From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Roman Holiday," Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck—

Telepathy.

Scarlett was slightly stunned. She looked up, her eyes meeting Anson's deep blue eyes, and a smile quietly crept onto her lips and eyebrows.

"Oh, that's not bad. I've been promoted from Cinderella to princess in one fell swoop. What about you? Does this mean you're going to be downgraded?"

"Whether prince or reporter, they are all knights, and in these stories, they are all supporting characters," Anson gave a slightly surprising but, upon closer inspection, obvious answer.

A glance exchanged, and both of them laughed.

Then, Anson looked across the street, "I think it's not just me who needs to clear up a misunderstanding…"

Scarlett immediately reacted and laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Adrian will understand… Haha, he definitely will."

Adrian ignored Anson's right hand and stood up by himself, rolling his eyes, "Gregory Peck was also a reporter."

This meme?

Anson and Scarlett exchanged a look, and both of them burst out laughing.

Adrian didn't understand, trying to explain his meme, "I'm talking about the movie…"

But Scarlett stopped him, "Adrian, let's go back to work now."

Adrian immediately became vigilant, thinking that his sister was playing tricks again.

Scarlett didn't explain, "Didn't you say we need to hurry? I've already delayed for so long, we should go as soon as possible now."

Adrian complained unhappily, "You know that?"

At this time, he couldn't bother to continue arguing with Anson. Adrian took the initiative to walk towards the parking lot.

But after taking only two steps, he still felt depressed and returned, walking back again.

Looking at Anson's frank and upright face, the words that had reached his lips could not be uttered. Adrian didn't know what to say; but saying nothing felt particularly useless.

After going back and forth, Adrian only dropped a sentence, "That was just an accident, I wasn't prepared, so I was caught off guard by you."

"Accident!"

Emphasizing it again, Adrian turned around and strode away, walking faster and faster, as if worried that Anson would say something else.

Anson was serious. He felt that he still needed to save a little face.

So, Anson looked innocent and obediently shut his mouth.

Scarlett winked at Anson and mouthed silently, "Thank you," then quickly caught up with Adrian, jogging all the way.

Watching the Johnson siblings' car leave, Anson continued to complete his work, pushing the cart into the theater.

The Hayworth Theatre is a building sponsored by the legendary Hollywood star Fonda family. The same building also includes an acting school and a large theater, with performances staged here every day and every week.

Among them, the Hayworth Theatre, which can only accommodate one hundred and eighty people, is slightly special, mainly targeting young actors, independent dramas, and experimental plays, etc.

Although the attendance rate is terrible all year round, the Fonda family has never given up on sponsorship, encouraging more artistic creation in this way and giving more opportunities to those unknown creators and artists.

The entire theater is a small theater, with the ceiling pressing down low. The deep red wooden seats are neatly arranged into three areas: left, center, and right, with the style of an old-fashioned cinema.

The stage is only forty centimeters high, with zero distance from the audience, which also means that the actors and the audience are basically on the same level, and the entire performance atmosphere and on-site environment are particularly intimate.

—The audience's expressions, eyes, and movements are all clearly visible.

For actors, the feedback is direct, vivid, and also cruel.

Opening the door, Anson could see at a glance the actors who were confirming the stage setting positions and detailed movements. James and Seth were both full of concentration, gesticulating and commanding, as if they were preparing for a Broadway performance.

Facing him, Chris walked over, casually stuffing his phone into his pocket, "Why did it take so long? I thought you got lost."

Anson half-jokingly made a joke, "I ran into Princess Anne."

Chris didn't react, "Shouldn't it be Prince William?"

Casually, Chris took the mineral water from Anson's hand, "The performance is about to start, but the audience hasn't appeared yet. Are you sure?"

"Patience, Chris, even if you don't have confidence in James and Seth, you should have confidence in their agent," Anson comforted.

Chris twitched the corner of his mouth, "On the contrary, I have confidence in James and them, but I don't have confidence in the agent. An agent has seventy or eighty clients in his hands. They probably can't take care of James, maybe they don't even remember the performance here."

It's not pessimism, but objectivity.

The first lesson of Hollywood is to never have too high expectations. No one is indispensable.

However—

Anson was right.

Although "Freaks and Geeks" was cut short due to poor ratings, this series was the starting point of the second generation Frat Pack and created an era in Hollywood.

What is the Frat Pack?

Simply put, in order to counter Jim Carrey's domination of the 1990s comedy film market, a group of actors led by Ben Stiller gathered together to form a loose comedy organization.

They used cost-effective human wave tactics to attack, supporting each other, making cameo appearances, and sticking together collectively. Although they were never able to shake Jim Carrey's status, they also launched a series of popular comedy films, forming their own school.

Ben Stiller is the leader of the first generation Frat Pack, while the second generation Frat Pack began in 2005 with Judd Apatow's self-directed and self-acted "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", and became an indispensable part of the North American comedy market in the first two decades of the 21st century.

"Freaks and Geeks" is where the second generation Frat Pack began. Judd Apatow served as the director, and the main actors such as James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel later all became core members of the Frat Pack.

The biggest feature of the Frat Pack is sticking together. Helping each other is fundamental.

James and Seth's drama, the second generation Frat Pack has no reason to be absent. Judd took the lead to come and support, followed by the actors of the "Freaks and Geeks" crew.

Then, the agent's network also showed its power. Newspaper reporters, producers, casting directors, screenwriters, etc., appeared one after another.

Ten minutes before the official start of the performance, the attendance rate of the Hayworth Theatre had easily exceeded 60%, which is rare for such an independent drama.

Chris, who was in charge of distributing commemorative merchandise to the audience today, was so busy that he couldn't stop, marveling and looking at Anson with a surprised face:

Is this serious?

The only problem is—

How many of these are ordinary audience members who really came to appreciate the drama? How many ordinary audience members paid out of their own pockets to buy tickets out of curiosity or concern?

One?

Or two?