UH shouldn't tell the public how much it is paying actor Matthew McConaughey to speak at May's commencement, because "a reporter or someone else" might create "unfair negatives online and take things out of context," the celebrity booking agency representing the actor argues in a brief filed with the Texas Attorney General.

UH has booked McConaughey to speak at commencement, but the school refused to disclose how much it intends to pay the actor after the Houston Chronicle requested the information last month. The university's contract with McConaughey's booking agency, Celebrity Talent International, includes a rare confidentiality clause, under which UH had to provide notice to the company that the information has been requested and give the agency an opportunity to object to the release of their information with the state attorney general's office.

"We all have seen this with reporters and individuals on a daily basis in the news and is very sensitive now with celebrities who are unfairly targeted often," Glenn Richardson wrote in a March 9 letter to the attorney general's office, which argues, among other things, that releasing McConaughey's contract details could hurt the company's business.

More on McConaughey's commencement speech

The company says the amount UH, a public university, is paying the actor and other details in his contract are a trade secret that, if revealed, would give an unfair edge to Celeberity Talent International's competitors.

"I understand that there needs to be transparency with some things, but it seems that after reading the statutes I was referred to, that our company's communications, emails and agreement details should be deferred due to things related to unfair competition with my competitors and also for Mr. McConaughy's security," Richardson writes.

In the brief, Richardson says that he recently booked William Shatner and Shirley MacLaine for a "major international Red Cross Fundraiser" and even though the company didn't "let the media know of them," both actors were harassed at the Palm Beach Airport.

"Due to their celebrity and the openness of the internet, it attracts the wrong element at times," Richardson wrote. "Agents, managers and our office would get harassed by individuals who feel they can solicit us all for their events. We get several a day on other bookings and with

this information released I am sure we would get many more, wasting a great deal of time and also it would put us at a disadvantage with our competitors."

UH said in a statement last month that it does not believe the contract information is confidential. Thomas Gregor, a Houston attorney who serves on the board of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said at the time that he could "think of no circumstance under which a commencement fee paid by a public university could be properly withheld."

The attorney general must decide whether UH has to release the information by April 29.

According to the agency's website, the minimum fee to book McConaughey in the U.S. ranges from $150,000 to $499,000.

CTI McConaughey Brief