After leaving the "Scorpion King" production crew, Matthew was temporarily out of work. Helen Herman was still selecting suitable projects and roles for him. Now that he had gained a bit of fame, having just played the lead role in a $40 million production, he gradually developed his own style. It was no longer possible for him to indiscriminately take on any work as before. If he were to take on new work, it would definitely be a priority to find roles that matched his own characteristics.
This wasn't to say that he had a lot of capital to choose scripts and roles, but rather, it was a normal career management strategy. In the early stages, in order to accumulate experience and credentials and earn basic expenses, it was natural to take on whatever came his way. Now, however, he could no longer afford to rush into any role that came along.
For example, the traditional Hollywood villain roles were off-limits for him as per Helen Herman, unless it was a role similar to Kevin Spacey's in "Seven".
But both she and Matthew were clear that roles like that wouldn't likely be offered to Matthew, as he couldn't handle such complex villain roles.
So, at this stage, being selective about work was necessary.
Hollywood initiates a vast number of projects every year, but the internal competition is extremely fierce. Even for agents like Helen Herman, who could leverage family connections, it wasn't always possible to find suitable projects at any given moment.
The first day after Matthew bid farewell to the crew, he slept in, not getting up until nine in the morning. After washing up and having breakfast, he took a walk around the small yard, feeling refreshed. The accumulated fatigue and work pressure from filming disappeared without a trace.
With planned fitness and training, his excellent physical condition became increasingly apparent: strong, agile, and full of energy.
However, the long-term, high-intensity training also brought some troubles to Matthew. He felt more impulsive than before, a kind of impulsion coming from physical aspects, simply put, a stronger desire for intimate relations.
Unable to have his girlfriend by his side, and not wanting to resort to solitary solutions, sometimes it really wasn't easy to handle. Fortunately, his self-control was still relatively strong.
Matthew occasionally discussed this issue with his coach, Nebo. According to what Nebo called "professional terminology," people who persist in high-intensity sports have more oxygen in their blood and tend to have a stronger demand for intimacy than the average person. Regular physical exercise also maintains a vigorous sexual capability due to the release of endorphins during exercise, which are natural endocrine substances in the body that can produce a sense of pleasure and are greatly beneficial to enhancing sexual desire.
Nebo even showed him an issue of a nationwide "Health" magazine. The magazine's survey of men showed that 95% of participants experienced a significant improvement in sexual function after three months of regular exercise.
After walking in the yard for about ten minutes, Matthew went back inside, turned on his computer, updated his blog, and uploaded some stills from the set given to him by the crew the previous day.
The still was from the scene where his character triumphantly stands on a high platform after defeating his enemy. From Matthew's self-indulgent point of view, the protagonist in the still carried an air of unrivaled dominance.
"This is the lead of a Hollywood blockbuster," he muttered to himself while adding a caption under the still, "My part in 'Scorpion King' has finally finished shooting. Can't wait to see the movie!"
Matthew didn't write much, just uploaded it to his blog. His blog had a substantial number of followers, especially after the 9/11 incident, which significantly increased his following.
During the coverage of the 9/11 event, blogs made a big splash. When other media were still clueless, a plethora of onsite photos and related blog posts had already started bombarding the internet, making it hard not to attract attention.
Afterward, blogs were no longer a niche tool on the internet and naturally entered the public's view.
After posting, he logged into MSN, where only Elena Poliar was online.
Seeming to notice Matthew's online presence, Elena Poliar sent a message.
"Big star, have you finished your shoot?"
Matthew thought for a moment and replied, "Finished. Are you interviewing me?"
The development of the internet in North America was very rapid, with a vast number of users covering every corner of America. Although portal sites like Yahoo Entertainment couldn't compare with top industry publications like "Entertainment Weekly" or "Hollywood Reporter", they were hundreds of times stronger than ordinary entertainment magazines.
Their last column news brought him a lot of attention.
"Let's wait until your movie is released," Elena Poliar, a pragmatic person, replied. "You're not a hot topic right now, even with an interview, the editor wouldn't approve it."
"Oh, so I'm still not famous enough."
"Exactly. If you were a big star, getting on the front page wouldn't be difficult."
After chatting on MSN for about ten minutes with Elena Poliar, who had to leave for work, Matthew closed MSN.
He browsed some news online, where the Afghanistan war was widely reported. Last month, George W. Bush and the federal government officially deployed troops to Afghanistan as retaliation for the 9/11 attacks.
Feeling that this was too distant from him, he returned to his blog after a short while. The post and stills he had just shared had already received many comments.
"Looking cool, blogger. Can't wait for your movie."
"This look is even cooler than the Scorpion King in 'The Mummy Returns'!"
"When is the movie coming out? I'll support you then."
Similar comments were plentiful.
Matthew, remembering he had forgotten to announce the movie's release date, made another post with a promotional poster attached.
"My new movie 'Scorpion King' will premiere in North America on April 10, 2002!"
The production team had already set the release date for "Scorpion King". Initially, they wanted to release it at the end of April, to leverage the heat of the May summer blockbusters. However, after the trailer for "Spider-Man" was released, generating an extremely strong response, Universal Pictures immediately scrapped that idea and moved the release to mid-April.
Based on past experiences, the box office for entertainment blockbusters like "Scorpion King" would mostly be concentrated in the first three or even two weeks after release. This move was to avoid the impact of "Spider-Man", which was recognized by the industry as a potential blockbuster for the next summer season.
However, moving "Scorpion King" to mid-April wasn't without drawbacks, as April was traditionally a slow month for movies in North America.
But in this world, not everything can be perfect.
Especially for Matthew, he thought the release date was acceptable. If it were up to him, he would definitely avoid "Spider-Man". Thanks to his previous indulgence in Marvel's comics and popcorn flicks, he had seen the "Spider-Man" trilogy and knew it was a highly successful series of films. Otherwise, Sony Pictures wouldn't have released a Spider-Man movie during a crisis.
"Scorpion King" competing against Spider-Man would be like a regular person going up against Spider-Man, bound to be thoroughly defeated.
It wasn't that he was undervaluing himself, but the objective situation was clear.
After posting, Matthew shut down his computer, checked the time, packed his gym gear into a backpack, and prepared to go out for lunch and then to the gym. Regular gym workouts were somewhat monotonous, but his interest in boxing and mixed martial arts was growing.
More importantly, these sports seemed to suit him well, as he was making rapid progress.
Before Matthew could leave, his phone rang. After picking up, he immediately recognized the familiar voice.
"Hi, Matthew," the voice brought to mind an animated shark's mouth, "Long time no see, Michael."
It was Michael Fassbender on the line. "I'm in Los Angeles. James is here too. You're in Los Angeles, right?"
"Yes!" Matthew slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out. "I was just about to go to the gym, I have a fight coach appointment this afternoon."
"Let's meet up tonight then."
Hearing Michael Fassbender's suggestion and having no plans for the evening, Matthew agreed, "Sure, let's invite James too."
"Of course!" Michael Fassbender's voice came through again. "There's a Black Mamba bar on Hollywood Boulevard, do you know it?"
Having worked at the Red Penguin Service Company on Hollywood Boulevard, Matthew was familiar with the area.
"I know it." He inquired, "Shall we go there?"
"We'll meet at the Black Mamba bar tonight. I'll call James later, he's also free."
Matthew locked his front door and headed to his car, driving to Westwood. After having lunch at his usual Chinese restaurant and walking around a small park, he even made a special trip to see the somewhat dilapidated apartment building where he once lived and fought...
By two in the afternoon, he arrived at the gym on time, starting with some general fitness exercises as a warm-up, then moving to the second floor to practice mixed martial arts with a coach until 5:30 PM. Due to his meeting with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, he didn't return to Burbank but instead showered and changed at the gym, heading straight to the Black Mamba bar on Hollywood Boulevard.
Hollywood Boulevard is one of Los Angeles' nightlife hotspots, and the Black Mamba bar is one of its most famous establishments, owned by the renowned Johnny Depp. The bar often hosts Hollywood stars.
Matthew arrived at the bar as planned, finding Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy already there.
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