The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!-Chapter 2

"Did you hear that, Matthew?" Michael shot to his feet and exclaimed, "We're going to be working on a huge project! Ridley Scott's Gladiator!"
The name Ridley Scott sounded vaguely familiar, and after a moment's thought, Matthew asked uncertainly, "Isn't that the guy who directed Alien?"
"That's him! A top-tier director!" Michael was beside himself with excitement, grabbing Matthew by the arm. "We're going to be in a major Hollywood studio project!"
Matthew pulled his arm away and decided to throw some cold water on his excitement. "A major studio project? And how does that concern us? I doubt we'll even get a minute of screen time."
He was a little excited himself, but nowhere near as much as Michael.
"Uh..." Michael scratched his head. "Yeah, you're right. I just heard Ridley's name and got carried away."
Helen's voice once again filled the room. "I'll say it again: this is a one-week shoot. If you want in, sign up at the front desk. If you're not interested, you can leave now."
A dozen people stood up and filed out. The rest headed for the front desk and formed a line. Matthew and Michael went as well.
Although a week on set would inevitably mean taking time off from Red Penguin Services, Matthew decided to do it anyway.
As Michael had said, the project was huge. Matthew vaguely remembered Gladiator, but from what he recalled, it was a great film that had supposedly won an Oscar.
As the crowd formed a line, Matthew heard Helen give more details about the job.
Initially, the Gladiator crew had planned to shoot the war scene in Great Britain. While scouting locations, however, they encountered massive protests from environmental groups, and the forest intended for filming was completely occupied by activists. This forced Universal Pictures to devise a backup plan and send the film crew back to North America to complete the scene in a wooded area in Northern California.
Due to the unexpected change in plans, the British agency the crew had contacted was forced to pull out of the project, meaning they had to urgently recruit suitable extras back in Los Angeles.
The Angel Acting Agency received its cut, tasked with recruiting extras to play Germanic soldiers for Gladiator.
The job lasted for a week and paid $200 a day, with the crew covering transportation and coordinating accommodations for all the extras.
Either way, the conditions were far better than when Matthew had played dead a while back. The only catch was that they had to leave at eleven o'clock.
Matthew immediately called Lister, inventing an excuse about having to return home to Texas. After enduring a barrage of his boss's rambling accusations and curses, he finally managed to get a week off.
"Get the time off?" Michael asked as he approached Matthew.
Matthew replied, "Got a week off. What about you?"
Michael shrugged. "My boss wouldn't give me the time off, so I quit."
After exchanging a few more words, Matthew's gaze shifted to Helen at the reception desk. She was wearing black-framed glasses and a professional business suit.
"There's something about that woman," Matthew muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Michael asked.
Matthew shook his head. "Nothing."
He watched Helen, thinking to himself that the Angel Acting Agency had only just been established. If they could land a gig on a production like Gladiator, they must have some serious connections, right?
But judging by Helen's age, she looked like she had just graduated from college. Could someone that young really strike out and start her own business?
Although Matthew hadn't been in the United States for long, he was street-smart enough to know that, by all accounts, people like Helen usually came from distinguished family backgrounds.
The Angel Acting Agency might not be like the other small-time agencies.
With that suspicion in mind, he made a decision: it was time to get closer to Helen.
It was crucial to give his career a push, and she, it seemed, was in a position to do just that.
...
After waiting for about an hour, a bus pulled up to the small building. Led by the receptionist, all the extras, including Matthew and Michael, got on board. The bus headed north and soon left Burbank.
"It would be incredible to land a lead role," Michael said dreamily, gazing out the window from the seat next to Matthew. "This is the kind of movie where one role could change your entire life."
His eyes seemed to light up. "And even a supporting role in a movie like this could land you a lead in a smaller production!"
Matthew thought he was getting a bit ahead of himself and said, "A supporting role is out of the question. I'd be happy with a decent amount of screen time and my name in the final credits."
"You're just starting out in this business," Michael said. "Wait until you've been grinding it out in Los Angeles for three years without a break, and then you'll understand how I feel."
"Desperate for fame?" Matthew asked.
Michael nodded grimly. "In Hollywood, if you're famous, you're rich. You get status. And with money and status, women start flocking to you."
Hearing this, Matthew felt that in some ways, Michael was just like him.
On second thought, it wasn't surprising. How many people who entered this business, especially actors, were really in it for the art of acting? He suspected that 99.9 percent of them were just like him and Michael—in it for the fame and fortune.
Two hours later, the bus left the main road and entered a hilly area. After another few miles, it slowly pulled over to the shoulder.
Matthew and the others waited for the bus to come to a stop, then looked out the window to see the outskirts of a small town. It was surrounded by vehicles, from buses and cars to production trucks. In the distance, a sparse forest teemed with people and cameras mounted on dolly tracks.
Michael glanced around excitedly and muttered, "I'd be perfect for the lead role."
"In your dreams, kid," a bald man sitting across from him chimed in, having overheard. He turned his head and added, "You won't be better than Russell Crowe in twenty years."
A chorus of laughter broke out. Michael's face flushed, and he started to get up before Matthew stopped him.
"Don't start a fight," he whispered. "Just ignore it. Anything you say, they'll just treat it as a joke."
Michael held himself back, lowering his voice. "I'll remember their faces. When I land a lead role, I'll make sure they're my extras, and we'll see who the joke is then."
Just then, the receptionist's assistant called their group. Matthew stepped off the bus to find that Helen had already arrived. She seemed to have just finished a conversation with a heavily bearded crew member, who was now walking with her.
"Let's get them settled first," she told the bearded man, then turned to everyone else. "I'm going to distribute the contracts."
She motioned to her assistant. "Sign them and give them to Amanda."
"No problem." Matthew squeezed closer to Helen Herman, who threw him a quick glance before continuing, "You can have lunch at the hotel where you'll be staying after signing the contracts. We'll meet in front of the hotel at one o'clock to go to rehearsals."
"Anything to add?" she asked the bearded man beside her. When he shook his head, she announced to the large group of extras, "Follow me."
Matthew and Michael hurried to keep up as the long line of people followed Helen and the bearded man into the small town.
The people from the Angel Acting Agency were staying at the same hotel. Helen, though young, was clearly experienced. With the help of the bearded man from the Gladiator crew, she quickly got all the extras checked in and handed each of them a copy of their contract.
The hotel was decent, with two people to a room. Matthew became roommates with the only person he knew, Michael.
Expecting to stay for a week, Matthew quickly unpacked his things, then flipped through the contract. It was very similar to the ones he had signed before. The part that concerned him most was the payment, which was listed as $200 per day.
If they really filmed for a full week, that would come out to $1,400—nearly as much as his monthly salary at Red Penguin Services.
Having been in the business for a while, Matthew understood perfectly well that opportunities like this were rare. In his mind, the idea of having Helen as his agent became even more important.
"Are you finished?" Matthew asked, setting his contract aside.
Michael was poring over the contract as if it were for the lead role in a blockbuster film.
"Not yet." He didn't look up.
It was nearly lunchtime. Matthew left the room with Michael, went down to the lobby, handed his signed contract to Amanda, who was waiting for them, and then headed to the restaurant for lunch.
The film crew was well-catered, and although lunch wasn't exactly lavish, it was more than filling.
After eating and resting for a little while, everyone, led by Helen, departed from the town for the film set on its outskirts.
It was a rehearsal without makeup or costumes. Several hundred extras waited at the edge of the set, which was flanked on both sides by woods, with an open clearing in the center—the perfect battlefield.
"Everyone, over here!"
The bearded man from that morning appeared with a megaphone, apparently in charge of the extras. "Get to the edge of the woods! Spread out! Don't stand in formation! You're a mob of uneducated barbarians right now!"
Like a flock of headless chickens, hundreds of extras flooded into the woods and spilled out onto the edge of the clearing in a chaotic mass that did, in fact, resemble a barbarian horde.
The bearded man stood on a high platform nearby. "When I give the signal, I want you all to scream! A roar of pure rage! Understand?"
"Now!" he commanded.
"Aaaaaargh!"
"Raaaaah!"
Instantly, a cacophony of screams erupted, rising and falling in waves that carried for several hundred yards.
Matthew screamed along with them, his face contorting with the effort.
"Good!" The bearded man looked satisfied. "Let's move on to the next part of the rehearsal."
Rehearsals for battle scenes like this were crucial before filming. It took a full three days just to drill the extras on their shouts and general behavior.
On the morning of the fourth day, filming began.