From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Breathe, Aaron. Breathe!"

"Mom! I am breathing!"

"You know what I mean, don't get too excited. You need to stay calm right now. If you get caught up in excitement, you might mess things up… Aaron!"

"Mom, this is it, this is the filming location for 'The Butterfly Effect', oh, unbelievable!"

"Aaron! Calm down!"

Sarah-Johnson's face was filled with helplessness. It was obvious that her younger son's attention had wandered to another planet, his eyes filled with curiosity as he surveyed the filming location before him—

In fact, this studio was not new.

Located in the southern part of Vancouver, it was an ordinary residential community. Although the villas were detached two-story buildings, the people living here were ordinary office workers and didn't quite count as middle class. The people coming and going were in a hurry, each busy with their own affairs. Even seeing a film crew move into the community wasn't enough to make them stop.

At first glance, it had the texture of a studio-built residential community from 'The Truman Show', with the surface tranquility concealing the undercurrents beneath.

However, even in such an ordinary and simple community, Aaron-Taylor-Johnson still couldn't control his elation and excitement. Every cell in his body was cheering, and he was already restless even before officially entering the crew.

Sarah opened her mouth, trying to persuade her child again, but the words swirled on her tongue for a moment before she finally swallowed them: Let Aaron be happy for a while.

Aaron, twelve years old this year, came from a small town in Buckinghamshire, England. He had been learning art forms such as acting, dancing, and singing since he was a child. Sarah, as a housewife, was responsible for guiding the children at home—

Aaron also had an older sister.

The Johnson couple had also cultivated their daughter, but unfortunately, she wasn't interested and ultimately couldn't persevere. They encouraged their daughter to find other hobbies, while also seeing hope in Aaron.

Three years ago, Aaron was within reach of a once-in-a-decade opportunity:

"Harry Potter."

Aaron auditioned for the role of Harry Potter, the absolute core protagonist. After six rounds of auditions, Aaron had become one of the final candidates, only one step away from an unprecedented opportunity. But in the end, he missed out on the role with regret.

For Aaron and Sarah, this was a heavy blow.

In this work, Aaron collaborated with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, the hottest kung fu superstars in Hollywood at the time. He played a young Charlie Chaplin in the movie.

Undoubtedly, this was a special filming experience, enough to make Aaron excited for a long time; however, the aftermath of missing "Harry Potter" was greater than imagined.

When Aaron went to audition for other roles, many casting directors would ask about his "Harry Potter" audition experience. Sarah didn't understand the rules of Hollywood's operation. She wasn't sure if they were trying to pry into the inside story of other crews, or sincerely testing Aaron's on-the-spot reaction.

But the wound was there. Two years had passed, and it was still like an open wound on the operating table, lying there openly and brightly, allowing people to comment on it.

"If Aaron had been chosen…"

"Aaron was so suitable for the role of Harry…"

"I personally think Aaron is more suitable…"

One "if" after another, suffocating them.

Even Sarah was like this, let alone Aaron?

But what could they do?

Nothing.

The only thing they could do was to continue auditioning, continue looking for opportunities, and continue to wait patiently, waiting for a work that would allow Aaron to shine.

Sarah knew that expecting another "Harry Potter" was unrealistic, so she had already given up such extravagant hopes. Instead, she hoped that Aaron could find a role to show his acting talent, be seen by Hollywood, and get rid of the impact of failing the "Harry Potter" audition.

Then.

"The Butterfly Effect" appeared.

For Sarah, the value of this science fiction film was only average. After all, the scale of investment was limited, and it was difficult to compete with those super blockbusters; but the name "Anson Wood" made things interesting:

In Hollywood today, Anson was a guarantee of topics, like Leonardo DiCaprio after "Titanic". No matter what works Anson took on, even small-scale independent films like "Elephant" could easily attract attention, let alone this project, which Anson himself was producing.

Moreover.

The role Aaron auditioned for was Anson's childhood—

To be precise, Anson's thirteen-year-old self.

This was a rare opportunity. Whether it was the popularity of the topic or the weight of the role, everything was worth looking forward to.

When the crew called to inform them that the audition had passed, Sarah couldn't help but raise her arms and cheer.

For Aaron, the only thing worth discussing and the only thing worth looking forward to was Anson.

Anson Wood, that was Spider-Man!

Aaron couldn't count how many times he had watched "Spider-Man". Thirteen times? If you add the time he was kicked out of the screening room by the movie theater for violating the "underage curfew" principle halfway through the midnight show, that's fourteen times!

Wait, could the time he stopped on his way to the supermarket to watch the "Spider-Man" TV clip on the TV wall outside the appliance store be counted as half a time?

In short!

Aaron loved Spider-Man and was simply crazy about the movie!

He didn't care about "Harry Potter", or even "The Butterfly Effect". The only important thing was Peter Parker. He was finally about to see Peter Parker with his own eyes!

Ah, ah, ah!

He wanted to scream, but he had to use all his strength to control his impulse.

Today was the day "The Butterfly Effect" officially started filming.

The crew was not big but not small either. Taking a closer look, there were about fifty people busy going back and forth, preparing for the start of filming in an orderly manner.

The director, photography, actors, lighting, sound and other crew members were all present, presenting a thriving scene. At a glance, you could see the two screenwriters and directors eager to try, the expressions mixed with tension and excitement hanging on the corners of their mouths; you could also see the assistant director and production crew, who were familiar with controlling the whole situation, directing the scene to ensure that the crew could get on the right track.

Although Aaron couldn't see it, and Sarah didn't know the twists and turns behind it, at least Sarah could perceive that Anson should have completed the producer's work excellently—

Not doing everything himself, but appropriately hiring experienced professionals in the positions of assistant director and production crew, making up for the shortcomings of the two directors' lack of experience, showing the wisdom of the producer.

But why was the producer late?

At this moment, Aaron grabbed Sarah's arm, his eyes looking in one direction, his whole body tense. Without words, you could feel the emotions surging—

Anson, was here.