From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Without a doubt, Ansen was clever.

No aggression, no arguing, no overwhelming aura; he maintained a calm demeanor throughout the conversation, subtly dismantling his opponent and gaining the upper hand without a trace.

When Reese was forced into an awkward and difficult corner, she didn't realize Ansen's shift in the situation because she had also discovered a blind spot—

Correct, if she didn't want to cooperate with Ansen but couldn't bear to give up the project, why had she been following him all along, expecting something to happen?

Could it be that, deep down, she already had an answer?

What should she do now?

If it were an ordinary person, they would already be completely flustered; but Reese wasn't.

Not only was she not flustered, but after a brief moment of confusion, Reese regained her composure and seized a key point from a jumble of thoughts. She realized that she had been completely drawn into Ansen's rhythm.

How exactly did Ansen do it?

Did this mean that Ansen was definitely not just a pretty face as he appeared to be?

When Reese complained that people were prejudiced against her because of her work and her appearance, was she also prejudiced against Ansen because of his work and his appearance?

So, was she becoming the kind of person she hated the most, applying the treatment she was unwilling to endure to Ansen?

Reese calmed down, her thoughts surging. She decided to regain the initiative.

"You've been carrying that guitar around all the time, why? To get into character?"

Over the past few days, Ansen had been carrying that guitar, coming and going, back and forth, no matter where he went, the guitar was always with him.

Honestly, Reese was a little disdainful, looking down on such actions—

When the paparazzi photographed Ansen, when passersby saw Ansen, they exclaimed that Ansen had put so much effort into getting into character; but in fact, when you really stood in front of the camera, if you couldn't act, you just couldn't act. You wouldn't suddenly transform into a god of music and acting just because you held a guitar for three months.

The emptier the bottle, the more enthusiastic it is about this kind of superficial effort.

Reese knew this when she was in school. There was a type of student who carried books everywhere, as if books were their best friends, but in reality, they just slept on the books, their heads empty, and their exam scores were always at the bottom.

And in Hollywood, they are everywhere.

Therefore, Reese had never paid attention to it.

But now, Reese was slightly shaken. Judging from Ansen's intelligence, he should disdain such superficial efforts because they were too clumsy and too superficial.

But why?

Following Reese's gaze, Ansen looked down at his guitar and smiled, "Yes. To experience the character."

Reese: ......

Jaw dropped.

Ansen actually admitted it? Just admitted it so simply?

Was this ignorance and stupidity, or was it great wisdom?

For a moment, Reese couldn't tell, and even forgot how to speak. The thoughts in her mind blurted out, "But, why? Why use such a crude method?"

Ansen noticed Reese's "aggression"; she was trying to take control; but this time, Ansen wasn't going to interrupt her.

"Simple may mean crude; but it may also mean direct."

"In the fifties and sixties, the music equipment at that time was not complete or advanced."

"Often, singers would just take a guitar and go on stage to perform. If they were lucky, they would have a microphone; if they were unlucky, the microphone and sound system might become obstacles to the performance."

"So, the most important partner for singers was their own guitar."

"Country. Folk. Rock. Pop. No one was an exception."

Ansen still seemed unhurried. He and Reese stood in the supermarket parking lot, basking in the sunlight, chatting like old friends.

Occasionally some figures passed by, but they didn't even bother to stop for a moment. Everyone was busy with their own lives, and had no time to notice the two figures in the parking lot.

"In that era, there were countless people who used music to change their lives, create musical art, and make their voices heard, which is why Woodstock was born later."

"People believed that they could use music to change society and change the world."

"Therefore, there were too many singers with musical dreams; but because of the lack of publicity, countless dreams could only slumber in the freezing snow."

"They didn't even have a rental house, and could only move from one friend's house to another, wandering around different bars, trying to find performance opportunities."

"Once an opportunity came, they needed to be ready to perform at any time."

"And the guitar was their only reliance, and also a tool for survival."

"No matter where they went, carrying a guitar meant opportunity and hope; but without it, they couldn't seize the opportunity even if it appeared."

"You ask me why I carry a guitar around like a fool anytime, anywhere?"

"Because I'm trying to find the feeling of half a century ago in 2003, because I'm trying to understand what music meant to their lives, because I'm trying to feel the state of them carrying their dreams and lives on their backs, wandering and running around."

Everything, still needs to thank a movie that Ansen personally likes very much—

"Inside Llewyn Davis".

In this movie, the director, the Coen brothers, depicts the world of a loser, struggling to hold onto a glimmer of dream in the freezing winter. New York in the sixties bred countless great singers, but also drowned countless talented and fresh souls.

Just recalling that era from pictures and words, it is difficult to truly feel their situation and the atmosphere at the time, but it is still possible to feel the struggle and ending flowing deep in the soul through the movie screen.

In real life, Johnny Cash succeeded, an unparalleled success; but Johnny still lost himself in the vortex of the fame and fortune.

The present is somewhat similar to the sixties. Rock is also disappearing, while pop and dance music are booming. The music market is declining, but pop superstars continue to rise. Ansen is trying to feel the pulse of the times—

It's not just playing Johnny Cash, it's a step further than imitating Johnny Cash, but feeling the collision between Johnny Cash and the entire era, feeling a state under the magnificent era.

Acting should not just be clumsy imitation.

If you cannot understand the atmosphere and power conveyed by that era, then the actor is destined to be unable to reproduce Johnny Cash's state in that era.

So, even when going to the supermarket, where the guitar is of no use at all, Ansen still carries it.

Like a show.