The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 338

The studio was surrounded by a green screen, with a black Mercedes G parked in the center of the set. Michael Bay stood beside the SUV, walking a puzzled Matthew through the scene.

"You don't need to worry about the rest," Bay explained, patting the driver's side door. "As soon as I yell 'action,' you push the door open, get out, and start running."

Matthew nodded.

"Watch where you're going. Don't block the car when you run; it needs to be clearly visible to the camera," he instructed, then asked, "All clear?"

"Absolutely."

Bay, it seemed, had no intention of following the script, but Matthew had already accepted his fee for the Mercedes-Benz commercial and was, within reason, naturally cooperative. So, despite his reservations, he dutifully fell into Bay's rhythm.

Michael returned to his position behind the camera, while Matthew walked over to the car, opened the door, slipped into the driver's seat of the Mercedes G, and waited for filming to begin.

Half a minute later, Michael's voice boomed, "Action!"

His face set in a cool expression, Matthew pushed the door open, exited the car smoothly, and broke into a hundred-meter dash.

But just a few seconds later, Michael's voice shouted, "Cut!"Matthew stopped, not even breathing hard, and turned his head to look at Michael Bay, who gave him an "OK" sign.

"Fifteen-minute break!" Bay's voice rang out again. "Stunt team, get ready!"

The next scene involved shots of the car in motion, and the contract Helen had negotiated earlier clearly stipulated that stunt drivers had to be used for any driving sequences.

Matthew had no objection to this. His driving skills were only slightly above average, certainly not enough to perform the exaggerated stunts required for the commercial. Besides, this wasn't the kind of action scene he excelled at, and the risk of injury was higher.

Mercedes-Benz had already arranged for a stunt double.

With nothing else to do during the break, Matthew walked over to Michael's director's monitor, gestured toward it, and asked tentatively, "How's it looking?"

"Of course," Bay replied.

This wasn't a feature film shoot, so Bay wasn't about to hide anything. "Take a look."

Matthew approached the monitor and stood behind Michael, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the playback of the footage they had just shot.

The take was only a few seconds long, and apart from him and the car against the green screen, there was nothing else to see.

"Now I finally get it," Michael remarked unexpectedly. "I get why Jerry likes to cast you in his films."

Matthew raised a confused eyebrow.

Bay added, "You're a natural-born action star."

"You're giving me too much credit," Matthew waved it off. "Michael, many of my performances are just me imitating classic shots from your films."

Regardless of what others said, he had always considered Bay's "The Rock" to be a classic of the action genre.

"I've only been shooting this commercial with you for a day," Michael lamented. "Why didn't I cast you in the lead for 'The Island' last year?"

"Uh..." Matthew was at a loss for words. He hesitated for a moment before replying with a smile, "I'm sure we'll have opportunities to work together in the future."

Michael nodded.

Matthew said nothing more and simply watched as Bay went about his business. "The Island" was Michael Bay's first film since he had parted ways with Jerry Bruckheimer, and he was serving as both producer and director. The word was that the film was being shot and produced exactly as he wanted, and it was impossible to say for sure whether it would be a success.

In any case, from Matthew's experience watching his films, Bay was extremely talented and had an excellent grasp of action elements.

...

The fifteen-minute break passed quickly, and filming resumed without Matthew. He sat in his chair and watched as the stunt drivers performed the car stunts.

The few remaining scenes in the studio were handled mostly by the stunt doubles, while he observed from the sidelines.

This was, without a doubt, the calmest and easiest shoot of Matthew's acting career so far. First, he didn't have to conjure any complex expressions; a blank, emotionless face was all that was required. Second, the most difficult action sequence was a 100-meter sprint.

For one scene, Bay had the operator set up the camera in front of the Mercedes G, filming at an angle facing the car.

After the shot, Matthew went to watch the playback. Even without any post-production effects added, Michael Bay's shots were visually impressive.

Bay was obviously very good at this kind of shooting.

Once all the stunt shots were completed, Matthew was back on set, this time for a static scene. He stood on the roof of the massive Mercedes G, gazing forward into the distance.

There were several similar static shots, none of them difficult to film, and Matthew didn't have a single bad take. The few times Michael stopped filming were all due to issues with the equipment or camera angles.

The shoot at Disney Studios went smoothly. Bay called a wrap shortly before 4:00 PM and told the crew to gather early the next morning for a location shoot in the wilderness north of the San Fernando Valley.

Matthew finished having his makeup removed, took an electric cart to the studio entrance, got into his Mercedes G, and left Disney Studios.

He turned onto South Beaufort Street in front of the studio when he noticed paparazzi tailing him. Instead of deliberately trying to shake them, he drove straight to Charlize's house and stayed the night.

Since their official debut on the Oscar red carpet, Matthew and Charlize had often stayed at each other's houses. And when the time was right, they would also appear in public to show off their affection, maintaining a certain level of media attention.

...

The next day, before the sun had even risen, Matthew slipped out from Charlize's tangle of arms and legs and hurried to Disney Studios, arriving at the meeting point five minutes ahead of schedule.

Although his reputation and fame had grown over the past year, and he could be high-profile and outrageous at times, he was considered a dedicated and professional actor on any project.

It was no exaggeration to say that Matthew's professionalism was well-known in the industry. And rightly so, as this was precisely the reputation he had been cultivating for years.

The crew assembled on time. Matthew got into a comfortable MPV provided by Mercedes-Benz and started to catch up on the sleep he'd missed last night. After all, with a woman like Charlize, not many men would be wasting their time sleeping.

But soon, Matthew was woken up. He got out of the vehicle to find that they weren't the only crew filming here; there was also a team from the San Fernando Valley.