The richest actor in Hollywood.

On Monday morning, Phyllis Beretta finished her breakfast, slung a black backpack over her shoulders, and stepped out of her home. She turned back to glance at the modest house that had provided her so much comfort, then pushed her bike out of the yard and onto the street. 

She had completely moved past the grief of her parents' tragic car accident and had gradually left behind her memories of Queens, New York. Now, she had a new life in Los Angeles. Living in the same city as Matthew, working at his fan support website—these things filled her with immense happiness.

After locking the door, she mounted her bike and took one last look at the house. Maybe this was how life was meant to be.

She pedaled away from home, heading toward the office building of the fan website in Westwood.

Twenty minutes later, she walked into the office, found her desk, and immediately dove into work.

Since the accident, Phyllis Beretta had stopped being an on-the-ground fan and had transitioned to working behind the scenes as a professional screen fan. Every day, her work revolved around Matthew, with nearly all tasks involving him in some way.

This kept her passion for work constantly high.

Phyllis Beretta opened her computer and checked her email. Her supervisor sent out new tasks every day via email, and today's task was to analyze last weekend's box office results for *Hancock*.

After reading the email, she closed the inbox and quickly opened the website of "Media Numbers," a box office tracker. The weekend's box office report was already out.

"This weekend coincided with the U.S. Independence Day holiday. According to major theater chains in North America, *Hancock*, led by 'Superstar Box Office Hero' Matthew Horner, grossed an impressive $83.8 million, far surpassing last weekend's champion *WALL-E*, and becoming the dominant force in the Independence Day box office market."

"Additionally, this film, starring Matthew Horner, has set a new North American opening record for an original, non-sequel movie!"

"Meanwhile, *WALL-E*, produced by Pixar and distributed by Disney, earned $29 million this weekend, ranking second, with a ten-day total of $122 million. The comedy *Chuck* grossed $11 million, ranking third; the animated film *Kung Fu Panda* is in its fifth week and earned $7.5 million, ranking fifth..."

After reading this, Phyllis Beretta closed the page and opened another one.

The headline on this webpage caught her attention.

"Bad Reviews, Booming Box Office!"

This commentary article seemed malicious but was actually quite neutral in its stance.

"Matthew Horner's new film *Hancock* began showing last Thursday evening, grossing $7.8 million in early screenings, surpassing *Iron Man*, which kicked off the summer movie season. Over these three days, *Hancock* has accumulated $83.8 million in North American box office. In the face of such solid numbers, all the previous bad reviews and so-called public opinion seem insignificant, like fleeting clouds."

"Many people began cursing the film days before its release. Renowned critic Roger Ebert harshly criticized the movie after watching it, giving it just one star. However, by Monday, the newspaper he works for had no choice but to begrudgingly use a large headline to praise 'Superhero Hancock.' On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it a 37% Rotten rating, but at most, that only managed to place a green Rotten icon at the top of the site's box office chart."

Phyllis Beretta sneered. How many rotten tomatoes had Rotten Tomatoes thrown at Matthew's movies before? But did it matter?

She shook her head, closed the Yahoo page, and logged into the back end of the fan website, where she began reposting fan comments from the site onto various other websites and social media platforms.

Meanwhile, in a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel, Brian Goldner, the president and CEO of Hasbro, was welcoming a guest—Stephen Sommers.

"Good morning, Stephen."

Brian Goldner shook hands with Stephen Sommers and asked, "Coming to see me so early, what's the matter?"

Stephen Sommers glanced at the two suitcases in the room and smiled, "If I didn't come early, you'd be flying back to Rhode Island."

Brian Goldner also looked at the luggage and said, "I have no choice. There's a very important board meeting at Hasbro headquarters on Wednesday that I must attend."

"Alright, then I won't take up too much of your time," Stephen Sommers said directly. "I'm here to tell you that we can't delay this project any longer. Hasbro still hasn't made up its mind?"

He and Paramount Pictures had worked hard to convince Hasbro, an outsider to the film industry, to agree to revise the *G.I. Joe* script, making Matthew Horner the true focal point of the first live-action *G.I. Joe* movie, rather than the previous approach of having a false lead in what was essentially an ensemble film.

But during the ongoing negotiations, they encountered obstacles. Hasbro was highly dissatisfied with Matthew Horner's agent, Helen Herman, who was demanding a base salary plus a share of global box office revenue. This dissatisfaction caused the negotiations to drag on without progress.

Since Hasbro was funding half of the film and was the rights holder of *G.I. Joe*, no agreement could be reached without their approval.

Brian Goldner checked his watch and got straight to the point, saying, "Matthew Horner and his agent are asking for $25 million plus 15% of global box office revenue—that's too high!"

Stephen Sommers immediately responded, "I've privately talked with Matthew. The global box office share can be reduced to 10%."

"10% is still too high!" Brian Goldner said, dissatisfied.

"Brian, have you considered?" Stephen Sommers spread his hands. "Matthew Horner is worth that price!"

Brian Goldner frowned but said nothing.

Stephen Sommers continued, "This past weekend, *Hancock*, starring Matthew Horner, grossed about $83.8 million. If you count overseas markets where it was released simultaneously, this action blockbuster has already earned $178.9 million worldwide. Matthew Horner has once again proven that he is still a box office hero, still a guarantee of success in the summer box office season, and still the world's top-grossing star."

"I know that," Brian Goldner said, clearly having kept an eye on the star they were considering for a partnership. "I admit, Matthew Horner is currently Hollywood's most bankable star. He seems to have this mysterious aura of 'born to succeed.' Given his commercial appeal, $25 million isn't excessive..."

He then added, "But 10% of global box office revenue, especially as a front-end deal, is just too much."

Stephen Sommers didn't know what else to say. The disagreement clearly stemmed from conflicting financial interests, which were always the hardest to resolve. As a director and co-producer of the film, he was growing increasingly anxious.

The failure of *Van Helsing* had nearly sidelined him. This *G.I. Joe* project was his best chance at a comeback, and Matthew Horner was the key to it.

Brian Goldner suddenly asked, "Stephen, didn't you know Matthew Horner before he became famous? Didn't you help him out? Could you convince him..."

"Impossible," Stephen Sommers shook his head. "It's just like how I can't convince you now."

"Alright." Brian Goldner nodded.

Stephen Sommers knew that Matthew had already taken their previous working relationship into account. Otherwise, with Helen Herman's tough stance, the global box office share would never have dropped to 10%.

After a brief pause, he added, "On the opening night of *Hancock*, there were endless bad reviews, and people wondered if Matthew Horner's career had hit a turning point. But the truth is, *Hancock* only further solidified Matthew Horner's status as the 'world's highest-grossing star.'"

Seeing Brian Goldner still silent, Stephen Sommers continued, "According to CinemaScore's comprehensive survey, audiences always feel a special connection to Matthew Horner and the characters he plays. Audiences always believe that he can bring a fresh and unique viewing experience."

"I'll seriously consider it." Brian Goldner finally expressed an attitude, "When I return to headquarters in Rhode Island, I'll bring this up at the board meeting."

Stephen Sommers hadn't expected Brian Goldner to make an immediate decision, so he nodded and emphasized once more, "If Matthew Horner isn't the most valuable investment in this industry, then I really don't know who is."

Even the typically reserved *Variety* magazine wrote in its weekend box office report, "The world's biggest star is now even bigger," a sentiment both emotional and powerful.

Noticing Brian Goldner checking his watch again, Stephen Sommers took the initiative to leave, saying, "I won't take up any more of your time. I hope to hear good news."

"I hope so too," Brian Goldner replied with a smile.

The two shook hands and parted ways. As Stephen Sommers walked out of the Four Seasons Hotel, he glanced at the nearby billboard. On the giant billboard, Matthew Horner, dressed as Hancock, was looking down over Los Angeles.

The small actor he had once looked down upon during the filming of *The Mummy Returns* was now on the verge of becoming a superstar.

It wouldn't be long before the industry, the media, and the audience would start viewing Matthew Horner as a megastar on par with Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Harrison Ford.

Thinking about this, Stephen Sommers couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. The world and this industry were changing so fast that he was struggling

 to keep up.

_________________________

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