The Box Office King of Hollywood

As his career was just taking off, Matthew's dedication to his work was beyond question. He arrived early at Universal Studios on the day of the shoot, waiting in line to get his makeup done. Since "Fast and Furious" was a contemporary film, this process didn't take too long. By a little past seven-thirty, he had left the makeup room and headed to the soundstage.

Inside the soundstage, the director was directing the crew to set up the shooting site. Today's filming was scheduled to start at eight-thirty. Matthew sat in the rest area for a while, and by a little after eight, several of the main actors, including Paul Walker, began to arrive in the soundstage one after another.

Paul Walker, familiar with Matthew, introduced him to two female actors, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez.

Matthew didn't see Vin Diesel, the bald actor who always seemed mysterious and as if he preferred not to mingle with the other actors.

However, Diesel was definitely expected to show up since the scene Matthew was about to participate in involved the rare presence of all four main characters.

After chatting with Walker for a bit, Matthew learned that this scene was also Diesel's first shoot with the "Fast and Furious" crew.

"The time is almost upon us," Walker, always conscious of time, reminded Matthew after a while, "We should get ready."

Compared to Walker, Matthew's preparation was much simpler: he just had to stand in the background behind the four main characters.

This minor role was part of his audition, partly to gain filming and practical experience since merely studying theory and self-practice wasn't enough, and partly for the substantial paycheck it offered.

Speaking of which, without this income, not only would the professional fitness and boxing training for "The Scorpion King" be unaffordable, but even the money for his secret rendezvous with Britney would be an issue.

Besides Matthew, there were a few other actors playing background roles, quickly positioned by an assistant director's instructions.

Director Rob Cohen entered the set, seemingly to give some last-minute advice to the main actors.

"Hmm... why is one person missing?" Cohen noticed that one of the main actors hadn't shown up and loudly asked, "Where is Vin Diesel?"

No one answered him.

Matthew looked around; within the soundstage, there was no sign of Diesel.

It was already eight-thirty, and one of the leads was still missing, which greatly irritated Cohen, "Does anyone know where Vin Diesel is?"

Still, no one answered.

Cohen then told an assistant, "Call Vin Diesel!"

The assistant weakly replied, "He doesn't have a mobile phone."

"Then call his agent!" Cohen demanded.

With no instructions from the director, Matthew and the others could only wait. After the assistant had made a call and returned to whisper something to Cohen, the director's face turned red with anger.

From eight-thirty to eight-forty-five, the assistant director came over to inform the actors to return to the rest area and wait.

By nine o'clock, Diesel still hadn't appeared, leaving dozens of people in front of and behind the camera waiting for him alone.

"What's going on!" Jordana Brewster was clearly impatient, "Are we just going to keep waiting?"

"F@#K!" Michelle Rodriguez cursed outright, "Did that jerk get hit by a car?"

Not just the women, even the usually calm Paul Walker was getting heated, "Doesn't he have the slightest sense of respect?"

Matthew remained silent, fully aware of his place. It was better to keep complaints to a minimum.

As time ticked by, the crew tried repeatedly to contact Diesel without success. It wasn't until nine-thirty that the muscular, bald man finally entered the soundstage.

"Vin Diesel, that asshole, has arrived."

Hearing Michelle Rodriguez's voice, Matthew turned to look and indeed saw the familiar bald figure, though he appeared younger.

Rob Cohen approached him, demanding, "Why are you just arriving now? You're late!"

"Oh..." Diesel casually responded, showing no awareness of his tardiness, "I took a nap in the car."

Not even bothering with an apology, he simply said, "Where's the makeup artist? I need to get to makeup."

After that, he left the set for the makeup room.

Director Rob Cohen was furious but said no more, instead instructing the crew to start preparing again.

Clearly, Diesel did not care much for Cohen.

This was Matthew's first encounter with such a situation, and he couldn't help but scratch his head, asking Walker, "What's going on?"

Walker shrugged, "Just what I told you."

Jordana Brewster, overhearing Matthew, whispered, "Vin Diesel has backers, including a heavyweight who recommended him to the crew."

Matthew nodded, and Michelle Rodriguez interjected, "I've heard about him. He has a reputation for being a troublemaker on set."

She asked Brewster, "Is your information accurate?"

"Definitely," Brewster did not hesitate to confirm, "I'm here because of my father's investment, though it's quite small."

Including Matthew, the actors discussed for a while until Diesel, having finished makeup, returned to the set, and filming finally began.

Then, Director Rob Cohen had to arrange specific movements, but problems arose again.

"I think this parallel positioning is too mediocre." Diesel, not yet a big star but acting like one, openly expressed dissatisfaction with Cohen's arrangement, saying in a deep voice, "Parallel positioning of four actors doesn't highlight the focus!"

Cohen was about to respond when Diesel lowered his voice to a whisper, reminding him, "Remember what I mentioned last week?"

Cohen immediately swallowed his words, his anger dissipating as he recalled the producer Neil Moritz's warning and the project Diesel had discussed with him.

Diesel was planning a new type of spy movie, already in preliminary talks with Sony Columbia Pictures, which was interested in having him join the project as a director.

This project, unlike the niche street racing film, was a mainstream spy movie with a budget of seventy million dollars!

Cohen, of course, wanted to direct such a big production. After thinking for a while, he decided to adjust the shooting arrangement according to Diesel's request.

Originally, the four main actors were to appear side by side in the shot, with the two male characters in the middle. However, Diesel wanted to be positioned ahead of the other three, emphasizing his lead role.

This demand naturally met with opposition from Walker and the other actors, plunging the set into conflict, and delaying the start of filming.

Matthew, always in the background, watched from the sidelines, understanding his role was just to blend into the backdrop.

Soon, Diesel had producer Neil Moritz come over, who quelled the dissent.

Filming finally began, but the crew split on the third day of shooting.

After a day's work, Matthew realized that Diesel, with his financial and influential backing, was not someone the others could contend with.

The next day, filming continued.

The morning's schedule was to first shoot a scene between Walker and Diesel, followed by a fight scene in the same setting involving Matthew's character and Diesel.

But everyone arrived except Diesel, who was even more absent than before, not showing up until ten in the morning.

Not just the others, but even Matthew, who thought he had no reason to compete on set, was fuming with impatience.

Seeing that shooting couldn't start anytime soon, Matthew and Walker simply asked an assistant to bring a mobile phone, turned it to silent mode, and played games to pass the time.

Although they could only play Tetris, it was better than sitting idly. Just five minutes into the game, Matthew's phone rang with a call from Britney.

Being in the soundstage, it was inconvenient to take calls, so he cut the call short and told the assistant, "I'm going to make a call. If needed, call me from outside the soundstage."

"Go ahead!" Walker gestured to Matthew, "My scene hasn't been shot yet. It looks like your part won't be filmed this morning."

Matthew smiled and left the soundstage, dialing Britney's number.

The mid-morning sun was scorching. The studio exit faced south, directly into the sun, very hot. Matthew spotted a black nanny van parked under a palm tree fifty meters to the right, offering some shade, and hurried over.

"What's up, dear?" Standing in the shade beside the nanny van, Matthew spoke without needing to lower his voice, "Why are you calling at this time?"

"I'm leaving Los Angeles this afternoon."

Hearing this, Matthew raised his voice in surprise, "What? Weren't you supposed to leave next week?"

"My schedule changed last minute. The company arranged an interview with a TV station, and I couldn't do anything about it..." Britney's voice was low, "Let's not talk about it now. I need to pack."

Matthew had to hang up, feeling gloomy about parting with Britney after a month together. He couldn't help but lightly punch the back of the nanny van.

Thump—

The van made a soft noise.

"Who?" The passenger side of the nanny van suddenly opened, revealing a bald head, "Which asshole is hitting my car!"

Vin Diesel stepped down from the vehicle, looking very displeased.

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