20. Pre-Performance
Ring ring ring—
The sudden sound of the alarm clock rang out, and Matthew opened his eyes, reaching out to flip the switch. The desk lamp cast a soft glow, despite the darkness outside. He quickly got dressed and headed to the bathroom, calling out to his still-sleeping roommate, "Mike! Wake up!"
Michael Sheen struggled to open his eyes and asked, "Is it the time already?"
Matthew's voice came from the bathroom, "Hurry up!"
Today marked the official start of filming the war scene, unlike the past few days when they could sleep until dawn. Helen Herman had reminded them last night that they had to wake up at three in the morning and arrive at the outskirts of town before four.
By the time Michael Sheen got up, Matthew had already finished washing up.
"I'll go save us some seats." He opened the door. "I'll wait for you in the dining hall."
"Okay..." Michael Sheen stretched lazily.
The second floor of the hotel was quiet, as only a few people had woken up yet. Matthew made his way down to the first floor and entered the dining hall, finding that breakfast was already laid out buffet-style. He grabbed a few items and headed towards the dining area, where only one person was eating.
Matthew walked over. "Good morning, Helen."
The sole diner was Helen Herman, the first client of the company. She nodded in acknowledgment. "Good morning, Matthew."
"May I sit here?" Matthew gestured to the seat across from her.
Helen Herman showed no signs of refusal. "Feel free."
Matthew set down his tray, pulled out a chair, and sat across from Helen Herman. He casually remarked, "You always wake up earlier than the actors."
"You're observant," Helen Herman hinted.
In the past few days, Matthew had indeed paid special attention to Helen Herman, occasionally appearing in front of her.
It was obvious that Helen Herman had noticed, but Matthew was not embarrassed at all. He directly asked, "I'm just curious how you managed to secure roles with the 'Gladiator' crew."
Helen Herman gave a formulaic smile. "Luck."
Seeing that she didn't want to elaborate, Matthew didn't press further and focused on his breakfast. Today was going to be a busy day.
Halfway through breakfast, more people started coming into the dining hall. Helen Herman set down her utensils, wiped her mouth with a napkin, stood up, and casually said, "I'm done. You can continue."
Matthew's mouth was full of bacon, so it was hard to speak. He simply nodded to her.
As Helen Herman left, Michael Sheen hurriedly walked over with his tray, sitting in the seat next to Matthew. He asked curiously, "I just saw the boss of Angel Talent here. What were you two talking about? Trying to impress her?"
Matthew rolled his eyes at him. "Do you think that's possible?"
"Impossible!" Michael Sheen cracked an egg and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "What were you talking about?"
Matthew didn't hide anything. "I asked her how she managed to secure these roles."
Curiosity wasn't limited to Matthew; Michael Sheen was also very interested. "Did you find out?"
"No." Matthew shook his head. "She's tight-lipped."
After finishing breakfast, they left the hotel and found that while the night sky was dark, the streets were brightly lit. Nearly fifty temporary actors from Angel Talent Agency had quickly assembled. Under the guidance of Helen Herman and her assistant Amanda, they left the town and arrived at the outskirts of the forest.
Countless bright lights illuminated the area around the forest, dispelling the darkness of the night sky. Over twenty makeup trailers were lined up, with more than fifty makeup artists and their assistants already in place.
Standing on the outskirts of the forest, Matthew saw Helen Herman talking to the bearded man for a few moments before walking back.
"We're splitting into two teams now!" Helen Herman announced loudly. "One team will go with Amanda for makeup! The other team will come with me to change costumes!"
The temporary actors quickly split into two teams. Michael Sheen wanted to go with the makeup team but was pulled by Matthew into the costume team.
"Why are we going there? We all have to stick fake beards on our faces." Michael Sheen asked.
Matthew had inquired specifically after the rehearsal yesterday. "It's not even four in the morning yet. The crew won't start shooting until after nine. Is it comfortable to have glue on your face for five hours?"
Understanding his intentions, Michael Sheen quickly joined Matthew's team.
Filming epic movies was very troublesome, especially the makeup for actors. In the past few days, apart from rehearsals, Matthew had been busy moving around the set, chatting with assistants or crew members. Despite the fact that the temporary actors were here before four o'clock to start makeup and styling, the main actors wouldn't arrive until after seven. Russell Crowe, the male lead, was famously difficult to work with and was often late by ten or even thirty minutes.
That was the privilege of a star.
Matthew had been in three crews and had noticed that while temporary or ordinary actors waited diligently, big stars arrived late, seemingly it was the norm.
He had only been in three crews and didn't know if this was a common phenomenon every where.
Matthew waited quietly in line as they approached the costume trailers. It was already past four in the morning!
From entering the crew before four, completing the makeup, and waiting for over four hours, most of the time was spent waiting.
Legs sore, feet numb, and some even looked tired, with drowsiness evident.
But if they wanted to appear in the film, even for a brief moment, they had to continue waiting.
As time slowly passed and the sun rose higher, Matthew could see that cameras, cranes, tracks, and other equipment were all being set up, seemingly ready to start shooting at any moment.
The bearded man approached with an elderly Caucasian man, with Helen Herman by their side, looking very familiar.
"Alright, folks!" The bearded man's voice rang out loudly. "Get ready to shoot! Be prepared!"
He looked at the elderly man, who nodded, and exclaimed, "Okay, let's get ready! Follow our rehearsals."
"Hurry!" Matthew felt a tug on his arm—it was Michael Sheen. "That old man is Ridley Scott! Let's move up!"
Not only Michael Sheen, but many of the temporary actors seemed to have the same idea—to squeeze to the front, as if appearing in front of the camera could leave a lasting impression on Ridley Scott, the renowned director.
Michael Sheen was one of the eager ones, using his height and strength advantage to push forward, aiming to get ahead of those shorter than him and squeeze to the front of the queue, even climbing onto trees if necessary, and pulling the clothes of others, trying to get ahead of them.
It took just a dozen seconds for these extras to become a mess.
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