From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

When I was a child, I loved summer because it was the summer vacation. I didn't need to go to school or do homework. I could play as much as I wanted and enjoy the time.

When I grew up, I loved summer because of the celebrations, carnivals, and holidays, watermelons, fireworks, the sea, and the afternoons when I still sweated even with the air conditioner on.

Even if the whole summer was spent doing nothing and wasting time, I still missed summer.

However.

The Columbine High School shooting happened on April 22nd. The lives of those children ended abruptly and disappeared forever before summer even arrived.

The story of "Elephant" takes place at the end of August, when summer is about to end, and the lives in the story also remain in the last summer forever.

They, those fresh and youthful souls, those young and innocent lives, are forever buried under the summer sun and splendor.

Honestly, Anson couldn't imagine, even with all his imagination, what it would feel like for those parents to learn that an ordinary day when their children went to school would end in such a way.

Without real experience, relying solely on imagination is ultimately too shallow.

People always say that death is painful, and of course, that's true; but what's more painful than death is continuing to live, because they must quietly wait for spring to arrive with those wounds—

Some people can wait, say goodbye to the past, open their arms, and embrace new life; but some people will forever stay in that summer and never be able to leave.

It's just a thought, but it breeds and spreads in the blood, long and real, so that every day and night of breathing can feel that torment.

Summer days, so short and so long, carry the temperature and power of life. When summer ends, youth seems to come to an end as well—

After graduation, they scattered to the ends of the earth and embarked on a brand new journey in life.

Saying goodbye to summer seems to mean that you can no longer play and slowly learn to grow up.

For a long time, the seasons were just seasons, and the changing of the four seasons was just a record of the passage of time, but from a certain moment, it became different. The seasons were no longer just seasons. The seasons represented memories, life, and life itself.

The melody flowed gently in my mind.

"Summer has come and gone again; innocence cannot last forever; wake me up when summer ends." (Note 1)

The lyrics naturally came to mind.

The bright but sad guitar chords flutter up and down in the gloomy and melodious cello strings, as if they were feeling the heartbeat and pulse when they were running all the way, catching the tail of summer while stepping on the setting sun—

So powerful, so real.

Anson thought that maybe they could make an album about summer and youth. The concept of the whole album would be like "Elephant", taking a summer from the youthful years, blooming brilliantly and wantonly for a short time, and when the summer ends, they will go their separate ways and scatter to the ends of the earth.

In fact, it's not just the graduation season.

Life is the same.

The year I was twenty-five, when my family suddenly suffered an accident, it was also summer.

Once, for a long, long time, he refused to accept the cruel reality, refused to accept the fact that his father had escaped alone and disappeared, refused to accept the fact that they had nothing and were in trouble, refused to accept the fact that they had gone from heaven to hell overnight. The memory of that time had become blurred, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall the details.

What remained in his mind were only those pains, the struggles and pulls of the burning internal organs, and the exhaustion of all his strength to deny reality.

That summer, so long and so hot, seemed to never end.

On the one hand, he tried his best to run away, trying to escape the endless summer; on the other hand, he hesitated and wandered in place, because the end of summer meant growing up and reality.

He couldn't help but close his eyes, temporarily escape reality, hide in his own world, listen to the sound of summer burning, and wait for that moment—

Waiting for the moment to grow up, waiting for the moment to face the pain calmly, waiting for the moment when time smooths the wound, waiting for the moment when summer comes again, waiting for the moment when the wound heals and life is resurrected.

Then.

Unconsciously, they grew up like this.

Quietly, watching Eric with a lost look on his face, watching the students who were tidying up their things, watching the crew members who were hugging each other to celebrate the completion of the film, an inspiration took root, sprouted, and then uncontrollably grew and spread.

Sure enough—

The strategy of leaving Los Angeles for a temporary rest and adjustment was the right one.

Leave the unchanging recording studio, change the routine of life, feel, experience, and live again, let your thoughts be active, and inspiration will be rekindled at the right time.

"...Anson?"

A call came from his ear, and Anson finally broke free from his thoughts, and then he saw Alex and Eric's faces full of worry.

Smile, upturned.

"Sorry, my thoughts just took a short stay in Oz."

Anson cracked a small joke.

Alex didn't know why, his eyes were full of confusion.

Eric, however, raised his chin slightly thoughtfully, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Anson again was obviously excited and excited.

Anson didn't explain, "What's wrong, did I miss something?"

Alex shook his head innocently, "No, we just..." He paused, a little shy, glanced at Eric, and tried to muster up the courage, "We just wanted to ask you if we could take a photo with you as a souvenir. You know, opportunities like this don't come often."

"Maybe, this is the only proof that we have filmed a movie."

Anson was stunned.

"Haha." A bright smile bloomed, "Of course, no problem."

At least, they didn't interrupt the filming and waited patiently until the filming was completed before asking. This kind of awareness alone surpasses many professional actors.

But what Anson didn't expect was that when the other people in the crew saw Anson taking photos with Alex and Eric separately, they didn't know what was going on, so one or two of them came up. When Anson came back to his senses, he turned his head and saw a crooked long line following behind him.

Anson, "Excuse me, what tourist attraction in Portland is this?"

Haha, a burst of laughter.

Note 1: Wake me up when September ends — Green Day