From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Ripley tried to ignore Lisa beside her, but obviously, it wasn't easy.

Every thirty seconds, Lisa had to check the situation outside the Angelika Film Center, then turn back, sighing with worry—

Over and over again, as if caught in a time loop.

"Sigh."

Lisa sighed deeply again, seemingly able to hear her shoulders droop without even looking up.

Ripley finally couldn't ignore it any longer, "Lisa..."

Lisa looked over with a worried face, and even before Ripley could ask, she was already pouring out her woes, "There's still no one here, no one coming to check in, and no one coming to line up. There are even less than a hundred people outside right now. I've never felt the road and plaza in front so empty."

"Ripley, are we done for? Even the 'Carrie' re-release was more lively than this."

Ripley was slightly helpless, and chuckled, "Lisa, it's only ten o'clock. In the morning."

"I know. But..."

"No buts. Today is Thursday, a workday, and people are at work. You can't expect them to take a day off for a movie they've never even seen."

A re-release of a classic movie like 'Carrie' can attract a large audience to line up even on a workday, firstly because classic works stand the test of time; secondly, because re-releases often have limited screenings, and you might never see it again if you miss it.

Time passed, little by little.

In the blink of an eye, it was past noon, but there was still no special activity at the entrance of the Angelika Film Center. The audience who came to line up one after another barely exceeded a hundred people, which was just a small cluster in front of the three thousand neatly arranged seats, looking particularly pitiful.

The rustling discussions became more and more turbulent—

Wait, wait! Could Anson's first Waterloo really be happening?

Not 'Elephant,' but 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'?

But after a careful analysis, it seems reasonable.

'Elephant' won the Palme d'Or, and with the right limited release strategy and not much ambition, it steadily promoted the limited release, and word-of-mouth became the driving force for the film's box office breakthrough.

However, 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' has nothing, only a seemingly gorgeous but impossible-to-implement expectation.

Moreover, it is worth noting that if 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' had chosen a limited release, or even a normal premiere, it wouldn't have fallen into such a predicament; but now, choosing a preview with more hype than content, the whole situation is completely different.

Of course, the so-called Waterloo doesn't mean that the movie 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' might fail; but rather that tonight's preview might expose the water under Anson's superstar aura, allowing people to glimpse a little bit of reality—

Anson's rise has been too fast, leaving almost no time to breathe. Every work and every appearance continues to create shockwaves, to the point that the entire Hollywood is caught in this storm, dizzy and unable to recover.

Now, can we finally calm down?

"Originally, this preview was outrageous. What is the Angelika Film Center thinking?"

"This event was wrong from the beginning. They wanted to rely on the appeal of Anson, Kate, and Charlie to attract the audience's attention, but the problem is that the independent film market really relies on the director's appeal. They don't care about the actors. This is a strategic error."

"The original intention of the Angelika Film Center was good, but the independent film market is not mature now, and without the awards season bonus, it can hardly make a splash."

"Simply put, they overestimated Anson."

"Haha, Anson has stumbled this time. Did he really think he was omnipotent? People are interested in him because of his handsome appearance. Is it because he's a good actor? Laughable."

"People just want to see handsome guys fall in love. Does he really think he's an actor?"

Complaints, ridicule, attacks, mockery.

All kinds of voices continued, and everyone was gloating and waiting to see Anson stumble.

After all, there haven't been many such opportunities in the past two years.

Moreover, as time went on, the noisy voices became louder and louder, and the crowds gathered more and more—

The situation at the Angelika Film Center did not improve.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, it was still sparse.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the crowd gradually increased... but they were all media.

It's hard to believe, but the number of media reporters is more than the audience... it seems to be really happening.

Because it was so shocking, the reporters were also looking at each other in dismay.

At the same time, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, the premiere of 'Dawn of the Dead' was kicking off in full swing. Although it couldn't compare with the summer档, and the usually stingy Universal Pictures didn't plan to spend money on the premiere, the scene still easily gathered more than two thousand people.

For the die-hard fans of the original movie, this is a grand event. Although it's not Halloween, demons and ghosts still pop out from every corner, enjoying their extra holiday.

There's no harm without comparison. It's rare to see Anson become a victim.

Shock and bewilderment spread slowly, and even those who supported Anson slowly began to feel uneasy. The situation was becoming more and more unfavorable.

Could it be... is Waterloo really coming?

In the queue, Karen, who had always been full of confidence, had fallen into despair—

Denial, anger, bargaining. Having experienced everything, Karen was now in the depression stage, with dull eyes and no desire to live, refusing to speak.

Originally, Blair was also worried, but looking at Karen like this, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Karen, people will show up, they just need some time. Do you think everyone is as free as us? No class this afternoon, just in time to come over?"

"Besides, this is just a preview. There's really no need to make a fuss."

Karen suddenly sat up straight, "Look, even you are starting to salvage the situation, saying that the preview is not important, that's because subconsciously... Hey! Blair, what's that?"

Halfway through her words, Karen suddenly made a fuss.

Blair turned her head and looked in the direction of Karen's gaze—

A surge of people poured out of the subway station, like a趵突泉, gurgling and surging.