The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1425 Opening Possibility
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", Anson was indeed very surprised that this project would appear in front of him, and he should not be the best candidate.

There are two reasons.

First, age.

"Wonka" will be released in 2023. The movie tells the story of Willy Wonka's life when he was just starting out, before he owned a chocolate factory. The young version of Willy Wonka was played by Timothy Chalamet, who was years old at the time.

In other words, in the "Wonka" story, Willy Wonka should be in his mid-twenties, but when he enters the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" story, he needs to be at least forty years old.

Although this is a magical story, there is no option of rejuvenation or immortality in the setting surrounding Willy Wonka.

Anson is not yet 22 years old this year, so it is okay for him to play the young version of Willy Wonka, but it becomes complicated to play the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" version of Willy Wonka.

That's why Lucas just joked that he didn't know whether Anson was invited to play Willy Wonka or Charlie.

Second, style.

As we all know, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is adapted from children's literature, a fairy tale full of fantastic imagination, just like "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Chronicles of Narnia". When such works are adapted into movies, it is often necessary to use the imagination to break the boundaries of cognition.

In a way, detached from reality.

Naturally, the actors' makeup, hair and performance styles also need to be adjusted -

In "Wonka", the Oompa Loompa played by Hugh Grant is undoubtedly the highlight of the entire movie, but Hugh Grant was miserable about the acting experience. He said it was the most difficult, embarrassing and shameful performance of his career, and he completely regretted taking on the role.

However, "There is no other way. For child support..."

Hugh Grant was in debt with all his romantic affairs when he was young. He fathered five children and there were rumors that he had an illegitimate child. The tremendous pressure of raising these children forced him to take on acting jobs frequently. He and Nicolas Cage, who became a model worker in order to pay off his debts, can be said to be in the same boat.

For fantasy movies and fairy tale movies, establishing the film style and selecting actors based on the style is half the guarantee of the film's success.

But Anson?
Although Anson has starred in fairy-tale works such as "The Princess Diaries", Anson's roles so far are mainly close to reality.

To be honest, Anson couldn't imagine himself starring in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Of course, a large part of the reason is due to memories of past lives.

In the past, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Alice in Wonderland", these two magical fairy tale movies were both starred by Johnny Depp.

There is no doubt that Johnny Depp is very suitable for the Gothic style, bringing a weird and playful unique temperament to the character and even the movie.

The preconceived impression occupied Anson's mind, and the image was vivid and difficult to break for a while.

"'Warmth within a light,'" Lucas said.

Anson looked over.

Lucas didn't know much about movies, but he had an objective eye. "I mean, in 'Eternal Love', people not only saw your comedic talent, but also your ability to interpret some weird and fantastic characters."

Anson thought about it seriously.

"The Warmth Within" is indeed a special performance experience, a little bit weird, a little bit awkward, and a little bit nervous. It does not explore one's own psychological level in depth like "Walking with the Song", but it explores different presentation states of performance in another way, which indeed brings a completely different feeling.

There is no doubt that such a role proves that Anson has more possibilities. In a way, it is even more valuable than "Walking with the Song".

The reason is that "Walk the Walk" is an orthodox biographical film. Actors often have a template when challenging themselves to perform, so even if the performance is outstanding, it is still within expectations. So when Anson was confirmed to star in the film, Hollywood showed an expression of "I knew it earlier".

But "The Light Inside" is slightly different. Just like Charlie Kaufman's own attributes, such a character is unpredictable and uncontrollable. The unconventional state gives Anson more freedom to play. In the end, the presentation of the character is not only convincing but also charming, which is by no means easy.

Therefore, the success of "The Sun Is Shining" is indeed a crucial step for Anson.

It would make sense if this film gave Anson a character like Willy Wonka.

However, after thinking about it carefully, Anson raised his eyes and looked at Lucas, "There should be more to the matter than this."

Lucas had a faint smile in his eyes, "Now I can be sure that you are okay."

This response confirmed Anson's guess.

Lucas didn't continue to beat around the bush, "Edgar has been busy recently."

"On the one hand, it helps you accumulate bargaining chips for the upcoming negotiations with Sony and Columbia regarding the Spider-Man sequel; on the other hand, it opens up the way for your breakthrough in Hollywood."

"Edgar said that he is not going to fight for you to join the 20 million club. Instead, he wants to gain more benefits for you in the form of box office dividends, as well as the right to speak as a producer. Even if we leave aside the Spider-Man sequel, he hopes to gain more initiative for you in other projects."

It seems that while Anson was busy filming, Edgar didn't stop either.

"That's one of the projects Edgar is targeting," Lucas answered.

Anson was slightly surprised and raised the script in his hand. "Are you sure?"

Objectively speaking, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" does not conform to people's conventional impression of genre blockbusters. More importantly, the real protagonist of the movie is "Charlie". Willy Wonka is the soul of the entire movie but he is not the main perspective of the narrative.

It is indeed an interesting choice for Edgar to try to break the Hollywood barriers through such a work.

Are the big movie companies willing to use 10%, 15%, or even more box office dividends to convince Anson to play a role like Willy Wonka, who is not the absolute protagonist?
From a certain perspective, this was a risk, as it was equivalent to placing the crew's greatest investment in a minor character.

At the same time, this was also an opportunity because it would save $20 million in salary and there was no need to increase production costs for a minor role.

Edgar's move was obviously well thought out.

Of course, this is just one of Edgar's many options.

Lucas nodded slightly, "Warner Bros. is confident in this project and has directly given it a budget of 150 million US dollars."

Wow!

It’s Warner Bros. indeed!
After tasting success with the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" series, Warner Bros. has been ruthless in adapting magic, fantasy and fairy tales. This time, targeting "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" once again demonstrates Warner Bros.' wealth and decisiveness.

From this we can see that when Sony Columbia and 20th Century Fox are aiming to make breakthroughs in comic book adaptations of superheroes, despite holding the copyright to DC comic adaptations, Warner Bros. currently believes more in the fantasy film market and is committed to opening up the situation here.

(End of this chapter)