The day after Matthew took Karolina Kurkova out for a sun-soaked adventure in the desert, the crew had to revise their shooting schedule. They postponed so of the red-haired lady's scenes and moved forward with filming the fight between Duke and Colonel Bludd because Karolina Kurkova had suffered from heatstroke.
During a break in filming, Stephen Somrs approached Matthew to talk about colds and heatstroke.
"Matthew, we've been friends for years and have collaborated many tis."
Things were different now, and Stephen Somrs was quite courteous. "You're one of the most dedicated actors I've ever worked with."
Sitting under a large sunshade, Matthew took a sip of water and looked at Stephen Somrs with a smile. "Stephen, just say what's on your mind. No need for formalities between us."
Stephen Somrs hesitated before diplomatically saying, "This movie is scheduled to be released on Independence Day next year, and it's already December. Although post-production is ongoing, ti is really tight. A delay of even a few days could lead to a series of schedule changes."
Hearing this, Matthew imdiately understood what Stephen Somrs was implying.
During the Iceland shoot, he had inadvertently caused Sienna Miller to catch a cold, which spread through the crew, leading to many people, including himself, getting sick. Now, during the Sonoran Desert shoot, with Sienna Miller absent, Karolina Kurkova had suffered heatstroke because of him.
If he were the director, he'd probably have so complaints too.
Even though it wasn't intentional, it had happened. Matthew nodded and said earnestly, "Stephen, there won't be a next ti."
Making a supermodel jump around on scorching sand under the midday sun was fine once, but not again.
Stephen Somrs, having received the assurance he wanted, smiled at Matthew and returned to his director's monitor to continue preparations.
Matthew glanced north towards the shooting location and could still see the crew's base camp. Because of yesterday's overly intense "ga," Karolina Kurkova had suffered heatstroke, so as the instigator, he wondered if he should do sothing to make up for it.
Of course, a million-dollar compensation wasn't an option, as their arrangent was based on mutual agreent of effort and reward.
He quickly thought of the essential items for shooting in hot areas-cooling oil and balm. He decided to bring so to Karolina Kurkova after the crew wrapped up for the day.
As he retracted his gaze, Matthew noticed a group of fans gathered around the outskirts of the set, watching the filming. He turned to his assistant and said, "Have soone bring so water to those fans, and let them know it's from ."
The assistant quickly replied, "I'll take care of it right away."
Matthew nodded slightly and looked at the fans again. There weren't many of them, just about thirty, mostly young people in their twenties.
Chasing stars all the way to the desert-these were definitely his fans, and hardcore ones at that.
Matthew never missed an opportunity to show appreciation to his fans. In this scorching desert, nothing could be more refreshing than a cool drink of water.
His large fanbase wasn't just due to outstanding work; it was also the result of careful managent.
A seemingly small gesture often made fans excited enough to lose sleep.
The crew finished their adjustnts, and filming quickly resud.
In front of the cara, Matthew and Jason Statham stood on the golden sand,
their faces as hard as stone, muscles showing through the torn military uniforms.
"Colonel Bludd!" Matthew's voice was ice-cold. "You betrayed my team!”
Jason Statham's face remained expressionless, as usual, and he let out a raspy chuckle. "Now you can join your n."
As he spoke, he tore off his military uniform, revealing a black tank top underneath, then pulled out a knife from behind and assud a close-combat
stance.
Matthew also removed his military uniform, tossing it onto the sand behind him, while his hand reached for his waist.
"I caught up with you to make sure you understand..." Matthew's hand suddenly pointed forward, "why you're going to die!"
Bang-bang-
Gunshots rang out, and Jason Statham clutched his chest, looking at Matthew in disbelief. "You... you used a gun!"
Matthew held a black pistol, its barrel aid directly at Jason Statham's chest.
Jason Statham collapsed, lifeless, onto the desert sand.
Matthew holstered his gun and turned to walk down the sand dune.
"Cut!" Stephen Somrs's voice rang out. "That's a wrap for this take.”
Hearing the call, Matthew turned back, reached out, and helped Jason Statham up. Jason brushed the sand off himself and said, "It's getting hot. If the director
hadn't called it, I would've jumped up myself."
Matthew joked, "I've still got bullets in my gun...
anwhile, Stephen Somrs picked up a gaphone and announced,
"Everyone, reset! We'll resu filming in ten minutes."
Matthew returned to the resting area, where the makeup artist quickly ca over
to wipe his sweat and touch up his makeup.
In such hot weather, even with only a thin layer of foundation, actors couldn't just wipe away the sweat.
The next scene was still a one-on-one fight between him and Jason Statham, but the approach would be entirely different. Duke had just resolved things quickly with a firearm, but the next scene would involve a close-quarters fight. Stephen Somrs had designed two different approaches for this scene and hadn't decided which to use. So, he opted to shoot both and decide during post- production based on how they fit the overall storyline.
Filming close-quarters combat wasn't as simple as before. An action scene was broken down into dozens of shots, with the longest being just four or five seconds. Most shots involved Matthew and Jason Statham each performing a
single move before the take was declared done.
Excluding the midday break to avoid the sun, this scene took the entire day, from morning until evening, to reach the final stage.
"Action!"
At Stephen Somrs's command, the filming began again.
Matthew's camouflage vest had long since turned into rags, which he casually
tore off and threw aside, revealing his perfectly sculpted muscles. Jason Statham, shirtless, also displayed an impressive physique.
Both n's faces were marked with injuries, though Jason Statham's was worse- his face was twisted, and blood was slowly oozing from a cut above his brow. The fight had reached its final monts, and their knives were long gone, lost sowhere in the sand.
As blood from Jason Statham's brow trickled past his eye, causing him to squint involuntarily, Matthew pounced like a leopard, crashing into Jason Statham like a tank. He grabbed Jason by the waist and slamd him onto a green mat laid on
the ground.
Matthew pinned Jason Statham's throat with one hand and clenched his other hand into a fist, repeatedly punching the mat beside Jason's face.
"This is for John..”
"And this is for Djokovic...
He muttered with each punch, as if avenging his fallen comrades.
Finally, Stephen Somrs's voice ca through, "Good! That's a wrap! We're done
for the day!"
Matthew released his fist, took a deep breath, and stood up before helping Jason
Statham to his feet.
Jason glanced back at the mat, where the spot next to his head had a visible dent from Matthew's punches-a sowhat shocking sight.
For the sake of the shot, Matthew had used nearly 80% of his strength.
In this scene, Duke was filled with rage, so his punches couldn't be anything but
powerful.
"If you had missed by even a little," Jason Statham said, rubbing his face, still a bit shaken, "I would've been disfigured."
Matthew chuckled, thinking to himself that at worst, he'd just look more like
Gerd Dā.
He patted Jason Statham's arm and said, "To soothe your wounded spirit, I'll treat
you to so cold beer tonight."
Jason Statham imdiately smiled, "It's a deal."
While the crew was still packing up, Matthew left first, heading to his makeup
trailer to remove his makeup, shower, and change clothes. With a group of bodyguards, he took an off-road vehicle back to the crew's base camp. He instructed the temporary catering team to prepare so cold beer for the evening, then returned to his trailer to find a few boxes of cooling oil and balm, intending to deliver them to Karolina Kurkova personally.
The crew mbers were staying in trailers, with separate areas for n and won on opposite sides of the camp, several hundred feet apart. Matthew changed into lighter clothes, put on a sunhat, and left his trailer. Brown
Williams and a few bodyguards were already waiting at the door. The sun was nearing the horizon, and the weather had cooled considerably. Carrying a paper bag with the cooling oil and balm, Matthew headed towards
Karolina Kurkova's trailer.
He hadn't walked far when Brown Williams suddenly moved closer and
whispered, "There's sothing behind us."
Matthew, with his strong nerves, didn't look back. Brown Williams continued in a
low voice, "Soone's following us. I just checked—they don't seem to be part of the crew."
At the sa mont Brown Williams approached, two of the bodyguards behind
Matthew had moved closer, using their large fras to completely shield him.
Brown Williams added, "When we pass the next trailer, turn left and go behind it to lose the stalker's sight."
Matthew nodded slightly, fully trusting Brown Williams in these matters. He was
a seasoned veteran who had survived countless battles and counterterrorism
operations.
"Chris, Ronald, Blatt, Bernardo,
Beasley, protect Matthew!" Brown Williams ordered. "John, you co with —
we'll circle around and catch that guy."
Reviews
All reviews (0)