From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

After much back and forth.

Amidst a mix of hesitation, doubt, and unease, Edgar dutifully handed the script to Anson, despite his lingering questions about the screenplay and the project as a whole, while continuing to gather information about the project.

Whether one wants to admit it or not, there needs to be a bit of fate between an actor and a work, and Anson's encounter with "Walk the Line" was not a simple coincidence.

To be precise, Johnny Cash seeing Anson in the dazzling world of Hollywood did indeed have a touch of destiny—

According to the information Edgar gathered, the first person to mention Anson's name among the potential actors was not Keetch, nor Mangold, but Johnny Cash himself.

Originally, Johnny Cash's attention was entirely on Joaquin Phoenix, as he believed he could see a younger version of himself in Joaquin's eyes.

By a stroke of serendipity, Johnny saw the music video for "Wake Me Up" on television, which reawakened the deep impression "Ho Hey" had unintentionally left on him, and after watching the August Thirty-First Band's unplugged street performance videos from their European tour, his eyes lit up—

"That's him. That's the kid."

These were Johnny's exact words.

Anyway, this was the version of the story Edgar heard, but he couldn't verify it with Johnny himself.

Because, sadly, Johnny had also passed away last month, less than five months after June Carter's death.

Regarding the matter of fate, some believe, while others do not, and everyone has their own interpretation.

But without a doubt, the fact that Anson entered Johnny Cash's line of sight was full of legendary color.

This summer, the August Thirty-First Band stirred up huge waves across the European continent, with the album "Midsummer Midnight" rising in its entirety, from "Ho Hey"'s long stay on the alternative charts to "Viva la Vida" topping the Billboard Hot 100, everything was full of legendary color.

In fact, Warner Music had been waiting, waiting for the opportunity to further ignite the craze—

"Wake Me Up" was the real trump card.

The chart performance of "Viva la Vida" far exceeded expectations, which led Warner Music to slightly delay the plan, officially releasing "Wake Me Up" in the first week of August, and using footage from the band's European street tour to edit a music video, which was heavily promoted on major radio stations and television channels.

This was the first time.

Up until now, the August Thirty-First Band had never filmed a music video, nor had they engaged in promotional activities on television and radio, relying entirely on word of mouth.

But this time, Warner Music seized the opportunity and finally exerted its strength.

Johnny Cash actually saw the August Thirty-First Band on MTV, it was the song "Wake Me Up", which then awakened his memory, reminding him of "Ho Hey" that he had heard on the radio program, leaving a deep impression.

This was the first time Anson entered Johnny's line of sight.

After learning that Anson was also an actor, a series of subsequent investigations and research led Johnny to decisively approve Anson as the protagonist of his biographical film—

This was probably something Warner Music had not anticipated.

However, Johnny was particularly insistent, as June Carter had just passed away not long ago, and Johnny was still immersed in the sadness of mourning his wife.

"If June were here, she would understand."

"In the past, everyone said she only had a pretty face, and if she wasn't a member of the Carter family, she wouldn't have had any opportunity to record records."

"But you all know that's a lie."

June Carter, she was the sister of the thirty-ninth President of the United States, Jimmy Carter; and the relationship was quite close, with the Carter family often gathering and maintaining close contact.

In fact, June Carter's career relied more on herself, because when she started singing, Jimmy Carter had not yet participated in the election; but people just like to be wise after the event, using what they see to speculate on conspiracies that do not exist at all, using prejudice to cover up their own stupidity.

Johnny's words made Mangold compromise first.

After all, when Mangold chose Angelina Jolie to star in "Girl, Interrupted", many people also thought he was crazy and didn't know what he was doing.

Obviously, Mangold did not like preconceived notions nor judging people by their appearance, the reason why he was able to discover different charms of actors in the director's position was because he had enough patience and care to observe and study the actors.

Therefore, he believed Anson deserved a chance.

After a thorough understanding, Mangold was completely shocked, completely unaware of the earth-shaking changes in the outside music world, a world he neither understood nor cared about—

Shock, came head-on.

In the first week of August, "Wake Me Up" was officially released, which was also the third single from the album "Midsummer Midnight".

After the groundwork and brewing of the previous two singles, this album had completely entered the public's view after a long journey of nearly nine months from a nameless corner covered in dust; then, Warner Music chose such an opportunity to awaken people's memories:

How did the August Thirty-First Band come to its current position step by step, and even before the album was released, they had already experienced a long and arduous journey.

Just like the name of the song, "Wake Me Up", accompanied by the official release of this song, countless memories sleeping in the mind slowly awakened—

It's them!

I know this song!

Finally, it should be almost two years, I have been looking for this song!

Ah ah ah, this song, this is the song!

So it's the August Thirty-First Band!

One after another, suddenly enlightened, ecstatic, if they had not heard "Ho Hey" and "Viva la Vida" before, they would not miss it this time.

The craze, fully rising.

When "Wake Me Up" was released:

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's strong collaboration single "Crazy in Love" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the August Thirty-First Band's "Viva la Vida" was in second place, and "Ho Hey" was still firmly occupying a place in the top ten, and 50 Cent even had three singles in the top ten.

Popularity and heat, at a glance.

At that time, fanatic music lovers were jokingly saying in online forums that the music market in 2003 was divided into three parts, August Thirty-First Band, Beyoncé, 50 Cent, after entering the second half of the year, let's see who can stand out, whether someone can dominate the world, or whether the era of heroes fighting for hegemony will continue?

Noisy discussions, fully unfolded.

Obviously, 50 Cent was the only one leading the way in the first half of the year, while Beyoncé showed a fierce posture in the second half of the year.

"Crazy in Love", three consecutive championships, five consecutive championships, seven consecutive championships… continuously soaring.

For a full two months, including the August Thirty-First Band and 50 Cent, as well as popular singles of different types and styles, no one has been able to shake Beyoncé's position, Beyoncé, who flew solo from Destiny's Child, made a strong debut and issued a declaration.

Who can end Beyoncé's strength?