The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 2113 Slippery
The scent of sunshine and seawater hit him, and Michael felt dizzy, as if he were lost in the dazzling, golden shimmering light.

On the contrary, Anson, after drinking a cup of espresso, became a little more sober, opened a sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth. Logically speaking, he should pay attention to his image and try to avoid stuffing his mouth full of food on the street, but during the film festival, he couldn't care less about his image.

Standing on the side of the road, with the cinema directly opposite, it was Anson who took the initiative to bring the topic back.

"It sounds like a special project. Are you sure it's a commercial project, or a unique work like '28 Days Later'?"

Michael was taken aback. "What?"

Anson's eyes lit up with a smile, "'28 Days Later,' directed by Danny Boyle, starring Cillian Murphy..."

At this time, the former had not yet won the Oscar for Best Director with "Slumdog Millionaire", and the latter had not yet won the Oscar for Best Actor with "Oppenheimer", so they were naturally not comparable.

Seeing Michael's astonishment, Anson had to explain, "It's a British film released in 2002, about a virus that was accidentally released in London. Twenty-eight days later, the protagonist wakes up to find himself lying in ruins. He doesn't know why he's alright, but London has become a dead city."

"Oh, right, those infected by the virus became zombies."

Michael: ...

Clearly, Michael had not anticipated this turn of events.

He was full of confidence and determined to persuade Anson about his project, but it turned out that a similar project already existed three years ago? At first glance, they seemed to be exactly the same. Although he had not seen "28 Days Later" and had no way of knowing the specifics, it would be twice as difficult for him to continue to impress Anson.

So, what should we do?
At this point, Michael demonstrated his abilities honed over a decade in Hollywood, stating, "We are different."

Anson showed a hint of curiosity, "How is it different?"

Michael spread his hands. “Investment. That British film, the investment shouldn’t be large, ten million dollars? At most thirty million dollars.”

It must be said that Michael was very clever, grasping the key points from the smallest clues—

"28 Days Later" only cost a mere five million dollars to make.

"Our project, on the other hand, involves an investment of two hundred million US dollars. It's not just about the scale; the entire concept, core, and direction of the story will be different."

In the blink of an eye, Michael had already established himself. "Indeed, this is a special project, but in essence, we are still making a commercial genre film. We hope to explore the characteristics of the characters like 'Spider-Man 2', while also delivering an unparalleled cinematic experience."

"In fact, 'Spider-Man 2' has given us a lot of inspiration."

Anson wasn't surprised. The person in front of him must have some skills, otherwise how could he have established himself in Hollywood? But these words were just for show and didn't have much reference value. They were often just random nonsense. He might not remember them at all when they discussed them next time and would come up with a completely different story.

Anson's eyes revealed a hint of a smile. "So, you came to me because of my box office appeal, and all that groundwork was just sweet talk?"

Without warning, they launched an attack suddenly.

Michael remained calm, saying, "If anyone says your box office appeal isn't important, that's a complete lie. We need you because you are Anson Wood."

"However, if people think that your work will always be successful just because of a face, then they are very wrong, extremely wrong."

“There’s only one Anson Wood, it’s definitely not luck.”

Anson looked at Michael, whose face was full of sincerity and who was almost raising his hand to swear an oath, and the corner of his mouth slightly raised, but it was impossible to tell what the specific information was.

"Anson!"

Shouts came from across the street, and looking up, you could see a group of reporters bustling towards the cinema. "I love 'Walking with Song'!"

"I hate it!"

"Congratulations to the film for becoming a hot topic."

They were laughing and joking, having a lively time. You could tell they had just been discussing something, and traces of their heated debate remained on their faces.

Just as Anson was about to respond, he spotted Scarlett Johansson wearing a bucket hat from behind the crowd.

Scarlett jumped up with all her might, waving her hands frantically, her smile wide open, silently mouthing something, but her vision was blurred and she couldn't see clearly.

Anson smiled faintly, subtly shifting his gaze, and raised his right hand in a wave of greeting, "Keep it up, keep this spirit."

A burst of laughter erupted.

Anson turned his gaze back to Michael. "So, why do you think I'm suitable for this role? It sounds like a heavy one."

Across the street, crowds surged past, and Scarlett's figure vanished in the blink of an eye. The bustling activity continued as usual, just another ordinary day at the film festival.

But the key point is that this is not ordinary!
Anson stood there, poised and confident on the streets of Cannes.

Yes, yes, Michael knew that this was the case throughout the Cannes Film Festival, and people seemed to have gotten used to it; but for a seasoned veteran like him who had been in Hollywood for a long time, it was still hard to adapt, and he would easily lose his composure if he wasn't careful.

Please, this is Anson Wood! Anson has left paparazzi in the British Isles and North America frustrated and helpless. People have even started to laugh at the paparazzi for repeatedly losing track of him, and gossip magazines would go crazy over a single photo of Anson in casual clothes.

But what about right now?
Michael was somewhat bewildered, and he had to use all his strength to barely control himself, "Because you are an actor."

He paused for a moment, then said, "A real actor. I mean."

“You have the ability to imbue a character with that kind of complexity. We saw it in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, and now we’re witnessing it again in ‘Singing Along’.”

"In the movie, the scene where you go into a frenzy on stage and finally faint—who wouldn't be heartbroken?"

“Robert Neville needs this level of maturity—a tough guy on the outside, but riddled with wounds on the inside. He’s not Superman; he’s afraid, he doubts himself, and he even wants to give up; but he always gets back up and keeps fighting.”

"You have the ability to make the audience believe in every second of the character's struggle."

"But at the same time, we are not Martin Scorsese. We are not going to make 'Gangs of New York' or 'The Aviator.' We need a performance that is light and easy, so that the audience can feel the heaviness but not be overwhelmed by pain. To be honest, right now, you are the only one in all of Hollywood who can do this."

“Haha.” Anson chuckled. “Johnny Depp probably won’t be happy to hear that.”

Michael tilted his head. "Are you serious? Anson, Johnny Depp isn't an actor."

Anson raised an eyebrow slightly.

Michael, "He doesn't read scripts, he doesn't memorize lines. He needs an assistant to put the script behind the camera so he can read it directly, or even needs someone to read the script to him. Hollywood adores him not because he's so great, nor because he has box office appeal, but because he knows how to party and how to use parties to build up his network."

“Anson, we all know what Hollywood is like and how it works. He’s just going with the flow and using it skillfully.”

(End of this chapter)