America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 203, Section 201: Birds and Fish – One Soars Through the Sky, the Other Dives Deep into the Sea

More than a month later, Eric's second film directed this year, "Blue Is the Warmest Color," premiered at the Arc Light Cinema in Los Angeles, following "Transformers."

Unlike the massive hype surrounding Transformers, Blues of Adele was not suitable for large-scale promotion, and was kept strictly secret from the very beginning of the project to its completion.

While LGBT topics are no longer as taboo as they used to be, they are still not mainstream topics, and the LGBT movement is still more than a decade away from taking off.

Judging from major film festivals, Europe is relatively more open to LGBTQ+ themes, while the Oscars are more conservative than in Europe.

In the past few decades, there have been films with LGBTQ+ themes that have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but none of them have ultimately won the award.

Even the hugely popular film "Brokeback Mountain," which was so well-made, ultimately lost to "Crash."

But is Brokeback Mountain really not as good as Crash?

The media and many people believe that this is not the case, but rather because the prevailing social norms were not yet established at the time, and the Oscar judges would have been hesitant to break with conventional norms.

In 2017, Moonlight surprisingly beat out excellent films such as Manchester by the Sea, Hacksaw Ridge, and La La Land to win the Best Picture award.

Because social trends were already emerging at the time, Oscar naturally followed the trend and made a decision that most people did not expect.

Then in 2018, the jury became even bolder, awarding the grand prize to "The Shape of Water," a story about a woman falling in love with an amphibian, which is no longer a love story between humans.

Outside of the United States, can you believe this thing can beat "Three GGs"?

The biggest reason why "The Shape of Water" won the award is nothing more than political correctness; the views it conveys are too much in line with the ideology of the liberal left.

The development trend of the Oscars over the years shows just how much influence changes in social atmosphere can have on a film.

Filmmakers still have a certain pursuit and understanding of art, but they dare not openly go against the will of the masses.

Needless to say, there are many ordinary people who hold prejudices against films with LGBTQ+ themes or even against homosexuals in general.

This is especially true in more conservative states like South Carolina, where religion plays a dominant role in society.

So even though movies with LGBTQ+ themes are made every year, they are not shown on a large scale. Some theater owners will refuse to show them, so it's difficult.

More often than not, the film is released on a small scale in a few dozen cinemas first. If the response is good, the scale will be gradually expanded. However, very few films can reach more than a thousand cinemas.

Even a top-tier film like "Brokeback Mountain" only managed to be shown in over 600 theaters, which is quite a significant obstacle.

With MGM's influence, and given that almost all of its films released this year have been profitable, it has helped theaters earn a considerable amount of money.

Therefore, the theater owners were willing to give Eric face, and the premiere barely reached 500 theaters. This was the result of multiple negotiations and was the limit.

Given various special circumstances, today's event is more of a symbolic ceremony than a premiere.

There was no red carpet, no invited celebrities, only a large group of film critics, some invited by MGM, and some who came on their own initiative after hearing about it.

Everyone wants to know what the ingredients of this strictly confidential film are.

The lights dimmed, and Eric sat in the middle, with Ashley and Mary on either side of him.

This was the first time the two women had made a public appearance in months because of the movie. Sensing their nervousness, Eric gently drew circles in their palms.

On the big screen, the story officially begins, Part One – The Encounter.

Under the bright sunshine, many film critics were immediately struck by Adele's appearance.

This unadorned look completely overturned Ashley's past image, transforming her from a cute and cool girl into an ordinary girl you could see anywhere in daily life.

San Francisco Post entertainment columnist Kelkinsby nodded to herself. As a woman, she liked this change in the actress, as it would make the film more relatable.

A good art film should have this kind of atmosphere, and the movie has a good start.

In the next few minutes, the show begins to depict Adele's daily life: an ordinary family, an ordinary school, an ordinary class, and a few gossipy best friends.

If there's anything bright about her, it's that she has a male classmate who admires her.

"Hi Adele! May I sit here?"

On the bus, James McAvoy's character, a male classmate, appears. He doesn't have the domineering CEO vibe of commercial movies, nor does he receive any pointing fingers from others. It's just a simple greeting, just like in your or my life.

His expression carried a hint of awkwardness and shyness, as if he was worried about being rejected by the girl, making him look completely different from the American soldier in "Transformers".

Many people have just finished watching "Transformers," and the resolute roar of the dying characters still echoes in their minds.

Looking at his current on-screen image, the contrast is hard for many to accept, yet they have to admit that this young man has acting skills.

Adele's love seems to have arrived, and the two start dating, but Adele is always distracted and seems dissatisfied with the relationship.

Just as the two were on their date, Mary, with short blue hair, appeared with a girl in her arms. In their moment of surprise and confusion, they had an unforgettable encounter.

Many film critics immediately sensed something was amiss; based on their experience, the plot seemed to be heading in an unexpected direction.

Sure enough, when Adele got home, she lay alone in bed, and the scene in her dream was not with her boyfriend.

Startled awake, Adele was somewhat at a loss.

Dating her boyfriend became increasingly difficult, and she felt more and more uncomfortable, so she could only confide in a support group she didn't know.

"I feel like something's not right."

"If you're not compatible, you should break up."

"No, it's not his problem, it's mine. I feel like I'm missing something."

"I'm slow to understand romantic feelings between men and women. Even though I was leaning on his shoulder, it felt like a bird and a fish, one soaring in the sky and the other diving deep into the sea."

"Beautiful lines that adapt Tagore's poetry!" Many film critics couldn't help but admire upon seeing this.

Finally, Adele could not go against her own heart and chose to break up with her boyfriend.

"Adele, I don't understand. Is it because I haven't done enough?"

"No, it's my own problem."

The two embraced and wept bitterly; one was crying for her lost love, while the other, filled with guilt, bravely chose to be herself.

After the breakup, she began searching for the girl who haunted her dreams, and the two eventually met at a gay bar.

"Choose the one who loves you!"

After more than half an hour of filming, Adele and Emma's deepest desires erupted.

In the movie theater, many people gasped in surprise, not because the sex scene was too explicit.

The footage shows the largest possible exposure, followed by some close-up shots of faces, all edited by Eric to avoid any nudity.

If the content involves nudity, it will be classified as NC17, which is prohibited for minors and greatly affects the audience size.

If there is no nudity, it is rated R. Minors can watch it with the accompaniment of a parent or guardian. However, the term "parent or guardian" is very vague and can include older siblings, cousins, or distant relatives.

The audience was surprised to learn that Ashley and Mary are sisters; they are not two unrelated actresses, but are blood relatives.

This layer of relationship, coupled with captivating visuals, even if only briefly explored, has a far greater impact than explicit scenes.

"OMG!"

"Oh my God!"

"How did Eric Cooper convince them?"

The film critics from NBC and ABC exchanged glances, both reading the surprise in each other's eyes.

Throughout film history, there has never been a similar situation.

How will you film this? Won't it be awkward on set? Won't you have any psychological barriers?

With this in mind, everyone's attention was highly focused, more so than when watching any movie.

The movie then moves into its second part – falling in love.

The colors of Adele and Emma's images become increasingly bright, and both of them display their most radiant smiles.

But hidden dangers lurk behind the laughter, as their environments are vastly different.

Emma grew up in an artistic family. Her parents were open-minded, and her friends encouraged her to pursue true love and be her true self.

However, Adele's family is conservative, and most of her parents and friends are opposed to homosexuality.

The vast differences in their environments caused conflicts in their lives, especially since Adele was too afraid to confide in her parents, which led to their first argument.

The film then moves into its third chapter – Differences.

Adele couldn't join in the conversation with Emma's social media posts, especially those about art. She watched Emma chatting and laughing with others like an outsider.

She could only silently clean up the kitchen, her disappointment written all over her face, but the excited Emma didn't notice.

The two lacked communication; Adele tended to be passive and kept things to herself.

Emma, ​​however, was rather oblivious; she didn't notice and was focused on her own work.

After a while, the pressure of not fitting in made Adele feel frustrated, especially seeing Emma making her uncomfortable because of her work.

In a daze, she accepted her male colleague's advances. The male colleague wanted to take things further, but Adele, who was now fully awake, stopped him and could only take her home.

Emma captured this scene, leading to a conflict between the two.

The film has now entered its fourth chapter – Depravity.

Both of them were in pain after the breakup, not only because of misunderstandings, but also because their lifestyles and ideological pursuits were too far apart.

A year later, Adele changed into more professional clothes and a more mature hairstyle, and the two met again.

"How have you been lately?"

"Hmm, and you?"

"You've changed your hairstyle, just like before."

"You look a bit old, don't you?"

"No, it looks beautiful. My old hairstyle was too messy."

Are you still with that girl?

"Yes, Liz had a child, and we'll raise it together."

"How are things going? With her?"

Emma hesitated for a long time when faced with this question.

"Boring? Dull? Or what?"

Emma then looked into Adele's eyes: "In short, it's different from yours."

Their hands suddenly clasped together.

"Shall we start over?"

Emma remained silent.

"Haven't you forgiven me yet?"

"No, I've forgotten about those things, they're not important!"

The two looked at each other silently, tears streaming down their faces, their voices choked with sobs as they spoke of their longing.

If that argument was a desperate outburst of emotion, this scene is a restrained and suppressed outburst, both of which are very difficult to execute.

Eric put in a lot of effort for these two scenes, training the two sisters was no ordinary task.

At the end of the film, Adele attends Emma and Liz's art exhibition, chats with them calmly, and then leaves calmly.

No one knew why she came, and no one noticed when she quietly left.

indistinct!

As the movie ended, the theater lights came back on.

But the expected applause did not come, and the hundreds of people present had mixed feelings.

Ashley and Mary's hearts pounded. What did this mean?

A silent protest?

They had considered the worst-case scenario; after all, it was truly terrifying to see sisters fighting together.

But when it actually happens, I still feel a bit helpless.

At the crucial moment, Eric pulled together the two of them and led the main cast onto the stage. The process still had to be completed, even if it meant Eric getting scolded and criticized. They couldn't afford to lose face.

Once I got up there, I found that some seats in the audience were empty. It certainly wasn't because of the length, because Eric had compressed the original three-hour story into just over two hours.

If it weren't for the length, it would either be something I don't like, or I dislike the subject matter, or I dislike the group of people.

On the high platform, looking at the film critics and audience not far away, the two sides exchanged silent glances. Today's ceremony was very simple, with no celebrities and Eric naturally did not invite a host.

Seeing that indulging in this wasn't a solution, Andrea picked up the microphone, ready to take the plunge.

Eric gave her the opportunity to direct, and she knew how to reciprocate.

Snapped!

But just as she was about to speak, a crisp round of applause rang out from the audience.

clap clap!

Then a second and a third person appeared to applaud.

*Clap clap clap*

Suddenly, most people started clapping, and enthusiastic applause instantly filled the hall.

The tension lifted instantly, and everyone on the stage breathed a long sigh of relief.

However, not everyone liked it. Amid the applause, Eric saw some audience members get up and leave.

If you include those who left halfway through, there were probably sixty or seventy people who left before the movie was over.

A mixed bag of praise and criticism has emerged, sparking controversy!

(End of this chapter)