From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Demons and monsters, a chaotic dance of evil.

Here and now in 2003, all sorts of fabricated news stories are flying around, like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's confusing on-again, off-again romance, every move of which can easily capture attention, becoming a nationwide carnival.

This scene is really fresh, and even the phenomenon itself has become a topic of conversation.

However, slightly different from the all-out melee of the social media era, we are still in the forum era. The general public's sense of participation is not so strong, and the chaos and impact brought about by real-time updates are not so strong. There is even a certain sense of division between different age groups.

But whether you admit it or not, when you repeatedly see news breaking, you can't help but pay attention and see what the truth is all about.

So, is this considered the event of the year?

In the eyes of conspiracy theorists, the biggest beneficiary of the whole incident is Sony Columbia. Regardless of Anson's injury, "Spider-Man 2" has already garnered enough attention—

If Anson recovers and returns to the crew, the movie will surely be greeted with cheers. When it is released next year, it will be able to pre-order a wave of attention early on.

If Anson doesn't, then the more serious Anson's injury is, the more benefits it can bring, because people will walk into the cinema with sympathy and even nostalgia.

This point was later directly proven in "Furious 7". Although the box office and global popularity of the series of movies have been rising, it still has not gotten rid of the inherent weakness of being essentially a B-grade movie. The global box office has never ushered in a transformation.

However, Paul Walker's death unexpectedly became a turning point. Universal Pictures and the male lead Vin Diesel frantically peddled sentimentality, completing a beautiful public relations marketing campaign, which made people who were originally not interested in the series of movies flock to the cinema—

Immersed in their own non-existent sentimentality.

In the end, "Furious 7" broke 1.5 billion dollars worldwide, becoming the first time in the series' history that the box office exceeded 1 billion, a magnificent feat.

The true meaning of entertainment to the death is that "death" can also become "entertainment".

The same is true for Anson now.

So, it may sound unbelievable, but there are indeed people who ridicule with a cold-blooded attitude, "If Anson really dies, then Sony Columbia will make a killing."

Not just ridicule, they don't care about Anson's injuries and life or death. Instead, they start cursing Anson's life, impatiently starting to complain about what will happen at Anson's funeral, and how "Spider-Man 2" will be at that time, turning the accident into a kind of entertainment in a farce manner.

In Las Vegas, someone even opened a bet on the black market: What is Anson's condition?

Is he dead, is he alive, what is the injury?

Do they care about Anson?

No, they don't care. There are so many Hollywood actors. One more or one less doesn't matter. Instead of caring about how the actors are doing, it is better to care about the entertainment value created by these circus performances and the money that actually goes into their pockets.

Anyway, no matter what happens, Sony Columbia will win without losing.

But he can't.

So, Sam obediently sat there, looking down at the table, counting on his fingers.

Sam hesitated for a second. Should he break the silence and argue for Anson, but a glance at the corner of his eye showed that everyone present was a producer and executive. It was not his turn to speak. It was better to strike later and make his own voice at a critical moment.

Then, Sam calmed down again.

Ian Bryce noticed this scene and couldn't help but smile.

Back then, as a producer, Ian was also one of the audition interviewers for the male lead. He personally selected Anson from many candidates.

So, speaking for Anson now is also justified—

At this moment, they are discussing Anson's future. To be precise, because of Anson's accidental injury, the subsequent recovery cycle is difficult to predict, which will cause the filming of the entire "Spider-Man 2" crew to be suspended. So, should they continue to wait, or replace the male lead?

Anson: ???

Obviously, in the eyes of the outside world, Sony Columbia should be the big winner. No matter what happens, they can sit back and relax; but the reality is not the case. Sony Columbia seriously treats this matter as a crisis management, far from being so easy.

Compared with the conspiracy theories of the general public, Sony Columbia takes this matter seriously as a crisis management, far from being so easy.

Since Sam is as quiet as ever, Ian didn't hesitate too much and spoke.

"I think we should wait for Anson..."

The sound broke the silence in the conference room, seeming a little abrupt; but even more astonishing was that before Ian could finish speaking, a voice rudely interrupted.

"Wait? Do you know the cost of waiting?"

The speaker was a gentle middle-aged man with neat, short hair dyed a little light gray. Although he had stubble, he was not messy and sloppy at all. Instead, he had accumulated a little mature charm over the years. His thin cheeks always had a shallow smile.

If you judge people by their appearance, and think that this man is harmless because of his smile, then the result is that you will be swallowed alive until there are no bones left—

Otherwise, how could he become the CEO of Sony Columbia?

Michael Lynton shook his chin lightly, as if Ian had said something witty.

"We have already postponed filming because of Anson. We finally moved up the schedule and felt a little relieved. Now we are postponing filming again because of Anson?"

"Filming a movie is not child's play. How can everything be like a circus?"

"Everyone present should be clear that the crew has already started operating. Every day we wait, every day we delay, we have to bear the expenses. Continuing to wait means that our production costs may continue to rise by millions of dollars. Believe me, we cannot afford to continue to increase spending."

Those who don't know the inside story should naturally blame Anson when they hear these words; but Ian is not an outsider, and he cannot be fooled by a few words—

According to the original plan, "Spider-Man 2" was scheduled to start filming in January, so the crew began building the studio set in October last year.

However, due to the popularity of "Catch Me If You Can", the salary negotiations have been delayed. Finally, Anson took on "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", which led to a full schedule. A series of subsequent events came one after another, and the filming of "Spider-Man 2" had to be postponed for a full five months.

This is the focus of Michael Lynton's words.