From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Auditions involve many different forms of expression, but ultimately, they all aim to unearth a certain quality within the actor, creating a connection with the character and exploring potential possibilities. There are no restrictions on the methods used, so actors may present various performance segments during auditions.

What Anson and Rachel just completed was a type of improvisational, casual, and uncertain audition.

To be precise, Anson simply extracted certain qualities from the character and presented them to Rachel to see what reaction she would give—a kind of instinct.

Neither Rachel nor Anson themselves are experienced, seasoned actors. Much of their acting is based on their own life experiences, so the sparks that fly from their on-the-spot reactions are the most authentic.

In fact, the script for "The Butterfly Effect" itself is similar. The powerful dramatic tension overwhelms the actors' performance details. The significant ups and downs and dramatic emotional displays perfectly fit the style of a soap opera. However, if the actors truly present it in a soap opera style, the film's quality will become cheap—

Both greasy and exaggerated.

Therefore, emotional interpretations and state presentations based on intuitive reactions are the most aligned with the script.

Sometimes, they need to shed themselves and enter a completely different character; but sometimes, they need to return to simplicity and return to their own role.

Some believe that certain directors spend their entire lives filming the same movie, even if the stories and styles are different, they are essentially repeating themselves.

In reality, many actors are the same, ultimately unable to escape themselves.

Thus,

Anson didn't follow the script. He selected some plots and fragments, throwing them out to test and see, searching for those emotional memories hidden deep within his soul.

At least, from the looks of it, Rachel completed a high-scoring answer sheet.

Different from her sweet smile on the outside, Rachel also has her experiences and stories, unexpectedly offering another possibility for portraying Kaylee.

However, Marcia wasn't overjoyed. She had her own concerns, "…Anson, what are the two directors' styles?"

Anson didn't understand.

Marcia explained further, "Rachel's performance isn't the kind that's naturally revealed; she needs the director's lens to capture and unearth it."

"In other words, if the director treats her as a vase, what's presented will be a vase; if the director treats her as an inspirational muse, what's presented will be a goddess."

Some performances are exposed, naturally presented in front of the camera.

Some performances are restrained, needing the camera to capture them.

So, what are the two directors' styles?

Anson thought seriously. In his previous life, the male lead of "The Butterfly Effect" was Ashton Kutcher, and the female lead was Amy Smart.

Amy Smart is more active on the small screen. You can see her in series like "Shameless," "Justified," and "Scrubs." Strictly speaking, she's more of a television actor than a movie actor.

Before streaming media broke the constraints between television and film in the future, the distinction between television actors and film actors was still very clear. The simplest and most direct thing is that television actors tend to overact.

There are two reasons for this.

First, directors won't calm down and carefully capture the actor's performance like in a movie, so the actors need to be more direct, more obvious, and more extroverted.

Second, the focus of a series is on the screenwriter; the tension of the plot and the fate of the characters are the key, and the actor's performance is a platform for display.

It is precisely because of this that there has been a clear barrier between film and television for a long time. Movie actors disdain appearing on television, while television actors dream of appearing on the big screen but always find it difficult to achieve. It's not just the actors' own performance styles; the differences in the entire production system also make it difficult for actors to adapt to the performance styles of different types of works.

Anson himself hadn't realized this all along, because he himself started from scratch, slowly researching and exploring. He didn't encounter any obstacles when entering the film field from the television field. In particular, there was almost no type barrier between the two works, "Friends" and "The Princess Diaries," and the change in performance style was not obvious.

But now that Marcia mentions it, a professional's perspective brings new content.

Anson remembered a movie, "The Whale," where Samantha Morton played an important role.

This actress, who became famous at a young age, had been active in countless movies, such as "Sweet and Lowdown," "In America," "Minority Report," and "Her." She was considered a talented actress by many, winning two Oscar acting nominations.

However, she later mainly worked in the television field and hadn't appeared in a movie for many years. When she appeared on the big screen again in "The Whale," her performance seemed exaggerated, stiff, greasy, and strange, completely out of sync with the other actors, which was a disaster.

Such differences, whether acknowledged or not, objectively exist.

Obviously, Eric and Mackie, the two screenwriters-turned-directors, also faced such problems.

As screenwriters, they focused on the plot and were accustomed to using words to display the story, but movies need to use pictures and sounds to display the story, so they didn't know what to do. Naturally, they used the screenwriter's and television's approaches to complete the filming, and the actors' exaggeration was inevitable.

What's more, Ashton and Amy were originally accustomed to the performance styles of television dramas.

Sure enough, Marcia was still professional, immediately grasping the key point.

If Rachel is chosen to play the female lead, Kaylee, then the interaction between the actor and the director will be a problem, which is also what the producer needs to consider.

The key is that Anson also has no directing experience. How should he guide the other two new directors?

Tom Hanks said, respect professionalism, believe in professionalism, but now it seems that the director and producer are not professional. Who should they believe?

Anson had a headache.

But, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he shrugged slightly, "It seems we're in trouble now."

Marcia was directly choked, looking at Anson speechlessly.

Nicholas sat aside, snickering.

Knock, knock.

Just then, the room door was opened again, and the Chinese takeout arrived.

Anson joked, "Fortunately, this time it didn't interrupt the audition."

Marcia: …

Extremely helpless, she couldn't help but laugh.

Thinking about it, Marcia also felt ridiculous, "Cooperating with those producers who are too tense and too tough is a problem, and cooperating with these producers who are too casual and too free is also a problem."

Anson was full of seriousness, "Have you ever thought that maybe you yourself are the problem."

Marcia: ???

Anson ignored Marcia, stood up with a calm expression, "Lunch, lunch time."

Turning her head, Marcia saw Nicholas's expression of holding back laughter with great effort. Nicholas noticed her gaze and stretched exaggeratedly, "Eat, eat."

Marcia stared at Nicholas, "Heh heh, with your acting skills, you should be glad you're sitting on this side of the table."