Seeing a stranger approaching, several bodyguards emerged from their hidden positions, subtly surrounding Matthew. He turned to see Anne Hathaway hurrying towards him, looking as if she had something urgent to discuss. With her sleek, straight brown hair and stylish attire, she was quite a sight to behold.
"Hello, Anne," Matthew greeted her while signaling the bodyguards to disperse. Once they did, he looked at Anne Hathaway and asked directly, "Is there something you need?"
Matthew had never crossed paths with Anne Hathaway before. She initially made her name in the teen idol circuit before transitioning into the indie film scene. If he remembered correctly, "Inception" was her first role in a major commercial production.
Anne Hathaway approached Matthew, tossing her slightly disheveled hair back and offering a small smile. "Matthew, do you have some time? Could we find a place to talk?"
Matthew looked at her curiously. Known within the industry as someone exceptionally driven by fame and fortune, she likely had more than just a chat in mind. Over the past few years, he had heard several stories about Anne Hathaway. This New York actress was ambitious but seemed to have poor judgment when it came to men—her first public relationship was with a financial fraudster, whom she barely managed to distance herself from. Her next boyfriend had a habit of stealing paintings, forcing her to cut ties once again.
Based on the gossip he had seen, Anne Hathaway was eager to find a wealthy man, but instead of finding one, she had accumulated a series of negative headlines.
"It's like this," Anne Hathaway said, glancing at Matthew, "Has Nolan spoken to you yet? He asked me to start getting into the character of Mal early, especially to communicate with you more."
Matthew recalled something Christopher Nolan had mentioned to him before the holidays and nodded, "He's given me similar instructions." He opened the door to his Mercedes. "Get in; there's a café nearby where we can talk."
"Okay," Anne Hathaway agreed, stepping into the car with the poise of a British lady, exuding a sense of refined upbringing.
Matthew got into the car and instructed the driver, "To South Bowe Street."
A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of a high-end café on South Bowe Street. Matthew and Anne Hathaway entered the café, found a quiet spot, and ordered two cups of coffee before continuing their conversation.
"I got the impression from Nolan," Anne Hathaway said with a slight smile, "that he wants us to spend more time together outside of work."
When it came to work, Matthew was always serious. "This is to help us quickly establish a stronger emotional connection with our characters."
Anne Hathaway nodded lightly. "That's right." Then she lowered her voice and asked, "So should I call you Matthew, or Dom Cobb?"
Matthew thought for a moment before replying, "Just call me Matthew. I always keep my personal life and my roles separate."
In his career, he had never allowed a character to interfere with his normal life. The idea of being unable to separate from a character or bringing the character's struggles into real life was unimaginable to him.
Maybe he was simply too inexperienced, but in his ten years in Hollywood, he had never encountered such a person.
"But..." Anne Hathaway hesitated slightly.
Matthew continued, "Let's worry about tomorrow tomorrow. Today, I'm Matthew Horner, and you're Anne Hathaway."
Anne Hathaway nodded in agreement. "Alright."
Matthew took a sip of his coffee and added, "If you were Mal and suddenly appeared in my life, I'd be terrified—might even faint."
Anne Hathaway burst out laughing at his playful tone. It wasn't a demure smile this time, but a full, hearty laugh.
And then Matthew noticed another characteristic of Anne Hathaway: she was a woman whose looks could be quite unstable. When she smiled or remained expressionless, she was a beautiful "princess" with bright eyes, fair skin, and a sweet smile, reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn's elegance and Judy Garland's radiance.
But when she laughed out loud, it was almost a disaster of epic proportions.
She was a woman whose appearance could swing from an eighty-plus score to a negative one in an instant.
Fortunately, Anne Hathaway seemed aware of this natural flaw and quickly reined in her laughter, returning to her sweet, fair-skinned, and princess-like appearance.
After chatting with Anne Hathaway for a while, Matthew found that she wasn't as bad as the rumors suggested. Perhaps it was true that she had dated two fraudsters, but she seemed very well-mannered and carried an air of elegance, quite different from the typical American girl.
Of course, as someone who had been in Hollywood for a while, Matthew knew that what you hear is often false, and what you see might be as well.
However, even if it was an act, Anne Hathaway's good manners and elegant demeanor were far preferable to having a tattooed woman across from him, smoking and cursing.
Unfortunately, she was born in the wrong era.
In today's world, Anne Hathaway's carefully crafted image was somewhat outdated. From a public perspective, youth should be bold, and one should act on impulses. In this respect, Matthew was a typical example.
As a result, people who constantly stumble and swear are more popular because their image seems more genuine.
Someone like Anne Hathaway could continue to maintain her high-class persona. Even if she wasn't the most popular actress, she wouldn't encounter too many problems. But if she couldn't hold out and switched to a more down-to-earth approach, her image might collapse.
In this age of information, an image collapse could be a real hassle.
After chatting about work for a bit longer, Anne Hathaway suddenly changed the subject.
"I saw some news about you the other day," she said casually. "You were invited to join the Academy, weren't you?"
"Yes," Matthew replied, thinking quickly. "I never thought I'd have the chance to vote for the Oscars."
Anne Hathaway maintained her smile, asking seemingly offhandedly, "Have you mailed in your ballot yet?"
Matthew shook his head. "Not yet." He glanced at Anne Hathaway. He had to admit that as long as she wasn't laughing, her appearance was quite stable. "I've never voted before, and I haven't seen most of the films on the nomination list, so I'm not sure who to vote for."
When he received the ballot, he hadn't paid much attention to the nomination list. But Anne Hathaway's sudden question made him wonder if she was on the list.
Anne Hathaway maintained her graceful composure. "As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, you can only vote for the acting awards on the nomination ballot." She explained some of the voting rules. "When the final nominees are announced, you can then vote for categories other than the acting awards."
Matthew slowly rotated his coffee cup in his hand. "I know." He tested the waters by saying, "I was planning to randomly pick a few names before the deadline."
Then he added, "Whoever lobbies me might get my vote."
Anne Hathaway hadn't expected Matthew to say that. Was it really that simple? Just vote for whoever lobbies you?
"Matthew..." she ventured cautiously, "Would you consider saving your vote for Best Actress for me?"
"You're competing for Best Actress this year?" Matthew asked.
Anne Hathaway reminded him, "My name is on the submission list."
Matthew smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't look at the list closely." He looked at Anne Hathaway. "I don't think any actress born after 1980 has won Best Actress, right?"
"No," Anne Hathaway nodded. "Not yet. That's why I'm trying to be the first."
Although the chances of success were slim, she wanted to try. After all, what if she did win?
Every vote was crucial for her.
Matthew smiled. "Most people hire publicists to lobby the voters. Anne, you're really thrifty—you don't even need to pay for a publicist."
Anne Hathaway smiled back. "This way, I can show my sincerity." She then added, "I'm really poor. I can't afford a multimillion-dollar publicity campaign."
"You? Poor?" Matthew didn't believe it. "Everyone knows the famous Princess Anne has been doing well at the box office these past few years, earning both fame and fortune."
Anne Hathaway just smiled and didn't respond.
The fees she earned from indie films like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Becoming Jane" were barely enough to cover a few months of her expenses.
"Alright," Matthew agreed readily. "Since Princess Anne has personally lobbied me, I'll cast my vote for you."
Anne Hathaway hadn't expected Matthew to agree so quickly. She was momentarily stunned but then smiled and said, "Thank you."
She looked at Matthew again, thinking he seemed like a very generous person.
With that conclusion, Anne Hathaway's thoughts began to wander. For years, she had been looking for a wealthy man.
She had certainly gained some fame over the years, but the money she earned wasn't nearly enough to sustain her lifestyle.
She glanced at Matthew across the table. The more she thought about it, the clearer her thoughts became. The newspapers mentioned that Matthew had a net worth of several hundred million dollars, much more than the two fake wealthy men she had dated before.
Someone like him seemed perfect to be a "human ATM," easily shelling out $2 million a month for her to buy luxury brands.
However, Anne Hathaway didn't reveal any of these thoughts. After all, they were working together on the same project, so there was no need to rush. Moving too quickly could backfire.
At noon, she declined Matthew's invitation to lunch and left the café.
As he watched Anne Hathaway leave, Matthew didn't feel any urgency. The "Inception" crew would be filming for several months, and
he had many scenes with Anne Hathaway.
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