Upon returning to Los Angeles, Matthew took a week off to rest. All training and studies were suspended during this period, and he completely relaxed. Since the start of his fake relationship with Keira Knightley this year, the string in his head had been tightly wound, and it needed to loosen.
During this week, aside from a few escapades with Jessica Alba at the Beverly Hilton, he mostly stayed home. Jessica Alba was definitely a good temporary bedmate, and she was open-minded and enjoyed playing.
Neither of them tried to hide their occasional outings for dinner after their "business," and inevitably, tabloids began to report rumors of him and Jessica Alba.
Gossip spreads fastest in Hollywood. TMZ reported that an insider from "Dawn of the Dead" revealed Matthew and Jessica Alba had been involved during filming, often getting together in the makeup room or other places without even removing their makeup after shooting.
Tabloids specializing in gossip and scandals even asserted that Jessica Alba had completely replaced Keira Knightley as Matthew's new girlfriend.
Such rumors circulating were not unrelated to Matthew, Helen Herman, and even Jessica Alba's leveraging of the situation for publicity. Sean Daniel might even have had a hand in it.
Hollywood gossip and scandals usually fall into two categories: those genuinely caught by paparazzi, and those intentionally leaked for publicity.
The latter accounts for a considerably high proportion. Everyone knows that for the American and even global public, Hollywood is essentially for entertainment and leisure. In this regard, the value of celebrity gossip is by no means lower than that of films produced by Hollywood.
Using gossip and scandals for promotion is absolutely highly efficient.
Not only Matthew and Jessica Alba, the two directly involved parties, were fanning the flames, but even Keira Knightley and the "King Arthur" crew, far away in the United Kingdom, joined in.
"Keira Knightley can't forget her old flame, sheds tears alone on the set of 'King Arthur'..."
"Jessica Alba blocks Matthew and Keira Knightley's path to reconciliation, Keira Knightley is in low spirits, temporarily leaves the 'King Arthur' set, takes a solo vacation to heal..."
Similar gossip and scandals appeared in the entertainment news of many media outlets and websites, attracting considerable attention.
Clearly, "King Arthur" and Keira Knightley successfully leveraged his popularity.
"Being able to have people leverage your popularity means you're truly famous now, and your influence has grown."
At an open-air seaside cafe in Malibu Paradise Cove, Elena Boyar sat under a large sun umbrella, sipping a cold drink, and said to Matthew across from her, "This is a good thing for you. It's normal for celebrities to have their popularity leveraged, and you're not without benefits."
Matthew, wearing sunglasses, leaned back in a wicker chair and said, "Yes, I've also benefited."
Elena Boyar put down her cup, leaned in a bit, and asked, "is what happened between you and Jessica Alba in the set's makeup room true?"
"I don't know." Matthew rolled his eyes.
Elena Boyar confirmed, "Given your style, it must be true. And you didn't even let go of eighteen-year-old Keira Knightley. Would you and Jessica Alba tacitly orchestrate such a publicity stunt without her offering sufficient benefits?"
Matthew was noncommittal.
"Actually, you can draw a conclusion by analyzing it," Elena Boyar demonstrated her professional journalistic skills. "Although Jessica Alba started as a child star, she doesn't have any representative works. 'Dark Angel' and 'Honey,' which was released last month, both received very mediocre responses. At best, she's a third-tier minor celebrity now. She doesn't seem to have any backing, her family background is ordinary, and besides being a hot girl, what else does she have?"
Elena Boyar tilted her head and looked at Matthew, "Don't tell me you're a good person, helping her out of obligation."
Matthew shrugged slightly, only saying, "Jessica Alba is indeed very hot." He then proactively changed the subject, "Didn't you ask me out because you had something to discuss?"
"Nothing important, I just wanted to thank you." Elena Boyar seemed very sincere. "When I first switched jobs, you promptly gave me a breaking news story that helped me establish myself at TMZ. At the end of last month, TMZ officially signed an employment agreement with me."
"Oh?" Matthew asked curiously, "What position?"
Iliana Boyar said with a hint of pride, "Associate editor of the entertainment gossip section, with a base annual salary of one hundred thousand dollars, with additional pay for hot news stories."
Matthew deliberately said, "I helped you get such a good position, and you just treat me to a cold drink as a thank you?"
"So what do you want?" Elena Boyar snorted and deliberately said, "Do you want me to be like Jessica Alba? I'd have to seriously consider that..."
"No need to consider!" Matthew had no such intention at all. "You're overthinking it, Elena!"
Elena Boyar, however, continued on her own, "With your current fame and conditions, it seems like I'd be getting a great deal."
Matthew resisted the urge to give her the middle finger and said, "You'd definitely set up a camera in the room to secretly film, and then release the footage, even if you were the female lead!"
"Really?" Elena Boyar considered it seriously for a moment before saying, "Wouldn't it be a waste of resources otherwise?"
She stopped joking and said seriously, "The main reason I asked you out was to confirm your attitude, because I want our cooperation to continue."
"Of course, it must continue." Matthew had no intention of changing his media partner. "Elena, besides you, I don't have any other entertainment reporters I can trust."
They had been cooperating for several years, and although both were somewhat unscrupulous, there was a basic level of trust.
More importantly, as he became famous, Elena Boyar also rose. If she were still just a small entertainment reporter, like a paparazzo, he and Helen Herman would definitely have to find new partners in that area.
Elena Boyar nodded and said, "If you have any hot scoops or want to stir up some publicity, just call me. You're always welcome."
She knew very well that Matthew was currently a second-tier star, with a high possibility of reaching first-tier in the future. Such a star's value to an entertainment reporter was extraordinarily great.
Matthew understood the inseparable relationship between celebrities and entertainment media, saying, "In this regard, you are Helen's and my absolute first choice."
This time, the hype surrounding him and Jessica Alba, while not as grand as the previous one with Keira Knightley, showed Elena Boyar's sufficient professionalism in its practical execution, judging by the current results.
Of course, no matter how the outside world hyped it up, Matthew and Jessica Alba could never become real boyfriend and girlfriend.
In fact, after Matthew's week-long vacation, his relationship with Jessica Alba quickly cooled. This was a perfectly normal reaction; both were most interested in each other's bodies, and their passion came quickly and often faded just as fast.
Although it wasn't a one-night stand, there wasn't much difference.
Moreover, after the vacation, Matthew resumed his planned life, dedicating more energy to honing his acting skills, practicing writing, and boxing and free combat training at the gym. Jessica Alba's appeal instantly diminished.
Besides that, he also had to manage his blog.
After several years of continuous updates, coupled with the appeal brought by his fame, Matthew's blog followers had reached six figures, with over ten thousand daily active users, qualifying it as a well-known blog. Especially among Hollywood stars, his blog's popularity ranked among the top ten.
Most first and second-tier Hollywood stars also had blogs, but in this era, not many people or companies truly paid much attention to them. Even fewer, like Matthew, could foresee a future where social media itself could create stars and topics.
After all, others couldn't cheat like him.
As time gradually approached the end of October, the screening of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was nearing its end. The film's cumulative North American box office reached 352.27 million US dollars, surpassing Pixar's "Finding Nemo" and temporarily sitting atop the North American annual box office chart.
However, this box office figure did not guarantee "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" the title of 2003 North American annual box office champion, because "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" had not yet been released.
From the media to companies within the industry, there was a consensus that after the groundwork laid by the first two parts, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" would see an explosive finale.
Professional entertainment media like "Premiere," "Empire," "Entertainment Weekly," and "The Hollywood Reporter" believed that as long as Peter Jackson ensured "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" maintained the quality of the first two films, it would not only be a box office success but also receive a positive response from the Oscars.
Some optimistic individuals claimed that the Oscars might break the tradition of overlooking non-realistic films and award such a super blockbuster with Best Director and Best Picture.
The exact outcome would not be revealed until March of next year.
The North American box office of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" could only be described as a huge hit. Its overseas box office was equally impressive, reaching 752.70 million US dollars globally since its release in July, also temporarily holding the position of global annual box office champion.
Similarly, before "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the global annual box office champion was also unknown.
The film's massive box office success greatly benefited director Gore Verbinski and the three main actors, Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley, especially giving them the upper hand in negotiations for sequels with Disney Pictures.
Negotiations for the sequel lasted from mid-July to the end of October, and after more than three months of back-and-forth, a consensus was gradually reached.