From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The movie ended.

But Gloria still couldn't snap out of it. Her knees were a little weak, and she was immersed in the images, floating in a daze, half-dreaming and half-awake, unable to return to reality.

Perhaps, some people are curious—

Why does this type of youthful teen movie always have a market?

Going back a bit, there were "Sixteen Candles", "Pretty in Pink", and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in the eighties.

More recently, there were "Clueless", "10 Things I Hate About You", and "Bring It On" in the late nineties.

Later, "Mean Girls", which was released in 2004, even became a cultural phenomenon. Even twenty years later, it is still the focus of countless discussions. Every year on April 30th, the anniversary of the film's release, young people revive the memory of "Mean Girls", generating countless topics.

It's not a romantic love movie, but a teen campus movie.

The reason is not complicated.

Because this type of movie vividly depicts every teenager's worries, confusion, and growth, constructing a utopia in a relaxed and fashionable way. It not only allows every adolescent child to feel resonance but also finds a fairytale outlet for them through love, family, and friendship.

Rather than calling it a love movie, it's more accurate to call it a youth movie, a special youth romantic comedy that can always have a market audience.

"The Princess Diaries" is also like this.

Mia is the embodiment of thousands of ordinary girls. She has her own worries and confusion, not just appearance and body anxiety, but also social phobia and growing pains. She dreams, has crushes, and secretly admires, always dreaming that she is special but always overwhelmed and swallowed by inferiority.

One day, the most romantic, wildest, and most incredible dream becomes reality—

She becomes a princess.

Experiencing hardships, trials, and setbacks, she finally welcomes growth. At the end of adolescence, everything has an answer, and she can eventually transform from a caterpillar into a butterfly.

It's not just about family, love, and friendship, but also about herself. She finally finds the answer, "Who am I?" Those pains achieve transformation.

Perhaps the movie is not complicated, but such a seemingly fairytale-like yet realistic story, seemingly perfect yet delicate and true, can easily make people intoxicated, sincerely believing that Mia is real, and sincerely believing that they can become the next Mia.

On the big screen, the movie has ended, but in real life, the imagination in every girl's mind has just begun. Fantasies are becoming reality, blood is boiling, hearts are surging, immersed in it and unable to extricate themselves, every cell in the body is feeling the reality conveyed by the light and shadow—

This is the charm of movies.

Rather than saying it's because of the story, the plot, or the actors' charm, it's better to say that movies allow people to dream, allow people to believe that dreams can come true, allow people to believe that the end of imagination is a real world, allow people to believe that there is such a world happening behind the light and shadow.

Therefore, movies should not be "watched", but should be felt and immersed in.

The lights slowly came on.

Gloria saw Anson sitting in the front row at a glance, tall and straight, with a slender figure and a faint smile on his lips. Even in the surging crowd, he easily stood out, effortlessly grabbing attention. He seemed to have walked out of the big screen:

Beautifully unreal, yet terrifyingly real.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Gloria could clearly hear the sound of her heart hitting her chest hard, and a girl's shout came from her ear.

"Michael!"

Anson suddenly turned around.

In an instant, "Ah", "Ah ah ah", screams rose everywhere.

Anson's eyebrows and eyes stretched out, revealing a smile, and waved in the direction of the sound. In the next second, the screams lost control.

"Ah ah ah!"

The screening hall was in an uproar.

Gloria was a little lost, staring blankly at Anson's figure, quietly listening to the sound of her heart hitting her eardrums. Time and space all lost meaning. Even though there was a distance between them, it was even more exciting and exhilarating than the last time she saw Anson up close in the Burbank studio.

Everything was in a trance.

As a result, all the memories afterward were blank. There was also a period of communication and dialogue after the premiere, but Gloria had no idea what happened.

When she regained her senses again, Gloria was already standing outside the door of the El Capitan Theatre—

The premiere ended.

The bustling crowd was still reluctant to leave, standing at the theater entrance chattering and talking, their faces full of excitement.

"Ah, Mia is so beautiful, so beautiful, really so beautiful."

"Although I'm a girl, I've also fallen in love with her."

"Honestly, this is the first time I've thought a girl is beautiful. She's really so attractive."

"Moreover, she's a princess, ah ah ah!"

"Moreover, she has Michael."

A pause, a brief blank in the discussion, and then, after looking at each other, they made the same reaction in unison:

Screaming.

"Ah ah ah!"

"God, please give me a Michael. I'm willing to go to church every Sunday for the next year."

"I can't, I feel weak in the knees just thinking about Michael. How could Michael be so handsome, ah ah ah."

"I'm going crazy, I was drooling while watching Michael in the movie just now."

"Actually, I liked him even before Michael's transformation…"

"Yes, yes, yes, Michael is really too good-looking. How could he be so good-looking!"

Madness, irrational madness.

One, two, three, four, five, six, all gesticulating and expressing their views, even if everyone around them is a stranger, it doesn't matter. As long as they have a common topic, they can connect. Even if the movie is over, they are still reluctant to leave, eagerly needing to share and resonate.

However.

Gloria was still a little dazed—

Everything was really too beautiful, like a dream. After leaving the screening hall, her steps were unsteady, as if she was stepping on clouds, unable to wake up and not wanting to wake up. Her mind was buzzing, all kinds of emotions were churning and surging. Although she didn't have any thoughts, she was so happy that every cell was screaming.

At this moment.

There was a short pause in the screams, so that a brief vacuum appeared at the entrance of the El Capitan Theatre, but in the next second, it was submerged by screams and cheers.

Completely out of control, "Ah ah ah", "Ah ah ah", rising steadily, instantly releasing incredible energy.

Subconsciously, Gloria looked in the direction where the sound erupted, and then she saw a black car parked on Hollywood Boulevard.

The rear window opened, and the moonlight outlined Anson's slightly tired but still handsome face. Even without the bright lights, she could still clearly see the lines of his facial features. The corners of his mouth raised, and his eyes were still bright.

"You should all go home earlier. It's late, be careful."

His slightly low voice due to fatigue vibrated slightly in the air, which made all the girls at the theater entrance throw their sanity into the flames.

Gloria was completely stunned, even forgetting to go forward, just staring blankly at Anson's face in the night:

Is this a dream or reality?