"Boom!"
At the sound of the explosion, countless clods of dirt erupted into the air and rained down like a thick shower, peppering Matthew’s body and helt. An actor beside him trembled, seemingly terrified by the blast and frozen in place.
Every single explosion on the set was real. Although the explosives themselves weren't particularly powerful, the sound and force, masterfully modulated by the pyrotechnics team, were astonishing. It was no wonder that actors new to such scenes were scared out of their wits.
Gripping his CAR-15 rifle in one hand, Matthew kept the other free. He raised two fingers, pointed to his own eyes, then gestured forward and commanded, "Cover ."
Not far away, behind the director's monitor, Ridley Scott had been about to call for a break, but seeing Matthew's actions, he decided to let the caras roll.
"Boom!"
Another explosion ripped through the air, followed by the sound of crisscrossing fire from the legendary AK-47. Matthew lifted his head and shouted to the other actors dressed as Rangers, "On !"
With that, he took the initiative, darting from cover into the middle of the street. Keeping his body low, he sprinted forward, rounded a corner, then dropped to one knee in a standard firing position and squeezed the trigger.
Bang—bang—bang!
The CAR-15 in his hand was, of course, loaded not with live rounds but with blanks specially prepared by the crew.
Very few special effects would be used in the film's post-production; nearly every scene was shot on location. Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheir were ambitious, aiming to restore every last detail of the battlefield as it was.
After firing several rounds, Matthew glanced back at the actors behind him. "Move up!"
He veered onto another street with two soldiers in tow.
"Cut!" Ridley Scott shouted, halting the shoot. "Let's take a short break!"
Matthew pulled off his helt, his head drenched in sweat. A makeup assistant imdiately rushed over to blot his face, while his on-set assistant approached with a bottle of water. Since Matthew was in full makeup and gear, he was given a bottle fitted with a long straw, allowing him to drink without ssing it up.
The actor who had been stunned by the explosion was helped to the break area. It seed he wouldn't be able to continue filming for a while.
The crew quickly repositioned the equipnt, and two caras slid along tracks onto the street where Matthew was.
Ridley Scott ambled over to the actors. "Everyone, over here."
Matthew imdiately put his helt back on and walked toward Ridley Scott, followed by the other two actors and the film's military advisor.
"Next, you'll be moving under a hail of bullets," Ridley Scott explained, demonstrating the scene himself. He walked over to the wall of a house, crouched, and pointed into the distance. "You'll advance along the wall until you get over there."
"Mr. Scott," the military advisor suddenly spoke up. "Forgive , but that isn't accurate to the situation."
Ridley Scott imdiately straightened up. "Oh? What's wrong with it?"
These military professionals from Delta Force had been brought on to catch any inaccuracies in the details, all to recreate the battlefield as authentically as possible.
The military advisor, taking his role seriously, explained, "At the ti, Delta soldiers wore lightweight, non-bulletproof helts that offered good impact protection. Special Operations Command called them 'effective shock-resistant helts.' Delta mbers wouldn't hug the walls in a situation like this, because walls cause bullets to ricochet."
He paused, and when Ridley Scott said nothing, he added, "It takes a lot of courage to overco your fear and run down the middle of a street under fire, but hugging a wall is actually more dangerous than being in the open."
Ridley Scott considered this for a mont. "Add a scene where the Delta crew tells this to the Rangers. That should avoid any confusion for the audience."
Jerry Bruckheir never interfered with the filming process; on set, Ridley Scott was in complete command. Adjusting the scene to reflect the real situation was no problem at all.
Filming then resud, with Matthew leading two soldiers in a charge down the middle of the street until they engaged in a firefight with the extras playing Somali militian.
When Sergeant Hoot's scenes were finished for the day, Matthew headed to the makeup trailer to have his makeup removed. Afterward, he went up to the actors' lounge and found Jas McAvoy and Ben Foster there.
Ben silently handed him a bottle of chilled mineral water. Matthew took it, sat in a chair next to Orlando Bloom, uncapped it, and took a long, greedy swallow. The coolness spread right through him.
A series of crackling gunshots erupted from the street nearby. The filming was still going on, and the n, including Matthew, exchanged glances.
"Those black actors shoot like they've never held a gun before, just waving their rifles around carelessly," Ben comnted, glancing out the window as he recalled the strange way the Moroccan actors fired their weapons.
Orlando replied, "They're playing militia who lack training."
He stood up, walked to the window, and surveyed the set. "Most of the militian had no formal firearms training. They just picked up guns and sprayed at the enemy, which is why their accuracy was so low. It's also why, when over a hundred Arican soldiers were split up and surrounded by thousands of militia, only nineteen of them were killed."
Just then, a crew mber ca to announce that the bus to take them back to the hotel had arrived. They opted to head back, but rather than settling down, they went straight to the hotel bar on the ground floor.
At the bar, the three n ordered low-alcohol cocktails.
"I'm leaving Morocco tomorrow," Orlando said, setting down his glass. "And I probably won't be back until January of next year."
Jas raised his glass. "Safe travels."
Ben echoed the sentint, "Safe travels."
Matthew raised his glass as well.
They drained their glasses and chatted for a little while longer before heading their separate ways, since they all had work the next day.
Throughout November and the first half of December, Matthew fild combat scenes in Morocco. So of them seed simple enough but took a long ti to get right, especially with the local actors hired by the production. The extras playing the militian constantly disrupted scenes with their antics, nervous giggling, and ridiculous poses.
In mid-December, Helen called Matthew to let him know she was planning to visit the set before Christmas.
This was welco news. He'd been filming for a month and a half, with only one day off a week, and the relentless military scenes had left him physically and ntally exhausted.
Ben had once suggested they go out looking for girls together, but he was unanimously shot down by Matthew and Jas. This was Africa; it was better to exercise restraint than to return ho with a bouquet of diseases.
As filming progressed, Matthew had scenes with Jonny Lee Miller. But with Ridley Scott on set, both actors remained professional and restrained, having only one private eting outside of their work on cara.
Miller, finding an opportune mont, had asked for the tape. Matthew refused, claiming his girlfriend wasn't in Los Angeles and promising to return it as soon as they were both back in the city.
Could Miller really chase him down every day demanding a tape that didn't exist?
In December, at a press conference convened by the cast and crew, the publicity departnt orchestrated a piece of fake news.
An actor playing a Ranger supposedly received an anonymous letter during filming, in which an unknown Ranger veteran thanked the cast and crew for their efforts and asked them to recreate the battle exactly as it happened. The letter was signed with the nas of all the Rangers who had died in the engagent.
The letter and the actor who "received" it were naturally featured at the press conference and subsequently covered by the dia—not just in entertainnt news, but in many mid-level news outlets as well.
The cast and crew had successfully pulled off a wave of preliminary publicity, making many people aware that "Black Hawk Down" was in production.
As for whether the person who sent the letter was actually a Ranger, no one really cared.
With a tight schedule, a heavy workload, and frequent issues with the extras, filming didn't go smoothly and even fell slightly behind schedule, leaving Matthew stuck in Morocco.
Toward the end of December, soone finally ca to visit him.
"Helen." In the hotel restaurant, seeing Helen Herman in her professional suit, Matthew felt an inexplicable warmth. "God, I'm so glad to see you!"
The previous week, Jas and Ben had left the set, and he had been bored out of his mind.
"You look good. The tan suits you," Helen said, gesturing to the chair opposite her.
Matthew sat down.
"Order anything you want, it's on ." Helen slid the nu toward Matthew, who wasted no ti flipping through it.
Helen studied him more closely and remarked, "The beard makes you look mature."
Matthew stroked the beard he had intentionally grown. "It's necessary for the role."
It was a beard he couldn't manage on his own, so he had to rely on a stylist.
Helen could see that her client had lost weight and was much more tanned since filming "The Mummy Returns."
Matthew had rushed back from the set and hadn't had dinner. When the waiter arrived, he ordered several at dishes, mostly the expensive items on the nu.
Helen placed her order and asked casually, "Has filming been going well?"
"Not entirely," Matthew admitted, rubbing his forehead. "Those black extras... they're terrible actors."
Helen reminded him, "Don't say that so openly. It could cause unnecessary trouble."
Matthew lowered his hand and took a sip from his water glass. "I know, but I haven't talked to anyone all week. I just needed to vent."
Helen suddenly changed the subject. "Hasn't your girlfriend co to visit you?"
"No." Matthew shook his head. "She's recording her second album and is even busier than I am."
Then he added, "But we talk on the phone every day."
The waiters brought their food. Matthew fell silent for a mont to focus on eating. He was genuinely famished. The crew was filming in Africa, not the UK, and while the accommodations were decent, the food was sotis unappetizing.
Halfway through his al, Matthew looked up and asked, "Helen, you didn't just co all this way to visit , did you?"
Knowing Helen, she was here purely for business.
Helen was frank. "Yes, I have a few work-related matters I wanted to discuss with you."
Matthew threw his hands up. "Of course. I should have known you wouldn't co all this way just to check on your valuable client."
Helen ignored Matthew's remark and got straight to business. "DreamWorks and HBO have confird the broadcast date for 'Band of Brothers' for next spring. Right now, they're preparing a premiere and inviting many veterans from the 101st Airborne Division."
Matthew was imdiately intrigued. "Will I be among those invited?"
"Of course," Helen said, setting down her knife and fork. She picked up a napkin, dabbed her mouth, and continued, "The production sent an official invitation. It's in Burbank. I'll give it to you when you get back."
Hearing her words, Matthew relaxed his posture and said casually, "There's no rush."
Helen went on, "'The Mummy Returns' has also confird its public release date."
"It has?" Matthew, who was eagerly awaiting the release of a film he starred in, asked, "When? Next sumr?"
"That's right, sumr." Helen had the date morized. "The North Arican release is set for May 4th. I expect the world premiere will be in late April, and according to your contract, you're required to attend."
Matthew imdiately replied, "Of course, I'll be there!"
Only a fool would pass up such a fantastic opportunity.
"And," Helen had quite a lot of work to discuss, "Universal Pictures has requested you participate in the pre-release promotion. They'll notify you ten days in advance which events you'll be attending."
"That's no problem either." Matthew knew this was all a chance to raise his profile. "Can you help
coordinate the schedule?"
He felt full now and set down his knife and fork. He was in a rather good mood, filled with good food and wine, plus all the good news Helen had brought.
To think that in the first half of next year, two films he starred in would be released in quick succession. He might just be able to make a na for himself and break into the top tier of Hollywood...
How many people who enter this industry don't want to beco famous and be a star? Maybe there were so, but they were few and far between.
"One last thing," Helen spoke again. "I've received information that Jerry Bruckheir held several etings with executives from Disney Pictures last month. They say a new project might be in the works, and I have a reliable source who told
it might be a film project related to Disneyland."
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