Outside the Hilton Hotel in London, a large crowd of media reporters and onlookers had gathered. As one of the countries with the most aggressive paparazzi, Inception's production had been under constant surveillance since it arrived in London. The famous The Sun had gone so far as to dig up and publish every scandal and tabloid story about each lead actor from the past five years.
Matthew was a particular target. From the moment he returned to London, a four-person team from The Sun had been tailing him 24/7.
The tabloid even dedicated an entire popular section to a serialized exposé on Matthew's romantic entanglements.
One day, the leading lady of the gossip was Anne Hathaway; the next, it was Scarlett Johansson, followed by Jessica Alba, then Rachel McAdams...
Throughout the ten-plus days Matthew had been filming in London, the leading lady of his scandalous stories seemed to change daily.
And when the editors at The Sun realized the production was leaving London soon and they wouldn't have enough time to publish all their stories, they doubled the content, featuring five leading ladies a day!
These sensational stories captivated the British public, which fueled The Sun's rapid growth.
Matthew, however, didn't care at all. He'd already lived through those events—why bother trying to stop people from talking now? Besides, when a newspaper bombards the public with the same news every day, people eventually become indifferent to it.
However, something unexpected happened during filming today. A large protest formed around the set, with the crowd carrying signs specifically targeting Matthew Horner.
"You seem to have pissed off a large group of people," James McAvoy commented, standing at the window of a room in the Hilton Hotel, which was being used as a dressing room. He watched the several hundred-strong crowd outside. "What did you do, Matthew?"
Michael Fassbender, standing beside him, pointed at two young boys holding a large banner and said, "Isn't it obvious? He messed with Hermione Granger."
By this time, Matthew had finished his makeup and walked over to the window. Outside, a large crowd of Emma Watson fans had gathered, expressing their outrage.
"Stay away from Hermione!"
"Don't corrupt our Emma Watson!"
"Emma Watson belongs to everyone, not just one person!"
These were the more polite signs. Some of the banners carried more vicious messages.
"Yank, get out of Britain!"
"Hick, you're not worthy of our goddess!"
James McAvoy looked curious. "Is today's The Sun report true?"
"Yes," Matthew replied without hesitation. "I spent the night at Emma's place last night. The paparazzi probably caught it."
There was no need to hide it; getting caught was perfectly normal, and Matthew wasn't surprised.
Michael Fassbender glanced at the protesters and said, "You're in trouble. Emma Watson's fans are absolutely insane."
"She's the most popular teen actress in all of Europe!" James McAvoy nodded in agreement, then gave Matthew a thumbs up. "I've got to hand it to you. Michael and I have quantity, but you've got both quantity and quality."
Michael Fassbender, a little envious, added, "I met her once at a party and tried to chat her up. She's so proud she wouldn't even give me the time of day."
Matthew glanced at his two friends. "Is it really that serious?"
James McAvoy nodded slightly. "This is Emma Watson, the actress who plays Hermione Granger!"
Michael Fassbender gave Matthew a friendly punch. "You're collecting stamps, and now you've even got Emma Watson."
"It's mutual, alright?" Matthew spread his hands.
From the moment they reconnected in Geneva, he and Emma had never discussed feelings. Emma had made it clear that he was a "spoil of war."
Of course, Emma was also his spoil of war.
At that moment, a crew member came to inform them that filming was about to start. Matthew left the dressing room, entered the set, exchanged a few words with Anne Hathaway, and then received some final instructions from Christopher Nolan before filming commenced.
Two cameras were positioned at diagonal angles, focusing on Matthew and Anne Hathaway, who stood at two opposite windows. Microphones descended from above, just outside their respective windows.
Matthew entered the room, took off his coat, and tossed it on the sofa. Not seeing the hostess, he looked around. A breeze blew, causing the curtains to flutter. His eyes shifted to the opposite window, where he saw Anne Hathaway sitting on the windowsill. He quickly walked over.
"Hey, honey!" Matthew hurried to the window, his expression filled with concern. "What are you doing?"
Anne Hathaway pressed her lips together, appearing calm and carefree as she swung her long legs beneath her nightgown. "Come out here with me!"
Matthew's eyes widened, his brows furrowing. "Please, step back inside." He gestured toward her as he spoke. "Come on, step inside. Quickly!"
"No!" Anne Hathaway refused.
"Please, step back in. I'm begging you!" Matthew pleaded, his voice laced with urgency.
"No!" Anne Hathaway refused again, this time more adamantly. "I want to return to our world. I'm going to jump, and I want you to jump with me!"
"No, I'm not jumping." Matthew gripped the window sill, leaning out as he shook his head. "Honey, listen to me. If you jump now, you won't wake up. Do you understand? You'll die! So step back inside, please."
Anne Hathaway remained unmoved. Another gust of wind blew, revealing more of her legs.
Matthew's face showed increasing concern. "Mal, I'm begging you!" Seeing that Anne still hadn't moved, he continued, "Come inside, and we'll talk more, okay?"
Anne Hathaway looked down at the street below. "We've talked enough!"
As she spoke, she lifted one long leg, and her shoe slowly slipped off, plummeting toward the ground, where it landed on a green mat placed below the first-floor window.
"Mal!" Matthew's face was full of worry. "Wait! Let's talk more, alright?"
Anne Hathaway shook her head. "Come out, or I'm jumping right now..."
"Alright! Alright!" Matthew quickly assured her, indicating that she should stay calm. Grabbing the window, he slowly climbed out and sat on the sill. "Mal, let's talk right here, okay?"
He softened his tone. "Honey, think of our children, think of James and Philippa."
"If you don't jump with me, the kids will be taken away anyway," Anne Hathaway said coldly. "I've left a letter with my lawyer saying I feared for my life and how you threatened to kill me..."
"CUT!" Christopher Nolan's voice interrupted. "Anne, your emotions are too flat!"
Anne Hathaway took a deep breath, breaking free from the character as she climbed back inside.
Matthew glanced down. The first-floor windowsill wasn't high, and the green mat below was thick. Jumping wouldn't be much of a risk.
Naturally, the scene wouldn't be filmed as dangerously as the script indicated, where they were supposed to be on the 20th floor.
Returning to the room, Matthew straightened his tie as a makeup artist came over to touch him up. Christopher Nolan walked over as well.
"You did well," Nolan said, "but there's one thing to keep in mind."
Since the makeup artist was working, Matthew couldn't speak, so he simply nodded.
Nolan continued, "You're widening your eyes a bit too much. Try to keep that in check."
Matthew nodded again, quickly replaying the scene in his head. Once the makeup artist finished, he said, "I'll keep an eye on it."
Matthew knew why this had happened—it was likely due to Leonardo DiCaprio's influence. Thankfully, Nolan pointed it out early, so Matthew could adjust.
Using small, exaggerated expressions too frequently could easily become a habit.
Thinking about it, Matthew's mind flashed to Leonardo DiCaprio. The media often said that while Matthew was close, he was still a step behind DiCaprio in terms of acting ability.
But DiCaprio had his flaws.
Several years ago, the media had pointed out three major issues with DiCaprio's performances: excessive frowning, wide-eyed stares, and yelling…
These were glaring problems that caused all his characters to feel somewhat like variations of DiCaprio himself.
Of course, some people believed Matthew played every role like Matthew Horner too.
After a brief break, the crew resumed filming, and the next take went smoothly, ending with Anne Hathaway's character leaping to her death.
Most of the day was spent filming scenes between Dom Cobb and his wife Mal in the hotel.
Originally, these scenes were supposed to be shot in Paris, but the production had faced too many restrictions when applying for permits from the Paris City Hall. Christopher Nolan had decided to move all the Paris scenes to London.
In the dream sequence between Dom and Ariadne, the famous rolling streets of Paris would now be replaced by London.
In a way, this change suited Anne Hathaway's appearance better. She never quite looked French but rather always resembled a prim British lady with her perfect London accent.
After wrapping up for the day, Matthew didn't return to the crew's base. Instead, he requested a car from the hotel and had the driver take him to Emma Watson's place.
He didn't care whether her fans or The Sun's paparazzi were watching.
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