"For the movie?" Angelina Jolie's angry voice came again. "Winona Ryder, you really know how to flatter yourself!"
"Jolie!" The cool voice also raised its tone.
The two female leads of this film are clashing? Matthew pricked up his ears curiously.
Angelina Jolie seemed very angry, not caring about Winona Ryder's feelings at all. "Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You asked to cancel yesterday's scene because I overshadowed you, the lead actress! You want to cut my scenes because I've performed better than you since filming began!"
Her voice grew louder and louder. "You're doing all this just because you're worried I'll steal your thunder as the lead actress!"
"Say whatever you want."
Unlike the enraged Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder's voice remained cool. "This is within my power as a producer. You... hmph... are just a supporting actress, you have no right to interfere!"
Matthew remembered Dennis Kuhl had said that Winona Ryder was not only the lead actress of "Girl, Interrupted" but also credited as a producer.
Even without a deep understanding of Hollywood, he knew that the film industry here was producer-centric.
The room suddenly fell silent, clearly, that sentence had silenced Angelina Jolie. After a long while, Angelina Jolie's voice was heard again.
However, this time it wasn't as furious. "Don't think that just because you made this project happen, you can mess things up!"
Suddenly, Angelina Jolie's voice rose again. "Don't think I can't see that you're a slut! Real sluts like to pretend to be innocent! To be pure! Just like you!"
Bang—
After that sentence, a loud slamming sound echoed as Angelina Jolie slammed the door and walked away coldly.
Matthew watched Angelina Jolie's retreating figure, with no intention of approaching her from beginning to end. In this crew, both Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder were god-tier presences; a small fry like him approaching would only be asking for trouble.
Subsequently, two more people came out of that room. Unlike Angelina Jolie, they walked towards Matthew.
"Winona..." one of the girls, wearing glasses and seemingly an assistant, asked, "Do you want to..."
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw Matthew sitting on the corridor bench, staring intently at Winona Ryder.
The two women walked closer, and Matthew looked at Winona Ryder with obvious surprise in his eyes. Because of Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp, he knew there was such a woman, but he couldn't remember what she looked like.
Winona Ryder was wearing a white shirt, light blue jeans, with short black hair cut to her ears, and exquisite, flawless features. From this angle, she looked slender, pure, and beautiful... Matthew was sure he had seen her; he had just seen her a few days ago, he couldn't be mistaken!
Isn't this the female thief who stole books from the bookstore? This was what surprised Matthew. Johnny Depp's ex-girlfriend, the producer and lead actress of this film, Winona Ryder, was a thief!
She shouldn't be short on money, right? Why would she steal books? Does stealing books not count as stealing?
As Matthew was thinking this, Winona Ryder and her assistant walked past him. Perhaps it was because he had been staring at her, or perhaps he was not bad-looking, but Winona Ryder turned her head and looked at him curiously.
Winona Ryder hadn't seen Matthew then and quickly turned her head back, walking further away with her female assistant.
"This person..." The female assistant seemed to recognize Matthew. "I saw his information with Rubin. I heard Rubin say he was introduced by Vanessa, through Angelina Jolie's connections."
Hearing the female assistant's words, Winona Ryder couldn't help but turn her head and look at Matthew again.
Matthew was sitting on the bench, lost in thought, bored.
He really couldn't understand why a beautiful woman like Winona Ryder, with money, status, and position, would want to steal a few worthless books.
Time passed quickly. A few more extras arrived, led by an agent. They formed a small group, glanced at Matthew, but had no intention of greeting him.
Matthew continued to wait quietly. After a long while, the agent Dennis Kuhl, accompanied by the casting director named Rubin, turned into the corridor. Dennis Kuhl had a fawning expression, and Rubin seemed to enjoy it, a brilliant smile on his face.
For these agents who handle extra work, casting directors undoubtedly held the power of life and death.
Rubin entered the office, and Dennis Kuhl stayed behind, sitting next to Matthew. He glanced at the other few people and said, "I tried my best for you. Your role is a male orderly standing behind the lead actress Winona Ryder. Although there are no lines, there will be a frontal shot."
Although he knew it should be due to Angelina Jolie's influence, Matthew still said, "Thank you, I will definitely do my best!"
"No! Absolutely not!" Dennis Kuhl quickly warned, "You just stand there honestly as a backdrop, and don't do anything else."
Matthew nodded repeatedly, "Mhm! Mhm!"
In such matters, listening to the agent couldn't be wrong.
They waited there for nearly half an hour more before casting director Rubin emerged from the office. He called the young man from last time and had the extras follow him to outside the studio.
To familiarize them with the location, the young man specifically led the group through the periphery of the filming area. Matthew looked around curiously. The studio was set up like a hospital, with long corridors and individual rooms clearly visible. Each room had an opening, seemingly left for camera positions.
He hadn't seen this movie or read the script. He only knew it seemed to be a story about mental patients, but he wasn't clear on the specifics.
The young man led them to a makeup trailer and handed them over to a effeminate male makeup artist.
"Let them go first." Dennis Kuhl stopped Matthew, who was about to rush into the makeup trailer.
Although he didn't quite understand, Matthew stopped and let the other extras go first for makeup.
"Hurry up!" the young man urged, "Don't waste time!"
The makeup trailer was small and couldn't fit many people. A middle-aged man went in first, and everyone else waited outside.
Perhaps he was doing well in the crew, as Dennis Kuhl was in a good mood. Seeing Matthew look at him questioningly, he leaned against the makeup trailer and explained in a low voice, "The crew treats people differently. You non-union extras use the lowest quality makeup. Those things are harmful to your skin, and the longer they stay on your face, the greater the damage."
Matthew immediately understood. "Does that mean the bigger the star, the later they get their makeup done?"
Dennis Kuhl nodded, "Pretty much!" He then added, "Many A-list stars make the crew wait for them."
"Can I, as an extra, not wear makeup?" Matthew touched his face.
Being possessed here, the only thing that made him feel relieved was this handsome, rugged face.
Dennis Kuhl shook his head. "Actors whose faces might be captured in a frontal shot must wear makeup."
He could tell that this tall, handsome young man was basically a layman. If he hadn't been such a good stepping stone, and might still be useful later, he wouldn't bother with such a person.
None of these extras would be playing important roles; they were all just backdrops. The makeup artist wouldn't focus on them, only applying a simple base makeup. In just over twenty minutes, everyone, including Matthew, was done.
With a layer of foundation on his face, Matthew always felt uncomfortable, but he didn't dare to touch it. Smudging the makeup would be troublesome.
The roles of these extras were very simple, even too simple to mention, but the preparation work was not simple at all. After makeup, they changed into costumes. Matthew put on a white coat belonging to an orderly. The crew had prepared many white coats of various sizes. He guessed this was also why they hadn't been asked to try on costumes in advance.
Although it was just a background role, the crew's requirements were quite strict. After Matthew and the other extras finished their styling, an assistant director specifically came to inspect them. Only after confirming there were no problems did he lead them into the studio.
In Matthew's opinion, this was a movie with tens of millions of dollars in investment, so no detail would be overlooked.
The assistant director led them to the central area of the studio, which was set up like a living room. On the flat floor were facilities such as a coffee table, a long sofa, single sofas, and a television. Two cameras were set up on the same side of the living room without a wall, and flashlights frequently lit up and went off, seemingly being adjusted.
As soon as they arrived, a middle-aged man with a full beard walked over. Matthew guessed he was the director. He personally gave a few instructions to the assistant director, who then began to arrange everyone's positions one by one.
"You, come here." The assistant director called Matthew, who quickly went and stood behind a single sofa directly facing the camera lens. The assistant director looked towards the camera and then said, "A little to the left."
Matthew was like a puppet on strings in the assistant director's hands. He moved as he was told, shifting one step to the left.
Behind the camera, someone gestured, and the assistant director said, "Good! Just stand here and don't move."
"Mhm!" Matthew quickly nodded.
The assistant director instructed, "After filming starts, don't laugh or make any strange movements."
"Mhm!" Matthew nodded again.
The assistant director went to do other work, and Matthew stood there, patiently waiting. A few minutes later, actresses came out one after another and sat in their respective positions according to the director's requirements.
Then, Matthew saw Angelina Jolie enter the set accompanied by her assistant. She greeted the director familiarly, chatted for a few moments, and sat on the more prominent long sofa.
Angelina Jolie saw Matthew, turned her head and glanced at him. Matthew gave her a slight smile, but she turned her head back as if she didn't know him.
After waiting for a while longer, Winona Ryder, with her short hair, appeared.
She walked towards the single sofa in front of Matthew, and her beautiful eyes naturally fell on him, immediately furrowing her brows.