The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1815 Mental Balance

Inspiration explodes.

My mind was filled with a cacophony of thoughts and ideas, a torrent of ideas that I couldn't sort out in a short time, which made me dizzy.

But without a doubt, a framework gradually became clear, and different threads and clues emerged, and things seemed to have quietly changed.

Scarlett let out a long breath and looked at Anson.

The two looked at each other, their smiles widening.

Scarlett gestured, "Look, who dares to say we're not from the academic school? Two pretty faces sitting here, exchanging ideas about acting."

Anson tilted his head slightly, "Then when I stood in front of the camera, my mind went blank, and my performance was still like a wooden statue. I didn't know what I was doing."

Scarlett: "Hahaha."

Anson clenched his fist, placed it on his chest, and pulled it down hard, wailing in a heart-wrenching, roaring performance, "You are breaking my heart!"

"Haha!" Scarlett almost choked with laughter. "God, the James Dean version, or the Tommy Wisso version?"

The classic line, "You broke my heart," has a source: it originally came from the film "Rebel Without a Cause," starring James Dean.

However, just last year, in 2003, a cult film called "Room" was released, in which Tommy Wiseau delivered a textbook performance, reinterpreting this line—

"Remember this? Never, ever act like this. Oh. And the script, the lighting, the editing—movies shouldn't be shot like this."

A true textbook!

Anson was very surprised. He knew about the movie because of "The Disaster Artist," which later won an Oscar nomination. James Franco brought Tommy Wiseau's story to the big screen; but right now, "The Room" was completely unknown, and even as a dark hobby, not many people knew about it.

Anson stared wide-eyed at Scarlett, "You know that movie?"

Scarlett couldn't stop laughing, tears streaming down her face. "I saw it by chance at a midnight movie. Oh God, you awakened all my memories."

Anson spread his hands. "I forgot to say 'Lisa,' 'You broke my heart, Lisa!'"

Scarlett laughed until her stomach hurt. "Lisa, hahaha, that's the soul. We can't forget that line."

Anson's smile also appeared in his eyes. "Don't laugh. Maybe that's how our performance is perceived by the audience."

Scarlett, however, appeared very relaxed and generous, saying, "That's fine too. At least we're entertaining. You know how difficult it is to amuse audiences these days?"

Now it was Anson's turn, a smile creeping onto his lips, "Then the director might cry."

Alfonso Cuarón, that honest guy?
Scarlett imagined the director looking awkward and shy, and then laughed again.

This time, the laughter didn't last long. Scarlett looked at Anson and asked, "So, what should we do?"

Anson noticed Scarlett's gaze as she looked past him and behind her. He turned his head and followed Scarlett's gaze, then saw Michael Caine.

The old man hunched his shoulders, lit a cigarette, and puffed away. He then slowly sat down in the rocking chair in the porch and began to sway gently.

But we don't know when Michael Caine arrived, or whether he heard the complaints from before.

Michael Caine didn't look at Scarlett or Anson, and said in a muffled voice, "Don't think about anything."

The two young people were both stunned.

Michael Caine seems to be able to understand them without even looking at them, because he has experienced all of this himself.

Despite his high reputation, Michael Caine also came from humble beginnings. His father was a fisherman and his mother was a maid. He couldn't afford to attend college, let alone receive formal acting training.

He became an actor because he found a job as a stage assistant in his early twenties and stumbled into the theater world. Michael Caine's acting comes from a formal theater background, but not from a traditional academic education. It took him nearly ten years to make a name for himself, and he finally established himself in his thirties, all through his own hard work and perseverance.

As an academic actor, Michael Caine also fully understands the way Hollywood actors perform; he doesn't view things with prejudice like those old-fashioned scholars.

"What I mean is, trust your gut feeling."

Michael Kane explained.

“You sit in your rooms reading novels and scripts, analyzing characters, and may even be writing biographies of characters. This research is sufficient. I believe you all understand the characters and your place in the story.”

"So what we need to do now is forget all that, just perform, and engage in the clash."

Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

"Don't say this is a movie shoot. Directors allow you to make mistakes fifty or a hundred times. It's the same on the stage. Don't worry about making mistakes. No one is perfect. Just perform according to your understanding and your instincts, and the answer will come naturally."

After a pause, Michael Kane glanced at Anson.

"Therefore, there is no need to apologize."

"People expect you to take responsibility, that's their opinion, you don't need to take it to heart, just finish the performance at your own pace."

“You’re just overthinking things, too nervous, too eager, too eager to perform. All these unseen pressures can be expressed through your performance. The audience doesn’t know what’s going on; they can’t get into your head. But they can feel the character’s exaggeration and exertion, and they can detach themselves from the scene.”

“What you need least right now is to stand here discussing acting and analyzing characters, saying things like ‘this should be’ and ‘that should be’. No, it’s not a good thing for actors to talk too much nonsense.”

"If you're going to be like those old guys in the academy who have no talent but only know theory, babbling on and on and on about acting theory, then you'd be better off sitting at your desk writing acting theories, hiding in your little room criticizing other people's acting, looking like you know everything, but actually knowing nothing at all."

puff.

This witty remark, delivered with a nonchalant air, completely swept aside those old guys from the academic world.

Anson and Scarlett lowered their heads, secretly exchanging glances, struggling to suppress their laughter.

Michael Caine seemed completely oblivious, or perhaps he was aware but simply didn't care.

"Actors should stand in front of the camera, on the stage, to perform and experience, to use their bodies to connect and feel. That's our job."

"People think that being an actor is a noble job, but actually it's also physically demanding. It's physically demanding."

Michael Caine slightly tucked his chin in, looked up at Anson, and winked like a mischievous old man, seemingly very pleased with his own comment.

"Relax."

"Just relax. What you lack most right now is not thinking, but taking action."

"Relax."

It was done casually, without any concern.

Michael Caine waved his hand, sat in the rocking chair and gently swayed back and forth. After speaking, he seemed to close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

Anson and Scarlett exchanged glances, unsure how to react. A smile welled up in their eyes, but would it be inappropriate to burst into laughter in the current atmosphere?

Without warning, Michael Caine then said, "A cigarette, want some? Or maybe some whiskey?"

As he spoke, he extended the cigarette from the tip of his right finger and gestured to Anson, his nonchalant demeanor starkly contrasting with his outward appearance.

(End of this chapter)