Chapter 330: Crafted Persona

As December began, Hollywood's award season kicked off, and Matthew Horner's two films released this year—"Dawn of the Dead" and "National Treasure"—were not connected to the awards, mainly due to their genre and content not qualifying for the competition.

However, Matthew still maintained a significant media presence.

"National Treasure" continued to generate interest in North America, with its box office steadily climbing. Even during the awards season, Matthew, as the leading man, and the film itself did not lack media attention.

The film sailed through its third weekend in North America without much impact from negative reviews, with less than a fifty percent drop in box office, amassing over $140 million to date.

By this point, no one doubted that "National Treasure" would break the $200 million mark in North America.

Matthew was busy during this period, supporting Johnny Depp's Oscar-hopeful, "Finding Neverland," attending promotions for "National Treasure," and conspicuously participating in Keanu Reeves' housewarming party.

Last year, on Charlize Theron's advice, Keanu had purchased a mansion for $4.5 million, becoming neighbors with Leonardo DiCaprio.

At the party, Matthew also met Leonardo DiCaprio.

"Leo, this is Matthew."

In the spacious living room, Keanu introduced Matthew to Leonardo DiCaprio, "Matthew, this is Leo."

Matthew extended his hand with a smile, "Hello, Leo."

Leonardo DiCaprio shook his hand, "Hello, Matthew."

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Matthew took the opportunity to discreetly size up Leonardo DiCaprio, who maintained a good physique, far from what some might call overweight.

"I saw Kate at the screening of 'Finding Neverland,'" Matthew told Leonardo DiCaprio, "She mentioned you; your friendship is quite enviable."

Leonardo DiCaprio smiled, "She didn't speak ill of me, did she?"

Clearly, his relationship with Kate Winslet was exceptionally close.

Matthew shook his head, "Of course not."

Keanu, holding several cans of beer, joined in, "Leo, I've always wondered, why didn't it ever happen between you and Kate?"

Leonardo DiCaprio didn't answer directly but instead asked, "And why didn't it happen between you and Charlize?"

Keanu handed a beer to Leonardo DiCaprio, saying, "We're just friends."

Being newly acquainted with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew refrained from commenting. He suspected that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet didn't become a couple mainly because she wasn't his type.

After all, any normal man would appreciate blonde, long-legged, young, and beautiful models.

Unfortunately, Keanu's housewarming party was a family affair and not as wild as typical Hollywood gatherings.

Leonardo DiCaprio soon wandered off, and since Matthew wasn't familiar with anyone else, he simply followed Keanu around to tour the new house.

The mansion was enormous, featuring a living room of over a hundred square meters, five bedrooms, a walk-in closet, a gym, an entertainment room, a collection room, and more. Though not as intimidating as some estates, it certainly qualified as a mansion.

Wandering through a long corridor into the collection room, Matthew saw several heavy motorcycles, especially a few Harleys, which were quite appealing.

Matthew examined them closely, asking, "Is this your collection?"

"Yes," Keanu came over and gently touched one of the Harleys, "If it wasn't for these collections, I wouldn't have bought a house. Living in a hotel is much more convenient."

He turned to Matthew, "It was Sally's advice. Last year she told me it's hard to preserve collections without a proper space, so I bought this place."

"Having a home..." Matthew mused on his own fixation with real estate, "is always good."

Keanu smiled, then asked, "Have you been in touch with Sally recently?"

Matthew nodded, "We spoke on the phone a few days ago. She's in Germany now and won't be back until after the New Year." He quickly changed the subject, "Now that you have a mansion, those rumors will just collapse."

"That wasn't my doing," Keanu waved dismissively, "Just small reports and baseless hype."

As they chatted, Matthew admired Keanu's collection.

Their earlier discussion stemmed from Keanu's rise to fame after "The Matrix" trilogy, with tabloids often portraying him as an unconventional star.

Previous reports and websites had sensationalized that Keanu had slept in a motel for nine years, continuing even as an adult, accompanied by a picture of him sleeping on a motel floor with his dog, which tugged at people's heartstrings.

Matthew, having known Keanu for two years, understood that Keanu had indeed lived in motels for four years before becoming

 a star and hadn't bought a house since.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; he simply didn't want to buy one. Keanu had told Matthew and Depp that living in hotels was just too convenient, with someone to make the bed and clean up...

In recent years, he wasn't staying in cheap motels but had moved to the upscale Mammoth Hotel, where a decent meal with Depp could cost thousands of dollars.

This spring, "The Sun" had run a piece on Keanu looking disheveled and shabby, sitting alone on a street bench eating a cupcake with a birthday candle, sharing it with fans who stopped to chat.

The photos taken by "The Sun" circulated widely online, especially among Keanu's fans...

In reality, at that time, Keanu was filming a movie, and "The Sun's" paparazzi broke the unspoken agreement with the film crew and snapped these photos during the shoot.

While Keanu was indeed a free-spirited celebrity, he wasn't one to go to extremes.

These stories, circulating on the internet, actually improved Keanu's image and fame, so his team never commented.

Like Matthew and Helen Herman's frequent strategy—neither confirming nor denying—they kept ample leeway for themselves.

Matthew had once reflected on these promotions, noting how Hollywood personas could be crafted to reflect one's public persona, as was his case, or could be wildly fabricated like Jessica Alba's ditzy antics or Keanu's persona imposed by the media.

As for why the tabloids portrayed him so dramatically, Matthew figured it was simply to grab attention. Such portrayals of Hollywood stars naturally drew public interest.

Of course, Keanu did have a bit of a tragic aura, according to some perspectives Matthew was familiar with, along with his casual demeanor.

Exiting the collection room, Keanu mentioned, "There are a few houses available south of here. Aren't you looking to buy? Come be my neighbor."

Matthew shrugged, somewhat regretfully, "I'm out of cash at the moment."

"Hm?" Keanu seemed surprised, "Didn't you earn ten million dollars for 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'? Did they delay payment?"

"No," Matthew shook his head then explained, "The film wrapped up and all payments were made. I invested it all in stocks."

Taking advantage of no significant news yet, he had invested most of his earnings in Apple stock, aside from a small reserve of funds. With Steve Jobs still at Apple, and given the recent impactful events like 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the iPhone was unlikely to vanish.

He wasn't savvy in investments and had never really focused on this area before, but Apple seemed like the safest bet from his memory.

Matthew wasn't aiming for massive returns from his Apple shares; merely keeping ahead of inflation and dollar depreciation was a win for him.

Returning to the living room, more guests had arrived at the party. Matthew noticed unfamiliar faces, guessing they weren't Hollywood insiders. Keanu, unlike the quirky Johnny Depp, had friends from all walks of life.

One of them turned out to be a fan, eagerly approaching for autographs and photos, leaving Matthew bemused.

As the party progressed, Leonardo DiCaprio was the first to leave, his presence more out of courtesy than close friendship, unlike his bond with Keanu.

But just as Leonardo DiCaprio left, Matthew received a call from his agent, Helen Herman.

Helen had called specifically to inform him that representatives from Mercedes-Benz had unexpectedly arrived in Los Angeles that afternoon and wanted to meet him, the candidate, in two days. An urgent discussion was needed that evening.

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