Inside the negotiation conference room, Helen Herman was still bargaining with the crew about Matthew's treatment and salary. After listening a while, Matthew's attention drifted elsewhere; the Agent was doing enough, his presence mostly symbolic—there to sign the final contract once both sides agreed.
He was only a minor actor; contract talks were nowhere near as complicated as for star actors. According to Helen Herman, Hollywood crews often spend a month or even months negotiating with big-name stars.
Hearing Helen Herman had secured him a dedicated assistant, Matthew nodded slightly. The crew had originally wanted him to share an assistant with another actor, which would have been inconvenient.
Most of the time it was fine, but between shoots, actors stayed in costume, making everything inconvenient and often requiring help. Having an assistant to handle odd jobs would undoubtedly make things much easier.
Suddenly his phone vibrated. Seeing negotiations still ongoing and no one paying attention, Matthew pulled out his phone and saw a text from Britney.
"Busy late last night, I crashed as soon as I lay down, only just saw the text. Congrats, darling."
Glancing at the negotiations, Matthew typed quickly, "Helen's negotiating with the crew, probably signing today."
"When does shooting start? Will you have time to return to North America?"
"Starts mid-July, no idea yet when I'll report." Matthew thought for a moment. "Are you off today?"
"No off, doing makeup at the TV station, about to record a show."
About to type, another text arrived, "Gotta change, talk after recording."
Matthew replied, "Okay."
Putting away the phone, he looked back at negotiations; Helen Herman and the crew had basically agreed on salary.
Matthew's fee for the film was 100,000 dollars, normal workday capped at ten hours; beyond ten hours, overtime calculated separately per Actors Guild rules.
Satisfied with the salary, even if this was his only job this year, he was now in the 100,000-a-year bracket.
Under supervision of lawyers and Actors Guild reps, Matthew signed the formal contract with the mummy returns crew.
After Helen Herman put away his copy, Matthew was about to leave when a crew member reminded, "producer Mr. Sean Daniel and Director Mr. Stephen Sommers are waiting in the office—please come with us."
Matthew nodded slightly. "All right."
He and Helen Herman followed the staff into an office where two middle-aged men sat, both seen yesterday in the audition room.
"The older one is Mr. Sean Daniel." Helen Herman whispered, "The other is Mr. Stephen Sommers."
"Hello, Mr. Daniel."
Matthew stepped forward, extending his right hand. Mr. Sean Daniel smiled and nodded. "Hello, Matthew. Your audition left a deep impression."
"Thank you." Matthew remained modest. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity."
Behind him, Helen Herman greeted Mr. Sean Daniel. Matthew turned to Mr. Stephen Sommers, equally warm and modest, extending his hand. "Hello, Director Sommers."
"Hello."
Stephen Sommers replied coldly, barely touching his hand before withdrawing.
Matthew was slightly stunned; the director seemed to have issues with him. Glancing at Stephen Sommers,
he confirmed it—Stephen Sommers's face was not only cold but also showed disgust… aside from the audition room, this was apparently their first meeting.
Helen Herman noticed everything, frowned slightly, then relaxed.
"Stephen…" Sean Daniel spoke up. "Anything you'd like to say?"
Unaffected by Stephen Sommers's attitude, Matthew remained warm and modest.
Helen Herman focused on Stephen Sommers, calculating silently.
"You'll Report in August, specific time to be notified. Maintain your current physique." Stephen Sommers's tone was openly cold; he waved dismissively. "That's all."
Glancing at his watch, "I've got work to do—leaving now."
With that, Stephen Sommers left the office directly.
Sean Daniel exchanged pleasantries with Matthew and Helen Herman, who then took their leave.
Exiting the small office building of the mummy returns at Pinewood Studios, heading toward the studio gate, Matthew spoke. "I think Director Sommers has issues with me."
Helen Herman calmly replied, "I noticed." She added, "Probably because of Dwayne The Rock Johnson."
Curious, Matthew asked, "What's the relationship between Dwayne Johnson and Stephen Sommers?"
"None." Helen Herman stepped aside for an oncoming electric cart. "I heard the scorpion king role was designed by Stephen Sommers based on Dwayne Johnson's image."
Shaking her head, "Many directors are stubborn; the crew chose you instead of the director's preference, so Stephen Sommers is probably upset."
"No way…" Matthew frowned. "Not even in the crew yet, and the director already has prejudices."
In his view, if a director has issues with a minor actor, the actor's days in the crew will be tough.
Helen Herman suddenly stopped, turned to Matthew. "I've secured the role for you. How to deal with Stephen Sommers after entering the crew, you need to think carefully. I remind you, you're just a minor actor—don't even think of going against the director."
Matthew understood—if anything happened between him and Stephen Sommers, he'd be the one to leave.
"Any suggestions?" he asked.
Stephen Sommers disliked him, which was headache-inducing, but he couldn't abandon this opportunity. Not to mention the potential fame from the role itself, the 100,000 dollars was a huge sum.
"Endure!" Helen Herman said seriously. "You have no leverage against Stephen Sommers. Whatever he says or does, you must endure."
Matthew exhaled gloomily but knew Helen Herman was right.
Helen Herman turned and walked on. Once Matthew caught up, she said, "From what I know, Stephen Sommers is a family-oriented, highly professional director—unlikely to deliberately make things difficult for you."
Glancing at Matthew, "Aren't you good at networking?"
Matthew shrugged. "I'll do my best."
Shaking his head, he walked beside Helen Herman, mind already considering what kind of trouble he'd encounter in the crew and how to handle it.
If he were a big star, none of this would be an issue—someone like Tom Cruise could probably make a disagreeable director pack up and leave.
In the end, his rank was too low. Matthew shook his head again—what rank did he even have now?
"If it really doesn't work…" he mused, "just endure like Helen said! the scorpion king scenes aren't many—just endure for a month."
Not to mention, for that 100,000 dollars, he had to endure.
Helen Herman took a call, then said to Matthew, "I booked tomorrow's flight—back to Los Angeles for fast & furious auditions."