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As Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie left Los Angeles, the hype surrounding them finally died down a bit. Matthew, in addition to preparing for work, specifically visited the Wells Gallery in the Santa Monica business district to attend a joint art exhibition featuring three renowned young post-modern painters.
Originally, he wanted to invite James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, but both of them were too busy with work and couldn't spare the time, so he ended up coming alone.
The Wells Gallery was a building with a marble exterior, exuding a strong artistic atmosphere. The entrance featured a white marble archway with a red carpet laid beneath it.
Such a high-end art exhibition clearly had an entry threshold. Matthew arrived at the entrance, handed his invitation to the security guard, and was then allowed to enter.
Upon entering the gallery, unlike the crowded and chaotic exhibitions he had imagined, there weren't many people inside, and it was very quiet. Everyone's attention was primarily focused on the paintings on display. Even when people discussed, they would try to keep their voices down so as not to disturb others.
In such public places, even someone with less cultural literacy like Matthew understood basic etiquette.
Matthew walked through the spacious foyer and arrived in front of a display area directly opposite the entrance. Three paintings hung there. With his level of appreciation, he couldn't understand what they depicted at all, but the people around him were enjoying them thoroughly, and some were full of praise. He simply pretended to appreciate them as well.
These post-modern paintings were truly abstract. After watching for a while, he withdrew his gaze and looked around, noticing that quite a few celebrities had been invited to this exhibition. Leonardo DiCaprio had gone to the left exhibition area, and Julia Roberts, with her big mouth, had just entered.
"Mr. Horner."
A polite voice came from behind him and to his side, "It's a pleasure to see you here."
Matthew turned around and saw that it was Robert Fernandez, who had given him the invitation. He nodded slightly and said, "Hello."
Robert Fernandez took a step forward and politely asked, "Would you like me to show you around? Some of the paintings..."
"Thank you, but no," Matthew directly refused. "If I need anything, I'll find you."
Robert Fernandez stepped back, pointed towards the foyer, and said, "I'll be right there. If you need anything, you can come find me anytime."
Matthew nodded.
After Robert Fernandez left, Matthew also left this exhibition area.
He walked along the long gallery, looking at the hanging paintings, moving towards the exhibition area on the right. He occasionally stopped to look at brightly colored works.
Of course, it was still very difficult for him to discover any potential beauty within them.
Finally, Matthew stopped in front of a huge oil painting. The oil painting was not one of the three artists' works; it was clearly a background decoration of the gallery. He had seen a print of this painting at Zack Snyder's residence the last time he went to see him.
"Leonidas at Thermopylae."
A girl suddenly stood beside him. The girl looked at the background painting and said, "This is a work that Jacques-Louis David painted for fourteen years. The original is now housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris."
The girl turned her head, her bright eyes fixed on Matthew, her tone no longer calm but somewhat excited as she said, "Hello, Matthew, it's finally good to see you again."
Matthew turned to look and immediately recognized her, saying, "Hello, Lily." He looked her over, "You've grown taller."
This girl was Lily Collins from Harvard-Westlake School, whom he had once saved.
"Really?" The girl was a little excited, "You could tell that?"
"Shh..." Matthew raised a finger, making a shushing gesture. Lily Collins immediately playfully covered her mouth, and after a moment, she lowered her voice and said, "I was so excited to see you, I forgot this was an art gallery."
She quickly whispered, "I just saw your back in the corridor and it looked familiar, so I followed to take a look, and I didn't expect it to really be you."
Matthew smiled, looked around, and asked, "Did you come alone?"
"Yes." Lily Collins nodded eagerly, "My mom was supposed to come with me, but she had something urgent come up, so she had the driver drop me off."
"Your mom?" Matthew was a little curious.
He could tell that Lily Collins was not a girl from an ordinary family.
Lily Collins replied directly, "My mom is the president of the Beverly Hills Women's Club."
Matthew could imagine that this was probably not an organization for ordinary people.
"Can we look at the exhibition together?" Lily Collins blinked her bright eyes and asked Matthew, "You must be alone, right? I'm also alone."
"Of course," Matthew didn't refuse, saying, "It just so happens that I don't understand these paintings and need someone to guide me."
Lily Collins leaned in closer, almost to Matthew's ear, and said, "To be honest with you, I don't understand them either. I just came here because I thought it would be fun."
Matthew laughed, "Alright then, let's appreciate these works we don't understand together."
Lily Collins smiled brightly, reached out and took Matthew's arm, suppressing her excitement, and said, "Let's go."
The two continued to walk forward, chatting while looking at the paintings. Due to their low level of appreciation, they couldn't understand most of the artworks, and eventually focused more on chatting.
However, Matthew and Lily Collins were both very careful, always speaking in low voices.
"I've written you many letters, almost one every month," Lily Collins complained a little, "but I've never received a reply from you."
Matthew said with a hint of apology, "These letters have always been handled by the agency; they never reach my hands."
The two entered the exhibition hall at the end of the long corridor. Seeing that there were quite a few people there, they didn't join the crowd to look at future masterpieces. Instead, they found an empty corner and continued to chat.
Lily Collins then said, "I know, my father's fan mail is handled the same way, but I don't have any other contact information for you."
During their casual chat on the way over, Matthew had already learned from Lily Collins that her father was the famous British singer Phil Collins, making Lily Collins a true second-generation star and a second-generation rich kid.
"Not being able to reach you..." Lily Collins seemed particularly disappointed, "I always feel like something is missing."
"How about this, Lily," Matthew said, hearing her words and thinking for a moment, then pulling out a business card from his pocket, "It has my phone number and private email address on it. Don't call the number, I usually don't answer. You can send me emails."
Lily Collins's eyes widened with excitement, "Really?"
Someone passing by seemed to have heard Lily Collins's voice, glanced over, and then quickly left.
Matthew saw more people entering the exhibition hall and continued to tell Lily Collins, "Of course. But you should know that our work is very busy, so we might not reply promptly."
"It's okay! It's okay!" Lily Collins quickly said, "As long as you can reply occasionally, I'll be very happy."
Matthew smiled, "I'm also very happy to know you. You're a very lively girl."
Lily Collins wrinkled her nose, "Of course! At school, I'm definitely a leader." She seemed to remember something and asked, "You haven't had a movie out in a long time. That 'Dawn of the Dead' you filmed last time was too scary, I didn't dare to watch it."
"My starring film, 'National Treasure,' will be released during the Thanksgiving holiday season," Matthew said, after some thought. "If you're interested, come to the premiere then."
Lily Collins immediately nodded, "Okay."
The two chatted about movies for a while, then Lily Collins asked, "Matthew, are you attending the Teen Hollywood Awards in July? 'Pirates of the Caribbean' received quite a few nominations."
Matthew shook his head slightly, "Disney Pictures hasn't notified me yet, so I can't be sure right now."
"That's a shame," Lily Collins said with a look of annoyance. "I'm writing a column for 'Elle Girl' magazine, and I'll be interviewing on the red carpet at the Teen Hollywood Awards. It would be so great if I could interview you."
"It's okay, maybe I'll attend," Matthew first comforted her, then asked with a slight surprise, "You've already started writing for magazines? That's amazing."
Lily Collins shrugged slightly, saying with a hint of self-deprecation, "It's all because of my parents. Otherwise, who would know Lily Collins?"
Matthew, however, said, "That's not entirely true. Think about it, 'Elle Girl' is a very famous magazine. If you didn't have enough ability, would they commission you to write?"
"Uh..." Lily Collins thought for a moment, then smiled, "It sounds like you have a point."
She then reminded him, "Matthew, if you attend the Teen Hollywood Awards, be sure to let me know in advance."
Matthew nodded, "I will."
The Teen Hollywood Awards is an important award in the American film industry during the summer season, established in the late 1990s. It is known as the "Oscars for Young Hollywood," and most of its winners are young people under the age of 25 who have shown outstanding performance in the American film industry, injecting fresh blood into the industry. Therefore, the annual Teen Hollywood Awards ceremony receives significant attention from various media outlets.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" received multiple nominations, but Disney Pictures might not value such an award.
Matthew also had to prepare for the filming of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and might not have time then, nor could he make a special trip just for Lily Collins.
Lily Collins left her phone number with Matthew, and only felt relieved when she saw Matthew save it.
Matthew put away his phone, and just as he finished speaking to Lily Collins, preparing to leave, and before he could turn around, he saw a little girl waddling over. A tall woman was chasing after her, calling out for the little girl to stop.