From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Clap clap clap, clap clap clap!

The applause escalated, eventually transforming into a storm that swept through the entire venue.

This scene was undoubtedly shocking and impactful, not just a craze at a film exhibition, but something more vast, more turbulent, and more impactful; from the bottom up, the whole world began to spin rapidly, like a hurricane.

Involuntarily, people looked left and right, exchanging glances and eye contact, then seeing the emotions of joy and excitement boiling in each other's eyes, three thousand, four thousand, five thousand people, a continuous surge.

Hearts surged—

For a long time, these independent films had been wandering outside the mainstream aesthetic, quietly blooming and quietly flourishing, possessing their own unique charm, but rarely, very rarely, being discovered by people; true film enthusiasts could only collect DVDs and search for like-minded people on online forums, trying to find kindred spirits.

But tonight, unexpectedly, a preview screening unearthed a treasure.

They shed tears because of a film, they felt happiness because of a film, and they were even more moved because they shared such a moment with a group of like-minded people.

Blood, involuntarily, boiled.

The action of clapping hands became more and more intense, more and more joyful, the echoes surrounding reverberated in the ears continuously, and the whole world began to spin.

Grand and mighty, vigorous and heroic—

Ripley watched the scene before her, and involuntarily her emotions surged, and she frantically wiped away the tears in her eyes; inadvertently, she saw Lisa, who was also in tears, with a face full of astonishment.

Lisa had been wiping away tears but couldn't control them, and after noticing Ripley's gaze, she simply gave up trying to control herself and burst into a wail.

Ripley was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, her mood completely brightened.

Who could have imagined that independent films would actually usher in a turning point thanks to Anson?

But calming down and thinking carefully, Ripley recalled Anson on the phone, his wisdom, his enthusiasm, his positivity, like a ray of eternal sunshine from a beautiful mind, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the path of guidance.

Ripley thought, who exactly is labeling whom?

Ah, Anson! That's right!

Amidst the dizzying applause of the entire venue, Ripley finally regained some sanity, her feet returned to the ground, she grasped her thoughts, and quickly busied herself.

Snap!

A light fell on the big screen, and the overwhelming applause of the entire venue followed the guidance of the light, refocused their attention amidst bewilderment and curiosity, and in the next second, they were shocked by the image on the big screen—

“Hey, hey… can you hear me? Testing, microphone test, this is Anson-Wood.”

After a brief pause of one second, the whole world instantly plunged into a storm.

Ahhh, ahhh!

Escalating, continuing to surge, the applause just now was already crazy enough; but now it overwhelmingly broke through the limits, creating a brand new wave.

Ahhh!

Blair's brain was blank, she was just screaming, her heart was about to explode—

Previously, there had been no indication whatsoever, including Focus Features, which had not mentioned any activities after the end of the preview screening; the entire audience was just immersed in the impact of the film, preparing to share their feelings with friends, but they were greeted with a surprise without any warning.

Crazy, crazy, completely crazy.

Blair looked at Karen.

Karen's soul had left her body, completely dazed, she even forgot how to scream.

Karen looked at Blair, and asked blankly, "Is that Anson?"

Blair nodded repeatedly, grabbed Karen's hands, and shook her vigorously, "Anson, ahhh, ahhh!"

Karen: "Shut up!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Karen covered her mouth, staring blankly at the big screen, losing herself in the frenzy, staring blankly at the big screen without moving.

In the picture, Anson was wearing a white linen shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up, with a little stubble, compared to his usual sunny image, he looked slightly weathered, but added a touch of mature charm, and was different from the sloppy and decadent appearance in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.

The smile on the corner of his mouth was always upturned, his eyes lazily and dreamily pierced through the big screen and gazed at the scene, which made the frenzy at the Angelica Film Center continue to escalate—

Losing reason.

Then, Anson leaned forward, raised his hand and gently pressed down, signaling the scene to be quieter.

“Sorry, I’m not quite sure how the atmosphere is feeling at the scene, so I’m not sure if it’s quiet down now, in order to avoid myself looking like a fool, I decided to be honest.”

“This is a pre-recorded video, not a live broadcast.”

Haha!

The atmosphere was noisy and lively.

In the big screen, Anson seemed to be able to feel the rolling heat wave of the scene, and showed a smile.

“I just want to express my gratitude, thank you all for being willing to sit in front of the big screen for two hours to enter the wonderful world built by Charlie, after all, in New York, stopping for strangers for three seconds is already very rare.”

“Two hours? Believe me, we have already had memories of three lifetimes together.”

Roaring with laughter, the entire Angelica Film Center surged with applause and whistles.

“But the slightly regrettable thing is that tonight’s preview screening is not over yet, you may need to persevere for some more time, and be stuck here with us.”

“Kate, I’m not sure how they feel, how much patience is left, but we may need to speed up, you and the audience say hello.”

Wait, what?

What is Anson saying?

Amidst a burst of joy and elation, the Angelica Film Center obviously couldn't react, the speed of thinking couldn't keep up with the rhythm, and each one looked bewildered:

What's going on?

On the big screen, Levi maintained his smile, but it seemed as if the picture was stuck, motionless, only the voice continued to surge in the impression.

Is this a technical glitch?

“Hey, New York, I’m Clementine, no, if I say that, you might think I’m crazy, actually I’m Kirsten Dunst.”

“Kate, you stole my line, so what should I do when it’s my turn next?”

“You can say you are Kate Winslet, anyway no one can see.”

“Haha, I do hope so, but my voice probably can’t deceive everyone.”

Seeing the two women chatting, Anson's voice cut in again.

“Tick tock, are you sure we are ready to continue staging this farce? Mark, Elijah, are you also brewing pranks?”

Karen looked at Blair, her face full of astonishment, trying to figure out what was going on.

But this time, Blair also had no answer, staring blankly ahead, her head full of question marks almost overflowing, dumbfounded:

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

What exactly is going on in front of me?

In the next second, the big screen finally flickered, Anson, who had always maintained a smile comparable to a statue, disappeared, evolving into an instant messaging chat window.

Someone spoke, and an avatar appeared, starting to flicker, like a conversation, although the picture could not be seen, but the identity was clear.

Then, a group of people shouted sporadically, without any tacit understanding, not neatly, and not synchronously—

“Surprise!”

Looking at the pile of avatars flashing continuously in the dialogue box in a chaotic order, the Angelica Film Center was shocked, all stunned.