From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

So much information!

For a moment, Gus didn't know where to start; shock and impact, surprise and anticipation, all rushed in at once.

His brain stalled slightly.

Thus.

What he finally blurted out was what his eyes saw:

Blond hair.

Anson followed Gus's gaze, glanced at his own hair.

"Ha, it's a wig."

As he spoke, Anson calmly took off the wig—

Gus was stunned, his jaw dislocated, and it might not be able to return for a while.

"Doesn't it always happen like this in movies? Agents need a little disguise, maybe only James Bond is the exception."

Leaving Los Angeles quietly and arriving in Portland quietly, Anson naturally wouldn't be so naive as to completely trust that paparazzi. He made a deal with him on one hand and prepared for the worst on the other.

Who would have thought that Anson not only didn't keep a low profile, but also wore a light bulb on his head?

Anyway, no one recognized Anson along the way.

Oh, Jack! Jack should be the first.

Of course, this is not all.

"At the same time, I'm also trying to go back to high school and experience the mentality of young people again."

Anson shrugged lightly, "You know, we always make some stupid choices in adolescence to prove our uniqueness."

"Like getting an ugly tattoo, or showing up in graduation photos dressed strangely, or leaving some self-righteous words of wisdom in the yearbook."

"Or getting a haircut that's explosively ugly."

Anson tossed the wig up.

"Sometimes, we know why we do this; but more often, we have no idea at all. Maybe a friend encourages us, maybe it's just a whim, and then things just happen."

"God, we really have too many things to figure out in adolescence, right?"

From Los Angeles to Portland, Anson had been pondering the character's psychology—

Although he was also a high school student, this role was completely different from "The Princess Diaries" and "Spider-Man." The ordinariness of the latter two roles was relative, while the ordinariness of "Elephant" was real.

This character has no protagonist aura, everything is ordinary.

Just like… Jack.

Therefore, when shaping the first two characters, Anson could find the character's arc and the character's footing, which is also the norm in movies; but this time it was different.

In movies, characters always have an arc, they will grow and transform.

In reality, characters don't have an arc, they may not grow, they may be stuck in place, they definitely won't improve but will regress, they may just slack off all the way to the end.

This also means that in "Elephant", Anson's performance should not look for an arc or a context, but should look for a state—

A real state.

This is not an easy thing.

People often think that "being yourself" is the simplest and easiest thing; but reality is not like that. In real life, people often wear layers of masks, tightly hiding their true selves.

Because truth often means vulnerability.

Actors are the same, they are used to acting, in movies, in programs, in daily life, and over time, even they themselves can't take off the mask and can't confirm where their true self is hidden.

When actors need to take off their masks and show their true selves on stage or in front of the camera, it is the most difficult.

Without a mask, without armor, a state of defenseless nakedness.

Anson carefully recalled what those years when he didn't know the taste of sorrow were like. The dust of time tightly covered the original appearance of memory, so that he couldn't even be sure of the truth and falsehood of memory.

He thought those years were happy, his father's career hadn't exploded, his parents' marriage hadn't had problems, and his footsteps back and forth in the classroom corridor were dancing wildly in the sunshine.

However, it wasn't like that.

Calm down, what comes to mind is not those happiness and beauty, but those trivial little troubles and indescribable confusion—

Homework. Teacher. Classmate. Girl. Pocket money.

Troubles filled the corners of the days, annoyed because he didn't get an ice cream during recess, but gloating because he saw his buddy spacing out in class and being discovered by the teacher, and becoming the object of teasing by a group of friends after receiving a love letter from a girl on the way home from school.

It wasn't until he grew up that he realized that those troubles were also sweet.

The wig gave Anson an inspiration—

"I'm not sure, maybe it was because I saw Justin Timberlake perform once, or maybe it was Nick Carter, and I impulsively dyed my hair blond."

"I thought that after dyeing my hair, I would be able to change my situation in school and talk to the girl I had a crush on; or maybe it was just a rebellion, a resistance, because I was dissatisfied with my father's alcoholism, but I was powerless to resist."

"I, uh, I just wanted to change something, and then hope that life could have some changes."

"But now, I realize I was wrong."

"Right?"

Confusion, bewilderment, sensitivity.

In just a few words, Anson outlined a vivid image of a teenager in front of Gus—

Who said Anson was a vase?

Who said that!

Gus couldn't believe it, could things get any more perfect?

The thing he was worried about didn't happen, and Anson's fit with the character far exceeded his imagination, and the film's sense of picture just overflowed.

Gus was a little excited.

Gus asked curiously, "Did you think of all this yourself?"

Anson showed a smile, "Without the help of a script, I can only rely on myself. However, this is just an idea, it's not mature. After reading the script, we can slowly adjust it according to the character…"

"There is no script." Gus interrupted Anson.

Anson was stunned, "Huh?"

What he said was the truth. Although the memory of watching "Elephant" in his previous life still remained in his mind, since Gus wanted to choose ordinary students to perform, it also meant that the actors needed to bring a part of themselves into the movie.

Anson is Anson, naturally, this time's "Elephant" will also be different.

But Anson was counting on the script, and as a result—

Gus repeated again, "There is no script."

"This is also why I try to choose ordinary students from here as much as possible. I just need to record what you usually say and do with a camera lens."

"No script needed."

"Oh, by the way, the roles you play in the movie will all use your real names."