The banquet hall was buzzing with noise. Each person who received a major award became the center of attention, including Charlize Theron. When Matthew approached, her surroundings were crowded with people, making it nearly impossible for him to greet her.
Scarlett Johansson, clutching Matthew's arm, gently tugged at him and looked up, suggesting, "Shall we leave first?"
Matthew looked down at her and asked directly, "Can't wait?"
Scarlett Johansson, without a hint of shyness and meeting Matthew's gaze, replied, "Yeah."
Matthew smiled slightly, leaned down, and kissed her. Initially surprised, Scarlett quickly responded passionately.
The hall was filled with stars, directors, producers, and some media personnel.
The two of them, amidst the "Oscar Night" party and under the watchful eyes of everyone, kissed passionately, seemingly oblivious to the many onlookers around them.
Instantly, many eyes turned towards them.
Scarlett Johansson noticed and, although she was no longer a newcomer, she lacked Matthew's thick-skinned boldness and immediately stepped back slightly, creating some distance between them.
Matthew smiled at her, saw that Charlize Theron was less surrounded, and said, "I'll go say hello and come right back."
Scarlett nodded, "I'll wait for you."
Ignoring the surrounding glances, Matthew quickly reached Charlize Theron and greeted, "Hi, Sally!"
He opened his arms and lightly hugged Charlize Theron, congratulating her, "Congratulations on winning Best Actress."
Charlize responded politely with a hug, "Thank you."
Matthew stepped back and said with a grin, "Oscar-winning actress, you're top-tier now! Keep it up, and you might just become a superstar."
Somehow, he noticed a change in the expression of Stuart Townsend standing next to Charlize.
Matthew understood without guessing that for an actor barely making it as a third-tier star, having a girlfriend who just won an Oscar could be unsettling...
Recalling a scene he had witnessed outside Depp's bar, he suspected Charlize Theron might soon face some trouble.
But as an outsider, it wasn't his place to comment much.
"Sally," he asked Charlize, "how do you plan to celebrate?"
Charlize smiled slightly, "I'm heading back to South Africa next week. Mr. Mandela called me right after the ceremony ended. I'll let you know when I'm back, wait for my call."
Matthew gestured a phone call with his hand, "Sure, I'll wait for your call."
He nodded to Stuart Townsend, then turned and left.
The so-called "Oscar winner's curse" could well find its next target in Charlize Theron.
This curse affects both careers and personal lives, with the latter becoming more pronounced since the turn of the century.
Before attending the ceremony, Matthew had read about these speculations on TMZ.
In 2001, Julia Roberts won the Best Actress Oscar for "Erin Brockovich" but split from her long-term boyfriend Benjamin Bratt three months later.
In 2002, Halle Berry won for "Monster's Ball" but soon faced marital problems with her husband, Eric Benet; they had separated last year and were now getting divorced.
In 2003, although Nicole Kidman had already divorced, the complex relationships caused by their mutual manager, Paine Jisery, led to a high-profile fallout.
This illustrious Oscar tradition might continue.
In Hollywood, where pairings of strong women with less successful men are common, it is crucial for the men to maintain a positive attitude to avoid problems.
Matthew knew Charlize Theron had come a long way, a remarkable journey from a Playboy cover shoot in the mid-90s to holding an Oscar statue.
As he glanced back at Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend, he decided not to dwell on it and pulled Scarlett Johansson towards the exit of the banquet hall. With all eyes on them after their passionate kiss, it was clear what might happen next.
In a corner of the hall, Angelina Jolie had been watching Matthew from the moment they kissed, her curious eyes never straying.
"Indeed..." she muttered to herself, "That's definitely Matthew Horner!"
The same man who once did anything for money was now sharing a hall with her and not at all less prominent than her.
Previously, "Girl, Interrupted" had brought her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and the decent box office performance of "Tomb Raider" had nearly brought her to the A-list. However, the flop of "Tomb Raider 2" last year had pushed her back to the B-list.
If it weren't for a few other films performing moderately well, her acting career would have taken a serious hit.
Now, she sadly realized that the despicable nobody who could barely speak in front of her years ago had overtaken her in Hollywood's A-list big productions, something she hadn't managed yet.
Angelina Jolie only compared briefly before discovering the shocking progress of that former nobody.
Knowing he was far from the main event in the banquet hall, where the real stars were always the Oscar winners, Matthew unhesitatingly led Scarlett Johansson out.
"Where are we going?"
The hallway outside was crowded, but Scarlett, seemingly impatient, suggested, "Let's switch hotels. I don't like it here."
"Sounds good to me; I don't like it here either."
That suited Matthew just fine. He led Scarlett to a less crowded side of the hall, "There's an old elevator over there with wooden decor, rarely used. Shall we try it?"
Scarlett, intrigued yet sticking to the plan, asked, "Aren't we going to another hotel?"
Matthew whispered in her ear, "We have all night. We'll go to another hotel after trying this."
He simply thought if they appeared disheveled coming out of the hotel, it would be easier for Elena Pojar and Sean Daniel's paparazzi to capture them, sparking more speculation.
With that, Scarlett quickened her pace, "I know that elevator, hurry!"
As they spoke, the two turned into a secluded elevator lobby. Scarlett hastily pressed the button, the elevator doors opened, and Matthew pulled her inside.
In the hotel's small security room, two security guards were on night duty, their main job being to monitor the hotel's nearly ten elevators to ensure their safe operation.
Facing multiple surveillance screens had become their nightly routine.
Different from alternating sleep shifts as usual, tonight both guards were wide-eyed. With the "Oscar Night" party ongoing, any incident in the hotel could lead to significant negative repercussions.
Under strict hotel orders, the guards couldn't afford to slack off.
"Hey..."
The taller guard suddenly told his colleague, "That old elevator stopped! Who would go in there now?"
"I'll pull up the camera feed and check."
The plumper guard immediately went to a monitor, maneuvered the mouse, and the display showed the inside of the old elevator.
"Uh..."
Seeing the feed, the plumper guard was stunned, instinctively nudging his partner, who, after a glance, was also taken aback.
In the elevator, a man and a woman leaned against the wall opposite the camera. Although both appeared fully clothed, the man's tall stature mostly obscured the relatively petite woman, obscuring the details but their positioning and actions were suggestive enough.
The plumper guard reflexively
switched the camera angle but still couldn't see the specifics. Nonetheless, the images were enough to stir imaginations.
"This is..." the taller guard pointed at the screen, "That woman is Scarlett Johansson! And the man... that's Matthew Horner, who was in 'Pirates of the Caribbean'!"
The plumper guard stared for a moment and confirmed, "Yes! It's Matthew Horner and Scarlett Johansson!"
The taller guard reacted quickly, "Quick! Record this!"
"Surveillance automatically records!" the plumper guard reminded, "And it's stored for a while."
The taller one added, "Let's copy it later. We're gonna make a fortune!"
In Los Angeles, it was well known that celebrity news and gossip could be directly converted into cash.
The plumper guard hurriedly said, "I know a paparazzo, maybe..."
"Selling it to paparazzi won't make much." The taller thought for a moment and suggested, "There's a website, TMZ, that's been paying top dollar for this kind of stuff..."
They exchanged a look and burst into laughter together.
The elevator soon resumed operation, and the guards, not bothering with the pair exiting the elevator, hurried to find storage media to copy the footage from the hard drive. To prevent others from accessing it, they deleted it thoroughly after copying.
The elevator reached the ground floor, Matthew and Scarlett Johansson straightened their attire and walked towards the hotel lobby. Dressed in extremely fitting formal wear, their clothes, having been disheveled, couldn't be restored to their original state.
Entering the hotel lobby, Matthew made a call, saying, "I've called for a car, let's go out."
Though there hadn't been any substantial contact yet, Scarlett was too eager to wait and urged, "Hurry up."
She took Matthew's arm, and they exited the hotel, seemingly unnoticed. A black Mercedes sedan slowly approached, and just as they were about to get in, dozens of reporters appeared from various directions, cameras aimed at them.
As they got into the car, Matthew felt something odd; it seemed there were more reporters than he had planned for.
Scarlett looked back, wondering if new reporters had been contacted?
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