From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Surprise, surprise? Delight, delight?

The reviews for "The Butterfly Effect" completely revolved around Anson, which was to be expected since Anson is the absolute core of the film; however, what was truly surprising was that Anson actually saved the film—

By relying on his acting skills.

This…

Was jaw-dropping, and made people doubt their eyes.

Perhaps, some might say, this isn't the first time; have you forgotten "Catch Me If You Can"? There's no need to feign ignorance here.

The key point is that "Catch Me If You Can" is basically a stylish blockbuster; Steven Spielberg fully exploited Anson's good looks, and to some extent, Anson was acting as himself, without much technical skill involved.

As for the Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, there's even less need to elaborate; those in the know understand that it was purely for show—

Worthless.

However, this time is different.

The positive reviews not only praised Anson but even went so far as to say that Anson's performance saved the entire film, the only noteworthy highlight in an otherwise terrible work, with Anson showcasing the charisma of a superstar for the first time.

This is no small matter.

To be fair, "The Butterfly Effect" is just a suspenseful science fiction film; it cannot win acting nominations in the same way that "The Fugitive" did as a genre film, and media praise does not mean that Anson can become an Oscar contender; there's really no need to make a fuss about it.

The real focus is that Anson took the lead and displayed superstar charisma, revitalizing a mediocre or even terrible film—

Everyone was chiming in, with all sorts of opinions buzzing around.

The scene was exceptionally lively.

In the end, the overall rating, with only twenty-three media outlets participating, landed at sixty-one points.

Barely passing.

Despite the best efforts of media outlets such as "The Hollywood Reporter" and "The New York Times" to salvage the situation, the slightly dominant negative reviews still dragged the average score down all the way, almost crossing the passing line and falling into an even worse situation.

However, even so, "61," this score still seemed glaring, with a clear gap compared to the two consecutive hits of "Spider-Man" and "Catch Me If You Can" last year.

So, what does this mean?

Is this Anson's first time as a producer delivering a barely satisfactory report card?

Perhaps, it's too early to jump to conclusions now.

Then, unexpectedly but predictably, subtle changes occurred—

The discussion surrounding "The Butterfly Effect" soared.

The matter is as follows.

The overwhelmingly positive reviews for "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" undoubtedly grabbed a lot of attention; this had an overwhelming advantage, whether it was Russell's appeal or the momentum of the epic genre, easily standing in the public spotlight and frantically seizing resources under the unanimous praise of the media.

However, there were hidden worries behind the praise.

Firstly, there was a complete surge of epic films, and the audience's sense of novelty was waning; there have been as many epic films as hairs on a cow in the past two years, and the market is developing immunity; a length of two hours is a great test for the audience, after all, most movies now are still around ninety minutes—

"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" is one hundred and thirty-eight minutes long.

Secondly, pirate films and naval warfare films have been sluggish for a long time; the unexpected rise of "Pirates of the Caribbean" this year is definitely an annual surprise, but this does not mean that the market has reignited its enthusiasm; things are not that simple.

Thirdly, the overwhelming praise gives the audience the illusion that this is an awards season work, which is not good news for audiences who are keen on genre films.

Of course, these are just "hidden worries" and may not necessarily develop into real problems; however, when "The Butterfly Effect" seizes the focus of attention with explosive controversy, things may quietly change a little.

Controversy means focus.

Controversy means topic.

Especially the polarized reviews, with praise and criticism appearing at the same time, instantly ignited curiosity.

Moreover, this is not all; Anson's gimmick and the special premiere made "The Butterfly Effect" like a sight magnet, attracting more and more attention.

Slowly, slowly, the attention surrounding "The Butterfly Effect" climbed steadily.

Then, the general public suddenly realized that "The Butterfly Effect" actually had five different endings—

Boom!

This time, the pot exploded.

Not because of excitement, but because of controversy.

Those who agreed, those who opposed; those who liked it, those who rejected it, all sorts of opinions erupted completely, and the controversy plus the controversy instantly pushed the film into a hurricane vortex.

Grandly and vigorously, "The Butterfly Effect" seized the public's attention in another way; the powerful and determined "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" was actually helpless, watching the advantage that had been created with a lot of money spent on publicity and promotion slowly being eroded, and the situation was reversing.

Things were quietly becoming interesting.

Twenty-four hours, forty-eight hours…

The bustling voices surrounding "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" and "The Butterfly Effect" intertwined and resonated in the air, becoming a spectacle in this year's holiday season—

This is a good thing. At least, it is a positive signal for the film companies.

They don't care who wins or loses, they care about the vitality of the market; as long as the audience is willing to enter the cinema in the cold winter and busy holidays, that is good news.

Originally, the box office of "The Matrix Revolutions" as the final chapter of the series had slightly declined, and the market did not show a positive attitude, which was slightly worrying; in just one week, the market showed a positive and optimistic side.

"Anson VS Russell."

Such a collision was 100% unexpected, a combination that no one had anticipated, but in the end, it successfully ignited the spark in the market.

Under the spotlight, Friday arrived.

This is the day of the decisive battle.

The two films were launched simultaneously and officially released, and the previous fierce battle was about to be tested by the market and deliver a report card; this is the real moment of victory or defeat.

Regardless of whether the reviews are good or bad, no matter how grand the publicity is, no matter how much the media boasts about the superstar aura, in the end, it still depends on whether the audience will buy it.

…

The movie ended.

For a long time, Carl Rivette exhaled a long breath, sitting quietly in his seat in the screening room for a while, allowing the thoughts in his mind to calm down.

Afterwards, Carl realized that he was not alone; people were leaving the screening room one after another, but most of the audience continued to sit in place.

Everything was as expected; the powerful dramatic tension of the film was like a whirlpool, pulling the audience all into it, rushing towards the finish line in a flurry.

Waiting for everything to end, they needed a little time to digest it.

Whether they liked it or not, the power of this vortex was indeed real.