Chapter 57: Disbanding

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After some careful thought, Matthew briefly told Helen Herman about his entire interaction with Ilena Boyar—from their first meeting to the little "deal" they struck. When it came to understanding Hollywood and handling real situations, Helen was leagues ahead of him. After working together on several jobs, they had at least built a basic level of trust.

"So you not only claimed to hate Christina Aguilera," Helen paced the makeup room, "but you also accused Michael Sheen of being one of her fans?"

Matthew raised a hand, very seriously. "That's not slander! Maybe he really is a fan of Christina Aguilera."

Helen couldn't be bothered to argue over such trivialities. "You and Ilena Boyar aren't friends?"

"No." Matthew answered honestly. "We just ran into each other by chance while I was working outside Johnny Lee Miller's estate."

He said helplessly, "Michael Sheen sold himself to Martin Jackson. I figured if I didn't find another angle, I'd never stand out at the costumed audition. I had zero resources to work with, so this was the only thing I could think of."

"Johnny Lee Miller? Malibu estate? Your company offers him special services?" Helen clearly wasn't focused on what Matthew was saying. Her thoughts had already moved elsewhere. "Johnny Lee Miller is Angelina Jolie's ex-husband. And she helped you out before."

She turned to stare at Matthew. "Don't tell me that's how you met Angelina Jolie?"

Matthew shrugged and stayed silent, which was as good as a confirmation.

"No… wait!" Helen frowned. "If your company provides Johnny Lee Miller with those services, why would Angelina Jolie help you?"

Then something seemed to click. "They had a nasty divorce. There were rumors in the industry that Jolie had a video of one of his wild parties at his Malibu place…"

Matthew couldn't help admiring her ability to put the pieces together.

Helen walked up to him and suddenly asked, "You weren't the one who filmed that video, were you?"

That would certainly explain why a star from a Hollywood dynasty like Angelina Jolie would help a nobody from Texas.

Ahem… Matthew coughed into his fist, clearly dodging the question. Maybe it was his mindset acting up—he didn't answer directly, just chuckled awkwardly. "Helen, you're overthinking it."

Seeing that he wasn't denying it, Helen pushed her glasses up, staring in disbelief. "Matthew Horner, you never stop surprising me."

She added, more forcefully this time, "You've got some nerve!"

Matthew spread his hands. "I didn't have a choice. Otherwise, how else was I supposed to land that part in Dreamgirls?"

Helen didn't even know what to say. After a moment of thought, she tapped his chest with a finger. "You really are something—bold, shameless, and ruthless. A real one-of-a-kind character!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Matthew quickly defended himself. "Aren't you exaggerating a little?"

"With your personality…" Helen said honestly, "if you weren't in Hollywood, it'd be such a waste."

Matthew was speechless. Compared to the paparazzi and entertainment reporters who had been harassing him lately, he was practically a saint!

"Anything else?" Helen knew that once Matthew opened up, he was likely hiding more. "Spill it all."

Matthew almost mentioned Winona Ryder, but then remembered the NDA he signed. It wasn't that he had such a great sense of contractual obligation—he was just terrified of the massive penalty fee. So he shook his head. "That's it. I haven't even been in L.A. that long."

Then he remembered something. "The beef between Britney and Christina Aguilera—I'm the one who told Ilena about it. I overheard Britney's assistant muttering about it."

Helen nodded and warned him, "Don't mention that to anyone else but me. You and Britney have a good thing going right now. Try to keep it that way."

"Got it." Matthew nodded, then asked, "What about Ilena Boyar?"

Back then, he had no other options. Looking back now, that move was full of holes.

Helen thought for a moment and asked, "You have her contact info?" Seeing him pull out a business card, she took it and said, "Leave the rest to me. That reporter's bold—maybe we can turn her into a long-term partner."

"A partner?" Matthew asked, confused.

"Exactly." Helen said seriously, "You've started gaining some fame. If you want to maintain that, you need consistent media attention. If—and I mean if—your career keeps rising, you'll need reliable journalists in your corner."

"All Hollywood stars have that?" Matthew asked.

Helen nodded. "Pretty much. Entertainment media and Hollywood stars are tightly linked." She checked the time. "Your makeup artist will be here soon. Leave everything else to me. Your job is to shoot the MV well. And if you can win Britney over? Even better."

Matthew didn't comment. He didn't have much experience with women. If he tried to push it too hard, it might backfire.

After the makeup artist arrived, Helen left the temporary dressing room, while Matthew began thinking about the shoot. This kind of logistical support was exactly what a good manager provided. Given his current situation, he absolutely needed someone like Helen Herman.

Sure, CAA and UTA had more resources, but for a potential talent like him, he'd be one of hundreds. Who knows how much support he'd actually get? At least Helen had already lined up another audition for him—even before this shoot was over.

An hour later, Matthew left the dressing room and followed an assistant named York to the boardwalk.

"Matthew, over here!"

On the far side of the boardwalk near the sea, Britney Spears was waving at him. "Come on!"

Because the crew was filming wide shots of the beach, the actors' rest area had been moved to the boardwalk. Matthew walked over and casually pulled up a chair under Britney's beach umbrella, sitting down beside her.

"You took forever," Britney said, treating him like a friend now.

Matthew smiled. "That just means your makeup artist's better than mine." His eyes dropped to her legs—smooth and pale under her shorts—before landing on her ankle. "How's the injury?"

"No big deal." Britney stood up, took a few steps, then twirled around in front of him. "See? As long as I don't dance, it's totally fine."

"Don't scare me like that." Matthew stood up and gently pushed her back into her seat. "You don't play around with this kind of injury."

Britney looked totally carefree. "What's the big deal? Worst case, you'll carry me to the hospital again."

Matthew shot back without thinking, "The hospital's far, and you're kinda heavy. I don't think I can manage."

"I'm heavy?" Britney widened her eyes.

Matthew immediately realized his mistake. Luckily, some crew members walked over, and he quickly changed the subject. "Looks like it's time to shoot."

Britney seemed to forget the comment right away. "Yup, let's go."

The crew had indeed come to call them over. Because of Britney's injury, Zack Snyder had restructured the MV's choreography. Aside from the dance sequences they'd already shot, the rest of the scenes would focus on the unspoken feelings between the male and female leads.

The beach had been redressed. After Snyder walked them through the scene, Matthew and Britney rehearsed their blocking twice. Then the cameras started rolling.

Since it was a wide shot, there were no cameras near Matthew. He stood barefoot at the water's edge, walking slowly along the tide line, staring out at the meeting point of sky and sea, just as the script required.

As the script described, his character was fully immersed in the beauty of this heavenly bay.

The sea was beautiful, the beach stunning, and the sky even more so. Wispy white clouds floated above the endless blue. A breeze blew past, and walking on the beach, looking at the sky—it was relaxing, liberating, soul-soothing.

Maybe all his recent hard work was paying off. Or maybe his rapport with Britney had him feeling pumped. Whatever it was, in that moment, Matthew felt like he had become one with this slice of paradise.

On the other side of the beach, Britney stared at him exactly like her character in the script—a girl in love, eyes glued to him, never wavering, just like a shy teen with a secret crush.

"Cut!" Zack Snyder's voice boomed through the loudspeaker. "Perfect! That one's good!"

He added, "Reset the beach setup. Next, we shoot the restaurant scene!"

No one could say exactly why, but both Matthew and Britney were in top form. Their great chemistry continued through the following days. What had originally been scheduled for four more days of shooting wrapped up in just three.

With the MV finished, the team disbanded. Matthew had wanted to ask Britney to dinner, but Helen called with news: the new gig looked promising, and the producer wanted him at a casting call the next morning in L.A.