Early in the morning, after dropping off the person, Matthew rushed to Universal Studios to meet with his agent, Dennis . He didn't mention a word about yesterday's events; there was no point in bringing them up now. Accompanied by his agent, he signed an additional agreement with the crew, then put on makeup and a white lab coat, and entered the soundstage to await the start of filming.
Perhaps because his role had lines, the assistant director even gave him a character script, though it was only one page with just a few lines of text.
His part was very simple: he would walk past Winona Ryder's protagonist in the hallway and enter the room of Angelina Jolie's supporting character.
With this role, Matthew's screen time was more significant than that of an extra, but still less than that of a regular character actor.
Matthew was still wearing yesterday's white lab coat, standing outside the set, reading the script. Dennis peeked over his shoulder from behind, his eyes also scanning the script.
"Not only a frontal close-up, but also two lines of dialogue!" Dennis exclaimed, mouth agape, muttering softly, "Roles like this usually require a formal audition, unless you have connections within the crew..."
Matthew shrugged, saying nothing.
Dennis looked at him in surprise. Yesterday, Winona Ryder had pushed him out, but then there was a complete turnaround last night. Who exactly was this Matthew Horner?
Was he connected to Angelina Jolie? He shook his head. Angelina Jolie was just a supporting actress; she couldn't possibly contend with Winona Ryder!
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him: could Matthew be connected to another producer, Georgia Kakoudakis?
The more Dennis thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, none of this could be explained. It couldn't possibly be that high-ranking executives from Sony Columbia Pictures directly intervened, could it?
Unable to suppress his curiosity, he leaned into Matthew's ear and whispered, "Do you know Georgia Kakoudakis?"
Matthew turned his head, smiled faintly at Dennis , but remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.
Dennis immediately took his silence as an affirmation and quickly began to calculate how he could profit. One thing was clear: he had to satisfy Matthew Horner and not perform as poorly as he had yesterday.
"Uh... Matthew," he felt he should explain, "Yesterday, I really had an urgent matter..."
"I know," Matthew flicked the script, saying, "I'm memorizing my lines."
Dennis immediately raised his hands and said, "Okay, okay, I won't disturb you."
Matthew said nothing, focusing intently on the character script, committing every detail to memory. The script was very simple, and understanding it was no problem. The two lines of dialogue were also straightforward.
After a while, Angelina Jolie arrived on set. Matthew smiled at her, and Angelina Jolie nodded slightly. Just like yesterday, the lead actress and producer, Winona Ryder, was the last to arrive.
Director James Mangold finished preparing for the shoot and called the actors together to discuss the scene. Matthew was also called over.
"Let's do a walkthrough," James Mangold led the actors into the set-up hallway. Upon reaching the first room, he said, "In this scene, the protagonist and supporting actress don't know each other yet. Winona, your character is very curious about the supporting actress and sees the male orderly walking towards her room."
He pointed at Matthew, "Follow his back until he enters Lisa's room."
Winona Ryder nodded slightly; this type of scene was too simple for her.
James Mangold then gestured towards the doorway, "The two characters will pass each other at this point."
He looked at Matthew, "You walk down the hallway, not too fast, not too slow, just a normal walking speed, then enter the room. Understand?"
Matthew quickly said, "Understood."
James Mangold gestured to his assistant, then said, "Alright, let's do a walkthrough first."
Then, an assistant director came to arrange their positions. Matthew knew he couldn't mess up and followed the crew's instructions precisely.
Angelina Jolie entered the room, Winona Ryder stood at the doorway of the previous room, and Matthew took the medical box handed to him by the prop master, waiting in the hall where they had filmed yesterday.
Two cameramen were getting into position, and someone stood beside him holding a reflector.
Although it was just a rehearsal, it looked no different from an actual shoot.
Seeing all this, Matthew felt somewhat nervous, his legs trembling slightly. Although he wanted to be a Hollywood star, rolling in piles of money and surrounded by beautiful women, this was his first time performing in front of a camera.
Nervousness was a very normal emotion.
"Just relax," the crew was still making final preparations when the person next to Matthew, holding the reflector, suddenly whispered, "Your scene is very simple. Relax and be natural."
Matthew turned, smiled faintly at him, and nodded.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly, thinking, "It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to send charcoal in the snow." Yesterday, everyone avoided him, but today someone actually offered a reminder... "Action!"
James Mangold's voice rang out, and Matthew quickly discarded his scattered thoughts, stepping forward. But as soon as he took his first step, James Mangold's voice sounded again, "Stop!"
He looked at Matthew, "You were too slow!"
Matthew gave an embarrassed smile, and just as he was about to say something, James Mangold loudly declared, "Back to positions, start again!"
No one said an extra word. Both the actors and the behind-the-scenes crew quickly returned to their respective positions. This time, Matthew stopped overthinking and focused his energy, waiting for the director's command.
"Action!"
At James Mangold's command, the crew immediately sprang into action.
Matthew walked towards the hallway ahead. Winona Ryder approached from the opposite direction, and as they were about to meet, Winona Ryder turned to look at Matthew. The camera filming her, like her eyes, also turned.
As the camera moved, Matthew immediately noticed it.
"Stop!" James Mangold called a halt. "You looked at the camera lens!"
Matthew knew the director was talking about him and quickly said apologetically, "It was a subconscious..."
"Pay attention next time!" James Mangold seemed to have a good temper. "Departments back to positions, let's do it again!"
Although he was just a set director, he was very aware of the crew's dynamics. Winona Ryder had actually bowed to Angelina Jolie. It was said that last night, this little extra and Jolie went into Winona Ryder's office together. No one knew what happened in between, but the result was very clear.
James Mangold didn't want to get involved in these messy affairs; a small extra was fine.
Matthew returned to the starting point. Dennis was standing nearby and, seeing him return, said, "Don't be nervous! And don't try to act! Just walk and talk as you normally would! Don't think of it as acting!"
Taking two deep breaths, Matthew nodded slightly. This agent had questionable character, which made his current advice more trustworthy.
The other behind-the-scenes crew members didn't return to their positions as quickly as the actors. Matthew stood there, slowly regulating his breathing, letting go of all those distracting thoughts. His mind gradually became blank, and after a few seconds, the slight trembling in his legs stopped, and his anxious mood also began to relax.
When James Mangold called "Action!" again, all of Matthew's nervousness vanished. He stepped forward, his eyes devoid of cameras, directors, agents, and even the approaching Winona Ryder. He simply walked forward, minding his own business.
He brushed past Winona Ryder and walked directly towards Angelina Jolie's room. Winona Ryder turned to look at Matthew, and the camera, following Winona Ryder's gaze, also turned, filming Matthew's tall figure from behind.
Matthew turned into Angelina Jolie's room and, in his usual, normal speaking tone, said, "Lisa, you must take your medication on time! Otherwise, I'll report it to Dr. Potts."
These were his two lines of dialogue.
"Cut!"
Hearing the sound, Matthew shook his head, then heard James Mangold announce, "That's a take!"
Matthew was puzzled, "A take? Wasn't that just a rehearsal?"
"It's quite normal," Angelina Jolie, across from him, seemed to have heard his words. "If a suitable shot is captured during a rehearsal, the director will use it."
She stood up, "In Hollywood, time is money."
Matthew smiled and politely said, "Thank you."
Although Angelina Jolie always kept her distance from him, and sometimes appeared aloof, she was relatively friendly to him within this crew.
Matthew guessed that perhaps in these two instances, he had indeed helped Angelina Jolie somewhat.
Angelina Jolie left the semi-enclosed room, preparing to film the next scene, while Matthew's work on this crew was declared complete.
However, he had signed a daily wage contract, so even if he worked for less than half a morning, he would still receive two hundred dollars in compensation.
"If only I could earn two hundred dollars every day," Matthew sighed with emotion. "An income of over five thousand dollars a month would be quite carefree."
Unfortunately, such job opportunities weren't available every day. For newly-entered extras, they might not encounter one for several months.
"Excellent acting!"
On the outskirts of the set, Dennis walked beside Matthew, his plump face beaming so much that his features were barely discernible. "Not many new actors can nail a scene like that within three takes!"
"Really?" Matthew asked, then chuckled, realizing the Fat Man was clearly trying to flatter him.
Dennis , however, said earnestly, "Based on my experience, you have some talent in this area! I wouldn't say exceptional talent, but above average is certainly no problem."
Matthew didn't take his words seriously at all. Dennis asked him, "Are you leaving?"
"I'll watch for a bit," Matthew didn't plan on leaving immediately; he didn't know when he'd be in a soundstage again.
Dennis hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have to go; I still need to handle your payment."
Matthew nodded, "You go ahead."
The crew was preparing for the next shoot. Matthew stood on the outskirts of the set, his eyes mostly on Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. These famous stars were all targets for learning.
Suddenly, someone walked up to him and asked, "Are you Matthew Horner?"