It was another ordinary workday, and Stephen Sommers arrived early at Pinewood Studios, entering the pyramid-themed soundstage and habitually pacing around.
Inspecting the filming location first thing every morning was a work habit he had developed over many years.
The crew's official start time was eight o'clock, but in reality, some departments would begin working as early as two or three in the morning. While Stephen Sommers was wandering around the set, many crew members were already busy in the soundstage.
He approached the outside of a green-screen-surrounded set and suddenly heard the voice of action director Felipe from inside.
"Don't expect every actor to be Matthew Horner; there aren't many actors as dedicated as him!" Felipe seemed to be briefing the stunt team. "I spoke with most of the actors yesterday. Matthew Horner, as usual, doesn't need a stunt double. For other main actors with difficult action scenes, you'll have to step in. Start preparing now!"
Stephen Sommers did not linger and left directly.
He hadn't walked far when he neared the side exit of the soundstage. The crew's temporary medical room was located there, and the door was slightly ajar, indicating that the crew doctor had also arrived early.
Footsteps suddenly sounded, and a girl with short black hair hurried from the main entrance. She probably didn't notice him and, after passing by, went straight into the medical room.
Stephen Sommers stopped and glanced over. The black-haired girl had already found the crew doctor.
"Dr. Raymond," the girl's voice came from the open doorway, "do you have Matthew Horner's medicine?"
Then, the middle-aged male doctor's voice sounded, "Here's the ointment. Tell Matthew to apply it to his injuries; it will reduce bruising and swelling."
He added, "He's had too many bumps and scrapes lately. This ointment is only a temporary fix; he really needs two days of rest."
"That's what I told him…" the girl's voice came again, "but he won't listen. He says the scenes being filmed now are very important, and if he stops, the entire crew will have to pause. He also said these minor injuries are nothing and won't affect filming at all."
The girl sighed, "Well, at least it's only today. If all goes well, filming will be over this morning. Dr. Raymond, do all actors work as hard as Matthew Horner?"
"All actors?" Dr. Raymond's voice held a hint of disdain.
"The older generation of actors are fine, but these young actors today…"
Although he didn't hear the rest of the sentence, Stephen Sommers knew what Raymond was going to say and largely agreed with his viewpoint. In his experience over the past few years, among young actors in their twenties, he had only seen two or three as diligent as Matthew Horner.
After circling the soundstage, Stephen Sommers arrived at the main entrance and saw Rachel Weisz and the child actor playing her son, Freddie Bush, entering the soundstage together. He greeted them, "Morning, Rachel. Morning, Freddie."
"Morning, Stephen."
"Morning, Mr. Director."
Rachel Weisz and Freddie Bush greeted him from a distance but didn't come over. Instead, they continued walking into the soundstage. Freddie Bush kept saying as he walked, "Rachel, please, can you talk to my mom and let me go to the party tonight, okay?"
Their voices weren't particularly low, and they naturally reached Stephen Sommers's ears. He couldn't help but wonder if someone was having a party tonight.
Rachel Weisz's voice came again, "Freddie, you want to go too?"
"Of course!" Freddie Bush sounded a bit anxious. "You're going, and Brendan, Arnold, and John are all planning to go. Why can't I go? Matthew has helped me so many times; I have to thank him, right?"
"Alright! Alright! Alright! I'll talk to your mom. That Matthew fellow is leaving London tomorrow, and who knows when we'll see him again…"
Stephen Sommers left the soundstage and looked at the sun, which had just risen in the east. It seemed that most of the crew thought Matthew Horner was a good actor.
is Matthew Horner a good actor? Stephen Sommers asked himself. The answer was already quite clear.
Putting aside other aspects, solely in terms of the crew's filming and the role of the Scorpion King, Matthew Horner brought only benefits; at least, he saw no drawbacks.
The current situation also made him somewhat relieved, grateful that he hadn't insisted on using Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
More and more people started entering the soundstage. Stephen Sommers stopped thinking and returned to the soundstage to direct the various crew departments in their preparations. As soon as half past eight arrived, all the actors were present, and filming began precisely on time.
The crew had been running smoothly recently, and filming had progressed quite well. Today was no exception; by half past ten, all of the Scorpion King's scenes were completed.
However, Stephen Sommers did not dismiss the crew. Instead, he continued to wait in the soundstage, reviewing the filmed footage, examining every detail one by one. Matthew Horner's scenes were all finished, and according to Rachel Weisz, he would be leaving London tomorrow. If there were any flaws in his shots, reshooting them later would be troublesome.
At some point, producer Sean Daniel also arrived and stood behind him, watching the footage playing on the director's monitor.
The four takes were reviewed twice, and after confirming that there were no issues, Stephen Sommers pressed the stop button.
"I hear things have been going smoothly lately?" Sean Daniel spoke up then.
Stephen Sommers did not deny it. "The Scorpion King's scenes were completed three days ahead of schedule."
"Matthew Horner is pretty good, isn't he?" Sean Daniel looked towards the set, where Matthew was, with the assistance of crew members, removing the green screen wrapped around his arm. He said, "I've heard many people say Matthew Horner performed exceptionally well."
"For the role of the Scorpion King…" Stephen Sommers appeared very honest, "Matthew Horner is a good actor."
In his eyes, Matthew Horner had almost perfectly merged with the image of the Scorpion King, making him completely forget about Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Stephen Sommers stood up, adopting an exceptionally serious and earnest expression, and said, "Regarding Matthew Horner, I owe you an apology. Your persistence prevented me from potentially making a mistake."
Sean Daniel appeared very magnanimous. "We're all working for the film, for this production. You also just want to make the movie better."
Stephen Sommers offered a helpless smile. "Regardless, I misjudged both Dwayne Johnson and Matthew Horner."
He suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "This morning's filming is officially wrapped! We'll resume promptly at one o'clock this afternoon!"
On the set, Matthew was saying goodbye to many people. Once he left the crew, he probably wouldn't be coming back.
Although a few actors he got along well with invited him to dinner, there were only a handful of them.
He said goodbye individually to action director Felipe, crew doctor Raymond, makeup artist Sasha, and others, then took the water cup handed to him by his assistant, Mira, and drank half of it directly.
"If you go to Los Angeles…" Matthew said to the Chinese-American girl, "you can call me."
Mira nodded.
Matthew then asked, "Do you plan to continue developing in this industry?"
"My education is limited," Mira, having grown familiar with Matthew during this time, said directly, "I can't find a better job for now."
"You're a very good assistant," Matthew joked. "I'm very satisfied! Actually, I'd like to invite you to continue being my assistant, but unfortunately, I'm just a small actor and can't afford the salary."
Although Mira Wang was of mixed heritage, her typical black hair and yellow skin naturally made Matthew feel a sense of familiarity. He thought for a moment, found a pen and paper, wrote down a string of numbers, and handed it to the girl.
"You can't be an assistant your whole life," Matthew said, as there wasn't much else he could do. "This is my agent Helen Herman's phone number. If you want to develop in Los Angeles and continue to stay in the film industry, you can call her. Perhaps she can give you some advice."
Mira Wang could tell that Matthew was trying to help her and said, "Thank you!"
Matthew smiled and said nothing more, walking towards director Stephen Sommers. Still some distance from the director's monitor, he saw producer Sean Daniel walking towards him.
"Hello, Mr. Daniel," he greeted politely.
Sean Daniel gave him a bright smile. "Matthew, well done! Choosing you for the role of the Scorpion King was truly the right decision."
Matthew quickly responded humbly, "That's too much praise. I just did my job."
Sean Daniel had a very good impression of him, chatted for a few more moments, and then left the soundstage.
Afterward, Matthew approached the director's monitor, where Stephen Sommers was standing, clearly waiting for him.
"Director Sommers, I'm leaving London tomorrow," Matthew said with the same enthusiasm and humility as he had with Sean Daniel. "I specifically came to thank you. Your guidance has benefited me greatly."
"Hmm." Stephen Sommers merely nodded slightly.
Seeing that he was as distant as ever, Matthew assumed Sommers still didn't care for him and said, "Then I won't bother you. Goodbye, Director Sommers."
Stephen Sommers still had the same expression. "Goodbye."
Matthew smiled, turned around, and prepared to leave.
"Wait a moment."
Stephen Sommers suddenly called out to him from behind. Matthew turned back in confusion. Stephen Sommers still looked just as distant.
"Matthew," Stephen Sommers said calmly, "you are a good actor!"
Hearing this, Matthew was momentarily stunned, then smiled. "Thank you!" He thought for a moment and added, "Your recognition is very important to me! Thank you, Director Sommers."
In that instant, he felt a surge of satisfaction, as if his efforts had been rewarded.