Having inexplicably arrived here from The other side of the Pacific, Matthew's greatest fortune was his ruggedly handsome face and his athletic physique. These were his two main assets for making a living. Now, Steven Brand actually wanted to target his face; wasn't this trying to smash his rice bowl and ruin his future?
Anyone who tried to smash his rice bowl was an enemy.
Steven Brand stood in front of Matthew, facing his fallen opponent, without the slightest intention of holding back. The sword in his hand thrust directly towards Matthew.
Everyone outside the set thought Steven Brand's acting had exploded at that moment, as if Memnon had possessed him.
Matthew dared not take risks, nor did he entertain any lucky (stroke of luck). Just as Steven Brand's prop sword was falling towards his face, he lifted his right foot and kicked out forcefully. Steven Brand's legs were slightly parted, directly facing him, and the kick landed squarely and precisely on Steven Brand's vulnerable spot.
Both were wearing leather armor, with groin guards on their armor. This kick looked as if it had been rehearsed, only hitting the leather groin guard.
Only Matthew and Steven Brand knew that the kick had truly landed.
Although Matthew was angry, he knew how much force to use. His previous training also made him aware of his strength, so he only used fifty percent of his power for this kick.
Even with fifty percent of his power, it was not something Steven Brand's private parts could withstand.
"Ah—"
He let out a scream, his entire face distorted, eyes and nose twisted together, as if enduring immense pain.
Since the work of directing the camera had been handed over to Action Director Tim Madsen, Director Chuck Russell merely sat observing, and at this moment, he couldn't help but look surprised.
"I didn't expect it," he muttered. "This Steven Brand is actually an improvisational actor. His acting in this scene is a huge break out (explosion). Look at this performance now, absolutely top-tier. An Oscar lead actor is nothing more than this."
Then, he shook his head, "The break out (explosion) came too late. This is his last scene. If he had shown such acting and state earlier, Matthew Horner's thunder would have been stolen quite a bit by him."
On the set, after Matthew finished his kick, he didn't give Steven Brand any time to recover. With a single hand supporting himself, he leaped up from the ground, his two large hands like iron tongs, grabbing Steven Brand's two wrists respectively and squeezing down hard. Steven Brand could no longer hold onto the prop sword, and it clanged to the ground.
The pain in Steven Brand's lower body had just subsided a little when he felt as if his hands were clamped by iron bands, and the iron bands tightened instantly, exerting immense force... Sweat seeped from his forehead, and his face, already twisted from pain, instantly became even more distorted. Steven Brand felt that the two large hands gripping his wrists were incredibly rough and hard, as if cast from alloy, and his wrist bones seemed to be splitting, causing bone-chilling pain.
Even at that moment, Matthew didn't forget that this was acting. He grabbed Steven Brand's hand, turned around, and performed a back throw, flinging Steven Brand out.
He was already standing at the edge of the platform, and now he used all his strength, sending Steven Brand directly off the platform and falling downwards.
As Steven Brand fell, besides the pain, he had only one thought: It turns out that Hollywood crew promotions can sometimes be true and credible.
The platform wasn't very high off the ground, only about a meter, and there were sponge mats laid on the ground. Steven Brand landed on the mats without injury, but the feeling of falling from a height made him unable to get up for a while.
At this moment, Matthew was the victorious Mathayus, standing at the edge of the platform.
He looked down, and Kelly Hu, who had taken care of the soldiers on the other side, walked over and stood beside him.
The combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman created a happy ending scene.
"Close-up!" Tim Madsen quickly urged the cameraman in front, "Quick, give them a close-up."
After an intense, exciting, and realistic battle, ending with such a shot was simply perfect.
Steven Brand lay on the thick sponge mat, looking up, and could just see the two people above. He could only be a stepping stone for the victors.
"Great!" Tim Madsen almost shouted, "Fantastic! This will become a classic action shot! It definitely will!"
He had forgotten that the way Matthew ultimately defeated Memnon was completely different from what was written in the script.
But none of that mattered anymore. The script could be slightly adjusted, and an excellent action shot now would certainly not have the same effect if done again.
"You did great."
On the platform, Kelly Hu winked at Matthew, "Especially that back throw."
Matthew smiled and said to those below, "Steven cooperated well."
Steven Brand had already stood up with the help of the crew members, standing right near Matthew's feet. This guy was quite peculiar; he snorted coldly and had the staff help him walk away.
Matthew watched his retreating figure. Steven Brand was somewhat beyond his expectations. If Steven Brand had gotten angry, he could have used the opportunity to expose Steven Brand's true intentions and make him suffer an even greater loss.
He hadn't expected this guy to endure it.
This was consistent with the impression Steven Brand had left on him; this guy was always a man of few words, seemingly a man of action.
Steven Brand walked towards the dressing room. The sharp pain between his legs came and went quickly, but his wrists kept hurting. He unbuttoned the narrow cuffs of his costume and found his wrists were red, as if struck by something, and slightly swollen.
Matthew Horner, that bastard, had so much strength! He shook his wrists, the pain slightly reduced, knowing that all his goals had fallen through.
Steven Brand walked into the dressing room, still sighing about how much strength that guy had, and how fast his reaction speed was—he was practically a fighter jet among actors! His wrists probably wouldn't heal for days.
On the set, Matthew went to the resting area below the platform, sat down, and drank the tea Mira Wang had brought him, preparing for the next scene. All his scenes with Steven Brand were finished, and he still had many scenes left.
"Hi, Matthew." Duff Villa walked over and gave a direct thumbs-up, "That action scene just now was spectacular."
Matthew nodded at him and said, "I don't have many virtues, but I have good credit."
He didn't feel embarrassed at all saying this.
In this circle, too many lies were told; after a while, one stopped caring.
Duff Villa beamed, thinking this investment in the future was well worth it.
Matthew reminded him again, "Don't forget our agreement."
"Didn't forget," Duff Villa pointed to his head, "I remember it. You can call me anytime."
The next scene started quickly. Matthew no longer paid attention to Duff Villa and walked into another filming location to shoot a dramatic scene with Kelly Hu.
Compared to the action scene just now, this seemingly simple dramatic scene took three takes to pass, making Matthew realize that his own shortcomings were actually quite prominent.
Through this period of filming as the absolute lead actor, he could feel that he was an actor with prominent strengths and specialties, but also rather obvious weaknesses.
To put it plainly, the weakness was acting skill.
Fortunately, neither he nor Helen Herman had any intention of developing into the independent art house circuit, so this particular flaw wouldn't be infinitely magnified.
In commercial entertainment films, acting skill is ultimately not the primary factor.
At the end of the day's work, Matthew drove Duff Villa directly to Angel Talent Agency to meet Helen Herman. He briefly explained the day's events. Helen Herman no longer demurred; after all, this threatened her investment of nearly two years. She directly stated to Matthew that after this film, she would terminate her contract with Steven Brand and inform other agencies in the industry of the reason for the termination.
This way, Steven Brand's difficulty in developing and making a name for himself in Hollywood would double.
After sending Duff Villa away, Helen Herman looked at Matthew and said, "Are you satisfied now?"
Matthew shrugged slightly, "If I were injured and couldn't return for a while, what would you do?"
"I'd say I'd be the same as now," Helen Herman took off the black-rimmed glasses covering her eyes. "Do you believe me?"
"I've never understood," Matthew knew Helen Herman was wearing plano glasses, "why you wear such old-fashioned glasses and hide your face."
Helen Herman was very calm and gave a powerful reason, "I have astigmatism."
Matthew absolutely wouldn't believe that. He stood up and said, "You look better and prettier without glasses." He walked towards the office door, and before leaving, he tossed out a sentence, "I believe you."
Once outside, he muttered to himself, "Only a ghost would believe you."
However, the matter with Steven Brand ended there. Matthew didn't intend to get entangled with him. Steven Brand had already been left far behind, so there was no need for it; that would only slow down his own progress.
Filming for the crew continued until early November. Most of his remaining scenes were dramatic ones, and filming was no longer as smooth as before, with some shots requiring more than a dozen takes occasionally appearing. As filming gradually approached its end, more and more actors left the set. According to Hollywood tradition, actors with slightly larger roles received gifts from the crew when they finished their work.
Actually, they weren't really gifts, but props used by their respective characters. For example, Kelly Hu received one of Cassandra's necklaces.
By mid-November, Matthew had also completed all of Mathayus's scenes. When he bid farewell to the crew, he received the prop sword he had used throughout filming.
His work with the crew also came to an end, and he welcomed a short vacation.