Chapter 145 The Prestige Lost

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In all the cities that the crew passed through, Matthew was warmly welcomed by the fans. The reports about him in the media were mainly positive, not to mention other people. Even he himself had an illusion, as if the role of the Scorpion King made him feel good. He became popular all over the United States overnight.

But Matthew finally knew the real situation. These were all well-planned campaigns by Helen Herman. When he came to New York, along with Irina Boyar, he kept smearing Brandon Fraser's compensation. The large sums of money were spent like flowing water, and the wealth he had accumulated was almost consumed.

Fortunately, I also saw the effect. After all, this is not a hype out of thin air, but a character that has really responded well as a basis.

Matthew met a large number of fans who supported him at the event. There were so many fans that it was impossible to hire them all. It should be said that most of them were real fans.

Long Island Cote Plaza was full of people, and countless fans gathered together. Some crazy fans even dressed up as Anubis, but more fans wore cultural shirts printed with the strong, fierce and domineering Scorpion King to show that they were right favorite of a character.

Even, some people put out a slogan - what is the return of the mummy? I just remember the Scorpion King!

"See, Andy." Sean Daniel was standing on the terrace of a building near the square and said to a white man in his thirties, "This is the real situation, the Scorpion King is very popular, T-shirts printed with it have become a popular trend among some fan groups."

The man named Andy is the assistant of Philip Clayston, the director of the production department of Universal Pictures, and can be regarded as the eyes of Philip Clayston at this time and place.

Sean - Daniel added, "Almost every stop, there will be a similar situation."

"That's why." Andy laughed. "Mr. Philip Clayston asked me to come and see. These are more real than the media and statistics."

Sean - Daniel will not say more, this is not a dispute of sentiment, but a dispute over business, everything speaks in terms of the market.

The sun in May was a bit dazzling, and the two quickly hid under the sun umbrella. Since this is a prosperous commercial area, it is not easy to rent a suitable place. They can only find such a building that is not high. outdoor cafe.

"Step aside!"

In the building below, Brandon Fraser entered the dressing room and found that the first chair he used to sit in was actually occupied by Matthew, "This is my seat!"

Matthew ignored him at all. He just met Helen Herman this morning and settled on something.

"Didn't you hear?" Brandon Frazier had accumulated too much dissatisfaction with Matthew, "This is my seat!"

"Yours?" Matthew was deliberately provoking. He looked at the chair first, then the dressing table, spread his hands and said, "Sorry, I didn't see your name."

Brandon Fraser narrowed his eyes. "What do you want to do, Matthew Horner?"

Matthew stood up from his chair, shrugged, and said, "Just wanted to tell you something." He suddenly reached out and patted Brandon Frazier on the shoulder. "I don't like it very much."

He snorted coldly and said deliberately, "Don't pretend to be the boss everywhere. Brandon, you belong to the last century! Don't you understand, you are out of date."

Brandon Fraser was stunned, and Matthew passed by him, smug laughter accompanying him out of the dressing room.

Matthew walked out of the dressing room and did not leave immediately. Instead, he slowed down and wanted to confirm the effect of his provocation. With Brandon Fraser's temperament that he likes to be the boss, he was mocked by his younger brother in the crew. With such a long period of accumulation, it must be unstoppable.

In the past ten days, although he has been quietly stimulating Brandon Frazier, he has never confronted him head-on, nor has he challenged his mentality of the boss of the crew.

bang-

There was a loud noise in the dressing room, as if something had fallen to the ground.

Hearing this voice, Matthew didn't have to go back and take another look. After more than ten consecutive days of continuous stimulation, Brandon Fraser stepped into the trap step by step. The accumulated anger over the past ten days is probably in his heart. Burning.

On the terrace near the square, Andy communicated smoothly with Sean Daniel, which was also related to the current situation.

The North American box office has successfully exceeded 100 million, but the word of mouth has been declining all the way. Due to the poor word of mouth, the film has shown a trend of high opening and low going. After the original first week box office was released, Universal Pictures hopes that the final North American box office will reach 250,000. Between $10,000 and $270 million, it has now quietly lowered its expectations, arguing that the North American box office will not exceed $230 million at the bottom.

There are also more people within Universal who are beginning to realize that continuing to make a sequel to the series may not be a good choice.

After all, there is accumulated popularity that can be consumed. Is there still so much popularity to consume for a sequel?

"Andy," Sean Daniel asked, "when will the marketing research end?"

"It's coming, it won't last too long." Andy thought for a while and said, "The statistical results will definitely be in the hands of Mr. Philip Clayston before Wednesday."

Sean Daniel nodded. Stephen Sommers' script has been completed and is being revised and polished. The plan is also being formulated. As long as Universal Pictures gives the green light, this project will soon be put into actual planning.

Presumably, the media and fans' response to the role of the Scorpion King should also spread to Universal Pictures during this time, and the resistance may be less.

The only shortcoming is that Matthew Horner is not famous enough. Although Brandon Fraser has caused a lot of criticism and abuse because of his more general performance in the film, his appeal is not comparable to Matthew.

How about a different hero? Sean Daniel then shook his head. Although the Scorpion King in the two films is not the same person, the risk of changing actors is still too great, and it is impossible to find a more suitable actor than Matthew Horner in a short time.

Among the younger generation of action actors, there are very few successful actors. Famous ones such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage and others are very suitable, but the high salary is a problem.

Using raw is far better than using cooked, and this Matthew Horner impressed him and Stephen Sommers when he was filming at Pinewood Studios.

The activities in the square gradually came to an end, and Andy suddenly found a place in chaos, and couldn't help asking, "What's going on there?"

Sean Daniel also found out, and quickly stood up and walked to the edge of the terrace. Since it was not far from the square, he could clearly see there. The confusion was obviously caused by the fight.

"It seems to be fighting." Andy also came over.

Needless to say, Sean Daniel also saw it, and his face was not very good-looking, after all, he was the person in charge of the crew.

In the square, the security guards separated two people, and the media reporters gathered around to take pictures frantically. Sean Daniel could see clearly, one person was unfamiliar, and the other was very familiar.

The familiar person is clearly Brandon Fraser!

Another was wearing a Scorpion King t-shirt, presumably a fan.

"Brandon Fraser clashed with fans?" Andy couldn't believe what he saw. "Is he crazy?"

A movie star clashes with fans who support the movie he starred in. Isn't that crazy?

This is simply a scandal!

There was little conflict in the square, and the situation was quickly brought under control. Sean Daniel made a phone call, asked a few questions, and quickly hung up.

"What happened?" Andy asked.

Sean Daniel sighed and said, "A fan wanted to get Brandon Frazier's autograph, I don't know why, and Brandon Frazier was in a bad mood because the fan refused to wear a t-shirt with the Scorpion King on it. The fans couldn't understand his unreasonable excuse, and he probably said something unpleasant, the two had a verbal conflict, and Brandon Fraser beat the fan."

Andy didn't quite understand, "Why did he refuse to sign autographs for fans wearing cultural shirts with The Scorpion King?"

"This is not the first time." Sean Marshall looked helpless, "It is estimated that the Scorpion King stole the limelight from his hero, so you are not happy."

He shrugged, "Brandon Frazier has always thought of himself as the boss of the crew, this kind of thing..."

Sean Daniel didn't say anything further. Andy could understand what he meant and couldn't help shaking his head. Now, how can Brandon Fraser be the protagonist of a big production?

When the two of them went downstairs, I don't know who actually called the police. The police took away the two parties involved in the conflict and made a note to the people around them. In full view, Brandon Fraser thought. Lai can't help it.

Sean Daniel knew very well that this incident would inevitably cause an uproar in the media, but he did not bail Brandon Frazier very quickly. It was not until that night that Brandon Frazier was released from the police station. come out.

There were no surprises in the development of the matter. Related news appeared on the Internet that day. Traditional newspapers and TV stations also reported on the next day. The media unanimously accused Brandon Fraser, the Hollywood star whose popularity was greatly reduced.

Under pressure from Universal Pictures and the agency, Brandon Fraser apologized publicly, but he couldn't recover his lost popularity.

"The situation is very clear now." Helen Herman told Matthew in a hotel suite in New York, "I just got news from Universal Pictures that the executives of Universal Pictures are very dissatisfied with Brandon Fraser. , is negotiating with his agency, and the possibility of starting a sequel in the short term is very small."

Matthew asked curiously, "You arranged what happened on the square?"

Helen Herman just told him to find a way to piss off Brandon Frazier, but nothing else.

"You don't need to know about this, and you don't need to know." Helen Herman didn't mean to say at all, and reminded, "Go back and pack your things, we should go back to Los Angeles to launch the general attack."