The sky began to lighten in the east, and the light shone through the window into a nanny van. Helen Herman rubbed her eyes and woke up, pulled the car door open, got out, and stretched. She felt uncomfortable all over. She turned back to grab her bag, first pulled out a mirror to check herself, then found a piece of gum, tossed it into her mouth, and began to chew.
She raised her hand to look at her wristwatch; it was only a little past five in the morning.
Next, she looked up at the hotel ahead, wondering what time that rascal Matthew would finally come out.
She withdrew her gaze and noticed a tall woman approaching. It was Elena Boyar, the editor-in-chief of TMZ who had personally overseen the operation last night.
"Hi, Helen." Elena Boyar walked over quickly. "Did you stay here all night?"
"I just woke up," Helen Herman said, rousing her spirits.
She didn't say it aloud, but she knew very well the importance of dawn of the dead to Matthew. If this film succeeded at the box office, it would not only allow Matthew to transition out of the niche genre of period action films but also prove his ability to carry a movie solo.
pirates of the caribbean was indeed very successful, and Will Turner was very popular, but she wouldn't forget that the person with the strongest appeal and the most popularity was always Johnny Depp.
Matthew is currently firmly in the second tier. He needs about three successful films to steadily climb to the first tier. The importance of dawn of the dead as the start of his path to the A-list is self-evident. If the film only recoups its costs in North America, the road ahead won't be so smooth.
The impact of publicity and marketing on a film's box office sometimes even exceeds that of the film itself.
Elena Boyar leaned on the car door, standing next to Helen Herman, and said, "Something felt off last night. Besides the people Sean Daniel brought and some scattered reporters, there seemed to be another group keeping watch there."
Helen Herman frowned slightly. "Another group?" A thought flashed through her mind instantly. "Could Scarlett Johansson's side have made arrangements too?"
"That's possible." Elena Boyar looked toward the hotel and said, "Those people are still waiting at the hotel entrance, just like my photojournalists."
Helen Herman crossed one arm over her chest and held her chin with the other hand. After pacing back and forth a couple of steps, she said, "I remember Scarlett Johansson passed the audition for the island, which Michael Bay is collaborating on with DreamWorks. The preliminary publicity for this film hasn't ramped up yet..."
Speaking of which,
she was almost certain. "Elena, we moved according to a plan. It looks like Scarlett Johansson's side did too."
Elena Boyar couldn't help but shake her head. "It seems Matthew's charm isn't as great as we imagined."
Her phone suddenly rang. She pulled it out, glanced at it, put it to her ear, and after saying a few words, hung up and told Helen Herman, "I'm going to discuss a deal. I'll be back soon. If Matthew comes out, wait for me. This deal might be related to Matthew."
Helen Herman nodded, not asking further questions because she was preoccupied with thinking about Scarlett Johansson.
If what Elena Boyar said was true, then last night's events were interesting. She, Matthew, and Sean Daniel wanted to piggyback on the Oscar Buzz to create Gossip News and hype the movie. Scarlett Johansson's side was doing the same, and the two parties happened to collide... She got back into the car, found her Address Book, and tried to find the contact information for Scarlett Johansson's Agent.
In a brief moment, Helen Herman thought about how to handle the situation if it turned out to be true. It wouldn't be beneficial to anyone to call Matthew out and have them split up. To maximize profits, the best approach was for both parties to unite!
This kind of joint hype often brings about a "one plus one is greater than two" effect.
Helen Herman searched through her Address Book but couldn't find the contact information for Scarlett Johansson's Agent. She quickly pulled out her phone and called her Assistant. "Go find the contact information for Scarlett Johansson's Agent immediately, and be quick about it!"
Hanging up the phone, she got out of the car, went near the hotel entrance, found a quiet corner, and waited patiently.
Inside the hotel lobby, Matthew led Scarlett Johansson out of the Elevator Area. Both had long since changed out of their formal attire into regular clothes sent up by the hotel. Holding hands, they exited the hotel entrance, and the moment of parting had arrived.
"How are you getting back?" Matthew asked Scarlett Johansson. "Do you want me to give you a ride?"
Scarlett Johansson, certain her Agent was nearby, shook her head and said, "No need, my car should be waiting nearby."
Matthew nodded and waved at the black Mercedes-Benz in front of the hotel. The Mercedes-Benz immediately drove over.
Scarlett Johansson's eyes darted around. She could see many paparazzi reporters near the hotel entrance and knew she needed to do something more at this moment.
But just as the thought crossed her mind, she felt her face being cupped by a pair of large, rough, and strong hands, and then a passionate kiss descended. Scarlett Johansson immediately recalled the nearly frantic sensations of the previous night, reached out, embraced Matthew, and responded with equal fervor.
The paparazzi reporters scattered near the entrance all aimed their camera and video lenses at them, rapidly pressing the shutters to capture every single moment.
The mercedes-benz sedan arrived in front of the hotel entrance. Matthew separated from Scarlett Johansson and said with a smile, "Goodbye, Scarlett."
Scarlett Johansson nodded slightly. "Goodbye, Matthew."
Matthew got into the car. The Mercedes-Benz drove onto the road but didn't leave. Instead, it circled around and entered the Parking Lot across from the hotel, pulling up next to the Angel Agency nanny van.
"Just head straight back to the company," Matthew told the Driver, pushing the door open and stepping out.
Helen Herman seemed to have just returned. She was standing next to the nanny van, pulling the door open and calling to Matthew, "Get in."
The two of them successively got into the spacious nanny van.
The car hadn't started yet; they were still waiting for Elena Boyar. After hearing Helen Herman's speculation, Matthew was somewhat surprised. "Helen, are you saying that we're not the only ones who need hype, but Scarlett Johansson is doing the same thing?"
"That possibility is very high," Helen Herman said calmly. "After Elena reminded me, I thought of something: Scarlett Johansson just became the Female Lead in Michael Bay's project, and this project called the island hasn't had any preliminary publicity yet. I suspect DreamWorks might also be involved."
Matthew couldn't help but scratch his head. "No wonder Scarlett Johansson was so easy to approach. I thought she was too easy to hook up with."
Helen Herman added, "Her reputation was already poor."
Matthew conceded that point. Judging solely by her performance in the hotel Room last night, Scarlett Johansson was the type of young girl who was relatively experienced.
He wasn't surprised by this; this was California, the most open state in the entire US. Forget about nineteen-year-old Hollywood Actresses; most nineteen-year-old ordinary girls have probably had several boyfriends.
Matthew looked at Helen Herman and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Helen Herman directly stated her idea. "I'm trying to find a way to contact Scarlett Johansson's Agent. If we can confirm this is true, we can join forces with them for the hype."
She said lightly, "The strength of both sides working together is far better than the effect of our unilateral hype."
Since the entire affair was for publicity and hype, Matthew naturally didn't object. He said, "Alright, let's handle it this way."
At that moment, someone knocked on the car door from outside. Helen Herman pressed the Electronic Lock Switch. Elena Boyar, carrying a bag, opened the door and got in. After closing the door, she stared at Matthew with a strange look.
"What's wrong?" Matthew asked curiously. "Don't you recognize me?"
Elena Boyar took off her bag, pulled out the Laptop Computer she had taken from her own car, and then pulled a large USB Drive out of her pocket. She said, "Matthew, you were too impatient. You started messing around in the elevator."
She held up the USB Drive to indicate it. "You two were filmed! I spent five thousand US Dollars just to buy this!"
Matthew was quite calm. "I kept my back to the camera, I didn't take off my clothes, and we didn't actually do anything. What's there to be afraid of?"
Elena Boyar was astonished. "You knew there was a camera and still did it?"
"I couldn't help myself," Matthew said frankly. "Besides, I don't think it's a bad thing even if the surveillance captured some non-substantive footage. We were planning hype anyway. Wouldn't the effect be better with a video?"
Actually, he had been somewhat deliberate at the time. If the camera was just for show, so be it. But if it had actually recorded something, he had planned to find someone today to retrieve the footage. He hadn't expected it to already be discovered and sold into Elena Boyar's hands.
If he had truly been impatient and reckless, given there were four walls in the elevator, why would he specifically choose a spot where he could use his body to block the view?
He was tall and built; standing there, he could completely block everything below Scarlett Johansson's head.
Most importantly, he and Scarlett Johansson had no substantive contact in the elevator; the actions were merely provocative. If Helen Herman hadn't mentioned Scarlett Johansson potentially engaging in hype as soon as they got in the car, he would have told Helen Herman already.
This was good too; it saved him the trouble.
Subsequently, Elena Boyar opened the Laptop Computer, plugged in the large USB Drive, and started playing the footage. Helen Herman also leaned over to watch. The two people in the elevator were moving intensely, but neither had taken off their clothes, and there were no explicitly exposed areas.
If three ordinary people were gathered together viewing footage like this—especially if it was real-life candid footage of one of them—it would definitely be awkward.
However, these three were especially "professional," and there was no awkwardness whatsoever.
"Perfect! Release it at the appropriate time..." Helen Herman said calmly. "It will definitely ignite public opinion."
Elena Boyar said, "I spent 5,000 US Dollars on this; I'm definitely going to release it."
Matthew pointed at her. "I never said you couldn't release it."
Helen Herman called the two of them to attention and said, "Alright, let's plan this out and start as soon as possible!"