After the award ceremony, the media was abuzz with discussions about the Oscars. Naturally, the Oscar winners were the focus of attention, but even those who did not win were trying to ride the last wave of Oscar buzz. Some argued that certain individuals should have won, claiming that their loss was due to reasons other than a lack of talent.
This type of post-hoc promotional soft content can be easily fabricated—the more elaborate and tragic, the more likely it is to evoke sympathy, as the public always sympathizes with the underdog, a tendency that rarely changes.
For example, despite "Pirates of the Caribbean" returning empty-handed, many media outlets cried foul, claiming it was all just PR articles from Disney Studios, aimed at boosting disc and rental sales, as well as upcoming sequels.
Similarly, a few so-called "wronged blockbusters" in Oscar history indeed had media crying foul to attract attention, but mostly it was just film distributors exploiting the final wave of Oscar buzz.
Amidst all the news about Oscar winners and losers, the tabloid stories about Matthew Horner and Scarlett Johansson quickly spread.
"Matthew Horner and Scarlett Johansson leave the 'Oscar Night' party and head to another hotel."
"The two newly famous stars, disheveled, Matthew Horner holding hands with Scarlett Johansson as they leave..."
There were many similar reports, drawing attention due to countless photos that served as evidence.
From the two leaving the "Oscar Night" party disheveled, to checking into a nearby hotel, to kissing passionately as they left the hotel in the morning—all were captured and plastered across tabloids and some entertainment websites.
In the final stretch of Oscar news hype, Matthew successfully took up a lot of space in the entertainment news.
Additionally, Helen Herman quickly contacted Scarlett Johansson's agent, and after a meeting, they instantly clicked, also bringing in the PR heads of the "Dawn of the Dead" and "Escape from Clone Island" crews. This was highly beneficial for increasing the films' visibility, requiring minimal investment.
Naturally, the various parties joined forces, vigorously promoting the scandal involving Matthew and Scarlett Johansson during Oscar Night. Some even vividly described how the two hooked up during the Oscar ceremony and how they passionately kissed at the party, later making noise in a hotel room that disturbed an entire floor.
Once entertainment news becomes a hot topic, countless media outlets join in to take a slice of the pie, with Matthew and Scarlett Johansson's names frequently mentioned, along with repeated mentions of "Dawn of the Dead" and "Escape from Clone Island."
As the Oscar buzz slowly faded, Matthew flew to New York and Boston to continue filming "National Treasure," with his and Scarlett Johansson's scandal still fermenting under the push of various behind-the-scenes forces.
Regarding Matthew and Scarlett Johansson themselves, they had already agreed on their story, sticking to the old tactic of neither confirming nor denying.
The hype was primarily led by TMZ website's leak section, which released new photos daily, escalating from holding hands to kissing and even more intimate actions, ensuring the scandal remained hot.
Even the ongoing filming of "National Treasure" got involved. Anderson Martinez flew back from New York to Los Angeles to have a detailed discussion with Helen Herman, and some Disney-owned media started a wide-ranging, intensive hype.
Scandals have their shelf life; a week later, the buzz had noticeably dropped, just as "Dawn of the Dead" was nearing its release. TMZ then dropped a bombshell—a surveillance video appeared on their leak section, instantly reigniting the cooling buzz.
In just two days, this video nearly reached one million clicks on the TMZ website!
Although the video showed no substantial content, anyone could tell what the two were doing, and it was clear it was Matthew and Scarlett Johansson.
Subsequently, the website released interviews with two security guards who adamantly stated that Matthew Horner and Scarlett Johansson had done indescribable things in the elevator!
There were also partygoers from the "Oscar Night" who leaked, "Matthew Horner and Scarlett Johansson were passionately kissing at the party, seemingly unconcerned about how it looked. They hurriedly left the party, and everyone knew what they were going to do."
Despite Matthew and Scarlett Johansson maintaining silence and not responding, there was video evidence, and virtually everyone in America who paid even slight attention to entertainment news knew about the wild couple in the elevator on Oscar Night.
Throughout early March, Matthew and Scarlett Johansson were undoubtedly the most talked-about people in America, almost overshadowing the new Oscar winners Sean Penn and Charlize Theron.
Of course, there were criticisms, such as several respected figures publicly criticizing them, stating that Matthew and Scarlett Johansson, as public figures, had low moral standards, and major Hollywood studios should abandon them, not using them as actors in their films...
Such comments were plentiful, but neither Matthew's side nor Scarlett Johansson's cared, not even bothering to respond.
As Matthew had learned before, no one expects Hollywood stars to be moral exemplars.
Most importantly, both were single—neither married nor in a relationship, so there wasn't much to criticize, at most it would just be a scandal for them.
But who in Hollywood cares about such scandals? Which Hollywood star doesn't have a mountain of similar scandals?
As for being blacklisted by Hollywood studios, that was a joke. The whole affair quickly spread across America and even flew over the Atlantic to Europe, with major Hollywood studios like Universal and Disney behind it.
Because this truly brought a lot of attention to the movies starring Matthew, and Scarlett Johansson was no exception.
In polls released by several agencies for the most anticipated films of March and April, "Dawn of the Dead" soared to first place, overtaking "Kill Bill Vol. 2," which was set for a mid-April release.
Simultaneously, "National Treasure," which Matthew was filming, became the second most anticipated film of the holiday season, just behind Pixar's animated blockbuster "The Incredibles."
Using actors' scandals to increase film exposure and attractiveness is one of Hollywood's most common promotional tactics.
Matthew was fully cooperating with the hype, keeping in mind Helen Herman's instructions to not say a word no matter what the reporters asked.
The filming of "National Treasure" went smoother than planned, especially since some scenes had to be shot differently than originally planned due to the difficulties of shooting at very crowded tourist spots. After consulting, director Joe Dettuba and Jerry Bruckheimer decided to shoot these scenes in the Disney studio soundstage instead.
Thus, the outdoor scenes were somewhat reduced, and the soundstage scenes increased.
After completing the outdoor scenes, Matthew temporarily left the "National Treasure" crew to cheer for the upcoming release of "Dawn of the Dead," participating in a series of promotional activities.
However, in any setting, he avoided talking about Scarlett Johansson, focusing solely on "Dawn of the Dead."
For promotional needs, Matthew, despite his poor writing skills, penned a blog post similar to a real-life "Zombie Survival Guide" titled "Zombie Warfare."
Then, his blog was widely shared by his fans. Although Matthew's writing was quite mediocre, in his fans' eyes, everything their favorite star did was great, even if it involved another female star in an elevator—it was her fault.
With such widespread hype, not all reactions were positive.
For instance, some of Scarlett Johansson's fans were
unhappy with Matthew, going to his blog to criticize, while Matthew's fans not only defended their ground but also counterattacked on Scarlett Johansson's blog.
The fans from both sides openly bickered online, with Matthew's fans accusing Scarlett Johansson of shamelessly flirting, and Scarlett Johansson's fans calling Matthew a heartless playboy.
Fortunately, social networks were not as developed then as they would be in the future, and the bickering was limited to a small corner of the internet.
Due to the buzz surrounding Matthew, some market forecasting agencies quietly raised their first-weekend box office predictions for "Dawn of the Dead" from the initial $16 million to $25 million.
Moreover, many film production companies re-evaluated Matthew, a young star with topicality and the ability to generate hot topics, to see if he fit their needs.
Hollywood, after all, is a commercial circle; as long as someone can bring high profits, they are a most honored guest for the studios.
"National Treasure" will be wrapped up by the end of April at the latest..."
In the office, Helen Herman seriously said to Matthew, "It's time to consider your next job."
Matthew asked, "Do you have a suitable target?"
Helen Herman didn't pick up on his cue, instead saying on her own, "Looking at it now, the North American box office return for 'Dawn of the Dead' is not a big problem, so we can continue with the previous plans. You keep playing modern action roles."
She looked at Matthew and continued, "I've got definite news that Peak Entertainment is preparing a project about assassins—a gunfight action film!"
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