Chapter 324: The Surge in Dollar Bill Research

With "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" wrapped up, and "National Treasure," in which Matthew starred, yet to be released, it's notable that actors often have more output than directors and producers. It's not uncommon in Hollywood for actors to have two leading roles in films released in the same year.

Matthew vaguely remembered an entertainment news story about a Hollywood actress who had five or six movies released in the same award season, earning her the title of "Model Worker Sister" from fans across the Pacific.

This was an experience Matthew could hardly enjoy anymore, as he had moved past the stage of accumulating quantity. His principle for accepting roles had become one of quality over quantity.

Entering October, with the release of "National Treasure" drawing closer, Matthew, as the lead actor, naturally had to cooperate with the promotional efforts of the crew, with various interviews being just a routine part of the process.

In addition, the crew had prepared other promotional plans.

After returning home from the Walt Disney headquarters in Burbank, Matthew first turned on his computer, logged into his blog, and then accessed his email to download six pictures sent by the crew. These images, which were similar in content, included close-ups of the front and back of the 1-dollar, 10-dollar, and 100-dollar bills.

Following the crew's plan, Matthew uploaded the six images to his blog and accompanied them with text.

"Today, I had lunch with a historian, who shared a secret with me. Our daily-used dollar bills hide an astonishing secret! Unfortunately, the historian wouldn't reveal it directly but hinted that the secret is hidden within the patterns on the 1-dollar, 10-dollar, or 100-dollar bill. I spent half a day researching at home but found nothing…"

With his fame increasing, the number of followers on his personal blog had nearly reached the million mark, including fans not only from North America but also from English-speaking countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

Importantly, most of his followers were active users, not the result of inflated zombie accounts.

Matthew had learned that his blog's followership was only slightly less than that of some top-tier bloggers.

The blog post was released, and within half a minute, a series of replies appeared underneath.

"Secrets on the dollar bill? Can't see any…"

"I don't know about secrets, but I've heard that misprinted dollars are valuable."

"Matthew, don't be fooled by so-called historians, experts these days are unreliable."

"It's said that Benjamin Franklin had a complex identity, and the Philadelphia Independence Hall on the back also covers some secrets from the Independence War era."

"I live in Philadelphia, I'll check out the Independence Hall tomorrow."

Half an hour later, the blog post had over a thousand replies, with many people starting to analyze in the comments.

The next day, with Matthew's permission, some print media republished his blog post. Although it wasn't a major newspaper, it still attracted a lot of attention.

Then, TMZ's gossip section mocked Matthew, reposting his blog post and ridiculing him for believing in ghost stories told by historians.

Matthew immediately hit back at TMZ on his blog, stating that TMZ only indulged in disreputable acts like paparazzi and lacked respect for academia.

A historian also stepped forward in the media, claiming that the $100 bill featuring Benjamin Franklin and the Philadelphia Independence Hall incorporated complex cipher elements invisible to the common eye. To uncover the hidden secret, one must first decipher the codes.

Of course, TMZ wouldn't back down, accusing Matthew and the historian of seeking public attention.

Then Matthew posted another blog post in response…

In just a few days, a widely-followed verbal battle unfolded, with people who saw the reports taking out $100 bills to study the potential secrets of Benjamin Franklin and the Philadelphia Independence Hall depicted on them.

This news fermented in the media and quickly spread among the general public through word of mouth, sparking a small craze for researching the dollar bill across America.

Perhaps due to the widespread dissemination and heated public discussion, the Federal Reserve addressed this matter in a regular press conference in late October, attempting to debunk the rumors, but to little avail. In this era of open information, institutions like the Washington authorities and the Federal Reserve were naturally met with public skepticism.

Just a few days after the Federal Reserve's debunking, a newspaper under Disney released a mysterious letter from an archeological adventurer named Ben Franklin-Gates, claiming to have discovered the secret of Benjamin Franklin and the Philadelphia Independence Hall on the dollar bill, directly pointing to the original Declaration of Independence stored in the National Archives in Washington!

This report reignited the public's slightly waning interest in researching the dollar bill.

Everything was just beginning. On the last weekend of October, the same Disney-affiliated newspaper published another letter from Ben Franklin-Gates, claiming that his research had uncovered a treasure map hidden

 behind the Declaration of Independence, indicating a treasure site potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the time of American independence.

With this news, public interest surged even more.

However, in this era, viral marketing was nothing new. Some astutely sensed that the continuous stream of news might be a Hollywood movie stunt.

The production crew and Disney Studios had anticipated this scenario and were prepared. The topic of treasure always held timeless appeal, naturally drawing massive interest, even if some guessed the gimmick behind it.

Viral marketing continued at Disney Studios' pace. Entering November, as the film's premiere drew nearer and with excellent feedback from the marketing campaign, Disney Studios did not rush to release a trailer but instead continued to push the viral marketing narrative.

Soon, multiple media outlets revealed that the so-called archeological adventurer Ben Franklin-Gates had alerted the FBI that an underground force had also deciphered the secret on the dollar bill and was now targeting the original Declaration of Independence in the National Archives, calling for immediate protection!

The involvement of the FBI, which had been part of the movie's production, showed that the crew had communicated with them beforehand.

The news of someone trying to steal the original Declaration of Independence caused a nationwide uproar.

Such news couldn't be hyped for long without the FBI facing immense pressure from all sides.

On the same day that the media released this news, a newly registered blog named after Ben Gates claimed that the treasure hidden behind the Declaration of Independence was none other than the widely rumored treasures of the Knights Templar and the Freemasons!

The Knights Templar's treasure is a widely known legend in the West.

As the secrets behind the Declaration of Independence were revealed, this round of viral marketing neared its conclusion, achieving Disney Studios' expected impact. The secrets of the dollar, the treasure map behind the Declaration of Independence, and the Knights Templar's treasures quickly became popular topics of discussion.

Not to mention, visitor numbers at the National Archives, specifically to see the Declaration of Independence, had tripled in the last half-month!

The mystery unveiled, Disney Studios timely released the official trailer for "National Treasure." The trailer, frequently mentioning the Knights Templar's treasure, analyses of famous American landmarks, and the confrontation between the rugged Matthew and the burly Dwayne Johnson, attracted a large following of movie enthusiasts.

During this period, "National Treasure" outshone all other films released during the holiday season.

At the same time, a video of Matthew and Dwayne Johnson arm wrestling, showing them evenly matched, began circulating online, stirring up discussions among movie fans and professional wrestling enthusiasts, especially as Disney Studios fanned the flames behind the scenes, quickly making it a hot topic on the internet.

"I think Dwayne Johnson would definitely win, just look at his size."

"Matthew Horner doesn't stand much of a chance, right? After all, he's just a movie star, and whatever he practices is probably just for show."

Many supported Dwayne Johnson, but there were also many who believed Matthew could win.

"It's ridiculous to say Matthew's fighting is all for show. Doesn't everyone know WWE is staged?"

"I'll just say this, when Matthew saved Charlize Theron a while back, he used a shoulder throw on that jerk, and the guy flew like a rag doll."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Matthew's combat skills have been tested!"

Such discussions were meaningless to Matthew and Dwayne Johnson themselves but beneficial for the film's promotion.

The two cooperated well with Disney Studios, and during a media event, they playfully claimed that if the opportunity arose, they could truly test each other's skills.

Such statements were merely for show, adding hype to the promotional efforts, especially for Matthew. Given his current status, he would hardly step into the ring for a real fight unless someone was willing to pay an eight-figure appearance fee.

"National Treasure's" promotion continued intensively, and Matthew received another piece of good news: Zack Snyder's preparations were finally complete, ready to start filming.

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