The sun had just dipped below the sea, but darkness hadn't yet fallen. Five n from Red Penguin Services were already hard at work: one chef was setting up a grill in the corner of the yard, his assistant was arranging an array of food—from cuts of at to fresh vegetables and fruit—while the other three set up the yard, placing a round wooden table surrounded by various drinks in the middle of the lawn.
Lister, who was leading the small crew himself, walked up to the door and called out to Matthew, "Co take a look. I'm sure you'll be pleased."
Matthew put down his phone, stepped out of the house, and surveyed the yard with a sweeping glance. "Red Penguin Services is as professional as ever," he remarked.
Lister ca to stand beside Matthew and added with a smile, "We always provide the best service."
"Yes, of course." Matthew had spent ti with the company and knew that better than anyone.
Lister glanced at Matthew. He looked different from the man he'd been a year ago—leaner, more toned, and radiating the unmistakable confidence of a successful person.
Who would have thought a simple driver could make it in Hollywood?
Since reconnecting with Matthew, Lister had made a point of gathering news and information about him. A leading role in a major film from Universal Pictures, with a forty-million-dollar budget—that was already a solid foothold in Hollywood. As long as the film could recoup its costs, or even just avoid losing too much money, Matthew Horner would have no trouble making a na for himself and would definitely beco a B-list star.
Unlike outsiders, Red Penguin Services catered mainly to the rich and famous, so Lister knew the ins and outs of Hollywood. Even a minor star could an a surge in inco, to say nothing of a leading man who had starred in a well-known production with a forty-million-dollar budget.
He thought of one of the company's major clients, Jonny Lee Miller. His only morable work was "Trainspotting," in which he was a supporting actor, yet he was still living comfortably, throwing away $100,000 a year on Red Penguin Services.
Thinking about this, Lister looked at Matthew with a certain eagerness in his eyes. He had recently learned about his $500,000 salary for "The Scorpion King" and was determined to make him a client of his company.
Matthew walked around the yard, with Lister accompanying him the whole ti. Compared to the beginning, when Matthew was just a driver, their positions had reversed.
However, Matthew didn't bring up the past. It was all behind them. Lister had never wronged him, and Matthew had no intention of doing so either.
"I saw the trailer for The Scorpion King, and so did my son," Lister suddenly spoke up, his tone clearly ingratiating. "It's great! I'll definitely take my son to the theater to support you!"
"Thanks." An idea occurred to Matthew, and he said, "I can get you two tickets to the premiere if you really want to go."
Besides a few invited guests, as the lead actor, he had ten tickets for the film's premiere screening.
But Matthew didn't have many friends outside of Hollywood, and after giving so to people like Nibora and his fencing instructor, he still had five left.
"Yes, please," Lister said instantly.
He himself was indifferent, but his son had loved the trailer. "My boy will be over the moon."
They walked to the door of the house. Matthew told Lister to wait a mont, then went inside and made a call to arrange for two premiere tickets to "The Scorpion King."
It was a small way of returning a favor. After all, Lister had more or less helped him out when he left Red Penguin Services.
Lister was thrilled about the tickets and spent so more ti talking with Matthew. As it approached 5:00 PM, he glanced at his watch and asked tentatively, "Do you need any models to liven up the party?"
Hearing this, Matthew was instantly reminded of the ti he used to drive those models...
He felt a flicker of embarrassnt and shook his head. "No, it'll just be couples at the party."
"Ah." Lister didn't press the matter. "It's getting late. I'll see the guys out. Call
if you need anything."
Once five o'clock struck, Lister left with his entire crew, including the chef.
Matthew walked over to the grill and looked at the food and at the chef had prepared in advance. He didn't have to do anything except light the fire and start grilling once his guests arrived.
It was just before six when Jas and Michael Fassbender arrived together, both bearing gifts for Matthew: a bottle of champagne from Jas, and an exquisite porcelain ornant from Michael.
Matthew accepted the gifts with a smile.
"What's with the sudden party?" Jas asked Matthew as they sat at the round table in the center of the yard. "Don't we usually just go to the pub for a drink?"
Michael, like Jas, was a bit puzzled. "There are no unspoken secrets between friends, right?"
"I'm planning to use this party to pick up girls," Matthew joked deliberately. "You believe that?"
Michael imdiately shot him a look of mock contempt. "Don't you have a girlfriend? Decided to stand on two boats?"
Jas chid in, "Yeah, isn't your girlfriend coming?"
Matthew shrugged. "She's not in the States. She's in Europe on business."
He changed the subject and said in all seriousness, "If I say anything about the movie business at the party, I need you to act like you never heard it. It'll all be lies on my part."
Michael wondered, "What are you up to?"
Jas added, "He's definitely plotting sothing."
Matthew said seriously, "Jas, Michael, tonight you're just my guests. Pure and simple."
"Did soone piss you off?" Michael asked. "Just say the word, and we'll..."
Matthew smiled. "I'll definitely tell you everything, but later. For now, just focus on filling your bellies. Eat and drink tonight, and don't take anything I say to heart."
Seeing Matthew emphasize the point again, both Michael and Jas nodded seriously.
Jas changed the subject, asking, "Matthew, how much do you think The Scorpion King will make at the North Arican box office?"
Matthew shrugged. "I don't know, but I want it to make over a hundred million dollars dostically!"
In Hollywood, a leading actor whose film grosses $100 million in North Arica is in a completely different league. They're worlds apart from soone whose films only bring in tens of millions. Even if the difference is just a few million dollars, the impact is completely different.
"Is that possible?" Michael asked.
"No." From the outside, seeing major Hollywood blockbusters rake in over $100 million on opening weekend made it seem easy. But now that he was on the inside, he knew just how hard it was. "I think it'll be a success if the North Arican box office exceeds the production costs and marketing investnt."
He had discussed this with Helen. Based on the general Hollywood landscape, if "The Scorpion King" could make fifty to sixty million dollars at the North Arican box office, plus foreign markets, television rights, and DVD and video sales and rentals, Universal would have no trouble recouping its costs. The only question was how much profit it would turn.
Universal had direct distribution companies in many Western countries and territories, and the box office share from those markets was lower than in North Arica, but not by much.
Of course, Matthew guessed it was unlikely that "The Scorpion King" would be released in the Pacific market as a revenue-sharing film, but he wondered if Universal Pictures could sell them the distribution rights.
In truth, Matthew still hoped his first leading role would be shown in theaters across the Pacific—a subtle psychological quirk that was hard for outsiders to understand.
The three of them sat in the yard talking about work. Matthew learned that Jas had signed on with the crew of the series "Children of Dune," while Michael was preparing to shoot a British television series called "Witch" and would be returning to London soon.
Both of them had full schedules for the next two years, with practically no free ti.
At half-past five, Ben Foster arrived. Matthew introduced him to Michael. As for Jas, they were already old acquaintances, having spent ti together on the set of "Black Hawk Down."
About ten minutes later, Orlando appeared, and unlike the previous three, he had brought a companion.
"Legolas and the fair princess Arwen, stepping out of Middle-earth, hand in hand."
Standing before Orlando and his companion, Matthew deliberately adopted a British accent and declared, "I am not worthy to stand before you."
"Oh, shut up." Orlando clapped Matthew on the shoulder, then introduced his companion. "This is Liv Tyler, my friend. We t on the set of 'The Lord of the Rings.'"
Matthew shook Liv Tyler's hand and introduced her and Orlando to Jas, Michael, and Ben.
And with that, the barbecue party began.
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