From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Not hurried, not slow, but with clear eyes, he possessed a sense of certainty.

The state Anson presented made Lucas nod slightly.

This was a good thing. It seemed Anson wasn't lying when he comforted Charles and Nora. Perhaps he needed some time, but things were indeed getting better.

Lucas, "Good."

Anson raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, "Good? Just like that?"

Lucas, "There's always the next project, always the next role. There's no need to rush."

Anson flashed a big smile, "Indeed, there's a pile of them here."

He lightly patted the thick stack of projects in front of him. It was still a daunting task, even just skimming through all of them would be difficult.

One thing was certain: Anson was indeed a rising star.

This was not only reflected in Warner Bros.' attitude, but also in the attitudes of other film companies and production houses. Wall Street capital was indeed tilting towards Anson, resulting in a dazzling array of projects appearing before him.

There were some interesting discoveries.

Action movies like "The Pacifier" and "Cinderella Man" seemed to have unexpectedly discovered Anson's potential. Young and handsome, limiting him to a role like Peter Parker, which relied on green screen computer effects, was truly a waste. Just like his name appearing in the rumors of the new 007, it was only natural for Anson to lead action movies.

The difference was that the former was an action-comedy, while the latter was a boxing biography.

In a way, this was a good thing.

The success and explosion of Anson's three consecutive works were indeed changing Hollywood's perspective. Whether it was comedy or biography, they no longer regarded Anson as just a pretty face. This meant that Anson had indeed opened up more possibilities as an actor.

Unfortunately, both works had limited appeal to Anson.

"The Pacifier" was very similar to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", both using children as the narrative theme, but the focus was on the adult actor.

Of course, the same goes for idol pretty boys. What could be more suitable for breaking an image and switching tracks than a comedy movie?

Now, the script came into Anson's hands because they believed that this was also Anson's opportunity, to further refine Anson's more possibilities from the comedic genes of "Catch Me If You Can" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

However, the quality of the project itself was mediocre.

Because the creative concept itself focused on the actor displaying different qualities, such a starting point often could lead to deviations in the focus and arc of character shaping.

In fact, "The Pacifier" had a good box office performance in its previous life, with a global box office of $198 million on an investment of $56 million.

But Vin Diesel still didn't transform successfully, and had to return to the "Fast \u0026 Furious" series, and was forever tied to this series.

"Cinderella Man" was another situation. This movie was a typical awards season biography assignment, aiming for the Oscars from the beginning.

The director was Ron Howard, who had recently won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director for the biographical film "A Beautiful Mind", and now he was copying and pasting, preparing to replicate a second one in the same way.

Such an assignment was not easy to go wrong, but it was also not easy to be outstanding. Being too eager for the Oscars might instead lose its own edges, and the space for directors and actors to play was relatively limited. On the contrary, departments such as music, costumes, and art could freely display their talents in the project.

For Anson, the appeal was truly limited.

"Walk the Line", seemingly an Oscar assignment, but in fact, the creative method advocated by the "two James" was to break the traditional biography template, focusing on music and live performances as the starting point, running through Johnny Cash's entire life of struggle and pain, and the expression and presentation methods were not the same.

Would he return to the traditional assignment with a turn?

Anson's obsession with the Oscar statuette was not that strong.

Perhaps at another time, this project would be more attractive; at least now, Anson didn't even have the interest to browse the script.

"Pride and Prejudice" was another surprise. Mr. Darcy in the original story had become a classic image, and the image of the character played by Colin Firth in 1995 was still widely circulated many years later.

And the movie being re-shot now should be the version starring Keira Knightley. The Mr. Darcy in this version was played by Matthew Macfadyen.

Although the film received four nominations at the Oscars the following year, including Best Actress, Matthew Macfadyen was not able to break through with this role, and it was not until fifteen years later that he received attention for his role as the cowardly, powerful, cunning, and weak son-in-law in the series "Succession."

However, what really surprised Anson was that this work, full of literary atmosphere and posing many challenges and requirements for actors, actually included him in the list of considerations.

Of course, the key reason was that the production company was the familiar Focus Features.

The pleasant experience of the last collaboration undoubtedly left a deep impression on Focus Features, so this time, even for a work like "Pride and Prejudice", they were willing to extend an olive branch to Anson.

In fact, Focus Features was worried that Anson would not be interested in this role.

After all, Mr. Darcy was a classic image, but the protagonists of "Pride and Prejudice" were still the four daughters. They also knew that after Anson had continuously taken on works to break the pretty boy image, he would inevitably look forward to a breakthrough in his career next.

Why does the Oscar statuette make all of Hollywood flock to it?

In addition to being an honor from important industry recognition, it is because the Oscar trophy can break shackles, raise one's status, and take one's career to the next level.

The same goes for Anson now.

Unless Focus Features can convince Anson that the role of Mr. Darcy can bring him an Oscar nomination, Anson really has no need to take on this script.

However, Focus Features still handed over the script.

Who knows, maybe Anson would suddenly become interested in this project?

Unfortunately… no.

Objectively speaking, this version of "Pride and Prejudice" had its own characteristics, adapting on the basis of the original work and giving the two protagonists more room to play; more importantly, director Joe Wright's beautiful shots gave the film a unique literary atmosphere.

The elegant and restrained British temperament would undoubtedly be the best choice for Anson's 180-degree gorgeous transformation, completely surprising everyone.

But why was Anson not interested?