From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

A faint sadness and a hint of bitterness surged between his open and clear brows, causing Annie's gaze to pause, slightly stunned.

Anson seemed to notice and raised his eyes, meeting Annie's gaze directly and generously, causing her to become reserved.

Anson's lips curved into a slight smile, "When we are young, we always yearn to grow up quickly; but after growing up, we can't help but miss our childhood. We humans are always like this, craving what we can't get, with our brains controlled by greed and delusions."

Teasing, complaining—

Pfft.

Annie couldn't help but laugh, "So we all are?"

Anson nodded lightly, "Of course, no one is an exception."

"However, looking at it from another perspective, growing up isn't such a bad thing. As long as we are not afraid of failure, we can always choose to take risks."

"Continuing to choose princess roles is a kind of conservatism, a safe bet for fear of failure; but if such a choice starts to consume you, making you suffocate, then it's better to make some adventurous attempts and open up different possibilities in the world."

Annie quietly looked at Anson, "But…"

Anson's lips curled up, "What if we fail? Then we start over. After all, we are still young, and we can still afford to fail now, which is better than bearing the consequences of making mistakes at eighty, right?"

Ha.

Annie laughed directly, "Eighty, hahaha."

"But why eighty?"

Anson thought seriously, "Because I think that at forty or fifty, people still make mistakes, and they must be allowed to make mistakes. Although the margin for error becomes smaller and smaller, it should be okay to make mistakes at that time, as there is still a lot of time in life."

"In fact, it doesn't matter if you make mistakes at eighty, because when you really get to that point, you don't need to worry about mistakes anymore, anyway, the journey is nearing its end."

Hahaha.

Annie couldn't control herself, and her mood brightened completely.

Anson continued, "Last time when we met at a bar in New York, weren't you auditioning for a role? Could that also be a princess role?"

Annie, "No, the results haven't come out yet, we are still waiting for the crew's notification; but…" She took a deep breath, "Jack might get the role."

Anson was slightly stunned, and then the smile on his lips overflowed.

"So, are you now considering rejecting such a role because of my relationship with Jack?"

Annie's cheeks flushed slightly, "It's not entirely because of you, it's mainly because of him as a person. There may be many problems in the future if I cooperate with such a person."

Anson's smile became even brighter, "Actors are actors, work is work, there is no need to mix them up. If you refuse to work with bastards, there may be no projects worth working on in Hollywood."

Annie also laughed, "Including you?"

Anson nodded, "Including me. In my opinion, I try to focus on completing my work as much as possible, but this may occasionally mean that I will affect other people's work, so in their eyes, I am a complete bastard."

"The key is how we can put aside personal prejudices, truly invest in the role and complete the work, and ultimately present a work that is worth being proud of."

"Do you know? Behind the filming of 'Singin' in the Rain,' Gene Kelly was simply a super bad guy."

"No one can deny that Gene Kelly was a genius in dancing, but geniuses are often self-centered, arrogant, and presumptuous, and Gene was a typical example."

"On the set, Gene demanded strict and even harsh requirements for every scene, and dictatorially blamed every actor. He had many fierce conflicts with Donald O'Connor, which led to the film almost going bankrupt several times; and he was even more harsh on Debbie Reynolds, the female lead who was just starting out at the time."

"At that time, Debbie Reynolds was only nineteen years old and had no dance experience. She had been working hard to learn to dance, but Gene often criticized and even cursed Debbie, even resorting to personal attacks, scolding her as an incompetent waste."

"Debbie didn't dare to disobey Gene and could only secretly hide behind the piano and cry."

"Later, when filming the 'Good Morning' scene, Gene asked all the dancers to dance repeatedly, shooting continuously for fourteen hours. Many actors, including Debbie, had reached their physical limits, but Gene, who was in a frenzy, didn't care about their condition at all, focusing all his attention on the film."

"Debbie Reynolds once really considered giving up, but she persevered with the help of the legendary dancer Fred Astaire."

"Thus, the pinnacle classic of Hollywood's golden age of musicals was born."

Annie couldn't help but open her mouth slightly, "Really?"

Anson nodded, "Really, he was a genius, but also a bastard at the same time."

"However, we must admit one thing, his harshness was not aimed at anyone, he treated everyone equally, including himself."

"The most classic and legendary 'Singin' in the Rain' segment took the crew a full seven days to film. Gene Kelly had a high fever of forty degrees and sang in the rain throughout the whole process, relying entirely on his willpower to complete the filming of this legendary scene."

Annie's jaw almost dropped, "So the scene we see in the movie now…"

Anson, "Yes, it's Gene Kelly with a high fever of forty degrees who is showing the joy and happiness of falling in love."

Annie sighed silently.

Anson shrugged lightly, "This is Hollywood, a bunch of lunatics and bastards."

Annie chuckled, "Why do you seem not to care?"

Anson, "Because Hollywood's craziest bastard is sitting right in front of you."

Annie was slightly stunned, and then a smile gradually spread from the bottom of her eyes, eventually turning into a big smile. She stared blankly at the man in front of her.

Just as she was about to speak, a knock on the door came, and the man returned.

"Time's up!"

"Sir, did you get the answer you wanted?"

Anson, uh… "Of course, of course, I think I'm done with today's work. I hope the movie will be a success."

Annie was a little anxious, "One question, didn't you just say there was one more question."

The man didn't say much, "Okay, then one last question."

After the man left, Anson looked at Annie with a puzzled expression.

Annie didn't know what was wrong with herself. On impulse, the words came out before they even went through her brain.

"So, are you free tonight?"

Annie:…

Anson:…

Obviously, neither of them expected Annie to take the initiative to invite him.

So, is this a date invitation?

Annie realized what she had said half a beat later and tried to recover, "I mean, if you don't need to go home… Mr. and Mrs. Wood didn't prepare dinner for you…"

Anson looked at Annie's flustered explanation, a smile appearing in his eyes, "Of course, I'm free, I have all evening."

Gentle and refined, with a slight tease.