From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"The Tonight Show," a guaranteed topic, in 2002 when television was still the largest promotional platform, Jay Leno's show far outstripped the promotional effect of any other show.

This time, it was no exception.

Moreover, it far exceeded expectations.

If the news reports about "Star Wars: Episode II" promoting on "The Tonight Show" were the first wave, and the spontaneous discussions surrounding the band were the second wave, then the overwhelming discussion of the show across North America, with "The Tonight Show" reaching an unprecedented new height in traffic, constituted the third wave, which was the real focus. "Star Wars" and "The Tonight Show" both became a boost for creating a star.

The momentum was fierce—

"Funny and humorous, witty and engaging, Anson Wood creates the peak of 'The Tonight Show.'"

"When Anson Wood Meets Jay Leno: The Best Talk Show of the Year."

"A breath of fresh air, also a ray of sunshine, Anson brings a new atmosphere to 'The Tonight Show.'"

"Band. Actor. Comedy. And so on... and also fashion. Jack of all trades, so, who exactly is Anson Wood?"

"The birth of a superstar, 'The Tonight Show' becomes a witness."

"A rising star personally certified by Jay Leno, 'The Tonight Show' creates history again."

Anson. Anson. Still Anson.

Extensive and grand, sweeping across North America with the force of a thousand troops, the overwhelming reports truly made people feel the heat of the show.

More than one media outlet launched heated discussions:

Jay Leno, the king of talk shows, battle-hardened, sophisticated, knowledgeable, calm, and witty, has experienced countless storms both on and off stage, yet he was caught off guard by a mere newcomer—a newcomer making his debut on a talk show—to the point of losing his composure during the recording.

It was because of this that Anson's departure from the studio and his reappearance as "Superman" was hailed as a classic moment of 2002.

Even at the end of the year, when major media outlets were conducting year-end summaries, this scene was still being talked about with relish. Several authoritative magazines and media outlets, when listing the year's classic screen moments and major entertainment moments, did not miss this classic scene.

Especially after the reports completely dominated the screen, many industry professionals raised questions:

Everything was pre-arranged by the production team.

Authoritative professional media outlets, led by "The Hollywood Reporter," even launched further follow-up reports, delving into "The Tonight Show" production team, interviewing those involved, including producers, directors, Jay Leno, and Anson, to restore the whole story, analyzing it in an all-round way like a documentary.

Jay Leno said, "If everything was pre-arranged, I wish my performance could have been more exaggerated to increase the comedic effect."

The answer couldn't be clearer.

It can be seen from the in-depth follow-up reports that the topic actually continued, and did not disappear after a short burst of popularity.

Not only was there a third wave, but there were even fourth and fifth waves later on.

Adam Scott: Damn it.

In fact, when the third wave of enthusiasm arose, Adam had already realized it, realizing that his judgment was wrong.

Obviously, NBC and "The Tonight Show" production team were exerting their strength, mobilizing all their connections to ignite a media frenzy; moreover, things seemed to be more than that. William Morris should have also launched media resources, and Darren Star and David Crane were also subtly fueling the flames behind the scenes.

Power, quietly gathered together, fully ignited.

Then.

Before "The Hollywood Reporter" launched an in-depth report behind the scenes of the show, another authoritative professional Hollywood magazine, "Variety," took the lead in publishing an in-depth report.

"Who is Anson Wood?"

According to Adam's subsequent investigation, after the recording of "The Tonight Show" ended, Edgar contacted the editor-in-chief of "Variety" magazine and mobilized the resources of Jay Leno, Steven Spielberg, and Darren Star, finally persuading "Variety" magazine to write this feature as soon as possible.

Moreover, it was not just a feature.

If it was just a feature, even for an industry authority like "Variety," Edgar would not need to go to so much trouble. The real key was:

Feature. Cover. Moreover, cuckoo's egg.

According to the original plan, the cover of this issue of "Variety" magazine was Tom Cruise.

The summer blockbuster "Minority Report," co-produced by Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, was scheduled to hit major theaters on June 21. This work, distributed by 20th Century Fox, had already launched its initial publicity, including a feature report in "Variety."

However, Edgar leveraged the situation, even persuading Steven Spielberg to come forward.

"Variety" withdrew the "Minority Report" feature at the last moment, temporarily changed its course, and used Anson as the cover, writing a feature around Anson—

Everything happened within a short week.

The focus of the magazine was Anson, not "The Tonight Show" or "Spider-Man," purely Anson. At the critical moment when the summer season was about to open, it was bold, but it opened up a new path, bringing readers a brand new topic of conversation outside of the summer season like a spring breeze.

The story began with the Paris Fashion Week, discussing Anson's views on fashion taste and model catwalks; then it turned to the band, talking about the street performances in Manhattan and the magical experience of "The Tonight Show"; finally, it landed on the actor, with the upcoming "Spider-Man" being Anson's first work as the leading actor, naturally talking about Anson's views on acting and actors.

Fashion, "The Tonight Show," "Spider-Man," these topics were not the focus. The only focus was Anson himself, his views on these things, his feelings about experiencing these hot spots, and his understanding of different things.

Finally, "Variety" magazine gave such a concluding remark:

"Who is Anson Wood?

Just as there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes, there are also different Anson Woods in different people's eyes. He is a puzzle waiting to be discovered and a book waiting to be read. No one knows the specific content until they begin to understand it. The journey has just begun."

"Variety" magazine deserves to be one of the two major mountains of Hollywood's authoritative professional magazines. This in-depth feature report completely avoids the perfunctory and hasty work of a few days, but instead, it shows a newcomer in a unique way—

A newcomer worth looking forward to and worth digging into.

And, the answer is left to the reader.

This issue of "Variety" magazine sold a staggering 400,000 copies within just three days, easily creating "Variety" magazine's highest sales volume in 2002, second only to the issue reporting on Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's marriage since the millennium; but now the magazine is still on sale, and it is not impossible for it to overtake later.

Anson, "Variety."

"Variety," Anson.

Perfect win-win.

When things developed to this point, Adam knew that it was already out of control—

"Spider-Man" forcefully entered the public eye.