From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Regarding "Walk the Line", Mangold harbored ambitions, yearning to showcase a different possibility within the biopic genre—moving beyond a simple presentation of a person's life, and instead using the film's narrative to discover and explore the mysteries behind artistic creation—

How Johnny Cash drew inspiration for his art from his own life, and how that artistic creation, in turn, projected back into his life, creating impact.

This movie is not just about presenting Johnny Cash's life, nor is it solely about showcasing the achievements Johnny Cash attained.

Furthermore, Mangold understood the intentions of Johnny Cash, June Carter, and James Keach, to some extent, to present the love story of Johnny and June Carter, to provide a footnote for their shared life; however, Mangold did not want the film to become a platform for singing praises, nor did he want to be confined solely to their love story.

Mangold had his own ambitions.

All along, Mangold had been trying to persuade Keach, but all attempts failed.

Then, Anson appeared, and Forest Hill Entertainment and Lucas appeared.

Mangold realized that Anson supported his work, that he could completely hide behind Lucas, letting Lucas achieve his goals for him, and ultimately placing his hopes on Anson, hoping Anson could complete this task.

Mangold admitted that he was taking advantage of Anson.

His cooperation, his compromise, his swallowing his pride, could be considered part of the deal.

However, Mangold himself did not anticipate that Anson's performance would far exceed expectations.

To be precise, it was not just exceeding expectations; Anson brought an incredible surprise, perfectly presenting his ideas, his concepts, his expectations, his blueprint in just the first scene—

Admiration. Impact. Shock.

Rushing towards him, Mangold's brain stopped working, plunging into deep turmoil.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

A cheerful voice came from the side, and Mangold couldn't help but turn his head, immediately spotting Reese's radiant smile.

Clearly, Reese had just arrived on set—

Not surprising.

Reese had no scenes in the first half of the movie; she didn't even need to come to Memphis because her work wasn't needed in the Memphis portion.

However, Reese still came to Memphis to cooperate with Anson's work.

Moreover, she came to the set today to observe the start of filming firsthand.

So, this slight lateness was nothing; who knew when Reese had arrived on set, perhaps she had been watching from the sidelines for a while.

Reese showed no embarrassment or confusion, seamlessly integrating into the atmosphere, cheering and celebrating with everyone, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Mangold was somewhat bewildered, and ultimately couldn't resist looking at Reese, "Did you foresee all of this?"

Reese, "Foresee what?"

That confused expression left Mangold speechless, almost choking on his own saliva.

Reese laughed directly, "Although I don't understand the specifics, I must say, I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised by anything that happens."

"Did Anson just give a brilliant performance?"

Mangold paused slightly, nodding, "Yes. More than brilliant, perfect, absolutely perfect."

"Can you imagine? We can film the recording studio scenes in one take."

"Of course, actually, it's more than one take; we still need to switch to different angles, different positions, at least three takes, but you know what I mean."

"Anson..."

After thinking seriously, Mangold found himself at a loss for words, only managing to utter a sigh.

"Wow."

This one word contained a thousand meanings.

Reese's smile became even brighter, "Honestly, I'm not surprised."

"Director, otherwise, what do you think we were doing in the recording studio? Not just Anson, me, Larry, Dan John, we all went, did Anson just record for the August Thirty-First Band?"

Mangold nodded blankly, "Wasn't he?"

Everyone on the crew was complaining about Anson delaying the filming schedule because of the recording work, but clearly, things were not that simple.

Reese sighed softly, "That guy was planning to give the whole crew a big surprise, wasn't he? Not just the recording studio, Anson had been preparing for the movie even before coming to Memphis; he spent at least three months researching the character and going to New York bars to perform incognito."

"Director, believe me, that guy is smarter than we think."

Moreover, he is more talented and has more potential.

"Maybe he doesn't even need our approval and understanding."

Looking at the scene before them, even if the crew didn't know the effort Anson put into the role, or the story behind the recording studio work, they were still captivated by Anson, still uncontrollably applauding and cheering.

Could it be that the director didn't like it?

So their cheering just now backfired and angered the director?

The atmosphere briefly fell into silence; and it was the kind of silence where everyone was silent and holding their breath, so that the roaring of engines coming and going from the next block became extremely clear, constantly stimulating everyone's eardrums, their hearts trembling slightly, and an uncontrollable tension slowly gripping their throats.

From peak to trough, the huge and distinct gap made the atmosphere stiff.

Not only the staff and onlookers, but also the atmosphere in the Sun Records recording studio was slightly tense.

After a hearty and unrestrained catharsis, there was a sense of emptiness; but the problem was that their self-feeling was useless.

After all, one cannot see the true face of Mount Lu because one is in the mountain.

In the end, the decision was still in the hands of the director, and only if the director thought it was appropriate, would this scene be appropriate.

The pressure instantly formed a huge vacuum, overwhelmingly crushing Mangold's shoulders.

Mangold: ???

What's going on?

Obviously, Mangold himself had not kept up with the rhythm, and bathed in the eyes of the audience's attention and expectation, Mangold's scalp couldn't help but tingle.

Take a deep breath.

"OK."

Mangold said.

However, the scene was still full of astonishment: That's it?

Anson and the others had just completed such a performance, but the director's reaction was this? It was really disappointing.

Mangold himself also realized this, his throat was a little dry, he tried to say something else, but he had no clue.

After thinking about it, Mangold picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Anson." After a pause, "Thank you, the performance just now was perfect, let's switch to Sam Phillips's shot, can you perform it again?"

Finally!

Although simple and unadorned, the praise was still spoken.

The corners of Anson's mouth lifted slightly, and he said in a light tone, "Of course."