At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, a dozen airport security guards stood at the ready, keeping a close watch on two large groups gathered in separate camps across the way. One was dominated by teenagers, about a hundred strong, and the other, ard with caras, was clearly the press—a dozen or so n and won.
Security had been briefed to prevent them from entering the terminal.
One of the reporters, a woman, glanced around and asked a male reporter from another paper standing beside her, "What's all this about?"
The male reporter gestured toward the fans. "Looks like they're here to greet soone."
He had co here specifically for this story. Two thousand dollars wasn't a fortune, but it was over half a month's salary for him, and the cast of The Mummy Returns was the hottest ticket in entertainnt news right now.
"It's ti." Over with the fans, the organizer checked his watch and addressed the people around him.
The teenagers around him pulled various posters from their bags and held them high above their heads, and while the posters varied in style, most of them featured the sa character: the Scorpion King.
At the very edge of the crowd, however, one was different.
Instead of the Scorpion King, the poster held by a young man in his twenties depicted an Arican soldier battling through artillery fire, a Thompson submachine gun in his hands.
"Who are you?"
The girl standing next to the young man glanced at his poster and asked, "Why are you holding a poster like that?"
The young man gestured to the girl's poster in return. "You're all here for Matthew Horner, right?"
"Yeah." It wasn't her first ti at an event like this. The girl declared proudly, "We're Matthew's new supporters."
" too." The young man lowered the poster he was holding to show the girl. "I beca a fan after seeing Matthew as Captain Ronald Speirs in Band of Brothers. This is a poster of Ronald Speirs."
"Oh." The girl realized. It seed the guy was a genuine Matthew supporter after all.
Over with the press, many were looking at the fans' posters and wondering, "The Scorpion King? Matthew Horner?"
"The Scorpion King seems to be a real fan favorite." The male reporter, knowing how to earn his paycheck, inford his colleagues, "Matthew Horner. They say he's a new actor, rising fast in Hollywood. Since his debut, he's been in Girl, Interrupted with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder, had a supporting role in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, was the male lead in a Britney Spears music video, and was handpicked by Tom Hanks to play a company commander in Band of Brothers."
He added at the end, "And none of them were background roles. Even in his first film, Girl, Interrupted, he had speaking lines."
Hearing the long list of high-profile nas, many of the journalists were intrigued. Others thought to themselves, Based on that resu, he's no ordinary actor. I'll focus on getting an interview with him later.
The sound of rolling luggage echoed from the airport exit as a group of n and won, all wearing sunglasses, erged with their bags in tow.
"Here they co!"
A sharp-eyed reporter announced that the arrivals were none other than the main cast and crew of The Mummy Returns.
Instantly, shouts erupted from the fan section. "Scorpion King! Over here!"
"Matthew, we love you!"
Their cheers imdiately reached the cast and crew.
Rachel glanced in their direction before following the crew toward the parking lot.
Matthew, of course, saw the posters the fans were holding and couldn't help but admire their professionalism. The posters of the Scorpion King were interspersed with ones of Evelyn and Imhotep, designed so that a casual glance wouldn't arouse any suspicion.
The reporters were the first to swarm them. The fans tried to approach as well, but security held them back.
A few reporters initially surrounded Rachel, who was walking at the front, but an even larger crowd of them stopped in front of Matthew.
"Matthew," a male reporter called out, "was it a surprise to have so many fans co out to greet you?"
"Yes! It's a huge surprise!" Matthew put on a look of soone so moved he was at a loss for words. "I'm so thrilled! I never expected them to love my character this much. I can't even express what I'm feeling right now."
...
Brendan also erged from the airport exit, only to be t by a sea of Scorpion King posters and the sound of reporters relentlessly firing questions at Matthew.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Brendan glared sullenly, his frustration boiling over. "I'm the star of this movie! Why is everyone fawning over him?!"
After finishing with Matthew, the reporters moved on to interview others. The fans were so energized that even though airport security held them back, the crowd kept chanting.
"Matthew! Matthew Horner!"
"We love you, Matthew!"
Sean Daniels, the producer accompanying the team, couldn't help but nod at the sight of their excitent. He walked over to Matthew and prompted him, "Go sign so autographs for them."
Matthew excused himself from the reporters and went straight to the fans. He took a pen from one of them and began signing the books and posters they held out. A few even asked him to sign their T-shirts, which Matthew happily did.
He maintained a warm and friendly smile for them the entire ti.
anwhile, a few journalists approached Brendan, who was sighing in frustration just as one of the male reporters hit him with a rather awkward question.
"Brendan," the reporter's voice was quite loud, "your role hasn't been as well-received as the Scorpion King's. What are your thoughts on that?"
"What do I think?" Brendan had been bottling up a lot of anger lately, but thankfully, he knew how to control it. "I don't think anything of it!"
With that, he turned and stalked off toward the parking lot.
The male reporter shook his head deliberately. "Looks like there's so conflict between him and Matthew."
The man next to him agreed. "How could you not be angry when your thunder is stolen by a supporting actor? But this is better for us. It gives us sothing to write about."
Several reporters laughed like a pack of jackals. This was exactly the kind of gossip the public loved to read.
...
The other actors left one by one while Matthew continued to interact with the fans, surrounded by reporters snapping pictures. Sean Daniels wasn't in a hurry, so he stood nearby with a crew mber, waiting patiently.
One by one, the rest of the cast entered the parking garage and boarded their vehicle, a large van with a luxurious interior provided by the hotel. A vehicle like this was far more comfortable for travel than a standard car.
Brendan sat in a spacious seat, his expression dark. The cast had traveled all the way from Los Angeles, and at every stop, countless fans and dia outlets had sward Matthew as if he were the star of the film.
Compared to Matthew, he felt completely sidelined. Everywhere he went, every ti he was interviewed, the reporters mostly asked how he felt about having his spotlight stolen by a supporting actor.
And he had seen Matthew's attitude toward him change, from the very first days on set at Pinewood Studios in London, all the way through the premiere. Back then, Matthew had just been his "little brother" on set.
And now? Now, Matthew no longer took him seriously.
The van was silent. No one was talking. The two seats beside Brendan remained empty; no one dared to sit there. The others weren't stupid—they knew better than to provoke him.
"Why aren't we leaving?" Brendan suddenly spoke up, his voice laced with irritation. "How much longer do we have to wait?"
No one answered him. The driver turned around and said, "Sorry, we haven't received the order to go yet."
Seeing that the producer, Sean Daniels, hadn't arrived either, Brendan held his tongue and continued to wait, stewing in his seat as he replayed the scene at the airport and the similar situations he'd faced in every city.
If it weren't for his contract, he would've quit this promotional tour right then and there!
The driver suddenly opened the door. The assistant director climbed in first, followed by Matthew and Sean, who were laughing and talking.
The two n entered the cabin, glanced around, and took the seats next to Brendan.
With an apologetic expression, Matthew addressed the others. "Sorry to keep you all waiting."
Things like this were common with a cast on tour. The others smiled and shook their heads, signaling that it was fine.
Only Brendan tensed up, hearing Matthew deliberately say to Sean while sneaking a glance at him, "The fans and reporters are so enthusiastic. I don't have enough experience to handle them."
Brendan's temper flared instantly. He couldn't stop himself from turning his head and snapping, "Do you have any concept of ti? Why make a whole bus full of people wait for you?"
"Sorry." Matthew turned his head and looked at Brendan with a deliberately smug smile. "My apologies for the wait."
Though it might have sounded sincere to the others, Brendan could clearly see the smugness on Matthew's face, and his fury intensified. "Matthew, you son of a bitch, you—"
"That's enough!" Producer Sean Daniels cut Brendan off just in ti and said to the driver, "Let's go!"
Brendan shot Sean an angry look but didn't say another word.
The van pulled away from the airport and soon arrived at the hotel the production had booked. In front of the hotel, another crowd of fans had gathered, many of them holding posters of the Scorpion King.
The cast and crew stepped out of the van, and the scene from the airport nearly repeated itself.
"Is the Scorpion King really that popular?" Arnold was curious. "In every city we've passed through, there have been hordes of his supporters."
The other cast and crew mbers nodded in agreent. The reaction from the press and the support from the fans made it clear that the Scorpion King had truly beco the highlight of the film and was imnsely popular.
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