The studio was surrounded by green screens, and a completely black Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen was parked in the center of the set. Michael Bay stood next to the SUV, explaining the scene to a puzzled Matthew.
"Don't worry about anything else!" Michael Bay patted the driver's side door and said, "Once I yell 'action,' immediately push the door open and get out. Remember! You must jump down!"
As he spoke, he vividly demonstrated a jumping motion, "Then you reach back and close the car door…"
Michael Bay turned around and called to Matthew, "Now, do it with me!"
Matthew nodded, "No problem."
"After you close the door, you run forward." Michael Bay strode forward with his long, thin legs, and Matthew followed. He turned to glance at Matthew and continued, "Pay attention to where you're running; don't block the front or side of the car."
He ran about five or six meters and stopped, and Matthew stopped as well.
Michael Bay asked again, "Understand?"
"Completely understood." Matthew only understood this one scene, but he didn't know what kind of commercial Michael Bay was shooting.
This commercial director, who loved explosions and destruction, had no intention of following the one-page script. After filming began, all the scenes came from his on-set explanations. The Mercedes-Benz advertising director had specifically instructed Matthew before shooting to follow Michael Bay's directions.
Matthew had received the endorsement fee for Mercedes-Benz, so within reasonable limits, he would naturally cooperate. Thus, despite his confusion, he continued to follow Michael Bay's rhythm.
Michael Bay returned behind the camera, and Matthew went to the car, opened the door, and got into the driver's seat of the G-Wagen, waiting for filming to begin.
Half a minute later, Michael Bay's voice came through, "Action!"
This command was like a charge, and Matthew, with a stern face, pushed open the car door, jumped out, and ran forward at a sprint.
After only a few seconds, Michael Bay's voice called out, "Cut!"
Matthew stopped, not out of breath, and turned to look at Michael Bay. Michael Bay made an "OK" gesture and loudly said, "It's a take!"
Since Michael Bay required Matthew to maintain a stern face throughout to emphasize the strong lines of his facial features, the acting in the shoot was basically without difficulty.
"Fifteen-minute break!" Michael Bay's voice rang out again, "Stunt actors, get ready!"
The next scene would involve shots of a car in motion. The contract Helen Herman had negotiated earlier explicitly stipulated that any driving scenes in the commercial must use stunt actors.
Matthew had no objection to this. His driving skills were only slightly above average among ordinary people and completely insufficient for the exaggerated stunt actions in the commercial. Furthermore, this was not the action filming he was good at, and the risk of injury was greater.
Mercedes-Benz had already prepared stunt doubles.
With nothing to do during the break, Matthew went to Michael Bay's director's monitor, pointed at the screen, and tentatively asked, "May I?"
"Of course, you may."
This wasn't a film shoot, so Michael Bay had no reason to refuse. "Come and watch."
Matthew moved to a spot directly facing the monitor, stood behind Michael Bay with his arms crossed, and watched the recently shot footage.
The shot was only a few seconds long, with just the car, the person, and the green screen, so not much could be discerned.
"Now I finally understand…" Michael Bay suddenly said, "why Jerry Bruckheimer likes to use you."
Matthew scratched his head in confusion.
Michael Bay continued, "Matthew, you are naturally suited for action shots!"
"You're too kind," Matthew quickly waved his hand. "Michael, many of my performances are actually imitations of classic shots from your movies."
No matter what others said, he always believed that "The Rock" was a classic among action films,
and even among all genres of films, it was definitely a classic.
"After shooting this commercial with you for most of the day," Michael Bay's words jumped around, "I'm starting to regret it. Why didn't I insist a bit more last year and let you be the male lead in 'The Island'?"
"Uh…" Matthew didn't know what to say. After two seconds of hesitation, he smiled and said, "There will definitely be opportunities to collaborate in the future."
Michael Bay nodded, "Yes, there will be opportunities."
Matthew said nothing more, watching Michael Bay busy himself. "The Island" was Michael Bay's first film after leaving Jerry Bruckheimer, serving as both producer and director. It was said that the film was shot and produced entirely according to his vision, and Matthew wondered if it would be successful.
Based on his own experience watching Michael Bay's films, Michael Bay was very talented and had a keen grasp of commercial entertainment elements in movies, but his flaws were also very obvious: he didn't know moderation.
In many of Michael Bay's films, things would explode where they should, and also where they shouldn't.
Furthermore, Michael Bay always liked to add many vulgar elements to his films, sometimes going overboard with the gags.
For example, he still remembered "Transformers 2," which he had watched, where when Devastator was dismantling the pyramid, two huge steel balls hung down below… It was quite speechless, feeling unlike something a top-tier Hollywood commercial director would do.
Thinking of Transformers, Matthew recalled his only true toy from childhood: an Optimus Prime model that someone else had thrown away.
After watching "Transformers 2" at the time, he felt that all his beautiful childhood memories had been destroyed, especially Optimus Prime. How did he resemble a leader of the Autobots in any way?
The Optimus Prime Michael Bay created had no leadership demeanor, no leadership intelligence; he did all the dirty and tiring work alone, handled everything from eating to defecating, went into mortal combat, did the ideological work, and after dying, didn't even get a funeral, being thrown from the sky twice like scrap metal.
Later, after just being revived, before he could even take a breath from an oxygen tank or do recovery training, the male lead shouted, "Stand up! Stand up!" The other Autobots, lively and happy, charged him, thinking, "The big dumb guy is back, you go die, humans take the blame…" Unfortunately, he had consulted Hasbro a while ago, and the film rights to Transformers were already in DreamWorks' hands. Barring any major surprises, Steven Spielberg would still ask Michael Bay to direct.
Matthew shook his head. He was just a celebrity actor, not even A-list yet. He couldn't control such matters, nor could he intervene.
The fifteen-minute break quickly passed, and Michael Bay's filming resumed, but Matthew didn't need to be on set. He sat in a safe place, watching the stunt actor's driving performance.
Most of the remaining scenes in the studio were shot by stunt doubles, with him observing.
This commercial shoot was definitely the most relaxed and carefree experience of Matthew's acting career so far. Firstly, he didn't need to make various complex expressions; he just had to keep his face stern. Secondly, the most difficult action shot was just the hundred-meter sprint.
There was also a scene where the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen burst out of the green screen. Michael Bay had the cameraman mount the camera lens on the front of the car for filming, and also shot from an angle directly facing the car.
After filming, Matthew specifically went to look. Even without adding post-production effects, the shots Michael Bay filmed had a very strong visual impact.
Michael Bay seemed particularly skilled at shooting such scenes.
After all the stunt filming was completed, Matthew took the stage again. This time, he was shooting static scenes, standing on the roof of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, looking forward with a stern expression.
There were several similar static shots, all without difficulty to film. Matthew didn't have a single NG. The few times Michael Bay called for a halt in filming were all due to issues with crew equipment and camera angles.
Filming at the Disney studio went very smoothly. At just past four in the afternoon, Michael Bay announced they were wrapping up, and instructed the cast and crew to gather there early the next morning to shoot exterior scenes in a desolate area north of the San Fernando Valley.
Matthew removed his makeup, took an electric cart to the studio gate, switched to the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, and left Disney Studios.
As soon as he turned onto South Buena Vista Street at the studio gate, he noticed paparazzi following him. He didn't deliberately try to shake them off and drove directly to Charlize Theron's house, where he stayed the night.
Since their official public appearance on the red carpet of the Academy Awards, Matthew and Charlize Theron often stayed at each other's homes. Whenever time allowed, they would also show affection in public to maintain a certain level of media attention.
The next day, before the sun had even risen above the horizon, Matthew disentangled himself from Charlize Theron's arms and legs and rushed to Disney Studios, arriving at the meeting point five minutes early.
Although his status had gradually risen and his fame had grown over the past year or so, and he was sometimes very high-profile and flamboyant, in any film crew, as long as his interests were not affected, he was considered a dedicated and professional actor.
It's no exaggeration to say that Matthew's professionalism was well-known in the industry.
The crew assembled on time, and Matthew transferred to a highly comfortable MPV provided by Mercedes-Benz. He immediately started catching up on sleep in the car. He hadn't slept well last night; with a woman like Charlize Theron by his side, probably few men would waste time sleeping.
Matthew slept very soundly, even having a dream. He dreamt he was standing before the Hot Gates, wielding a short sword and shield, slaughtering all around him. The American soldiers rushing towards him were beaten to tears, one by one running back to ask the Autobots and Optimus Prime for help. Optimus Prime, truly the number one machine traitor and loyal lackey of America, came up wanting to fight him for three hundred rounds.
Just as the battle was about to begin, Matthew was woken up. After getting out of the car, he discovered that not only their crew was filming here, but also another crew from the San Fernando Valley.