Chapter 86: Springy

Upon checking the shot and seeing that the take came out as perfectly as he’d wanted, Murray spoke into his megaphone and said;

"Alright, that came out perfect,"

"Everyone, great job. Niall, Matthew, stellar work. Let’s keep that energy through the rest of the filming."

"Now, we can wrap it up for the day. See you all tomorrow--"

Murray wasn’t even done saying that part before he suddenly winced and bent over slightly, his mutter carrying through the mic;

"Ooh... my back...!"

Naturally, a lot of the stage hands rushed to him, not that it stopped Murray himself from letting out a dangerous laugh while remarking;

"You better not give out on me till I’m done with this movie."

This time, a wave of light chuckles followed from most individuals on the set as the stagehands moved Murray over to a nearby chair.

Niall, on the other hand, had a thoughtful expression on his features as he walked over;

’Hmmm... it should work...’

"Hey, Niall," a familiar voice suddenly reached out to him.

Naturally, Niall turned around to face its source, a cordial smile on his lips;

"Oh, hey Mr. Connery,"

"Matthew..." the lead actor raised a hand slightly, his smile thin, but genuine.

"Matthew’s fine," he repeated.

In response, Niall’s smile shifted from cordial to honest, his eyes softening ever-so-slightly;

"Alright, Matthew. What’s up?"

Noticing the subtle shift in Niall’s energy towards him, the lead actor shook his head in slight amusement and said;

"I’d reckon you’ve had to deal with one too many stuck-up actors like me before, haven’t you?"

"That’s a pretty neat way to strike up a friendly conversation." Niall replied with a light smile, his expression relaxed.

Once again, Matthew shook his head, and then let out a light chuckle.

Given how much most of them had sidelined the young actor due to the favoritism they’d assumed Murray was playing, Matthew--same as many others on set--had realized that they couldn’t have been more wrong.

That said, the fact that Niall knew, ignored it, and was even a good enough sport to make a joke about it after he’d admitted to his own fault, earned the lead actor’s genuine respect.

Matthew had to admit. Niall was a breath of fresh air to work with. It was also why he couldn’t help but reply in kind;

"I guess it is,"

"Sorry about that. It’s uh... it’s been a bit of a rough patch for me these past couple years," he added as he and Niall began to walk down the street side-by-side.

Though Niall didn’t keep up with all the trendy news in Hollywood thus far, he did make sure to do a bit of a background check on all the main actors set to star in [Rink].

Naturally, he noticed a bit of trend.

Every one of these main actors--well, except Colonel Roberts--involved in the movie were nearing a stage in their careers where they were seeking more meaningful, character-driven work instead of repetitive franchise entries and while doing their best to avoid big ’ol dookie; typecasting.

Given how heavily risk-averse Hollywood was, most actors over their 50’s often had a lack of substantial blockbuster roles to play, hence why they often forayed into smaller films that would allow them to showcase their artistic depth and range via its nuanced scripts and naturalistic stories.

Simply put, they were all trying to remain relevant.

It then made perfect sense to Niall why most of them would’ve been a little ticked off after they’d struggled to land a role with Murray--Hollywood’s resident director who often drew a large audience with his smaller, more poignant films--just to find out that he was being all ’biased and prejudiced’ towards a younger actor.

It was also why,

"I understand," Niall nodded empathetically, his expression honest.

"Though, for what it’s worth," he then said, his smile genuine;

"I think any actor who happens to get into any of Murray’s movies, has more than enough skill to never need his handholding,"

To that, Matthew halted in his steps, his gaze flickering as he turned to look at Niall whom had equally turned to face him.

"Afterall, amidst several tapes sent in, he figured you were the best person to play the character he wanted." he concluded, an acknowledging smile on his lips.

And with that, Niall casually walked away.

As for Matthew whom had been stifled by the fact that Murray constantly seemed to be babying him, something suddenly clicked for him.

At first, he’d assumed Colonel had informed him about Niall losing out the role to him because he wanted to hammer home the fact that the youth was deserving of Murray’s unwavering trust in his work ethic.

However, with what Niall had said now, he was finally able to come to a simple realization he honestly would’ve if he hadn’t tunnel-visioned himself.

Though one of the reasons Colonel had said what he had said, was in fact because he wanted to hammer home Niall’s skill, there was another reason he’d told him.

To remind Matthew of the fact that even despite that, Murray had still chosen him as the lead actor.

And the only reason that could’ve happened, was because the director saw no better actor to portray Elias Mercer than him.

No sooner had that thought settled, Matthew’s outlook towards how Murray was treating him flipped completely.

If before he’d been a bit frustrated at the director’s ’pestering’, now he was completely open to it.

Meanwhile, Niall on the other hand had already walked up to Murray, seemingly discussing something with him;

"Worked like a charm for my parents. Might do the same for you."

To that, the short director looked up, his eyes creasing into judgy squints as he stared at the young actor towering over him.

Unperturbed by it, Niall’s smile remained reserved.

Soon enough, Murray let out a sigh and said;

"I mean, I guess I can let you try it out,"

"All the chiropractors I’ve seen haven’t been able to crack or completely ease it anyway, so eh, what’s the worst that could happen?" he rhetorically asked as he stood up from his chair.

Then, in a matter of seconds, a lot of the crew curiously watched as Niall told the man to cross his arms over his chest.

Then, casually walking around, he placed his arms around his waist.

Tugging on his Gift of Bestowal for a brief instant, Niall effortlessly raised the man up and ’adjusted’ the bones and the joints of his waist, hips and back.

A few barely audible cracking pops echoed, and Niall gently placed the man down a moment after.

For a brief while, Murray stood, his marble-gray irises flickering and his eyes widening as he turned to face the young actor while muttering audibly;

"How did you--"

Without even completing his own sentence, he then tried twisting his torso from side to side, seemingly in disbelief.

When he didn’t experience the usual pain or stiffness that he was pretty much used to, he suddenly placed his arms on his hips and leaned all of his upper body to the far right and then, far left.

Upon experiencing not even the slightest pain, he suddenly let out in excitement;

"Ha!"

Immediately, he followed up with a genuine laughter as he remarked, his overjoyed voice carrying across the street;

"Hahaha! I can finally go golfing again!"

No sooner had every crew member whom had been watching them heard that, they burst into laughter, though the surprise on their features were evident.

Niall himself was no different as he quietly chuckled, as was Matthew whom had been watching from afar, a stark contrast to every uninvolved individual on the street whom were rather startled by the sudden exclamation.

"Niall, I would like to take you golfing as thanks." Murray suddenly turned to face the young actor, his expression appreciative and his gaze much the same as he said.

Yet again, Niall couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement as he replied;

"Sure. I’d be honored."

No sooner had he said that, Colonel whom had been off to the side while watching their interaction casually walked over, his comedic timing impeccable as he twisted his torso slightly.

"You know," he shamelessly began, letting out an audible grunt with a pained wince.

"I’d also like to take you golfing sometime, Niall." he casually said, his voice purposely raised a few octaves higher to garner everyone’s attention.

Yet again, another wave of laughter traveled across the busy the street, the crew more than amused and the pedestrians walking by, mildly confused.

That said, the next few days went by pretty quickly.

Scenes involving Elias and Noah slowly getting along were filmed, with Elias’s prickly and emotionally withdrawn nature contrasting perfectly against Noah’s inviting and endlessly optimistic nature.

With every ’You’re showing off,’ and ’That’s not skating,’ and ’Judges don’t reward stupidity,’ Elias said, Noah easily countered with a ’I’m doing what I love,’ and ’Yes. Yes, it is,’ and ’Duh, but I’m not doing it for them in the first place’.

At the same time, Matthew’s growing gravitas towards his role and the film in general, set him up to gradually earn Murray’s complete trust without the director needing to spell things out for him all the time.

As a result, by the time the next week came around, he was pretty much being given the same treatment as Niall.

This was even more impressive considering Murray now had all the flexibility to bounce around the set as he pleased, hence the man’s increased efficiency and perfectionism.

That said, there was one main scene that stood out in between all those scenes. However, before it was another scene that was just as important to Elias’ development as a character.

It was also the scene that a now springy Murray was about to film as he called through the megaphone;

"Begin!"

Advance Chapters are available on Patreon!

/Caer07