The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1412 Perfect Closed Loop
"So, that's what you're just doing here? Thinking about looking back at Johnny's life?"

Mangold looked up and surveyed the surrounding space, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Anson glanced at Lucas, a meaningful smile flashing across his lips, "I guess so."

Mangold looked at Anson again. At this moment, it seemed that he had found the answers to all Anson's embarrassment and distress. He thought that the filming of the whole movie was coming to an end and he had known Anson enough. However, he did not expect that there would be surprises every time. Anson could always break their cognition unexpectedly.

Surprised and surprised, Mangold thought for a moment, "But why?"

"I mean, why here? Just because of the Fordon album?"

Anson shook his head. "No, because of the prison."

"Johnny Cash himself had been to jail for some stupid things, but more than that, he was in his own cage long before he went to jail."

"In his father's eyes, JR was the murderer who killed his beloved youngest son. Although he did not go to court, his father had already sentenced JR to life imprisonment."

"And the crueler truth is that he has no way to atone for his sins or seek forgiveness, and even he has decided to trap himself and refuse to let himself go."

"Until June Carter came along."

Mangold burped, his eyes filled with confusion and struggle, "But it's not his fault."

Anson looked at Lucas. "Yes, it wasn't his fault. It was just an accident. But sometimes, things are not that simple, and right and wrong are not black and white. This is also the most complicated part of human nature."

Lucas was stunned, and lowered his eyes in embarrassment, hiding his eyes and face in the shadows; but his hands tightly grasping the edge of the table still revealed his true emotions.

Only Anson's voice continued to surge gently in his ears, hitting his eardrums again and again.

"Until one day, he finally realized that everyone should have the opportunity to start over."

"Well, maybe not everyone."

"Some people are hopelessly unrepentant, some refuse to repent and refuse to atone, and some have committed heinous crimes that are too numerous to mention, but if a person is willing to break free from the darkness and say goodbye to sin, maybe - just maybe, he deserves a second chance, just like Johnny Cash himself."

"The point is, who should be the judge?"

"God? Universal gravity? Justice? Or fate? At least Johnny is not going to play the role of a judge. He is just a guide and an appeal."

"There are different ways to atone for your sins."

"Carrying the weight of other lives to pursue happiness is one thing, and igniting the dawn of dreams and hopes is another..."

There was a slight pause after speaking.

Lucas noticed it immediately and raised his head to look at Anson. These words were clearly directed at him.

However, this time Anson did not turn around to look at him, as if he was completely unaware of the deeper meaning of his words.

Mangold was also slightly stunned and looked at Anson for a second longer.

The corners of Anson's mouth rose slightly, as if he was just taking a breath, and he continued speaking calmly.

“Or use music to build bridges, awaken people’s inner kindness and justice, awaken people’s trust in hope and the future, and encourage them to dare to start over, dare to take a step forward, dare to pursue their dreams, dare to embrace the sunshine and hope, and dare to use their own hands to change their lives, the status quo, and society.”

Little by little, the inspiration was creating a storm - Mangold took over the conversation.

"It starts in prison and ends in prison. It has to be prison and can only be prison, because everything was initiated long before JR started his music career and his life. The cage of his original family trapped his soul."

“It is precisely because of this that this live performance at Folsom Prison has made Johnny’s music the pinnacle. Reality breeds art, and art illuminates reality.”

Mumbling and talking to himself, Mangold paid no attention to anyone else. His unclear words flowed out from his lips like a machine gun, becoming more and more excited, and he even began to wave his hands.

"Ah, if that's the case..."

"We could definitely add a scene where Johnny is lost in thought in the lounge before he goes on stage, awakening memories of his childhood, where his father blames him for his cold shoulder and even spit on him, treating him like a murderer."

“Following the memories, we cut into the childhood and start the narrative naturally. This also avoids starting from childhood, like a running account. Although we can’t completely break the boundary between reality and memory like ‘Gods and Beasts’, so that the characters wander in the montage timeline; but we can at least complete a loop in Johnny.”

“At the end of the film, we go back to the performance at Folsom Prison, which completes the timeline and turns the whole movie into a flashback to the stage performance.”

"I know that flashbacks are the most vulgar thing, but now we have turned the entire movie into a flashback. Isn't this a unique flashback?"

In Hollywood, the frequent use of flashback narratives is a typical soap opera technique, which is not only inefficient but also cumbersome. It means that the director is trying to use flashbacks to explain the situation, but it also means that the director is not capable enough to simply tell a slightly more complicated story by using a different tool.

In TV dramas, simple and direct flashbacks are always the most frequently used method.

And now, Mangold is ready to go big.

Anson chuckled. "This is called a flashback, not a flashback. A flashback that lasts more than five minutes cannot be called a flashback because it is not 'flash' at all."

“Also, we can use the cheers and applause at Folsom Prison as a drumbeat, which on the one hand allows Johnny to feel the support from the audience, and on the other hand can act as a bridge and lever to pull the memory to awaken it.”

Mangold took a deep breath and looked at Anson, his eyes brightening, "Ah!"

Even though I was sitting there, the scene in my mind suddenly became clear—

Snapped. Snapped. Snapped.

The inmates were so excited and happy because they could actually enjoy a concert in prison. Such treatment was definitely an unprecedented reward. Moreover, because it was Johnny Cash's concert, it was VIP treatment from any angle. They could not contain their emotions at all.

And those applause evolved into drum beats, breaking through time and space, awakening Johnny's memory.

Mangold looked at Anson, "Where's the line?"

A script not only needs scenes, but also lines. Did they add a scene to the script temporarily?

Anson: "No, it's not necessary. Just rely on the language of the camera and the performance of the actors."

Mangold tilted his head to think about it, then stood up abruptly and looked around. The camera, the position of the camera, the actors, the picture immediately became vivid in his mind and had vitality.

At the beginning of the movie, the swing blues drum beats cut in from far away, pulling the audience into the movie and pulling Johnny Cash into his memories.

At the end of the movie, the rhythm of the prisoners' clapping connects the flashback timeline from far to near, seamlessly connecting to reality and completing a perfect closed loop.

(End of this chapter)