The Box Office King of Hollywood

In the hallways of the Los Angeles County Courthouse, a bald Maurice stood at a corridor corner, glancing at the mediation room door. It was tightly closed, showing no sign of the parties inside coming out yet.

He had a temporary contract with Matthew Horner, and this lawsuit didn't concern him much, but thinking about the series of negative impacts Horner's breach of contract had caused him, he couldn't help but come to check, having arranged a connection to accompany the production company's representative to the courthouse.

To him, this was an opportunity.

Back when he was embarrassed, he had thought about getting Horner into a super hardcore film crew.

But as a non-party, he couldn't enter the mediation room, and since he had just been to the bathroom, he missed Horner's arrival.

Originally, he had a pleasant cooperation with the production company of "Forbidden Tarot," but this breach brought a lot of trouble, until a few months ago when he found another actor that satisfied the production company, which finally put the matter to rest.

Though the female actors were key in such films, male actors couldn't just be anyone; they needed to have substantial assets.

Matthew Horner had the assets; not using them for such films was a waste...

Maurice still felt regretful about it. He had been busy looking for actors for the production company for the past six months and hadn't paid much attention to other matters. He wondered how that country bumpkin was doing now.

But what could change in just six months? A $30,000 mediation penalty, how was Horner going to pay it back?

$30,000 was certainly not a small amount! Maurice had asked around before coming; the settlement agreement was to be paid in installments, with the opposing lawyer asking for it to be paid in three parts, while the production company just wanted the penalty, with no special time requirements, as long as it was paid within the next year.

But this also highlighted one thing, Matthew Horner was broke! Still a penniless man!

Maurice thought, if Horner couldn't pay later, could he be tempted again? Of course, this time he couldn't let him shoot ordinary films; after causing so much trouble, he had to shoot super hardcore types? He heard that many companies focusing on human and livestock interactions in the valley were always short of male actors...

Thinking this, Maurice almost laughed out loud but held it in.

He knew the production company didn't care much and didn't want to waste too much time on such matters. If it weren't for his instigation, along with the $30,000 not being a small amount...

Inside the mediation room, under the facilitator's leadership, the parties quickly reached an agreement. Wilson, the lawyer, handed the out-of-court settlement agreement to Matthew, who briefly flipped through it before handing it to Helen Herman, who had accompanied him. After checking it, she said, "No problem, sign it."

Matthew took up the pen and signed his name on the two copies of the contract.

Though he had to pay $30,000, plus Wilson's $4,000 lawyer's fee, the loss of $16,000 significantly lightened his burden.

And Wilson's lawyer's fee could be paid by the end of the year, while the $30,000 penalty could be paid in three installments over the next year, which wasn't too much pressure on him.

"Finally, it's over." Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

Helen Herman nodded and then said, "I warned you, but you didn't take it seriously."

Matthew had nothing to say; this reality check showed him that the fantasy of getting lucky by cutting corners was just that—a fantasy. This wretched US society is incredibly realistic.

He had to be more realistic in the future.

After signing the settlement agreement, the production company's people and the lawyer were the first to leave, and Wilson, having other cases to handle, also hurried off.

Matthew and Helen Herman packed up their things and leisurely left the mediation room, walking down the corridor.

At the corridor corner, bald Maurice saw Matthew and almost laughed out loud, judging from his appearance that the guy must have suffered a lot recently.

He clearly remembered that Matthew Horner used to be clean and tidy, but now? His pale skin was completely gone, his face and the arms exposed outside his short-sleeved T-shirt were very dark, obviously from long-term outdoor labor under the sun.

And his body, Matthew Horner had obviously lost weight...

What did this indicate? For a long time now, Matthew Horner had been engaged in high-intensity physical labor, low-status jobs that didn't pay much.

In Los Angeles, this kind of work was just enough to sustain oneself, let alone pay off a huge debt of $30,000.

So, Maurice's gaze fell on the woman next to him, who was dressed in a fitted business

 suit. He sensed a fellow professional from her.

"No wonder Matthew Horner dared to sign the settlement agreement." Maurice quickly connected some dots, "So that's it!"

Watching the two of them walk out the door, Maurice hurriedly followed, that Matthew Horner, who had initially refused so adamantly, causing him a lot of unnecessary trouble, had still ended up walking this path.

This matter really displeased him.

Exiting the Los Angeles Courthouse building, he saw the two ahead enter the parking lot and quickly followed, seeing them pull open the car doors to get in, he couldn't help but call out, "Matthew Horner!"

Matthew had just pulled open the passenger door when he heard someone call his name, turning his head to see a glaringly bright bald head approaching under the sunlight.

He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sun and then made out the face of the person coming, involuntarily frowning.

Although they had only been acquainted for a short time, Matthew remembered who this person was.

Helen Herman hadn't gotten into the car either, closing the door she had opened, and looked puzzled at the approaching bald man. From his suit, tie, and briefcase, and the overall impression, she felt she was encountering a colleague, but this one seemed different, though she couldn't quite place how at the moment.

"Long time no see, Matthew." Maurice, clutching his briefcase, came up to Matthew and deliberately looked him up and down meticulously, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Back on the construction site swinging a hammer again? How did you get so sunburned? I almost thought I encountered a black man..."

In reality, Matthew had only turned a light tan, far from being truly black.

Without waiting for Matthew to speak, Maurice turned to look at Helen Herman on the other side of the car, "Miss, which agency are you from? You seem very unfamiliar."

Helen Herman looked at Matthew, who shrugged, "This is the agent I told you about."

She immediately understood.

Maurice turned back to Matthew, "Driving and swinging a hammer not making enough money? Back in this industry again? Which crew are you part of? Matthew, spill it, I know a lot of people throughout the valley, maybe I can help you out."

"What future is there with a female agent?" He tried to pat Matthew's shoulder, but Matthew blocked it with his hand, forcing Maurice to continue, "Why not sign with me again? I guarantee, you could become a big star, participating in the most heavyweight films in the industry."

Maurice disdainfully glanced at Helen Herman again; he basically knew all the important agents in the industry, and this girl was clearly a novice.

"And you." He pointed at Helen Herman, "Why be an agent? With your looks, you should get in front of the camera yourself, you'd definitely become famous."

Helen Herman's face showed a hint of anger, but Maurice was quick with his words, again addressing Matthew, "What kind of insignificant film are you shooting? Come with me instead, I'll pay the breach of contract fee!"

"Will you really pay?" Helen Herman suddenly spoke up.

Maurice rubbed his bald head, opened his mouth to speak, but then held back, having just spoken off the cuff.

Helen Herman was clearly agitated by his earlier comment about getting in front of the camera, saying, "Matthew's breach of contract fee in the crew is average, $300,000!"

"What?" Maurice didn't believe it, "Three hundred thousand dollars? Don't joke, even Nicky Anderson's breach of contract fee isn't that high! What kind of film are you shooting?"

"Band of Brothers!" Helen Herman said indifferently, "DreamWorks, BBC, and HBO are investing, with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg as producers."

"That's impossible!"

Maurice turned to look at Matthew, this penniless nobody, who was willing to shoot that kind of film for money and fame, how could he possibly mix into a project produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg?

Since Helen Herman had spoken, she didn't plan to stop, "DreamWorks and HBO both have public phone numbers, you can call and see if it's true."

Hearing her say this, Maurice suddenly felt a sense of absurdity, looking up at the sky, the scorching sun burning his skin, clearly not a dreamy night.

"Forget it, believe it or not, up to you, I'm a licensed entertainment agent." Helen Herman then opened the car door again, "I have nothing to say to people like you."

After she said that, she got into the car.

Matthew also opened the passenger side door, actually, he remembered that Maurice also had a regular entertainment agent license, which had been quite effective when bamboozling another Matthew.

"I know you don't believe it." Matthew didn't immediately get into the car, saying, "By the way, my

 last role was the male lead in Britney Spears' MV, the launch ceremony is this Friday morning, there's supposed to be a live TV broadcast, you can check it out."

"MV? Britney? And the male lead?"

Maurice was somewhat stunned, just now he had looked up at the sun, and the intense sunlight had irritated his eyes, combined with Matthew's words, he felt a bit dizzy.

Beside him, the sound of the car starting up rang out, and before Maurice could recover, the car had driven away from the parking lot.

"When are you going to New York?" Helen Herman regained her composure, "I'll have someone book the tickets."

Matthew shook his head, "No need, I'm planning to go tomorrow, I've already booked the ticket."