"is something wrong?"
In the screening room, Rob Cohen looked at Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel. Vin Diesel, who had no concept of humility, immediately said, "I think there's a problem with the action scene we shot today. It's best to scrap it."
Rob Cohen frowned slightly. Even with a big production with a 70 million dollar investment hanging over his head, he felt that Vin Diesel was meddling too much. He was the one who wanted to improvise on set, and he was also the one demanding to scrap the shot.
This person was simply too difficult to deal with!
He looked at producer Neal H. Moritz, who was the real decision-maker on the set.
Neal H. Moritz, just like last time, sided with Vin Diesel. "If it's not suitable, then scrap it."
He had just spoken on the phone with a Universal Pictures executive, who made it very clear that Vin Diesel had brought in a large investment. Unless it was too excessive, they should follow his wishes. As long as the project was completed, even if the box office performance was poor, it wouldn't be Universal Pictures' money that was lost.
As the distributor, Universal Pictures would still earn a distribution fee.
Besides, Vin Diesel was targeting an insignificant minor character and actor, which wouldn't have much impact on the crew.
In fact, Neal H. Moritz knew very well that Universal Pictures itself wasn't very optimistic about this genre. The main reason why "The Fast and the Furious" was greenlit and filmed was that Universal Pictures had barely spent any of its own money; almost all of the production funds came from financing.
But Vin Diesel's demands weren't over yet.
He slightly rotated his shoulders. Several hours had passed, and his shoulder and ribs still ached, yet he couldn't say anything, as he was the one who had requested the action scene to be shot with improvisation.
This matter certainly wouldn't just pass.
"Also!" Vin Diesel added, "I don't want to see Matthew Horner on set anymore."
Director Rob Cohen didn't speak immediately. Firing a minor actor wasn't a big deal on set, but if it involved breach of contract fees, it would be more troublesome.
He thought for a moment and said, "What about Matthew Horner's character's scenes?"
Before coming, Vin Diesel had also brought this up, but Neal H. Moritz hadn't immediately agreed, as it involved scenes that had already been shot.
"Rob…" he asked, "How many scenes has Matthew Horner shot? How many more are there?"
"Including this afternoon's scene, two have been shot," Rob Cohen recalled the shooting schedule. "There are still two scenes left to shoot."
Vin Diesel looked at Neal H. Moritz, his eyes urging him on.
Neal H. Moritz was somewhat annoyed by Vin Diesel's arrogant and unreasonable attitude, but he represented Universal Pictures and couldn't go against a large sum of money. He quickly made a decision. "How about this, I'll have someone contact Matthew Horner's agency to negotiate a contract termination."
Vin Diesel nodded, maintaining his cold expression. "The sooner, the better."
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, he left the screening room without another word.
Neal H. Moritz watched his retreating figure, a clear look of displeasure flashing across his face. Vin Diesel's actions on set had already reached Universal Pictures, and there were murmurs of discontent within Universal Pictures. They even reached a tacit understanding that even if "The Fast and the Furious" unexpectedly succeeded, it would be best not to use someone like Vin Diesel again for subsequent projects.
Leaving the soundstage and getting into his trailer, Vin Diesel told the driver to drive home. After arriving home, he immediately called his agent.
"Go check on a minor actor named Matthew Horner."
About half an hour later, his agent called back.
"This young actor has some background. He was rumored to be dating Britney Spears and has appeared in 'Girl, Interrupted,' 'Gladiator,' and 'Band of Brothers.' Especially during the filming of 'Band of Brothers,' he was highly praised by Gary Goetzman and several other producers. Two months ago, he just landed a new role: the Scorpion King in Stephen Sommers's 'The Mummy Returns.'"
Vin Diesel asked, "'The Mummy Returns'? is that Universal Pictures' 'Mummy' series?"
"That's right," the agent replied with certainty. "It's Universal Pictures' key project this year."
"Do you know who the producer of 'The Mummy Returns' is?" Vin Diesel asked again.
The agent then replied, "Sean Daniel."
Vin Diesel didn't know this person. He hung up with his agent. He had some connections within Universal Pictures; perhaps he could contact Sean Daniel?
He knew that the "Fast and Furious" project he was involved in was far less important than "The Mummy Returns" at Universal Pictures. This could also be seen from the different levels of the project managers for the two projects within Universal Pictures.
Another wave of pain shot through his shoulder and ribs. Vin Diesel's expression grew even colder. He had to try, regardless.
As night deepened, in his apartment in Westwood, Matthew left the mirror, turned off the TV and VCR, and rubbed his face, which was a little numb from imitation. He accidentally touched a bluish bruise on his face, about the size of a small fingernail, and it still hurt a little.
He immediately thought of Vin Diesel and couldn't help but shake his head. Fortunately, he wouldn't be on set for many days.
Matthew had never seen the demeanor of an A-list or super A-list star on set. During the filming of "Gladiator," he had only heard about Russell Crowe's behavior. Even if Russell Crowe's actual actions were twice as exaggerated as what he heard, he would still have to bow down to Vin Diesel.
Without the strength and fame of a super A-lister, yet possessing a temper and arrogance that surpassed a super A-lister… Matthew lacked the fame and strength, so he couldn't contend with Vin Diesel. Paul Walker and others, due to certain reasons, also couldn't speak up. But he felt that if Vin Diesel continued with this behavior, sooner or later, someone he worked with would openly clash with him.
After showering in the bathroom and exchanging some texts with Britney, Matthew carefully put away Kevin Spacey's edited video tapes. Lately, he had been studying and imitating Kevin Spacey. He had studied "American Beauty" a while ago, and recently he had been pondering Kevin Spacey's performances in "The Usual Suspects" and "Se7en."
Kevin Spacey's performances always carried an indescribable sinister charm, which Matthew found very unique.
After putting away the video tapes, Matthew lay down and opened the script for the Scorpion King. Over the past period, he had read the script more than ten times, and every scene, every line, was extremely familiar to him.
The Scorpion King primarily appears at the beginning and end of the film, with his scenes being relatively concentrated, and filming would be completed in a short amount of time.
In fact, "The Mummy Returns" had already begun filming, and the crew was currently on location in Morocco. However, all of the Scorpion King's scenes would be shot against a green screen in a soundstage at Pinewood Studios near London, so Matthew didn't have to go to Africa.
Actually, he was somewhat concerned about director Stephen Sommers's attitude. When he first signed the contract, Stephen Sommers was far from friendly towards him.
In an A-list project like this, a minor actor simply couldn't contend with the director.
Matthew hadn't even considered confronting Stephen Sommers; that would be a very foolish move. He hoped Stephen Sommers could change his prejudices stemming from the casting choice.
If not, he could temporarily endure it. As long as Stephen Sommers wasn't too excessive, he could definitely endure it until the Scorpion King's scenes were finished filming.
After returning from London, Matthew specifically looked into Stephen Sommers. Contrary to what he had thought, Stephen Sommers had an excellent reputation in the industry. He was very family-oriented and dedicated, and he didn't like to get involved in messy affairs, preferring to research new film shooting techniques.
Overall, Stephen Sommers could be said to be an excellent director in terms of his conduct.
However, such directors often have a stubborn side, and Matthew guessed that this was also the reason why Stephen Sommers was somewhat targeting him.
This shouldn't be a personal grudge.
With this thought, Matthew drifted off to sleep. In his dream, he saw Vin Diesel. He was driving a Dodge, speeding down the road when the car suddenly lost control, crashing into a tree by the roadside. A raging fire erupted, burning everything to ashes.
The next morning, Matthew woke up and first went for a run in a nearby small park. After eating breakfast outside, he walked around for a bit before returning home, only to find several missed calls on his phone, all from Helen Herman.
Helen Herman usually didn't contact him unless there was an urgent work matter, so the consecutive calls definitely meant something important.
Matthew quickly called her back. The phone rang only twice before she picked up.
"Where are you now?" Helen Herman asked.
"At home," Matthew replied truthfully, unsure of what she wanted. "I just finished breakfast outside and came back."
Helen Herman's speaking pace quickened. "Get to the Universal Studios lot immediately. I'll be waiting for you at the gate."
Matthew was puzzled. "I don't have any scenes today…"
He hadn't even finished speaking when Helen Herman interrupted him. "Early this morning, an assistant producer from 'The Fast and the Furious' called me, asking me to go to the set with you to discuss contract termination!"
"Termination?" Matthew immediately stood up from the sofa, unconsciously raising his voice. "'The Fast and the Furious' production wants to terminate my contract?"
"That's the notice I received," Helen Herman's tone was relatively calm. "Matthew, tell me, what did you do on set? Why do they want to terminate your contract?"
Matthew immediately thought of Vin Diesel and couldn't help but curse. He told Helen Herman, "I had some friction with Vin Diesel. During filming this afternoon, he tried to trick me, but it backfired on him. I heard that Vin Diesel brought in a large investment for the crew and has a lot of say on set…"
Helen Herman on the other end didn't rush to speak. Matthew quickly recounted what happened yesterday, from beginning to end.
He didn't exaggerate, as this would help his agent make a judgment.