From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Hollywood, the realm of fame and fortune, is a place where the intensity of competition defies imagination. Only by truly immersing oneself in it can one glimpse the tip of the iceberg.

Yet, countless young people continue to arrive, one after another, harboring dreams of overnight success and a life-altering transformation as they reach Los Angeles.

In the end, they taste the bitterness of tears in the cold, cruel nights of the City of Angels.

Zack Snyder was no exception.

After struggling through the mire of Hollywood for nearly a decade, he finally encountered a suitable project and managed to get it off the ground. He couldn't help but enter a dreamlike state, fantasizing about the glory and miracle of becoming an overnight sensation and rewriting his destiny, anxiously and eagerly anticipating a dazzling future.

The result?

Like countless others in Hollywood, a bucket of cold water was poured over him.

With a 'pop,' the bubble of fantasy burst just like that.

The sense of loss and melancholy was devastating, almost unbearable.

So, what's next?

He couldn't see the future. The present was shrouded in darkness.

It took so many years to wait for the first opportunity. When the second opportunity would arise, or even if it would arise at all, was completely unknown.

Everything was Ansen's fault.

Universal Pictures clearly knew that "Dawn of the Dead" was being released this week, but they refused to spend any promotional resources on it, watching helplessly as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" stole all the limelight. Who knew if Ansen was threatening Universal Pictures from behind the scenes, prohibiting them from using media resources to promote a competitor.

If it weren't for that pretty boy, they wouldn't have been ignored so thoroughly, not even having the chance to gain coverage in the news media—

He cursed "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" to flop at the box office and with critics, causing Focus Features to go bankrupt directly, and then the entire Hollywood to collectively blacklist Ansen.

Ah, ah, ah…

Zack felt like his internal organs were burning. The torment and pain were completely indescribable, tossing and turning, burning in hell.

Wait, critical reception. Right, critical reception!

Right now, it was just news coverage. Whether a movie could succeed should still depend on critical reception, the evaluations from the media and the audience.

Moreover!

A work like "Dawn of the Dead" had no reference value in terms of media reviews!

Horror films were consistently disliked by film critics. This prejudice had persisted for many years. They were often particularly picky about horror films, so the overall media reviews for horror films were generally low. It wasn't a special case for one or two films, but a common phenomenon.

Therefore, the real test for horror films still came from the audience. As long as that small group of niche supporters of horror works were satisfied, the movie's box office would still have hope.

He shouldn't be discouraged, let alone despair. The journey of "Dawn of the Dead" had only just begun.

However, was he already finding a backup plan for himself before he even read the media reviews?

No, no, no, such an attitude was wrong. He should be full of trust in the media, and he should also have confidence in the audience—

They could distinguish good from bad, and they could make correct judgments.

As for Ansen Wood?

Heh heh, an idol-type pretty boy, useless except for that face; moreover, in his opinion, that face didn't even fit his aesthetic. He really couldn't understand why everyone in Hollywood was calling Ansen handsome. It was simply unbelievable. Were they all visually impaired?

Take a deep breath, take another deep breath. His heart was still pounding wildly, but Zack finally regained some confidence, straightened his body again, and turned on the computer—

Media aggregate score.

Based on the recent trend and atmosphere, the entire Hollywood should be closely watching the media aggregate score, everyone was curious about when Ansen would stumble, everyone was curious about how long this pretty boy could ride the coattails, everyone was curious about when Ansen's so-called box office myth bubble would burst.

The more noisy and lively the media was, the greater the pressure on "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

Just right, when all eyes were on "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", they could take a look at "Dawn of the Dead" by the way. When they found out that this remake actually sparked media acclaim, and might even crush "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", punching Charlie Kaufman and kicking Ansen Wood, it would be a small shock.

Then, one or two media outlets would come knocking on his door to lick his boots—

Zack was confident in this, one hundred percent confident. He believed that no one in Hollywood could do a better remake than him.

Everything was perfect.

He was gold, he just needed a chance, and no one would be able to stop him from shining.

What "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", heh heh, in the end, they would all become his stepping stones.

Thoughts surged in his mind. As he thought about it, a smile reappeared on the corner of his mouth. Zack was even a little excited, eager to see the tidal wave of praise in the media aggregate score.

Then, the page slowly refreshed in front of him. Zack froze, the smile stiffened on his lips, and the unbelievable shock directly left his mind blank—

How could it be.

Media aggregate score, 59 points.

Actually. Failed. Only 59 points.

This was the score for "Dawn of the Dead", not "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"?

After confirming again and again, Zack still got the same answer. The work he had poured countless efforts and energy into only got a mere 59 points in the end.

Unbelievable.

Holding his breath, Zack's first reaction was to search for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and wait for the page to refresh.

Bit by bit, the process of the page slowly displaying was simply a torment. Zack remained motionless, blankly and stiffly frozen in place.

Until the page was completely displayed—

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", 95 points.

Thunderstruck.

Dumbfounded.

It wasn't just rave reviews, it could be said to be an explosion of praise. From 59 points to 95 points, just swapping the positions of two Arabic numerals was like going from heaven to hell and then from hell to heaven, hovering on the edge of life and death, dying and coming back to life, worse than death.

How did all this happen?

Zack stood there blankly, not even noticing that his shoulders and spine had collapsed. There was only one thought in his mind: the media aggregate score was not important, these bootlicking sycophants of Ansen were not important at all, completely unimportant, they simply couldn't understand his art; the only important thing was the audience.

The audience would make their voices heard with practical actions. Just look at the box office, and then, "Dawn of the Dead" would prove his value with the box office—

He, Zack Snyder, was a misunderstood, buried, and misinterpreted genius.

Again and again, Zack convinced himself, angrily left his seat, turned away from the computer, returned to the kitchen, and began frantically cleaning.

Scrub, scrub, scrub.

However, after scrubbing halfway, he still couldn't hold back. Without any warning, Zack let out an angry roar, "Ah!"

Outside the window, sparrows were startled, fluttering their wings and flying away from the treetops.

But apart from that, everything was quiet, and the world seemed to have no change.