For the commercial's outdoor shoot, most of Matthew's shots were similar to studio poses. According to director Michael Bay's design, as long as the person and car coordinated, capturing a cool and wild feeling was enough.
However, another crew was still filming, so the Mercedes-Benz commercial crew could only make preparations for now.
Since he only had the contours of his face lightly outlined, Matthew quickly finished his makeup and emerged from the makeup trailer, noticing that the crew members who had finished their preparations were all curiously watching the filming of another crew not far away.
When he first arrived at this desolate area, Matthew had already noticed that the adjacent crew must be from San Fernando Valley. Now, standing outside the crowd and taking a look, he was even more certain. He could vaguely see that they were filming a very intense close-quarters action scene, an exceptionally fierce battle between a muscular male actor and a blonde beauty.
He stood next to Michael Bay, who was equally curious, and watched for a while, feeling that the blonde beauty looked somewhat familiar.
"If I had failed to transition into a film director back then," Michael Bay joked, stroking his long chin, "I might have ended up shooting this kind of film."
Matthew crossed his arms and said in a joking tone, "Isn't it quite interesting to shoot this kind of film too?"
Michael Bay shook his head, "If an actor has a problem during filming, the director might have to step in personally."
"Many people must aspire to this profession," Matthew laughed. "Otherwise, the San Fernando Valley wouldn't attract so many newcomers."
Michael Bay also smiled, "You don't need to go to such places just to pick up girls."
"Exactly, we don't need to," Matthew understood his meaning.
In Hollywood circles, Michael Bay was known as a director who was very fond of fooling around with the actresses in his films.
Just as Matthew and Michael Bay were chatting about women, the other crew seemed to have finished filming and began packing up the temporary site.
With the adjacent shoot finished, Michael Bay ended his chat with Matthew and loudly called for the crew to prepare to start filming.
Matthew handed his phone and other items to Bella Anderson, who had driven over, and entered the temporary set alone.
Unlike studio shoots, the crew this time concentrated all of Matthew's scenes in the first half of the shoot, filming all of Matthew's posed shots before moving on to the stunt shots.
Two specially modified mercedes-benz g-class vehicles were also transported over, one directly entering the set in the wilderness, and the other parked nearby as a backup.
Matthew stood beside the mercedes-benz g-class again, maintaining his stern expression. A photographer came over with a camera to take pictures. This shoot was for a full series of advertisements, including print photos in addition to television and online videos.
Following the photographer's instructions, Matthew cooperatively struck various poses.
His shots were filmed quickly and smoothly. The San Fernando Valley crew hadn't even finished packing up, and Matthew's filming was already complete.
The remaining high-difficulty car stunt scenes would all be completed by stunt performers.
Matthew left the set, found Michael Bay, and asked, "Anything else, Michael? If not, I'll be leaving now."
"No," Michael Bay seemed to have a good impression of him, adding, "Let's grab a drink and chat sometime."
As a purely commercial director, he also liked to use actors with higher commercial value.
Matthew certainly wouldn't refuse, "No problem, you can call me anytime."
After chatting with Michael Bay for a few minutes, Matthew specifically sought out the advertising director from Mercedes-Benz to say a few words; he was very good at handling such situations.
Afterward, Matthew returned to the makeup trailer, removed his makeup and changed back into his clothes in just ten minutes, then walked alone towards the road with his hands in his pockets. Bella Anderson had driven over this morning, so he didn't need the crew to send someone to drive him.
Seeing Matthew approach, Bella Anderson handed him his phone.
She said, "Miss Herman called and asked me to tell you that David Ellison, on behalf of Skydance Media, just signed a formal copyright agreement with Frank Miller."
Matthew took the phone and nodded. Just as he was about to get in the car, a blonde woman emerged from behind the black mercedes-benz suv.
She looked at Matthew and said, "It really is you!"
The woman was wearing a form-fitting denim outfit and heavy smoky eye makeup, looking exceptionally alluring.
Bella Anderson recognized this woman as the female lead from the adjacent crew's shoot. She quickly stepped forward to block the blonde woman.
"Don't you recognize me?" The blonde woman looked at Matthew, pointing to the other crew. "I just saw you and thought you looked familiar, so I wanted to come over and check. I didn't expect it to really be you."
Matthew waved his hand at Bella Anderson, who then stepped aside, allowing the blonde woman to walk towards Matthew.
"Hello, Miss Drake," Matthew certainly knew who she was. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
Jessica Drake approached Matthew and said, "I didn't expect to see you here either." She looked up at Matthew, "It's truly amazing, you've really become a big Hollywood star."
Matthew smiled, "I also didn't expect to succeed in Hollywood."
Jessica Drake gradually recovered from her surprise and said with a smile, "I almost got to work with a big Hollywood star."
Matthew didn't continue on that topic, saying, "Let's chat another time when I have time. I have things to do and need to go."
Previously, tabloids had sensationalized the news that he almost mistakenly entered the San Fernando Valley, which not only didn't harm his reputation but instead became an inspiring example for many.
Even if someone wanted to make an issue of it, without photos or videos, anything written would lack credibility.
"Leaving so soon?" Jessica Drake suddenly stepped closer, pulled a card from her pocket, slipped it to Matthew, and whispered, "My number is on it. If you need anything, I'm available anytime. If you want to find more people, I can help you with that too."
Matthew naturally understood what Jessica Drake meant. He flipped the card over and saw a phone number on it.
"Hope to see you again," Jessica Drake said goodbye and left. "Goodbye, Matthew Horner."
"Goodbye, Jessica," Matthew nodded to her.
Bella Anderson didn't say a word the entire time. She watched Jessica Drake leave, then went to the driver's seat, got in, and started the mercedes-benz suv.
The back seat of the mercedes-benz g-class wasn't comfortable, so Matthew got into the passenger seat and said, "To the Burbank office."
Bella Anderson pressed the accelerator, and the SUV drove away from the desolate area, turning onto an asphalt road that led to the interstate.
While driving, she secretly glanced over. Matthew opened the storage compartment in front of the passenger seat, took out a business card holder, and put away the card Jessica Drake had given him.
Bella Anderson knew very well what this meant and could only pretend not to see it. Lately, she had received a lot of advice from her sister Cara, knowing that many celebrities had bad habits, and as a personal assistant, it was best to turn a blind eye.
But as an adult, she also had her own thoughts. Matthew was clearly dating Charlize Theron, and they were even rumored to have looked at houses together twice, yet now he was accepting Jessica Drake's card... Bella Anderson quickly stopped herself; these were not her concerns.
According to her sister Cara, Matthew, though a bit of a playboy, was much better than most male celebrities in the industry.
Based on her observations since becoming Matthew's personal assistant, apart from Charlize Theron, Matthew seemed to have no improper relationships with other women.
The black mercedes-benz suv drove through San Fernando Valley and soon arrived in Burbank, stopping below an office building. Matthew took Bella Anderson back to the office and once again dialed Helen Herman's number. Just like on the road, Helen Herman's phone was unanswered.
Matthew guessed that Helen Herman must be busy, so he didn't continue dialing. He sat behind his desk and waited patiently.
"Bella..." Taking advantage of the moment, he asked Bella Anderson, "How are the contacts with the fan organizations?"
"I've already contacted the founders of your fan organizations in several major cities like Los Angeles and New York," Bella Anderson said, flipping through her work log. "Currently, most of your fan organizations are self-formed and loosely structured, lacking effective organization."
Matthew lightly tapped the desk and instructed, "When Helen gets back, go see her. She's always wanted to get involved with the fan organizations."
"Understood," Bella Anderson replied. "I've noted it."
Just then, Matthew's phone rang. He picked it up, saw it was Helen Herman's number, connected the call, spoke for a brief moment, and then hung up.
Helen Herman told him on the phone that she had just completed the formal signing with Frank Miller. She, David Ellison, Zack Snyder, Frank Miller, and his Agent had a drink to celebrate the official establishment of their partnership.
Additionally, she would return to Los Angeles tomorrow. Besides assisting Zack Snyder and David Ellison with tasks for 300 spartans, such as scriptwriting and contacting distribution companies, she also needed to meet with Akiva Goldsman to discuss the upcoming promotional matters for mr. & mrs. smith concerning Matthew and Charlize Theron.
It was already late April, and the North America release date for mr. & mrs. smith was approaching. The crew needed a large-scale and sufficiently sensational promotional campaign to achieve excellent box office results among the strong competitors in May.
Ultimately, the work of creating a sensation would fall on Matthew and Charlize Theron.