The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 541

"Cut!" Guillermo del Toro's voice rang out. "Matthew, get your makeup touched up. We're shooting again in forty minutes."

Matthew headed for the rest area, with Alexandra Daddario following close behind.

There was no need to return to the dressing room, as the makeup artist and her assistant quickly approached, ready to touch up the gruesome makeup on Matthew's wounds. He leaned back in his chair and let the artist do her work.

Alexandra followed him over and sat down in the chair next to his.

"I heard the people involved with this project are making a push for the Oscar Awards."

Matthew took advantage of the moment while the makeup artist wiped the fake blood from his head and removed a strip of medical tape. "Warner Bros. is definitely putting something together for it," he said, "but there's no guarantee we'll get an invitation from the Academy's organizing committee."

The Academy Awards organizing committee had yet to confirm any presenters for this year's ceremony, aside from the host, Ellen DeGeneres.

Considering that the production budget for "I Am Legend" alone was $150 million, the promotional campaign from Warner Bros. had to match the scale of a top-tier blockbuster. And while Matthew himself wasn't interested in winning an Oscar, he couldn't deny the award's promotional power.

Even before the New Year, Warner Bros. had been planning to get him, the film's undisputed star, a spot as a presenter at the Academy Awards—and not just for a minor category, but for one of the major awards.

At this point, regardless of his age, his status and fame in the industry were more than enough for him to be a presenter for the Best Picture award. Of course, being too young was always a disadvantage for male stars when it came to the Oscars.Alexandra asked again, "When will there be any definite news?"

Waiting for the makeup artist to apply a fresh piece of medical tape to his forehead, Matthew replied, "I don't know for sure, but it won't be any later than two weeks before the ceremony."

"Matthew, please hold still," the makeup artist, who was about to reapply the makeup, cautioned. "And please don't talk."

"Alright," Matthew said to Alexandra just before the artist began working. "Usually, people invited by the Oscar committee are allowed to bring a guest. Anna, if it pans out, would you be my date?"

"Really?" Alexandra's eyes widened in astonishment. "Matthew, I really can?"

Matthew nodded. "Of course, you can. But I can't give you a 100% guarantee that the Academy will invite me."

Naturally, Alexandra understood. "I get it."

Just then, the makeup artist moved in, so Matthew told Alexandra, "We'll talk later."

Alexandra nodded and said nothing more.

It took about twenty minutes for the makeup artist to finish reapplying the makeup for Matthew's "wounds." He stood up and stretched his arms and legs, restless from sitting for so long.

At that moment, a woman approached with a girl who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old.

"Hello, Matthew." The middle-aged woman was an agent from the Angel Agency.

Matthew recognized her; he'd met her several times before. He nodded. "Hello, Maggie."

The woman, Maggie, nudged the girl forward and introduced her. "This is a young actress the company just signed, Saoirse Ronan. Saoirse, this is Matthew."

Matthew extended his hand to the girl. "A pleasure to meet you, miss."

The girl was polite and shook his hand in return. "Hello, Mr. Matthew."

She seemed quite introverted, as she immediately stepped back to hide behind the agent after the handshake.

Maggie then added, "Saoirse will be in a scene with you, so I wanted to bring her over to meet you beforehand."

She then introduced Saoirse to Alexandra, who greeted the girl casually.

Saoirse was nothing at all like the Chloe Matthew had met some time ago.

Just then, Guillermo del Toro's second assistant director came over to inform them that the crew was ready. He ushered the actors onto the set to prepare for filming.

Matthew and Alexandra went to the set, and once Saoirse arrived, the three of them walked through their blocking under Guillermo del Toro's direction and explanation. Then, filming began.

***

Waking in a daze, Matthew found himself lying on a sofa. He subconsciously touched his forehead, where his wound had been treated. Then, feeling something on his leg, he looked down and saw that his pant leg had been cut open and the wound beneath it stitched up.

He then glanced into the distance and saw his watch and flashlight on the coffee table. The movie "Shrek" was playing on the television.

Pushing himself up from the sofa with some difficulty, Matthew thought he heard sounds coming from the dining room. He crept toward the television stand, opened a drawer, pulled out a pistol, and cautiously made his way to the kitchen.

Slowly and painfully, he approached the kitchen entrance, freezing for a moment before he saw a little girl eating and Alexandra standing at the gas stove, busy cooking.

In almost the same instant, Alexandra noticed him. She turned, saw the gun in his hand, and stared, her expression a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

Matthew looked them over, confirmed they were harmless, walked to a shelf, and slowly set the pistol down.

"Unfortunately..." Alexandra began, gesturing to the pan on the stove. "The eggs are all powdered. But of course... you already know that. It's your house, after all."

Alexandra held the pan out to him. "But I found bacon. It was the most fantastic discovery."

She came over with the pan. "Also, there are antibiotics in the bathroom. I put them by your bed. If you don't take them, that leg wound will get worse."

As she served the bacon onto a plate, Matthew asked, "Who are you?"

Though he didn't look back, he was certain that the camera lens behind him was focused squarely on Alexandra's chest.

This was a commercial film, after all, and that was the most typical way to shoot them.

"I'm Anna." Alexandra gestured with her eyes toward the little girl. "And that's Rebecca. Aren't you going to eat? Breakfast is getting cold... Oh!"

Likely distracted, she dropped the bacon onto the table with a small cry.

"Cut!" Guillermo del Toro's voice immediately rang out. "Everyone back to your places! We're going again in five minutes!"

Alexandra put the pan down with an embarrassed smile, while Matthew gave a slight shake of his head to show it was no big deal.

During filming, anyone could make a mistake—actors, directors, and crew alike.

Matthew walked over. "Relax. Just imagine you're making breakfast for yourself. Scenes like this aren't that difficult."

Alexandra nodded.

Perhaps Matthew's words had an effect, because when filming resumed, Alexandra made no more mistakes. This time, however, there was a problem with the camera operator. It took four takes of the long shot before Guillermo del Toro finally announced they had it.

With Alexandra's addition to the cast, filming was truly winding down. Once the scenes at the Los Angeles studio were complete, the entire crew would relocate to New York for location shooting.