Matthew was in his dressing room, the final touches of his on-screen look just completed, when Bella entered with Helen.
“I just ca from the I Am Legend set,” Helen said, glancing at Matthew. “I was right about what I told you last night: Francis has officially walked away from the project.”
Matthew turned to Helen. “All because they didn’t cast Paula Patton in the supporting role?” he asked.
Helen gave a slight nod.
She then began to explain, “Francis threatened Goldsman he would walk. Goldsman didn’t budge, so his threat beca his official departure from the director’s chair.”
“He has guts,” Matthew comnted with a shrug. “But there’s a certain foolishness to it.”
Helen stated impassively, “While so of Francis’s ideals can be tireso, on the whole, Matthew... he’s more committed to his principles than you are.”
“Is that so?” Matthew asked, a rhetorical edge to his voice. “My principles and philosophy have always remained the sa!”
Helen caught his aning imdiately and, to her surprise, found she couldn’t argue. Matthew really never had changed.
Changing the subject, Matthew asked, “Does Goldsman have a replacent in mind?”
“A few,” Helen replied, glancing at her watch. “I’ve already recomnded soone.”
“Didn’t you say you were just going there to discuss Anna’s fee?” Matthew asked, his curiosity piqued. “So who did you recomnd?”
Helen addressed his first question. “Anna’s fee is settled—one hundred thousand dollars. After that was done, I recomnded a director.” Then she dropped the na: “Guillermo del Toro. Ever heard of him?”
“A Latino director?” Matthew asked. The na didn’t ring a bell.
“xican,” Helen replied simply. “His most recent film was Hellboy.”
Recognition dawned on Matthew.
He’d seen that movie once. It even got a sequel later, which ant it must have been a success. The director’s skill, he reasoned, shouldn’t be an issue.
Helen, as if reading his mind, elaborated, “Guillermo del Toro is far more experienced than Francis Lawrence. He's directed five feature films, with well-known works like Hellboy and Blade II. He's a comrcial director with a very distinctive style.”
Matthew nodded. “You think Goldsman will consider him?”
“He’s on the shortlist,” Helen said, pausing for a mont in thought. “My job was just to recomnd him. It’s up to Goldsman to make the final choice.”
A sudden knock on the dressing room door interrupted them. A crew mber ca in to let Matthew know they were about to start shooting.
Matthew exited the dressing room and made his way to the soundstage, with Helen and Bella following close behind.
Today, the crew was scheduled to shoot the final scenes. If all went smoothly, they would be done by noon, bringing the principal photography for 300 to a close.
The filming was still set against a vast green screen. Matthew walked directly onto the set, where Eva had been waiting for him.
Matthew greeted Eva Green and took a look around. Since it was the last day of shooting, Bearded Jack and David Ellison were already at the studio, watching from the sidelines.
Zack, the director, approached and stood before Matthew and Eva.
He looked from Matthew to Eva, checking their makeup and costus one last ti. Satisfied, he said, “Matthew, Eva, in this scene, I need you to convey the deep bond between Leonidas and his queen. This is a flashback, Leonidas’s final thoughts as he faces Xerxes in his last stand.”
Matthew nodded.
“We’re ready,” Eva affird.
It was the truth. They had gone over their scenes in detail many tis, occasionally rehearsing privately, still in full costu. That included this particular scene, the emotional exchange in the wheat field.
As Zack moved off the main set, Eva lay down on the green-screen floor. Matthew took his position, ready. The assistant director snapped the clapperboard in front of the cara and called for action.
Matthew sat beside Eva. She turned her head to look at him, and he t her gaze. They stared deep into each other's eyes, their connection feeling as real as any couple's.
After a mont, Matthew reached out, his palm slowly tracing the curve of Eva’s pale cheek. She reached up and grasped his hand, her grip tight as if she never wanted to let go.
A flicker of reluctance crossed Matthew's face, but it was instantly replaced by steely resolve.
From his position behind the monitor, Zack could see every subtle shift in Matthew's expression. Now, on the final day of filming 300, he was completely convinced: Matthew's acting had improved dramatically over the last few films, a world away from his performance in Dawn of the Dead.
He was still light-years away from the likes of Al Pacino or Daniel Day-Lewis, but among Hollywood's crop of comrcial actors, he was already one of the standouts.
In his personal opinion, Tom Cruise's performance in the Mission: Impossible series was no better than what Matthew had brought to this film.
Initially, before they started shooting 300, Zack had been a little worried. He'd learned that Matthew was set to star in I Am Legend—practically a one-man show. A film like that would live or die on the lead actor's performance, and it required real skill to carry it.
But once filming began, that worry evaporated. If Matthew could maintain the level of skill and focus he'd shown over the past month of shooting, Zack was confident he would have no trouble carrying a one-man show.
Zack was well aware that his own directing had improved since Dawn of the Dead. Likewise, Matthew's acting was getting better with every film he made.
On the director's monitor, the scene was reaching its end. Zack quickly called out, “Cut! That’s the scene!”
On set, Matthew rose to his feet, then offered a hand to pull Eva up. She gracefully adjusted her costu, which revealed a generous portion of her cleavage.
“That was my last scene,” Eva whispered to Matthew. “It all seems to have gone by so fast.”
Matthew nodded in agreent. “Ti always flies when I’m with you.”
Eva shot him a look, trying to gauge how much of that was genuine.
Matthew lowered his voice. “Are you free tonight? We could enjoy the view of Los Angeles from my place in Beverly Hills.”
Eva paused for a mont, then answered vaguely, “We’ll see.”
After a mont's thought, she added, “You still have another scene to shoot. I’ll see you in the dressing room later.”
Eva then walked off the set. She knew her part in the film was done, and with it, it was ti to end her temporary arrangent with Matthew Horner.
Compared to his flings with Jessica Alba and Scarlett Johansson, his ti with Eva had been far simpler. It was a straightforward physical attraction, a mutual enjoynt. Eva was direct; she never pretended to be a heartbroken lover like Jessica, nor did she use him for publicity like Scarlett.
Relatively speaking, she was refreshingly uncomplicated.
The crew took a thirty-minute break before moving to a different green-screen set. This one was littered with several mannequins dressed as Spartan warriors, all positioned face down or with their backs to the cara.
During the break, the makeup artist quickly adjusted Matthew's makeup for the scene where Leonidas is riddled with arrows. Of course, there were no actual arrows on his body; those would be added in post-production.
Before they began shooting, Zack ca over to give Matthew his final direction. “Channel the raw majesty of Sparta into this roar,” he instructed.
Matthew knew exactly what this final cry before Leonidas's death required. He waited for Zack's cue, and as soon as the director yelled “Action!”, he stepped before the cara, drew his sword, and roared.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Cut!” Zack yelled, stopping the take. “Matthew, let’s go again.”
Matthew roared again, and again Zack called, “Cut!” They went through this five or six tis in a row, but Matthew still wasn’t delivering the take Zack was looking for.
It was often the simplest-seeming scenes that proved the most difficult to capture.
After nearly ten consecutive takes, Matthew's voice was raw, on the verge of giving out. It felt like smoke was pouring from his throat, and his roar now carried a ragged, hoarse quality.
“Perfect!” Zack Snyder finally yelled. That was exactly the effect he'd been aiming for. And with that, filming on 300 was complete.
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