Chapter 57: Breaking Up

After careful consideration, Matthew recounted to Helen Herman how he had encountered and dealt with Elena Polya. Given Helen's superior understanding of Hollywood and practical capabilities, and several collaborations that had built a basic trust between them, Matthew felt comfortable sharing this information.

"So, you not only claim to dislike Christina Aguilera," Helen paced the makeup room, "but also smeared Michael Sheen as a fan of hers?"

Matthew raised a hand, earnest in his defense, "That's not a smear! Maybe he really does like Christina Aguilera."

Helen was not interested in nitpicking those details. "You and Elena Polya aren't friends?"

"No," Matthew confessed, "We just happened to meet outside Johnny Lee Miller's estate when I was working."

He sighed, "Michael Sheen dedicated a 'chrysanthemum' to Martin Jackson. I felt that without an alternative approach, I couldn't stand out in the audition with makeup, having no resources of my own."

"Johnny Lee Miller? The Malibu estate? Your company provided special services for him?" Helen seemed to barely listen to Matthew's explanation, pondering other connections, "Johnny Lee Miller is Angelina Jolie's ex-husband, and Angelina Jolie has helped you before."

She looked at Matthew intently, "You didn't meet Angelina Jolie through such means, did you?"

Matthew shrugged, non-committal but implicitly confirming.

"No!" Helen furrowed her brows, "You provided special services for Johnny Lee Miller, how could Angelina Jolie possibly help you?"

Then, something seemed to click for her, "There's a rumor that Jolie has a recording of Johnny Lee Miller hosting a wild party in Malibu..."

Hearing Helen piece things together, Matthew couldn't help but admire her deductive skills.

Helen approached Matthew, suddenly asking, "You didn't happen to be the one who filmed that video, did you?"

This would explain why a star of Angelina Jolie's caliber, born into a show business family, would help a seemingly unsupported actor from Texas.

Matthew coughed and chuckled awkwardly, avoiding a direct answer, "Helen, you think too much."

Seeing Matthew's non-denial, Helen adjusted her glasses in surprise, "Matthew Horner, you always manage to astonish!"

She emphasized, "You really take big risks!"

Matthew spread his hands, "What can I do? Otherwise, how could I have landed the role in 'The Soul Switching Lady'?"

Helen was at a loss for words, pointing at him, "You are bold, shameless, and cunning. You are quite the character!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Matthew defended himself, "Is that really necessary?"

"You..." Helen stated bluntly, "would be wasting your talents if you weren't fighting it out in Hollywood."

Matthew was speechless, feeling like a saint compared to the paparazzi and entertainment reporters who had been harassing him lately.

"Anything else?" Helen, noticing Matthew's reticence, prodded him to reveal any other secrets, "Let's get it all out now."

Matthew almost mentioned Winona Ryder but remembered the confidentiality agreement he had signed with her. Fearing the substantial penalty for breaking it, he shook his head, "No, there's nothing else. I haven't been in Los Angeles that long."

Just then, he recalled another detail, "The feud between Britney and Christina Aguilera—I told Elena Polya about it. I overheard Britney's assistant muttering about it."

Helen nodded, advising, "Besides me, don't mention this to anyone else. Your relationship with Britney is going well, try to maintain it as long as possible."

"Sure." Matthew nodded, then thought of another matter, "What about Elena Polya?"

Back then, he hadn't thought of any better plan, and now looking back, his actions were full of holes.

Helen pondered briefly, then asked, "Do you have her contact information?" Taking the business card Matthew handed her, she said, "Leave the rest to me. This reporter is daring; I'll see if I can turn her into a collaborator."

"Our collaborator?" Matthew was puzzled.

"Yes," Helen spoke seriously, "You've gained some fame now. To keep the media's attention on you, you'll need a cooperative journalist if... I mean, if things go well for you in the future."

"Do all Hollywood stars have them?" Matthew asked.

Helen nodded, "Pretty much. Entertainment media and Hollywood stars are inseparable." She glanced at her watch, "The makeup artist is about to arrive. I'll handle these matters; your job now is to focus on shooting the MV! And if you can win Britney over, even better."

Matthew gave a non-committal response, lacking experience in such matters.

After the makeup artist arrived and Helen left the temporary makeup room, Matthew turned his attention to the upcoming shoot

. At this stage in his career, a skilled agent like Helen was indispensable. While agencies like CAA or UTA had more resources, they also had many clients like him, and he might not get as much attention as he currently did.

At least his current gig wasn't done yet, and Helen had already secured another audition for him.

An hour later, Matthew stepped out of the makeup room, led by an assistant named York, to the pier.

"Matthew, over here!"

At the edge of the pier near the sea, Britney Spears waved at him, "Come over!"

Since the crew needed to use a panoramic lens to shoot the beach, the actors' rest area was moved to the pier. Matthew walked under Britney's umbrella and unceremoniously pulled up a chair next to her.

"You took your time coming out," Britney, now treating him as a friend, chided playfully.

Matthew smiled, "That just means my makeup artist isn't as fast as yours." His gaze followed the smooth, pale legs protruding from Britney's shorts down to her ankle, "How's the injury?"

"It's fine." Britney stood and walked a few steps toward Matthew, then spun around with her arms outstretched, "See, as long as I don't do any strenuous movements, it's like nothing happened."

"Don't scare me," Matthew quickly stood and gently pushed her back into the chair, "This isn't something to joke about."

Britney, unfazed, teased, "What's to fear? If it comes to it, you can just carry me to the hospital again."

Matthew retorted, "The hospital is too far, and you're too heavy for me to carry."

"Am I really that heavy?" Britney widened her eyes in mock offense.

Realizing his blunder as a crew member approached, Matthew swiftly changed the subject, "They're starting the shoot."

Britney, quick to forget, agreed, "Yeah, let's go."

Indeed, the crew member was there to call Matthew and Britney for shooting. Due to Britney's injury, director Zack Snyder had modified the music video, eliminating the remaining dance scenes and focusing on depicting the unspoken affection between the male and female leads.

The beach was newly set up, and after Zack Snyder explained the scene, Matthew and Britney rehearsed their positions twice before the actual shooting began.

With a panoramic shot, there were no cameras near Matthew. He stood barefoot at the edge of the water, walking along the beach as directed, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the sea met the sky.

As the script required, his character appeared completely captivated by the picturesque scene.

The sea, the beach, and the blue sky were beautiful! A few white clouds drifted across the vast blue sky, and walking along the beach, looking up at the sky with the breeze blowing, was so pleasant, free-spirited, and refreshing.

Perhaps the recent rigorous practice paid off, or maybe his good relationship with Britney excited him, but at that moment, Matthew felt as if he and the scenic Paradise Bay were one.

On the other side of the shooting area, Britney, like the female lead described in the script, stared intently at Matthew, her eyes never wavering, much like a young girl secretly in love.

"Cut!" Zack Snyder's voice, amplified through a megaphone, rang out over the beach, "Very good, that's a wrap!"

He then called out, "Reset the beach, and then we're moving to the restaurant for the next scene!"

No one could pinpoint the exact reason, but Matthew and Britney were in exceptionally good form, and this positive state continued over the following days. The crew, which had originally planned four more days of shooting, finished everything in just three.

After the shooting wrapped up, the music video crew was dismissed. Matthew had planned to invite Britney for dinner, but Helen Herman informed him to hurry back to Los Angeles. The new job opportunity had progressed, and he was needed for an audition the next morning.