"Christensen!"
In the recording studio, Matthew held a script full of lines and cues, looked at the monitor, and said again, "Christensen!"
Post-production dubbing is often recorded individually, and he was lucky. Michael Fassbender adjusted his schedule and also came to the studio to record. The scene they needed to record was a conversation between Ronald Speirs and Christensen, played by Matthew. The sound engineer simply arranged for them to record together.
"Lieutenant Speirs." Michael Fassbender stood next to Matthew.
On the screen, Ronald Speirs was crouching in front of the foxhole where Christensen and several other soldiers were.
Matthew concentrated, matching the character on screen, and said, "I didn't get your name wrong, did I, Christensen?"
Michael Fassbender quickly followed up, "No, sir!"
The two went back and forth, cooperating perfectly, and finished recording this section in less than five minutes.
Afterward, under the guidance of the sound engineer, Matthew recorded his other two scenes separately, but the lines were very few, totaling no more than five sentences.
Most of these shots were instances where the on-set audio did not meet the sound designer's requirements.
Matthew took off his headphones and left the recording booth. Seeing Michael Fassbender still standing outside, he said, "I'm all done recording."
"I still have a monologue." Michael Fassbender picked up his script and said before entering the booth, "Wait for me a moment."
"Don't worry." Matthew walked towards a chair. "I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."
Sitting on the chair, he waited for about ten minutes, and Michael Fassbender also finished his recording. However, neither of them left. They waited until the sound engineer called the sound designer to confirm there were no issues before leaving the recording studio together.
There was no golf cart outside the small building where the recording studio was located, so Matthew and Michael Fassbender didn't wait and walked all the way towards the Warner Bros. studio gate.
This small building was deep within the studio, and to get out, they had to pass many sound stages. Matthew specifically looked around; the studio was better than his last visit, and many sound stages showed film crews at work.
"Do you have anything on this afternoon?" Michael Fassbender asked.
"No, not really." Matthew put his hands in his pockets. "I thought there would be many scenes that needed re-recording, so I was prepared to spend the whole day at the studio."
"Let's have lunch together." Michael Fassbender pulled out his phone. "James is in Los Angeles for an audition, and he probably has nothing to do today. I'll call him out."
As soon as Matthew heard that James McAvoy was also in Los Angeles, he quickly said, "Great, call him too! If James dares not to come, we'll go kick his ass!"
He, James McAvoy, and Michael Fassbender had fought side by side in the *Band of Brothers* crew, confronting the devil instructors together, forging their friendship there.
Beep—beep—
A honking sound came from behind. Matthew and Michael Fassbender moved to the side of the road. A four-wheeled electric cart approached from behind. The cart wasn't very fast, and two people were sitting on it. The driver looked like a female assistant, and the other woman had blonde hair and large sunglasses on her face.
The golf cart drove past Matthew and Michael Fassbender. The woman wearing sunglasses casually glanced at them, then suddenly shouted, "Stop the car!"
The shout was quick and urgent. The golf cart braked suddenly, and Matthew and Michael Fassbender also looked over, puzzled.
The woman with sunglasses jumped off the golf cart, not caring that her high heels were nearly ten centimeters tall, and walked over with quick, small steps.
Matthew saw her face-on and immediately recognized Christina Aguilera. He smiled and waved, "What a coincidence! What are you doing here?"
"I'm shooting a music video here!" Christina Aguilera took off her sunglasses, came to stand opposite Matthew, looked him up and down, and demanded, "Aren't you a bodyguard? What are you doing here?"
She seemed unwilling to mention Britney's name.
"Bodyguard was just my part-time job; I'm not doing part-time jobs anymore." Matthew bluffed, "Now I'm a full-time 'bitch-identifier'!"
As soon as Christina Aguilera heard "bitch-identifier," she got angry and was about to explode, but before she could speak, Matthew looked her over and preemptively said, "Hmm... the nose ring is gone, the earrings have been replaced with studs, there's no smell of smoke on you, the perfume isn't pungent, and the tattoo you had last time has been washed off..."
Michael Fassbender looked at Matthew, then at Christina Aguilera, completely confused.
Matthew deliberately asked Christina Aguilera, "Did you specifically come here for me to identify you?"
"Ah—"
Christina Aguilera let out a shriek, seemingly enraged. Without a word, she turned and left, got into the golf cart, and urged, "Go! Drive fast! I never want to see that person again!"
The golf cart sped away, kicking up dust.
"What happened?" Michael Fassbender asked curiously, "What's a 'bitch-identifier'?"
Matthew briefly explained, and Michael Fassbender grinned, revealing his shark-like smile again.
"That woman looks a bit familiar?" he asked.
"A pop singer." Matthew walked ahead. When Michael Fassbender caught up, he said, "Her name is Christina Aguilera."
Michael Fassbender was unfamiliar with the American pop music scene and shook his head, "Don't know her."
The two left the Warner Bros. studio, quickly forgetting Christina Aguilera. They drove to a Brazilian steakhouse in Burbank, and after a short wait, James McAvoy also arrived.
Beer and barbecue are definitely a man's feast.
However, the three of them knew the importance of physique for young actors like themselves, so they were relatively restrained in their eating and drinking.
"How far along is the post-production for *Band of Brothers*? When will it be finished?" James McAvoy put down his beer glass and said, "I'm waiting for it to air soon and make me a big star!"
Matthew swallowed the barbecue in his mouth and said, "I forgot to ask, when exactly will HBO broadcast *Band of Brothers*?"
Unknown young actors like them were eagerly anticipating the early broadcast of *Band of Brothers*, hoping the TV series would bring them some fame, or at least increase their capital.
"Let me answer those questions." Michael Fassbender had obviously made inquiries. He first took a big gulp of beer, then grinned and said, "The initial plan during the preparation phase was for *Band of Brothers* to officially begin airing in September of next year's HBO fall season. But the crew, from preparation to filming to post-production, has been much faster than anticipated. If nothing unexpected happens, *Band of Brothers* will be on HBO in next year's spring season."
"The sooner, the better!" James McAvoy mumbled.
Matthew then asked Michael Fassbender, "Do you know the exact month it will air?"
Michael Fassbender shook his head. "As far as I know, it hasn't been decided yet, but it will be confirmed by next month at the latest."
"Hmm." James McAvoy nodded. "They need to reserve enough time for promotion before it airs."
"Sigh..." Matthew sighed and said, "How great would it be if we could become famous overnight after *Band of Brothers* airs."
"You're dreaming!" James McAvoy shook his head.
Michael Fassbender was even more blunt, saying, "With Ronald Speirs' limited screen time, you have no hope."
Matthew spread his hands and said, "I'm just expressing a sentiment, can't you guys play along?"
After saying that, he laughed first, and Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy then joined in.
The three continued to discuss *Band of Brothers*, all believing that DreamWorks and HBO's change of plans, moving *Band of Brothers* from fall to spring, might partly be due to financial pressure.
Recently, DreamWorks, HBO, and the BBC had officially announced to the outside world that the production cost of *Band of Brothers* alone was as high as 120 million US dollars. Adding in promotional investments, the cost could be described as an astronomical figure. Such a large financial investment would inevitably bring terrifying pressure to recoup costs and generate profits.
According to Matthew's speculation, if *Band of Brothers*' spring premiere received good reviews and ratings, it could then negotiate with distributors during the summer season, which is a TV show off-period. Things like secondary broadcast rights, DVD and video sales and rentals, etc., could all become profit points beyond HBO's paid subscribers.
Having been in Hollywood for over a year, his understanding of the TV industry was still limited, not comparable to the film industry. However, guessing from normal circumstances, *Band of Brothers* would likely need several years to generate a profit.
With such a large investment, if operations went wrong, losses were not impossible.
Of course, neither Matthew, nor James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, wanted to see such a situation. Like the investors, they all hoped that *Band of Brothers* would receive rave reviews, sky-high ratings, and that everyone would scramble to watch the show and meticulously research the background of every actor...
"Actually, appearing in *Band of Brothers* also brought some hidden benefits." Matthew clinked glasses with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, then tilted his head back to drink the remaining beer, saying, "For example, for me, the *Band of Brothers* training indirectly helped me land the Scorpion King role in *The Mummy Returns*."
"Matthew is right!" James McAvoy agreed with him. "This resume might also help me get a supporting role in a big-budget war film."
"By the way." Michael Fassbender interjected, "You came to Los Angeles for an audition, what project is it?"
James McAvoy boasted, "Ridley Scott's *Black Hawk Down*! The investment might be 100 million dollars!"
"What a coincidence." Matthew looked at James McAvoy. "I'm also preparing to audition for that project."
"That's great!" James McAvoy jumped up and clapped his hands. "Then I won't be worried! As far as I know, a scoundrel we have a grudge against has already joined that crew!"