She probably isn't short of money, right? So why would she steal books? Isn't stealing books still stealing?

Just as Matthew Carter was thinking this, Winona Ryder and her assistant walked past him. Maybe it was because he kept staring at them, or maybe because he was good-looking, but Winona Ryder even turned her head and looked at him curiously.

At that moment, Winona Ryder didn't see Matthew Carter for long and quickly turned her head back, gradually walking away with her female assistant.

"This person..." The female assistant seemed to recognize Matthew Carter. "I've seen his information at Robin Harris's place. I heard from Robin Harris that he was introduced by Vanessa Parker, through Angelina Jolie's connection."

Hearing the assistant's words, Winona Ryder couldn't help but turn her head back and glance at Matthew Carter again.

Matthew Carter was sitting on the bench, absentmindedly bored.

He really couldn't figure it out—why would a beautiful woman like Winona Ryder, who has money, status, and position, go steal a few worthless books?

Time passed quickly. A few more extras came over, led by an agent. They formed their own little group, glanced at Matthew Carter, and didn't seem interested in greeting him.

Matthew Carter continued to wait quietly. After a long while, the agent Dennis Cooper came around the corner with the casting director named Robin Harris. Dennis Cooper looked very eager to please, and Robin Harris seemed to enjoy it, a bright smile on his face.

For agents handling extras, the casting director undoubtedly holds the power of life and death.

Robin Harris entered the office, and Dennis Cooper stayed behind, sitting next to Matthew Carter. He glanced at the others and said, "I did my best for you. Your role is a male orderly standing behind the female lead Winona Ryder. You don't have any lines, but you will be on camera."

Even though he knew this was probably thanks to Angelina Jolie, Matthew Carter still said, "Thank you, I'll do my best!"

"No! Absolutely not!" Dennis Cooper quickly warned, "Just stand there quietly as background. Don't do anything else."

Matthew Carter nodded repeatedly, "Mm! Mm!"

In situations like this, listening to the agent is never wrong.

He waited here for almost another half hour before the casting director Robin Harris came out of the office, called over the same young man from last time, and had the extras follow him outside the studio.

To help them get familiar with the set, the young man led the group around the perimeter of the filming area. Matthew Carter looked around curiously. The studio was set up to look like a hospital, with long corridors and individual rooms clearly visible. Each room had an opening, seemingly left specifically for camera positions.

He hadn't seen this movie, nor read the script. He only knew it seemed to be a story about psychiatric patients, but he wasn't clear on the details.

The young man brought them to a makeup trailer and handed them over to a flamboyant male makeup artist.

"Let them go first," Dennis Cooper stopped Matthew Carter, who was about to rush into the makeup trailer.

Although he didn't quite understand, Matthew Carter still stopped and let the other extras go in for makeup first.

"Hurry up!" the young man urged. "Don't waste time!"

The makeup trailer was small and couldn't fit many people. A middle-aged man went in first, and the rest waited outside.

Maybe because he was doing well in the crew, Dennis Cooper was in a good mood. Seeing Matthew Carter looking at him in confusion, he leaned against the makeup trailer and explained in a low voice, "There's discrimination in the crew. You non-union extras get the worst makeup products. That stuff is bad for your skin—the longer it stays on your face, the more damage it does."

Matthew Carter immediately understood. "So the bigger the star, the later they get their makeup done?"

Dennis Cooper nodded, "Pretty much!" Then he added, "A lot of A-listers make the crew wait for them."

"As an extra like me, can I skip makeup?" Matthew Carter touched his face.

The only thing that comforted him about being possessed here was this ruggedly handsome face.

Dennis Cooper shook his head. "Any actor who might be on camera has to wear makeup."

He could tell that this tall, handsome young guy was basically an outsider. If he hadn't been a good stepping stone and might be useful later, he wouldn't bother with this kind of person.

None of these extras would play important roles—they were all just background. The makeup artist wouldn't pay special attention to them, just quickly applied a base layer. In just over twenty minutes, everyone, including Matthew Carter, was done.

With a layer of foundation smeared on his face, Matthew Carter felt uncomfortable but didn't dare touch it. If he messed up the makeup, it would be a hassle.

The roles for these extras were very simple, so simple they weren't even worth mentioning, but the preparations were anything but simple. After makeup, they changed into costumes. Matthew Carter put on a white lab coat belonging to an orderly. The crew had prepared many lab coats in different sizes, which he guessed was why they hadn't had them come in earlier for fittings.