In the makeup room, Steve Brand, who usually didn't say much, quickly stated his decision. Duff Villa listened to his every word with rapt attention, and Clark Bernard appeared to be in complete support.
"Good!" Clark Bernard rumbled, "Let's do it! We'll teach him a lesson! If I hadn't finished filming my action scenes with him, I would have beaten him into a pulp!"
"Let's still be cautious," Duff Villa reminded him. "Didn't you see the crew's publicity? He seems to have received professional training."
"Cautious?" Steve Brand snorted. "You believe what the crew publicizes?"
Duff Villa opened his mouth but said nothing more.
Silence returned to the makeup room until a staff member knocked on the door. The three men picked up their respective gear, left the makeup room, and prepared to go to the studio.
After leaving the makeup room, Duff Villa said, "You guys go ahead, I need to use the restroom."
Steve Brand and Clark Bernard didn't say much and went straight to the studio.
From the moment they joined the crew for their respective character auditions, the three of them had been inseparable—drinking together, chatting together, complaining about their agencies' unfairness, and criticizing Matthew Horner's acting skills.
Steve Brand and Clark Bernard didn't think much of it.
Duff Villa returned to the makeup room. After waiting for a while, he peeked out. The corridor was empty, so he quickly walked in the opposite direction from the other two. The private makeup rooms were further inside, and typically, lead actors would enter the studio later than supporting actors like them.
"Matthew Horner should still be in his makeup room, right?" He thought, turning into a cross corridor.
Duff Villa had thought it through clearly. If he sided with those two against Matthew Horner, even if they succeeded, he wouldn't be the one to benefit. It would be Steve Brand, and even the big guy Clark Bernard would be ahead of him. What benefits could he get? He'd still be in the same position as now.
What about standing on the other side? As long as this film wasn't a failure, Matthew Horner would definitely gain some fame. His resources basically didn't conflict with his own, and he might even be able to gain some advantages by following him.
He knocked on Matthew's private makeup room door, and a familiar voice came from inside: "Come in."
Duff Villa pushed the door open and walked in.
In the studio where they had filmed before, Chuck Russell and the set designer were making final checks. The crew was using borrowed real-life sets and making appropriate adjustments to transform them into the final battleground between the protagonist, Mathayus, and the main villain, Memnon.
Action director Tim Madsen walked over with his two assistants to inspect the action scene filming location.
"Tim!" Chuck Russell called out, "How are the preparations coming along?"
"No problem!" Tim Madsen walked over. "The site is undergoing a final sweep. Matthew and Steven Brand also rehearsed this scene during pre-filming training."
Chuck Russell nodded. "Matthew should be fine. How's Steven Brand preparing?"
Tim Madsen replied, "Steven Brand has been training these past few days, and his training is going well."
Filming had reached its final stages, and the crew, working in perfect harmony, was quickly getting everything ready.
On the other side, Matthew also entered the studio. After waiting a few minutes in the actors' lounge, he joined Kelly Hu and Steven Brand to enter the filming area and listen to the director and action director explain the scene.
This was a platform with many tables made of hard foam, clearly a place for a banquet. Thick mats were laid out beneath the platform, to prevent actors from falling off.
Although the platform was only about a meter high, the crew did everything possible to prevent accidents.
Matthew stood on the platform and glanced at Steven Brand, who was separated from him by Kelly Hu. This guy was the type who didn't say much, and often, those types bite the hardest.
However, Duff Villa had already told him what this guy intended to do, so he certainly wouldn't let him succeed.
Even without Duff Villa, Steven Brand's chances of succeeding were slim. Matthew was actually very wary of both him and Clark Bernard.
"Kelly!"
As filming approached, Tim Madsen gave his final instructions. "You stand in my position. Soldiers will enter from the exit over there. Your task is to take out that soldier!"
For this final action scene, the crew planned to use a long take, so Tim Madsen specifically came over to give more instructions. He then said to Matthew and Steven Brand, "For your duel, try to stick to the training, but don't be rigid. This is a long take of several minutes, and your actions might be affected by various factors in between, so you need to be flexible."
Matthew nodded. "Understood."
For shots of ten or twenty seconds, they could completely follow the pre-designed routine, but if the shot was too long, actors also needed to improvise on the spot.
For example, the very first scene filmed in the studio was a long take. Matthew largely followed the rehearsed routine, but there were also on-the-spot changes.
Steven Brand also said, "I know."
He hadn't filmed a long action take in this movie yet, but he had seen Matthew do it and knew it was impossible to follow the set routine one hundred percent. That's why he chose this moment to act, and wasn't it normal to get accidentally injured during a fight scene?
Earlier, while filming Memnon's sword practice, he had been hit on the arm by another actor with a wooden sword and it hurt for most of the day.
He looked down at the prop sword in his hand. Although it was made of resin, it would definitely not feel good if it hit someone. If Matthew Horner couldn't take on roles for a long time in the future, and Angel Agency had similar opportunities like the and series, and the lead role in this film, could Helen Herman find a more suitable candidate among the company's actors than himself?
This was Hollywood, a place where miracles were created. As long as he could seize an opportunity, he could soar to great heights!
Matthew fiddled with a loose thread on his leather armor with one hand and gripped the hilt of his prop sword with the other, no longer looking at Steven Brand.
On the way over, he had already thought of a counter-strategy.
Kelly Hu stood between Matthew and Steven Brand. Perhaps it was a woman's intuition, but she always felt that the two male actors on either side weren't getting along. She took two steps back, as her part in the scene had already been explained.
Matthew had left a very good impression on her. Subconsciously, she wanted to side with Matthew, but she also knew that open and secret struggles like these existed in almost every crew. Since she wasn't involved, it was best not to participate.
"This scene must follow one principle!" Tim Madsen said finally. "Matthew, you need to retreat at the beginning! Steven, you swear to kill him, you must fiercely pursue him!"
He looked at the two male actors. "Then, Matthew, you get knocked down, Steven doesn't let you go, and at the critical moment, you turn the tables."
Matthew didn't speak, just nodded. Steven Brand on the other side also nodded.
"Good!" Tim Madsen prepared to leave the set. "Now let's shoot a take and see the effect."
He withdrew from the set. Matthew drew his sword and went to his position, while Steven Brand stood opposite him according to his designated spot.
Matthew, Kelly Hu, and Steven Brand got ready. An assistant director's voice came over, "Scene 113, Take 21, action!"
From the moment he stood there, Matthew was on high alert. As soon as the "action" call was made, Steven Brand's prop sword came slashing towards him.
The sword moved extremely fast, accompanied by a whooshing sound.
Matthew dodged, then retreated towards the edge of the platform, fighting as he went. Steven Brand pursued him relentlessly, each swing of his sword whistling through the air, his face filled with malice, as if completely immersed in the role of Memnon, determined not to stop until he killed Mathayus, played by Matthew.
Their long swords clashed several times. Matthew could feel that Steven Brand was using a great deal of force, completely different from their rehearsal. He gradually confirmed that Duff Villa had been telling the truth.
Steven Brand wasn't stupid enough to directly attack Matthew. His intentions were fully concealed within the choreographed action routine, but he was using eight parts force where only five parts were needed. Even so, Matthew moved with the swiftness and agility of a deer, and his sword couldn't hit him. He then used all ten parts of his force.
Bang—
Steven Brand kicked a hard foam stool, sending it flying directly towards Matthew.
Matthew had no time to dodge and used his hand to block it. As the stool flew to the side, Steven Brand's prop sword came slashing down again.
He retreated again, and Steven Brand advanced, pursuing him.
Behind a camera, Tim Madsen watched the two men in the arena, nodding continuously. This action scene had no frills; it was full of the power and directness of realistic combat, appearing exceptionally authentic and believable.
This was also the action effect the crew had been striving for.
Matthew was as excellent as ever in the action scene, but what surprised him was that Steven Brand performed quite well, especially his expression and movements while pursuing Matthew, which seemed very realistic, fully demonstrating Memnon's determination to kill Mathayus, as well as his own power.
Just then, he saw Matthew stumble on a table while dodging Steven Brand's sword, falling near the edge of the platform, his weapon also flying from his hand.
Mathayus was supposed to be knocked down by Memnon, then make a comeback... Tim Madsen didn't move, nor did he speak. This long take action scene was excellent, and the actors were in particularly good form.
Matthew lay on the ground, his body taut like a bowstring. When practicing free combat, his coach had taught him how to counterattack when falling. Being tripped just now was entirely intentional. This way, he could both create distance from Steven Brand and counterattack as written in the script.
According to the necessary filming process, Mathayus would eventually be knocked down by Memnon once.
Steven Brand then rushed over, and as described in the script, his long sword directly stabbed towards Matthew… Although the prop sword was far away, Matthew could clearly see that the target of this sword was clearly his face.