From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

“A butterfly flaps its wings and, in another part of the world, it might create a hurricane—Chaos Theory.”

Dim, chaotic, oppressive, and terrifying.

The movie establishes its tone from the very beginning. A hunched figure lurks in the darkness outside a stained-glass window, then suddenly bursts open the office door. The disheveled man stumbles inside.

Close the door. Lock it.

Then, using a sofa to block the main entrance, he grabs a nearby file box and ducks under the desk in one swift motion, his tall frame蜷缩起来.

Clearly, it’s Anson.

Despite the dim light, the stubble on his face, and the hospital gown, one can still sense his unique charisma from the lines of his profile.

Instantly, he seizes attention; effortlessly drawing viewers into the movie's heavy atmosphere with Anson's every move, causing hearts to clench.

Anson huddles under the desk, grabbing a pen and paper to quickly leave a message. Amidst hurried breaths and the flickering beam of a flashlight, chaos and danger spread everywhere.

The movie is only thirty seconds in, yet it has already captured the audience's attention.

“If anyone finds this message, it means my plan didn't work, and I'm already dead…”

Outside, pursuers are closing in, pounding on the office door, calling out the name "Evan" in an attempt to confirm he’s inside.

However, Evan doesn't stop.

“If I could somehow go back to where it all began, maybe I could save her.”

Evan!

Bang, bang, bang!

Evan!

The shouts, the pounding, the violent sounds intertwine. You can hear the commotion of the pounding on the office door, and the whole world seems to shake along with it. Finally, the message Evan is recording shatters into pieces.

The fragmented pieces of paper transform into butterflies, fluttering their wings and dancing in the darkness, ultimately morphing into a brain scan that continues to tremble slightly.

“The Butterfly Effect.”

The movie title appears.

An opening that sets a terrifying tone.

However, as the camera shifts, the blues, grays, and blacks all dissolve, and the whole world is bathed in a dazzling golden light, serene and beautiful.

Thirteen years earlier.

Just like Evan's message, everything returns to the beginning; but no one expected it to rewind so far back in time.

On the screen, the little boy playing with the dog looks to be about seven or eight years old!

In the screening room, Nicholas takes a deep breath, gathers his thoughts, and regains his composure—

So, what kind of movie is “The Butterfly Effect” anyway?

Unlike the mystery surrounding “The Elephant's” debut at Cannes, “The Butterfly Effect” has gradually revealed its style and genre during its pre-release promotion.

Three trailers, three different styles, but all with one thing in common:

Information about the movie's content is very limited.

In the trailers, Anson is constantly running, as if being chased or racing against time. Amidst his full-speed sprints, scenes of smiles, sunshine, and happiness are interwoven, creating a contrast between the brightly lit scenes and the dark tones of Anson's running.

Although the audience remains unclear about the movie's main point, they are certain:

Anson is the absolute core.

Therefore, the overall impression the movie creates is that Anson is constantly trying to change fate, but a huge shadow looms over him, and a tragic and magnificent energy permeates the trailers.

But what exactly is going on? What does the butterfly effect represent? What difficulties does Anson face? Is this a science fiction movie, a disaster movie, or a romance movie?

Questions like these take a backseat. Although all the scenes are detailed, they are not enough to piece together the movie's main plot.

Nicholas did his homework; he watched the trailers for “Master and Commander” and “The Butterfly Effect” repeatedly.

The movie story and visual style of “Master and Commander” are immediately clear; the trailer has already revealed the clues. But “The Butterfly Effect” offers no such insight.

Nicholas believes this is intentional—

Creating suspense.

Using Anson's charisma to capture the audience's curiosity and attract them to the movie theater.

Everything is bet on Anson.

However, the movie starts by taking the story directly back to childhood?

The situation is not good.

Nicholas knows the danger of a huge gap between expectations created by publicity and the actual product. The audience's attention may not last for ten minutes. If the movie fails to re-summon Anson or capture attention through other means within those ten minutes, audience attrition may be unavoidable.

Thinking of this, Nicholas feels a slight regret.

But it's not unexpected—

Anson is still young.

Although Anson knows how to promote and distribute, and although he has his own unique vision when choosing projects, he is still somewhat inexperienced as a producer, finding it difficult to strike a balance between actor, distributor, product manager, artistic creation, and director. The philosophy behind it is definitely not that simple.

Look at tonight, from the anticipation generated by the trailers to the special planning of the premiere, everything revolves around Anson. The entire screening room is bustling with discussions about Anson.

However, Anson is off-screen after one minute and thirty seconds of the movie?

Is this reasonable? What does the movie crew expect the audience to think?

Success or failure, it all depends on Anson.

Thinking about it carefully, this is actually a good thing. After all, Anson is only twenty-one years old, which proves that Anson is not perfect.

Nicholas relaxes slightly and begins to actively lower his expectations for the movie.

The story begins with an incomplete family.

Andrea is a mother, but she must also play the role of the father. Her husband, Jason, lives in a hospital for a long time due to mental instability, and she has to raise young Evan alone.

Maintaining order in daily life is not easy, but unexpectedly, Andrea discovers that her usually well-behaved son has caused trouble at school.

The teacher asked the children to draw pictures depicting what they wanted to be when they grew up. As a result, Evan drew two broken corpses, and he was standing on the corpses holding a large knife.

Worse, when the teacher tried to ask Evan about it, Evan said he didn't remember anything.

This brings Andrea to the brink of collapse—

Because Evan's father had similar symptoms, Andrea worries that Evan has inherited the disease, so she takes Evan to the hospital for examination.

The doctor conducts a detailed examination and suggests that Evan start writing a diary to record what happens every day.

However, the situation does not improve immediately.

Andrea and Evan are at home. One second Evan is writing in his diary, the next second Andrea finds Evan standing in the kitchen holding a knife—

Ah!

A burst of exclamations rings out in the screening room, too unexpected and sudden, with no psychological preparation at all, comparable to a "jump scare" in a horror movie.

Especially the fierce and vicious look paired with an innocent and romantic face, the intense contrast brings a sense of horror that sweeps through the entire screening room.

Nicholas is also startled, his heart racing.

At this moment, Nicholas realizes that it seems… there is a little bit of interest, so Anson is playing a… killer?