The richest actor in Hollywood.

As the final championship ceremony was still ongoing, Matthew and Lily Collins left the live broadcast hall early. Several people had already recognized him, and if they didn't leave quickly, they would certainly be surrounded. Under the protection of six bodyguards, they got into a bulletproof Mercedes.

"Where to?" Matthew asked.

Lily Collins, who had long since stopped being formal with Matthew, replied, "Let's find a place to grab a late-night snack. I'm hungry."

Matthew glanced outside and said to Brown Williams, "Let's go to Eglie Restaurant."

This Italian restaurant, just nearby, had a particularly distinctive late-night menu that Matthew had tried once before.

In just five minutes, Matthew and Lily Collins walked into the restaurant, with his six bodyguards also following in and spreading out over two nearby tables.

Lily Collins looked at Brown Williams and asked, "Has the situation from earlier still not been resolved?"

After ordering the food and returning the menu to the waiter, Matthew replied, "No, it hasn't." He smiled and added, "Don't worry, this is Los Angeles, not Tijuana."

There were some things he couldn't share with Lily Collins, after all, she was just a nineteen-year-old girl.

Just three days ago, under continuous pressure from his side, the FBI and California police, in cooperation with the Mexican authorities, conducted another raid in Tijuana. Many drug dealers became jittery, but the two targets identified by the spray painter weren't captured.

According to Helen Herman, the Mexican police might have leaked the information.

Everyone knows that the rampant nature of Mexican drug dealers is directly related to the corruption within the Mexican police.

In today's world, any drug dealer or gang is insignificant in the face of a powerful national apparatus.

Matthew wasn't overly worried; the FBI speculated that the two targets had likely fled to Colombia or somewhere even further.

However, he hadn't let his guard down, as the targets might still attempt to infiltrate California—after all, Tijuana is just a wall away from the state.

Lily Collins, coming from a wealthy family, wasn't too familiar with these issues. After asking a few casual questions, the conversation shifted to the finale of *American Idol* Season 8, which they had just watched.

"Are the judges crazy? They actually let Kris Allen win over Adam Lambert!" Lily Collins seemed quite indignant. "Adam's voice is more unique, while Kris Allen's singing was so average. I really don't like him."

Seeing that Matthew remained unmoved, she continued, "Honestly, based on tonight's performances, Kris Allen was like someone you'd hear singing at a bar while having a drink. Adam Lambert, on the other hand, sounded like a true singer performing on stage."

"Hmm..." Matthew thought for a moment and said, "I think they were about the same."

Lily Collins rolled her eyes. "Your taste in music is terrible!"

At this point, the waiter brought over the late-night snacks they had ordered. As they ate, Lily Collins remarked, "Didn't you notice how excited the front-row audience was during Adam Lambert's performance? Some people were even moved to tears!"

Indeed, during the show, most of the front-row audience appeared exceptionally excited, as if the performance resonated deeply with them.

But having spent years in Hollywood and being the top client of Angel Agency, Matthew knew those audience members weren't as straightforward as they seemed.

"Lily..." Instead of directly responding to her comment, Matthew asked, "When you hosted shows on Nickelodeon, didn't you have similar audiences?"

"What kind of audience?" Lily Collins didn't quite understand what Matthew meant.

Matthew decided to be direct. "I'm talking about professional audiences like the ones we saw tonight."

Lily Collins was stunned. "They weren't regular audience members?" She smacked her forehead. "Could they be the so-called professional audience?"

She had heard of them but had never encountered them directly during her brief time hosting children's shows.

Matthew nodded. "Not just professional audiences; most of them come from the same agency as us."

Lily Collins was surprised. "They're clients of Angel Agency, too?"

"Two years ago, Helen established a subsidiary of Angel Agency to separate the business of temporary actors." Matthew calmly explained, "She also expanded into the professional audience market. Currently, her company provides audience services for many shows like *American Idol* and *The Tonight Show*... It's one of the top companies in Hollywood for this kind of business."

"I thought Helen only dealt with high-end clients." Lily Collins scratched her cheek.

Matthew laughed. "Don't underestimate this low-end business. I saw a financial report from Helen two months ago, and the revenue from this segment is quite impressive."

This business is closely related to the temporary actor industry. For television stations and production companies, temporary actors are unfamiliar faces. When recording or broadcasting variety shows, they can place the more presentable ones in camera-friendly positions, passing them off as ordinary audience members.

Helen Herman originally started with low-end temporary actor services, and Angel Agency has never abandoned this business. Later, for operational reasons, it was spun off into a separate subsidiary.

With access to a large pool of temporary actors, expanding into the professional audience market was a natural progression.

"I've heard of professional audiences before but never encountered them." Lily Collins asked curiously, "How much do they earn?"

Matthew recalled the data he had seen in Helen Herman's office and said, "Not bad." Seeing Lily's curiosity, he elaborated, "In recent years, not only the Big Four TV networks but also many production companies have been heavily involved in reality TV and music talent shows. *American Idol* is already in its eighth season, and for many shows, the audience's emotional reactions are just as important as the content itself."

Lily Collins thought about it and nodded in agreement. "It seems that's true. In recent years, TV shows have been giving more and more screen time to the audience."

"Take *American Idol*, for example," Matthew continued. "When contestants perform, the front-row audience often appears to be completely enthralled, humming along with their eyes closed or even shedding tears of emotion."

He couldn't help but laugh. "The more convincingly they act, the more money they make."

In North America, there are too many TV stations, with no single network dominating the industry. As a result, competition among stations is fierce, leading them to come up with various strategies to boost ratings and enhance the show's effect.

This isn't exactly a secret in the entertainment industry. To recruit professional audiences, many TV stations post online job ads or outsource the task to specialized companies like Angel Agency.

Being a professional audience member requires a certain level of acting talent. They need to cry on demand, appear genuinely captivated at a moment's notice, and have a loud enough voice when cheering.

This profession also has its own hierarchy. The highest-paid professional audience members can earn $300 to $500 for recording a three-hour show. The lower-end ones, who might just clap and shout from the audience, can earn between $50 and $200 for the same time.

Having been a temporary actor himself, Matthew had paid special attention to this area when he saw the relevant information at Helen Herman's office. Unfortunately, during his time as a temporary actor, this industry hadn't yet fully developed. Otherwise, being a professional audience member might have made earning money a bit easier.

Nowadays, temporary actors who can break into the professional audience market earn much more than those who only work as background actors in movies.

For instance, Helen Herman's professional audience business is divided into three tiers: the first tier earns $300 to $500 per show, tasked with being prominently featured on camera—typically those moved to tears or completely enraptured; the second tier earns around $100 to $200 per show, tasked with cheering near the stage; and the third tier earns $50 per show, mainly holding signs with contestants' names.

When these professional audiences cry the hardest, cheer the loudest, and hold up the most signs, they're not actual fans of the contestants.

For each season of *American Idol*, the production company pre-pays Angel Agency a fee, and Helen Herman's team selects suitable audience members from the pool of temporary actors to participate in the recordings or live broadcasts.

This market segment has grown significantly. According to Helen Herman, it reached around $200 million last year.

In any case, Helen Herman, like Matthew, doesn't get into any business unless it's profitable.

Of course, like actors, professional audience members also need training.

The agency arranges for them to learn acting skills in advance, making their performances more convincing. Additionally, their appearance affects their pay rates—the better they look, the higher the price, and those with better looks are seated closer to the stage. During peak season, some can earn over $10,000 a month.

As Matthew and Lily Collins chatted about these industry tidbits, they often burst into laughter, enjoying their time together. However, before they finished their late-night meal, Lily's mother called, asking her to come home early.

After dinner, Matthew personally drove Lily Collins back to Beverly Hills.

Perhaps due to her family background, upbringing, and relatively smooth career entry, Lily Collins seemed simpler compared to most actresses Matthew had encountered.

The next day, Lily Collins called Matthew to inform him that she was leaving Los Angeles to join the *Twilight* crew for a nationwide promotional tour.

Matthew also returned to the set, ready to participate in the filming of *G.I. Joe*.

_________________________

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