Hermann's family farm.
* By the end of the training, Matthew looked a bit like a soldier; even though his overall acting hadn't improved much, he could easily be mistaken for a soldier among a group of civilians.

### **Audition for Roland Spiers**

* In September, the audition finally took place; after spending a few hours on getting his makeup and costume done, Matthew finally went to the audition room where he was auditioned by Tom Hanks, himself.
* Tom Hanks was intrigued by his aura and had him act out a scene and speak about his understanding of the role before ending his audition.
* Matthew learned from his agent that his audition had been the longest among all the candidates so he was likely to get the role; Matthew returned home and made plans to meet with Britney Spears the next morning.
* The two walked around in a park near Matthew's apartment when Helen Hermann called to inform him that he got the role.
* Ecstatic, Matthew hugged Britney, tightly, before the two began making out; Matthew officially asked her to be his girlfriend and she agreed.
* He then rushed to the crew with Helen Hermann to sign the contract; after long talks, his pay was settled at $60,000.
* Matthew informed his agent about his relationship with Britney but asked her to keep it a secret.
* Over the next few weeks, Matthew spent most of his time on the role and his acting classes; by October, his six-month long acting course ended.
* Rachel McAdams informed him that she would return to Canada and shift her focus to becoming famous there before returning to Hollywood.
* By the end of October, Matthew's attorney, introduced to him by Helen Hermann, informed him that the crew of *Taboo Tarot* had agreed to settle out-of-court for $30,000 which would be paid in three installments; next morning, Matthew visited the Los Angeles District Court where he signed the agreement.

### **Premiere of Britney Spears' MV - *Sometimes***

* A few days later, Matthew flew to New York to participate in the premiere of Britney Spears' new MV - *Sometimes*; he arrived a day early so that he could spend some time with Britney as he had to go to London in December to began shooting for *Band of Brothers*.
* After the press conference, Matthew returned to Los Angeles while Britney flew to Nashville, Tennessee to prepare for world tour for her first album.

### ***Band of Brothers* - Military Training**

* The next day, Matthew went to London with the crew of *Band of Brothers* where he met actors such as Michael Cudlitz, Eion Bailey and Doug Allen who were currently all playing small roles and became good friends with them.
* He learnt that all the actors would live and train in Hatfield Aerodrome for a month before shooting begins.
* Later, the actors met Tom West, their military instructor; Kate Jeffrey, an assistant director; and Gary Goetzman, the producer in-charge of the crew.
* Kate Jeffrey, whose father was a BBC executive, acted rudely and arrogantly towards all the smaller actors and earned a lot of hatred; she even almost hit Matthew with her car while recklessly driving.
* A few days later, Tom West's hellish physical training began and earned him the ire of all the actors, like Kate Jeffrey.
* One afternoon, while he was out calling Britney Spears, Matthew saw Kate Jeffrey and Tom West walk into a warehouse together; he followed them and saw them having intercourse in the warehouse.
* That evening, James McAvoy informed everyone that he had overheard Tom West suggesting to Gary Goetzman that the actors should live in the old military camps and eat only canned food for meals to allow them to experience what soldiers experienced.
* While the actors suffered, Matthew planned to preemptively remove Kate Jeffrey and Tom West from the crew before they could harm him.
* He went to chinatown in London and bought a mosquito repellant oil that chills the skin when applied; he returned to the crew and found Tom West's condoms in his locker room and skillfully coated them with the oil and super glue before putting them back in the box.
* That afternoon, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy rallied the actors to get Tom West fired; Matthew agreed with their plan but didn't get too involved in case the plan went south; the plan was to catch Kate Jeffrey and Tom West having intercourse and embarrass them into resigning.
* After training, all the actors entered the warehouse when a scream resounded; they rushed forward only to find Kate Jeffrey and Tom West, naked, with the woman wailing while the man attempted to extricate his genitalia from inside her's.
* The actors picked the two of them up and paraded them around the entire crew before taking them to crew's doctor who took them to a hospital; as planned, Kate Jeffrey and Tom West were forced to resign from the crew after the scandal they caused; a different military instructor was appointed to train the actors; he focused on polishing the actors' weapon use and tactical coordination rather than hellish physical training.
* By the holiday season, the training finally ended with the shooting set to begin next year.

### ***Band of Brothers* - Filming**

* Matthew returned home to Los Angeles and spent a few days with Britney Spears before returning back to London for the shooting.
* The actors spent a few weeks shooting in the chilly weather with occasional freezing cold rain making matters worse.
* Still, there were no surprises and the shooting went relatively smoothly.
* One night, Matthew decided to visit a bar with his co-actors to blow off some steam.
* There, they saw Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender's rival at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, who meeting with Damian Lewis.
* After drinking, the actors decided to forego partying and returned to the crew.
* Next morning, Helen Hermann arrived in London and informed Matthew that he could enter the premiere of Gladiator in April.
* A few days later, Matthew and Tom Hardy had a scene together where he was supposed to act nervous in front of the latter, however, due to his arrogant temperament he failed to give a decent performance; after over 30 NGs, the director decided to remove his scenes and kill off his character to avoid paying a penalty for firing him.
* When Tom Hardy was notified of this, he blamed it all on Matthew and held a grudge against him.
* That night, Matthew, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender returned to the bar from before where they saw the actress that was on set; Michael Fassbender went over to her and brought her to their table; she introduced herself as Elisha Cuthbert.
* Later, Tom Hardy arrived hoping for a hot date with her only to find her talking and laughing with his rival, Michael Fassbender and became enraged; he attempted to attack them when he realized that he was outnumbered and ran off.
* Eventually, the shooting reached its final leg; during one of his last scenes, Matthew became slightly injured but he decided to resume shooting which saved the crew a lot of troubles; as thanks, he was allowed to participate in the media briefing along with the main actors.
* During the media briefing, Matthew used his glib tongue to effectively publicize the miniseries and himself.

### **Premiere of *Gladiator***

* After finishing the shooting, Matthew returned to the United States.
* He first visited Britney Spears in Florida for a few hours before having to leave as she was busy with preparation for her world tour.
* In Los Angeles, he visited his agent who informed him that he needed to spend money on clothing, styling and transportation for the premiere.
* Next week, Matthew walked on his first red carpet, however, no one knew him; thankfully, Jelena Boyar was present and did a small interview with him; he sat and watched the movie, enjoying his scenes even if no one else did.
* Next day, he found that all reviews and media reports about *Gladiator* were focused on Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott, leaving him a bit depressed, until he found a full-length cover of himself on Time Warner's Entertainment Weekly for *Band of Brothers*.

### **New Roles**

* Later, Matthew visited Helen Hermann who informed him that they were going to try for major supporting roles in the crews of *Almost Famous*, *The Mummy Returns* and *The Fast and the Furious*.
* She stated that *The Mummy Returns* is the sequel to a hit film which will make the audition very competitive while *The Fast and the Furious* is a niche racing film so they would focus on *Almost Famous* which is produced by Dreamworks who appreciated his sincerity during the filming of *Band of Brothers*.
* Still, Matthew decided to focus on preparation for *The Mummy Returns* and *The Fast and the Furious* as he knew that they were hits unlike *Almost Famous* which he had never heard of before.
* After getting his final $20,000 pay for *Band of Brothers*, Matthew finally paid off the entire liquidated damages to the crew of *Taboo Tarot* and bought a used-car with the rest.

### **Audition for *Almost Famous***

* Over the next few days, Matthew learnt that the plot of *Almost Famous* revolved around the groupie culture of the 60's; thanks to his agent, he got in contact with a woman named Lori Marcados who been one of the groupies around Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones; she informed Matthew about her lifestyle and past which he used to further his understanding of the role.
* Next week, Matthew went to the audition for the role but was immediately rejected as the director, Cameron Crowe, wanted a scrawny and feminine man; he was a bit upset since all his effort was wasted but he got over it soon as he wasn't really optimistic about the movie to begin with.

### **Audition for *The Mummy Returns* - Scorpion King**

* A few days later, Matthew and his agent went to London for the audition for the role of the Scorpion King in *The Mummy Returns* where they met Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson; Helen Hermann seemed to know Emma Watson as she talked with quite familarly.
* That afternoon, Matthew arrived at Pinewood Studios where the audition was to be held; during the audition, it became evident that the director, Stephen Sommers, was not very happy with Matthew but he still passed the screen test as his image was in line with the role.
* Helen Hermann later informed him that Stephen Sommers created the role of the Scorpion King based on Dwayne Johnson and he was his first choice.
* Next morning, she invited the movie's producer, Sean Daniel, on coffee where she highlighted the advantages of her client before subtly implying that Dwayne Johnson is black and then emphasizing that he has no acting experience.
* Sean Daniel returned to the crew and found that Dwayne Johnson truly was a acting novice which could be a problem on the set of a big production as even small delays would cost the crew a lot of money; in addition, as a southern white man, he inwardly dwelled on the fact that Johnson was black.
* After all the auditions were concluded, the director and the producer had a big fight over the role selection; Sean Daniel stated that Matthew had more acting experience, better acting skills and his pay would be one-tenth of Dwayne Johnson's.
* Still, Stephen Sommers didn't agree; however, as the producer, Sean Daniel had absolute power in the crew and he chose Matthew.
* Next day, Helen Hermann negotiated with the crew and Matthew signed the contract for a $100,000 pay before the two returned to Los Angeles.

### **Audition for *The Fast and the Furious***

* After returning to Los Angeles, Matthew learnt that the role he was initially trying for had a clash in the timing of the shoot; as a result, he decided to try for the role of a different supporting character that had fewer scenes.
* As the role was quite small, Matthew easily got it due to his previous qualifications; he signed the contract for a $6,000 pay.
* Matthew had noticed that Stephen Sommers didn't like him since his first choice had been Dwayne Johnson, however, he also knew that he had to bear with him as the crew wouldn't hesitate to fire him in case of a major conflict between he and Sommers; as a result, he joined a fitness club where he took boxing lesson to improve his physique.
* The club was famous for being frequented by celebrities and was owned by a trainer named Nie Bola.

### **Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera**

* By late June, Britney had returned to Los Angeles after finishing her world tour.
* Matthew invited her to meet at a hotel; while on the way, Britney got stuck in a traffic jam and rushed out of the car without covering her face.
* Consequently, a paparazzi recognized her and attempted to provoke her into making a controversial statement when Matthew appeared and escorted her to the hotel, acting like her bodyguard.
* After spending an afternoon together in the room, the two came down to eat; Matthew continued to advise Britney to ignore anything the reporters said and simply walk away.
* During the meal, Christina Aguilera appeared and attempted to show off in front of Britney after her win at the Grammys but Matthew insulted her so much that she was humiliated into running away.

### ***The Fast and the Furious* - Filming**

* After entering the crew of *The Fast and the Furious*, Matthew quickly became friends with the main cast such as Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez.
* He also learnt that Vin Diesel had a lot of power in the crew as he was backed by an investor who had invested $10 million; initially, his role was meant to be a supporting character but, through repeated script revisions, he turned it into one of the two protagonists.
* Vin Diesel acted very arrogantly in the crew, always being late and asking to revise the script to emphasize his own character; even though he wasn't named a producer, he had a lot of influence on the shooting as he had promised the director, Rob Cohen, that he would appoint him as the director for his next film *Triple X*, an $80 million production.
* During the filming, Matthew had a small argument with him that turned into a huge deal as Vin Diesel held a grudge; during one of their action scenes together, Vin Diesel deliberately used too much force on Matthew; Matthew was slightly harmed but he was quite angry; during the next scene where his character fought back, he struck him with two body punches that left him wheezing on the floor.
* Afterwards, Matthew became very popular in the crew but the next day he heard the news that he had been fired from the film; Helen Hermann did some digging and learnt that it was initiated by Vin Diesel.
* The crew wanted to fire him without giving any compensation, however, when Helen Hermann warned that she would ask the Screen Actors Guild to intervene, they finally relented and paid Matthew the entire $30,000 in liquidated damages.

### ***The Mummy Returns* -** **Filming**

* A few weeks later, Matthew flew to London to begin shooting his scenes for *The Mummy Returns*.
* Thanks to the months of physical training, Matthew's physique had become even better and he was able to perform his role very well.
* In addition, Matthew truly shined during the actions sequences; thanks to his dedication, Stephen Sommers' opinion of him improved greatly as he let go of his mindless grudge against him.

### **Audition for *Black Hawk Down***

* After ten days of filming, Matthew finished all his scenes and returned to Los Angeles where Helen Hermann informed him that they were going to try for Ridley Scott's new movie, *Black Hawk Down*, which would soon be holding small-scale, internal auditions to quickly sign a few supporting actors.
* After a few days of rest, Matthew went to Warner Bros. Studios to dub a few of his scenes where he met Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy who were also there for the same reason.
* The three decided to get together for dinner and a drink where Matthew found that McAvoy would also audition for *Black Hawk Down*.
* Over the next few days, Matthew intensively prepared for the audition; he, once again, hired the military recruit trainer to give him a week-long military training; as a result, during the audition, Jerry Bruckheimer even accidentally confused Matthew as a soldier; after confirming that Ridley Scott didn't have any issues with him, Jerry Bruckheimer informed Matthew that he got the role.
* Matthew was surprised but Helen Hermann later informed him that the crew has an abundant budget but short on time which is why they quickly decided on the actors; later, Matthew signed a contract with a pay of $150,000.

### ***Black Hawk Down* - Military Training**

* A few days later, Matthew went with the crew to Edwards Air Force Base where the actors would go through 10 days of basic military training before flying to Morocco where much of the filming would take place.
* At Edwards Air Force Base, Matthew saw that Tom Hardy and Johnny Lee Miller, who shared an agent, had both gotten supporting roles in the film; he also met a small time actor named Ben Foster and the two hit it off.
* Matthew realized that Johnny Lee Miller had recognized him from when he used to drive escorts to his mansion; he also guessed that Miller had probably put it together that Matthew was the one that recorded him with the escorts which led to him losing a lot during his divorce with Angelina Jolie.
* A few days later, after training, Matthew went to take a shower in the large bathroom; while he was leaving, Ben Foster saw Tom Hardy and Johnny Lee Miller sneaking into the bathroom after Matthew and he instantly realized that something was wrong so he ran to get James McAvoy and the other guys who were friends with Matthew.
* Inside the bathroom, Tom Hardy sneakily took a video of Matthew, naked, with his genitalia visible before threatening him with a stun gun; beside him, Johnny Lee Miller took out sex toys and barked at him to use them while the two recorded him or they would shoot him with the stun gun.
* Matthew bluffed Miller by stating that he still had a copy of his recording with the escorts and asked that he get Hardy fired and delete the video they just took or else his girlfriend would leak the recording with the escorts.
* As James McAvoy began banging on the door, Johnny Lee Miller begrudgingly agreed to Matthew's terms much to Tom Hardy's chagrin.

### ***Black Hawk Down* - Filming**

* After the military training ended, the crew flew to Morocco.
* During the filming, Matthew befriended Orlando Bloom, who was still a small actor as the Lord of Rings 1 had not yet been released; Matthew also impressed Ridley Scott through his dedication and diligence during filming.
* During late December, Helen Hermann came to Morocco to meet him and informed him to leave a good impression on Jerry Bruckheimer as she had heard that he was planning a super big production related to a Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

### **Premiere of *Band of Brothers***

* After finishing all his scenes, Matthew rushed to Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France where the Normandy Cemetery was located and the premiere would be held.
* After the premiere, Matthew was interviewed by many reporters during the media briefing.
* Next day, the first episode aired on HBO and had a viewership of over 10 million viewers, allowing Matthew to become a recognizable face.

### **Premiere of *The Mummy Returns***

* After returning to Los Angeles, Matthew decided to move to a better place as he had quite a bit of money now; after a day of searching, he decided upon a duplex in the suburbs north of Burbank, bordering the San Fernando to the north and Hollywood to the west at a cheap rent of $1,200/month.
* Upon asking, Matthew learnt that the rent was so low as the previous owner of the house had been murdered on the lawn by her boyfriend; after learning this, he negotiated the rent down to $1,000 on the condition that he paid one year's rent in lump sum.
* A few days later, Matthew went to the premiere of *The Mummy Returns* where he reunited with Paul Walker who had also been invited to the premiere for some pre-publicity of *The Fast and the Furious* set to be released in a few months.
* He also saw Vin Diesel who picked a fight with him, claiming that Matthew had gotten him kicked out of the sequel to *The Fast and the Furious;* Matthew recalled that he had heard Helen Hermann mention that she had heard rumors about Sean Daniel discouraging the executives of Universal Pictures from working with Vin Diesel.
* Afterwards, while walking the red carpet, Matthew realized that Brendan Fraser, the male lead of *The Mummy Returns,* had been subtly stealing the limelight from him; even during an interview, he acted as if Matthew was his crony, however, he got upset when a female reporter compared his chubby physique with Matthew's adonis-like body.
* After the premiere, Brendan Fraser was especially annoyed when the media claimed that his performance was the worst thing in the movie while Matthew's performance was second only to Rachel Weisz's.

### ***The Mummy Returns***

* After the release, the movie was an instant hit and earned a lot of money, however, it's reputation was quite bad as the audience and the critics felt that the movie had nothing new to offer; as a result, Universal Pictures was forced to lower its box office estimate.
* In fact, many executives even considered refrigerating the franchise for a few years before producing the sequel; the producer and the director of the film, Seal Daniel and Stephen Sommers, respectively, were the loudest for this plan; they wanted to refrigerating the franchise for a few years and create a spin-off based on the Scorpion King, however, most executives of Universal Pictures were unsure whether Matthew Horner could carry the movie alone.
* Seal Daniel and Stephen Sommers argued that with the film's reputation being at an all-time low the risk of creating a sequel would be too high; not to mention, the film's cast would demand higher pay which would further push up the production budget, magnifying the risk.
* Due to divided views, the Director of Universal Pictures' production department, Philip Creston, decided to do nation-wide audience survey as to who was their most favorite character in *The Mummy Returns*.

### **Publicity Tour for *The Mummy Returns***

* Later, that evening, Helen Hermann informed Matthew about the possibility of a Scorpion King spin-off and suggested that he should buy a lot of press to discredit Brendan Fraser while building momentum for the Scorpion King which would create a snowball effect on his fame and popularity and also make Universal Pictures confident that he can carry a film by himself.
* During the film's publicity tour, fans in every city gathered to meet Matthew while holding giant posters of the Scorpion King which left the producers surprised at the Scorpion King's unexpected popularity.
* Meanwhile, throughout the length of the publicity tour, Brendan Fraser had been annoyed due to being ignored in every city; consequently, during a media briefings, he got into an altercation with a fan and even assaulted the latter which got him arrested; next day, every newspaper in the country reported the news and denounced Fraser causing his popularity to plummet.
* By the end of the publicity tour, Universal Pictures' Marketing Department had completed the survey on the most popular character in the film; among the more than 110,000 respondents in North America, Evelyn O'Connell played by Rachel Weisz was the most popular character, followed by the Scorpion King played by Matthew Horner while Richard O'Connell played by Brendan Fraser came in last.
* Brendan Fraser's lack of popularity, along with his recent scandal, emboldened Seal Daniel and Stephen Sommers' faction and, soon, the executives of Universal Pictures agreed to refrigerate the sequel and create the Scorpion King spin-off.

### **The Scorpion King**

* By July, Universal Pictures announced that they planned to create a Scorpion King spin-off with a $40 million production budget; soon, Helen Hermann negotiated with the crew and Matthew signed the contract with a pay of $500,000; Matthew also learnt that Stephen Sommers would be the producer and appoint Chuck Russell to direct.
* Over the next month, the crew signed Kelly Hu as the female lead, on Stephen Sommers' suggestion, and a few other actors signed with Helen Hermann got important supporting roles in the film; Matthew began training for his action sequences and learnt to use a bow and other weapons; he also spent a few days with Britney Spears when she briefly returned to Los Angeles.
* By early August, shooting began and Matthew focused all his attention on it; thanks to his excellent physique and long-term boxing training, he excelled at all the action scenes which saved the crew a lot of shooting time.
* One day, Duff Villa, one of the supporting actors, informed Matthew that Steven Brandt and Clark Bernard, the other two supporting actors, were jealous and resentful of him and had been planning to cause harm to him so that Helen Hermann would focus more attention and resources on them.
* After production was over, the film's marketing team suggested that Matthew Horner and Kelly Hu enter into a relationship to earn eyeballs for the film, however, Matthew refused since he was dating Britney; later, while leaving the marketing office, Helen Hermann noticed that Matthew didn't stand out on the film's poster despite being the titular character and she decided to talk to the crew about it later.
* The next week, Helen Hermann visited the film's marketing head and made many suggestions to alter the poster such that Matthew would be more prominent on the poster; meanwhile, the crew went to the Black Rock Desert in Reno, Nevada to shoot the film's desert scenes.
* After a few days of filming, on September 11, the World Trade Center suffered a terrorist attack and the entire country was shook up; as a result, the crew had to suspend filming for almost an entire week as those with family in New York rushed there while the rest were in not in the state of mind to work.
* During his final scenes with Matthew, Steven Brandt attempted to scar Matthew's face but Matthew was aware of his intentions thanks to Duff Villa; as a result, he dodged the blow to his face and retaliated with a heavy kick to Brandt's chest; Matthew also informed Helen Hermann about Steven Brandt who immediately terminated her contract with him.
* By late November, the filming of *The Scorpion King* was finally finished and Matthew became free; luckily, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy were in Los Angeles so he had a drink with the two of them.

### **Premiere of *Black Hawk Down***

* In December, Matthew participated in the premiere of *Black Hawk Down*; he had previously deduced that Jerry Bruckheimer's new project must be the famous Pirates of the Caribbean series which has British characters so he spent the previous two weeks taking language classes to develop a British accent; during the premiere, he conversed with Orlando Bloom using his British accent when he noticed that Bruckheimer was around.
* Matthew had decided that he would try to get the role of Will Turner as a blacksmith would match his image quite well; he even hired the action coach of The Mask of Zorro to provide him with weekly European style fencing lessons.
* A few days before Christmas, while he was leaving his fitness club, Nie Bola, the owner, introduced him to a young man named Fox Sherman; later, Matthew learned that Sherman is rich kid who wants to invest in Hollywood and comes from an old money family with fortune in oil.

### **Preparation for *Pirates of the Caribbean***

* During the filming of *The Scorpion King*, Matthew heard rumors that Stephen Sommers was planning a $150 million production related to Universal Pictures' monsters; he also learned that Sommers had listed him as one of the potential candidates for the protagonist.
* Normally, Matthew would be ecstatic but he knew that this movie was called *Van Helsing* and was a huge box office bomb so he inwardly decided to make himself unqualified for the film so that he wouldn't have to directly reject it and explain to Helen Hermann who was running around to get him the role.
* Afterwards, he learnt that Jerry Bruckheimer was planning *Pirates of the Caribbean* and thought of the perfect solution to escaping *Van Helsing* and getting *Pirates of the Caribbean*: making Orlando Bloom the scapegoat.
* He decided that he would "inadvertently" reveal the news about *Van Helsing* to Bloom so that he would try to get that role and not pay attention to *Pirates of the Caribbean*; Matthew was aware that even if *The Scorpion King* were to succeed, he would most likely lose the role of Will Turner to Orlando Bloom if he were to audition for it due to the popularity that the role of Legolas brought him.
* Next day, he invited Orlando Bloom, along with Ben Foster, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, to a "belated house warming party."
* Orlando Bloom arrived with Liv Tyler and the guests had fun; an hour into the party, Matthew informed Bloom about *Van Helsing* who immediately began making plans to get the role; that night, he called his agent and got him to look into the project.
* Next morning, Orlando Bloom called Matthew to get a premiere invitation to *The Scorpion King* and Matthew realized that he had been baited.

### **Publicity for *The Scorpion King***

* Matthew also shifted his focus back to publicity *The Scorpion King*; he cooperated with Jelena Boyar who shot a lots of videos for him after he provided her with the information about Johnny Lee Miller hiring escorts which earned him an interview live on Yahoo Entertainment; during the interview, he talked about his action sequences and physical training and his past.
* Meanwhile, Universal Pictures initiated a very unique controversial publicity tactic by paying a film critic named Rex Reid to highly criticize the movie and then claim that if the first weekend box office exceeds $10 million, he would kiss a donkey's ass; this publicity tactic proved quite effective as many people became interested in this bet.

### **Premiere of *The Scorpion King***

* Before the premiere, Matthew introduced Stephen Sommers with Orlando Bloom and then excused himself.
* After the premiere, he returned home and mailed a donkey to Rex Reid who revealed this fact in quite fanfare in front of the media to continue to attract attention to the film, however, he also stated that if the first weekend box office failed to reach $10 million, he would return the donkey back to Matthew to kiss.
* Matthew didn't falter and took the gamble as he had previously read that even the most conservative estimate put the first weekend box office at $30 million.

### ***The Scorpion King***

* On Saturday, Matthew got the news that the film had a midnight box office of $3.4 million on Thursday and another $10.4 million box office on Friday for a total box office of $13.8 million; that evening, Rex Reid kissed the donkey's ass in front of the camera on NBC.
* By Monday, the film's box office had reached $40.37 million after earning $15.5 million on Saturday and $11.07 on Sunday, respectively, creating the highest weekend box office record in April; later, Matthew visited Angel Agency where Helen Hermann and he signed a three-year contract after his previous one-year contract expired; in the new contract, Helen Hermann made a concession and lowered her cut from 10% to 8%.
* Next day, Universal Pictures announced the news about *Van Helsing*; Matthew paid attention to Stephen Sommers and noticed that he didn't seem to be too interested in him anymore; over the next few days, he heard rumors of Orlando Bloom's agent frequently visiting Universal Pictures and even saw some news about Stephen Sommers and Orlando Bloom having lunch together.

* By May, five weeks after its release, *The Scorpion King*'s North American box office finally broke through $100 million; a few days later, Matthew participated in Universal Pictures' celebration party where Sean Daniel introduced him to Philip Creston and Jett Brighton, the Director and Deputy-Director of Universal Pictures' production department, respectively.
* He also ran into Orlando Bloom who informed him that Universal Pictures had already settled upon him as the male lead of *Van Helsing;* Matthew informed Helen Hermann about this and got her to forget about *Van Helsing* and keep her focus on *Pirates of the Caribbean*.
* By June, *The Scorpion King*'s global box office reached $200 million before the film's screening was downsized.

### **Audition for *Pirates of the Caribbean***

* A few days later, Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer announced that they would soon begin production of *Pirates of the Caribbean* with a $140 million production budget.
* Two weeks after the announcement, Matthew arrived at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to audition for the role of Will Turner; thanks to his months of preparation for the role, Matthew had obtained a very standard British accent and had become very proficient with European style fencing that would be prevalent in the film set in the 17th century.
* As expected, his performance truly impressed Jerry Bruckheimer, especially his skill with the sword; still, Bruckheimer decided to finish all auditions before making a decision as a lot of his money was invested in the movie; by Friday afternoon, Matthew received confirmation from the casting director that he had gotten the role.
* Next Monday, Matthew officially signed a contract with the crew with a pay of $2 million for the role of Will Turner; meanwhile, Matthew had realized that he needed to hire long-term personal assistant whom he could trust with his private life rather than dealing with a new assistant every time he signs a new film so he hired Mira Wang, a young woman who had served as his assistant during the filming of *The Mummy Returns* and *The Scorpion King*.

### ***Pirates of the Caribbean* - Training**

* Finding himself with some free time, Matthew flew to Nashville, Tennessee to spend some time with Britney Spears, however, his good mood instantly soured when Britney suggested that they break up as their long-distance relationship had slowly killed their feelings; in fact, Matthew had been feeling something similar they had seen each other less than ten times last year and frequency of calls between them had also dropped.
* When he returned to Los Angeles, Helen Hermann informed him that Sean Daniel had sent him an invitation to star as the male lead in his new film *Alfie*, however, she had rejected him on the grounds that Matthew was busy with *Pirates of the Caribbean* but the true reason was that participating in a romantic comedy would negatively affect his image as a rising action star.
* Next week, Matthew officially entered the crew and began the basic swordsmanship training along with Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley, who had gotten the role of Elizabeth Swann; he soon became good friends with the two as both of them had a good personality.
* A few days later, Matthew ran into Amanda at Angel Agency who had returned from Cambridge University during her summer break; she came with her friend Alexandra Daddario who wished to be an actor to get Helen Hermann to sign her.

### ***Pirates of the Caribbean* - Filming**

* During the filming, a unique chemistry was birthed between Johnny Depp, the feminine pirate, and Matthew Horner, the masculine blacksmith: Johnny Depp suppressed Matthew with his acting skills while Matthew suppressed Depp with his rough good looks, well-sculpted physique and agile yet brilliant swordsmanship; the striking contrast between the two male leads left the producer and director excited.
* After a few weeks of filming inside the studio, crew flew to Long Island to film the scenes surrounding the British Navy's warship - the Interceptor - before going to the Caribbean to film the scenes surrounding the pirate ship - the Black Pearl; after a few months of filming, the crew returned to Los Angeles to film some remaining scenes before moving to post production in late November.

### **Invitation to *Underworld***

* A few days after returning, Matthew got an unexpected call from Rachel McAdams who had returned to Canada a few years ago and decided to meet her for coffee; during their meeting, Matthew realized that Rachel was no longer the hopeful and naive young woman from before; while he was leaving, she asked him to recommend her in case he comes upon an opportunity for her, even if it is a small role; considering their previous friendship, Matthew didn't mind.
* That afternoon, at his fitness club, Matthew ran into Fox Sherman who wanted to invite him to star as the male lead in a film called *Underworld* that he was investing in; Matthew realized that Sherman wanted to sign him since he was sure that Jerry Bruckheimer's *Pirates of the Caribbean* would be a hit; Matthew politely declined the offer since he knew that *Underworld* would be a film focused on the female lead played by Kate Beckinsale who was more famous than him and would inevitably sideline him during filming.
* Later that evening, he recommended Alexandra Daddario, as a favor to Helen Hermann, and Rachel McAdams to Fox Sherman for two small supporting roles; Sherman immediately agreed to give them priority during the audition as he valued making a connection with a rising star such as Matthew.
* Next morning, Matthew got a provocative text from Rachel McAdams about "repaying" his favor of getting her a role in *Underworld; t*hat afternoon, Rachel McAdams visited Matthew at his house and the two slept together and became sex-friends.

### ***Pirates of the Caribbean* - Romance Publicity**

* Next day, Matthew visited Johnny Depp's nightclub, The Viper Room, where Depp introduced him to his friends, Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron; after a night of drinking, the three became friends.
* Meanwhile, Helen Hermann teamed up with Keira Knightley to gain more attention and resources for their clients; the two decided to have their clients enter into a relationship and hype it up so that they could compete with Johnny Depp's fame; initially, Keira Knightley was a bit hesitant but eventually agreed and the crew decided to start the plan after Knightley turned 18.

### **Premiere of *Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers***

* In December, Matthew got an invitation to the premiere thanks to Orlando Bloom who felt guilty about betraying Matthew's trust and stealing the role of Van Helsing from him, especially more so when Matthew magnanimously congratulated him for getting the role; Bloom, however, was unaware that he had been duped by Matthew into taking that role and giving up the role of Will Turner.
* During the premiere, Matthew and Orlando Bloom showed their camaraderie before the media, earning them a lot of praise.

### ***King Arthur***

* By mid-March, Helen Hermann informed Matthew that Jerry Bruckheimer was planning a huge project based on King Arthur and that he might be one of the candidates for the titular role but she advised him to turn it down.
* She stated that he had been in three costume action sub-genre films in a row since *The Mummy Returns* which could easily restrict his future roles to the just the costume action sub-genre when the action genre contains numerous sub-genres suitable for him such as pure action, epic action, sci-fi action, fantasy action, adventure action, police action et al.
* In fact, even if Helen Hermann hadn't advised Matthew, he would have still turned down the role since he recalled that *King Arthur* was one of Jerry Bruckheimer's rare but massive flops.
* Just as the two were considering how to turn down the audition without offending Jerry Bruckheimer, Sean Daniel visited Angel Agency with Zack Snyder with a new movie plan.

### ***Dawn of the Dead***

* The two came to offer Matthew the role of the male lead in a remake of George A. Romero's *Dawn of the Dead* with a tentative budget of $25 million.
* Matthew agreed to consider it mainly due to his past experience working with Sean Daniel and his knowledge of Zack Snyder's future achievements which made him want to get good with him during his rookie days; still, as the script was still being written, he didn't make any promises.
* Helen Hermann also agreed that they could try the movie as long as the script is decent as its success would also ensure that he could carry a movie with his fame alone.

### **Publicity for *Pirates of the Caribbean***

* By early April, the crew began publicity for *Pirates of the Caribbean* which was set to release in July; Matthew and Keira Knightley also slowly started their fake relationship; Matthew even stopped meeting Rachel McAdams as he had signed a contract with the crew where he would have to pay millions of dollars to them in case he causes the publicity stunt to fail.
* A few days later, Matthew and Keira went on their "first date" where Matthew bought her black pearl necklace from Tiffany's before the two had dinner, all of which was photographed by Jelena Boyar; that evening, the media was flooded with photos of Matthew and Keira together with *Pirates of the Caribbean* being the biggest beneficiary.
* Next, the two went to watch the Los Angeles Lakers play at Staples Center which was filled with many other celebrities, including Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore and Leonardo Dicaprio and his girlfriend, Gisele Bündchen; still, as fresh faces in Hollywood, they gained a lot of attention.
* Meanwhile, Sean Daniel finally sent a finished draft of the script to Angel Agency with the entire script catered to Matthew's character; Matthew decided to accept the offer but Helen Hermann told him to delay it until the release of *Pirates of the Caribbean* so that they would be able to get a better offer; he also learnt that Keira Knightley was set to sign the role of female lead of *King Arthur*.
* As a friend, he attempted to warn her from taking the role but she informed him that she had already signed the contract, not to mention, taking a costume action role would not affect her negatively; Matthew also realized that she would be fine thanks to her recurring role in *Pirates of the Caribbean*.
* Next week, the two walked the red carpet of the premiere of *Finding Nemo* together where they publicly revealed their relationship by kissing on the red carpet; during the premiere, Matthew learnt that Disney was planning to acquire Pixar which resulted in a lack of funding for Jerry Bruckheimer's other new project which Helen Hermann learnt was related to U.S independence.

### ***Nation Treasure***

* A few days later, Helen Hermann informed him that Jerry Bruckheimer's new project was not related to U.S independence but the Declaration of Independence document; Matthew instantly thought of the film *Nation Treasure* starring Nicholas Cage which had two sequels, meaning it must've been successful.
* Helen Hermann stated that if he could somehow fill in the film's funding gap Jerry Bruckheimer would almost certainly choose him for the role of the male lead; instantly, Matthew thought of the rich Fox Sherman who had wanted to invest in big productions but was unable to due to lacking qualifications.
* He contacted Sherman but learnt that he didn't even have ten million dollars on hand as most of his money was tied up in *Underworld*.

### **Premiere of *Pirates of the Caribbean***

* The film's premiere took place in the Disneyland Anaheim, California with guest critics such as Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper.
* Initially, the Matthew and Keira Knightley's characters didn't receive a lot of praise, especially considering their lacking chemistry; however, once Matthew's Will Turner met Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow, there was an instant spark between them.
* The audience was wowed by the chemistry between them; as the film progressed, it became apparent that Will Turner brought the action while Jack Sparrow brought the comedy to the film; consequently, Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann was heavily criticized as serving no purpose and instead getting in between Will Turner and Jack Sparrow.
* After the premiere, Roger Ebert advised Matthew to give up big productions for a few years and go to the independent film industry to hone his acting skills; naturally, Matthew wouldn't care about such advice but he remained respectful in front of Ebert, an influential critic.

### **Success of *Pirates of the Caribbean***

* The film was released the following Thursday and clashed with 20th Century Fox's *The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* before proceeding to utterly demolish it by earning $64.6 million during the first weekend.
* At the same time, the surveys conducted by Disney showed that 85% of the interviewed audience liked the film with 46% liking Jack Sparrow and 39% liking Will Turner; after getting the data, Jerry Bruckheimer greatly praised Matthew, even likening him to Tom Cruise after his first big hit *Top Gun*.
* On the Monday after the *Pirates of the Caribbean*'s release, Keira Knightley moved in with Matthew at his North Hollywood house to continue to hype news in the media about the film; thanks to that, the film's box office during the weekdays remained quite high and the box office broke through $100 million within the first week of release, reaching $105.6 million; during the second weekend, the box offie trend remained quite stable, earning another $43.3 million and exceeding the $140 million production costs within 10 days of the film's release.
* A few days later, Matthew received a letter from a young girl named Lily Collins who asked him to come rescue her and her peers from the mean principal of their school; Disney decided to turn this into a publicity stunt so the next day Matthew visited Harvard-Westlake School where the girl studied; the school's principal also agreed to the plan as it would serve as free publicity for the school.
* Dressed up as Will Turner, Matthew acted out a skit with the principal before having his pirate underlings take him away; he then patiently gave autographs to the young students who had now become his die-hard fans; he also took a picture with Lily Collins and gave her a special autograph.
* Later, Helen Hermann informed Jelena Boyar that Matthew and Keira Knightley planned to break up and they could give her an exclusive from him to serve as a gift for her new job at TMZ; over the next few days, *Pirates of the Caribbean*'s box office broke through $200 million, reaching $201.02 million.

### **Salary for *Dawn of the Dead***

* Matthew also felt what it truly meant to be famous when not only was he chased by fans but many of his acquaintances also suddenly started appearing looking for a handout; naturally, Helen Hermann took care of them.
* Meanwhile, Helen Hermann had remained in contact with Sean Daniel regarding Matthew's pay for *Dawn of the Dead*; after long negotiations, his pay was finally set to a basic salary of $5 million along with a box office sharing clause based on the North American box office.
* The clause stated that Matthew would simply get the basic salary of $5 million if the box office only reached the $28 million production cost; if the box office reached $50 million, he would get 2% of the box office; at $70 million US dollars, he would get 3%; at $90 million, he would get 4%, and at $100 million, he would get 5% with 5% being the highest he could get.

### ***Dawn of the Dead* - Preparation**

* From the start of August, Matthew stayed home with Keira Knightley for over a week since they had decided to break up before the 20th when Keira would have to fly to England to begin filming for *King Arthur*.
* During this time, Matthew also learnt that Helen Hermann had managed to get a lot of her many of the smaller, supporting roles in the film.
* He also heard that Alexandra Daddario had also got a role and decided to talk to Zack Snyder to design a scene similar to Daddario's running scene in the film *San Andreas*.
* Apart from his regular fitness training, Matthew also took the time to research the zombie culture from its Haitian origin to necromancy to *White Zombie*, the earliest Hollywood film about zombies.
* Matthew also obtained a copy of *The Zombie Survival Guide* from Sean Daniel which would soon be published and serve as a major publicity tool for *Dawn of the Dead.*
* He also watched George A. Romero's original *Dawn of the Dead* which gave brith to the modern zombies and their traits such as mindlessness, immortality and cannibalism.

### **Breakup**

* A few days later, Matthew and Keira Knightley made a show of breaking up while Jelena Boyar recorded them.
* Next morning, TMZ broke the news along with a few photos and even a short clip which allowed the newly-opened TMZ to gain a lot of attention, especially when major media outlets republished the news.
* Over the next few days, Matthew and Keira Knightley, once again, came into the limelight but neither of the two gave any concrete replies to the reporters' question.
* Thanks to this sudden wave of attention, *Dawn of the Dead* and *King Arthur* gained a lot of attention while *Pirates of the Caribbean*'s box office rebounded and broke through $300 million in North America.

### ***Pirates of the Caribbean*** **- Success Celebration**

* Thanks to the film's North American box office crossing $300 million and global box office predicted to cross $700 million, Disney held a party to celebrate the film's outstanding success.
* At the party, Matthew met Bob Iger, the current co-chairman of Walt Disney Pictures, who praised him but Matthew felt that each of his words were filled with traps.
* Later, Helen Hermann informed him that she had heard that Bob Iger thought very highly of him but naturally he wouldn't show it on the surface.
* Matthew also saw Nicholas Cage at the party and learnt that he had been invited by Jerry Bruckheimer. Still, thanks to the success of *Pirates of the Caribbean*, he didn't lack roles and so no longer cared too much about *National Treasure*.
* Afterwards, he ran into Johnny Depp and the two decided to ditch the boring party in favor of Depp's The Viper Room club.

### **The Viper Room**

* At the bar, the two saw Charlize Theron and began drinking with her. After noticing that Charlize was drinking and smoking non-stop, Matthew realized that she was stressed.
* Just as he was about to ask her, her boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, appeared and almost dragged her out of the bar.
* Matthew was surprised to see Charlize Theron, who seemed to be the poster child of a strong and independent woman, meekly letting herself be pulled out by her boyfriend. Afterwards, the two sat in the car and Matthew was shocked to see Stuart Townsend slap Charlize Theron.
* Johnny Depp informed him that he and Keanu Reeves had advised her many times to dump Townsend but she ignored their advice.
* Over the next few days, Matthew searched news about Charlize Theron breaking up with Stuart Townsend but instead he saw news about the two of them going on a trip to Europe.

### ***Dawn of the Dead* - Filming**

* By the end of the month, Matthew went to Toronto where the filming would take place. He also learnt that Jessica Alba would play the film's female lead.