"I think it would be better if we did this…"
Seeing that the two sides were about to get into a huge fight, Big Beard took the initiative to step in and mediate, "Gore, you guys, apologize sincerely."
He was the executive producer of the project, and he certainly didn't want things to escalate, so he turned back and said, "Helen, and…"
"Matthew…" Matthew smiled slightly at him.
"Helen, and Matthew." Big Beard continued, "Everyone is working in the same crew and striving in the same circle, so there's no conflict that can't be resolved."
Matthew knew very well that if things escalated, he would offend Ridley Scott and even Universal Pictures, who were behind this crew, which would be too unprofitable and too foolish.
"Okay." Matthew nodded directly.
Helen Herman had only been talking, and seeing Matthew, the person involved, agree, she naturally wouldn't object.
Big Beard then looked at the two Englishmen, "Gore, what about you? If you insist, I can take you to see the surveillance footage, this area should still be within surveillance range."
Hearing this, Gore glanced at Macon, whose eyes were flickering, and he knew that if he continued to entangle himself, it would only be more disadvantageous to their side.
"Alright!" Gore nodded.
But Macon stiffened his neck and yelled at Matthew, "You want me to apologize to him?"
Gore glared fiercely at Macon. He only knew that this guy was impulsive, but why didn't he realize that he was a fool with a problem in his head?
"I…" Macon hesitated for a moment, still not wanting to apologize.
"What do you want?" Gore leaned over and warned in a low voice, "If this gets out of hand, American-led crews won't use you again!"
Macon gritted his teeth and looked at Matthew, who stood opposite him, also smiling at him.
"I… I'm sorry." Macon squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth.
"What?" Matthew made a gesture of cupping his ear, "You spoke too softly, I didn't hear you."
Macon was almost fuming, feeling the palm print on his face hurt even more. He really wanted to turn around and leave, but he didn't dare. In a fit of anger, he had uttered discriminatory remarks and had been the first to strike. If he were really reported to the actors' unions in both Britain and America, it would probably be a very troublesome matter.
He closed his eyes, forcibly imagining Matthew opposite him as a rock, and said loudly, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault!"
"It's alright." Matthew looked very magnanimous, waving his hand casually, "Just a small misunderstanding."
Macon felt his lungs had exploded. A small misunderstanding? Then why did he slap him so hard twice?
After apologizing, he didn't plan to stay there and turned to leave.
But Matthew suddenly called out to him, "Mr. Macon, wait!"
Helen Herman didn't know what Matthew was going to do. She moved a step closer to him and whispered, "This is Ridley Scott's crew, don't go too far."
"Don't worry." Matthew blinked.
"What else do you want to do?" Macon suddenly regretted provoking such a person, "I've apologized."
"Hey, you haven't apologized to them yet!" Matthew pointed at the several extras and said, "Your discriminatory remarks also hurt them!"
"Yes! Yes!" The quickest reacting extra among them said loudly, "You cursed us all!"
The other extras, who loved a good show, shouted, "We are all members of the actors' union! If you don't apologize, we'll complain about you to the union!"
"Apologize quickly!"
"Are you a man or not, do you dare to do it but not take responsibility?!"
Macon looked helplessly at his agent, Gore, who also had no good solution and nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry, everyone."
Apologizing to these insignificant little people made Macon feel extremely uncomfortable, tears welling up in his eyes, as if he could cry at any moment, "I sincerely apologize for my inappropriate remarks to all of you!"
One extra waved his hand dismissively, "I accept."
Another put on a bossy air, "This old man forgives you."
Seeing this, Helen Herman felt it was enough and nodded at Matthew, "Let's go."
Matthew had achieved his goal and there was no need to continue the entanglement, so he followed Helen Herman and walked out of the set.
Leaving the set and walking back to the town, Helen Herman suddenly asked, "Was it very interesting?"
"What?" Matthew was stunned for a moment, then understood what she meant and said, "He was the one who started cursing, and he was the one who started hitting. I was just protecting myself."
He tentatively asked, "There won't be any trouble, will there?"
Helen Herman slowly shook her head, "What trouble could there be? It wasn't your fault, and you knew when to stop."
"I think so." Matthew walked and deliberately said, "This kind of thing must save face for the crew, and you can't act on a whim."
"Heh…" Helen Herman smiled, "You know quite a lot."
Matthew looked at the town in the distance and said, "I haven't received higher education, and I'm not smart, but I'm not stupid either."
The two walked into the town together. Helen Herman suddenly turned into a coffee shop, and Matthew had no choice but to follow. They found a table by the window, ordered coffee casually, and continued their previous conversation.
Matthew asked again, "Will the crew pursue that Englishman?"
"No." Helen Herman shrugged, "You're just two small actors. As long as it doesn't get big, they won't bother to care."
"That's true." Matthew also felt that such a large crew wouldn't have time to deal with such trivial matters. Conflicts easily arise when there are many people, and if they had to manage every little thing, they wouldn't be able to shoot films. However, he was still a little curious, "Do those big-name stars also have conflicts when filming?"
Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder were two he had seen with his own eyes, "Do they get physical?"
"It's hard to say." Helen Herman thought for a moment and said, "Sometimes they do. I forgot if it was ninety or ninety-one, Julia Roberts was very dissatisfied with Steven Spielberg on set and wanted to get physical… To be precise, she already did, but was stopped by the crew."
Matthew immediately asked, "Julia Roberts must have been in trouble, right?"
Helen Herman shook her head, "Who knows? But in the following few years, none of Julia Roberts' films were big hits, and for a while, she even disappeared."
"But she's still popular now!" Matthew exclaimed, "Extremely popular!"
It was no exaggeration to say that Julia Roberts in this era was Hollywood's top actress, synonymous with Hollywood female stars.
"So…" Helen Herman picked up her coffee cup and said before drinking, "In this industry, both strength and opportunity are very important."
Matthew also took a sip of coffee, but he wasn't used to the taste and felt that his previous tea was more suitable for him.
He put down his coffee cup, ready to get to the point. Helen Herman brought him to this quiet coffee shop, certainly not to discuss old Hollywood gossip.
"Are you looking for me for something?" he asked directly.
"Hmm." Helen Herman nodded and also put down her coffee cup, "I think you have the potential to become a true actor."
Matthew laughed and said unceremoniously, "Thank you! Many people think so."
Helen Herman looked at Matthew and quickly summarized the impression he left on her: thick-skinned enough, good at maneuvering, ruthless and black-hearted, lacking profound cultivation, but possessing the shrewdness of a small person, and most importantly, quite shameless.
This point, one could say, was an important condition for making it in this industry.
Perhaps, this was a promising talent.
Among the dozens of extras who came this time, this Matthew Horner was the only one who left a deeper impression on her. In fact, Helen Herman had made up her mind when she recommended Matthew to play the barbarian leader.
Looking at Matthew, Helen Herman said indifferently, "Sign a long-term contract with me."
Matthew considered for a second, then nodded, "Alright!"
Before signing the contract, Helen Herman still had some things to understand. She asked, "Tell me your resume in detail."
"I was born in a slum near Dallas, Texas…" Matthew was naturally talking about the previous person's experience, "My mother died of an overdose, and my father disappeared when I was fourteen. I dropped out of school then, and basically supported myself, delivering newspapers, picking up trash, working as a repairman. The longest job I had was as a construction worker, the kind that does hard labor."
"Sounds very inspiring." Helen Herman interjected.
"It's alright." Matthew shrugged and continued, "Last year, someone thought I had good looks and said Hollywood was a good path, so I came to Los Angeles and registered with an agency called Starlight, but I never had an opportunity."
He roughly said, "As a result, I met an agent who said he could make me a big star, so I signed a film contract with them."
"What kind of film contract?" Helen Herman asked very seriously.
"That kind of film." Matthew was somewhat embarrassed, "A romantic action film, and I was the male lead."
Helen Herman frowned tightly, "You've filmed that kind of movie?"
If he had filmed that kind of movie, she wouldn't give him a long-term contract, let alone invest her resources in him, as that would only be a waste.
"No!" Matthew quickly shook his head, "I backed out before filming started, and then ran away."
Helen Herman nodded gently and asked, "They didn't cause you trouble?"
Matthew gently thumped the table, "They did! There's still a lawyer chasing me for breach of contract fees?"
He felt very good about himself, "I think those guys won't give up on me and want to drag me back to continue filming romantic action movies! Especially that agent!"
"You're overthinking it." Helen Herman had her own judgment, "They just want money. How much is the breach of contract fee?"
"Fifty thousand dollars!" Matthew looked at the female agent, feeling he could consult her, "You're well-informed, help me think about what to do?"