21. Becoming Familiar

"Quiet! Quiet!" The big-bearded man raised the megaphone and shouted, "Everyone, quiet down!"

There were hundreds of temporary actors here. Once chaos broke out, the consequences would be severe. Immediately, crew members stepped forward to maintain order, and the noisy crowd gradually calmed down.

During this time, Matthew had already squeezed to the front. He stood diagonally across from the big-bearded man, Helen Herman, and Ridley Scott. Michael stood beside him, glaring at Ridley Scott as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

This was a Hollywood A-list project. Everyone wanted to make an appearance in the film. Not to mention someone as purposeful as Matthew, even those who treated extra acting as a hobby were no exception.

The hundreds of temporary actors gathered here mainly came from three backgrounds: those like Matthew and Michael Hine who dreamed of becoming stars, pure movie fans who did it as a hobby, and some residents from the town.

The ones pushing forward were mainly the first two types of people.

The big-bearded man was an executive producer. He arrived at the edge of the woods, raised the megaphone, and shouted, "Now, I'll adjust the queue. Those who don't follow orders will be removed!"

He started from the front, pointing at a burly man with a beard like a bird's nest, saying, "You, move forward!"

Then, he said to the person next to him who was noticeably shorter, "You, go to the back."

Walking through the front of the line, the big-bearded man made many people who had squeezed to the front move to the back and called some people from the back to the front.

"Are we going to the back?" Michael was very worried.

Matthew had been watching the big-bearded man. He shook his head and said, "Don't worry, we won't."

Michael didn't understand where Matthew's confidence came from and asked, "Why not?"

"Didn't you notice?" Matthew gestured with his eyes towards a group nearby. "The big-bearded man is calling tall and sturdy people to the front. Those sent to the back are all skinny guys."

Michael looked carefully and indeed saw that it was the case.

"You're quite observant," he felt some admiration, "I didn't notice."

Matthew smiled and didn't say anything more. Instead, his eyes turned to Helen Herman opposite him. She was talking to Ridley Scott, with no hint of flattery on her face, as if she was very familiar with the old man.

She didn't get this batch of roles for Angel Agency just by luck, as she claimed.

"You, move back!" The big-bearded man came to Matthew and Michael's side, pointing at a short person on the left. "You too, move back!"

After looking at Matthew and Michael, he walked away directly.

Michael looked at Matthew, and Matthew shrugged. "Strength is also an asset."

The big-bearded executive producer took action himself, and the formation of extras playing barbarians gradually became orderly. Ridley Scott always stood on the periphery, showing no intention of interfering.

After the big-bearded man's rearrangement, the temporary actor lineup was complete. Those standing in the front, directly facing the camera lens, were all tall men over six feet, each holding weapons, looking fierce.

Then, Ridley Scott personally stepped forward to direct the shoot.

"Remember!"

The shoot was about to begin, and the big-bearded man reminded, "Give it your all, shout as loud as you can just like during rehearsals!"

The content of the shoot for the temporary actors wasn't complicated. They just had to stand at the edge of the woods, angrily howling towards the empty space on the other side, demonstrating against the Roman legion.

Barbarians, of course, were different from regular soldiers, their way of protesting was primitive and straightforward.

The big-bearded man stepped back from the set, raised the megaphone, and after getting a nod from Ridley Scott, shouted loudly, "Action!"

Matthew gripped his battle-axe with both hands, raised it above his head, opened his mouth wide, and contorted his face, looking ferocious.

"Ah—Oh—Ah—Wow—"

He let out various loud and strange shouts from his mouth, drowning out even Michael's nearby cries.

"Oh—"

All the temporary actors raised their weapons and made various bizarre shouts!

For a moment, it seemed like a bunch of lunatics had invaded the set, and they were all severely disturbed.

The camera mounted on a track slid past from the front. Especially those in the front row shouted even louder and more excitedly.

After putting down his axe, Matthew changed his posture, pointed the axe blade forward, and made several hacking motions. Beside him, Michael took off the shield on his back, drew the sword from his waist, and began to strike the shield forcefully...

Those with shields also began to strike their shields with their weapons!

This Germanic barbarian army was full of momentum.

"Cut!" Ridley Scott's voice suddenly rang out, "Alright! Well done!"

The big-bearded man immediately smiled. This shot was done in one take, showing that his rehearsal work was done well.

Matthew put down his weapon and cleared his throat. Shouting so loudly just now had made his throat somewhat uncomfortable.

"Don't relax, everyone!" The big-bearded man's voice rang out again, "We're shooting the next scene immediately!"

A few minutes later, shooting began again, but this time, the on-the-spot director was not Ridley Scott; it was a younger assistant director.

During the break before shooting, Matthew specifically looked and saw that Helen Herman had joined Ridley Scott again.

"Is your father okay?" Ridley Scott was very familiar with Helen. "Is he still in Los Angeles?"

"He's on vacation in New Zealand," Helen Herman said with a smile, "He loves summer."

Ridley Scott nodded, "Still the same."

Helen Herman looked towards the Roman army formation curiously and asked, "Isn't shooting over there starting yet?"

"It'll probably be after noon," Ridley Scott said with a hint of displeasure, "These stars nowadays make more money than before, have more influence, but their professional ethics are getting worse."

Helen Herman knew who he was talking about, "Is Russell Crowe difficult to handle?"

"Yeah," Ridley Scott didn't deny it, "He's a good actor during shooting, but when he's not, he's..."

He shook his head, seeming unwilling to discuss Russell Crowe further, and changed the subject, "How come you started a small talent agency?"

Helen Herman turned back, "I wanted to try my hand at it and also gain some experience. I just came out of the mailroom, with no clients in hand. Instead of waiting to gain experience, it's better to go out and try. Even if I fail, it's a valuable experience."

Ridley Scott seemed to admire Helen Herman very much, "Not many young people nowadays are as pragmatic as you."

He and Helen's father were old friends. After a moment of thought, he said, "There's a minor role actor in the crew who has a problem. I'm thinking of replacing him. Do you have someone suitable for that?"

Helen Herman immediately understood that Ridley Scott was trying to help her. In her mind, a figure that often appeared in front of her flashed. He was an actor who had acted with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder, and had a couple of lines. Dealing with the minor role Ridley Scott mentioned shouldn't be a problem.

"Yes," she said quickly, "When?"

Ridley Scott looked at his watch and said, "I should go back. Russell Crowe should be arriving soon. How about we have lunch together? We can discuss it then."