After listening to Michael's detailed presentation, Matthew understood that much like the Marvel superheroes, the two franchises were closely intertwined in more ways than just being created by the sa company, Hasbro.
Since they shared an origin and their respective comics were published by Marvel, rging the two series was a natural fit.
Matthew and Michael returned to the dubbing room to find a young woman with long, dark brown hair already waiting for them inside.
"gan, you're on ti," Michael said, giving her a casual nod.
Before Michael could make an introduction, she walked right up to them.
"Hi, Matthew. I'm gan Fox."
"Hi," Matthew smiled instantly. "Can I call you gan?"
gan gave a soft nod. "Of course."
She flashed a dazzling smile. "I heard a while back that the team wanted you to voice gatron. I'm really excited to be working with you."
"Thanks. Transforrs were my favorite toys when I was a kid."
"Weren't they every boy's favorite?"
Matthew considered it for a mont. "You're probably right."
Seeing that Matthew had struck up a conversation, Michael said no more and turned to his own work.
Standing near the entrance, Matthew chatted with gan. Within a few minutes, he'd gathered the basics: she was of mixed heritage and had been working in Hollywood since she was a teenager.
Of course, before "Transforrs," she didn't have any roles or a résumé worth ntioning.
"I've had parts like this before," gan said, "but nothing significant."
"Well, we're in the sa boat then."
Intrigued, gan asked, "How so?"
"Because we're both just here to look good." Matthew spread his hands, his tone completely natural. "The parts I played in the past were basically just male eye candy. What's so bad about that? It's not like you need a ton of acting talent for a supporting role like this."
gan nodded unconsciously. "That makes sense."
gan might not have had a clear career plan right now, but as soone who had thoroughly enjoyed the "Transforrs" films, Matthew had followed a fair amount of the online buzz about Miss Fox.
In truth, what Matthew said wasn't just idle talk. In his view, sexy and beautiful actors contributed far more to comrcial films than so-called "acting talent" ever could.
That was why he never paid any mind to the press calling him a bad actor or the critics who lambasted his lack of skill. He held no prejudice against "unskilled" actors like gan, because he had built his own career on the very sa foundation.
While his acting skills were still only average, years of study and filming had made him better. He no longer had to rely solely on his face and physique to earn a living, as he had in films like "The Scorpion King" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."
Even with "300," the criticism leveled against him was mostly focused on his excessive "masculinity" and muscle-flexing; practically no one called him a bad actor.
Then again, no one was calling him a great actor, either.
Officially, a few years ago, he and gan really had been in the sa boat.
His perspective on the matter hadn't changed. If you had the looks, why not flaunt them on cara? Did you have to transform yourself like Charlize Theron just to be considered a top-tier actor?
He'd always believed this mindset had played a crucial role in his climb to success. It had stopped him from veering onto a different path with far lower odds of success, and it helped him sidestep the kind of industry pitfalls that could have ruined him—like when CAA had tried to poach him.
"Why isn't Shia here yet?"
The sharp voice belonged to Michael. Matthew turned his head and saw him listening to a crew mber before snapping, "He's ten minutes late. Get him on the phone."
Matthew glanced at his watch and frowned slightly. gan had heard too, and she lowered her voice. "Shia does this all the ti."
Matthew didn't know or care how Shia LaBeouf had been cast, but this was different. He was wasting his ti just standing around.
gan shook her head and added, "Being late is nothing. He shows up to set drunk all the ti. There were tis he'd use a break in filming to sneak off and get high on marijuana. Then he'd co back ranting and raving, completely derailing the shoot for everyone. If the director and producers hadn't put everyone under a gag order, it would have turned into a national scandal."
Matthew just chuckled without replying.
gan sighed helplessly. "He's only here because of Spielberg."
"Doesn't Steven care how he behaves?" Matthew asked, curious.
"He's co down to talk to him a few tis." gan shrugged. "Shia straightens up for a little while after, but he always goes right back to it. And Spielberg is too busy to be on set every day to babysit him."
Matthew's expression turned serious as he considered her words.
"That kind of talk is fine between us, but if he were to overhear... You don't want to start a feud with him, do you?" He could tell gan really disliked her co-star.
gan waved a dismissive hand. "I don't care."
Matthew didn't press the issue. After all, gan was only twenty. It wasn't easy to get soone that age to watch their temper—or their tongue.
"What did you say?!" Michael's voice bood from across the room. He was addressing an assistant. "You can't reach him? Did you call his agent?"
The crew mber replied, "I've called everyone—Shia himself, his agent, his father, his assistants... I've tried every contact the production has. No one knows where he is."
With a look of pure contempt, gan lowered her voice and muttered to Matthew, "He's probably off getting high in so corner again. I hope he overdoses."
Matthew had no idea what had happened between gan and Shia on set, but it clearly hadn't been a pleasant experience.
"Michael," he called out. "Don't wait for him. Let's get started."
Michael hesitated for a mont, then agreed. "Fine. He can co in and record his lines later."
With that, the recording session began.
***
As the female lead, gan had very few lines to record, and her part of the session was over quickly.
Knowing this, Matthew asked her to dinner that evening before she left. gan accepted, leaving the recording booth to wait for him in an adjacent lounge.
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