The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 2045 New Players
In the recently concluded awards season, "February Storm" became the keyword for 2005, perfectly summarizing everything that happened in the past two months.

However, for Hollywood, the "February storm" only truly began after the awards season had ended, with a full-blown battle for Anson's favor.

However, no one expected that a dark horse would suddenly appear out of nowhere, with "The Killer Has No Holiday" emerging from the cracks in the rocks and taking the lead.

Edgar would say that the project came into his view much earlier, before the February storm, and was unrelated to the current grand occasion.

But clearly, nobody cared. What they cared about was why it was "hitmen don't get holidays".
Martin McDonagh is currently working in London's West End. He writes play scripts but has never written for any television or film projects; his resume is completely blank.

Furthermore, this is a British project, or more accurately, an Irish project. Ireland, a veritable film desert, has virtually no presence in Hollywood.

So why?
With the huge success of "Spider-Man 2", countless miracles during the awards season, and the completion of filming "Children of Men", everyone is watching Anson's next move. The entire Hollywood may even experience a chain reaction because of Anson's choice, truly a case of one move affecting the whole body.

As a result, this is it?
It's utterly baffling and incomprehensible.

And that's not all. The real point is that this is a project with a production budget of only 15 million US dollars.

A mere fifteen million US dollars?

This budget wasn't even enough to pay Anson's salary, yet Anson actually turned down giants like Disney, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox and chose this project instead.
"Wait, Anson, if you're being held hostage by Lucas, blink!"

No one could understand, and naturally no one could have predicted, that by the time Hollywood realized Anson had rejoined the crew, their reaction was belated. They were a full five, six, seven, or eight beats late in realizing that they had been tricked by Anson once again, but they were still helpless and could only surrender.

Not long after, Hollywood noticed a very, very important detail—

"In Bruges" was not an independent production of Forest Pictures, but a collaboration between Forest Pictures and Warner Bros.

Of these, Forest Films invested five million US dollars and Warner Bros. invested ten million US dollars. Although Warner Bros. had a higher investment share, Forest Films held all the control over the filming and the initiative in box office revenue sharing, because Anson served as executive producer, contributing his talent as equity and thus controlling the situation.

Huh!
I couldn't help but gasp.

Anson, just as Anson is! He doesn't play by the rules, he does things his own way, he's unconventional, he breaks the rules and laws, and he catches everyone off guard.

Forest Pictures is gaining a foothold, reducing investment and risks, yet steadily securing a place in the market, much like DreamWorks, fully leveraging Anson's appeal. This also means that Anson is not just seeking a paycheck.

Whether it's forty-five million dollars or sixty million dollars, these are all actor salaries; however, now, Anson has successfully shed his role as a pawn and transformed into the player, with a completely different cake and landscape before him.

Meanwhile, the real winner hidden behind the scenes is Warner Bros.

A mere ten million dollars investment is a drop in the ocean for Warner Bros., which often invests one or two hundred million dollars. It's nothing more than a drop in the ocean. They wouldn't even blink if they lost it all. The profit sharing they gave up was also insignificant in Warner Bros.' eyes. But instead, they successfully won back Anson and Forest Films' trust and bound Anson to them at minimal cost.

There is no harm without comparison.

It was only at this point that Sony Columbia realized what it had lost, and what Warner Bros., who had seized the opportunity, had actually gained.

Despite the shifting times, Jeff Robinoff still managed to impress the Warner Bros. board. However, in this new timeline, the timing was slightly earlier. Before Ang Lee, Christopher Nolan, Ben Affleck, and others could fully realize their talents, Anson burst onto the scene. Quietly, Hollywood was in turmoil, and the landscape was shifting once again. Whether one acknowledges it or not, Forest Pictures had indeed become a new player.

Of course, these are all things for later. Just look at DreamWorks' current predicament. Forest Pictures had a winning start and may be able to reach the top, but it may not be able to last long in this game of capital. In the end, an actor/director making a project and running a company are two different things.

Let's turn our attention back to the present moment. Things are happening quietly right under people's noses, without attracting anyone's attention.

Part of the reason is that Martin McDonagh really has no presence and can't attract any attention; part of the reason is Anson's relaxed and comfortable lifestyle.

In Hollywood, news of Anson's illness spread quietly. Everyone who heard the news seemed to be hiding a huge secret to prove their closeness to Anson, spreading it secretly and in whispers. Only Anson's closest friends knew about his health condition.

That's why Anson has stayed in Malibu—

This was no secret to the paparazzi; this time Anson hadn't disappeared again, and they could be 100% certain that he was in the villa.

reason?

When Anson goes out shopping on his skateboard, he not only chats with the paparazzi, but also buys them coffee and snacks as a treat, showing a very approachable demeanor.

The Anson before them, chatting and laughing, showed no trace of ferocity, almost making them forget the memory of being made a fool of before Oscar.

almost!

Anson stayed home and rested during his vacation, while his friends came to visit one after another to keep him company and help him pass the time.

Chris Evans came most frequently, running over every few days. The reason was simple: Anson's villa had a private beach behind it, perfect for surfing. He had recently become obsessed with surfing and was working out for the upcoming summer movie premiere, which is why he kept coming over.

This time, Brad Lanfro was also brought along.

Anson, whose cold had mostly healed, couldn't contain his excitement and took his surfboard into the water. They pulled Brad along to join them for a swim and some lessons.

This was tough on Brad.

Despite Brad's usual agility, his physical functions have been damaged by alcohol and drugs over the years, making him essentially a hollow shell.

Once it entered the water, all its weaknesses were exposed. In the end, it swallowed a bellyful of seawater and lay face down on the beach, completely dejected and motionless.

Chris followed him ashore and kicked Brad's right foot. "Hey, are you alright? You're already exhausted from this little bit of exercise. Didn't you say you were working out?"

Brad didn't even have the strength to give the middle finger; he spread out on the beach like a jellyfish, refusing to respond.

Anson, who had just emerged from the water and was drying his hair with a towel, chuckled as he saw this. "Brad, really? It's really not going to work out? I was planning to introduce you to a superhero role, but it seems the plan has to be shelved."

(End of this chapter)