"After a busy day, you can't resist the exhaustion and fall into a deep sleep."
In a small production studio near the University of Toronto, Zack Snyder, wearing headphones, stands on a set designed as a police station, instructing Matthew Horner on his role. "When you wake up, the whole world has changed. The police station is no longer bustling but eerily quiet, then you encounter a weird attack, your partner dies and becomes a zombie, you feel something is wrong, and you cautiously investigate..."
Matthew Horner is wearing a tight black police T-shirt and black police pants, nodding at Zack Snyder.
Zack Snyder then turns to a girl with very scary makeup and starts explaining her part. Compared to adult actors like Matthew Horner, child actors are the real headache for directors.
Every director has their own habits and requirements during filming. Zack Snyder, unlike directors Matthew Horner has worked with before, prohibits actors from rehearsing before shooting, seeking the magical sparks that emerge from the actors' spontaneous performances. This also fits the setting where a group of strangers comes together because of a disaster.
Thus, during the preparation period, the crew didn't arrange for the actors to meet or rehearse in advance.
Of course, actors playing roles that require the use of firearms definitely need proper training and basic knowledge of firearms.
Matthew Horner isn't sure about others, but he didn't rehearse with any actors before coming to Toronto.
The shooting location is entirely in Toronto, a Canadian city loved by many Hollywood crews and even nicknamed "Hollywood North." It is currently the third largest film production base in North America, after Los Angeles and New York.
After arriving in Canada, Matthew Horner learned that Universal Pictures and Shawn Daniel chose Toronto not just because of a large mall slated for demolition that could be used for shooting.
Apart from being close enough to serve as a "satellite city" for Hollywood, Toronto's attractive incentives are the main reason for the crew's choice. He occasionally heard Shawn Daniel mention that the Toronto government could provide a subsidy close to ten percent of the production costs.
This isn't the highest rate; according to what Matthew Horner learned later, the local government's subsidy for Hollywood crews can reach up to twelve percent of the total production cost.
Compared to California and Los Angeles, such attractive policies are too compelling.
If he were a producer, he would also choose to shoot here instead of staying in Los Angeles.
After explaining the scene to the little girl, Zack Snyder gives a few instructions to her accompanying family member and another actor dressed as a policeman. Seeing no other issues, he prepares to start filming.
The crew makes final adjustments, and Matthew Horner moves away from the camera to lie down on a sofa, closes his eyes, and rests. Although there was no rehearsal before, he was one of the main actors to receive the script earliest. Since signing the actor contract at the beginning of the month, he has been studying the role at the agency, getting help with his lines. He has carefully thought through each scene of his role.
"Dawn of the Dead, Scene One, Take One!" The assistant director's voice comes over, "Action!"
Zack Snyder and the director of photography control two cameras from different angles that do not interfere with each other. The set is exceptionally quiet, as Snyder had specifically requested, even breathing was kept to the minimum.
Matthew Horner turns over on the sofa, waking up from sleep. He stretches lazily, looks at the wall clock, and is about to get up when his partner, resting near the door, also wakes up.
Since yesterday, there have been several biting incidents locally, causing police resources to be stretched thin. The main character played by Matthew Horner and another police officer character were busy until late and didn't leave the police station, finding a room to rest.
Suddenly, someone pushes the door open from the outside, letting in some dazzling sunlight. Matthew Horner squints, still adjusting to the light, and the actor near the door walks over, asking, "What's up, Cody?"
The person entering is a girl they picked up on the road and brought back to the police station last night, having been separated from her family.
Matthew Horner squints his eyes, seemingly adjusted to the bright light, then suddenly notices something off about the little girl's mouth, but before he can do anything, the girl leaps forward, biting into the neck artery of his partner.
The blood pack arranged in advance bursts as planned, sending a stream of blood spurting out, staining the white walls red.
Matthew Horner quickly reacts, rushing to pull the girl off. The girl gnaws at the flesh and skin on the neck of the male actor, who falls to the ground holding his neck. The girl opens her mouth wide, lunging at Matthew Horner again.
Despite appearing confused and somewhat panicked, Matthew Horner's face shows sufficient calmness, befitting a seasoned police officer character. He grabs the girl's shoulders and throws her away.
The crew has taken proper safety precautions, so there's no worry about accidents.
Matthew Horner then rushes to close the door. As soon as the door is shut, a violent banging starts from the outside, making the whole door tremble.
Ignoring the door, Matthew Horner turns to check on his partner, whose neck is bleeding profusely, lying on the ground trembling. He quickly grabs a towel to wrap around his neck.
"Help!" he shouts loudly, "Someone needs help here!"
But the surroundings are eerily quiet, with no response at all.
Matthew Horner can't stop the bleeding and is full of urgency. He pulls the blood-soaked walkie-talkie from his partner's body and shouts, "We need help here! Someone is seriously injured..."
Only static noise comes from the walkie-talkie, with no response.
"Cut!" Director Zack Snyder stops the filming, saying to Matthew Horner, "Very good! But Matthew, you need to enrich some of your facial expressions a bit more. Let's do it again."
In the crew, besides Shawn Daniel, Matthew Horner has the biggest clout. Having spent years directing music videos and commercials for super brands, Zack Snyder knows how to communicate with famous personalities. In a sense, a film director must be skilled in coordination and communication.
Matthew Horner signals to Zack Snyder, saying, "No problem!"
He sits on a nearby sofa, and his personal makeup artist immediately comes over for touch-ups. The other two actors have a harder time, needing to redo their makeup, especially the actor playing the dead policeman, who has to shower and get a new makeup application.
But no one complains, even though everyone knows the extra hassle is because of Matthew Horner's not quite perfect expressions and emotions.
This is the treatment expected of a star actor playing the male lead.
An hour later, filming resumes. Matthew Horner's performance improves slightly. Zack Snyder, who comes from a background in advertising and music videos, focuses more on the composition of the shot rather than the actors' performances. Seeing it meets the basic requirements, he approves the take.
Having prepared for years to transition to film directing, he understands the difference between the acting required for commercial entertainment films and that for art-house independent films.
The acting in the former, if applied to the latter, would definitely be deemed inadequate. Similarly, the deep, introspective performance style typical of art-house films doesn't suit commercial entertainment movies.
After this scene, Matthew Horner's state slightly improves, and there are no more scenes where a NG (no good take) would require extensive time for makeup redo. The shooting becomes somewhat smoother, although almost every scene and shot needs a few NGs. This is normal for a crew still meshing together at the start of a shoot.
NGs aren't always because of a problem with the lead actor. Apart from the cinematographer and the art director, who are Zack Snyder's regular collaborators, the rest of the team is assembled on a temporary basis. Such a team, even with ample preparation and communication, needs to find its rhythm through actual work.
The morning's shooting is punctuated with stops and starts for various reasons. A third of these interruptions are due to Matthew Horner's expressions not being diverse enough, while the other two-thirds are due to different issues, such as inappropriate lighting, needing to adjust actors' positions, changing camera angles, and Zack Snyder suddenly having new ideas, among others.
By noon, when work ends, the crew has managed to shoot five scenes. After Matthew Horner's character escapes the police station full of zombies through a bathroom window, Zack Snyder announces the end of the morning's work.
To maintain continuity in shooting, Matthew Horner doesn't remove his makeup and retrieves his phone from his personal assistant, planning to go to lunch. Since his previous private assistant quit, his current one is provided by the crew, which is somewhat inconvenient. However, he doesn't have secrets that need hiding, so he's not overly concerned about privacy.
The production studio near the University of Toronto, where they're filming, isn't large, and "Dawn of the Dead" is the only project currently in production. However, the crew had arranged in advance for the studio's cafeteria to handle the daily meals for the production team.
Due to his makeup, especially the clothes stained with what looks like tomato sauce blood, Matthew Horner doesn't join the queue but directs his assistant to get several dishes he likes. Then he finds a table to eat alone.
The morning's scenes were shot inside the studio. The afternoon will move to an outdoor set with no scenes involving the female lead, so Matthew Horner hasn't seen Jessica Alba on set.
He sits down, drinks some water, and is about to try the beef stew with potatoes that looks delicious when two women suddenly approach and sit opposite him.
Matthew Horner looks up and recognizes one as Helen Herman and the other as Alexandra Daddario, who has scenes to shoot in the afternoon.
"Do you need something?" he asks.
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