'You hit my car?' Vin Diesel's face was dark. 'Did you or didn't you!'
Matthew hadn't expected Vin Diesel—whom the entire Crew was waiting for—to be right here. He froze, then said, 'I'm terribly sorry, it wasn't intentional.'
Although Vin Diesel's face stayed grim, he had only punched the car with his fist. Thankfully the force was light and hadn't left a mark.
Vin Diesel stared at Matthew, icy. 'You woke me up!'
Matthew was in the wrong and didn't want a fight; he apologized again. 'I'm very sorry, I didn't know you were here...'
'Didn't know?' Vin Diesel suddenly flared, jabbing a finger at the trailer. 'You didn't know this is my car? You didn't know and you dared come over and wake me?'
He thrust one finger at Matthew. 'You interrupted my sleep! What's your game—wake me on purpose? When I'm rested I'll walk to set myself! Do you have any idea how valuable my time is? Sleep even more so! You've already cost me plenty...'
Matthew realized that even though they'd shared a scene yesterday, Vin Diesel hadn't remembered him—he seemed to take Matthew for Crew—and cut in, 'Sorry, Mr. Vin Diesel! I wasn't here to call you; I was on the phone walking past and accidentally brushed your car.'
He apologized once more. 'I'm truly sorry for disturbing you.'
Under normal circumstances, even someone short-tempered would have let it go after such sincere apologies.
Unexpectedly, Vin Diesel wouldn't drop it. 'Apology? Can an apology buy back my sleep? You...'
Listening to the stream of aggressive words, Matthew was stunned; Michelle Rodriguez had been right—this man was more than just difficult.
Vin Diesel was still raging. Matthew couldn't tell if it was morning crankiness or something else, but he didn't want to keep tangling here.
He cut Vin Diesel off. 'Mr. Vin Diesel, I sincerely apologize!'
The words rang with genuine remorse. Seeing Vin Diesel still wouldn't let it go and not wanting conflict, Matthew swung around and strode off without a backward glance.
Back on set,
Matthew's face was gloomy. Paul Walker noticed. 'Fight with your girlfriend?'
'No, I ran into Vin Diesel.' Matthew gave a quick recap.
Paul Walker shook his head. 'Why's he like that? The guy's character's rotten. Lucky the shoot's short; once we wrap we never have to deal with him again.'
Matthew patted Paul Walker's arm. 'Paul, the hard part's still ahead.'
Vin Diesel arrived near the set. Matthew clearly saw him shoot a glance this way; beneath the shaved scalp his eyes were sharp as knives.
'Watch yourself,' Paul Walker murmured, having noticed too. 'Looks like he's got it in for you.'
Matthew nodded, brow furrowed. Over such a trivial thing, Vin Diesel still wouldn't let go?
He hadn't yet run into trouble when Paul Walker did.
Once filming began, Vin Diesel wasn't happy with his scenes opposite Paul Walker. The sequence had originally given Paul Walker absolute dominance, but Vin Diesel kept finding excuses to expand his own part. Backed by director Rob Cohen, Paul Walker had no leverage and finally compromised.
Originally Paul Walker's character had been fast & furious's clear lead, but Matthew guessed that if things kept on, keeping it a dual-protagonist film would already be lucky.
A shame for Paul Walker.
The actor was a decent guy, yet Matthew couldn't help him at all.
The two scenes scheduled for the morning were reduced to just the one between Paul Walker and Vin Diesel because of this mess; Matthew's action scene with Vin Diesel was pushed to the afternoon.
After lunch they returned to the same location, touched up makeup, and rolled again.
This time Vin Diesel didn't dawdle as he had yesterday noon; he showed up on time and seemed full of enthusiasm.
After makeup, Vin Diesel stepped onto the set, eyes raptor-sharp on Matthew. Matthew stood calmly in the middle of the set, acting as if Vin Diesel weren't there.
For that tiny incident he had apologized four times; if Vin Diesel still wouldn't quit, Matthew didn't know what else to say.
Surely he couldn't throw himself on the ground wailing for forgiveness just because he'd accidentally brushed the guy's car?
Vin Diesel kept staring, saying nothing, but his sharp eyes kept moving—clearly plotting something.
The Action Director came over and told the two, 'Warm up now, loosen your joints.'
Under the Action Director's guidance Matthew rotated ankles and wrists; he had no stunt double for the upcoming shots and had to avoid injury.
Vin Diesel stood there, doing nothing.
Rob Cohen came over as well. "This is a small-scale fight scene. Matthew Horner, you put up some resistance, then get taken down—make it convincing!"
Because Vin Diesel hadn't attended the earlier rehearsals, Matthew had never drilled with him. The Action Director stepped in to brief Vin on a few key points.
"No, no…" Vin's gravelly voice carried; everyone on set, Matthew included, could hear him, as could Paul Walker and the others watching from the edge. He spoke to the Action Director and Rob Cohen: "There's a problem with the choreography."
Vin pointed toward the repair-bay set. "This garage is too big; the planned moves don't show what Dominic Toretto can do." He glanced at Matthew. "His character's one of Dom's enforcers—he's got skills. If he turns on Dom, he'll fight back with everything when Dom comes for him."
Rob Cohen, already one of Vin's supporters, nodded. "Makes sense."
With the director on board, the Action Director had no grounds to object. "We can redesign it."
No one asked Matthew for his opinion.
Matthew didn't know what Vin was up to, but he stayed on guard.
From what he'd seen in the past year, Hollywood sets were never calm; the lure of fame bred constant clashes, and plenty of rising stars capsized, never to get a second chance.
He had no intention of joining the wreckage.
"What's that guy planning?"
Off to the side, Jordana Brewster asked Paul Walker. "He's not hatching something nasty, is he?"
Paul folded his arms, frowning. "Could be. Matthew's a decent guy—he'd better watch out."
Vin's voice stayed loud; he'd pulled in more than half the budget and, though not listed as producer, had the clout to make even Neal H. Moritz listen.
"I say we scrap the choreography," he rumbled. "Let the other actor and me improvise. Call it an experiment—if it looks good, we can use the approach later."
Vin looked down at his own powerful frame. "The fight should last long enough to feel real."
Rob Cohen considered; improvised brawls weren't unheard-of in Hollywood. "All right."
"Fine," the Action Director agreed. "Too much rehearsed polish can kill the grit."
Only then did he turn to Matthew. "Story stays the same—you betrayed Dom, you're guilty, so don't resist at first."
Matthew stayed calm; though Vin's words set off alarms, he didn't object. "Got it."
That was how the script had read anyway.
Frankly, Vin's whole attitude made him hard to like.
Matthew knew he wasn't a saint—sometimes he was outright lousy—but even he wouldn't keep snarling like a rabid dog after repeated apologies over a trifle.
Vin wasn't finished. "I'll fight full-contact," he told Rob Cohen. "Tell the camera Crew to stay tight."
Rob Cohen had begun the day as commander-in-chief; opposite Vin he was now half that.
The Action Director stepped between the two men. "Want to map out beats? I can mediate."
Vin looked ready; sketching rough moves, he told Matthew, "You betray me, I beat you hard. You fight back, I beat you harder, until you stay down."
Matthew couldn't be bothered to answer; he just nodded.
Off set, Paul Walker suddenly realized what Vin was up to—Matthew had mentioned a minor clash that morning.
"Not good," he muttered. "Matthew could get hurt."
On-set injuries happened, especially in improvised fights.
Jordana saw it too. "Vin's done tons of action—he trained with the Riddick team. Matthew Horner…" She shook her head.
Paul remembered Matthew's training talk. "Not necessarily—he's been boxing, says he can hang with pros for a spell."
While they spoke, the set was readied.
Matthew and Vin stood a yard apart inside the repair bay.
The call to roll came; both snapped into character.
"Don't push me!" Matthew barked.
Vin's face stayed its usual stone mask. "You actually—"
Halfway through the line he ignored every move they'd discussed, lunged, and clamped a hand around Matthew's throat. "—betrayed me!"