Upon receiving the invitation, Matthew Horner had Helen Herman take a look. She confirmed it was a legitimate art exhibition. The investment advisor from Wells Gallery had been active around Los Angeles, seeking potential buyers for the exhibition pieces, and as a wealthy, famous Hollywood star, Matthew was undoubtedly considered a prime, albeit easily swayed, client target.
Helen Herman also mentioned that if he was interested, he could visit to cultivate his artistic taste but advised extreme caution if he considered purchasing anything. She urged him to consult her first, as the art industry was fraught with complexities.
Matthew, learning that it was a reputable exhibition, planned to attend. Helen Herman supported this decision—it was important for a commercial film star to also display high cultural tastes.
However, for unfamiliar matters, Matthew remained cautious.
He didn't know about America, but he had been duped before while overseas. Back then, it was common to see online stories about someone discovering a misprinted banknote or an heirloom at home, later appraised to be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions.
When he was freshly out of school and strapped for cash, inspired by tales of sudden wealth, he took a photo of an old porcelain pot from home and sought appraisal from a so-called art company in the city where he worked.
To this day, Matthew vividly remembered the person who had received him studying the photo and providing an appraisal of up to eight hundred thousand!
Elated by the surprising figure, he rushed home overnight to fetch the pot, thinking that even if he sold it for just three hundred thousand, it could solve his immediate financial woes.
At that time, art investment was booming, and TV shows about appraising family heirlooms seemed to fuel a societal craze for collecting and treasure hunting.
Influenced by the environment and inexperienced fresh out of school, Matthew hoped to make a fortune, buoyed by stories of striking it rich from novels he read.
But reality was neither like TV nor novels.
Taking the pot to the art investment company, they brought in a white-haired, heavily titled expert who required a hefty appraisal fee.
Lacking funds, Matthew paid only 300, told that they were helping him out considering the item's value.
After appraisal, the pot was deemed highly valuable, and Matthew was thrilled, expecting to auction it for cash. However, the company then mentioned costs for exhibition, promotion, and insurance, all payable upfront.
This cooled Matthew's enthusiasm, and his head cleared from the fog of potential wealth. Making an excuse, he left the company and after inquiring around, realized it was all a scam.
A site manager he knew had been tricked similarly, paying hefty fees for appraisal and promotion, only to watch the auction staged with hired shills; the company's items "sold," while clients' pieces invariably failed to attract bids.
The auction done, the upfront fees were lost, and even police reports led nowhere as the company operated within contractual bounds.
This experience was a harsh lesson for Matthew, compounded by subsequent issues with unpaid wages, maturing him quickly.
Still swinging the hammer due to environmental and platform limitations, he was no longer the naive youth he once was.
Hearing "art investment" made Matthew instinctively cautious, yet he was also curious to see if American art companies played similar games.
Over the next two days, news came from the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" crew that Charlize Theron had unsurprisingly passed the audition for Jane Smith, and her agent was preparing to negotiate with the crew.
Matthew called Charlize Theron, but Stuart Townsend answered, so he briefly congratulated her on securing the lead role before hanging up.
The scene he had witnessed at the Black Mamba Bar had left a poor impression of Stuart Townsend. Charlize Theron seemed intent on concealing it; even to this day, the media portrayed their relationship as loving, with hardly any negative news.
While Charlize Theron's team negotiated with the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" crew, Matthew entered the Warner Studios set to prepare for filming.
In addition to firearms and action training, Matthew had extensive discussions with director Doug Roman and screenwriter Simon Kimberg.
His talks with Doug Roman, in particular, clarified the director's intent to explore many special and metaphorical ideas beyond the shooting script and scenes.
Doug Roman shared his vision for the film, especially the conflicts between the male and female leads, as an unconventional interpretation of real-life marriage.
After these discussions, Matthew reread the script. Perhaps influenced by Doug Roman and Simon Kimberg, he, a man of limited educational background, began to see underlying themes in the script.
For instance, the script's portrayal of the protagonists' companies could be seen as two families. Not just in his past life across the Pacific but even in America, marriages often involve the intermingling of two families.
Viewed with this premise, the first two years of the protagonists' marriage in the script involved living under familial directives. They loved each other but
did not show their true selves, creating a barrier between them until a breaking point led to a deeper mutual understanding.
This seemed like internal reconciliation, but life is often more complicated than expected, as shown in a script sequence where the male and female leads fight "side by side" in a tank for a common goal. According to Doug Roman, this "tank" could be seen as representing children in a family, with couples often uniting for their children's sake despite resulting frictions.
As the script progressed, the situation became messier, emphasizing that marriage involves entire families, with the protagonists needing to persevere for love.
Doug Roman and Simon Kimberg suggested that the script's climactic gunfight in a home goods store symbolized "marriage as a form of warfare."
The protagonists, armed and coordinating flawlessly, reminded Matthew of the "paired swords" and "eye-to-eye swordplay" from martial arts novels he had read.
Only with a deep mutual understanding could they repel adversaries.
Matthew's discussions with Doug Roman and Simon Kimberg revealed that the film's true core was family, a value highly cherished in American society.
From this perspective, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" was aligned with the correct values.
Having spent several years in Hollywood, Matthew recognized that all Oscar-contending and mainstream commercial films adhered strictly to these values.
Hollywood's influence profoundly impacts most films, which in turn influence society.
Thus, despite the public and media favoring one side, the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, besides their own fans, faced near-universal criticism.
But Hollywood stars are known for their thick skins, just like the frontal armor of a main battle tank—Matthew Horner and Brad Pitt were no exceptions.
Before finalizing his divorce from Jennifer Aniston, while they were technically still married and just separated, Brad Pitt very publicly took Angelina Jolie to Africa to relax and have a child, under the scrutiny of over a hundred cameras.
Their grand departure made it seem like a newlywed couple heading off on their honeymoon...
Clearly, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and their teams knew how to handle public relations well.
Such sensational celebrity couple events naturally generate pervasive scrutiny, with the media serving as the curious eyes of the public.
In today's information-rich society, those under scrutiny can never truly hide, not in Paris's poor districts nor in the deserts of Africa.
The attitude of those being watched is also ambiguous. Celebrities express their distress at being monitored by the media, claiming their lives are disrupted, yet they continue to publicly display their glamorous, closely watched lives, showcasing all possible forms of affection.
This becomes a game of attraction and repulsion, where the sincerity essential to love between couples is diminished.
The public's mindset is complex; they want to see celebrities together and apart, to satisfy their voyeuristic desires and also to see imperfections that align with ordinary people's envy.
In essence, they celebrate successes and delight in misfortunes.
What really drives so many "celebrity couples"? Is it genuine love, or the strong expectations of the audience? Do they desire visibility or privacy? Is their high-profile love an expression of true feelings, or a self-promotional tactic? Is it the joy of being loved, or the thrill of being watched?
As someone within the industry, Matthew found himself unable to answer these questions.
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