From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Unbelievable!

Even before the premiere of "Catch Me If You Can," the media had anticipated a potential frenzy, given the still-fermenting popularity of "Spider-Man." But, frankly, the James Franco-led film in September had only provided the media with some self-amusing buzz without causing much of a stir. This precedent led the media to temper their expectations for Anson's performance this time around.

However.

The premiere exploded!

Leaving aside the media's reviews, the audience had collectively fallen into a frenzy.

The overwhelming fervor overshadowed "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings," which were also released during this year's holiday season. Moreover, there was no comparison; the premiere night of "Catch Me If You Can" was simply on another level of fanaticism.

"It's great. Really great. A must-see movie for Christmas this year, and not just this year, I could watch it every Christmas."

Fox Television, one step ahead of the print media, sent a team to the Chinese Theatre for live interviews at the premiere. This past summer, their premiere interviews for "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" had garnered the station countless attention, and they planned to replicate their approach.

And this time, this simple and direct adventurous move was once again proven to be prescient—

The raw, unscripted, and genuinely excited expressions were the most direct evidence, unreservedly presenting the audience's initial reactions to the film.

Of course, some viewers didn't like it, and some weren't so enthusiastic.

However, the power of editing and compilation was in the hands of Fox Television. They knew how to edit to convey the information they wanted viewers to see.

News must report the facts, but even with one hundred percent factual information, different arrangements and combinations can subtly infiltrate the editor's views and positions. The same material can convey different messages—

This is the public opinion guiding function of news.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!"

An excited figure passed in front of the Fox Television camera, then returned, looking at the camera, jumping and unable to stay still, and then once again:

"Ah, ah, ah!"

And ran off.

More direct and vivid than any flowery praise, it perfectly concluded Fox Television's live report.

The fervor felt from the television coverage, to the excitement conveyed by the words in newspapers and magazines, different pieces of information intertwined to create a vivid picture, allowing the audience to clearly feel the success of the premiere, easily making "Catch Me If You Can" the absolute topic on Christmas Day, dominating family conversations with overwhelming force.

So—

Anson, is he ultimately worth the hype?

Anson accomplished another feat after the summer blockbuster season, something that "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" couldn't achieve? Will this propel him into the ranks of A-listers?

Hollywood's restless, nervous, expectant, jealous, and excited heart began to pull in contradictory directions again, uncontrollably pounding.

Then.

Christmas morning.

"Steven, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, I don't care. Let's open the presents first."

Steven Spielberg gave his wife a big smile; not even a newspaper was in sight, let alone a computer—

Having experienced countless ups and downs in Hollywood, this director had developed an invincible resilience. Even if "Minority Report" had encountered a slight setback, leading to "Catch Me If You Can" being pushed into the limelight, he remained unperturbed.

Christmas is Christmas, work can wait.

Steven was serious; he didn't care, he didn't need to care. Even if "Catch Me If You Can" flopped again, he wasn't worried about his career being affected.

"Presents, open the presents, the kids can't wait any longer."

Steven kissed his wife on the forehead and led the way to the living room.

On this side, Steven completely disregarded and didn't care about the film's media reviews.

On the other side, executives of major Hollywood film companies, countless producers, and even directors, actors, and screenwriters, their first reaction was to open the newspaper and turn on the computer to read the reviews. No one could ignore the last hot topic of 2002; millions of eyes were all focused on the media aggregate score of "Catch Me If You Can"—

Even more eagerly than the person involved.

The excitement of the premiere was one thing, the media's evaluation and feedback were another.

The audience's pursuit was one thing, the professional media's views were another.

Everyone understood the principle, but the premiere frenzy of "Catch Me If You Can" was so exaggerated that people's expectations for the film had quietly continued to climb.

The reviews, shouldn't be a flop, right?

"Los Angeles Times", 100 points, "A genius performance, but more importantly, a genius production."

Someone!

The first review that caught the eye established the foundation with absolute strength and sharpness, and it came from one of the two major authoritative newspapers.

The expectations, which had already been raised to a new height, actually broke through the ceiling again and rose to an incredible level, completely igniting.

"Sight \u0026 Sound", 100 points, "One of Spielberg's excellent abilities as a producer lies in choosing the right cast at the right time. Cinematography, soundtrack, editing, styling, and art direction are perfectly integrated, not only retro but also smooth, creating a dizzying immersive viewing experience for the audience.

But the stroke of genius in this work is choosing Wood to play the role of young Frank Abagnale Jr. His personal charm perfectly merges with the character. His fragility, his flamboyance, his loneliness, his vigor, his struggle, his innocence, everything is perfect, making the whole story and this character convincing, even making the audience fall in love with this only seventeen-year-old boy.

Undoubtedly, Wood elevates this film to a whole new level and has unlimited potential.

Although unbelievable, but personally, I think Wood is more suitable for the role of young Frank Abagnale Jr. than Peter Parker.

Believe me, no one should miss such a radiant Wood."

This is from a professional and authoritative magazine from the UK, and its industry status is undoubtedly at the top of the pyramid, even better than "Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter". They delivered top praise in such a way and in such a posture, which officially established the film's word-of-mouth direction—

Don't forget, this is a short review.

However, "Sight \u0026 Sound" stubbornly redefined the word limit of short reviews.

The attitude is evident.