As expected, the news of Matthew proposing to Charlize Theron successfully dominated the headlines of most entertainment media the next day. In just one day, the related news on Yahoo Entertainment garnered over 2 million clicks, and the exclusive video released by TMZ's exposé section caused an even greater sensation, reaching 3 million views in twenty-four hours.
Most people were happy for Matthew and Charlize Theron getting together.
Some media outlets also reported that it was a carefully planned publicity stunt, but this was not the mainstream opinion and could largely be ignored.
Moreover, through a series of previous promotions and image building, the general public was also happy to see these two get together.
Many times, the general public only believes what they want to believe.
This kind of publicity tactic has been tried and tested in Hollywood movie promotions, and naturally, there's a reason for its existence.
The day after the proposal, Matthew and Charlize Theron appeared hand-in-hand at the Tiffany store on Rodeo Drive. Under the watchful eyes of countless paparazzi and camera lenses, they selected matching rings, once again sparking media speculation that the two had already set a wedding date.
By May 4th, as the entertainment media's attention had just shifted to the upcoming summer blockbusters, Matthew announced via his personal blog that he would hold a formal engagement ceremony with Charlize Theron after completing the premiere work for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."
Instantly, he successfully snatched the headlines again.
In the following two days, whenever the related news heat slightly dropped, Matthew and Charlize Theron would always have new news break, consistently maintaining a very high level of discussion.
Hollywood is, after all, a circle that can only survive through discussion.
The more discussion there is, the higher the topic's popularity, and the greater the influence of the stars and their works tend to be.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith," starring Matthew and Charlize Theron, was also continuously discussed and mentioned, its popularity clearly surpassing "Kingdom of Heaven," which was about to be released at the beginning of the summer season.
Capitalizing on this popularity, Dior and Mercedes-Benz successively released new advertisements featuring Charlize Theron and Matthew in early May, which further increased the already high exposure of the two, causing them to frequently appear in various media.
During this period in early May, the level of attention they received was comparable to that of superstars.
It's no exaggeration to say that Matthew and Charlize Theron getting together completely achieved a result of one plus one being greater than two, or even greater than three.
Seeing the fervent promotional hype surrounding "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," North American cinemas also opened advance ticket booking services for the film, allowing people to pre-order tickets for the first weekend of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" via phone and online.
The TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood also began selling tickets for the North American premiere ten days in advance.
Although a significant portion of the North American premiere tickets for the film went to sponsors and the cast and crew, several hundred tickets were still made available for public sale.
With the pre-sale of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" premiere tickets beginning, a strange sight appeared in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood: long queues formed at both pre-sale ticket windows. The pre-sale queue for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," which was not opening until the following weekend, was several times longer than the pre-sale queue for "Kingdom of Heaven," which was opening this weekend.
These two big-budget commercial films, released on the first two weekends of the summer season, formed a stark contrast in terms of promotion. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was a sensation, the focus of media attention, and the subject of public discussion, while the promotion for "Kingdom of Heaven" largely failed to leave a deep impression, its presence being quite lacking.
Even as "Kingdom of Heaven" was about to be released, Matthew and Charlize Theron still dominated the entertainment media headlines most of the time.
Just before the release of "Kingdom of Heaven," TMZ broke news again, claiming that Matthew, after several rounds of negotiations with a real estate agency, purchased a luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills for a staggering $25 million to be his love nest with Charlize Theron.
Subsequently, Matthew and Charlize Theron confirmed this during an interview at a promotional event in New York, and both revealed that their engagement ceremony would be held at their new home, with a certain number of guests invited to attend.
The Beverly Hills mansion Matthew had previously viewed was fully equipped, even down to brand-name toothbrushes, ready for immediate move-in.
Upon returning to Los Angeles from New York, Matthew, accompanied by lawyers and other professionals, signed a series of formal contracts with the real estate company, becoming the owner of the mansion in the fastest legally permissible time. He also had the original nameplate removed and renamed it Horner Manor.
Then, he contacted Lister from Red Penguin Company and entrusted the engagement ceremony to Lister and his team. Since the cost of the engagement ceremony was borne by the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" crew, Dior, and Mercedes-Benz, he didn't have to worry about recouping the costs.
Moreover, it had been agreed upon earlier that after the engagement ceremony, the engagement video would be sold to TMZ, and Matthew would receive one-third of the proceeds.
In this engagement spectacle, he and Charlize Theron, as the leading man and woman, would also receive compensation.
Red Penguin Company was experienced in this area, and Lister had handled similar operations before. In just one day, he presented several proposals, and Matthew and Charlize Theron ultimately chose a relatively simple one.
During this time, Matthew received calls from James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. Of course, neither of them would miss his "engagement ceremony," and James McAvoy requested to speak as the groom's representative at the ceremony.
Since Matthew had no relatives on his side, he readily agreed.
There was also another person who, after hearing the details, also approached Matthew, wanting to be the groom's representative.
When Orlando Bloom called, Matthew was having Lister and his team clean Horner Manor. Orlando Bloom happened to be in Century City, Beverly Hills, and he was curious about Matthew's new home, so Matthew simply invited him over.
"What an impressive house," Orlando Bloom said, standing in front of the living room's glass curtain wall, feeling as if all of Los Angeles was within view. "The location is also excellent."
Matthew smiled and said self-deprecatingly, "The mortgage is also quite something."
Orlando Bloom turned to look at Matthew and said, "With your current box office appeal, you'd probably pay it off by just filming two more movies." He then proactively changed the subject, "What do you think about what I mentioned to you on the phone?"
"I'm very sorry, Orlando," Matthew said, genuinely. "Someone already asked me to be the groom's representative a couple of days ago. He's British, just like you. You've met him, James McAvoy."
Orlando Bloom immediately remembered the British actor from "Black Hawk Down"; that person and Matthew were already close friends at the time.
"No problem," he said, winking at Matthew. "I can wait for next time."
Matthew pointed a finger at him. "There won't be a next time."
Orlando Bloom completely misunderstood, shaking his head with a smile, clearly not believing that Matthew and Charlize Theron would last forever.
Then, Orlando Bloom invited, "Do you have time? Don't forget to attend the premiere of 'Kingdom of Heaven.'"
"I'll definitely be there," Matthew had already received an invitation from Ridley Scott. For the sake of Helen Herman and Ridley Scott, he would go. "How could I miss your premiere?"
Orlando Bloom, however, suddenly sighed, "I have a bad feeling."
"What's wrong?" Matthew asked, puzzled.
He wasn't worried about Orlando Bloom blaming him; Orlando Bloom becoming the male lead of "Kingdom of Heaven" had nothing to do with him.
"Have you paid attention to the pre-sales for 'Kingdom of Heaven'?" Orlando Bloom asked.
Matthew shook his head. "No, I've been busy setting up the new house since I got back from promotions."
"The pre-sales are not good," Orlando Bloom said, not sounding like he was joking. "The pre-sale for 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' started more than a week later than 'Kingdom of Heaven,' but its pre-sale box office is three times that of 'Kingdom of Heaven.'"
He didn't mean to blame Matthew; instead, he said, "The test screenings for the film also didn't get good reviews. I watched the test screening, and it was completely different from the version Ridley Scott showed in the editing room."
Matthew thought for a moment and said, "I remember Ridley Scott didn't have final cut rights, right?"
Orlando Bloom seemed a bit angry. "20th Century Fox thought Ridley Scott's cut was too long and too slow, forcing him to cut about forty minutes of content. The test screening version I saw was completely different from the movie I'd seen before."
Matthew sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do. Hollywood is a producer-driven system; it's almost impossible for a director to get final cut rights."
"Ridley Scott said that 20th Century Fox's re-edited version will ruin this film," Orlando Bloom said, very disappointed. "And it will also ruin me and Ridley Scott."
Matthew couldn't interfere with such matters. Not to mention his lack of a working relationship with 20th Century Fox, even if he did, 20th Century Fox would never allow an actor to casually meddle in other major projects.
Orlando Bloom clearly attributed the poor pre-sale results to 20th Century Fox, cursing, "Damn 20th Century Fox!"
For a top-tier Hollywood director like Ridley Scott, extensive interference with his creative process often leads to a series of problems.
Matthew also didn't know what the people at 20th Century Fox were thinking.
Orlando Bloom chatted with Matthew for a long time, confirming that Matthew would attend the premiere of "Kingdom of Heaven" and that he would attend Matthew and Charlize Theron's engagement ceremony, before taking his leave.
Before Matthew and Charlize Theron could even move into their new home, "Kingdom of Heaven" was released in North America.