"We have a closely united team, which is why we were able to produce such an outstanding film."
At the entrance of the hotel near the theater, Matthew specifically accepted an interview with reporters before going in, speaking highly of his partners. "Sean Daniel's ability is beyond doubt. Although Director Zack Snyder is taking the helm of a movie for the first time, he did a very good job..."
He was the most well-known person in the Crew, and at this moment, he represented the entire Crew, so there was nothing wrong with saying these things.
After a brief interview, Matthew prepared to enter the hotel to attend the after-party hosted by the Crew under the protection of security personnel. However, the media reporters refused to let him go easily and continued to follow him with questions.
Matthew had no intention of answering further. Just as he was about to enter the hotel, he suddenly heard a scream from outside. He quickly turned to look and saw Jessica Alba, who was walking over from the theater, seemingly tripped by the red carpet on the floor. She fell with a thud onto the thick carpet, letting out a crisp cry in coordination.
With this, the reporters' attention immediately shifted away from Matthew and toward her. Quite a few reporters rushed over to take photos. Within ten seconds, seven or eight reporters surrounded Jessica Alba.
Matthew shook his head and smiled as he turned back into the hotel. He had realized that the "tripping" trick was indeed very effective for actresses.
He vaguely remembered a representative Hollywood actress born in the 90s who loved using this trick. She tripped on the Oscar stage, then on the red carpet, then at premiere, during interviews, and even while greeting fans. All sensible people knew she was acting, yet they still fell for her "innocent and sweet" persona.
Stars, after all, play the game of public image.
Some stars are straightforward, some are dim-witted, some love chasing girls, some love hooking men, some are sunny and bright, some are feminine and weird, and there's a whole bunch of "innocent and sweet" ones... These, like Matthew's sunny, friendly, and natural outward appearance, are all carefully designed images.
Led by the hotel staff, Matthew arrived at the elevator lobby. Since several elevators were on the top floor, he had to wait for a while. Before the elevator came down, Jessica Alba walked over with her high heels clicking.
"Hi, Matthew." Jessica Alba came right up to him.
"Hi, Jessie." Matthew also greeted her politely.
Jessica Alba said in a lowered voice,
"You're quite good at moving on, aren't you? Why didn't you bring Scarlett Johansson to the premiere?"
Matthew said directly, "She's not my girlfriend."
Jessica Alba understood immediately. "So it was just a temporary pairing, just like us."
The elevator arrived. When the doors opened, Matthew entered first, and Jessica Alba followed him in.
Matthew pressed the button for the top floor and asked, "Did that fall hurt just now?"
Jessica Alba smiled. "It was okay."
She was gradually gaining some fame from falling. With the hype and reports of her tripping, her "innocent and sweet" persona was also gradually spreading.
With only the two of them in the elevator, Matthew said directly, "If you use the tripping trick too often and too frequently, it won't work anymore. It might even have a negative effect."
Jessica Alba had no intention of hiding it. She said, "I have no choice. I'm just a C-list star, and usually, no one pays attention to me. I have to find ways to attract the reporters' attention."
She looked at Matthew. "If you let me be your girlfriend, I wouldn't have to resort to these little tricks; it's so much trouble."
Matthew glanced at her and didn't take the bait at all.
Jessica Alba's eyes darted around. "How about this, Matthew? Let me be your girlfriend for a while. I can... well... you can do whatever you want."
Matthew had already done "whatever he wanted" with her before, and he wasn't stupid. He politely declined, "I'm preparing to seriously pursue a girl."
"It couldn't be..." Jessica Alba asked tentatively, "It couldn't be Alexandra Daddario, could it?"
Matthew's words were purely to reject Jessica Alba. He shook his head and said, "No."
In some ways, Jessica Alba was indeed very good—tall, beautiful, open-minded, and knew how to play the game and let go. But he saw clearly that she had no real feelings for him; she just wanted to leverage his current popularity.
Seeing that Matthew was completely unmoved, Jessica Alba stopped mentioning it.
The elevator reached the top floor. Matthew stepped out first and entered the banquet hall. Except for him, who had to represent the Crew for interviews, the rest of the Crew was gathered here. Sean Daniel came to meet him, whispered a few words, and then took him around to socialize in the banquet hall. They specifically went over to chat with the film critics for a while.
The film's investment scale was limited, and the budget for this was not high. Therefore, the people invited were basically local Los Angeles film critics and columnists. There were no big shots from the critical world like Roger Ebert or Richard Roeper-->>
Although film criticism had long since become a business in North America, with a complete industrial circulation system—some even ridiculed that "as long as you pay, critics can praise a piece of shit as an elixir of immortality"—Matthew still politely exchanged pleasantries and built rapport with those critics. He wouldn't lose anything by saying a few nice things; instead, he could gain some support in their reviews. No matter how he calculated it, it was a good deal.
Of course, if anyone made excessive demands, Matthew rejected them all.
While talking with an influential female critic, she hinted that they could find a Room downstairs to chat privately about how the review should be written.
Matthew had also heard Helen Herman mention that in and around Hollywood, some women had a hobby of collecting male stars. He was somewhat interested in collecting, but he didn't want to be the one collected.
He directly rejected the female critic.
As for whether she would blast him in her column, that was beyond his control. Moreover, a single critic didn't have much influence on a commercial film.
After socializing with those critics, Matthew felt his face was almost stiff from smiling. He found Helen Herman and saw that Doug Liman was still there.
"Hello, Director Liman," he greeted politely.
Doug Liman took the initiative to shake hands with him and said, "It's a wonderful movie. The lead actor you played left a deep impression on me."
"Thank you," Matthew said humbly. "It's mainly because Director Zack Snyder shaped it well."
"Your action scenes were excellent!" Doug Liman seemed very direct. "But the action editing of the film is a bit unworthy of your wonderful performance."
Matthew scratched his head. "Director Liman, you flatter me too much."
In fact, Zack Snyder was also dissatisfied with the film's editing. However, in post-production, he only had the right to suggest, not the right to edit. The editor followed Sean Daniel's instructions completely.
Sean Daniel was a producer with mature concepts and naturally wouldn't use Zack Snyder's style. Sometimes, maturity also meant being conservative. The filming and post-production of dawn of the dead, especially the editing, followed the usual Hollywood routines.
Matthew had seen the final release version of dawn of the dead and couldn't find any trace of the distinct styles of 300 or Batman v Superman.
It could only be said that the current Zack Snyder was a newcomer, with very limited fame and power.
Doug Liman then asked, "I saw that your hand-to-hand combat and gun-holding postures in the film both look like you've had specialized training?"
Matthew smiled and said with a bit of humility, "I've been sticking to fitness since 2000. As long as I'm not filming, I do free combat training at least twice a week."
"Oh?" Doug Liman became interested. "No wonder you look so professional on camera."
"Regarding firearms, I received professional training in both the band of brothers and black hawk down Crews." Matthew seemed humble, but he was actually highlighting his strengths. "Currently, I'm a member of the Normington Military Gun Club and have a legal gun license. I basically go to practice shooting a few times every month."
Doug Liman looked enlightened. "No wonder your action scenes are so brilliant."
Such an actor could save related Crews a lot of trouble. He remembered when filming the action and gunfight scenes for the the bourne identity, Matt Damon almost gave him a massive headache.
However, Doug Liman didn't say much more. Akiva Goldsman had already said it wouldn't be too late to decide after the box office results for dawn of the dead came out.
Matthew Horner's lead actor was indeed brilliant in the film, but the audience might not necessarily buy it.
He stayed this time just to have an initial contact with Matthew Horner. After a brief chat, he soon took his leave and left the banquet hall.
"The first step was quite successful." Helen Herman watched Doug Liman disappear from the banquet hall entrance and whispered to Matthew, "I chatted with both Akiva Goldsman and him after the screening, and they both have a good impression of you."
Matthew nodded slightly.
Helen Herman added, "I will stay in touch with them to keep you at the forefront of their choices." She withdrew her gaze. "Now we just have to wait for the box office of dawn of the dead and the script for that Summit Entertainment project."
Matthew also knew that if dawn of the dead was successful, they would have a slight advantage.
Of course, if the script wasn't suitable, they would just turn it down.
"Helen," Matthew asked once again, "when can we get the script?"
"I don't know either." Helen Herman thought for a moment and said, "Although my father is friends with Akiva Goldsman, I can't just ask him for the script. As long as the box office for dawn of the dead is outstanding enough, things will be much easier on Akiva Goldsman's side."
Matthew believed in Helen Herman's ability and didn't ask further. He continued to engage in the party's socializing. Right now, the most important thing was dawn of the dead. If this film failed, the hope of continuing to compete for the lead in a big production would undoubtedly be slim.